If the earlier clashes along the border between the Rulson Kingdom and the Candel Empire had gone unnoticed because they were simply too small, this battle near the border could not possibly be concealed completely, with both sides committing over a thousand troops.
But when news of the incident broke, it stunned everyone.
According to the account released by the Rulson Kingdom, the Fourth Border Defense Regiment of the Candel Empire's Third Border Defense Army had entered Rulson territory without permission. Despite repeated warnings from the Rulson Kingdom Border Defense Army, they had refused to withdraw and had even launched an attack on it.
The Rulson Kingdom Border Defense Army had then been forced to return fire. Fierce fighting had ensued, ending in the complete annihilation of the Candel Empire's Third Border Defense Army's Fourth Border Defense Regiment.
The Candel Empire had also issued a statement on the incident. Its general account matched the Rulson Kingdom's, and it likewise acknowledged that the Fourth Border Defense Regiment of its Third Border Defense Army had crossed the border into the Rulson Kingdom on its own initiative.
However, the Candel Empire claimed that the Fourth Border Defense Regiment of its Third Border Army had done so solely because Candel merchants had previously been stopped and harmed without cause by the Rulson Kingdom Border Defense Army. It had therefore dispatched imperial border troops into the Rulson Kingdom to investigate, only to suffer devastating losses in a premeditated ambush by the despicable Rulson army.
In short, the Candel Empire also acknowledged that the battle had taken place, but portrayed the Rulson Kingdom as the party that had deliberately laid an ambush and attacked, while presenting all its own actions as justified.
As for casualties, the Rulson Kingdom stated that it had wiped out the Fourth