Delay the March North

After leaving Golden Sunflower Territory, Victor joined up with the other two detachments stationed elsewhere and also met Panfilov, whom Santos had praised as a talent.

After a brief conversation, Victor made his own assessment. The man in front of him, a robust man in his thirties, was indeed an excellent officer. Not only was his ability to lead troops outstanding, but his personal character was also among the best in the military system of the Grand Duchy of Vera.

Victor learned from him what became of the group of refugees he had wiped out: apart from those who had turned into bandits and were all executed, the rest of the refugees were properly resettled.

Panfilov used several abandoned farms within the Red Ginseng Territory to settle these refugees. The original inhabitants of these farms had been relocated by Victor after he occupied the Red Ginseng Territory last year, and the farms were used to fill the population shortage in the Golden Sunflower Territory.

Although Panfilov was not familiar with Civil Administration, he managed these temporary refugee camps well, and they had all returned to normal production order. Through high-pressure military control, he also transformed these refugees from bandit reserves back into indentured servants willing to do farm work.

Based on this alone, Victor highly recognized Panfilov's abilities.

Victor said with a smile, "Panfilov, you are no longer the acting Detachment Commander of the 4th Detachment!"

Panfilov didn't seem disappointed. He calmly accepted Victor's words. "Yes, my lord, please arrange for a new Detachment Commander to come to the 4th Squad. I will cooperate to ensure a smooth handover."

'He got into position quickly too,' Victor nodded to himself, and continued asking questions.

Aren't you concerned about what my plans are for you next?

Panfilov shook his head. "I'm a soldier, I just need to follow orders, nothing else is my concern."

Victor said decisively, "Alright! In that case, you'll be promoted to the Detachment Commander of the 4th Squadron!"

To Victor's surprise, Panfilov showed no excitement and remained calm and composed.

"A man who possesses thunderous power yet maintains a calm demeanor is worthy of being a high-ranking general!"

"Looks like I've struck gold," Victor thought, increasingly pleased with Panfilov's performance.

Victor then took out an exquisite cane and handed it to Panfilov: "This is your Detachment Commander's cane. I believe you will do even better in the future. In addition, all your treatment will be the same as that of the Detachment Commander who were promoted last January."

If you have any relatives in Black Oil Pine Territory, you can move to Golden Sunflower Territory together. If needed, I can help you write a letter to Baron Black Oil Pine.

Panfilov respectfully accepted the cane. This time, perhaps because Victor mentioned his family, Panfilov's voice finally showed a slight fluctuation. "Thank you, Lord. I will continue to work hard."

As for my family, I only have a wife and a son, who have now been brought here and are living in Linshui Town."

"Alright, I will arrange for Steward Boon to provide a house for your family in Linshui Town, and I will also try to arrange your Detachment Commander's merit land near Linshui Town, so that it will be convenient for your family to manage."

After a brief chat, Victor dismissed Panfilov, instructing him to expedite the boarding of the 4th Detachment. Victor planned to lead his troops northward along a tributary of the Blackwater River to rendezvous with the armies of other allies.

Just as Victor was about to go ashore for some fresh air, Little Paru suddenly came to him with a letterbox.

Previously, during the battle at Rotten Tree Beach, the Desert God Eagle Gale was injured in the wing and was taken by Little Paru and Santos to stay at Golden Sunflower Territory recover.

This time, after Victor returned to Golden Sunflower Territory, Gale's injuries had recovered, so he simply took Little Paru and Gale with him and put him in charge of the Carrier Pigeon Corps.

Fourteen or fifteen-year-olds grow particularly fast, especially Little Paru, who has always been well-nourished. In just over a month, Victor felt that he had grown a little taller.

Victor took the letter from Little Paru, who said, "My lord, this is a military order that just arrived, marked as urgent."

Upon hearing this, Victor immediately opened the mailbox, took out the letter inside, and exclaimed, 'It really is an express mail!'

Victor quickly read through the letter in his hand, which contained military orders issued by the Northern Alliance Command Count Colt.

The message was simple: Victor's Southern Marching Legion was ordered not to rush north, but to rest for a while before advancing directly into the Central Region to cut off the Duchy Army's supply lines.

The command itself wasn't urgent; in fact, it was more of a suggestion.

