Duchy Reinforcements Arrive

A troop of Cavalry galloped back into White Earth City. Viscount Hawke frowned as he looked at them. He had clearly instructed the Cavalry to only go out for reconnaissance and not to engage the enemy, so why did they look so disheveled?

The Cavalry looked panicked, their horses and armor covered in blood, many of them missing their weapons, and several wounded soldiers were being helped off their horses by their comrades.

Hawk found the captain of the Cavalry.

"What happened? Didn't I tell you to just go and scout? How did you end up fighting, and in such a sorry state?"

Upon seeing his lord, the Cavalry captain immediately knelt on one knee, bowed deeply to Hawk, and said in a flustered tone, "Your Excellency, we originally went to scout the perimeter of their camp as planned, but just like the previous times, they didn't send anyone to drive us away. So we thought we'd get a closer look."

Suddenly, a Cavalry force appeared from the west. Not only were they numerous, but they were also highly elite. Although their numbers were roughly equal to ours, after two rounds of combat, we were down to half our men. I had no choice but to retreat!

Viscount Hawke frowned as he looked at his men. He guessed that their defeat was due to their carelessness, underestimating the Fifth Legion's Cavalry and getting too close to the enemy camp.

"How much was lost?"

The Cavalry officer lowered his head even further. "The rest of our squad is here, sir."

Hawk looked up and, sure enough, no more Cavalry came back from behind the city gate. The remaining soldiers, numbering less than forty, were the entire Cavalry.

Viscount Hawke gritted his teeth and said fiercely, "Are you saying that my Cavalry of over 100 men is reduced to this few? How do you expect me to deal with you?"

The Cavalry officer immediately knelt down and lay prostrate on the ground. "Sir, I was really cautious, and this Cavalry unit is not Cavalry the Fifth Legion; they are newcomers."

Hawk was somewhat surprised at this point. "How is that possible? According to the intelligence I received, the other two legions sent by the Duchy to reinforce us haven't even arrived in Sextus County yet!"

The officer quickly stood up, took something wrapped in rags from his horse's saddlebag, and handed it to Hawk with both hands.

"Sir, we stole these from those Cavalry."

Hawk took the rag and examined it closely before realizing that it wasn't a rag at all, but a military flag, though it had probably been treated roughly, as it was covered in mud and blood.

Hawk unfolded the flag and saw that it was a blue square flag with a silver maple leaf pattern in the center and three red ribbons hanging below.

Hawk hesitated. Although he knew it was the flag of the Duchy's Direct Legion, he did not know which legion it belonged to.

At this moment, an officer behind him stepped forward. He was short and was completely hidden by the bulky Hawk. He whispered to Hawk, "Sir, this is the flag of the Seventh Legion. They always use a red and blue color scheme."

"Oh, isn't that the flag of the Seventh Legion? That's why it looked so familiar."

Hawk quickly spoke loudly to cover up his earlier embarrassment.

The Cavalry captain, perhaps unaware or pretending not to notice, loudly praised, "As expected of the Viscount, you are indeed very knowledgeable. We don't recognize this flag at all, we only know that it is different from the yellow and blue flag of the Fifth Legion."

Hawk was delighted to hear this, so he stepped forward and patted the Cavalry captain on the shoulder. "So it seems that this time it was not a fault of your own, but rather the enemy's sudden reinforcements. There was nothing you could do about it. Oh well."

"Take your men and retreat to rest. Tell the quartermaster there will be plenty of food and drink."

"Thank you, sir."

When the Cavalry captain heard Hawk say this, he knew he had passed the test, and tears streamed down his face with excitement.

Hawk led the officer away, and once they were a distance away, he asked the officer, "Ricardo, did I do anything right?"

After all, this Cavalry has just suffered heavy losses; it would be better to let them rest and recuperate!

At this point, the officer revealed his true appearance. He didn't look very old, but he had a mature face. He had a mustache and short brown hair that he had taken great care of, making him look very neat.

"Your Excellency, there is nothing wrong with your arrangements, but the captain of this Cavalry certainly did not tell the whole story!"

"You're lying to me, how despicable! I even kindly let him go and forgave him."

Ricardo shook his head. "No, he probably didn't lie to you. They were indeed ambushed by the Cavalry reinforcements from the Seventh Legion."

However, he did not follow military orders and must have led his troops closer to the enemy camp.

The enemy camp is surrounded by an endless plain. If their scouting positions are far from the camp, they will definitely be able to spot the approaching enemy cavalry in time.

Since they were able to be ambushed, it must be because they were too close to the enemy camp, and their view was blocked by the enemy camp.

Hawk quickly understood Ricardo's meaning. "Should I arrest that guy? After all, he didn't follow orders."

"Don't do that. After all, you've already promised to let them go. If you suddenly punish them, it could easily cause unrest among the troops."

Moreover, the enemy's reinforcements arrived unexpectedly ahead of schedule, and they will definitely take action against us afterward, greatly enhancing the enemy's troop strength.

At this point, we must boost morale. I suggest you further reward these Cavalry and publicize that they encountered many enemies but still managed to defeat them despite being outnumbered, killing countless enemies and capturing their flags.

They encouraged other soldiers to be as courageous as they were in fighting the enemy.