Intersecting battle lines
However, despite all the efforts made by Turas, the withdrawal of the Western nobles still affected the progress of the battle on the front lines. The two Western Allied Army regiments, whose news was blocked, fared better, but the Second Legion made a mess of things.
After learning of the withdrawal of the Western Allied Army, Hulk and Gerard of the Second Legion simultaneously slowed their advance. They knew that two regiments of the Western Allied Army were fighting on their flanks, and they wanted to use this force to draw the attention of the Northern Alliance Army and wear them down.
Unexpectedly, their move to withdraw troops from the front lines was discovered by Benjamin and Albert. The two immediately used a fresh force from the Fifth Legion of the Northern Frontier Allied Army that had arrived earlier, creating a local numerical advantage and launching a fierce attack on the Second Legion's front line, which had been demobilized.
Hulk and Gerard's troops were caught off guard. Their vanguard collapsed, and other troops were unable to provide reinforcements in time. The Northern Alliance Army recaptured a section of the defensive line.
Subsequently, Benjamin and Albert each led an elite force, attacking from both ends of the defensive line, directly shaking the entire Duchy Army's battle line. Many troops, while fighting, suddenly discovered a Northlands army attacking from the flank. Because they did not know what was happening, even if they were not defeated, some troops voluntarily withdrew from the defensive line.
Thus, Turas, who had almost captured the entire second line of defense with the duchy's side, lost at least half of it with this defeat. Although Turas was angry, it was too late to change anything now.
Turas simply withdrew some troops to the rear, leaving the troops in the best condition and with the highest morale to fight on the front line, while the other troops regrouped.
Thus, the fighting on the Carson Mountains front suddenly slowed down, and the Northern Alliance Army seized this opportunity, resulting in a stalemate between the two sides once again.
Although Turas didn't understand Hulk and Gerard's idiotic actions, these two were his supporters in the Second Legion, so he had no choice but to swallow his pride and protect them in front of Count Carter.
Subsequently Turas sent out Reserve Force, and the troops led by Dirac and Karanga replaced the two Allied Army of the Second Legion, rejoining the battle in hopes of regaining the initiative.
But Benjamin and Albert were not to be outdone, and they also sent their Reserve Force to join the battle. Both sides committed a large number of troops and refused to give way, which directly led to the failure of the Turas Plan.
Meanwhile, Count Sibeth led the Western Allied Army back to the western region day and night, but at this time he received news that the Raine Kingdom Navy had not continued to expand its invaded territory.
They directly occupied the advantageous terrain on the borders of the nine conquered territories, preparing to resist the Western Noble Alliance Army brought back by Count Sibeth.
Upon learning this information, Count Sibeth naturally wouldn't let the opportunity slip by. He believed that the Kingdom Army, isolated and isolated, certainly didn't have enough troops, and that they had probably reached their expansion limit, which was why they hadn't continued their invasion. Count Sibeth quickly led his troops to prepare to defeat the Kingdom Navy and reclaim the occupied territories.
Little did they know that Edmund and his two companions had already used the spoils they had plundered from the Western nobles territories to arm Auxiliary Troops twice the size of their main force. Apart from a portion of these Auxiliary Troops remaining in the noble territories to maintain order, the rest were taken to the front lines. The three of them had gathered a large army at once, intending to take advantage of the information gap among the Western nobles to launch a defensive counterattack.
Thus, the Count Sibeth led his troops directly to attack a fortress on a key transportation route on the border of the occupied territory, while Edmund deliberately left his troops at the fortress to lure the Duchy Army into attacking.
Gilles and Texera used a side path to lead their troops around to the rear of the Western Allied Army. After two days of fierce fighting, they took advantage of the Western Noble Alliance Army's laxity and attacked the Western nobles' camp from the rear, burning most of the baggage of Count Sibeth's troops in one fell swoop.
Later, the two wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to defeat the Western Noble Alliance Army in one fell swoop, but they did not expect that Count Sibeth had left an elite private army Reserve Force, which was dispatched in time to stop their attack at the critical moment.
