The Late Battle Report

Soon the Duchy Army began to move. The Imperial Guard Legion, under the pretext of adjusting camps, began to rotate its troops while appearing relaxed on the outside but tense on the inside.

Viscount Borey and his men did not deliberately conceal this news, and soon this intelligence was delivered to White Earth City by spies from the Northern Alliance Army.

The atmosphere inside the city lord's mansion in White Earth City was heavy. Count Colt sat at the head of the table, his face serious as he sat with several Legion Commander, discussing the upcoming war.

Just then, a soft but urgent knock on the door broke the tense atmosphere inside.

Everyone turned their gaze toward the doorway, where a young and capable figure pushed it open and walked in—it was Alex, the heir of the Iron Birch Family and the intelligence chief of the Northern Alliance Army. His sudden appearance likely indicated that there was important intelligence at stake.

Alex strode to his father, knelt on one knee, and gave him a crisp military salute before speaking, "Father, I have urgent military intelligence to report! According to the latest intelligence, the Duchy appears to be mobilizing its troops and has begun a large-scale troop rotation..."

After saying this, he handed a document to Count Colt without hesitation and then said, "The Imperial Guard Legion has deployed two Infantry Regiment and is taking over part of the Seventh Legion's camps. Moreover, the entire Duchy Army is being mobilized unusually. Do you think it's possible that our battle plan has been exposed?"

Count Colt remained silent, his deep, sharp eyes fixed on the document in his hands.

The information contained in this document is far more detailed and comprehensive than what was previously obtained.

It not only contains precise descriptions of the enemy army's specific unit number, branch of service, and internal organizational structure, but also lists the personal resumes of each commander, making it comprehensive.

After reading the documents in his hand, Count Colt handed them to the other Legion Commander of the Northern Alliance Army.

"Alex, you did a good job. This intelligence came at just the right time. Everyone take a look and assess the movements of the Duchy Army."

Viscount Hawke was the first to finish reading and also the first to speak, "Count Excellency, I believe this is just a normal rotation of the Duchy Army, and there's nothing particularly significant about it. We can completely disregard it!"

Soon someone retorted, it was Viscount Edmund of Crimson Maple Territory: "Viscount Hawke, you're thinking too simply. The Imperial Guard Legion has always been responsible for the defense of the central army Main Camp and protecting the false Grand Duke Mora, and that hasn't changed since the start of the war."

I believe the Duchy Army may have detected our movements, and this adjustment to their troop deployment is a response to our actions.

Hawk scoffed, "Viscount Edmund, your statement is even more ridiculous. The Royal Imperial Guard Legion, and there is no problem with them participating in the rotation."

Moreover, your guess is baseless. If the duchy made adjustments to counter our attack, it's impossible that only two regiments would be deployed to the forward camp.

It's important to understand that the forward camp has always been solely garrisoned by the Seventh Legion. Even after accounting for casualties, the Seventh Legion still has nearly 20,000 men. The Imperial Guard Legion only sent two regiments for rotation, which actually weakens the forward camp's defensive capabilities.

So this should just be a simple troop rotation. As for why the garrison strength was reduced, I think the reason is simple: we had previously fought several fierce battles with the Seventh Legion.

Both sides suffered heavy losses, especially the Seventh Legion, which was completely wiped out by me, resulting in a significant drop in combat strength. This time, it might simply be to replenish the Seventh Legion's losses."

"That makes sense!"

"Viscount Hawke is absolutely right!"

The others found Hawk's analysis reasonable and logical, but Edmund wasn't about to be outdone by Hawk, and he continued to argue.

"You underestimate the Duchy Army. The Imperial Guard Legion is no pushover; they are no match for the Seventh Legion you faced at White Earth City!"

"Are you saying the Seventh Legion is a bunch of useless trash, and that my troops, who are resisting them, are also weak?"

