I, the prince in distress, send money

Chapter 324 A complicated situation

Under the cover of night, Tavitsky, this ancient but not very fortified city, appears especially somber under the shadow of war.

Most of the city’s residents had fled their hometowns, so when Major General Marlowe looked back at the city from the city wall, he could only see a deathly darkness.

Occasionally, a few faint lights flickered in the wind; these were makeshift fires lit by the players who stayed behind to provide illumination in the streets.

The entire city was like an empty shell, with only the smoke of war lingering in the streets.

Major General Marlowe stared intently at the scene, his hand unconsciously clenching the letter in his hand until his knuckles turned white. Behind him stood several officers, each with a grim expression.

By noon today, Major General Malo had almost given the order for the entire army to set off.

The news brought by the Miniseyan refugees who fled from the east, ragged and terrified, was like a hot iron, scorching his reason.

A bloody civil war has broken out in the capital of Minicia! The armies of the eldest prince and the second princess are fighting each other in the streets and alleys, while the nobles' private armies are fighting on their own. The heart of the entire kingdom is being torn apart madly!

And then there were the businessmen, hurrying along with shifty eyes, who whispered about the chaos they had witnessed.

The capital city gates were tightly shut, smoke billowed everywhere, and the roads leading to the border were crammed with fleeing noble caravans and routed soldiers.

All the fragmented intelligence points to a thrilling conclusion... The Kingdom of Minicia is in unprecedented weakness and chaos, and this is a golden opportunity!
"A fleeting opportunity!"

The thought, like a devil's whisper, echoed wildly in his mind. He could almost see himself leading the Ninth and Tenth Legions, like a red-hot dagger, piercing into the unsuspecting heartland of Minicia, capturing several wealthy cities, and even threatening the capital.

Immense glory and strategic gains that could turn the tide of war are within easy reach!

He had even gathered his key officers and drawn arrows on the map with charcoal, pointing towards the nearest major city in Miniscia... the rich "Golden Harvest City".

Golden Harvest City is a city located in the Dur province of Miniscia, about 30 kilometers from Tavitsky. Continuing east for 70 kilometers is Omdur, an even more prosperous seaside port city.

During the operational meeting, Major General Marlow envisioned that after capturing Golden Harvest City, the Bagnya Army's blade would continue to point towards Omdur, completing the connection.

Once Tavitsky and Omdur are connected, they will sever the province of Chivelevka, which is close to the Reteria Empire, and thus complete the feat of swallowing up three provinces of Minicia.

With a seaport, whether it's for maritime trade or large-scale fishing, Bagnia's current food shortage problem can be solved in one fell swoop.

Major General Marlowe's grand plan ignited a fervent glint in the eyes of all the officers in the conference room; the allure of the rich rewards of victory made everyone's breath catch in their throats.

Major General Malo's plan was audacious. If he succeeded, he would lead a mere two infantry regiments to seize a third of the Kingdom of Minicia's territory, including two of its richest coastal provinces.

Chris doesn't know about this plan yet. If he did, he would be stunned... Has Major General Marlow gone mad? With just two infantry regiments and less than a thousand players, he thinks he can run rampant in the Kingdom of Minicia?

Can we wait a bit? Reinforcements are on their way, and the main player force is gathering and migrating throughout Bagnia.

I'm clenching my fists. Once I've clenched them tightly, I can deliver a powerful punch... A slap only hurts, but a punch can kill.

Major General Marlowe, however, did not think that way. Without Chris's letter and orders, he would have made the call long ago.

There are two reasons for the strong confidence in Major General Marlowe and his officers.

First, naturally, was the civil war in Minicia.

Secondly, the newly formed defense corps and Major General Marlowe as seen by Chris, and the troops as seen by other Bagnian officers, are different.

In Chris's eyes, the ten newly formed infantry regiments, including the First Regiment with the largest number of veterans, were all of average to weak combat strength. They were not exactly vulnerable, but they certainly could not compete with an equal number of players.

Once they're in the fray, the troops will inevitably encounter various problems due to their lack of combat experience, which could very likely lead to the collapse of the battle.

Chris didn't look down on his soldiers; he genuinely felt that the new unit was incapable of fighting.

However, in the eyes of Major General Malo and the junior and middle-ranking officers of his rotating Ninth and Tenth Corps, they were very capable fighters.

