Ironvine Territory (Fifty-One)

Just then, James and Ron arrived with their warhorses and found them.

Seeing that the two Regimental Commander and their men were also leading horses and had already prepared their gear, Gutierrez quickly said, "Sirs, you don't need to see us off. It's already broad daylight, and we can return the way we came."

James and Ron smiled upon hearing this, and James said, "It's not just to give you a ride; we're also leaving here, and it just so happens we're going the same way."

After James finished speaking, he pointed to the open space not far away. Gutierrez looked at the open space in the distance and saw that all the tents that had been set up had been taken down, and many Cavalry were also packing up their gear, looking like they were also preparing to leave.

Gutierrez felt a little embarrassed upon seeing this, realizing he had been presumptuous.

After everyone had finished packing, the group left the clearing in the woods, crossed the forest, and headed straight for the ferry.

James and Ron escorted Gutierrez to a small village with only a few dozen inhabitants, a necessary stop on the way to the ferry.

They originally just wanted to rest here for a while, since they had been running for several hours. However, the village chief, a veteran of the Ironvine Territory, took the initiative to approach the troops and offered to provide drinking water for the Cavalry force of several hundred men.

James and Ron initially wanted to refuse, but the veteran insisted and even brought his family along. After confirming that the water they brought was not poisoned, James and Ron ordered the troops to accept his offer.

The gray-haired veteran, accompanied by his wife and several children, distributed water cups and poured water for the soldiers. James and Ron thanked him, and James even took out a gold coin to give him.

The veteran politely declined the gold coins and said, "I am truly grateful that you have come to help Ironvine Territory, but unfortunately, my abilities are limited; at most, I can only provide you with some clean water."

Gutierrez touched the warm cup in his hand and said with deep emotion, "Grandpa, this is more than enough."

He knew very well that the cup of water in his hand was no ordinary cup. There were hundreds of people in their group, and the cups they carried were all sorts of strange shapes and sizes, made of wood and clay, clearly collected from different farmers' homes.

The water in this cup is also warm, clearly boiled. This is not easy for a farmer, since firewood is a precious commodity that requires labor to obtain. Most serfs are reluctant to drink hot water, as boiling so much water consumes a considerable amount of firewood.

During their conversation, they learned that the old man's two sons had joined the army of the Ironvine Territory, with the elder son being a junior officer. However, both sons were now trapped in Ironwire City.

"We hope that with your help, the siege of Ironwire City can be lifted as soon as possible."

After finishing their water, the group bid farewell to the old village chief and prepared to set off again. However, James and Ron led their troops and separated from Gutierrez and his group.

"That's enough for now, Gutierrez. Just keep going along this road, and you'll soon reach the ferry crossing, where you can meet up with Victor and the others."

"What are you two Regimental Commander planning to do?"

"What else can we do but carry out Victor's orders!"

Rewinding to the early hours of yesterday, following orders from James and Ron, a large number of messengers rushed to the temporary encampments of various Cavalry units.

As dawn broke, large numbers of Cavalry began to gather from some villages and farms within the Ironvine Territory.

After their previous defeat, Ron and James's troops ran out of supplies and had to travel in small groups to find food in various places to avoid putting too much strain on their logistics.

Following James and Ron's orders, these Cavalry units began to assemble, some into squads, some into platoons, and some into companies, gradually growing from dozens to hundreds of men.

Each Cavalry unit was extremely excited. During this period, they had to scatter and hide to find food due to defeats. This was a truly embarrassing situation for these elite Cavalry units that had marched south from the Northlands Steppe and repeatedly defeated powerful enemies.

Especially the fact that they were scattered to farms and villages in various places, and were able to rest and recuperate with the help of the people of the Ironvine Territory, made them feel very guilty. So when James and Ron's orders came,

Everyone was very excited. They prepared their equipment and horses overnight and set off immediately early the next morning to carry out the combat orders.