Victor hadn't expected Count Colt's orders to be like this. He had thought that after this battle, Count Colt would be even more eager to pursue victory because of the death of his younger brother, but he was surprised that Colterber was so calm and did not urge Victor to advance.

'Now I don't need to write to headquarters to offer suggestions!'

This order reassured Victor considerably. The reason he was so eager to abandon the main force was that he was worried that the previous defeat would cause Count Colt and the Northern Alliance Army to lose their composure and launch another invasion against the Duchy Army.

Fortunately, this did not happen. Based solely on this military order, Victor understood that Count Colt had restrained his anger and chosen a more cautious and steady approach.

This military order coincided with Victor's plan: first, cut off the Duchy's army's supply lines, then penetrate deep into the Central Region, threaten the Duchy Army's rear, and force the Duchy Army into disarray.

This approach has a high success rate. According to intelligence obtained by the Northern Frontier Chamber of Commerce, even though the Duchy's military rations are still relatively sufficient, they have been greatly depleted after such a long and fierce battle.

Given that no one knows how long the war will last, the duchy will never allow its supplies to be cut off.

Having received the order, Victor was able to act with more freedom. He no longer urged his allies to send reinforcements, but instead deployed his troops directly to the border with Raine County and began sending out a large number of scouts and rangers deep into Raine County to gather intelligence on Blackwater City and the surrounding area.

While Victor was working to attack Blackwater City, a funeral was being held for the Northern Alliance Army in White Earth City, Sextus County.

As the highest-ranking officer to die in the Northern Alliance Army since the start of the war, and also an important member of the Iron Birch Family, Haines could not be buried hastily.

With the unanimous agreement of the various nobles of the Northern Alliance Army, a joint funeral was held for Viscount Haines and the Northern Alliance Army soldiers who died in this battle.

Everyone at the funeral was dressed in military uniform, and they did not let their guard down just because it was peacetime. The defeat in this battle made the previously impetuous Northern Alliance Army begin to calm down.

Both officers and soldiers realized once again that the Duchy Army was not easy to deal with. In addition, battle reports from other fronts made them realize that the Duchy's rule was more stable than they had imagined.

However, none of this affected the morale of the Northern Alliance Army. As reports of the Southern Marching Legion's victory in the Ironvine Territory gradually spread, everyone understood that the Duchy was not easy to deal with, but the Northern Alliance Army would ultimately emerge victorious.

Many secretly hoped that Victor's troops would appear on the battlefield in Sextus County, believing that victory would be assured once Victor's forces arrived.

At the funeral, Count Colt presided over all the ceremonies with red eyes. As he watched the coffin containing his brother's body being pushed into the raging fire, he felt a pang of pain in his heart.

As he prepared to leave, accompanied by Alex, several Noble Army came to pay their respects. They were all nobles below the Legion Commander Allied Army commander in the Allied Forces, and their status was not low.

The nobles, seeing Count Colt's bloodshot eyes, dared not speak for a moment. Finally, Ziegfried Siegfried, who was leading the group, mustered his courage and asked, "Count Excellency, we have heard that your military order to Viscount Golden Sunflower is to attack Blackwater City first. Is this something we can discuss further?"

These nobles were not at the highest level of the Allied Army, and their vision was not that broad. In their view, Viscount Golden Sunflower's army had already swept through the Southern Region. All they had to do was wait for Victor to lead his army north and join forces with the main force of the Allied Army to defeat the duchy's army in front of them.

So when they realized that the command's orders were different from what they had expected, they all took the initiative to come and ask Count Colt for advice.

Alex wanted to reprimand these guys, but Count Colt stopped him and said to everyone, "This is a decision I made after discussing it with several Legion Commander. Although Viscount Golden Sunflower has achieved a brilliant victory in the Southern Region, he has also suffered considerable losses, and his military strength is not what it used to be."

Given the unrest among some nobles in the Eastern Region, we unanimously agreed that rather than urging him to lead his troops north as soon as possible, it would be better to let him perform some light combat missions first, so that he could recover his strength.

This doesn't mean Viscount Golden Sunflower's troops won't head north, just not now. At the right time, Viscount Golden Sunflower's troops will join the battle, and together we will achieve final victory!