Father and Son

As the troops on both sides began to retreat one after another, the tense atmosphere gradually eased, and people finally breathed a sigh of relief—the war ultimately did not break out!

At this moment, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, as if a heavy burden that had been carried for a long time had been lifted off their shoulders, making them feel relaxed and at ease.

However, at the same time, Viscount Borey, who was sitting in his military tent personally directing the safe withdrawal of his troops from the battlefield, suddenly swayed violently and almost lost his balance and fell to the ground!

Fortunately, Rasul, who had been watching Viscount Borey's every move closely, reacted quickly and rushed forward to catch the collapsing Viscount Borey.

Rasul nervously approached Viscount Borey and asked in a low voice, "Father, are you really alright?" He frowned, his face full of worry.

Viscount Borey forced a smile and reassured his son, "Don't worry, I'm just a little tired. I've been so busy these past few days that I haven't even had time to rest properly."

Fortunately, we made it through this dangerous time without any real harm, and I'm sure I'll be able to get a good night's sleep tonight!" After saying that, he gently patted Rasul's hand to indicate that he was alright.

For some time now, he has been working tirelessly day and night to assist Grand Duke Mora in his plan to consolidate military power.

Even with his strong physique, he is now finding it increasingly difficult to continue, and he is exhausted both physically and mentally.

Today, in order to provide timely reinforcements to the Fifth Legion, he risked everything by transferring the Imperial Guard Legion, which had just completed the annexation and integration of the noble private armies, as well as the Third Legion.

It should be noted that these new armies, which were reorganized from the private armies of nobles, had only recently completed their reorganization. Although all the soldiers had been replaced by new officers, they had almost no experience in joint operations with the original troops in the Duchy's Direct Legion.

This will inevitably expose many problems and oversights in actual combat, which will undoubtedly bring great uncertainty to the entire battle situation.

To be honest, he knew very well that the army he led was nothing but a facade, purely for show.

If the Northern Alliance Army were to actually attack, then Viscount Borey would have absolutely no chance of winning and no confidence whatsoever in achieving final victory.

Therefore, when he saw the main force of the Northern Alliance Army begin to retreat, Viscount Borey's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally calmed down a little, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

However, due to prolonged periods of high tension leading to excessive nerve strain, once relaxed, not only does the mind become unusually relaxed, but the body also seems to have lost control of itself, appearing somewhat unresponsive.

Fortunately, Rasul happened to be right next to Viscount Borey at that moment.

It's important to know that before Kimberley decided to personally lead the expedition, he specifically arranged for Rasul to be with Viscount Borey, ostensibly to prevent Rasul from taking risks, but in reality, he wanted to use Rasul to constantly remind Viscount Borey —never forget that he and the entire Fifth Legion existed!

Viscount Borey lowered his voice and said to his son Rasul beside him, "I need your help with a small matter."

I feel completely exhausted right now, you'll have to help me climb onto the horse later!

Upon hearing this, Rasul replied without hesitation, "No problem, Father! Don't worry, I'll take care of everything!"

Having said that, he carefully helped Viscount Borey's slightly heavy body up and skillfully helped him onto his tall and mighty warhorse.

The whole process was done very discreetly, and the people around did not notice anything unusual at all, mistakenly thinking that Rasul was just helping his father adjust the saddle.

Once Viscount Borey was settled, Rasul leaped onto his horse and followed closely behind his father.

Viscount Borey finally breathed a sigh of relief – only by successfully mounting his warhorse could he finally put his mind at ease.

Because at this moment, he absolutely cannot let anyone see that he is utterly exhausted.

After much hardship, he finally managed to swallow up the formidable Coalition of Nobles, but a host of thorny issues still awaited his proper handling.

If one were to expose their poor health at this moment, it would inevitably give some unscrupulous individuals an opportunity to take advantage of them, emboldening them to act recklessly and wantonly...

Fortunately, with Rasul by his side, Viscount Borey maintained control well, and it wasn't until the Fifth Legion began its withdrawal that he was certain the day's fighting was over.

