Ironvine Territory (67)

James, still mounted on his horse, had just finished arranging for the duchy soldier who had run off to surrender. He dismounted, removed his armor, wrapped himself in a fur coat, and looked at the distant battlefield. He appeared relaxed, knowing that they had won this battle.

Just moments ago, as the enemy's central army rained arrows upon the battlefield where his troops were engaged, James led his men in a desperate escape, barely managing to shake off the arrow barrage thanks to the advantage of their warhorses.

When he turned back to look in the direction of the enemy, everything had changed.

The Cavalry of the Fourth Legion Corps, which was originally gathering on the enemy's left flank, was now in complete chaos. A Cavalry unit that rushed out from another side road cut them in half.

James immediately spotted the battle flag at the very front of the army; it was Ron's battle flag.

"That guy finally arrived!"

Immediately afterward James saw Ron's Cavalry charge with extraordinary speed, completely piercing through the enemy's left flank in just a few minutes.

Keep in mind that there were over two thousand enemy cavalry there; even without them forming a battle formation, they wouldn't be easy to defeat.

But it didn't seem too difficult for Ron's troops. James had no doubt about this. He saw the battle flag that was charging back and forth through the enemy lines and knew that Ron was personally leading the charge.

Ron was a true battlefield hero, unlike this half-baked fellow, and was one of the best in the entire Southern Marching Legion.

James didn't think any of the two thousand-plus duchy Cavalry there could stop Ron, and sure enough, just as he expected, Ron led his troops to easily break through the enemy's formation and then charged directly towards the enemy's main camp, where the battle flag was located.

The enemy seemed to be terrified by Ron's fierce offensive. The Duchy Army guarding the main camp were easily torn apart by Ron 'Ron Cavalry, like butter being sliced by a hot knife.

In James's eyes, in less than fifteen minutes, the enemy's main force and left flank had been completely routed, especially when the enemy commander realized he couldn't stop Ron, he should have quickly retreated.

Before Ron and his men could even charge forward, the battle flag symbolizing command had already fallen, and the unknown officer of the Duchy Fourth Legion abandoned his men and fled.

At this point, James was completely relieved. He immediately ordered his troops to keep a close watch on the enemy's central force and prevent them from disturbing Ron's troops.

He relaxed completely, and after giving orders to clear the battlefield, he dismissed the troops around him, leaving only a few guards with him.

As for the surrendered ducal soldiers, he entrusted them all to his subordinates, who then went to help the accompanying medical team treat the wounded.

Ron rode up to James's position, his body covered in blood, his outermost plate armor marked with sword and blade slashes. Fortunately, he was not seriously injured, only suffering a few cuts on his face.

Ron saw James standing under the battle flag, immediately dismounted, and strode over to him.

After walking up to James and looking him over, he said, "Looks like you're alright. That's great! I was worried I'd be late!"

James smiled wryly and said, "Thanks to you, if you had come any later, I really don't know what would have happened to me."

The battle just now, whether he was leading the charge with Heavy Cavalry or dodging the enemy's indiscriminate rain of arrows, was extremely dangerous; a slight mistake could have resulted in his death on the battlefield.

Seeing James's still-shaken expression, Ron patted him on the shoulder to comfort him, "You did a great job this time. When we report this to Victor, we'll have to tell him about it."

James shook his head and changed the subject. "So, have you captured the enemy commander?"

Upon hearing this, Ron stomped his foot heavily and said with great frustration, "That guy ran too fast. He's cunning and even used a double. I led my men to chase after him, but we only caught his double."

After saying that, Ron waved his hand, and one of his men pulled a warhorse over, with an officer dressed in the armor of a duchy Regimental Commander tied to its back.

Ron yanked him off the horse, and the officer fell heavily to the ground, groaning in pain for a long time.

Ron, growing impatient, kicked him to the ground and said menacingly, "Tell me, who are you? Where's your Regimental Commander?"