First, there's the equipment. Prince Chris armed his soldiers to the teeth, from flintlock muskets to full suits of heavy armor and a dazzling array of individual soldier gear.

From backpacks, sleeping bags, and rain cloaks to water bottles, entrenching tools, first-aid kits, and even nail clippers for soldiers, these were things that Major General Marlowe and the Bagnia officers had never even heard of before, let alone issued to every soldier.

Every soldier, whether a regular soldier or an auxiliary soldier, was equipped with the aforementioned equipment.

The soldiers were dressed so well, and the food they ate was even better.

Each soldier has two staple foods... rice and wheat flour products. They also eat meat and vegetables every day. Fresh meat and seasonal vegetables can be bought nearby, so they eat fresh ones.

If they couldn't buy it, they ate canned meat. The large ones were ceramic cans, and the small ones were tin cans. Protein and vitamins were always provided. Except for the lack of alcohol, the soldiers and auxiliary soldiers of the defense force ate better than the small and medium-sized landowners in Bagnia before.

The excellent, even over-nutritious, diet, coupled with daily military training, brought the physical strength and fighting spirit of every Bagnya soldier to unprecedented heights. They had rosy complexions and strong muscles.

Even the Bagnian musketeers, whom Chris thought couldn't fight hand-to-hand, could actually wield axes and engage in melee combat with the Miniese swordsmen. They might not win one-on-one, but they were definitely willing to fight.

Chris's perception that the Bagnian soldiers weren't very capable was actually based on old stereotypes.

Chris was so impressed by his first battle in Bagnia, the fight against the militia in the town of Beach, and coupled with the player's overpowered combat abilities, that he couldn't properly assess the capabilities of his soldiers.

Compared to Chris, Major General Marlowe firmly believed that the Bagnian soldiers, who were well taken care of in terms of food, clothing, shelter, and transportation, were the best and most morale-boosting soldiers in the world. As long as their supplies remained and their ammunition was not exhausted, they could fight five against one.

One corps could easily defeat three infantry regiments of the Republic of Baghnia.

Therefore, Major General Marlowe believed that the two infantry regiments, each with three thousand men, could be counted as six thousand men, and in addition to the infantry, he also had an artillery regiment.

Whether it was Chris's oversight or Isaac, the Commander-in-Chief of the Military Affairs Department, who lacked common sense, artillery was classified as an auxiliary force in the defense force.

Although the artillerymen were paid three times their salary, they were considered auxiliary soldiers, and in Chris's personal opinion, auxiliary soldiers did not count as soldiers.

Under Major General Marlowe was the 1st Artillery Regiment of the Defense Force, which had more than 40 cannons and required more than 500 professional artillerymen, as well as 1,000 auxiliary soldiers and civilian laborers to operate.

As for the more numerous Tiger Crouching Cannons... these ultralight artillery pieces were carried by infantry and were not assigned to artillery regiments, but rather belonged to the category of infantry support weapons.

Including the infantry and artillery regiments, auxiliary troops, and players in the city, Major General Marlowe has at least seven thousand troops ready for direct combat, easily qualifying as a ten-thousand-strong army. If the supply train and escorting militia following behind are also included, it would still be enough to form a ten-thousand-strong army.

Because all forces were taken into account, Major General Malo and the other Bagnian officers were so confident.

With the help of artillery regiments and auxiliary troops, the Ninth and Tenth Infantry Regiments could definitely win a head-on battle against the Minisian Legion. The only question was whether they would suffer more or less casualties in the process.

However, such blind confidence can easily lead to accidents, as Major General Malo has now realized. He was so focused on fighting the Minisians that he completely failed to consider the possibility of a third party appearing on the battlefield.

The reason why soldiers suspected to be from the Reteria Empire were discovered was because after Major General Marlowe was ordered by Prince Chris not to cross the city of Tavitsky, he specifically dispatched four small reconnaissance teams to the east towards the city of Golden Harvest and the province of Chivelevka to the south.

Major General Malo felt that although he could not go into battle on his own, sending troops to scout the situation of the Minesian civil war could prepare for the army's expedition in advance.

However, it was this sudden reconnaissance operation that led Major General Malo to receive a report from a scout in the afternoon... that soldiers of unknown origin had been discovered on Tavitsky's way to the Chivelevka province.