Not only is the situation dire for the Duchy Army, which is riddled with hidden dangers, but the Northern Alliance Army also faces numerous thorny problems.

At that moment, a frantic Alex went straight to Count Colt's location and questioned him without hesitation, "Father! Why have you been so slow in giving the order to attack?"

You should know that the enemy's Fifth Legion is now deeply surrounded by the forces led by me and Hawk!

Even if the enemy launches a full-scale counterattack, we can still secure victory thanks to our current advantageous position!

We committed so many elite troops to this battle, yet we ended up returning empty-handed. Isn't that a terrible pity?

Upon hearing this, Count Colt felt a sudden headache, as if countless needles were piercing his brain at once, causing him unbearable pain!

In fact, he was not unwilling to go to war with the duchy, but the incident happened so suddenly and unexpectedly that it caught everyone off guard.

They originally thought that the upheaval within the duchy would cause its army to lose morale and become unstable, thus presenting a golden opportunity to take advantage of the situation and break through the enemy lines in one fell swoop.

However, as he witnessed the main force of the Duchy surging in like a tidal wave, Count Colt felt a strong sense of unease: Could the intelligence he had received earlier about the internal strife within the Duchy Army have been a carefully crafted deception? Or was it a smokescreen deliberately released by the enemy?

The army of this duchy before us is well-disciplined and appears to be a highly trained and powerful force. Can it really be so easily defeated?

To make matters worse, Alex has now led his troops deep into the front lines!

Recalling the tragic death of his younger brother Haines not long ago, Count Colt became increasingly worried about Alex's safety.

If something were to happen to his son Alex, the consequences would be unimaginable!

Thinking of this, Count Colt felt a heavy weight in his heart and immense pressure.

After much deliberation, he finally decided to temporarily set aside the idea of this thrilling life-or-death duel...

However, to everyone's surprise, Alex questioned him so bluntly! This really angered Colt.

It's important to know that recently, some conflict has arisen between the father and son—this includes the impact of Haines' heroic sacrifice, as well as Count Colt's wariness of Victor.

In Alex's view, his father Count Colt's lack of trust in Victor was clearly inappropriate.

So he went to Count Colt several times to try to communicate with him and resolve their differences; but unfortunately, things didn't go as planned, Colt was not the kind of person who could be easily persuaded by others!

Moreover, even Count Colt himself firmly believed that he had not done anything excessive; he had merely slightly suppressed Victor's illustrious military achievements.

The problem is that both Alex and Count Colt are stubborn and not easily persuaded.

Count Colt said bluntly, "Alex, don't you think you need to reflect on this?"

You know, I entrusted the entire Intelligence Department to you!

But what was the result? They couldn't even detect the movement of the Duchy Army beforehand!

At this point, Count Colt couldn't help but sigh heavily, and continued, "If we had received this information sooner, perhaps after today's battle, we could have secured the final victory in the Civil War!"

After saying this, Count Colt stared intently at Alex, seemingly trying to find a trace of guilt or self-reproach in the other's eyes. However, Alex simply stood there silently, without uttering a word.

Seeing this, Count Colt's anger grew even stronger, and he raised his voice and roared, "Enough, it's too late to say anything more."

"You must immediately find a way to reorganize your intelligence network within the Duchy Army! Understand?"

Alex Colterber was speechless.

Indeed, as Count Colt stated, the intelligence network established by Alex failed to fully play its due role in this incident.

Although this intelligence network has always been considered one of his most important tools, to this day, a great deal of crucial information about the dramatic changes within the Duchy Army remains unavailable.

Worse still, the entire intelligence system has been paralyzed due to the unfortunate deaths or disappearances of many core members in this upheaval.

Faced with such a predicament, even Alex could only feel helpless and powerless at this moment.

However, being questioned and criticized so mercilessly by Count Colt still ignited a nameless anger in Alex's heart.

As a result, the already tense and delicate atmosphere became even more volatile... Before long, the father and son parted ways after a fierce argument, each leaving with a heavy heart.