Mount and Blade System: Start from Pioneer Lords.

Chapter 416 A Mediocre Battle

On the plains twenty miles away from Shiling Fort, the Gaoya Fort and the Southern Border Allied Forces stopped and encamped. White tents sprang up like mushrooms after the rain, and the camp was filled with the sounds of people and horses, and wisps of smoke rose from the chimneys.

A larger tent was chosen as a temporary meeting room.

“This place is a relatively important military node.” Kemish, a former general of the Persian Gulf Empire, pointed to Shiling Fort on the map: “Behind this fort is Wirtz, the provincial capital of the Southern Province. In other words, if the expeditionary force wants to take over the Southern Province, it must first eliminate this bridgehead. Otherwise, even if it goes around to attack Wirtz, it will be ambushed from behind by the soldiers stationed at Shiling Fort.”

"In fact, the governor named Bernard must have known this, otherwise he would not have sent five allied forces to attack five castles, including Stone Ridge Castle. Once these five castles were captured, Wirtz would be no different from being naked to the expeditionary force."

“Such an important military node must have more than just this many troops stationed here; it’s most likely just a ruse to mislead us.” The goblin Layton was studying the map, trying to figure out where other soldiers were hidden.

"Who is the commander of your Persian Gulf Empire?" Li Wei wasn't worried about whether he could take Stone Ridge Fortress. He didn't even need to lift a finger; Sersni alone could decide the course of the war.

Therefore, he was worried about the other expeditionary forces. If they suffered repeated defeats, even if he won every battle, it would be of no use.

Gaoyabao only had about 10,000 men, and even if they were all elite soldiers, they were too busy to occupy the vast territory of the Persian Gulf Empire.

“If nothing unexpected happens, it will definitely be Howard Golddrill, the Empire’s number one general, who will take the position,” Kermish said solemnly. “This man is no ordinary person.”

"How is it not simple?" Zart replied.

"The other side is a marshal who served under three Persian Gulf kings and always held the reins of command. The fact that he was trusted by three kings in succession speaks volumes about his abilities." Kemish looked around and said, "Although I don't know him very well, he is known as a military genius in the military world. He has participated in at least a hundred battles and has only failed once. The reason for that failure was simply because he was outnumbered. But it is already quite remarkable that he was able to hold off an attack by more than 10,000 rebels with only 500 men for half a month."

The audience didn't react at all after listening.

Because there are countless examples of people winning with fewer resources in the life of the person next to me.

"Tch, he just hides around like a coward, what kind of famous general is he, what kind of war god is he?" Zart snorted twice, his eyes filled with utter contempt.

Kemish was too lazy to argue with this idiot, after all, the other party probably didn't even know what a famous general was.

"Your Majesty..." Several generals from the Southern Border looked at the Lord of High Cliff Fortress who had been gazing at the white clouds outside for a long time. They exchanged glances, wanting to request permission to fight, but were afraid of disturbing his thoughts.

For these southern generals, their participation in the expeditionary force was to earn military merits; staying here without moving was not what they wanted.

"The legion that has received the order shall advance to a position 1,500 paces from Stone Ridge Fortress. The rest shall remain here." Li Wei turned his gaze from outside the tent and issued the orders calmly: "The Southern Legion infantry shall advance slowly with shields raised. Archers and mages shall provide cover fire. The Blood Boiling Beast Legion of High Cliff Fortress shall provide flank support. Half of the Griffin Knights shall patrol the outer perimeter to prevent any enemy from flanking us. The other half shall disrupt the heavy munitions on the city walls."

With the current strength of Gaoyabao, there is no need to be timid. No matter what strategy the opponent has, we will understand after fighting a battle.

No amount of trickery or schemes will work against absolute power.

Thus, a Southern Army of 15,000 men, along with the Blood Boiling Beast Legion and the Mage Corps, began to advance slowly, eventually deploying their formation 1,500 meters from Stone Ridge Fortress.

Shiling Fort is a castle built on a mountain ridge. The city walls are cut from black stone and are eighteen blades high. However, what really makes this castle an important military point is that the two sides are steep, with 45-degree slopes of jagged rocks. Only the front and the east side have gentler slopes.

In other words, although the castle only has 15,000 garrison troops, it only needs to guard the walls on two sides, and there is almost no need to worry about the other two sides.

