Ironvine Territory (69)

After a while, seeing that Lenster had finally stopped clapping, Victor continued, "Because time is of the essence, I won't waste any more words."

From this moment forward, our army will officially march towards Ironwire City. I hope that the past two days of rest have allowed your troops to adjust to the right condition.

There will be no more rest time. Unless I give the order to stop, no one is allowed to halt the march, understand?

Lenster was the first to speak, "My Ironvine Territory Troops are ready and can depart at any time. Please give the order!"

Victor and Lenster had already agreed that Victor would be fully responsible for supporting the battle of Ironwire City, while Lenster's part of the Ironvine Territory Army would serve as a supporting force.

Following Lenster's statement, the remaining commanders of the various units and nobles also stood up one by one to indicate that their troops were ready and at Victor's command at any time.

Victor was quite satisfied with this situation. He had his own troops and the Great Oak Territory army commanded by Knight Yellen, so he wasn't too worried.

However, he was unsure about the private armies of the eastern nobles that were traveling with the Southern Marching Legion. After all, although these private armies had undergone several rounds of selection, the quality of the noble private armies varied, and some problems were bound to arise.

However, seeing the nobles' quick agreement shows that there's nothing seriously wrong with their attitude, which is a good thing no matter what.

Victor didn't waste any time and immediately ordered the troops to be dismissed, allowing the officers to return to command the troops and depart on time at dawn the next day.

Soon the entire tent was empty, leaving only Lenster and Knight Yellen.

Victor didn't speak at first, but looked at the map in the tent and thought for a while. Neither Lenster nor Yellen disturbed him.

After Victor and his men arrived at the crossing, Lenster rallied the garrison at the crossing and some nearby troops, expanding his army back to more than 4,000 men.

Victor wasn't particularly concerned about the size of Ironvine Territory's forces, but he was surprised that Lenster could gather so many troops.

As for Viscount Ferry, after a few days of rest, his health improved significantly, and most of the soldiers who had suffered from the same ailment also recovered.

Seeing that the plague was not very serious, Viscount Ferry had the idea of reopening the passage to the Yalori Valley, and he also conveyed this news to Victor and his men.

Victor supports this. Considering that the Fourth Legion is difficult to deal with, Victor plans to mobilize all his forces to support Ironwire City. At that time, the entire rear of the army will not have many troops left behind, and the entire rear will be very vulnerable.

With Viscount Ferry leading troops to guard the valley entrance and monitor other key passes, Victor could be more at ease about the safety of the rear, since a considerable amount of supplies would be stored at the ferry crossing.

Moreover, Viscount Ferry and his troops had just recovered from the plague, and their physical condition was certainly not as good as that of healthy troops. In addition, Victor was also worried that they might still have some virus on them, so it was a good thing that they did not act together.

Victor suddenly turned to Knight Yellen and said, "I am very sorry for causing so many losses to the Cavalry of Great Oak Territory."

Victor also had a list of battle losses that James had secretly given him. After James and Ron's Cavalry forces experienced an initial victory followed by a defeat, their forces suffered heavy losses, and the Great Oak Territory Cavalry, which served as an auxiliary force, naturally also suffered considerable losses.

Knight Yellen quickly replied, "Viscount Victor, not to mention the Cavalry, my infantry also suffered considerable losses. Casualties are inevitable in battle; you needn't worry about these things."

Knight Yellen had also seen the list. Although he felt bad, since these Cavalry were also very valuable to Great Oak Territory, as he said, swords have no eyes on the battlefield, and even generals are not immune to death, let alone these ordinary soldiers.

"In the end, it was because James and Ron were too careless. Otherwise, they wouldn't have suffered such heavy losses in the first battle, and so many of the Great Oak Territory's Cavalry would have been scattered."

Hearing this, Knight Yellen blushed a little. He knew that the troop depopulation was not James and Ron's fault. After all, the Great Oak Territory Cavalry had just undergone a major expansion, which had brought many unqualified people into the army. This led to a considerable number of Great Oak Territory Cavalry voluntarily leaving the army after the defeat. In fact, Ron had spent a lot of energy on this matter.

"Viscount Victor, please stop. Our goal is to rescue Ironvine Territory. As long as we can defeat the enemy, even if all my troops are wiped out, it will be worthwhile."

"It's better to minimize losses. Even if we help Ironvine Territory repel the enemy, we'll still need a large army to pacify the entire Southern Region."

After saying that, Victor patted Yellen on the shoulder, Yellen quickly nodded. "Yes, you're right."

At this moment, Lenster chimed in, "Viscount Victor, let me be the striker this time!"

Victor knew that Lenster was acting impulsively; he was probably too worried about Ironwire City and Count Lloyd.

Victor shook his head and refused. "Lenster, this time our operation requires us to reach Ironwire City in the shortest possible time. I don't think that Ursus Legion Commander will give us time."

After hearing this, Lenster turned pale. "Viscount Victor, do you really think Ironwire City has already fallen?"

"It probably hasn't happened yet, but the situation isn't going to be good."

The enemy's reaction revealed that James had caused such a commotion that he had trapped the Fourth Legion's Cavalry Regiment.

But the Fourth Legion only sent such a small number of reinforcements, why do you think that is?

Just as Lenster realized something and was about to speak, Knight Yellen spoke first, "The enemy's forces are also stretched thin; they can't send out too many troops."

Victor nodded. "That's right, the Fourth Legion should have reached match point. If I'm not mistaken, the outer walls of Ironwire City may have already been captured."

Hearing this, Lenster's expression turned extremely frightened. Victor quickly added, "But you see, the enemy has only sent this many troops, which means they haven't been able to take down Ironwire City yet. If we hurry, we should be able to make it in time."

"So, Viscount Victor, you mean you'll lead a large army on a forced march?"

"Almost."

"My troops can do that too. Our territory has been ravaged like this, and everyone is holding their breath. We won't slow down our march."

He thought that by expressing his desire for battle, Victor would agree to let his troops be the vanguard, but Victor still refused Lenster, though Victor quickly explained why.

"Not only will we march quickly, but I will also lead them forward, and we won't stop at night; I will launch night raids."

After Victor finished speaking, Knight Yellen silently thought to himself, "Just as I thought."

Yellen had sensed something was amiss when Victor said they would depart at dawn. The journey from here to Ironwire City would normally take a day and a half, and considering the army's slightly slower pace, two days would be sufficient.

Normally, troops would set off in the morning, march for half a day, rest for one night, and then set off again the next morning. By controlling the speed, they could reach the battlefield in the afternoon without affecting the battle, and there was plenty of time.

Setting off early in the morning, even by evening, they would be less than 10 kilometers from Ironwire City. If they rested for a night before setting off again, the enemy could easily discover them even without scouts. Victor's requirement for a covert march was simply impossible.

Unless Victor leads the army on a half-day march, stops to rest in the afternoon, and sets off again at midnight to launch a night attack on the Fourth Legion, only in this way can the movement of the hidden army be guaranteed.

Victor then continued to explain his plan, which was indeed just as Yellen had thought. Victor would stop to rest 20 kilometers from Ironwire City and then launch an attack in the middle of the night.

The army that Lenster gathered was mostly second-line troops from the Ironvine Territory. They might have good fighting spirit, but their training and quality were definitely average. Most of them probably also suffered from night blindness, making them unable to march at night, let alone serve as the vanguard.

Only then did Lenster understand why his troops weren't allowed to be the vanguard: they simply couldn't meet Victor's requirements.

"I understand, Viscount Victor, but please give me a chance. I will also select a group of elite troops to act alongside you."

Victor Lenster's resolute attitude, Victor agreed.