Subjugation

The next morning, after a night of rest, all the troops had recovered their condition.

Victor decided to set out that morning and eliminate the remaining forces of the Wind Corner Tribe. At the same time, he sent Captain Jack to search along the riverbank for suitable crossing points and dock locations.

Soon, all combat units were ready to depart. The support troops were clearing the camp. They still would not take part in this battle; once they finished packing up the camp, they would help the stranded troop transports return to the river before setting off for the Wood Fort stronghold.

Victor briefly looked over all the troops. Their spirits were high, and most of them looked both excited and eager, full of confidence in victory.

Victor waved his hand and had the units depart in sequence. The Cavalry naturally led the way. After a night's rest, both men and horses had recovered well, but this was a normal march, so there was no need to increase their speed.

The Cavalry advanced westward in three columns, a pleasing sight to behold. Maintaining formation during a march was also a form of training.

Victor watched the Cavalry depart, then glanced at Santos, who was directing the other troops to move out. The infantry could not travel by boat this time, so their marching speed would certainly be much slower. Fortunately, they had borrowed half of the support troops' wagons, allowing them to load their weapons and supplies onto them. That counted as traveling light and would ensure their marching speed.

After confirming that the infantry had also begun moving, Victor left at once and headed west to catch up with the Cavalry.

They were more than ten kilometers from the Wood Fort stronghold. It was now nine in the morning, and at normal speed, the Cavalry could arrive by eleven. Since it would be best to launch the attack together with the infantry, Victor planned to have the Cavalry conceal the battlefield after arriving, preventing anyone from trying to escape and spread the news.

During the march, Victor also asked Ron about James and Jack's squads. In the end, he learned that the casualty figures from this battle truly made for an excellent exchange ratio.

Victor contacted Number 1 in his mind. Organize the data and make a campaign settlement screen for me.

"Task confirmed, Victor. Please wait one minute."

Very soon, the campaign settlement screen appeared before Victor:

Victor Legion Battle Report

Commander: Victor

Troop Status

Cavalry Committed: 147

Killed in Action: 6

Severely Wounded (Unable to Return to the Army): 8

Lightly Wounded (Under Control, Can Return to the Army): 21

Infantry Committed:

Lightly Wounded: 11

Enemy Details:

Enemy Unarmored Cavalry: 413

Defeated: 413

Killed: 276

Captured: 137

Glorious Victory!

Victor nodded in satisfaction, but he still requested further improvements to the UI, reminding Number 1 not to become complacent and to keep working hard. ... Just after eleven in the morning, Victor led the Cavalry to a small hill near Wood Fort. Sitting atop his horse, Victor surveyed the land before him.

This stronghold had indeed been chosen well. It stood on relatively higher ground amid the surrounding grasslands, with two small rivers winding around it. The rivers were narrow enough to accommodate only small boats such as fishing vessels, making them unsuitable for navigation unless they were widened and repaired.

From afar, the ruined wooden fort stood in the middle of the land. From its watchtower, combined with the terrain, there would be a height difference of more than twenty meters from the distant ground, allowing them to directly observe the grasslands ten kilometers away.

Victor decided to use this place as the construction center of his territory. Later, he would redesign it and widen the small rivers enough to accommodate some smaller inland merchant ships. There was no need to worry about the water supply; they were all tributaries of the Great Fish River.

By digging two artificial canals through the land surrounding Wood Fort, between the two small rivers, they could enclose an area of ten square kilometers as the center of the territory. Dredging and clearing the waterways would allow them to serve as both moats and transport channels.

With his ideas in mind, Victor directly instructed Number 1 to add a task: create a construction plan for this land.

Once the task was confirmed, Victor stopped paying attention to the work progress of the workhorse cheat. He called Ron, James, and Jack over.

"Later, take turns leading men to clear out the surrounding area. For ordinary herders, drive them away whenever possible. Do not kill or injure them. But if they are soldiers of the Green Grass Tribe, make sure none of them escape north."

"Today's order will be Jack's squad, James's squad, then Ron's squad. We have already won. Do not act recklessly, and make sure there are no casualties."

After they confirmed their orders, they each went back to make arrangements. Jack quickly led his men out, while Victor remained on the hill with Michael, continuing to observe.

The troops were advancing toward the Barbarian camps around Wood Fort. Their numbers were not large, but their orderly formation gave off an overwhelming sense of pressure. Chaos had already erupted within the Barbarian camps. From time to time, people rushed out, only to be driven back by the roaming Cavalry outside. Those who refused to obey were directly pursued and cut down.

It was now two in the afternoon. Before one o'clock, the infantry had arrived at the battlefield. They then spent an hour resting, eating, and arranging their weapons and equipment.

At exactly two, Victor gave the order to begin the attack. All the Cavalry had been spread out, and no one was to be given a chance to escape. Infantry were more useful for attacking the camp.

Although this Barbarian camp was extremely shabby, with barely any fences and virtually no defensive capability, the Cavalry could have taken it with a single charge. But Victor intended to turn these Barbarians into his own herding slaves in the future, so they needed to be left with a deep enough impression to be properly managed.

Therefore, Victor had the infantry fully equipped and attack in square formation. From the camp's perspective, they looked overwhelmingly intimidating.

After that, everything went smoothly. There was no battle at all. Once the infantry reached the camp, all the herders knelt and surrendered amid shouts.

By evening, the support troops arrived. Victor's army rested on the spot. They would make do for the night, then repair the camp tomorrow.

Captain Jack also arrived with his men. About eleven kilometers to the northwest, he had found a location suitable for building an inland river dock. The current there was gentle, making it suitable for crossing as well. Beside it was the fork of the small river flowing past Wood Fort.

After asking for more details, Victor decided to build an inland river dock there. The river-widening project would also focus on this small river. Since it lay west of Wood Fort, Victor simply named it the Little West River. By the same logic, the other one would be called the Little East River.

Once the inland river dock was completed, large ships could unload there and transfer their cargo to smaller boats, which could then travel along the widened Little West River to Wood Fort Town. Victor was not good at naming things, so he simply named this future center of the territory Wood Fort Town.