Ironvine Territory (Seventy-Three)

Ursus's adjutant, watching the dense enemy army charging down the hillside in the distance, muttered to himself, "How is this possible? How could so many troops suddenly appear here?"

"It's nothing more than concealing their movements and lying in wait. No wonder their Cavalry have been so frantically slaughtering our scouts and rangers these past two days; it's to clear out our reconnaissance forces so that their main force can launch a surprise attack on our base."

Although Ursus's face was still grim, his responsibility as the Legion Commander forced him to grit his teeth and regain his composure, though his deliberate words still reflected his inner turmoil.

"But that doesn't make sense either. How could so many troops suddenly infiltrate our camp? During the day, our camp is surrounded by numerous sentries, and there are also lookout towers inside the camp. If a large enemy force approaches within a 5-kilometer radius, there's no way we wouldn't see any signs. Are some kind of ghost or spirit helping them?"

How could we possibly be a match for such an enemy?

The adjutant was probably startled by the sudden appearance of the enemy troops and spoke incoherently.

"Slap!" Ursus slapped his adjutant hard across the face, then calmly said, "Calm down, there are no ghosts or gods here."

They didn't come during the day, but at night.

As for the method they used, it was nothing more than using stars and moonlight for navigation, and using fewer torches, which made it difficult for us to notice them sneaking up on our camp.

After being hit by Ursus, the adjutant finally calmed down after hearing the Legion Commander's words. "I lost my temper, Legion Commander."

Ursus nodded. "It's good that you've calmed down. Now I have something I need you to do."

Go find Phyllis immediately and have him assemble my guards to block the second gate of the camp. The Coalition of Nobles in the outer camp, along with the Second Regiment and Third Regiment, probably can't come to the rescue, but as long as we hold the inner camp, we can at least maintain a 50% chance of victory."

The adjutant was startled by this, not expecting the Legion Commander to be so pessimistic about the war, saying that there was only a 50% chance of victory. But the adjutant didn't say anything more and immediately left to find the Personal Guard Phyllis.

However, when the adjutant turned around, he didn't notice the gloom in the eyes of the Legion Commander, Ursus. Ursus was a seasoned officer who understood all too well the terrifying power of Victor's ability to mobilize so many troops for a night raid.

In truth, he knew in his heart that the odds of winning were nowhere near 50%, not even 30%.

Ursus clenched his fists so tightly that his fingernails pierced his palms, but he seemed oblivious, his eyes fixed on the enemy army charging toward the camp.

Upon seeing the signal, James immediately ordered his First Regiment to launch an attack along with the main force.

He shouted, "Victory is assured! As is customary, long weapons will be in front, short weapons behind, and the Cavalry will be on both flanks!"

After saying that James took the lead and charged out, raising his lance and rushing towards the Duchy Fourth Legion at the foot of the hill.

"Kill them!"

Because Victor's army was advancing from east to west, and the sky was just beginning to lighten, the Duchy troops in the camp had no choice but to fight under the rising sun, which gave the night raiding army a slight advantage.

At this moment, Victor did not rush down the mountain with the army. He remained on the hillside with his guards, watching his army launch the attack.

It wasn't that he didn't want to participate, but everyone around him, including the high-ranking officers of the Southern Marching Legion, as well as Lenster and Knight Yellen, stopped him.

Everyone said in unison that Victor, as the supreme commander, should not participate in the night raid. After all, such a battlefield must be extremely chaotic, and if he were to be injured in the chaos, it would definitely affect the morale of the troops.

Furthermore, they believed that if the night raid failed, Victor could leave immediately, as there were still a large number of troops at the ferry crossing, and with him there, there was still a chance to turn the situation around.

However, Victor remained noncommittal. After all, he had brought out the most elite forces of his entire army for this night raid. If it failed, even if he retreated to the ferry, the plan to rescue Ironvine Territory would have failed.

However, Victor ultimately stayed on the hillside and did not personally go to the front line to fight, since staying there would indeed make it easier to command.

