Split, interpenetrate, decisive battle!

Weren't the French supposed to be near Ghent? How had they suddenly appeared in the eastern suburbs of Brussels? Karl II nearly snapped his riding crop. With no other choice, he sent another regiment to support the ambushed troops and dispatched large numbers of hussars to scout ahead, lest his main force also fall into an ambush.

After launching his surprise attack on the Dutch, Mason received the Crown Prince's orders to return north to Antwerp, so he circled around the western side of Waterloo and maneuvered north of the Dutch.

The earlier attack had left Bronckhorst on tenterhooks, and after leaving the town, he ordered his troops to maintain a guarded formation and advance cautiously. By the time Mason had completed his wide circuit and begun sending cavalry out to locate the Dutch, the Dutch Army had covered less than eight kilometers.

Northwest of Brussels, beside a small village more than twenty kilometers from Antwerp, the Royal Guard Legion was resting.

They had been force-marching for two consecutive days, covering nearly sixty kilometers. At Karl II's marching speed, he would probably need another day and a half to reach this spot.

In fact, if Joseph truly intended to storm Antwerp, given the city's defensive strength, it would very likely have fallen to the French Army before the Hanover Army arrived.

But that would have amounted to helping Austria suppress the rebellion, which was absolutely not the outcome he wanted.

Inside the officers' tent at the center of the Royal Guard Legion's camp, Berthier drew the last circle on the map and wrote a note beside it, then put away his pencil and let out a long breath.

The intelligence reported by the various hussar detachments had finally been compiled. Beside him, Joseph looked at the long, snaking formation of