Gilles and Tesla's troops had too many Auxiliary Troops, making their combat strength relatively low. Facing Count Sibeth's elite troops, they were unable to attack or defend effectively. In order to prevent the collapse of their advantageous situation, the two had no choice but to lead their troops to withdraw from the battlefield.
After this battle, although the Count Sibeth did not suffer too many losses in his troops, most of his supplies were destroyed, making it impossible for him to continue fighting. In the end, after weighing the pros and cons, the Count Sibeth and other Western nobles began to retreat on their own initiative, but they did not completely abandon their vigilance against Edmund's troops.
Count Sibeth deployed some of his troops to several territories bordering the territory occupied by the Raine Kingdom, in order to contain the forces of the Raine Kingdom.
After Edmund and his men recruited a large number of Auxiliary Troops, they lost their ability to attack fortified positions and fight in the field, and focused their efforts on defensive operations. After all, they had already conquered nine noble territories and occupied more than 8,000 square kilometers of land.
Edmund believed their main task was to defend the land, since they had already achieved their goal of drawing back the Western Noble Alliance Army, which definitely helped the Northern Alliance Army on the battlefield.
With this achievement, they could already give Commander Laou Allen an explanation. In addition, with the spoils they had plundered, the three of them could be said to have made a considerable fortune this time.
Even the ordinary soldiers who participated in this operation with them earned at least 3 to 4 small gold dragons this time, which was enough to cover their annual military pay.
Finally, the three reached a consensus: while ensuring proper defenses, they would send their subordinates back to the kingdom to request reinforcements, and also bring along the spoils of war that they were supposed to hand over to the naval headquarters.
Edmund took some time to personally return to Sweet Sorghum Territory to see the ships off. He had a premonition that this operation was probably over.
Neither their army nor the Western Noble Alliance Army of the Grand Duchy will be the main players in this Civil War. It is highly likely that no new battles will break out after the outcome on the main battlefield.
In Cornwall County, Victor led his Southern Marching Legion down the Green Water River, following the same route the Sixth Legion had taken the previous year. However, this time they did not split into two groups like the Sixth Corps officers had.
Victor received news that the northern defenses of Ironvine Territory had been breached, and the Duchy's army should have already advanced into Ironvine Territory.
At this point, Victor knew he couldn't waste any more time. In order to obtain intelligence, Victor sent out all his Light Cavalry. He was determined to gather useful battle intelligence at all costs, and preferably contact the Iron Vine Family.
The Southern Marching Legion could not proceed too slowly, so Victor ordered the main force to travel by boat down the river to speed up the march. Fortunately, the Southern Marching Legion had a large Cavalry force, which was enough to form a huge perimeter and prevent the fleet from being suddenly attacked.
"Your Excellency, we have discovered a considerable enemy force, at least three regiments in size, mostly infantry."
Victor was riding his horse on the riverbank, watching the fleet of boats on the Green Water River, when a messenger was suddenly brought over by the guards and given this intelligence.
After hearing the report, Victor immediately ordered someone to find a map and called over the officers around him to start comparing it.
"This direction should be towards the Duchy's forces to the north, most likely the Fourth Legion," Ron offered his assessment.
However, the Knight Yellen of Great Oak Territory offered a different opinion. "The Fourth Legion is accustomed to fighting as a group, and their Legion Commander is also very cautious in battle. He would not easily divide his forces in such a deep-seated battle."
I believe it was a noble's private army that came from the south. This road connects to the main road in Cornwall County, and last year one of the Ironvine Territory used this road when they marched out."
Others also supported the two's opinions, all feeling that their guesses were the most likely.
Seeing this, Victor did not take sides. Instead, he proposed a solution. "Just eliminate these troops, and we can naturally get the information we want from them."
Ron and James, you lead your Cavalry to take care of this force. I believe it will be easy for you."
Ron and James immediately accepted the order and set off with their troops.