You were made to farm, and now you're the emperor of an empire?

Chapter 186 The advantage is mine
After Roman landed, he first sent out a hundred scouts.

The warhorses were all entrusted to the riders and scouts.

Let's broaden our horizons first.

Roman had previously led troops in a surprise attack on Kant's territory, but he could not repeat that tactic now.

People are on guard now.

Secondly, those mountain roads have undulating terrain. Although they are suitable for marching, they are not suitable for forming ranks and can only be used for small-scale operations.

Once you step inside, you're courting death.

Because of the large number of enemy troops and the numerous narrow, winding paths, Roman will be attacked from multiple sides.

It's better to take the main road.

The terrain downstream was treacherous, and it took Roman a day to cross the wilderness and lead his army to a wide road.

This road is a secondary road branching off from Black Iron Avenue, and it leads directly to Kandeling.

Two thousand military servants from the rear brought various supplies to this place.

Roman was discussing with his knights which battlefield to choose.

It was on this day as well.

His scouts brought back news.

The noble alliance was approaching, with six flags flying in total.

Their family crests are the Black Beast (Bechtes), the Golden Chest (Velichka), the Flower of Salt (Gailland), the Heart of the Beast (Carter), the Closed Gate (Simon), and the Towering Castle (Kant).

Their total strength was about seven thousand men.

There were about three hundred cavalrymen.

There were about seventy knights in the expedition.

The rest are infantry units.

The armies gathered under their respective family banners.

During the march, the two sides were clearly separated and did not interfere with each other.

The Berchtes family had the smallest force, with only fifty cavalrymen, but a third of them were knights. Leading them was Frant, clad in blood-red plate armor.

The Earl of Conde had the largest force, with over three thousand men, accounting for half of the total force, which was quite impressive.

The other four major families each had either hundreds or thousands of soldiers.

We'll arrive here the day after tomorrow.

……

Roman and Dick discussed for a long time.

One should not choose a dangerous location that is easy to defend but difficult to attack.

Even if it exists, it's still not acceptable.

Faced with the treacherous terrain, the noble coalition halted their advance, choosing to besiege rather than attack. If the stalemate dragged on, Roman's logistics would be insufficient—he had only brought half a month's worth of provisions this time.

He's coming out this time to end things quickly, not to fight a protracted war.

Therefore, if we can fight a decisive battle, we should fight a decisive battle.

The other side probably thinks the same way. They've been stationed here for two months and haven't seen anything. Continuing to waste time would be a losing proposition.

But a decisive battle on a plain is also not advisable.

Roman intends to use terrain-based kills to disable the cavalry unit.

It's easy to find terrain where cavalry can perform well, but it's also easy to find places where cavalry can't perform well.

Ultimately, Roman chose a valley to confront the noble alliance head-on.

The terrain is a valley, narrow and winding with uneven slopes, somewhat like a mountain pass.

The terrain on both sides is too steep for marching; we need to find relatively flat terrain to enter the valley.

This was originally a rift valley, a landform largely sculpted by torrential rains and floods over the years.

It's not yet the height of summer, and there's only a small stream flowing through it, with pebbles scattered along the bottom, forming a rocky beach.

Once the warhorse steps into the area, it cannot charge and can only walk over.

While it is described as narrow and winding, it is not actually that narrow. The narrowest section is forty or fifty meters wide, while the widest section is a hundred meters wide.

This also means that when two armies meet on a narrow path, the brave will prevail.

Roman spent a day marching twenty kilometers to bring his soldiers to this land. He began a last-minute, intensive military training exercise, constantly indoctrinating them to prevent them from becoming spineless cowards. Although they were outnumbered.

Two thousand to seven thousand. But Roman felt the advantage was in his hands.

……

Two days passed in a blink of an eye.

Roman's scouts are gathering intelligence.

Meanwhile, the scouts of the noble alliance also learned about Roman's approximate troop strength and deployment. It was essentially a two-way transparency.

Verichka sneered, "Roman actually dares to come out! He's asking for death!"

Frant said to the Earl, "Lord Kant, that battlefield is not suitable for the Knights of Conquest to perform their duties. Berchtes may not be able to provide you with any assistance."

"We can't attack rashly," said Bald Carter.

Sir Simon readily agreed. "You're right, we've learned our lesson before, Lord Carter."

"Sir Foucault, we need to defeat Roman quickly," Steve said.

The Earl said, "Lord Frant, I have borrowed a thousand soldiers this time. We can only win this battle, we cannot afford to lose. I hope you can give us your support!"

The six noble families each spoke their own version of events, their statements incoherent and contradictory.

Vericka, in conversation with Geyland, declared his intention to swiftly defeat the armored vassal and avenge his previous defeat.

The Carter and Simon families, two outsiders, united as one, determined not to be the first to stick their neck out.

Earl Condé hopes that Sir Frant will lend a hand.

The Count had few soldiers available for battle, as Roman had plundered nearly one-eighth of the population of the Conde Territory.

Most importantly, the loss of troops was severe.

In order to maintain the quality of the army, the count had no choice but to borrow a thousand soldiers from distant noble relatives, essentially gambling the future of his family on this battle.

……

Sige Town, though located in a remote corner of the country, has experienced rapid development in the past two months.

The noble alliance also underwent significant changes.

In short, they initially disliked each other, but after the defeat in Sig Town, they grew to hate each other more and more, and the conflict intensified, with the arguments becoming increasingly heated, and they almost came to blows several times.

Frant of the Berchtesgaard family watched coldly.

He was sent here to make a quick buck and leave, so he only brought a hundred riders with him.

The Berchtes family answered the call of the Grand Duke of Fury, and their main force is now fighting pirates along the coast.

The fighting on the front lines is intense.

Count Berchtes initially ordered him to return quickly.

But for some reason, he changed his mind halfway through and left Frant on this land.

But the shortage of troops remained, so half of the hundred riders were transferred away, and the count gave him a cryptic order.

"Observe the situation calmly and act accordingly."

The meaning of commands must be inferred from the temperament of the master.

Frant knew his lord's temperament well. Count Berchtes was ambitious, unlike Count Condé—this count was born with poor conditions and lacked this and that. For a salt mine, he was willing to gamble his entire fortune.

Count Berchtes plays on a bigger scale. As a top count, he controls half of the salt production in the Black Iron Lands, second only to the Duke of Black Iron in status, and hopes to lead his family to even greater heights.

Therefore, he acts very aggressively.

In Frant's view, the count's instruction to wait and see was a way of telling him to do nothing.

He was a knight of the Berchtesgaard family, so naturally he had to obey his lord's orders.

But figuring out how to do this well is a bit tricky.

They are still nominally a noble alliance, and although they have a bad relationship and spew insults at each other, they haven't reached the point of fighting each other yet.

Once the salt mine is acquired, the profits will be redistributed.

When the time comes, we'll settle scores and avenge our grievances.

The toughest part is yet to come. Everyone still needs to contribute money or effort. And he can't just sit idly by.

Everyone just felt...

With 7,000 against 2,000, the advantage lies with me.

(End of this chapter)