White Rose Cecilia (2-in-1)

Bai Xiaowen met the other two infantry phalanx commanders of the third defensive line.

These two infantry commanders were also lords of two territories in the Northern Frontier, but their titles were higher than Bai Xiaowen's.

The commander of the Eighteenth Infantry Formation was a male lord named Julien, a viscount, Elite Tier archetype. His own strength was average; he was able to become an infantry phalanx commander mainly because he had a large number of soldiers recruited from his territory, reaching more than five hundred, which was comparable to Bai Xiaowen's.

The other lord was a woman, quite beautiful, Cecilia, also a viscount. She had an excellent figure, with a curvaceous bust and buttocks. Her shimmering silver armor, designed for ease of combat, only covered her vital parts, leaving much to the imagination.

Although both are viscounts, this woman is far more powerful than Julien and is Boss Template. She commands dozens of elite knights, each with a warhorse and armor (this is very important), in addition to a guard of several hundred men, forming the main force of the Nineteenth Infantry Formation.

Although the two greeted Bai Xiaowen out of aristocratic courtesy, their attitude was rather reserved, and they were somewhat lukewarm towards Bai Xiaowen.

The reason is simple: Bai Xiaowen is merely a Baron, and his soldiers are of varying quality. What qualifications does he have to become the commander of the third line of defense?

The two were definitely unhappy about being ridden on Bai Xiaowen's head.

However, despite his dissatisfaction, Lord Julien did not show much discontent, only offering a few perfunctory remarks, such as "we will definitely cooperate in the battle," and so on.

On the contrary, the female lord Cecilia stated clearly. "Although I have great respect for His Highness the Prince, I still think it's rather frivolous to appoint a mere pretty Little Bai as commander. I will be watching you during the battle, and if your orders are inappropriate, don't expect me to carry them out."

Bai Xiaowen frowned and said, "If you are dissatisfied with His Highness the Prince's orders, you can go to Blackrock Fortress to see him in person and ask him to replace me. However, as long as I am in command, you must obey any combat orders I issue. If you refuse to obey my orders, I will report this truthfully to the Prince after the battle."

"Then go report it. I won't let my soldiers take orders from a rookie with no military experience." Cecilia turned and left, her shapely buttocks swaying beneath her white cloak as she walked away.

Seeing the slightly awkward atmosphere, Lord Julien chuckled and tried to smooth things over, "Baron Dio, Cecilia is not someone to be trifled with. She's the most famous Thorned Beauty in the Northern Frontier, nicknamed ' The White Rose.' Since her husband's death, she inherited his fiefdom and title according to his will. Many have tried to take advantage of this beautiful widow, but without exception, they all met with a rebuff."

"White Rose? These are common flowers at funerals in the Northern Frontier. That's not a very nice nickname," Bai Xiaowen said.

"Yes," Julien said, still not quite finishing his thought, "You know, those rejected by the ' White Rose ' are all prominent figures, which has put Cecilia's territory under considerable pressure, even leading to rampant banditry... Some of these bandits are even specifically instructed to cause trouble."

"However, in just a few months, Cecilia stabilized the situation. She personally shot and killed several bandit Boss Tier, sending their heads to the suspected mastermind, along with a bouquet of white roses as a funeral gift... From then on, the nickname 'White Rose' became widely known."

Lord Julien concluded, "So, don't take what she said to heart. Even if you reported it to His Highness the Prince, it wouldn't make much difference... In these extraordinary times, His Highness won't easily dismiss an infantry commander, especially a powerful figure like White Rose. Take my advice: let's just wait and see. The front lines will fall sooner or later anyway. Once our guards are all dead, we'll go back to Blackrock Fortress and enjoy our lives."

Bai Xiaowen's lips twitched. "That makes sense."

In fact, Bai Xiaowen was well aware that Prince Nicholas would not arbitrarily replace generals; what he said earlier was simply the attitude that a new commander must have.

As for Cecilia, that little widow... we'll teach her a lesson on the battlefield.

After a less-than-pleasant but not entirely unpleasant meeting between the commanders, Bai Xiaowen organized his Seventeenth Infantry Formation into 13 squads of 50 men each, with veterans mentoring new recruits. Each squad was led by an Elite Tier soldier.