The two sides clashed in the dense forest in the wild, and Bagnia's side gained the upper hand... The reason for their advantage was simple: Bagnia's scouts were the players.

The report of discovering a suspected Retalia Empire scout is also a result of the player's efforts.

This discovery gave Major General Marlow a cold sweat, even though it only revealed scouts and not the main force of the Reteria Empire.

But when Major General Malo recalled previous intelligence, he was surprised to find that there were no refugees from the Chivelevka province in the city of Tavitsky.

There were merchants from the province of Chivelevka, but they did not mention anything about the province. Major General Malo, who was focused on making a great contribution, overlooked this unusual situation.

Looking back now, it's full of suspicious points.

"How are the interrogations going with the merchants from the province of Chivelevka?"

Major General Marlowe's voice sounded particularly low in the temporary command post. Several officers looked at each other, and one of the intelligence officers had beads of sweat on his forehead.

"Reporting, General?"

The intelligence officer's voice trembled slightly.

"We...we did overlook that those merchants who claimed to be from Chivelevka might have questionable identities...when we inquired about details of the Chivelevka province, their answers were contradictory and full of inconsistencies."

The air on the city wall seemed to freeze instantly. Major General Marlowe's fingers tapped unconsciously on the parapet, the rhythm quickening.

He recalled the merchants' overly neat attire, their overly calm demeanor, and their overly detailed descriptions of the turmoil in the capital... Now, it seemed as if they were deliberately trying to draw their attention.

"Continue the trial."

Major General Marlowe's voice was as cold as ice.

"I need to know the extent of the Retalians' infiltration by all necessary means."

Just then, a scout covered in blood staggered in, his left arm twisted unnaturally, but his face showed excitement.

"General! A major discovery!"

This player's scout didn't even salute; he pounced on Marlowe, waving his arms excitedly.

"We found this on the Chivelevka border..."

He pulled a bloodstained metal badge from his pocket and showed it to Marlowe; it was engraved with the white galloping horse emblem of the Retalia Empire.

Even more terrifying, the back of the badge was engraved with a line of small print: "Third Regiment, Reconnaissance Company".

The officers on the city wall were immediately in an uproar. Had Leteria's most elite light infantry unit actually infiltrated Tavitsky?!
The territory of the Retalia Empire and Tavitsky are separated by a province of the Kingdom of Minicia, at least a hundred kilometers apart.

The fact that a country's reconnaissance soldiers can be found here speaks volumes.

Major General Marlowe's face flushed instantly, and in his anger, he pounded his fist against the parapet.

"Those shameless sea barbarians! They've completely abandoned the border defenses, allowing the army of the Reteria Empire to easily occupy a province!"

In his rage, Major General Marlowe completely forgot that the reason he could easily appear in Tavitsky was not because he fought his way there.

This just shows that everyone has double standards, it's just that Marlowe's double standards are more pronounced right now.

Major General Marlowe, filled with anger and lingering fear, paced back and forth on the city wall. After a while, he suddenly turned around and looked at the other officers.

"Order the entire army to immediately reinforce the city's defenses, move the cannons that were moved down back onto the city walls, and at the same time, send more reconnaissance troops out of the city... In any case, we must find out where the Retalians are and how many troops they have."
At the same time, immediately send someone to Anvil Fortress to inform Prince Chris of the known intelligence and request that he not lead the troops to continue advancing.

His presence at Anvil Fortress is more advantageous to us.

Major General Marlow is not afraid of Tavitsky being attacked; he is now more afraid that His Highness the Prince will be attacked by the Reteria army in the field while he leads his troops to support his side.

Just as Major General Marlowe gave his order, a commotion suddenly broke out on the city wall, and a soldier rushed over to report.

"General! Fires have been spotted outside the city!"

Marlow rushed to the other side of the city wall, and saw in the distance, in the darkness, scattered torches flickered like will-o'-the-wisps, moving toward Tavitsky at an astonishing speed.

What's even more frightening is that these flames didn't come from just one direction, but were approaching simultaneously from the east and south.

"Leitarians"

Marlowe's throat tightened.

"They've joined forces with the Minisians!?"
"Quickly, arrange for elite troops to break out; the letter must be delivered to Prince Chris as soon as possible!!!"

(End of this chapter)