Ironvine Territory (61)

What was once a picturesque riverbank has now become a scene of carnage, with hundreds of corpses staining this several-acre stretch of bare white pebbles blood red.

Luke was initially shocked, thinking Ron was making an example of him, but he immediately relaxed after Ron finished speaking.

Luke stepped forward and bowed deeply to Ron: "Thank you, General Ron. I thought this matter was over, but I didn't expect you to be so willing to deal with these criminal soldiers so severely."

At this moment, Ron's guards brought over a warhorse. Ron mounted the horse and said to Luke, "Luke, Ironvine Territory has been a great help to us during this time. If it weren't for you, our troops might not have had a chance to catch their breath. The Golden Sunflower Family will always remember this kindness. This is my explanation to you."

After saying that, Ron pulled on the reins, lowered his waist, and gently nudged the horse a few times with his heels, and the horse instantly bolted forward.

Soon his guards followed, giving Steward Luke no chance to speak. And so, Luke and his men watched Ron depart into the distance.

"I hope General Ron's mission goes smoothly, and I also hope that peace can be restored to Ironvine Territory."

Luke silently offered his blessings.

Ron ordered all troops to march quickly and not to worry about the soldiers who had fallen behind. This time, Ron personally arranged a rearguard to catch up with the stragglers.

After wiping out Hank's War Department, he received a letter from James, informing him that the battle on James's side was very intense. Naturally, he would not delay any longer.

And so, Ron led his troops, traveling day and night, and arrived at Jade Belt Mountain in just one day and one night, where they met Jackson.

"Jackson, how's James doing?"

Ron asked this question the moment he saw Jackson.

"Lord Ron, Regimental Commander James's forces are already engaged in battle with the enemy. Fortunately, the enemy is more cautious than expected. Regimental Commander James has been harassing their march with small groups at high frequency, so their reinforcements are still far away."

Jackson and James have maintained communication, so he is well aware of James' situation.

When Ron heard that James's side had already started fighting, he decided to leave Jade Belt Mountain to support James. However, just as he was about to leave, Jackson called him back.

"Lord Ron, how many troops did you bring?"

Upon hearing this, Ron looked at his Guard Corps, who, knowing that the Regimental Commander's Guard Corps of troop numbers was inaccurate, immediately began to explain.

"Our troops that have arrived here now consist of two detachments, plus two battalions from the Great Oak Territory."

However, due to the forced march, the organization is not complete; there should be around 1,700 people at present.

The Guard Corps spoke very softly at the end, perhaps out of embarrassment. Ron had originally brought back a force of about 2,400 men, but after a day and a night of forced march, many Cavalry had fallen behind due to the exhaustion of their horses, and only these men had managed to keep up with Ron.

Ron frowned the whole time after listening to the Guard Corps. He hadn't expected his troops to suffer such heavy losses due to the forced march.

Although he arranged for a rearguard force, those soldiers who had fallen behind and the rearguard force certainly couldn't catch up with them in a short time, and he didn't know if these troops would be enough to rescue James.

Thinking of this, Ron immediately asked Jackson, "How many enemies did James encounter?"

"Nearly 3,000 Cavalry, plus an Infantry Regiment, totaling between 7,000 and 8,000 men. Fortunately, Regimental Commander James took the initiative, relying on the superior quality of our Cavalry, and successfully accomplished the task of delaying the enemy."

"Jackson, I have a rearguard unit behind me. Could you please provide backup? James' situation is urgent; I need to get there and help him first."

"Lord Ron, you can rest assured and leave it to me."

Ron and his troops rested briefly at Jade Belt Mountain before leaving.

During this time, Ron also deliberately exposed his troops, showing them to the remnants of the Fourth Legion Cavalry Regiment on the mountain.

Bush, the Cavalry Regiment of the Fourth Legion, saw that the enemy below the mountain had reinforced their troops again and was very worried, fearing that they would be attacked.

Bush prepared for the worst, strengthening the defenses of the mountaintop camp. For the next two days, he dared not sleep, fearing that a moment's carelessness might lead to the camp being breached.

