Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 431 The Great Alliance Marches Forward (Part 4)
[Maplestone City District]
[Mai Qiu]
Cypher Carrington crouched motionless in the wheat field, submerged by waist-high rye.

The green wheat leaves swayed in the wind, and Cypher, amidst them, was like a reef appearing and disappearing in the waves.

Within Cyber's field of vision, the figures half a kilometer away appeared as small as ants. Swarms of ants crawled slowly along the provincial highway toward the green valley.

While observing the dust rising from the road, Seber intently counted the flags fluttering in the marching column.

The Red Rose unit, which set out from Maplestone, was equipped with too few and too few light cavalry.

Although they were all riding top-quality military horses, wearing clean and tidy clothes, and exuding the fearless spirit of newborn calves, they were clearly new recruits who had only recently joined the army.

In a small-scale chase, the light cavalry recruits were routed by the veteran scouts under Cypher Carrington, who rode small, ragged horses.

They are often chasing after fleeing enemies with high spirits one moment, and then suddenly find themselves in an ambush the next.

Using the terrain to his advantage, Major Seiber Carrington easily captured a large portion of the enemy's troops and even stripped them of a lot of new clothes.

On the other side, the light cavalry recruits who had managed to escape were completely terrified and no longer had the courage to launch an attack. They only dared to wander around their own marching ranks.

The enemy light cavalry's operational space was thus compressed by Cyber ​​to within one kilometer on both sides of the column.

For an army, such a small reconnaissance range is practically no different from being blind or deaf.

Some of Saiber's scouts were so audacious that they even began to provoke and harass the enemy at close range.

Riding their newly captured fine horses, each carrying two wheeled rifles, they first led their horses stealthily to a position about one kilometer away from the enemy column. Once they saw the opportunity, they suddenly mounted their horses and charged into the enemy column within fifty meters, raised their hands and fired two shots, not caring whether they hit or not, then pulled on the reins and rode off.

Enemy light cavalry, arriving late to the scene, often only dared to pursue for a short distance, and didn't even have the courage to cross the mounds on either side of the road.

As soon as the harassers disappeared over the hillside, they would turn tail and retreat, then continue to loiter around the marching column.

It was precisely because the enemy's light cavalry had been completely suppressed that Cypher Carrington had the opportunity to get within half a kilometer of the enemy to conduct reconnaissance without being detected by them.

……

Suddenly, the marching column in the distance showed some unusual movements.

Seber noticed a rider who appeared to be wearing a sergeant's uniform coming from the front of the column.

The rider, accompanied by several attendants, galloped and stopped against the direction the "ant colony" was heading. Then, he called out a few "ants" from the "ant colony," as if asking them a question.

Seber unconsciously narrowed his eyes; his intuition told him that the rider who looked like a colonel was likely the commander of this unit.

He secretly pondered: the enemy was marching in units of a hundred men, and their formation was deliberately kept very tight, obviously to guard against a cavalry attack.

However... if you come in and out quickly, there will always be opportunities.

The problem is that at this moment, behind the mound half a kilometer behind Seber, only twenty-four of his men are waiting for orders.

After returning from the surprise attack on the Red Serpent tribe, Winters did not choose to disband the more than 1,000 light cavalrymen he had transferred. Instead, he directly organized them into six light cavalry squadrons and placed four of them under the command of Major Seber.

Currently, Cypher Carrington's four cavalry squadrons are scattered along the main roads and trails from Maplestone to Green Valley, providing surveillance, communications, and reconnaissance for the entire army. Another contingent has been sent to Worgneshire to monitor Sandel's forces.

For the vast newly reclaimed land, a few hundred cavalrymen scattered across it were like salt poured into the sea, quickly diluted and wiped out. Therefore, the four tents and twenty-four cavalrymen constituted all the forces that Seber could temporarily command.

Although Cypher is known for being "fearless to the point of madness," he is not stupid and would not seek death.

Staring at the figure riding a chestnut horse at the foot of the mound, Seber thought with a touch of regret, "You're lucky today, my friend."

To be honest, Seber felt a strange sense of kinship with the enemy commander whose identity he did not yet know, who was located at the foot of the hill.

He admired the other person's patience—not sarcastically.

Despite being subjected to all sorts of harassment and provocation, the other party did not react in any way that was out of control or excessive; instead, they remained calm and patient, something that Cypher knew he could not do.

Therefore, Seiber tried his best to compare the other person's appearance and style with his memories of classmates and colleagues, but he could not think of anyone who had such an ability.

Suddenly, a rustling sound came from behind.

Seber gripped the dagger warily and asked in a low voice, "Who?"

"It's me, Major." A junior officer with a clean-shaven head, revealing a bluish scalp, crawled to Cypher's side, saluted, and whispered, "The prisoner has confessed."

Seber put down his dagger and continued to observe the enemy situation: "Speak."

"Those prisoners said they were from the Sixth Army."

Cyber ​​jerked his head around, his eyes blazing with fury: "The Sixth Legion?"