The defenders on the city wall had long since spotted the griffin riders who were brazenly conducting reconnaissance in the sky. Now that they saw the enemy's main force finally appear, they calmly sounded their horns and dispatched soldiers to climb the city walls for defense.

Li Wei stood atop the exceptionally swift three-headed dog, its dark red mane undulating like waves in the breeze, observing the equipment and spirit of the Persian Gulf soldiers atop the city walls.

The city walls are guarded by nearly 40% Unsullied warriors and regular Persian Gulf troops.

The former were all dressed in light black armor and carried round shields and spears, while the latter mostly wore lighter leather armor and carried an extremely fine and luxurious scimitar; only a few wore chainmail.

After some observation, it was found that these people were in good spirits and were on par with the Southern Army. However, their martial arts skills were unknown, and their equipment was far inferior to that of Debe.

In general, although it was alright, it didn't put any pressure on the soldiers of Gaoyabao at all.

"I could have solved this with a single breath of dragon's breath, why make it so complicated? Humans are such a hassle." Sersne leisurely rubbed her long nails with black vine juice, complaining to Levi that he wouldn't let her take action.

Now not only have she become a slave, but all the treasures she has accumulated have also been stolen. It would be impossible for Sersne not to hate, but since the situation is stronger than the dragon's, she can only compromise.

She secretly thought to herself, "Anyway, human lifespan is short. Even if you become a legend, you can't compare to a dragon. Fortune changes every three hundred years. When the time comes, it will be my time as the Black Dragon Queen, and my wings will once again dominate the sky."

"Will a single breath of dragon's breath completely corrode Stone Ridge Fortress?" Li Wei glanced at her. "You will have your chance to make a move eventually, but not now."

This black dragon queen is also a double agent; she appears to submit, but her recruitment notice keeps changing its mind.

Li Wei eventually gave up and agreed, since the other party had already decided to run away again not long after he did.

So now I take my partner with me wherever I go, so they won't run away when I'm not looking.

It won't be so easy to catch them then.

"Did Kemish recognize which legion the other party belonged to?" Li Wei pointed to the eagle-headed banner on the city wall in the distance and looked at the surrendered general next to him who had served in the Persian Gulf Empire's army.

Kemish looked at it for a long time until he was sure it was correct before putting down the glasses in front of him and answering with certainty: "It is the 'Eagle Claw' Legion. This legion has always been responsible for quelling the chaos caused by slaves in the empire. It is a second-rate legion. It has no priests or half-moon warriors. The legion commander is a guy named Oba."

"Weaker than I imagined," the lord quickly concluded.

There are three legions from the Southern Territory participating in the expeditionary force, each of which is a perfectly organized legion capable of fighting a battle on its own.

Needless to say, High Cliff Fortress is filled with high-ranking soldiers, and now the magic guild has added more than a dozen Medusa priestesses. It is likely that just having these mages cast spells from a distance would be enough to demoralize the Stone Ridge Fortress garrison.

"All troops, charge! Take Stone Ridge Fortress before nightfall!" Li Wei issued this seemingly impossible order. Ten mages from the Southern Mother Goddess Church and mages from the High Cliff Fortress Magic Guild first cast various spells on the soldiers, and then began to freely cast their most skilled spells towards the walls of Stone Ridge Fortress.

The ballistae on the city wall had only fired two arrows at the allied forces of Gaoyabao when they were suppressed by a massive wave of colorful spells, which made them dare not show their faces again. A single spell wiped out nearly a thousand soldiers on the city wall. Anyone who dared to show their face under such overwhelming pressure was either a fool or a master.

Unfortunately, Stone Ridge Fortress had neither fools nor experts, so the soldiers from the southern border found that they encountered no resistance at all and easily arrived at the foot of the Stone Ridge Fortress walls.

"Isn't there any hidden master who can deliver the final blow?" Li Wei was very disappointed.

At this point, the outcome is almost certain. If no one steps forward by now, there's absolutely nothing to worry about.

Li Wei glanced at the distance of 1,500 paces, took out a javelin from his inventory, and without even aiming, imbued it with holy light before gently throwing it.

brush!
boom!
A sharp whooshing sound had just rang out when a violent explosion immediately followed.

Just as they arrived at the city gate, the Southern Border soldiers, who were preparing to push the siege engine, looked at the city gate that had been blown to smithereens and the stunned Persian Gulf soldiers inside the gate. They stared at each other and then let out an excited roar.