James noticed that the officer was young, looking only about twenty years old, and had no beard. It was obvious that he couldn't possibly be Regimental Commander of the Duchy Legion. According to their intelligence, no Regimental Commander in the Fourth Legion was under 30 years old.

The officer looked at Ron and James standing to the side, trembling with fear. "My lords, I am Finks of the First Regiment of the Fourth Legion, the adjutant of Regimental Commander Jindio. I come from a Court Noble of Milan County, I..."

Ron got angry after hearing Finks spout a bunch of useless nonsense and was about to kick him again, but James stopped him.

The young man named Finks covered his face with his arms in fear. James bent down and leaned closer to him. "Don't be afraid. As long as you tell the truth, we promise we won't hurt you."

I am an officer under Viscount Golden Sunflower. You should have heard of us and know that our army does not kill prisoners!

Finks rested his hand on his arm and nodded. He followed closely behind Jindio. As the Regimental Commander's right-hand man, he knew a lot about military affairs and was somewhat familiar with this powerful viscount of the Northlands. His army was indeed known for its tough style and its lack of bloodlust.

Finks pointed at Ron and said, "Our Regimental Commander is named Jindio. This man suddenly led his troops out and cut off our left flank Cavalry unit in half."

At that moment, Regimental Commander Jindio realized something was wrong, and he immediately ordered the Fourth Battalion Reserve Force Battalion, which he had left behind, to defend the area and try to stop you, sir.

However, your Cavalry was simply too sharp to withstand. The Battalion Commander of the Fourth Battalion was too far forward in command and disappeared into your Cavalry.

Upon seeing the battle situation, Regimental Commander Jindio immediately exchanged clothes with me. He instructed me to lead the remaining troops that hadn't yet collapsed to escape in another direction, while he himself, with only his Guard Corps, fled eastward. And that's when you captured me."

After hearing what Finks said, Ron regretted it so much that he kept scratching his head. "It was so close! I actually saw that small group of people, but I thought they were just a small band of defeated soldiers and ignored them. Who knew that this imposter was surrounded by so many troops?"

"It's alright, Ron. We won no matter what. That escaped Regimental Commander won't have a good ending even if he returns to the Fourth Legion."

James comforted Ron for a while, just then a messenger ran in to report.

"Regimental Commander, what should we do if the enemy still has a unit putting up fierce resistance?"

James was a little curious. So what if they're still putting up a fight? Why ask him about something so simple? Why not just break them down?

When he and Ron went to check, they found that the duchy's troops still resisting were indeed quite extraordinary. They only had a little over three hundred men, but they were very well-equipped.

These soldiers formed a very dense square formation, with Pikemen on the outer edge and a considerable number of crossbowmen and swordsmen and Sword-and-Shield Soldiers on the inner edge, making for a very well-organized formation.

James' Light Cavalry had a hard time dealing with them. Even if they wanted to get close and fire a volley, the crossbowmen in the army had a much longer range than these light cavalrymen with Light Cavalry. The entire army was like a hedgehog, very difficult to attack.

Ron was thrilled by the sight. He immediately mounted his horse, ready for battle, and said to James, "Give me all your Heavy Cavalry. I'll lead them myself, and one charge will take them down."

James quickly pulled him back. "Forget it, there are only so many men. Don't waste our Heavy Cavalry. Without Birchbark Heavy Armor, our Heavy Cavalry is too vulnerable."

Hearing James say that, Ron had no choice but to give up.

"Then what's your plan?"

"It's simple, just watch me. Lend me the battle flag you captured."

Ron had his men find the battle flag, and James gave a few instructions to someone to take the flag away. Soon, several Light Cavalry carried the Fourth Legion's battle flag and circled the small formation, shouting things like, "Your Regimental Commander has fled, you have been abandoned, those who surrender will not be killed!"

The once solid formation quickly began to waver, and then a riot broke out on the inner side of the formation. Before long, several officers came out from the formation, raised white flags, and surrendered to James and his men.