Sextus County Lure Plan

Three hours later, Alex received intelligence from his informant in Sextus City.

Viscount Hawke was also waiting in the room. The intelligence had arrived just in time. Viscount Hawke was about to go to dinner, but since the intelligence had come, he decided to wait until he had read it before leaving.

"This Third Regiment is just an ordinary regiment of three battalions. Including the two companies directly under the regiment and the civilian laborers, it has less than 4,000 men in total. Apart from a reconnaissance Light Cavalry squad, it is all infantry."

Alex read the entire intelligence report aloud.

"Alright, we're really lucky, young master Alex. Shall we pull off another one?"

Seeing how weak the enemy was, Viscount Hawke was eager to try his luck.

Holding the intelligence in his hand, Alex thought for a moment before answering.

"The enemy only has 7,000 troops in total, which is not much different from our forces. However, they control the Sextus City. If we want to take them down, our casualties will be considerable. There's no need for that."

"So what's our next plan? Just staying in White Earth City, even though it's in a strategic location, can only accommodate two battalions. Our main force is outside the city. It would be such a waste to just leave like this."

Alex smiled at Viscount Hawke. "We won't retreat, and we won't attack Sextus City either. I think the Third Regiment on the other side will definitely not want to start a war with us after seeing the heavy losses their comrades have suffered."

"Then you can suggest a plan, and I'll follow it."

"I'll take my troops to raid a few farms near Sextus City. I'll wave my flag and lure them in. You'll follow me 20 kilometers behind."

"If they send troops to attack me, I will hold my ground and wait for reinforcements. You can then flank them and launch a fierce attack."

"Hiss... Young Master Alex, let me handle the decoy. Besides, our troops are too close together; they're easy to spot!"

"It's no use if you go. If the target is you, they won't risk attacking. In fact, even if it were me, if the new commander of the regiment were more cautious, he probably wouldn't leave the county seat to attack."

Besides, our Cavalry is large in scale; deploying a Light Cavalry battalion would be enough to cover the battlefield.

As for the distance between our two units, we can make it as far as 30 kilometers, since we'll all be riding horses anyway.

The reason Alex chose to go to war with Viscount Hawke this time was because Viscount Hawke had previously fought alongside Victor in a major battle and was deeply impressed by Victor's mule-mounted infantry.

After that, Viscount Hawke specifically converted a four-battalion regiment to mules, greatly improving its mobility compared to a regular Infantry Regiment.

Alex's Iron Birch Territory regiment was also entirely composed of Cavalry, comprising five large battalions of Light Cavalry, all elite troops capable of both mounted and foot combat.

This attack on Sextus County began with an attack on White Earth City. After capturing White Earth City with the help of an inside agent, the entire army penetrated deep into Sextus County and used its mobility to flank the Fifth Legion troops that were heading north to support White Earth City, completely stunning them.

However, the Fifth Legion was a veteran unit after all, so it assigned a portion of its forces to cover the rear while the rest of the troops retreated directly.

Alex and Viscount Hawke's forces were outnumbered, so they simply wiped out the rearguard.

Afterwards, the Fifth Legion troops that retreated to Sextus City sent messengers to Silver Maple City and then immediately closed the city gates and held their ground inside. Alex also noticed that Sextus City's defenses were very strong, so he simply abandoned his plan to attack the city. In any case, the purpose of this operation was to take the salient around White Earth City to coordinate with Victor.

Alex originally planned to retreat with the Iron Birch Territory troops after the Duchy sent reinforcements, leaving Viscount Hawke to garrison White Earth City. It just so happened that it bordered Viscount Hawke's Pumpkin Territory, making it convenient for Viscount Hawke to defend.

However, to his surprise, Silver Maple City only sent one detachment to provide support, which seemed a bit too overconfident. Alex then considered taking the initiative to attack.

"In that case, Young Master Alex, I will lead my troops to follow you 20 kilometers behind. You will take over the battlefield cover. We will then advance to a position 15 kilometers from Sextus City."

If the garrison of Sextus City comes out of the city to attack, we will take action. If they don't come out, we should retreat. We shouldn't stay in Sextus County for too long, in case the Duchy sends reinforcements.

"I'm fine here, but you can't get hurt. If you're injured, I won't be able to explain it to Lord Fang."

"Alright, let's do it that way. Thank you for your hard work, Viscount Hawke."

"What's the big deal? This time, I not only captured a fortress, but also expanded my territory by more than 300 square kilometers. I'm the one who benefited."

"This is nothing. My father told me that although we raised an army for justice and to protest against the unfair treatment of us Northern Frontier nobles by Grand Duke Silver Maple, we must not let us Northern Frontier nobles pay for nothing. We will get what is rightfully ours, whether it is territory or titles. My father will never let you down. Our Iron Birch Family will never enjoy this glory alone!"

"With your words, I, Hawk Pumpkin, will lead the 150,000 people of Pumpkin Territory to follow the Iron Birch Family to the death."

"Very well, I believe Viscount Hawke will not back down."

In that case, order the troops to rest early tonight, and prepare hot soup and food for everyone first thing tomorrow morning. They should set off before 5 a. m.

"Understood, I'll arrange it right away."

Early on the morning of the 8th, smoke rose from the camp under the White Earth City of Pumpkin Territory. The horses were led out of the camp for a short warm-up, as it was already late autumn and the temperature at night was not high.

Horses are very precious animals. If they get cold at night and you ride them without warming them up, it's easy for problems to occur.

Alex was urging his soldiers to eat quickly after their meal and then get their horses ready to warm up.

Viscount Hawke approached, "Young Master, preparations are almost complete, and we can depart at any time."

Alex checked the time and nodded. "No problem, our troops will set off now, but it would be best if they walked and led their horses for five kilometers to warm up before mounting."

"OK."

All troops began to leave the camp in an orderly manner and head south.

At the eastern fortress of the Golden Sunflower Territory, Victor had also assembled his troops, and he looked at Ron beside him.

"It's getting late. I'll set off now. I estimate I should be able to enter the heart of Red Ginseng Territory before nine o'clock this morning. At that time, Freyzer will definitely make a move."

You can depart from Linshui Town Wharf after 8:00 AM. It should take about an hour to reach Red Ginseng Territory. First, arrange your reconnaissance troops. Once the garrison of Red Ginseng Territory Castle leaves the city, attack the Red Ginseng Territory dock directly. After capturing it, immediately send out the signal fire as agreed.

"Don't worry, Victor, leave this to me. I'll make sure the dock isn't damaged."

Victor nodded. "Then I'll see Red Ginseng Territory."

"Red Ginseng Territory pay my respects!"

Victor turned to face the troops, "Let's go!"

The troops marched forward in a long, winding path, shrouded in the morning mist, like a giant black serpent, crossing the border between the two territories.