In the Lucese province north of Tyniec, a day and a half away from the starting point of the mountain trail between Kodor and Lucese provinces, a mighty team stretching for nearly half a mile quickly walked on the road from Lucese province to the western mountains.
There are farmlands on both sides of the road, a green scene. The waist-deep wheat swayed from side to side under the hot breeze in the afternoon, making a "hissing" sound...
Although the province of Lucesien joined the Flanders side, Lucesien was spared the scourge of war due to the tall and towering mountains separating the east and west borders. Moreover, Lucesien's way of participating in the war was only to symbolically send two hundred light-armored infantry to the court of Besancon, plus provide a large amount of money and various food supplies as a contribution to the new king of Flanders.
At this time, throughout Lucesien Province, the fertile fields were full of hard-working farmers. The troops of the Wells Legion drove all the way north, passing through villages and manors of all sizes. Upon seeing this, the villagers hurriedly hid, or stuck their heads out of their windows to look around. I was thinking that there was going to be another war somewhere...
"The teams behind quickly followed up, and we will take a short rest when we reached the birch forest in front." Bass, who was standing on the road in the middle of the team, gave a big order to the rear team, while wiping the big beads of sweat that kept appearing on his forehead with his right hand.
In the plains of Lucerne Province in August, the sun was shining brightly at noon and the air was dull. The Welsh Legion soldiers who were marching quickly in their armor were unbearably hot, and the inner lining had already been soaked over and over with sweat. Due to the order of the sub-regiment leader Bass, no one dared to stop and make noise during the march. Everyone worked hard to follow the team and strive to reach Fort Marsi as soon as possible.
Keep up, if Chief Bass sees you, you will suffer. I told you to be lazy during training, and now you will know the pain."
The captain of the Tyniec County Soldiers Company, Wall, who was riding in the middle of the team, scolded Andre who was complaining beside him.
Andre laughed twice, hurried forward, and respectfully handed the water bag around his waist to Wall.
"Sir, do you think we can defeat those bastards from Kodor? I heard that they have a team of several thousand people. Brothers have not fought for a long time, I'm afraid this time will be unlucky~"
"You bastard, you dare to say such things, disturb the morale of the army before the war, be careful with your head." Wall suppressed his voice and swung the riding crop towards Andre's head.
"Ouch!" Andre whispered and glanced around, fearing that what he just said would be overheard.
Seeing this, Wall said to Andre in a low voice, "What are you afraid of? I heard that the elites of Kodor have been sent to the north a long time ago, leaving behind some unbeaten third-rate goods. Besides, the Kodor people haven't fought for a long time, and I'm afraid their sharp swords have long been rusty in their scabbards."
"Hahaha..." Andre secretly rejoiced.
"Besides, we are still training on weekdays. Although we are not as good as the veterans of the Welsh Legion, we can still deal with a few Kodor bastards, just like chopping melons and vegetables." Wall looked arrogant and stared ahead.
"Sir, you have the foresight. My life depends entirely on you." Andre flattered him.
"Hahaha, easy to say, easy to say."
“What are you two yelling about there? Why don’t you hurry up and follow them?” Bass, who was riding a horse to catch up, shouted at the two of them.
The two of them stopped talking and quickly followed the advancing team.
Some simply took advantage of this time to lie down on the rocks by the stream and take a nap, and grab a few bites during the march.
On a boulder upstream of the stream, Baron Antayas tore a piece of bread into a large piece and handed it to the branch leader Bas. Bas took the bread and stuffed it into his mouth. While chewing the bread, he brought the water bag to his mouth. Antayas looked at the mighty team.
“Basi,” Antayas said, “Look at our team, there are at least seven hundred people.” Bas nodded in agreement.
"We have a large number of people this time, well-equipped, and the morale of the soldiers is high. We will definitely win against those bastards in Kodor." Baron Antayas said excitedly.
As a low-ranking noble who is in urgent need of military glory, he is extremely looking forward to the decisive battle with the Kodor people. If he can perform meritorious service on the battlefield, and with Art's full recommendation, it will be a matter of time before his title of baron is replaced by the title of viscount. So when he received the secret message from the valley, he gathered the army within half a day, prepared his own food, grass and baggage and rushed all the way to Tyniec, for fear of missing this rare opportunity.
"Hehehehe," Bass said with a smile while cleaning the crumbs from his mouth with his hands, "Lord Antayas, to tell you the truth, in addition to our troops, the Longxia Army will also send people to help, plus hundreds of Sapp's people. It’s strange that the Kodor people didn’t run away with their tails between their legs this time.”
“Hahaha...”
“Hahaha...”
The two looked at each other and smiled.
"Master Art is still so capable that he even dispatched Longxia's army." Antayas did not forget to flatter Art in front of his confidants.
"Your Excellency said in your secret message that whether or not the Kodor people can be defeated in this battle depends entirely on whether the troops that reinforce Fort Marsi can arrive in time. So we cannot be careless and must arrive within the time agreed by Your Excellency, otherwise the consequences will be disastrous." Bass said with a serious look.
"Yes." Antayas nodded.
"Attention all, keep moving forward!"
After the soldiers had rested, Bass gave the order to set off.
………
At night, the territory of the Earl of Longxia was filled with people. After receiving the secret order from the court of Besançon, all the ministries prepared for war. Materials such as clothing, armor, weapons, food, grass and baggage have been gradually distributed to the soldiers.
