Standoff and Withdrawal

Alex hadn't expected that the Silver Maple Secret Guard, skilled in assassination and intelligence gathering, could also be so good at counter-espionage!

What Alex couldn't understand the most was what the Grand Duke and the Duchy's Direct Legion had done to cause a standoff between the Coalition of Nobles and the Duchy's Regular Legion, with the two sides nearly coming to blows.

After considering all the possibilities, Alex could only think of one: the lack of food in the camp and the unequal distribution between the two sides led to a conflict between the soldiers, which then escalated.

Or perhaps the Grand Duke planned for the Duchy's Direct Legion to escape, intending to leave the Coalition of Nobles to pave the way for the Northern Alliance Army, but the Coalition of Nobles discovered this.

It's impossible that Grand Duke Mora has gone mad and is preparing to forcibly seize the military power of the Coalition of Nobles and fight a major battle with the Northern Frontier Corps!

Alex realized his thinking was getting increasingly absurd, so he simply put it all out of his mind and focused on guarding the Fifth Legion with Hawk.

However, to his surprise, the Fifth Legion did not change its formation at all, remaining calmly in place, seemingly unconcerned about the approaching main force of the Northern Alliance Army.

The situation within the Fifth Legion Corps was not as peaceful as Alex had perceived.

The Fifth Legion wasn't blind; many had already seen the billowing dust and knew what it represented.

Many officers gathered together and pleaded with the commander of the Kimberley Regiment, wanting him to lead his regiment back to the duchy's camp immediately.

However, Kimberley rejected all of these offers and used his authority as Legion Commander to forcefully control the officers.

However, he could only control the officers; the ordinary soldiers wouldn't listen to him, and many started to cause trouble, with some even planning to desert.

But Kimberley was determined. He ordered his Personal Guard to execute several soldiers who were trying to desert, an action that successfully deterred those who wanted to escape.

Kimberley watched the approaching dust cloud, and could even see the forest of banners in the distance. He could also faintly hear the thunderous sound of horses' hooves. He knew that the main force of the Northern Alliance Army was about to arrive.

Kimberley grew increasingly anxious, silently praying, "Bore, please don't betray me! Hurry up and bring the army to my aid!"

It was as if Viscount Borre had truly heard Commander Kimberly's wish, even as Kimberly was still praying with his eyes closed.

An army suddenly emerged from the ducal camp. It was quite large, at least fifty or sixty thousand strong. It split into two groups and marched at full speed toward the Fifth Legion, which was already surrounded. The leading force was the Heavy Cavalry Regiment of the Imperial Guard Legion.

The Duchy Army and the Northern Alliance Army, like two giant snakes, were moving towards each other and were about to collide.

More than an hour later, a strange sight appeared on the battlefield: two massive armies faced each other across a military formation.

The two armies, like monsters baring their fangs and brandishing their claws, proclaimed their power to each other, with the Cavalry units acting like the monsters' tentacles, constantly clashing and attacking each other.

The central military formation was flanked by the Duchy's Fifth Legion on the inner side and the Northern Alliance Army's flanking force commanded by Hawk and Alex on the outer side.

The two sides remained locked in a stalemate for a long time, but no battle broke out. When reinforcements arrived from both sides, they were completely relegated to the background.

The main players on the battlefield have now changed to the Duchy's army led by Viscount Borey and the Northern Alliance Army led by Count Colt.

By this time, Count Colt and Alex already knew everything that had happened in the Duchy's military camp, from internal purging to stripping military power, and finally the Duchy Legion forcibly annexing the Coalition of Nobles.

When Count Colt observed that the banners of the Coalition of Nobles were no longer seen in the Duchy Army, he knew they were too late; the Duchy Legion had already completed their annexation.

After some deliberation, Count Colt decided that now was not the best time for a decisive battle, and ultimately ordered Alex and Hawk to open up the Fifth Legion's retreat route.

The Fifth Legion quickly regrouped and left the battlefield, joining up with the Duchy's army, and both sides retreated.