This time, the two, who were already at odds, started arguing again. Viscount Hawke thought there was no need to worry and that they could proceed as originally planned, but Viscount Edmund believed that the duchy's unusual troop movements must have a reason, and that the Northlands Alchemy should not be risked.

The Legion Commander of the Northern Alliance Army were thus divided into two camps, neither able to persuade the other, and instead engaged in heated arguments.

Count Colt ignored the men and instead said to Alex, "You did a good job this time. Just prepare some more supplies for me, the sooner the better."

Alex understood that Count Colt's implication was that he had no intention of changing his plans and would continue with the previous strategy of launching an offensive against the Duchy Army.

Sure enough, after the two sides argued for a while in the conference room, Count Colt suddenly interrupted them.

"Our troops have already been mobilized and are preparing to launch an attack. At this moment, there is no need to consider whether the Duchy Army has discovered our movements."

If the operation were to be halted, it would negatively impact the morale of the army, and it would be a great pity to let the morale boost gained from the victory in the Southern Region go to waste.

Therefore, my mind is made up, and we will launch the attack according to the original plan. However, all units must be prepared, and in case of any problems, we must reserve sufficient strength to ensure the retreat of our troops."

Count Colt concluded the meeting by deciding to proceed with the original plan, continuing the attack, even a day earlier.

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, it was the next morning.

As the first hint of dawn appeared in the east, tinged with a faint red glow, the various units of the Northern Alliance Army had quietly assembled, poised to pounce like Salt-Spitting Leopard that had been lying in wait for a long time.

With Count Colt's order, the Northern Alliance Army, like a raging beast, launched a ferocious offensive across the entire front!

Before the battle, the Northern Alliance Army also publicized the news of the Southern Marching Legion's victory, which made the soldiers in high spirits and full of fighting spirit; at the same time, this high morale spread rapidly like wildfire, infecting every army in the surrounding area.

At this moment, no unit was willing to fall behind, much less watch Victor's Southern Marching Legion revel in the glory!

Therefore, all participating troops launched wave after wave of overwhelming attacks on the enemy with tremendous force.

Report: The advance is progressing extremely smoothly! The vanguard has swiftly captured the Duchy's forward camp, and the enemy is utterly helpless!

The two regiments of the Imperial Guard Legion were completely unable to withstand our offensive and had completely collapsed!

An excited messenger rushed to Count Colt, who was positioned in the center of the army, and breathlessly reported the latest battle report in a loud voice.

"Count lord, the enemy seems to be truly on the verge of defeat. Let our legion be dispatched as well!"

Viscount Edmund was initially worried that the Duchy Army's troop rotation might be a trap, but seeing how easily his allies' attack was carried out, he couldn't help but want to participate and gain merit, so he volunteered to fight.

Alex stood quietly to the side, listening attentively to Viscount Edmund.

When he heard the other person say those words, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, and he gently pursed his lips.

He muttered to himself, "Hmph! What's the point of saying all this now?"

"Where were you all this time? You were the one who most vehemently opposed us taking the initiative!"

Fortunately, Count Colt was not blinded by the news of these victories. He did not agree to Viscount Edmund's request, and Edmund could only continue to watch the battlefield with envy, admiring the achievements of his comrades.

Just then, the sound of rapid hoofbeats came from afar.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw a man riding a horse galloping towards them, arriving in the blink of an eye not far from the central command tent.

The horse neighed and stopped, and the rider immediately dismounted and scrambled towards them.

When he was stopped by the guards, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Young Master Alex, something terrible has happened!"

"There's an urgent military report!"

Alex looked up and saw it was his intelligence chief, who was pale and breathing rapidly, looking exhausted.

Alex didn't dare to delay and hurried forward to meet him.

When he met the intelligence chief, the man visibly relaxed and quickly pulled out a report from his pocket, handing it to Alex and saying, "Young Master, please take a look at this detailed battle report from the southern region."

This was specifically entrusted to us by Viscount Victor through the Northern Frontier Chamber of Commerce Guild!

