Ironvine Territory (52)

Ron dismounted, found a corpse, cut open its clothes, and used a piece of cloth to wipe the blood off his lance.

Just as he was concentrating on cleaning the gun barrel, several officers ran up to him.

Ron looked up and saw them; they were some of his company Company Commander.

"You arrived quickly. How was the trip? What did you find?"

One of the Company Commander complained, "Regimental Commander, why did you suddenly rush out and attack our company's target? Now our company is going to fall behind."

Another squadron chimed in, "What do you mean your squadron is about to fall behind? It's as if you were in the lead before."

"Walker, you bastard, you've got the meat for yourself and you're abandoning your brothers."

"Yes, we also participated in the pursuit just now, so we should get a share of the credit."

The others condemned the second speaker, a Company Commander Walker, for leading his team to join the attack midway and ambush the enemy reinforcements. They argued that their company had wiped out an entire enemy squad, unlike other companies that worked together to eliminate the enemy.

Walker didn't care and retorted to each of them, since he was the closest to the location and his warhorse was in the best condition.

Ron watched his company Company Commander making a ruckus, but he wasn't angry. The company Company Commander were all in high spirits, a far cry from their expressions when they were defeated.

"Alright, be quiet."

Ron interrupted them, looked around, and finally asked Walker.

"Walker, where is your Detachment Commander?"

"The Regimental Commander and the Detachment Commander, leading their directly subordinate companies, are quite far from here, but they should be arriving soon. Their messengers have already found us."

After listening to Walker's words, Ron nodded and added, "It's fine to compete for priority, but don't gamble. The Military Judge of your respective detachments were personally appointed by the lord. If I have to go to the lord to retrieve someone because of this, I won't let you off the hook!"

Upon hearing what the Regimental Commander said, the Company Commander quickly swore one by one that they had absolutely not gambled.

Ron knew these guys' personalities well; it was impossible for them not to gamble. He was just reminding them to be careful not to gamble too much and get caught by the Military Judge.

Just as the group was talking, a troop of Cavalry came galloping over. Judging from their banners, they belonged to the detachment to which these companies belonged, so it must have been the Detachment Commander himself who had come.

Then the Cavalry reined in their horses and stopped a few dozen meters away from Ron and his men. An officer dismounted and trotted over.

He looked at Ron and the Company Commander under his command standing beside him, thinking he was late, and said, sweating profusely, "Regimental Commander Ron, I'm sorry I'm late!"

"It's alright, Kent. After all, you came the furthest, so it's not like you're late."

Hearing Ron say that, the Detachment Commander Kent breathed a sigh of relief.

"Regimental Commander, we started the mopping-up operation early this morning and should have achieved quite a few results." He then gestured to the company Company Commander with his eyes.

The Company Commander all spoke up.

"Our company annihilated an enemy squad, with 8 killed, 14 wounded, 64 killed, and 17 captured."

"Our two companies annihilated an enemy squad, with 13 killed, 21 wounded, 81 killed, and 24 captured."

"Regimental Commander, the enemy squad our company was pursuing was routed by your personal guard. Our company suffered 3 dead, 11 wounded, 54 enemy killed, and 45 captured."

After listening to his subordinate's report, Kent quickly added, "Our detachment defeated three enemy squads, and with the cooperation of the Regimental Commander's personal guard, defeated a total of four enemy squads, with casualties of less than 50 men. Report complete."

Ron frowned after hearing this. Apart from the enemy squad he had intervened in, the other squads had captured far too few prisoners.

"How come there are so many enemy casualties but so few prisoners?"

The company Company Commander laughed it off, saying, "Regimental Commander, the enemy's Cavalry is elite; they are all fierce and will fight to the death to avoid being captured."

"Yes, that's too ruthless."

"It's not that we don't want to take prisoners, it's that they don't want to surrender."

Ron was speechless after hearing their words, but he didn't delve into it. He simply told them to disperse and clean up the battlefield, leaving Detachment Commander Kent behind alone.

After his men left, Kent quickly explained, "It's not their fault. We've all been scattered to various villages and farms to rest and recuperate because of the defeat. Everyone was incredibly frustrated, so it's normal to be a little rough with them."