The Rat's Tail

Large quantities of supplies, along with wagons, were abandoned on both sides of the road. The horses pulling the wagons were untied, and the soldiers secured the necessary supplies to their backs.

A young officer looked on with regret as he watched all this. He found the burly Regimental Commander who was standing by the roadside directing the operation and asked, "Sir, it's such a waste to just leave these supplies here like this!"

"If that doesn't work, our regiment can leave behind a squad."

The Regimental Commander looked at the young officer and said, "A small squad can't possibly guard so many supplies, and besides, our main force isn't too far away from us."

After we leave, they'll collect these supplies when they pass by, so it's not a waste.

The young officer was still not satisfied with the answer. "Regimental Commander, why not leave two squads? These supplies have been sitting here for two days. Who knows what will happen to them? These are supplies that have been accumulated in the territory. You should reconsider!"

The burly Regimental Commander suddenly roared, "Execute the order!"

The sound was so loud that everyone around was startled. The young officer was also stunned by the shout, and then he returned to his unit dejectedly to direct the sorting of supplies.

At that moment, another tall, thin Regimental Commander rode up on horseback. He nodded slightly, pointed at the young officer, and said to the burly Regimental Commander, "Your son?"

The burly Regimental Commander: "My nephew, he wanted to change his fate by joining the army, and he's doing quite well."

But this time it's a real fight with the duchy, so I transferred him to my command, thinking I could take care of him. But the kid just can't seem to get over it.

But this kid is definitely a formidable fellow. His horsemanship and archery skills are among the best in my men; I'm not showing him any favoritism.

The tall, thin Regimental Commander patted the burly Regimental Commander on the shoulder. "Brother, take your time. Your nephew will understand your good intentions."

How are your troops doing?

"My troops have already prepared the horses and supplies. I came to check on your situation, since Viscount Alex only gave us three hours."

"I'll be there soon too. I understand the Viscount's eagerness."

After all, both the strategic location of White Earth City and the majority of the Fifth Legion led by Viscount Hawke are extremely important to the current Northern Alliance Army.

We cannot afford such losses at this stage; if the news gets out, it will certainly shake the morale of the entire Allied Army.

The tall, thin Regimental Commander listened with a look of agreement.

Later that day, the three Regimental Commander found Alex together.

"Your Excellency, our troops are ready and can depart at any time."

Alex opened his pocket watch. "Very good, you only took two hours. Thank you for supporting my decision."

Fifteen minutes later, the entire army will set off. Please tell your soldiers that our comrades are in danger and we must go to their rescue as quickly as possible.

Don't be afraid if you fall behind; just follow the army's marching tracks.

"Yes!" x3

Soon, Alex's massive Cavalry force was ready. With Alex's command, messengers and standard-bearers relayed the order, and the entire force surged forward like a black torrent.

Inside the White Earth City Lord's Mansion, Hawk went berserk again in the conference room, throwing things everywhere.

Perhaps because they had seen too much of this in the past two days, the five Noble Army had no way to deal with it and could only quietly wait for Hawk's madness to pass.

"Damn it! Why haven't the reinforcements arrived yet?"

My plea for help was sent four or five days ago, and I haven't even received a reply!

Ricardo, standing nearby, advised, "My lord, the enemy has us firmly surrounded inside the city, and with enemy cavalry constantly patrolling around it, even if there were a reply, it wouldn't reach inside the city."

"Where are those two messengers from the Duchy Legion? Do they think they've got me cornered?"

The bodies lying beneath the city wall, it's unclear whose they were.

"You bastards! You're all scoundrels!"

Hawk continued his madness, and Ricardo gave up after a few attempts. He then approached the five Noble Army.

"My lords, as you have seen, the Viscount has been under a lot of pressure lately. Let's end today's meeting early and go back to rest."

The five said goodbye to Ricardo and left the city lord's mansion.

After Ricardo saw them off, he returned to the conference room, but he was stunned by what he saw inside.

By this time, Viscount Hawke had already stopped and was eating a large piece of bread, which was indeed quite large, weighing about six or seven kilograms.

"I don't know why, but lately I get hungry really fast!"

"My strength seems to have increased too, Ricardo, why do you think that is?"

"My lord, it may be the blessing of our ancestors, but you are indeed in good health now, so you don't need to worry about these things for now."

I feel the time is almost up; the mouse should show its tail now!

Hawk tore off a large bite of bread and swallowed it whole, then gulped down a large glass of water.

"You mean the mole finally couldn't hold back anymore?"

Ricardo nodded. "It's all thanks to your acting every day, sir. I think the rats really think you're under a lot of pressure and are thinking of surrendering."

In addition, we defended very well. Although the enemy attacked the city walls several times, we repelled them each time. I think they should come up with another plan.

If nothing unexpected happens, an envoy to persuade them to surrender will appear soon.

"In that case, I'll just wait."

"That's right, sir. When the envoy arrives, he will be able to help us determine who is at fault."

Hawk nodded knowingly, then continued to ask.

"Ricardo, what are our unit's losses today?"

Ricardo understood that Hawk was asking about the losses of his private army, specifically the damage to the north and south walls.

It's better than the previous two days. On the one hand, our soldiers have adapted to the rhythm of their attack; on the other hand, the frequency and strength of the enemy's attacks have also decreased.

Today we have suffered 541 casualties, and including those from the previous days, we have suffered a total of more than 3,700 casualties.

Fortunately, with the Medical Department built by the Golden Sunflower Territory, many wounded soldiers, both lightly and seriously injured, received effective treatment. At least 2,000 lightly wounded soldiers were able to return to their units after recovery.

With these experienced veterans and the addition of new recruits, the strength of our territory's army will surely reach a new level.

Ricardo was very encouraged. Although he had lost a lot of men, he had persevered. After going through such hardships, the private army of Pumpkin Territory would definitely become stronger.

"How are the other items faring in both directions?"

"The intensity was clearly not as high as the two directions we were responsible for, but the casualties were still considerable, reaching 20%."

"Twenty percent? That's only half of ours. So, if we exclude the wounded, the ratio of our forces to these nobles has changed from 3:2 to 4:3!"

Hawk's mockery grew even more pronounced.

Ricardo nodded. "The enemy is doing this consciously, possibly out of a desire to divide and conquer."

Once our forces are roughly equal to those of the five noble families, the enemy will definitely make their next move.

For example, if that mole strikes again, we'll definitely be caught off guard.

Hawk chuckled dismissively, "But they probably can't wait any longer, can they?"

Ricardo chimed in, "Exactly!"

"Ricardo, you take our independent infantry battalion to reinforce the north, and have the Cavalry dismount and reinforce the south. I'll leave two squads with me. I want to see what this mole plans to do."