The lieutenant hurriedly explained, "It's not our Sixth Legion, it's the Sixth Legion that the Great Council reorganized, also called 'Kings'."

Cyber ​​snorted and turned his back.

“There’s something even more interesting.” The lieutenant licked his lips and continued his report: “According to the prisoners, they were recruited and trained in Xilin Province and had been stationed there before. They just arrived in Maplestone City the day before yesterday.”

Without turning his head, Seber asked, "Are the prisoners' words reliable?"

"They were all interrogated individually, and their answers were largely the same, so it shouldn't be a case of collusion."

Seber hummed in agreement and then asked, "How much do they know about the situation inside Maplestone City?"

“They know nothing,” the lieutenant replied. “According to them, they never even entered Maple Leaf Keep. They just stayed overnight in Maplestone City and then hurriedly set off again. However, they said that Maple Leaf Keep sent them a reinforcement battalion, making a total of six battalions heading towards Green Valley, in addition to their original five.”

Seber did a quick mental calculation and found that the six battalions numbered approximately three thousand men, which basically matched the information he had observed.

"In other words, these people are not from the New Reclamation Legion—the Grand Council's reinforcements have arrived." Major Seber sighed deeply, then asked his subordinates, "Have we sent someone to Green Valley to inform Captain Montagne of the latest enemy situation?"

The lieutenant answered in a low voice, "No."

Cypher turned his head, his eyes sharpening: "What do you mean?"

"There's another piece of information, also from the prisoners," the lieutenant said slowly. "It's up to you to decide whether to inform Captain Montagne."

"Stop talking nonsense! Speak."

"This Grand Council force that traveled overland to Maplestone City consisted only of five battalions of the so-called Sixth Legion." The lieutenant licked his lips again, hesitatingly adding, "According to the prisoners, the other five battalions of the puppet government's Sixth Legion came by boat..."

A myriad of possibilities flashed through Seber's mind: "They came by boat? When did they arrive? Where are they now?"

"I don't know," the lieutenant replied honestly. "They only know that the other five brigades came to the newly reclaimed land by boat."

Seber's head began to throb. He cleared his mind of all distractions, stared at his subordinate, and said coldly, "Take the information the prisoner gave us... no, send the prisoner to Captain Montagne! Now! You go yourself!"

Feeling guilty under his gaze, the lieutenant quickly saluted and replied, "Yes, sir."

“Don’t go yet.” Seber called to his subordinates, pointing to the officer in the chestnut horse below the hillside: “Has the prisoner revealed the identity of the enemy reinforcement commander?” “It is said that his surname is Felt, his name is Old, and he is a major.”

“Old Felt.” Seber frowned, chewing for a while. “I’ve never heard of him before. Doesn’t he sound like a Paratist name?”

“They’re not from our Paratua region, they’re from the United Provinces,” the lieutenant explained. “They were originally here to help the puppet government train new recruits, but they’ve come along for the expedition.”

Seber chuckled softly: "I see... Did you bring your soldiers?"

"Yes, sir." The officer nodded emphatically. "The four tents and twenty-four riders are all waiting in the back."

"How many veterans are there?"

"half."

“Then we can give it a try.” Seber opened his mouth, cracking his jaw to reveal two sharp teeth. He instructed his subordinate, “Leave your squad to me. You take the prisoners to Green Valley and report the latest military intelligence to Captain Montagne.”

The wind swept through the wheat field where wild beasts lurked, making their silhouettes even harder to spot.

“You provincial bastard,” Seber Carrington spat, staring intently at the officer on the chestnut horse below the hill. “You’re out of luck today.”

……

Behind me was Maplestone City, in front was Wheathill Town, on both sides were gently undulating earthen mounds, and under my feet was the dusty provincial highway.

Faced with frequent harassment and provocation, and with no clear understanding of the surrounding enemy situation, Major Alder Felt had no choice but to swallow his anger and keep on his way.

He led his men around, personally confirming the losses of the light cavalry detachment: less than a day after setting off from Maplestone City, more than half of the light cavalry assigned to him had been lost, and the remaining light cavalry had lost all fighting spirit.

The honorary officer in charge of commanding the light cavalry stood before Major Alder Felt, his face filled with shame, not daring to utter a single word.

Major Felt sighed, ultimately refraining from uttering any harsh words. He knew very well that the current situation couldn't be entirely blamed on this newly trained honorary officer.

The harassment by small groups of enemy cavalry continued, with the sound of hooves and gunfire echoing from both sides of the road from time to time.

Major Felt could only order his troops to ignore the order and continue on their way.

There was no other way; if he were to be on high alert or react violently, the marching speed would inevitably be slowed down, which would actually serve the enemy's purpose.

Major Felt's first combat experience in Palatine immediately gave him a taste of the differences between the art of war in the land of galloping horses and the densely populated, water-rich United Provinces.

Fortunately, the town of Maiqiu is just ahead. Once they enter the well-fortified town, the harassment by small groups of lightly armed cavalry will become meaningless.

