Retreat

By this time, Captain Marvin had already opened the fortress gates and was leading his men to clear the battlefield and treat the wounded.

Victor also found Viscount Benjamin, who was dangling his right arm. When he saw Victor coming over, the viscount smiled wryly and said...

"I'm old, I didn't react in time, and I got stabbed in the right arm."

"Legion Commander, although the battle was very difficult, we succeeded."

"Thanks to your plan, if it were just a simple night raid, even if we could win, my elite troops would have been almost wiped out."

Then Viscount Benjamin issued the order.

"Pass down the order: everyone rest on the spot, replenish the horses with fine feed, Marvin, please get us a batch of new lances from the warehouse at Hot Water Fortress. Replace them with as many as you can."

"Yes, Your Excellency, thank you for your support of Hot Water Fortress." Captain Marvin bowed to Viscount Benjamin before going to work.

Victor looked at him thoughtfully.

"Marvin is quite famous. I know him too. He's not of noble birth, but at such a young age he can serve as a mid-level officer in Iron Birch Territory and command an elite border brigade. His abilities are truly outstanding." Benjamin told Victor what he knew.

"You and Alex have a good relationship, so you might be able to get Marvin away from the Iron Birch Family. Anyway, he has reached a bottleneck in Iron Birch Territory, but you should at least give him a chance to advance further, otherwise he may not be able to work wholeheartedly under your command," Benjamin advised.

"Thank you, Legion Commander. I understand. Captain Marvin is indeed outstanding. When we charged just now, he led his men to the rear, faking the main force and creating a false impression, which played a significant role." Victor really needs young, capable, and proactive military talents like Marvin.

"Okay, I'll rest for a bit now. Victor, you can go and check the battlefield too."

"Yes, Legion Commander."

As the morning mist, carrying the stench of burning, swept across the battlefield, Captain Marvin used weapons from Hot Water Fortress's inventory to help the assault troops resupply.

"Reporting to the Legion Commander, the casualty count is complete." The scribe's voice echoed across the battlefield. "The night raid force suffered a total of 219 dead and 413 wounded, of whom 320 were still capable of movement. More than 2,000 warhorses were lost. More than 2,700 Barbarians soldiers' bodies were discovered, and more than 1,100 Barbarians soldiers were captured. Half of the 8,000 Barbarians vanguard cavalry perished here. The body of the Barbarians commander, Val, was found. This battle was a great victory."

A kill ratio of 3:20 is indeed impressive, but it was built on the foundation of the most elite soldiers of the First and Second Regiments, so it wasn't actually that cost-effective.

Victor's own men were 71 dead and 40 wounded. Of the 450 men who set out, a quarter of them had been lost. Even his 50-man guards had lost 8 men. These were junior officers he had painstakingly trained, who would at least become Squad Leader of 50 men in the future. Victor's heart was bleeding.

Victor removed the deformed neck guard, and a gust of cold wind rushed into the felt, sending a shiver down his spine. Grape's right foreleg was wrapped in linen; the warhorse had stepped on caltrops during the charge. He counted his 339 fully-staffed men and discovered that although they had obtained some replacement lances at Hot Water Fortress, half of them still had broken lances.

Viscount Benjamin leaned back beside his horse, his right hand, encased in an iron glove, swollen and purplish-black. He tore open the bandage with his teeth, his eyes sweeping across the southeastern ridge. "Have the garrison at Hot Water Fortress convert the Barbarians tents into stretchers. We can't take the seriously wounded with us, so settle them in Hot Water Fortress first. Captain Marvin, I'm sorry, we can only trouble you with this now."

"Thanks to the Viscount's rescue, Hot Water Fortress did not fall. Besides, this is just a small request. I guarantee that as long as Hot Water Fortress is still standing, these wounded will be safe," Marvin solemnly promised.

Viscount Benjamin turned to Victor and said, "I'm a little confused right now, and I'll be leaving my troops in your command from now on. I'd like to ask you to take them back with you."

After saying that, Benjamin fainted. Before Victor could react, Viscount Benjamin's Personal Guard and several Battalion Commander came over, saluted Victor, and indicated that they were willing to obey his orders.

Having no other choice, Victor had to accept it. He called Captain Marvin over and asked if he needed any further help.

"The food supplies at Hot Water Fortress are enough to last five months, and we have plenty of weapons." Marvin handed the water pouch to Victor. "But I need two hundred archers to fill the gap in the west wall."

"I'll leave you 100 lightly wounded mounted archers." After considering his strength, Victor decided to leave some of the lightly wounded men who could fight to help Hot Water Fortress.

Then, Victor summoned all officers of Squad Leader and above and drew the retreat route on the ground, "We must..." before dawn.

Woohoo—

Suddenly, a bugle call sounded from the northeast, its three short notes followed by a long one, causing all the officers to palpate. Benjamin's Personal Guard Pim, exclaimed, "It's the signal of the Golden Wolf Banner! The main Barbarians vanguard has arrived!"

The sound of scouts' hooves arrived almost simultaneously with the arrows. The young scout, a goose-feathered arrow piercing his shoulder, tumbled from his horse, still shouting, "Dust... five li away... at least three thousand Light Cavalry!"

Marvin said to Victor, "Hot Water Fortress will try to disrupt this Barbarians force. Please take the Viscount away as soon as possible."

A quarter of an hour later, the remaining nine hundred-odd Cavalry regrouped in the valley. Victor watched as Benjamin's Personal Guard used ropes to secure the unconscious Legion Commander to his horse.

Suddenly, the Grape raised their heads and sang loudly. Victor turned around and saw dust rising from the mountain ridge to the east.

"Two quarters of an hour." He estimated the pursuers' speed. "Ron, take twenty men Fire Oil near the convoy."

When the Barbarians vanguard charged out of the valley, they were met by a supply wagon deliberately left behind by Victor. More than forty wagons piled high with hay blocked the valley road, and the pursuing Legion Commander sent a hundred-man squad to scout ahead.

At this moment, the archers on Hot Water Fortress fired fire arrows at the caravan. Moments later, the entire caravan burst into flames, and dozens of warhorses fled in panic, disrupting the Barbarians main force and buying precious time for the retreat.

At 4 p. m. on August 4, the exhausted army finally spotted the watchtower of the border town. The Light Cavalry left behind quickly rushed out of the town to meet the army.

Victor helped the unconscious Benjamin off his horse. He had started to have a fever, and even with the Bitter Bamboo leaves used to bandage him, his wounds were getting worse. The blade that had slashed Viscount Benjamin must have been poisoned. He wondered if this town had any medicine to treat this kind of injury.

Victor commanded his troops to quickly retreat to their camp in the town. He needed to organize a force as soon as possible, as there was another battle to be fought later.