Some units went to rendezvous with friendly forces, while others began to attack small groups of the Fourth Legion scouts. For these Northlands Cavalry who had been waiting for a long time, this was simply wonderful.

Just after James and Ron saw Gutierrez and his party off, several Cavalry units arrived and joined them.

The once quiet village suddenly came alive with the neighing of warhorses and the clatter of their hooves.

As their combined forces grew from a detachment to a battalion, Ron and James split into two groups. One group advanced in the direction Gutierrez had left, while the other began clearing the area behind them leading to Ironwire City.

Waves of fully armed Cavalry began to join the two forces, with James's force being the most numerous, totaling nearly two thousand men. James led these soldiers directly into action.

"What happened? The enemy Cavalry was supposed to be scattered, so where did these Cavalry come from?"

A squad of Cavalry from the Fourth Legion was running wildly, pursued by a Cavalry several times their size. The captain leading the squad was quite puzzled by the situation.

In a previous battle, the Ursus Legion Commander led him to repel this Cavalry force, capturing their baggage and spare horses.

With these warhorses, the Cavalry of the Fourth Legion Corps was completely transformed, doubling in number. Under the command of the Legion Commander, they then began to pursue and kill the defeated Cavalry.

However, the commander of that Cavalry unit was too cunning. As they pursued, they discovered that the size of the unit was decreasing, and it broke up into smaller units, disappearing from their sight.

As a Cavalry unit Duchy's Direct Legion, their strength was not particularly great. Their horsemanship and archery skills were far inferior to those of the Northlands Cavalry led by James and Ron, and they were only on par with the Cavalry of Great Oak Territory.

They also wanted to follow suit and divide their forces to pursue and kill the Cavalry of the Southern Marching Legion. However, with the help of the local people and troops of the Ironvine Territory, the Cavalry of the Southern Marching Legion were well hidden and difficult to pursue. If the divided forces were too small, they would be counter-killed by these elite Northlands Cavalry.

Finally, the Cavalry of the Fourth Legion abandoned the strategy of splitting up to pursue and annihilate the enemy. Instead, they patrolled and swept the area in small squads, firmly controlling the area around Ironwire City and cutting off Ironwire City's connection with the outside world.

This Cavalry squad from the Fourth Legion was one of them. This morning, during their patrol, they suddenly spotted a small group of enemy cavalry. However, the captain was very cautious and immediately sent out a distress signal.

Soon, two other Cavalry squads came to help him pursue the enemy cavalry. However, after the pursuit began, the other two Cavalry squads were suddenly attacked by two other enemy cavalry squads that appeared out of nowhere. They were outnumbered and quickly lost the battle. Moreover, the enemy cavalry were in high spirits. During the battle, they even dared to rely on their superb horsemanship to fight on horseback. They killed the officers in the first instance and defeated their War Department with minimal losses.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, the Squad Leader quickly abandoned the pursuit and retreated. However, the Cavalry behind them joined up with two other Cavalry and relentlessly pursued them, making it impossible for them to shake them off.

Just as the Squad Leader sent out another distress signal, hoping to receive support from friendly forces, he suddenly discovered distress signals from several other locations. He then realized that his squad was not the only one under attack; the Cavalry patrolling the surrounding area had also been attacked by the enemy.

Realizing he wasn't alone, the Cavalry Squad Leader had no choice but to abandon his illusions and flee with all his might, hoping to get closer to Ironwire City and receive help from other War Department.

But just before he reached a supply depot, another Cavalry unit from the Southern Marching Legion charged out of the forest beside the road, cutting his troops in half. He himself was also killed by a black-armored giant with a single spear thrust.

The shouts of battle and the clash of weapons lasted only a short time before the pursuing Fourth Legion Cavalry was routed, with some dying in battle and others surrendering.

The black-armored giant pulled back his mask, revealing himself to be Ron. After killing the officer instantly, he abandoned the fight and wandered around the middle of the battlefield. The battle ended when the pursuing troops caught up.