Marching

The next morning at 7 AM, the entire temporary camp began to bustle. After breakfast, all troops successively completed their departure preparations in an orderly fashion. Morale was high, and everyone was looking forward to the day's battle. The veterans remained calm, while the new recruits were visibly excited.

Following the brief operational meeting Victor had convened the previous night, he had instructed each company to inform every soldier about the battle plan and enemy intelligence. This measure boosted the soldiers' morale. Coupled with the earlier victory celebration, every soldier in the Two Rivers Territory was now eager to earn merits.

According to the plan, Victor first dispatched a company to rendezvous with Jack's reconnaissance unit and escort him back. The remaining forces would advance slowly, leaving only one company to guard the prisoners. They were to await the rear-guard unit led by Santos. After completing the handover with Santos, they would depart and rejoin the main force.

Victor led the troops forward slowly. The various detachments had already begun dispatching orderlies and standard bearers. Groups were positioned every 5 kilometers on high ground, ready to relay messages to the next group using flag language. This established a rapid information transmission channel, ensuring Victor and the main force could promptly receive any information Jack sent back.

According to the planned march, they were expected to reach the Horseshoe Tribe's main encampment by that afternoon. Intelligence gathered from the Horseshoe Tribe's outpost the previous day indicated their inherent hostility, meaning there was no need for excessive politeness. Victor intended to draw first blood today. These Barbarians respected power over benevolence; they wouldn't behave themselves if they weren't shown the strength of the Two Rivers Territory. This would also serve to sever John's reach. Victor had no intention of reconciling with John. Having already decided his allegiance, there was no need to continue feigning cooperation with him.

Victor also informed Jack that if the Horseshoe Tribe sent anyone to pursue him and his men, he had permission to counterattack without restraint. He was not to fear bloodshed. If the enemy force was too strong, Jack was to retreat immediately and avoid a direct confrontation, waiting for the main force to arrive.

Victor, situated amidst the vast and mighty army, felt an unusual sense of ease and joy. In his past life, he had heard tales of armies—once a cavalry force numbered in the tens of thousands, they seemed boundless; when the numbers reached a hundred thousand, they stretched to the heavens and touched the earth, a truly magnificent sight! Yet today, though his own force was less than a thousand strong, combined with the immense number of warhorses, their presence was still breathtakingly imposing.

Looking out, he saw powerful warhorses neighing proudly, their hooves echoing to the heavens, as if the very earth trembled. These warhorses were agile and majestic. Ox carts and horse-drawn carts moved in an orderly fashion under the soldiers' command.

The entire formation advanced slowly, kicking up clouds of dust. Sunlight bathed everyone, casting golden rays. A surge of heroic emotion welled up in Victor's heart.

Victor's personal guards followed behind him in two rows. Although they knew Victor didn't require their protection, these guards stood tall and proud, their spirits high. In such an army, who wouldn't be inspired?

As noon approached, with less than 15 kilometers remaining to their destination, James left his detachment to find Victor. Victor raised an eyebrow and asked directly, "James, you should adhere to discipline during operations. If you have something to report, you can arrange for an orderly. If the commander is absent and an unexpected situation arises, the unit could fall into chaos."

"Rest assured, Commander, half of my detachment is with Jack, and another company is assigned to guard the temporary camp. The company I'm leading consists of experienced veterans, and my second-in-command is also very experienced. It won't be a problem whether I'm here or not," James argued.

"I'm talking about battlefield discipline. As a detachment commander, you should set an example. If this happens again, I will punish you," Victor said irritably. He found it genuinely difficult to manage this friend he had known since childhood.

"I have an idea, Victor. In this battle, the enemy might not engage. I want the Iron Knights to put on their armor. Wouldn't that be more imposing? The presence of Iron Knights would also be highly intimidating to the vassal tribes of the Iron Birch Territory." The troops James had with him at the moment were his direct subordinate mail-clad cavalry platoon, and Jack's Iron Knight platoon. The other light cavalry had been dispatched.

Victor understood James's intentions all too well. Perhaps satisfying his own desire for a grand appearance was more important than intimidating the barbarian tribes. However, doing so would indeed yield unexpected results, so Victor readily agreed to James's idea.

"In that case, let's try it. Can you equip yourselves?"

"Don't worry, the Iron Knight armor is very lightweight, designed to be easier to put on than our mail. With mutual assistance, we'll finish quickly."

Although Victor had already issued 50 sets of Iron Knight armor to Jack's heavy cavalry company and had witnessed several training sessions, he had never seen the process of donning the armor. He decided to follow James with his personal guards to observe the Iron Knight armor-wearing process firsthand.

Since they were marching at a slow pace and had only a dozen kilometers left, donning the armor now wouldn't significantly impact the stamina of the soldiers and warhorses. After all, the warhorses in this world, like the Wind Howler Horses, possessed far greater stamina and endurance than horses in his previous life.

These heavy cavalrymen were equipped with three horses per rider. Besides the warhorse used for charging, another horse carried their barding and supplies, while the third carried the knight's armor and weapons.

Victor carefully observed the process of donning the Iron Knight armor. The entire suit wasn't heavy, weighing only 20 kilograms, comparable to a half-body mail shirt. The barding was heavier, around 30 kilograms, but this weight had little impact on the warhorses.

The armor was entirely black. The vambraces were directly connected to the cuirass by chains, and the joints were designed with elastic bands for convenient movement. The knight simply needed to extend their arms forward and slip into the cuirass. The backplate could be secured with buckles, and with another person's assistance, the upper body armor could be donned quickly.

The lower body armor could be directly attached to the barding via a mechanism. The knight could put it on after mounting their warhorse.

The process of arming the 50-man platoon wasn't slow. It took less than ten minutes for everyone to be fully equipped. Victor then saw a unit of fully armored Iron Knights. Men found armor irresistible, and even Victor felt a strong urge to try on the Iron Knight armor himself.

Victor left after the Iron Knight unit rejoined the marching column. The entire army was nearing their designated battlefield, and he had to return to his rightful place, ensuring all soldiers saw their lord marching with them.