Hold the Line

Just then, a deafening sound of horses' hooves came from afar, as if the earth itself trembled.

Hawk turned his head and saw a cloud of dust rising on the northern horizon, obscuring the sky and the sun. That was the direction where the Northern Alliance Army Main Camp was located!

This is undoubtedly a sign that a large army is on the move.

Looking at the spectacular scene before him, Hawk's heart sank. "Just as Alex said, they have already begun to move..." He knew that such a large-scale military mobilization was no joke, and Alex would never joke about such a thing with him.

Without the slightest hesitation, Hawk made a crucial decision: he would personally lead his own Infantry Regiment and the army's elite Cavalry Regiment to the rear of the Fifth Legion to cut off its retreat!

This task is incredibly difficult, but there is no time to hesitate.

Time is of the essence; we must race against time to complete our mission!

In his view, if the Fifth Legion learned that the Northern Alliance Army had come out in full force with the intention of annihilating them in one fell swoop, they would inevitably choose to flee in disarray.

After all, facing such a powerful and aggressive enemy, anyone would feel fear and seek a way to protect themselves!

However, escaping successfully will not be easy; the Fifth Legion will undoubtedly go all out, even at any cost, to find a way to survive.

In this situation, relying solely on Cavalry would likely be insufficient to withstand the overwhelming onslaught from the enemy.

Fortunately, the Infantry Regiment he directly commanded also had a well-equipped and well-trained Heavy Infantry Battalion, which was undoubtedly the most ideal force to block the defensive line and block the enemy.

However, Ricardo strongly opposed Hawk's idea, feeling that he should go himself and not let Hawk carry out the mission.

At that moment, the two of them actually started arguing right in front of Alex.

Ricardo gripped Hawk's warhorse tightly, pulling hard on the reins, and shouted at Hawk, "Viscount, please do not undertake such a dangerous mission!"

"You can leave such an important matter to me!"

Faced with the situation, Hawk dared not rashly urge his mount forward, fearing that he might accidentally knock Ricardo to the ground and injure him.

Left with no other choice, he leaped off his horse and forcefully shoved Ricardo aside.

Then, Hawk turned to Ricardo and said, "Dear Teacher Ricardo, how could your frail and thin frame withstand such a fierce and brutal battle? Therefore, I will go and complete this arduous mission!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Hawk deliberately puffed out his chest, showing everyone his increasingly strong and robust physique.

It's important to know that Hawk has undergone a complete transformation during this period.

Her originally round figure is now gradually developing into the ideal inverted triangle shape. Although there is still some excess fat on her abdomen, it can at least be considered "fat-covered muscle"!

It was obvious that Ricardo's thin and weak body was no match for Hawk, and he could only watch helplessly as he was easily pushed to the side.

Not only that, Hawk also specifically assigned several bodyguards to guard the area, in case Ricardo caused any more trouble. With everything arranged, Hawk unhesitatingly leaped back into his saddle, ready to gallop away...

Just then, Alex suddenly called out to them, "Hawk, slow down, I'll go with you."

Knight Ricardo, I'm entrusting the command of the main force to you!

Upon hearing this, Hawk froze on the spot as if struck by lightning, inwardly groaning in despair.

You know, sending Alex on a mission with me is practically suicide!

In case Alex is injured or suffers some other mishap during a battle with the Duchy Army...

Just thinking about the consequences sends chills down one's spine— Count Colt will definitely not let me off easily!

Just as he was racking his brains, trying to figure out how to politely refuse Alex, something unexpected happened: the previously perfectly aligned Fifth Legion formation suddenly began to move slowly without warning.

"Oh no! "Hawk's heart tightened, and he exclaimed in alarm.

At the same time, Alex's expression changed drastically, and he wondered to himself: Could it be that Kimberley has discovered the billowing dust behind us?

He must have realized that the main force of the Northern Alliance Army had already come out in full force, so was he planning to slip away unnoticed?

At this moment, Hawk dispatched only a regiment-sized Light Cavalry unit to garrison behind the Fifth Legion's retreat route.

However, this small force was clearly no match for the powerful Fifth Legion's advance, especially when the Fifth Legion decided to flee the battlefield!

Just as Hawk and Alex decided to stop considering the matter and head straight for the Fifth Legion to provide support, preventing their escape, Ricardo stopped them.

"That's not right, they don't seem to have any intention of running away at all!" Ricardo said, frowning.

Hearing him say that, Hawk and Alex exchanged a glance before turning to look at the Fifth Legion's formation in the distance.

After careful observation, the two indeed found that the military formation had not changed much, but there were still some differences - some of the Pikemen who were originally in the center had now been transferred to the flanks to support the defensive forces there.

In this way, the entire military formation looked more like it was reinforcing its defenses and preparing to meet the enemy's attack.

The three men looked at each other, their faces filled with confusion and bewilderment. They simply couldn't understand why the Fifth Legion would take such a step.

After all, Kimberley was known for his defensive prowess. If anyone else were in the same situation, they would probably have retreated or changed tactics long ago. But the fact that he was adjusting the formation so firmly at this moment undoubtedly meant that he had no intention of retreating at all, but was determined to hold on to the death!

This was completely unexpected and far from the image of Kimberley they knew!

You know, Kimberley has always been a decisive and ruthless person!

How could he possibly be held back by a mere number of troop casualties?

The main force of the Northern Alliance Army was far beyond the capabilities of the Fifth Legion. Even though the Fifth Legion possessed tenacious fighting spirit and excellent combat skills, it could only withstand a few fierce attacks against such a large and ferocious enemy.

However, as time goes on, the numerical superiority of the Northern Alliance Army will gradually become apparent, eventually tearing the Fifth Legion apart and devouring it completely.

However, despite their doubts and confusion, Hawk and the other two were willing to accept Kimberley's actions.

After all, this way they wouldn't have to worry about the Fifth Legion taking the opportunity to escape, wouldn't that be an excellent chance to annihilate them?

During this time, Hawk also inquired with Alex about the details of the Duchy Army camp.

Alex frowned and replied, "I'm not entirely clear on the specifics either, as my information is quite limited."

According to reports from my secret agents, they can provide me with very few leads.

However, from the scattered information we have so far, we can roughly deduce one thing—the intelligence network we established within the Duchy Army has suffered extremely heavy blows and damage!

He paused, his tone growing increasingly serious. "And what's worse is that all of my most crucial and core high-ranking spies have lost contact with me!"

You know, one of them worked really hard to climb to the high position of Battalion Commander, but now his chances of survival are probably slim... Sigh!

What a pity!

Back then, Alex went to great lengths to plant spies and spies within the Duchy's army!

Not only did they spend huge sums of money bribing officers of the principality, but they also sent daredevils deep into enemy territory; after overcoming countless hardships, they finally succeeded in building a vast intelligence network with extremely good information dissemination...

This intelligence network silently collected, transmitted, and analyzed various information, providing crucial support for the fierce battle between the Northern Alliance Army and the Grand Duchy.

However, this once invincible net now seems to have suddenly lost its vitality.

Faced with this bizarre situation, Alex thought to himself, "I'm no fool!"

Based on his years of experience and keen insight, he immediately realized the only possibility behind this anomaly—his carefully constructed intelligence network had suffered a devastating blow.

Who exactly possesses such ability?

Countless thoughts flashed through Alex's mind, but in the end all the clues pointed to the same thing— the Silver Maple Secret Guard, who appeared like ghosts in the night.

Without a doubt, only this team possesses the strength and ability to completely dismantle his intelligence network.