Bai Xiaowen established Mind Link, using these team leaders to command the troops. Each team only followed the team leader's flag, practicing marching, stopping, retreating, and maneuvering. The simulation was quite impressive.

However, once on the battlefield, those newly enlisted civilians certainly wouldn't be able to remain so calm. This is why Bai Xiaowen dispersed the troops and used experienced soldiers to mentor new recruits. After a few battles, the new recruits would naturally become veterans, and those who couldn't become veterans would die.

At dusk, Bai Xiaowen received Prince Nicholas's order: taking advantage of the fact that the Remnant Vanguard Army had just arrived and were not yet firmly established, the nine infantry phalanxes of the three defensive lines were to launch a preemptive attack and destroy the unfinished camp of the Remnant Vanguard Army!

The prince was overseeing the battle from the city wall, and his orders were carried out very effectively. The commanders of the nine infantry formations cursed the order that was sending them to their deaths while shouting orders to reorganize their troops, creating a chaotic scene.

After this ragtag group came together, they began to advance toward the Remnants camp at a snail's pace.

Calling them turtles is an insult to turtles. At the speed at which the three infantry squares of the first line of defense moved, each step only moved a few centimeters, slower than a snail.

The Remnants camp was already prepared. One by one, orcs wielding Orcs charged out from among the Orcs laborers, without any formation, Howl as they charged towards the Human Allied Army's infantry phalanx.

Seeing this, the three infantry formations at the front stopped moving, holding their swords and shields and waiting in place, exuding a majestic aura of "immovable as a mountain".

The charge of the Remnants Half-Orc Spearmen was like a roaring wave.

The three infantry squares of the first line of defense resembled castles on the beach...

Cries and curses erupted almost immediately. Bai Xiaowen, standing on the back of the Rageclaw, could see the battle clearly with his eyesight. A Half-Orc Spearmen thrust his spear without any fancy moves, piercing straight through the wooden shield and killing the person hiding behind it.

A sword slashed from the side, leaving a bloody gash on the shoulder of the Half-Orc Spearmen. However, he paid no attention to it. Instead, it aroused his ferocity. With a roar, he gripped his spear with both hands and pushed forward with all his might, shoving the human soldier who had been Piercing through back more than ten meters away, his feet plowing two deep furrows in the ground.

The same scenario unfolded elsewhere. Upon contact, the infantry formations of the Human Allied Army's first line of defense crumbled into disarray.

Of course, the Human Allied Army wasn't all weaklings; there were some Elite Tier who roared and swung their greatswords and heavy shields to cut down the enemy. However, the casualty ratio between the two sides was still astonishing. According to Bai Xiaowen's estimation, on average, it took four to five Human Allied Army to kill one Half-Orc Spearmen.

Fortunately, in the first engagement, the Human Allied Army had a numerical advantage, and the battle became stalemate.

A dull drumbeat sounded, and suddenly two black waves surged forth between the roads of the camp that the Remnants were building.

Two groups of Orcs wolf riders, brandishing their swords, joined the battle!

Orcs wolf riders are one of the main force units of the Orcs. They are fierce and aggressive, and in terms of explosive power, they are stronger than the elite cavalry of the Human Race. However, the wolf riders are unable to carry out long-distance raids because of the limited endurance of their wolf mounts, which is also their weakness.

The faction of the Remnants released their wolf riders at this time, which was precisely to take advantage of their strengths.

The two wolf riders, like two red-hot iron pestles, pierced into the infantry formation of the Human Allied Army. Wherever their blades struck, heads rolled. The ferocious Direwolf also bit and gnawed, causing many human cavalrymen's horses to retreat in fright.

The cavalry, representing the backbone of the Human Allied Army, retreated, and the lower-ranking swordsmen and spearmen crumbled at the first contact. The front ranks affected the rear ranks; once morale was lost, it was like toppling dominoes, with potentially fatal consequences.

A rough estimate suggests that these two wolf rider units, totaling less than two hundred men, were able to turn the tide of the battle, causing the three infantry squares of the first line of defense, which numbered nearly two thousand men, to retreat. This is the terrifying power of a cavalry charge.

At that moment, a clear female voice rang out.

"Forty-five degrees, launch!"