He quietly watched the Fourth Legion Main Camp below the mountain. After the night raid troops rushed into the Main Camp, fires soon broke out everywhere in the camp.

Before the Duchy Army could react, the night raiders slaughtered them, leaving the battlefield in complete chaos.

The two sides' troops were mixed together, but the Duchy Army was already at a disadvantage and was being routed.

As Victor gazed at the scene, he was lost in memories. In his previous life, he had been very interested in ancient warfare with cold weapons, especially some special battle examples. This night raid was actually an imitation of the wisdom of the ancients in his previous life, and was arranged in combination with the situation of the enemy and our own armies. It was not really a strategy.

Due to the backwardness of communication methods, the command of armies using cold weapons was very inflexible, untimely, and easily limited by weather, time, and visibility.

Historically, there are also real night raids that Victor experienced, in which the entire army would light torches and the troops would continuously use drums and music to maintain order.

But this time Victor broke with convention, strictly limiting the use of torches and drums, and the entire army hid and put away their flags, with men gagged and horses mouth-bound.

They stealthily advanced to the enemy's front, and while launching a general offensive, the troops spread out their marching columns into battle formation.

In Victor's view, after the general offensive began, although there were still many problems with the deployment of the formation, all the troops were able to maintain a basic combat formation until they entered the Duchy Army camp.

That's enough. It proves that after such a long period of training, Victor's elite troops can finally be called true elites.

Someone unfamiliar with military affairs might not understand the horror of such an army, or what it represents.

However, this ducal military camp contains the Duchy Fourth Legion, the elite regular army of the Grand Duchy of Vera. Although the ducal regular army is rife with nepotism, it is difficult to become an officer without a noble background.

However, the Fourth Legion, which is stationed in the Southern Region year-round, is not a place where just any good-for-nothing can become an officer. Even the lowest -Regimental Commander officers in the corps, such as regimental commanders, are considered to have above-average abilities. Furthermore, the commanders of the noble private armies are generally considered to be knowledgeable about military affairs compared to most nobles.

Therefore, these people could understand how terrifying the enemy army in front of them was. The Second Regiment Rick had just gathered an army and joined forces with the private War Department of several noble organizations. Together, the two sides numbered about four or five hundred men.

Rick looked at the camps that had fallen into chaos and were engulfed in flames, and said to the nobles with a wry smile, "Gentlemen, the camps over there are completely hopeless. The troops are probably in complete disarray and can't be saved."

"We might as well take advantage of the troops we can still gather and hold our ground here, waiting for reinforcements. Perhaps the Legion Commander has already prepared a counterattack."

A nobleman, enraged, exclaimed, "You bastard, have you gone mad?"

Are you planning to make us fight against this kind of army?

Another nobleman grabbed him. "Don't waste your breath on him, this guy has gone mad. How can this place be defended? With this little force, we don't even need to fight the enemy. Those crazy routs will overwhelm us soon!"

Since our troops are already too late, we might as well leave now and break out of the western camp. The enemy will definitely launch a fierce attack on the camp's interior and won't be able to spare us!

"We'll see how they and that Ursus die in the end!"

These nobles were so furious for two reasons. First, they were knowledgeable about military affairs and knew very well how formidable this stealthy enemy force was. Second, when they were cooperating with the Fourth Legion in attacking Ironwire City, they were required to be stationed on the outer perimeter. As a result, when Victor's army launched a surprise attack, their troops and camps became the first targets to be breached. It could be said that their army was finished, and the few who managed to escape were only able to do so because their camps were located a little further inward.

Faced with such a formidable and elite enemy force, and having suffered such heavy losses, it was no wonder that these nobles were so hysterical.

After saying this, the nobles wanted to lead their troops westward, but Rick naturally disagreed, and the two sides confronted each other.

Just when the two sides were on the verge of a full-blown battle, another unit suddenly arrived. Rick sent someone to inquire, and it turned out to be the Third Regiment.