Morale Plummets

Victor was very happy after learning from the clerk about the fruitful results of the operation.

He thought to himself, "With these supplies, the Southern Marching Legion can be appropriately expanded. The two groups of the Duchy Army captured in Ironvine Territory and Blackwater City can be used as recruits for this expansion."

These soldiers are all regular soldiers of the duchy, and their quality is quite good. There are more than 10,000 prisoners in total. Victor plans to weed out the old and weak and select the elite, which can arm at least two or three regiments without taking up the existing manpower in the territory.

Although these troops were not capable of participating in major battles or fighting tough battles, they were at least easier to control than the Coalition of Nobles. They were competent as defensive forces in conjunction with the Logistics Department, allowing many main combat units to devote more energy to the front lines.

Moreover, Jackson and Knight Jack have been deputy Regimental Commander for too long, and it's time for them to be promoted. Otherwise, if they haven't been promoted to Regimental Commander before the end of the war, it will be difficult to confer titles upon them after the war.

However, many of these troops are Freemen from the Duchy's direct territory, so they must be carefully selected. It would be best to choose some locals from Wright County to facilitate their relocation to Golden Sunflower Territory.

After this expansion, the territory's army will have reached its maximum size, and a reorganization and downsizing will likely be necessary after the war.

Victor has now begun the process of naturalizing those who survived the war, and given the current state of the Civil War, it is impossible for the Duchy to win.

If the Duchy had had the advantage of nearly penetrating the heartland of the Northern Alliance Army during the previous battles along the Carter Mountains, it would have had a slim chance of victory.

However, with the western region attacked by the Raine Kingdom Navy and he led his troops to capture Blackwater City, the situation on multiple fronts became irreversible, and the most important logistical supply line was also cut off by him.

Even if the Duchy Army still has a large amount of military rations, they will eventually run out, and at that time the Duchy Army will probably collapse without a fight.

Immediately after capturing Blackwater City, Victor sent a battle report to the Northern Alliance Command through the Northern Frontier Chamber of Commerce Guild. He believed that Count Colt would make the right choice after receiving the report.

With that in mind, Victor said to the clerk, "Let's start by expanding the army by two regiments. Based on the current standards of the territory's army, you should tally up what supplies and weapons are still needed and hand them over to Gaita and his men. They can then procure them through the Northern Frontier Chamber of Commerce."

"Yes, my lord."

At this moment on the battlefield in Sextus County, the states of the two armies were completely opposite. The Northern Alliance Army's camp was like a New Year's celebration, with everyone, officers and soldiers alike, in high spirits and high morale. In the Duchy Army's camp, everyone was dejected and their morale was severely low.

News of the fall of Blackwater City to Viscount Golden Sunflower of the Northern Alliance Army had already reached the entire army and spread rapidly.

Although the Duchy still wanted to keep the news under wraps, the fact that no new grain convoys had arrived for more than twenty days had already alerted many of the Duchy's soldiers. Coupled with the instigation of spies from the Northern Alliance Army, the entire Duchy Army knew the details of the fall of Blackwater City in just one day, and even the casualties on both sides were crystal clear.

In fact, even when Blackwater City was besieged, the Legion Commander of the duchy knew that Blackwater City would fall sooner or later. After all, the number of garrison troops in the city was limited, and the army under Viscount Golden Sunflower, who was attacking Blackwater City, had just wiped out two Duchy Legion and was in high spirits.

However, no one expected that Blackwater City would be captured so quickly. Everyone thought that Blackwater City could hold out for at least one or two months. In the end, it took less than five days from the siege to the fall of the city. It was Viscount Golden Sunflower did not send his main force but only led a detachment to take it down.

As for the supplies of the duchy's army, they were not actually lacking. The War Department had already consciously stockpiled a lot of military rations and supplies in the Main Camp, which was more than enough to meet the army's consumption for one or two months.

However, the fall of Blackwater City was too swift and too demoralizing. Now, not only ordinary soldiers, but even many high-ranking officers had lost confidence in achieving victory.