Ironvine Territory (49)

After hearing what the Cavalry said, Ron and James hesitated for a moment, but they waved down the bows and arrows that the surrounding soldiers had already raised.

At that moment, a man ran out from the Cavalry. He walked to the center of the clearing, glanced at the extinguished campfire, and shouted into the depths of the forest, "Regimental Commander Ron, and Regimental Commander James, I am Gutierrez, the Military Judge of the Lord 'Personal Guard."

After saying that, he used his flint and steel to light the campfire. Ron and James, by the light of the flames, could see his face clearly, and it was indeed the Military Judge they had met a few times before.

James nodded to Ron, signaling him to go out and see Gutierrez.

Although according to the previous agreement with Victor, even if someone was sent to find them, it should be one of Victor's personal guards. It was unclear why this Military Judge Gutierrez was sent instead. Just in case, James decided to go out and greet him himself first.

He emerged from the forest with a dozen or so guards and came to the middle of a clearing.

Gutierrez saw James come out and immediately bowed, but there was a hint of doubt in his eyes.

James knew why he was confused and explained, "We suffered a defeat before. The loss of troops was manageable, but our spare horses and some of our supplies were destroyed, and Regimental Commander Ron was also injured in that battle. It's quite embarrassing now."

Gutierrez quickly said, "Regimental Commander James, the lord often says that victory and defeat are common occurrences in war, you shouldn't..."

James waved to stop him from continuing, "We lost, so be it. The Legion Commander of the Fourth Legion was indeed a tough opponent. We were careless. We will report to Victor later."

But why are you here? Normally Michael should be the one contacting us. Does Victor have some new plans?

Do you have any problems in the Yalori Valley?

Why did it take so long for them to send someone to contact us?

James asked a series of questions; he really had a lot to know. If it weren't for the lack of news from Victor's main force, that defeat might not have happened.

Gutierrez noticed James's resentment and quickly shared what he could, including the battle in the Yalori Valley: "... It was because of these unexpected events that the original plan went wrong. In addition, the valley was hit by mudslides and heavy rains, which cut off transportation and communication. It took a long time to reconnect with the outside world."

As for why Captain Michael didn't come, there was nothing we could do. After the Battle of the Valley, a heat-related illness broke out, and many people were infected. Captain Michael was busy with the lord's affairs and ended up getting infected himself. The lord forced him to take a break, so I was the one to relay the orders."

After hearing Gutierrez's explanation, James breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that Victor's main force hadn't suffered a defeat. Before, because there had been no news, he and Ron had thought that something had happened to the main force.

Because of this incident, the two of them wanted to break the siege of Ironwire City, but they were too hasty and fell into the trap of the Fourth Legion. They were almost beheaded. Although the troops eventually broke out of the encirclement, their rear had already been wiped out.

After Gutierrez finished his introduction, he took out the token Victor had given him, and James completely lowered his guard upon seeing it.

He gave Gutierrez a brief account of their ordeal: due to carelessness and haste, the Cavalry had fallen into a trap, and the two of them had been attacked by enemy assassins, resulting in the loss of command for the troops and the abandonment of their rear camp, which was then captured by the enemy.

Although James and Ron managed to repel the assassins at the cost of Ron's injury, the defeat was irreversible. They could only fight with all their might to take the main force and abandon the rear camp that had been captured by the enemy.

After that battle, James and Ron's Cavalry units retained some of their weapons and supplies, but almost all of their provisions were gone.

This is why the two of them had so few people with them. After losing their food and supplies, they had to arrange for their troops to disperse and eat in the rear of the Ironvine Territory. Otherwise, it would be impossible to supply food and provisions for thousands of men and horses in just any place.

Fortunately, they had already Ironvine Territory, and many farms and villages Ironvine Territory were willing to provide them with food. This allowed them to gather provisions and get through the crisis; otherwise, they might have had no choice but to plunder and requisition food.

After hearing James's explanation, Gutierrez was also worried for the two men and the Cavalry. He thought that the two Regimental Commander had done a good job in preserving most of the main force under such circumstances, and that the lord's new arrangements would not be affected.

He praised them, saying, "Regimental Commander James, you and Regimental Commander Ron have done an excellent job, managing to preserve the vast majority of the Cavalry."

"Now that our lord is about to arrive with his main force, we will surely avenge ourselves against the Fourth Legion."

James was pleased to hear that Victor's main force was about to arrive. "That's great news. Although Victor's side also encountered many problems, it's finally over."

"But since you've come to us on Victor's orders, Victor must have some new orders for us."

Gutierrez nodded. "Yes, Regimental Commander James, please also ask Regimental Commander Ron to listen. This time, the lord instructed me to tell you both personally, without any omissions."

James didn't see anything wrong with what Gutierrez said; Victor had always been very concerned about these procedures.

James waved to a guard, whispered a few instructions, and the guard quickly left.

James glanced at Gutierrez and the Cavalry who had come with him, and said, "Why are you all in such a sorry state?"

Gutierrez gave a wry smile, "The lord ordered us to find you and Lord Ron as quickly as possible, so we haven't rested much along the way and have been traveling at full speed. We really haven't had time to take care of ourselves, so please excuse us."

After hearing this, James knew that Victor was in such a hurry that he was probably about to launch a new operation, possibly targeting the Fourth Legion. He was really looking forward to it; he and Ron had suffered a great loss this time and had long wanted revenge.

Soon Ron emerged from the forest, and Gutierrez was quite surprised to see Ron, who was pale and covered in bandages.

Gutierrez was also a veteran of the territory and had known Knight Ron for a long time. This was the lord's uncle, who was known for his bravery and strength. Before the lord grew up, he had always held the position of the territory's number one warrior. He never expected that he would be so badly injured this time.

Ron recognized Gutierrez and, seeing his surprised expression, knew Gutierrez was astonished by his injury. Feeling a little embarrassed, he touched his nose and said, "I was really careless this time. The opponent was really tough to deal with; it must have been the legendary Silver Maple Secret Guard. I barely managed to drive those two away, even while injured."

James, who was standing nearby, quickly nodded in agreement, confirming Ron.

After listening, Gutierrez said, "As expected of the two lords, they were able to defeat the Silver Maple Secret Guard. Previously, the lord even accompanied Lenster of Ironvine Territory to wipe out a small squad of Silver Maple Secret Guard. Lenster Lenster's elite guard of more than two hundred men was almost half killed in battle. It was only thanks to the lord's bravery that the Silver Maple Secret Guard were wiped out."

After hearing Gutierrez's words, Ron felt even more embarrassed. Victor was able to play such a great role in the battle to wipe out the Silver Maple Secret Guard, while he, the second-best warrior in the territory, was ambushed and injured at the beginning, and in the end, he could only repel rather than kill the two Silver Maple Secret Guards.

At this moment James knew that Ron was losing face, so he quickly interjected, "Gutierrez, hurry up and announce the order. Didn't you say time was tight?"

The straightforward Gutierrez failed to notice Ron's embarrassment. Upon hearing James's words, he quickly retrieved a letter and handed it to James, explaining, "The lord has ordered both of you to immediately lead your troops to cover the entire road from the ferry to Ironwire City, ensuring that enemy scouts have no chance to discover our intelligence and marching route, at any cost."