That dragon knight is watching them!

They pounced in like hungry wolves spotting sheep, while the barbarians of the Bloodthirsty Legion scaled the city walls from the side.

Without priests, without crescent warriors, without strongmen, the soldiers of Stone Ridge Fortress were weaker than lambs to the slaughter when facing the barbarians of the Blood Boiling Legion.

Thus began a bloody massacre.

Blood flowed like rivers, bones filled the city, and limbs were scattered everywhere; the entire city was filled with mourning.

Time passed faster than the lord had imagined. In just the afternoon, all the soldiers on the city wall were wiped out, leaving only a few remnants hiding in civilian houses.

After sending out small teams to loot, the entire Gaoyabao Brigade officially entered Shilingbao.

Several small black dots hovering in the sky also disappeared into the distance.

"Should I go and catch these bugs?" Sersney asked lazily.

The lord, riding his three-headed dog into the city, didn't even bother to lift his head.
Would a dragon care about the spying of a fly?

……

"Name?" Li Wei sat in the seat reserved for counts in the main hall of Stone Ridge Fortress, looking down at the one-eyed giant being escorted in by two orcs.

Zart stood to the side, wearing three layers of heavy armor and a horned helmet, holding a leather whip in his hand. He looked at the captured general in front of him with a sinister smile.

The smiles on the faces of the southern officers were so wide they were practically unrecognizable.

For the Southern Legion, capturing such a crucial military stronghold of the Persian Gulf Empire was undoubtedly a great achievement, and capturing its commander alive was something they could boast about to their colleagues for the rest of their lives.

More importantly, according to Debe's tradition, whoever conquers a city owns all its treasures.

Although the attack on Shiling Fort was so easy this time, it was all thanks to Gaoya Fort, but the Southern Territory also contributed a lot.

"Hehe, Debe, don't get too cocky..." The one-eyed giant stood proudly.

"Behave yourself!" Zha Manzi lashed the other man's shin with his whip.

The immense force from above instantly crushed the man's leg bones, causing him to groan and collapse to his knees.

The girls quickly said goodbye and left, fearing that a bloody torture session might occur next.

“He’s tougher than I expected. Zatra, get him out of here. I don’t care what method you use, pry his mouth open.” Levi waved his hand, ceasing the pointless interrogation. “Remember to bring Heather along. I generally don’t approve of using soul magic because, in my opinion, playing with souls is disrespectful to life. But for a tough bastard like you, I think even playing with souls is nothing.”

The one-eyed man's face turned deathly pale instantly. He could endure all kinds of torture inflicted on him, but toying with his soul was no less than stripping him completely naked.

Li Wei felt no guilt whatsoever. As a slave-owning state, the Persian Gulf Empire was a place where every nobleman had enough sins to hang them from a streetlamp for hundreds of years.

As cunning elves and manipulators, drow elves naturally possess some soul-based magic.

"Stand still! Everyone, get in and stand still!!" Just then, a commotion came from outside the hall.

Several southern officers roared at a group of prisoners.

The maids, dancers, and noblewomen, their arms bound behind their backs with hemp rope, rushed into the hall with expressions of fear and unease, looking around at the lords of Debe with trepidation.

These prisoners were all pretty women, numbering about fifty or sixty, who looked as timid as squirrels under the gaze of a group of burly men.

“Your Majesty, these women are all captives we captured in the castle. They are the maids and lovers of the Lord of Stone Ridge Fortress. The lord’s wife and several dancers are all quite beautiful. I brought them to you.” A Southern Border officer said obsequiously, nodding to several soldiers.

Several burly soldiers from the Southern Border immediately rushed into the crowd, dragging out a still-attractive noblewoman and several young girls dressed in revealing gauze dresses. Their panicked screams and cries filled the entire hall, creating quite a commotion.

“We are not these inhuman Persian Gulf soldiers; they are just unarmed women. Release them all,” Li Wei said to the southern officers, his brow furrowed.

“Your Majesty, this is not in accordance with Debe’s tradition,” General Pike of the Southern Border said, forcing a smile. His gaze toward the girls held a hint of longing. “Even if you don’t want them, the military will capture these prisoners again and reward them to the soldiers or officers who have made meritorious contributions.”

(End of this chapter)