Ironvine Territory (81)
A Duchy Army was marching toward the direction of the Golden Sunflower battle flag. This army was clearly not a regular army; the soldiers' weapons and equipment bore several different Noble Crest, indicating that it was Allied Army of private noble armies.
At the head of the column of Cavalry, two men dressed as officers were talking. One, a young man in his twenties, asked a middle-aged man in his forties, "Lord Neville, may we attack the enemy directly?"
Should we rendezvous with the Fourth Legion first?
"Harold, don't worry. Look at the enemy's behavior; they never dare to penetrate deep into the camp, which means they don't have many troops."
Our assembled noble private army, totaling more than a regiment and five or six thousand men, is enough to challenge even the regular army of the duchy.
If we can defeat these enemy forces, we might just achieve the greatest merit, enough to propel our two families' businesses to new heights.
As for the Fourth Legion, Ursus has always looked down on our private War Department and even prevented us from entering the inner camp.
As a result, all the other noble private armies stationed outside the camp have collapsed. The biggest problem lies with him, and afterwards, neither the nobles of Hampshire nor Cornwall County will let him off easily."
At this moment, another officer ran over and chimed in, "Baron Harold, you can't go wrong listening to Baron Neville. I, Scoin, can guarantee that the enemy's numbers won't be too many. As long as we can capture that Viscount Golden Sunflower, we might even become esteemed viscounts ourselves!"
Harold seemed to understand but not quite. He was forced to participate in the Civil War with his family's private army this time, after all, the Grand Duke had issued a mobilization order, and if he did not participate in the suppression of the rebels, he would be regarded as an accomplice of the rebels.
Unfortunately, their family's territory was located in a remote area with little connection to other noble territories, and they were forced to participate, which further exacerbated the already dire financial situation caused by the special war expenses.
As for Lord Neville, he was a close friend of Harold's father, and the two families had a close relationship. This was Harold's first time leading troops after inheriting the title, so he sought out Neville, hoping to get his help.
The two families' camps were located at the westernmost part of the entire camp, which conveniently shielded them from the night raid by the Southern Marching Legion. They only learned of the breach when they discovered the routed soldiers of other noble private armies.
Because the situation was unclear at the beginning of the battle, and it was getting dark, Neville did not dare to act rashly and could only stay in the camp with Harold to hold the line.
Fortunately, perhaps because their camp was in a very remote location, they were not attacked until dawn.
Afterwards Neville discovered a large number of deserted noble private armies and set his sights on these deserters, as both the men and their equipment were worth some money.
So Neville encouraged Harold to join him in capturing these fleeing soldiers, mainly to loot their equipment. After all, these men were the private armies of other nobles, and if their noble lords were still alive, they would have to be sent back.
However, it's not so easy to send the equipment and weapons back. As long as the Noble Crest on the equipment and weapons are worn off, they can be completely transformed.
Working together, the two captured over a thousand fleeing soldiers and obtained a large amount of weapons and equipment in just over an hour that morning, a considerable sum for their two impoverished territories.
Just as the two were getting into their work, they encountered another nobleman and his private army, namely Baron Scoin.
His camp was also attacked by the Southern Marching Legion. Fortunately, the enemy withdrew before the camp was completely breached. However, Scoin dared not stay there. Before dawn, he led his troops out of the camp and fled to the outskirts.
However, after encountering Neville and Harold's troops, he changed his mind. The main reason was that the troops looked quite presentable. Although their weapons and equipment were obviously not a set, at least their armor coverage was very high, far surpassing that of ordinary noble private armies.
Furthermore, the business Neville chose suited his taste perfectly, and the two hit it off immediately. Scoin also stayed and joined their team, while Harold didn't care and listened to Neville in everything.
While they were capturing deserters, they accidentally obtained intelligence that the enemy forces that had launched the night raid were not numerous and had even split up their forces.
This intelligence was also corroborated by the sudden departure of the force that attacked the Scoin camp.
Just as the three were beginning to consider how to profit from this intelligence, they discovered the battle flag hanging high above.
As a well-informed member of the nobility, Scoin immediately understood which troops had attacked them.
He then introduced Viscount Golden Sunflower to Neville and Harold. Neville, a middle-aged nobleman, was naturally very envious and jealous of Victor's rise to power, but Harold, as a young man, greatly admired Victor's success.
Therefore, Baron Neville suddenly had an idea: to take advantage of the fact that their army was at its strongest and most powerful to attack Victor's forces, and ideally capture Victor, the leader of the rebels.
Harold and Scoin initially rejected Baron Neville's sudden idea, but the promises Neville made were too tempting, and given Neville influence within the unit, they were eventually persuaded.
And so they rearmed the captured routs, reintegrating them into their respective units, and began their march toward the Golden Sunflower battle flag.
Although they still encountered many defeated soldiers along the way, they never met any enemy troops, which put their initial worries at ease.
In particular, Scoin felt there was a high chance of success, and when he saw Harold wavering, he would actively persuade him. As a result, Harold had no choice but to put aside his doubts and focus on following Baron Neville.
Just as their troops were getting closer and closer to Victor's position, Neville announced in a passionate voice that the troops should begin their charge.
A Light Cavalry suddenly charged out from their camp on the flank and rear. This unit chose the perfect moment to attack, targeting the weak point of the nobles' private army.
In just two sprints, the entire rear guard collapsed, leaving the three men completely dumbfounded.
Neville, in particular, had just confidently announced his troops' charge, only to find his forces on the verge of collapse in the blink of an eye.
This was also related to his poor deployment. If he hadn't reinstated those routed soldiers into his own troops, things would have been better, but he made the worst choice.
These routed soldiers were already like frightened birds, and they were actually very reluctant to continue fighting, but with a knife to their throats, they had no choice but to submit.
But when the Cavalry charged out, they saw the familiar insignia—the very same enemy troops that had routed their original force the night before. Fear gripped them once more, and the routed soldiers turned and fled, instantly disrupting the entire formation.
Furthermore, the Cavalry had targeted the most vulnerable part of this noble private army, which, combined with the fact that the collapse was even faster, led to their downfall.
James, who was leading the charge, also discovered that the enemy was so weak that he would not give up easily. He launched wave after wave of attacks, shattering the entire formation of the noble private army.
Seeing that the enemy only had one Cavalry unit, Neville and his two companions tried to save their troops, but it was too late. An infantry phalanx appeared to their east, directly in front of their column.
The newly appeared enemy force approached directly, slamming into the formation like a heavy hammer, crushing and deforming the formation that the three men were struggling to maintain, and then completely tearing it apart in conjunction with the Cavalry.
Baron Neville, as the commander, was the most conspicuous and was killed on the spot by James and his guards; Scoin the most cunning and immediately dismounted and knelt to surrender, thus escaping death; while Harold was too young and was dragged off his horse by the infantry who recognized his unusual status. Although he suffered a beating, he at least survived.
Thus, the largest of the five armies besieging Victor was wiped out before they even saw Victor.
However, the force was too large, and it took James and his troops a long time to completely eliminate it.