Ironvine Territory (Forty-eight)

Victor questioned the messenger carefully to confirm the accuracy of his message, and he breathed a sigh of relief when he learned that Lenster had finally found a relatively convenient new route.

After all, marching in such rainy weather meant facing frequent landslides and swamps, and he could only barely keep the troops from mutiny.

After all, even the most well-trained feudal army could not maintain normal marching under harsh weather conditions and in environments with insufficient food and clothing.

Upon receiving the news, Victor immediately relayed it to the entire army. Of course, he made some modifications. The soldiers were told that the vanguard had found a safe and convenient route that would allow them to reach a camp where they could rest and enjoy hot water and food.

The moment the news was announced, the morale of the troops immediately soared, and many marching units even began to sing.

Victor watched the soldiers, their faces beaming with smiles as they marched and sang, and thought to himself, "It seems it's time to produce a batch of military songs. I really overlooked that before. A good military song would definitely help maintain the morale of the troops."

Thus, the entire army successfully navigated the new route found by Lenster and emerged from the valley, reaching a safe location for rest.

Lenster had also prepared some hot water and food in advance. Although there was no camp built for the soldiers to live in, the soldiers were still very satisfied with the warm food.

After the two had arranged for all the troops to set up camp and rest, Victor and Lenster finally had time to discuss the next steps.

Lenster discussed with Victor, "Viscount Victor, the troops are really exhausted. I think two days of rest might not be enough. How about letting everyone rest for a few more days?"

Victor asked curiously, "What's wrong, Lenster? Aren't you worried about the safety of Ironwire City?"

"Of course I'm worried, but didn't you send a large number of Cavalry troops to support Ironwire City before?"

With so many reinforcements, I feel that the Ironwire City that my father and his men are defending shouldn't be so easily breached."

Victor was surprised that Lenster was even more at ease than he was. "After all, the garrison of Ironwire City is very small. The Cavalry under Ron and James can only disrupt the enemy's attack at best. It's really not very reassuring."

"How about this, Viscount Victor? How about we split up? I'll take my main force and return to Ironwire City first, while you lead the rest of the troops. After we've rested and regrouped, we can head to Ironwire City again. What do you say?"

"Impossible, that would be too dangerous."

Baron Lenster, your main force consists of only one regiment. This number is far too weak to send to Ironwire City.

Before Viscount Ferry saw me off, he also instructed me to make sure you were safe.

So don't worry about this anymore. Two days of rest are enough. Then we'll lead the main force straight to Ironwire City and we'll definitely be able to resolve the crisis at Ironvine Territory."

Lenster was finally persuaded by Victor, "Alright, let's rest for two days, and then send out troops."

Victor thought of a problem and quickly replied, "What should we do with the camps inside the valley?"

"We can't really wait until Viscount Ferry's troops have fully recovered before letting them out, can we?"

Lenster hadn't expected Victor to ask this question. He hadn't really considered it before, since Viscount Ferry had volunteered to cover the rear, leading a group of sick soldiers to hold the valley and wait for them to recover before leaving.

"As for Viscount Ferry, there shouldn't be any need for special arrangements. The supplies left in the camp are plentiful, enough to feed the remaining soldiers very well. The water supply, which was originally scarce, is no longer scarce because of our departure."

If all goes well, they should recover quickly, by which time the heavy rain should have stopped.

"I'm not too worried about supplies and water. My main concern is whether the Southern Noble Coalition will make any further moves."

Victor voiced his concerns.

While they were taking shelter from the rain in the left-hand camp, they captured many prisoners of the Coalition of Nobles and, through information comparison, learned more about the detailed losses of the Coalition of Nobles.

Although nearly half of their troops had been lost, most of them were Serf Soldiers. The main force of the Southern Noble Coalition was still intact, with at least 30,000 troops remaining. If they were to launch another desperate attack on the valley, Victor worried that Viscount Ferry's small regiment of soldiers would not be able to hold it.

