Dispute at the Meeting

On the morning of August 11, Victor summoned all the senior officers and nobles of the Second Legion and revealed his plans in detail.

Victor first presented the intelligence he had gathered over the past period. "The Barbarians right flank is led by Chieftain Bloodhoof, and has three major tribes under his command: the Grey Wolves, the Vultures, and the Wild Horses. Chieftain Val of the Grey Wolf Tribe has already been killed in battle. Even if they can gather their defeated troops, they will only have a maximum of three Thousand-man squad, which can be ignored. The Vultures should have brought eight Thousand-man squad this time. The Wild Fierce Horse Tribe of Bloodhoof came the most, with tens of thousands of cavalry, and we have already wiped out three Thousand-man squad. Now they are unable to suppress Chieftain Gubai of the Vultures. I guess Chieftain Bloodhoof is very troubled."

Victor smiled, and the other Noble Army laughed along with him. "The remaining small tribes only add up to about five Thousand-man squad. In terms of troop strength, our Second Legion is not at a significant disadvantage. Moreover, they must leave two or three Thousand-man squad to guard the garrison at Hot Water Fortress."

"The Vultures and the Wild Horses have started to clash now." Raymond, the Battalion Commander of the First Regiment, poked at the map with his dagger. "The Vulture Tribe attacked the Fierce Horse Tribe's grain convoy last night." The one-eyed veteran grinned, revealing yellow teeth. "A good show of dogs fighting each other."

"Yes." Victor nodded. "Bloodhoof can't suppress Gubai anymore. Their best course of action is to break through the stalemate as soon as possible, defeat our Second Legion, and then simply split their forces to raid the border. This is the only way to eliminate the conflict between the tribes. So my plan to lure the enemy has a 90% success rate. What we need to do is to fight them head-on."

Just then, the commander of the Fifth Regiment —the stout Hawk Pumpkin—slammed his hand on the table, his jeweled sword carving a deep mark into the wooden table. "Let outsiders command the Northern Alliance Army? When did Golden Pear Territory start growing sunflowers?" Amidst the laughter, the other Noble Army of the Fifth Regiment also stood up, their eyes, sharp as knives, fixed on Victor as they gripped their sword hilts.

Victor watched these guys silently. Since arriving at the camp, they had been very dissatisfied with Victor taking command and had been secretly plotting against him. Victor had ignored them all in order to organize the annihilation campaign, but he didn't expect them to finally lose their temper and cause trouble at the meeting today.

However, Victor didn't waste any words and immediately unfurled the blood-stained Barbarians war banner, with different tribal totems covering the long table.

Baron Brown spoke up at the opportune moment, "In the past six days, Regimental Commander Victor has annihilated 1,470 Barbarian Rangers and small units." He kicked the gold-inlaid saddle at his feet. "It was taken from Chieftain Bloodhoof's nephew's mount."

Several other Noble Army from the Fourth Regiment echoed this sentiment.

"Anyone can bully the weak and fear the strong," Viscount Hawke said, spittle flying everywhere. "Our Fifth Regiment can do it too. I demand a military vote!"

Clang—

Battalion Commander Raymond's two-handed sword suddenly drew, slicing off the corner of the table. "Golden Pear Territory is willing to support Lord Victor's plan." The fierce knight glared with his single, bloodshot eye, "Anyone who questions Lord Victor will have to ask my sword first!"

Several officers from the First Regiment and Second Regiment also drew their swords, especially Ron, who looked excited, seemingly quite impatient with Hawk and his cronies.

Just as tensions were about to rise, the sound of an iron staff striking the ground suddenly came from the back hall. Viscount Benjamin, wearing a bearskin cloak, slowly walked out, his sunken cheeks flushed with a little color, and his right hand still wrapped with Bitter Bamboo leaves.

"If you had used your courage on the battlefield, the Barbarians would have long since retreated to the Ice Field to gnaw on moss." The old general's voice was not loud, but it filled the room with a deathly silence.

He walked right up to Hawk, grabbed Viscount Hawke's jeweled sword, weighed it in his hand, and suddenly threw it out the window. "The next time I see a fool using a ceremonial sword in battle, I'll send him to the front lines as target practice."

Viscount Hawke didn't dare to move at the sight, and his companions behind him lowered their heads like quails. They dared not confront Viscount Benjamin. They could bully Victor, an outsider, but Viscount Benjamin was different. As Count Colt's brother-in-law, he was one of the few powerful nobles in the Northlands, deeply rooted and not someone they could deal with.

Victor unfolded the battle map at the opportune moment. "Please take a close look, everyone. The two major Barbarians are currently embroiled in numerous conflicts, and the Grey Wolf Tribe and the Allied Army of those smaller tribes are insignificant. This is the perfect opportunity to launch a decisive battle." He drew three arrows on the map with charcoal. "We need to wage a decisive battle on the plains, thus maximizing the deployment of our forces. There's no need to waste our strength fighting the Barbarians in the valleys..."

"So we need to lure those Barbarians bastards out," Baron Brown interjected. "The Fourth Regiment has already prepared a hundred carts of hay disguised as grain in Eagle's Beak Valley." The old fox winked. "Of course, they're soaked in Fire Oil."

At that moment, Benjamin suddenly coughed violently. The standard-bearer hurriedly helped him up, but Benjamin swung his arm away, using his longsword for support. "Order the entire army to march towards Black Stone Plain at dawn tomorrow." He glanced at the nobles, their expressions varied, and finally settled on Victor: "Victor, you've done a good job these past few days. I'll continue to entrust the Second Legion to you. Execute according to your plan. I grant you the authority to deal with any officer who disobeys your orders during this operation, regardless of who they are or how high their rank. I will take full responsibility." He then handed the sword to Victor.

Victor picked up his sword, turned to look at everyone in the hall, and found that the First Regiment fully agreed with Viscount Benjamin's orders; the Second Regiment, composed entirely of Victor's subordinates, were naturally delighted; the Third Regiment remained neutral, offering no comment; the Fourth Regiment was also largely supportive of Victor, especially Baron Brown, who gave Victor a thumbs-up; and Viscount Hawke of the Fifth Regiment immediately adopted a fawning expression, his attitude changing very smoothly.

That night, Viktor returned to the Second Regiment's base, inspected the unit's preparations, and spoke with some of the soldiers.

Are you worried about tomorrow's decisive battle?

"My Lord Baron, I was born a serf. It is thanks to your favor that I was able to transform my parents and brothers from serfs into Freemen. My life has long belonged to you."

"Yes, Baron, I'll kill a few more barbarians tomorrow and ask you for a reward. You'll have to give me some good land then," the other soldiers chimed in.

"You'll all get it. As long as you make contributions, I won't be stingy with my rewards," Victor solemnly promised.

The next morning, just as dawn broke, the Cavalry of the Two Rivers Territory were the first to break through the thin frost. Victor stroked Grape's newly changed horse armor, watching the forest of lances behind him gradually disappear into the morning mist.

The three lines of fire in the southwest had faded into thin threads, but Victor knew that Hot Water Fortress still stood firm—the real battle had only just begun.