Execute the Military Order

Although some officers still didn't quite understand why Count Lloyd was in such a hurry to retreat, when there were still many spoils of war that hadn't been returned to the territory, they all fulfilled their duties and went back to gather the troops and pack their belongings.

Count Lloyd looked at the bustling camp and slowly breathed a sigh of relief. He muttered to himself, "Hopefully, it's not too late."

Two hours later, it was already dark, but the entire camp was brightly lit. Most of the marching tents in the camp had been packed up, and vehicles carrying equipment and supplies had begun to slowly drive out of the territory.

Count Lloyd, mounted on his horse, watched the marching troops by the light of the torches held aloft by his guards.

At this moment, a Battalion Commander- level officer rode over on horseback. "Count lord, what should we do with the remaining supplies in the camp? There are still a lot of collected grain and supplies."

Count Lloyd pondered for a moment and replied directly, "Burn it all, to light our way back, and the Tyre City too. Your brigade is responsible for setting it on fire, and as for the residents of Tyre City..."

"Alright, spare their lives. Remember to shout before you light the fire; whether they live or die is up to fate!"

The officer was about to return and instruct the troops to burn the remaining supplies in the camp when he heard Count Lloyd's order and froze on the spot.

Count Lloyd roared, "Don't you understand? Go and do it!"

"Yes!"

The officer stumbled and mounted his horse, then rode back to his territory.

At this moment, Count Lloyd's Captain of the Guard, Lepond, stepped forward and said, "Count Excellency, before we breached the city, we promised these residents that we would let them go as long as they did not resist. Isn't it a bit like we're going back on our word now?"

Count Lloyd turned to look at him, his face expressionless, which made Lepond uncomfortable!

"My lord, I'm not..."

Just as Lepond was about to defend himself, Count Lloyd sighed deeply, looking utterly exhausted.

"I didn't want this either. The territory has been attacked by the enemy, and they have already taken advantage of the weak border to tear through the Northern Defense Line of the territory. I have no way of knowing the Duchy Military Headquarters's battle plan."

What if our previous successful offensive was a deliberate act by them to lure us into extending our battle lines?

Perhaps the main force of the Fourth Legion is closer than we think, so I had no choice but to resort to this tactic. Even if they catch up to Tyre City, these actions will buy us some time.

When Lepond heard the Count's insightful analysis, he felt ashamed of his own shortsightedness. He sincerely apologized to the Count, "My lord, I'm sorry. I was too shallow to question you."

He turned to look at Tyre City, "These residents of Tyre City can only blame their bad luck for living here."

The two stopped talking and simply gazed at the distant camp and city walls.

Soon, small fires appeared in the camp, quickly spreading and illuminating half the night sky, creating a scene that was both beautiful and cruel.

The marching troops noticed the firelight behind them, and all the soldiers were drawn to it, slowing their marching pace. Fortunately, the officers were competent and began to urge the soldiers to speed up.

And so the main force, following the firelight, quickly headed north, with Count Lloyd also following the troops northward with his guards.

When they were two or three kilometers away from the camp, they could still see the thick smoke rising from the fire when they looked back.

As they passed a small hill, Count Lloyd suddenly stopped his horse on the hill.

He looked toward the Tyre City and saw that the fire seemed to have spread a bit, and he could faintly hear mournful howls in the air.

He took a deep breath, as if hoping to use the winter air to clear his head, but the icy air made him cough violently, even when he covered his mouth with his right hand.

Captain of the Guard Lepond was somewhat worried and wanted to help him up, but Count Lloyd simply raised his hand to refuse.

After waiting for a while, the Count finally stopped coughing, but Count was still covering his mouth and nose with his right hand. Lepond seemed to vaguely see a glistening tear under the Count's eyes.

The Count pulled a handkerchief from his satchel with his left hand, wiped his face, and looked up at Lepond, saying, "Let's continue. I choked just now!"

Seeing Count Lloyd's face turn completely red in the firelight, Lepond had no words to say, only nodding in agreement.

Count Lloyd then rode on to catch up with the procession, with all his guards following closely behind.

The Count's behavior just now made Le Lepond realize that the Count did not want to do this either, which made him feel even more guilty.

The Count has always been a very kind person. Even during the most critical moment of the attack on Tyre City, he never thought of using the incendiary bombs purchased from the Two Rivers Territory. Yet now he has given such an order.

Lepond made up his mind that he had to protect the Count.

Unfortunately, neither of them knew that the Fourth Legion they were worried about was still far away and posed no threat to them at all, while the residents of Tyre City suffered an undeserved disaster.

Soon a troop of Cavalry caught up from behind, led by the very Battalion Commander who had been ordered to set the fire.

The next day.

Viscount Ferry received the order from Count Lloyd, took out the map, and immediately understood the Count's concerns.

He went directly to Baron Nio and handed him the Count's orders.

"Nio, take your troops and return to Raspberry Territory immediately. I will transfer all my horses to you to help you get back as soon as possible."

When you get back, go directly to Baron Cohen and have him send Sir Koli to guard the territory. He will bring his troops back to Ironvine Territory with you, understand?

Baron Nio looked at Viscount Ferry. Although he understood why his old partner was so anxious, he trusted Viscount Ferry's battlefield instincts.

Without wasting much time, the two battalions of Glimmer Orchid left the camp, and all the horses of Viscount Ferry's Eastern Route Army were handed over to Baron Nio's troops.

After Baron Nio left, Viscount Ferry discarded a large amount of baggage, keeping only weapons and enough rations for three days' march before starting his return journey.

On the other side, Baroness Kailan and Baron Eamon also received orders from Count Lloyd, but neither of them were as decisive as Viscount Ferry.

On the return journey, they dawdled, unwilling to give up the spoils they had already acquired.

On the upper reaches of the Green Forest River, the Fifth Regiment led by Gaba finally met up with the Second and Fourth Regiments led by Legion Deputy Commander Wen.

"You mean Legion Commander Turas sent you to help me? Is that true?"

After listening to Gaba's story, Wen Du's gaze became somewhat hesitant.

He was previously the Legion Deputy Commander of the Sixth Legion, while Turas was only the former Legion Deputy Commander of the Seventh Legion.

However, after Mora became Grand Duke, he sent the former Sixth Legion to take over the troops of the First Legion.

Temperature had thought he would take over as Legion Commander, but Turas was parachuted into the Sixth Legion Commander Mora, leaving him disappointed.

From then on, Wen Du openly and secretly opposed Turas, but Turas was shrewd and managed to win over the first, second and Fifth Regiment in just one year.

Having gained absolute dominance within the Fourth Legion, Wen had no further chance to contend with Turas, except for the two regiments originally under Wen's direct control.

Originally, Wen Du wanted to report Turas's secret actions to the War Department, but Turas produced the Grand Duke's edict.

Temperature could only hold his nose and carry out Turas's orders. Even if he wanted to slack off, only the Fourth Regiment under his command obeyed his orders; the Second Regiment was completely uncontrollable.

Now that Gaba's Fifth Regiment has arrived, Turas's forces have gained a complete advantage over his troops, completely eliminating any thought of him disregarding orders.