"That shouldn't be the case. The entire valley floor has been destroyed, and with the heavy rain, the valley floor is full of swamps and mud, making it difficult to march."

Because of the large number of corpses and the resulting plague, the nobles of Hampshire were not so loyal to the Duchy.

Moreover, according to what Viscount Ferry told me, Rusa will probably find another way and won't cross the Yalori Valley again.

"In that case, let's proceed according to the previous plan and allow the troops to rest for a while."

Victor and Lenster reached an agreement to let the troops rest there for two days before setting off again. However, they also sent some messengers to Ironwire City to try to find out the situation.

Beneath Ironwire City, in the camp of the Duchy Fourth Legion, a heated atmosphere prevailed.

The Fourth Legion had just achieved a remarkable victory, and under the orders of its Legion Commander Ursus, the entire army celebrated, leaving only a small contingent to monitor Ironwire City and the small groups of enemy troops outside the city.

Legion Commander Ursus was working in his tent. He was satisfied with the victory, but the fact that Ironwire City had not yet fallen prevented him from relaxing.

Just as the oil lamp on his desk was about to go out, he lit another candle and prepared to write a letter to Silver Maple City to report the battle situation when two figures suddenly appeared in his tent.

"You've arrived. How is things? Is Ironwire City still safe?"

Has the morale been low because of the defeat of the reinforcements?

Ursus was not surprised by the sudden appearance of the figure; instead, he asked two questions.

One of the figures took two steps forward, revealing himself in the candlelight. He was one of the two Silver Maple Secret Guards who had escaped from the group that Lenster had led his troops to besiege.

The guard was very respectful to Ursus, kneeling on one knee. "Legion Commander Ursus, the army in Ironwire City has not been affected much. It must be that the traitor Lloyd ordered the news to be blocked."

The two of us tried to contact the informant we had found earlier, but it seems they've already been discovered by the Iron Vine Family's spies and eliminated."

After listening, Ursus didn't seem annoyed. He simply said calmly, "After all, he's Count Lloyd. It's normal that his tricks won't work."

It's a pity you only have two people left now. If both secret guard squads were still alive, and they cooperated in this battle, they might have been able to take the city in one fell swoop."

Another guard knelt on one knee and said, "I'm so sorry, Instructor Ursus. We were too arrogant and failed to heed your advice."

Ursus's expression suddenly turned somewhat ugly after hearing his words: "I am no longer an instructor of the Silver Maple Secret Guard. I left the Guard more than ten years ago. Don't call me that."

Upon hearing Ursus's anger, the man became very frightened. "I'm sorry, Legion Commander Ursus, I misspoke."

"Hmph, I know what you two are thinking. You just want to get some credit with me to avoid being purged because the mission failed, right?"

"And I'd also like to get some Soothing Potion from you."

"I wouldn't dare!" x2

The two guards spoke in unison.

"No, you're too audacious. I don't know where you found out about my past, but you two didn't show me any respect when you tried to sneak into my tent to find the Soothing Potion."

"I'm sorry, Legion Commander Ursus, I only learned of your identity by chance. Because our squad was wiped out, most of the potions fell into the hands of the enemy. We two had no other choice but to ask you for some potions to cope with the pain when the poison takes effect."

The guard spoke pitifully, full of emotion, but Ursus wouldn't believe him so easily. He was also a former guard, and such emotional pretense was easy for a guard to do.

"Put away your smug faces. You two did a pretty good job on this mission, cooperating with my troops to repel those troublesome enemy Cavalry. Consider these potions your revenge."

Ursus took a wooden box from a drawer in the table and pushed it in front of the two of them.

After hearing Ursus's words, the two looked at the wooden box with great surprise.

One of them quickly stepped forward, picked up the wooden box, opened it, and looked inside. There were two stone bottles inside.

He took out the bottle, opened it, and saw that it was the Soothing Potion they had been longing for. He immediately touched it, as if it were a lost treasure that had been found again.