However, he did not expect that Ron had no intention of attacking the remaining troops on the mountaintop. Ron exposed himself to him to put pressure on the remaining troops.

After leaving Jade Belt Mountain, Ron kept sending letters to James to ensure he received accurate information from James.

In a clearing in the mountains, James was resting on a boulder, drinking water from his water pouch. Beside him lay his armor, which was soaked with sweat after he took it off.

When he took off his helmet, his hair, which had been flattened into a bird's nest from wearing it for so long, made him look very disheveled.

In order to resist this reinforcement, James has had to personally lead his team to constantly disrupt the enemy reinforcements' march, and as a result, he hasn't had a proper rest.

"Regimental Commander James, this is a message from Jade Belt Mountain!"

A messenger ran up to James and handed him a letter. James opened the letter immediately and read it quickly.

Then he immediately laughed. The letter Jackson sent said that Ron was on his way with reinforcements and would arrive by tomorrow at the latest, with nearly 2,000 Cavalry.

James was naturally delighted to hear this news; once this force arrived, he would have a way to deal with the enemy reinforcements.

With reinforcements on their way, James decided to rest first, allowing his horses and soldiers to recover their strength, and wait until he could rejoin Ron's forces before figuring out how to deal with the enemy reinforcements.

However, just to be on the safe side, James still dispatched a large number of scouts to gather information about this War Department.

Meanwhile, the reinforcements of the Fourth Legion were also advancing slowly, with Jindio leading his main Cavalry and his Infantry Regiment at the rear.

Jindio was extremely cautious, and upon encountering James's Cavalry, he immediately reduced his marching speed to a minimum.

It's been over a day since he left Ironwire City. Logically, Jade Belt Mountain is only a two-day journey from Ironwire City, but he hasn't even covered a quarter of the distance yet.

His adjutant was also curious and asked him about it, and he always said, "When fighting deep into enemy territory, the worst thing you can do is be reckless. The enemy has sent so many Cavalry to harass us, which shows that they have a large Cavalry force. We must be careful at this time."

"If our troops are too eager to pursue and become separated from the enemy, and the enemy attacks this weak point, we will be unable to stop them."

The adjutant felt that his Regimental Commander seemed to be making excuses, but he did not raise any objections, since the Regimental Commander's statement made some sense.

Just as the two were talking, a messenger ran over, "Regimental Commander, our Battalion Commander asked me to report to you that the enemy hasn't attacked for two hours. Could we speed up the march?"

After listening, Jindio felt very puzzled. Previously, the enemy Cavalry had been harassing them with an unusually high frequency, and had repeatedly launched small-scale battles with his vanguard Cavalry by taking advantage of their horsemanship and archery skills. Why did it suddenly stop?

He stroked his beard, as if he had thought of something, and asked his adjutant to bring out a map, which he then examined. "Just as I suspected."

The adjutant, puzzled, looked at his Regimental Commander with a questioning expression.

Jindio pointed to a location on the map and said, "Look, this is the place we're going to pass through next. Isn't it perfect for an ambush?"

The adjutant looked at the spot that Jindio was pointing to. It was a road that ran between two small hills, and the visibility wasn't great, but it was a suitable spot for an ambush.

"The enemy's strategy is simple," said Jindio confidently. "They're going to keep harassing us and keeping us on high alert."

Then, once I'm about to reach a suitable ambush location, stop the harassment to lower our guard. When we pass by, the ambushing enemy will launch another attack, and we might not be able to react in time."

The adjutant agreed with the Regimental Commander's analysis.

Jindio also felt that his analysis made a lot of sense. He said to the messenger with a smug look, "Tell your Battalion Commander to set up camp right here. There's no need to go along with the enemy's wishes and let them continue their ambush!"

The messenger immediately took the order back to report.

The adjutant said, "It's only noon now. Isn't it too early to set up camp so soon?"

"It's getting late. Everyone's had a tough time today, so let them get some rest. We can't keep going along with the enemy's ideas."