"Don't slack off!" Major Felt stood by the roadside, loudly encouraging his soldiers: "Once we reach McQueen, you can rest as much as you like."

The soldiers responded to the major's speech with silence.

Major Felt, knowing he was not good at speaking, cracked his whip and rode to the front of the column.

Just as he rounded a sharp bend at the bottom of a slope, he suddenly heard the sound of horses' hooves, like hailstones.

Major Felt looked up as a small squad of cavalry leaped from the reverse slope of the hillside and charged toward him like arrows.

……

[Kyeongho County]
Green Valley Town
The troops from Tiefeng County did not stay overnight in Green Valley Town, but instead found an open space outside the town to set up camp.

The prisoners were also taken outside the town and interrogated one by one.

Apart from the company responsible for guarding the north and south gates, only Charles led the military police into Green Valley Town to seize the New Reclamation Army's supplies and property.

The terrified townspeople of Green Valley discovered that the "rebels" were far more amiable than they had imagined; they did not loot, burn, or plunder, nor did they even engage in forced buying and selling.

The officer who went to the town's merchants to purchase supplies spoke softly and kindly, and settled accounts with real money—even when the government troops were around, they never treated people this reasonably.

The mayor of Green Valley Town took the initiative to arrange a batch of wine, meat, and flour, and personally delivered them to the camp outside the town along with several town representatives.

After winning the battle and receiving an extra meal, the camp of the new army in Tiefeng County was filled with a joyful atmosphere—except for the central command tent.

The central command tent was completely silent.

The guards and clerks didn’t even dare to breathe, because Winters Montagne was deep in thought, staring at the map.

"Is there any need to hesitate?!" Andrei could no longer endure the agonizing silence. He stood up, pointed to the map, and said decisively:

"Now that the enemy forces of Maple Leaf Fortress have crawled out of their shells, we must not let them retreat again! Eliminate them, and Maple Stone City will be within our grasp! Didn't the people of Thundercrow County say that 'the warehouses of Maple Stone City are piled high with supplies and provisions'? General Adams' accumulated wealth is not to be missed. If they need it, we need it too."

Winters is still weighing the options.

On the map in front of him, an enemy force was advancing from Maplestone City toward Green Valley.

On the other side of Yinqueshan, the troops representing Baishan County, Leiqun County, and Bianjiang County remained in Changhu Town, having not moved for six hours—because the last communication cavalry had arrived six hours earlier.

If we include the time it took for the communications cavalry to travel, then at least ten hours ago, Colonel Bode's main force had already left Longlake Town and was advancing towards Snake Marsh.

According to the original plan, although the four-county allied forces would send out the Iron Peak County army to guard the rear, the troops of White Mountain County, Leiqun County, and Bianjiang County would still have a numerical advantage over the Sanel troops.

if only……

Winters picked up a chess piece, rubbed it in his hand, and muttered to himself, "As long as the Sanel faction doesn't receive reinforcements."

Yes, if Sanel's forces did indeed receive unexpected reinforcements, then the main force of twelve battalions led by Colonel Bode would not be facing Sanel's forces, which "may have been ten battalions."

Instead, it was the Sanel Division, which "had at least twelve battalions, and could even expand to fourteen battalions."

“If Sanel does indeed receive reinforcements from Kingsburg,” Winters looked up at Andre and said coldly, “Colonel Bode may be in danger.”

"You actually believe that crying brat?" Andrei exclaimed anxiously, "Wasn't he just telling you something offhand by the messenger reporting the victory? Who knows if it's true or not? What if he's lying to you? What if he's a spy?!"

Winters slowly repeated, "If Sanel really receives reinforcements from Kingsburg, Colonel Bode may be in danger. If Colonel Bode's main force is defeated, the garrison in Vaughan will definitely be mobilized. At that time, we will have nowhere to retreat."

Andrei's face turned ashen; under extreme pressure, he unconsciously became extremely irritable.

Andrei's face was filled with indignation as he gritted his teeth and said, "Since Colonel Bode has made this deployment, we can only trust him! Just as he trusts us! Otherwise? Support the main force? What about Midoriya? What about the army's retreat? Even if we really abandon Midoriya and support Colonel Bode, it might already be too late!"

He slammed his fist on the table: "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush! If you ask me, let's attack Maplestone City!"

Winters leaned on the folding table, and under extreme pressure, he became unusually quiet—as if the one who had won the title of "Blood of the Wolf" was not Winters Montagne.

He stared at the map without saying a word.

[This "close-quarters reconnaissance" tactic isn't something I made up or imagined. To give a recent example, during the Peninsular War, British staff officers would approach French positions within their line of sight but out of their reach, openly scouting and recording French movements. When the French came out to pursue, they would run. It's said that British staff officers were excellent horsemen, often outmaneuvering French light cavalry with just a few obstacle jumps.] [Before the widespread use of rifles, infantry often had no choice but to watch helplessly as cavalry toyed with them...] [Thank you to all the readers for your collections, reading, subscriptions, recommendations, monthly tickets, rewards, and comments. Thank you everyone!]
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(End of this chapter)