The other person took out another bottle, opened it, and glanced at it. "A two-week supply, perfect!"

Seeing the two of them clutching the bottle with obvious affection, Ursus's eyes showed pity. Then, his eyes narrowed, and he said again in a cold voice, "The Soothing Potion has been given to both of you, proving that my previous promise was effective."

"As long as you can complete the task I assign you and help me conquer Ironwire City, I will not only provide you with more Soothing Potion, but also arrange for you to atone for your sins."

"Thank you, Lord Ursus. We will certainly complete the task you have assigned us."

The two guards were overjoyed and very grateful to Ursus, saying they would do their utmost.

Ursus then dismissed the two and went to prepare for the next mission.

"This time, I'd like to see how you, Count Lloyd, will handle this. You've held on for so long, you must be at your breaking point by now. Well then, I'll give you a push."

In a forest some distance from Ironwire City, a troop of Cavalry was hiding in the woods.

They set up a makeshift camp in a clearing in the woods and lit a fire to cook food and keep warm.

Ron and James sat around the campfire. James was fine, except for looking a little tired. Ron, however, was not in good condition. He was pale, his right hand was in a sling across his chest, and his upper body was tightly bound with bandages.

James cut a slice of horse meat that was roasting over the campfire and put it in his mouth. "Ugh! It's so sour, how can it taste so bad?"

He was about to spit it out, but then felt it was a waste, so he gritted his teeth and swallowed it, then gulped down a large mouthful of water.

Ron chuckled at James's winking and grinning, "It was a horse that died from exhaustion, and you didn't add any spices, just a little salt. It's no wonder the meat is sour."

James said angrily, "I'd like to add spices, but where would we find them in this desolate wilderness? It's a pity Victor isn't here; he always carries his secret spice blend with him. He adds a little bit of his special spices when grilling the meat."

After saying that, James smacked his lips, as if he were reminiscing about the taste.

Ron looked at him, shook his head helplessly, and then held out his left hand, "Give me a piece to try."

Then James handed him a wooden skewer, Ron took it, looked at it, and said angrily, "Why are you toasting bread for me? I want roast meat."

"You should rest. You're in this state, why would you want to eat meat? Just listen to Isaac, take your medicine, eat something light, and let your body recover. Otherwise, if you suddenly die, Victor won't forgive me."

After hearing this, Ron stopped yelling and reluctantly took a bite of the toast. "You idiot, is this how you toast bread?"

"You can even roast breadcrumbs to a crisp, and you call yourself someone who learned barbecue from Victor? I'm going to tell him later that you've ruined his reputation."

The two argued for a while, until Ron finally gave up and it was time to call it a day.

After a while, Ron took a sip of water and a bite of the medicine Isaac had given him, and said fiercely, "Damn Silver Maple Secret Guard, if it weren't for their surprise attack, we wouldn't have suddenly lost command of the troops."

This led to us being caught by the Fourth Legion, and the losses were huge. We didn't suffer such a big loss even when we were in the Northlands.

James chimed in, "The losses to the troops are not too bad. My territory still has many Barbarians cavalry slaves, so replenishing them won't be difficult."

But our warhorses are really hard to replenish. Victor went to great lengths to get them from Iron Birch Territory. He'll be furious if he finds out we've lost more than half of them."

"There's nothing we can do about it. We were both so focused on the battle ahead that we neglected the warhorses behind us."

After saying that, they both sighed.

Just then, the sound of horses' hooves suddenly came from afar, and both of them, being very perceptive, heard it immediately.

The two men immediately stood up and ordered their men to extinguish the campfire. Everyone grabbed their weapons and hid behind trees.

They had deliberately chosen this location to conceal their movements; only their guards knew it. It was so late, and no one should disturb them.

Just as the Cavalry drew closer and James and Ron were about to order their troops to fire, the Cavalry suddenly shouted, "Regimental Commander James and Ron, we are here on Viscount Victor's orders!"