Upon hearing this, Alex immediately unfolded the intelligence report and began reading its contents at an astonishing speed.

His gaze swept across each line of text like lightning, as if trying to imprint all the information deeply into his mind.

Good heavens! How is this possible? Victor and his men actually managed to annihilate such a massive number of the Duchy Army!

"Not only the Third Legion, but even the border nobles of Cornwall County and Hampshire have lost more than half their number!" Alex exclaimed in shock.

When he saw the final battle report, his face was filled with disbelief. "We eliminated nearly 60,000 enemy troops, while losing less than 10,000 of our own!"

Victor, how did you do that? That's amazing!

Just as Alex was celebrating Victor's victory, he suddenly seemed to realize something, and his face turned deathly pale.

He grabbed the crucial intelligence report with great anxiety and sped off towards Count Colt like an arrow released from a bow.

He ran up to Count Colt, panting, and said to the Count.

"Father, take a look at this battle report!"

The losses suffered by the Duchy Army in the Southern Region were greater than we had imagined!

Upon hearing this, Count Colt immediately took the battle report and quickly began to read it.

When he finally finished browsing through all the information, his previously calm expression suddenly changed dramatically.

His brows furrowed, and he muttered to himself, "The enemy should have known about this earlier than we have. If that's the case, there's only one reason why they suddenly changed their garrison: it must be a trap."

"Oh no! This battle report is a bit too late; our frontline troops have already penetrated too deep."

At this moment, some changes had occurred on the battlefield. The vanguard of the Northern Alliance Army, located in the center, had broken through the Duchy's vanguard camp and approached the central command tent, but was quickly blocked by the Duchy Army, which also caused them to become separated from the other Northern Alliance Army units.

Seeing this, Count Colt immediately issued an order, "Someone! A messenger!"

Immediately transmit our military orders to the commanders of all corps, ordering them to cease all offensive operations immediately, quickly organize their forces into a strong defensive formation to support and protect each other, and then gradually and orderly retreat.

Anyone who violates this rule will be severely punished without exception, and will be executed without exception!

As the roar resounded, a group of well-trained and battle-hardened messengers sped off like arrows, determined to deliver Count Colt's orders to the Legion Commander as quickly as possible.

He then turned his gaze to Alex and solemnly instructed, "Alex!"

Now it is your turn to lead your Cavalry force and swiftly advance to the right flank of the battlefield.

This mission carries a heavy responsibility; you must do everything in your power to ensure the safety of our army's flanks.

We must find a way to slow down the enemy's advance and prevent them from encircling our vanguard.

This concerns the outcome of the entire battle; only success is allowed, failure is not permitted!

"Yes, Father!"

Alex didn't hesitate at all; he turned and left immediately.

Immediately afterwards, Count Colt's gaze was fixed on Viscount Edmund.

His voice was deep and firm: Edmund, immediately lead your legion headquarters to the front lines!

I want you to quickly deploy there, adopt a state of high alert, and build an unbreakable defensive line.

This barrier will be a crucial safeguard for our army's retreat; we must not allow the enemy to breach it even slightly!

Remember, no one is to back down even a step without my explicit instructions! Otherwise, you will be severely punished!

Seeing Edmund's hesitant and troubled expression, Count Colt was very dissatisfied, but he suppressed his frustration and took a deep breath before slowly saying, "Edmund! I know this mission may be difficult for you, but you must believe in yourself and have the ability to handle and complete it."

Moreover, once you successfully complete the rendezvous, this battle will end in our victory, and you will undoubtedly deserve the greatest credit for this great battle. I will not be stingy with the rewards!"

Having received Count Colt's promise, Viscount Edmund dared not delay and immediately led his troops toward the battlefield!

At this very moment, large numbers of soldiers poured out of the camps on both sides of the duchy, sweeping northward like a surging tide and forming a pincer attack. Clearly, they wanted to surround the vanguard of the Northern Alliance Army and cut off its retreat!