As the leading baron of Longxia, when Flanders went north to start the War of Succession, Leander was appointed as the commander of the remaining army in Longxia, with 800 soldiers under his command.
The last time I received a mission, I was to march on the border of Codor, to raid Codor for the Welsh Army and to feign an attack on the border city of Codor, in order to attract the enemy's attention and reduce the pressure on Verdi's Army. After the mission was completed, one hundred Longxia soldiers stayed at the border area. During this expedition, 50 people stayed in the Longxia Territory, and the remaining 600 people went out. The mission was to go north and gather near Fort Marcy, and join forces with the Wells Army to resist the siege of Fort Marcy by the Codor army.
After arranging the defense of the territory, Leander sat alone under the tree in the yard outside the lord's hall, wiping his broadsword. This sword was given to him by the new king Flanders. Since this sword followed him, it has never seen blood. The blade of the sword scattered dazzling white light under the moonlight, illuminating Leander's murderous eyes. Only those who have been fighting on the battlefield for many years and living a life of licking blood from the edge of a knife can have eyes like that, as sharp and ruthless as an eagle.
Longxia's people are fierce, martial and aggressive. Almost all adult men will join the Longxia army and go out to fight. After being baptized by the flames of war, the soldiers of the Longxia Legion were well-disciplined and capable of conquering the enemy. They were like deadpools, frightening the troops who fought against them. This is why the Kodor people heard that the Longxia army appeared in the border area, and immediately mobilized heavy troops from all over the country for defense as if they were facing a powerful enemy.
"Lord Leander, the legion has been assembled."
The messenger brought Leander back from his thoughts. Leonder looked at the gleaming broadsword and skillfully inserted the broadsword into the scabbard. Shake the dust off his body.
…………
etticesscredfi " since.
"Yes, my brother-in-law is well strategized and careful in everything, so he must have arranged it long ago."
"Yes." The guard nodded and replied.
Since there is a stone fort in Sapsi, you can immediately enter the Côte d'Or province after passing through the valley, which is much shorter than the journey from the valley to Fort Marsi. So Phoenix ordered the army to wait two days before setting off in the valley.
After a few days of busy work, Phoenix has prepared enough food, grass and baggage for the army to go out. A total of 350 people including his own 100 private soldiers and 250 young peasants and soldiers in the valley have also been assembled. The remaining fifty private soldiers were stationed at Fort Sap to prevent surprise attacks by the Kodor people. The leader was a young knight under Phoenix.
Phoenix is extremely looking forward to this battle. Firstly, it was because it was my first time to lead a team of more than 300 people on an expedition. The feeling was not comparable to leading dozens of private soldiers into the mountains to suppress bandits. This time not only can he test his ability to lead a large army in combat, but it is also a rare opportunity to join forces with the Longxia Army. Phoenix has admired the Longxia Legion for a long time, but he has heard that they are extremely brave and good at fighting, but he has never interacted with them. This time he wants to see them carefully.
Secondly, I shoulder the honor and responsibility of my family. Only through this decisive battle with the Kodor people can I make a name for myself and fight for the maximum rights and interests for my family. This is also a good opportunity to show my value and ability.
Phoenix has always regarded Flanders and Art as his role models, and also hopes to use the heads of his enemies as a ladder for his ascent...
“Send the order, tell the kitchen to prepare food in advance tomorrow morning, set off before sunrise, and go straight to Kodor!” Phoenix ordered the orderer after returning to the Lord’s Hall.
"Yes, my lord!"
…………
On the northern wall of Marciburg, the mountain wind howled, and the flags standing on the wall stacks hissed. There is only the last day before reinforcements from various ministries arrive. In recent days, Art has been walking back and forth on the city wall almost every day, firstly to inspect the city defense and to express condolences to the soldiers. Secondly, I hope to see the situation on the mountain trail to the east by standing on the towering city wall.
The task force has been out for four or five days, but there is still no sign of anything happening on the mountain trails to the east. At this time, Art was already a little anxious. He was afraid that something would happen to the task force on the road. After all, it's a long way to go, and bandits occasionally appear and wild beasts run rampant. If the task force's mission to move reinforcements fails, I'm afraid that hundreds of them will be trapped in Fort Marsi.
「Report!」
h At was startled and hurriedly ran towards the messenger who was flying up the city wall.
"Report, sir, a small group of people were found on the mountain road to the east, they seem to be ours." The messenger said hurriedly.
"How many people are there?" Art asked anxiously.
"Seven or eight people." The sentry replied.
At heard this, he was overjoyed. He knew that this was the outpost sent by the Valley Guard Corps, and the large army must be behind it.
"Send someone to respond immediately." Art said excitedly.
"Yes."
"Wait!" Just as the messenger was about to leave, Art stopped him.
"Tell the kitchen to prepare more food for hundreds of people today. They have come all the way, I'm afraid it will be very hard, so go ahead."
"Yes, sir." The messenger left quickly.
After the messengers left, Art once again focused his attention on the mountain trail to the east. My heart that had been hanging for a long time finally dropped after the good news came.
At this time, the afterglow of the setting sun filled the bushes in the mountains, making the mountains golden. Occasionally, a few flying birds fly over Fort Marsi toward the tall branches in the mountains, where they have their nests and their babies waiting to be fed...