Retake the Crossing
When Gaba saw the Cavalry returning, he knew that the situation was hopeless and the battle was lost. In the end, he was unable to stop Count Lloyd's main force.
"Damn it, where did this Cavalry unit come from?"
At this moment, Dirac ran straight to Gaba's side. "Regimental Commander Gaba, come with me! If we don't leave now, we won't be able to leave once they defeat the infantry on the riverbank!"
"No, I can't leave. I haven't completed the mission assigned by Legion Commander Turas. Let's hold on a little longer. Wendu's troops might arrive soon. When we attack from both sides, we're sure to achieve a great victory!"
At this point, Gaba was somewhat deranged. He had exhausted himself for this battle, even using his own men as expendable resources, but he had failed to achieve the desired result, which he could not accept at all.
Dirac then displayed the decisiveness of a Cavalry officer, grabbing Gaba and gently lifting Gaba onto the horse's back.
Gaba tried to struggle, but Dirac punched him hard in the head without regard for whether Gaba would be injured. After the heavy blow to the head, Gaba passed out.
Dirac said to the stunned soldiers of the Fifth Regiment, "This battle has been lost. Come with me. If we run fast enough, the enemy may not catch up."
After saying that, Dirac cracked his whip and spurred his horse toward Ironwire City.
These soldiers of the Fifth Regiment, mainly archers, were all veterans and naturally understood what the Cavalry captain meant.
They immediately threw down their bows and arrows and hurriedly chased after the fleeing Cavalry, removing their leather armor as they ran to try and travel light.
At this point, the Cavalry of the Ironvine Territory Command began to cooperate with friendly forces to launch a pincer attack on the soldiers of the Fifth Regiment on the riverbank. At this time, the soldiers of the Fifth Regiment had fallen into a state similar to a riot, and some individuals had begun to attack indiscriminately, completely disregarding that their troops were being attacked from both sides.
As a result, this Cavalry unit was unable to play a significant role in the chaotic battle. Apart from taking away some of the rear guard in the first wave of the charge, it was completely entangled by these bloodthirsty soldiers. The muddy riverbed, soaked in blood, further restricted the Cavalry unit's mobility.
When the Cavalry captain finally managed to escape the chaotic battle, he discovered that he had lost another third of his men. The original Cavalry force of six or seven hundred men was now reduced to less than 200. Looking at this miserable scene, the Cavalry captain was on the verge of tears.
At this point, the Cavalry had no time to worry about the fleeing Dirac and the soldiers of the Fifth Regiment; they had to help the troops crossing the river to open up the crossing point.
However, in order to minimize losses and because they could not charge directly into enemy lines, the Cavalry could only use the light bows they carried to "scrape" the enemy.
Fortunately, after they dealt with Dirac's Cavalry, Count Lloyd immediately dispatched a river-crossing force. This time, without the interference of the Fifth Regiment's archers, the river-crossing force landed smoothly on the flank.
The addition of this fresh force greatly relieved the pressure on our side. With ample space to form a battle formation, this infantry unit formed a square and launched an attack directly from the flank.
In a very short time, they broke through the remaining troops of the Fifth Regiment. These chaotic troops, driven by their bloodlust and savage instincts, could cause considerable trouble for the enemy in the melee.
However, this state also means that these soldiers have completely lost their sense of organization, and once they face a regular army in formation, they will be directly flattened and crushed.
After gaining sufficient space on the front lines, the Ironvine Territory troops quickly began to form small square formations and strangle the soldiers.
Even the most frenzied soldiers will calm down in the face of slaughter. When they realize they have become the harvested crops, they will stop fighting and surrender voluntarily.
The officers of the crossing force did not continue the pointless killing; they understood that Count Lloyd's orders to capture the crossing and open the way back for the main army.
These remnants of the Fifth Regiment were eventually disarmed and driven aside.
By this time, Dirac and the Fifth Regiment's fleeing troops had completely disappeared.
None of the troops that had crossed the river intended to pursue them; instead, they began repairing the facilities at the crossing point.
After Gaba occupied the ferry crossing, he sabotaged the crossing facilities in order to prevent Count Lloyd's main force from returning.
Many docks and piers have been demolished, but thankfully the main structure of the most important suspension bridge at the river crossing is still intact.
Although some of the bridge's structure was damaged by Gaba's troops, the crucial winches were not removed, and Count Lloyd's army happened to have craftsmen who could repair the bridge.
Count Lloyd personally led the craftsmen across the river to begin repairs on the drawbridge.
Although ships and rafts could also transport troops, Count Lloyd's army had a large amount of supplies, and it would take too much time to transport them all by ship.
Therefore, repairing the suspension bridge was Count Lloyd's only option in order to cross the river as quickly as possible.
By around 2 p. m., the suspension bridge was almost completely repaired. Although many parts were still not fully repaired, it was already open to a large number of vehicles.
While waiting for the craftsmen to repair the drawbridge, Count Lloyd's wait was not in vain. Through interrogating prisoners, he learned that the Sixth Legion had two more regiments sailing downstream on the Green Forest River.
Upon learning this news, he faced two choices: one was to immediately lead his troops back to Ironwire City to relieve the Ironwire City; the other was to wait at the river crossing and defeat another part of Wen Du's Sixth Legion.
After a brief moment of consideration, Count Lloyd made his decision: he did not intend to give up the opportunity to fight.
Although relieving the siege of Ironwire City was important, he learned from the Cavalry prisoners of the Dilas army that Ironwire City had not yet fallen and that Lenster and Kadok were still defending it.
He believed they could hold out for a few more days, so he decided to deal with Wen Tian's troops first. Then he simply split his Cavalry into two groups, one of which sent news of his return back to Ironwire City to encourage Lenster and Kadok to continue holding out.
Another route went directly upstream along the banks of the Green Forest River to find the main force of the temperature measurement team.
He led his troops to rest at the ferry for one night, after which he would leave two battalions to defend the ferry, while he would lead the remaining troops to fight against Wendu's army.
Once the temperature issue is resolved, then lead the army back to Ironwire City.
That evening, Dirac led his remaining troops and the Fifth Regiment Commander Gaba, back to the Turas tribe's camp.
Another remnant of the Fifth Regiment followed behind.
Turas was shocked to learn of the fall of the crossing from Dirac. After carefully inquiring about the details of the battlefield, he fell silent.
He believed that Gaba had done a good job, arriving at the crossing first and with a well-thought-out battle plan. Failure was normal, given the vast disparity in strength between the two sides.
What angered him most was that Wendu's troops failed to arrive in time to support Gaba.
Looking at Gaba kneeling on the ground, looking dejected and utterly disheveled, Turas said to him, "Get up, Gaba. This is not your fault. You have done very well. This defeat was not due to a lack of fighting spirit. It can only be said that I underestimated Wen Du's incompetence."
It seems my gamble has ultimately failed. Although I reached the walls of Ironwire City, I had no chance of breaching it.
"Legion Commander, it's all my fault, I'm incompetent!"
Turas patted Gaba on the shoulder, then turned to the others and said, "The enemy has recaptured the river crossing. We don't have much time left. All troops, pack your gear and prepare to withdraw."