Vanguard Fleet (with Map)

After the Fifth Regiment led by Gaba joined forces with Wen Du's troops, the entire force suddenly expanded considerably, increasing by a third from its original nearly 10,000 men, making the army even more formidable.

Wen Yu watched the troops marching along the Green Water River from a small hill beside the river, and his frustration over the division of military power lessened somewhat.

At this moment, Gaba also climbed the hill and walked to the temperature.

"Legion Deputy Commander, the march is too slow. According to Legion Commander Turas's orders, we must reach the crossing point in the middle of the Green Water River in three days to block Count Lloyd's main force from returning to reinforce."

Wen Du was furious after hearing this. He thought to himself, "I haven't been delayed at all. The troops have been moving forward all the time. You're still finding fault with me. This is going too far."

He said in a sarcastic tone, "I wonder what brilliant ideas you have, Regimental Commander Gaba? If there's anything that can improve marching speed, why not teach me!"

Unexpectedly, Gaba didn't care about the temperature difference at all, and instead said directly, "I do have a way to speed up the march, but I need the help of the Legion Deputy Commander."

Wen Du was speechless at Gaba's words, but since Gaba said he had a solution, he decided to listen. If it didn't make sense, he would definitely let Gaba lead his troops to be the vanguard in battle.

Gaba pointed directly at the river, "Lord Wendu, you see, back then, in order to speed up the army's southward march, Lord Turas provided the army with many boats to transport grain and supplies using the Green Forest River."

We can easily detach a portion of our troops and use these ships to sail downstream, reaching our destination as quickly as possible and cutting off the enemy's retreat.

Wen Du was stunned after hearing this. Although he wanted Gaba to make some outrageous suggestions to trip him up, he did not expect Gaba to make such an outrageous suggestion.

Wen Du looked at Gaba as if he were an idiot. "Are you crazy? Using a ship meant for transporting supplies to transport troops? What will happen to the troops' supplies? Are the soldiers supposed to carry them by hand and on their shoulders?"

You don't really think you can stop Count Lloyd's army with just a few thousand men, do you?

Gaba shook his head. "That's not how it is."

He took out a map, spread it out on the ground, and called Wen Du over to look at it together.

"Lord Temperature, look, we are currently located upstream of the Green Forest River. This river flows southeast, passing through this Green Forest."

Before reaching the pontoon bridge at our destination, we will pass through many towns along the way, and we can also search for vehicles and boats in these places as we march.

I believe we can gather enough wagons and boats to transport supplies and provisions.

Wen Du patted his head and said, "What you said makes some sense, but is it appropriate for Legion Commander Turas to order us to speed up our march and waste time in these places?"

Furthermore, distant water cannot quench immediate thirst; even if the fleet sets off first, I still have nothing to transport supplies!

"Lord Wen, you can rest assured. Before I joined you, I had already captured three towns and collected quite a few vehicles and livestock, which should be enough for an emergency."

"Yes, they've also captured quite a few slaves; they can help the army!"

Temperature was surprised after hearing this. He knew that these towns were inhabited by Freemen from the Ironvine Territory. Under normal circumstances, during territorial wars, these Freemen could be plundered, but in most cases, they would not be killed, much less captured and enslaved.

After all, Freemen were already the foundation of noble territories, and artisans, small merchants, and soldiers were mainly Freemen.

Seeing Wen Du's confusion, Gaba said, "This is Lord Turas's order to take action against these towns and Freemen. Since they do not oppose Lloyd's betrayal of the Duchy, they are considered Lloyd's accomplices, and there is no need to be polite to them."

After listening to Gaba's words, Wendu asked hesitantly, "Won't this cause problems afterward? The Noble Council might get involved, and the Duchy's laws also prohibit the needless killing of Freemen!"

"Legion Commander Turas said that this expedition has been approved by His Majesty the Grand Duke. We can proceed as we see fit. As long as we can achieve victory, none of these issues will be a problem."

Gaba stared intently at the temperature. After slaughtering three towns, he had crossed the line and naturally hoped that more people would become his accomplices.

In reality, Turas only ordered Gaba to attack these three towns and drive out the residents in order to affect the morale of the army inside Ironwire City.

However, problems arose during the execution of the Gaba. When the soldiers were plundering the first town, they clashed violently with the local residents and used weapons. After seeing blood, the situation became uncontrollable.

The Fifth Regiment under Gaba had completely transformed into beasts, committing all sorts of atrocities, including burning, killing, looting, and pillaging. Of the tens of thousands of residents in the three towns combined, fewer than two thousand were captured in the end. Apart from those who escaped, most of them died at the hands of the Fifth Regiment.

Gaba also knew that his army was no longer of any use, stained with too much blood, and could no longer obey orders.

He now only wanted to atone for his sins, so he suggested to Wen Du that he lead his troops to the ferry first to intercept the Ironvine Territory's army and, incidentally, find a way to wear down his wolves.

At this moment, Wen Du felt a chill run down his spine under Gaba's gaze. He chuckled awkwardly and said, "Brother Gaba, since you put it that way, why don't you take over the Vanguard Army? I'll just use your vehicles and livestock to proceed slowly."

Once I've collected enough vehicles and boats from the villages and towns along the way, I'll catch up as soon as possible.

Gaba patted Temperature on the shoulder. "That's right, Lord Temperature. Don't worry, I'll help you clear out the villages and towns along the way first, and you can collect them slowly afterwards."

Afterwards, I will report the credit primarily on your behalf; Lord Turas will certainly not be stingy with it.