Stalemate

"No, Victor's Southern Marching Legion has other missions."

Colt rejected Alex's suggestion outright. Alex couldn't understand why his father would do such a thing. Was there anything more important than defeating Grand Duke Mora's army?

Colt understood Alex's idea. He grabbed the cane on the table and pointed it directly at the map.

"The main force of the Duchy and our main force in the Northlands are now concentrated in Sextus County, with more than 300,000 people on both sides plus laborers, occupying this land of less than 200 square kilometers."

Colt drew a line between Sextus County and White Earth City, Alex immediately recognized as the current camps and battleground of both armies.

"Victor's Southern Marching Legion is quite strong, and with the addition of the Great Oak Territory's army, their numbers are considerable, enough to rival a regular legion."

But do you really think that the main force of this duchy will be easily defeated just because of this one legion?

Alex was about to say something when he suddenly realized that his father was right.

"Viscount Borey is not stupid; he is deeply impressed by the performance of our Northlands army during the Civil War."

Their camp was very well-fortified, and their troops were equipped with a large number of chariots. They had learned the tactics used by the Golden Sunflower Territory against Barbarian Cavalry to deal with us. My Iron Knights suffered heavy losses because of this tactic."

At this point, Count Colt suddenly felt a bitter taste in his mouth, as the image of the Iron Knight Regiment suffering heavy losses in that battle kept echoing in his mind.

At the time, the Iron Knight Regiment had just expanded before the battle, increasing their numbers to 3,000 and adding an equal number of Chainmail Cavalry as support. They were a formidable force, and none of the Northern Frontier nobles believed that any army could withstand their onslaught.

At that time, Viscount Borey deliberately exposed his main camp and placed the flags of Grand Duke Mo and his own army in a forward position. He also used an Infantry Regiment as the defensive line of his main camp to lure the Iron Knight Regiment to attack.

The Iron Knight Regiment was naturally swift and decisive against a weak infantry force, as easy as a sharp blade cutting through butter, but they were soon halted.

Viscount Borey positioned a Heavy Infantry Battalion of suicide soldiers and horse traps behind the Infantry Regiment. These suicide soldiers, undeterred by casualties, desperately held off the Iron Knight Regiment, while the horse traps prevented the Iron Knight Regiment from fully utilizing their Cavalry advantage.

At this point, Viscount Borey surrounded them with wagons, blocking their way and rear, and deployed heavy bows and crossbows to attack, bringing the defeated infantry and the Heavy Infantry to the death into the attack range.

Although Count Colt later urgently ordered all units to provide relief, by the time the entire Iron Knight Regiment broke out of the encirclement, 60% of them were gone, totaling no more than 2,000 men. Most of them were Chainmail Cavalry, and those equipped with Iron Birch armor became the targets of concentrated fire.

Count Colt nearly fainted at the time, but for the sake of the greater good, he insisted on commanding the troops to slowly withdraw from the battlefield.

The final ratio of losses was 3 to 2 between the Duchy and the Northlands. Although the Northern Frontier Allied Army had a greater advantage in terms of battle losses, it lost one of its sharpest weapons.

After this battle, many Northern Frontier nobles lost their morale. It was only after Alex led his Cavalry in several surprise attacks and, by taking advantage of their superior numbers and losses, that the decline was stabilized.

However, it was because of this battle that the two sides engaged in a protracted war.

Alex understood his father's meaning. Viscount Borey must have also received the news from the Eastern Region and would not let his guard down. He would definitely make arrangements to deal with it. Even if Victor suddenly led his troops, he probably wouldn't be able to inflict heavy damage on the Duchy's army.

"But if Victor doesn't come, we'll have even less chance of opening up the main battlefield. If we drag this out for too long, what will happen to the Western Front, which is already at a disadvantage?"

Uncle Benjamin and Viscount Albert might not be able to withstand the attack of the Duchy's two armies, especially since they have the help of the Western nobles and a numerical advantage.

"I know, so I have written to the Fifth Legion the Northern Alliance Army, asking them to go directly to Durham County to support Benjamin and his men."

With this fresh force, Benjamin and Albert could at least hold off the Duchy Army at the second line of defense in the Carson Mountains.

"As long as we can buy time and hold out on the western front and the main battlefield, we should receive good news from the eastern front and there."

"According to the original plan, Victor was supposed to go south to rescue Ironvine Territory, but without the Fifth Legion of the Northlands, he won't be able to defeat the Duchy Army in the three southern counties so easily. Are you putting your hopes on the Kingdom Navy?"

"Yes, the Kingdom Navy has already informed me through the Gorn Trading Company that one of them has already set sail and is expected to arrive at the western coast of the Duchy in ten days."