It was Cecilia, the White Rose, riding a tall white horse, her rapier pointed sharply at the Orcs wolf riders.

Rustling sounds!

With a whooshing sound, Cecilia's archers, under the command of dozens of white-armored knights, drew their bows and fired!

The arrows rained down like raindrops, their Piercing power considerable. Orcs wolf riders were unaffected by a single arrow wound and could still charge forward, but two or three arrows were too much for them. Especially after the Direwolf were wounded, their speed was drastically reduced.

However, at this moment, the wolf riders were pursuing the Human Allied Army at the first line of defense, and the two sides were very close. Although Cecilia's order to launch the arrows was very precise, some of the arrows still hit their own men.

The three lords on the first line of defense all cursed angrily.

Cecilia! Stop firing! I'm on friendly fire!

"Enough! More of our brethren have died by your arrows than by the Orcs!"

However, no matter how angry she was, Cecilia never lowered the rapier she was pointing at. And her archers continued firing without pause.

Upon seeing this, Li Shuyi said with some admiration, "What a tough female general, so cool!"

Bai Xiaowen: "I just want to know, doesn't her arm get sore from maintaining that posture for so long?"

"..."

Li Shuyi rolled her eyes at Bai Xiaowen: "Alright, shouldn't we make our move too? Prince Nicholas is watching, and Cecilia has stolen all the limelight."

Bai Xiaowen glanced back at Prince Nicholas, who was overseeing the battle from the city wall, and smiled.

"Don't rush. It's not the right time yet."

The Orcs wolf riders finally halted their charge under the barrage of arrows. The collapse of the first line of defense only disrupted part of the second line's formation and did not lead to a complete rout.

At this moment, Prince Nicholas's second order arrived, this time very brief, consisting of only four words—

"Charge, all troops!"

Upon receiving this order, several lords were utterly astonished. They had already suffered a considerable loss, yet instead of the elite imperial legions from the fortresses appearing in battle, they were being ordered to send their hastily assembled rabble to continue charging?

Some people couldn't help but have a cynical thought: Did Prince Nicholas intend to kill all these peasant recruits at once to save on rations?

Some were unwilling, but Lord Julien didn't care. If it meant losing, so be it; it would be better to be free of trouble and return to Blackrock Fortress to hide.

Regardless, Prince Nicholas was still overseeing the battle from the city walls, and no one dared to openly disobey his orders.

After a brief reorganization, the nine infantry formations launched their second attack. This time, even the third defensive line, where Bai Xiaowen was stationed, joined the battle.

Along the roads of the Remnants camp, squads of Half-Orc Spearmen surged forth like a tide, interspersed with Troll Headhunter. These were the elite of the Remnants, the true Elite Template. It seemed the Remnants commander had grown tired of the Human Allied Army's harassing tactics of fighting even when they couldn't win, and was determined to teach the Human Allied Army a lesson they would never forget.

"Hooray..."

A towering Troll Headhunter, perched high above, thrust and stabbed down several Human Allied Army soldiers, his [Berserk] state already stacked three times, making him even more swift and powerful.

In the heat of the battle, the Troll Headhunter even grabbed a Human Allied Army soldier wearing simple leather armor, bit down with his long fangs, and tore a large chunk of flesh from the man's body, chewing it up with blood. He was like a demon from Hell, a truly horrifying sight!

The surrounding Human Allied Army soldiers were terrified and fled, except for one knight in full armor who charged back, shouting slogans like "Justice will prevail." However, the Troll Headhunter grinned, bit his finger, smeared blood on his spear, muttered a phrase, and then thrust the spear forward, its surface glistening with blood!

[Bloodburst Assassination]! The knight was pierced through and fell from his horse.

Similar scenes unfolded elsewhere, and this time the Human Allied Army was even less able to withstand the onslaught, retreating in droves.

At that moment, a bugle sounded.

Suddenly, two cavalry units appeared on the horizon on either side of the battlefield! Both units carried the banners of the Gorseflower Empire and launched a flank attack on the Remnants camp!

Leading one of the cavalry units was a knight clad in azure armor with a cloak embroidered with a lion on his back. He wielded a warhammer crackling with lightning, and with each swing, he claimed the life of a Remnants soldier. He was unstoppable!