I'm not a lord

Chapter 264 A Gathering of Heroes in White Bear County

Bai Xiong County is about 60 kilometers away from the salt mine, and given the marching speed of the deserters, it would certainly not be possible to reach it in a day.

Even before Augusta sent troops, County Magistrate Albert Jr. had already made all the necessary preparations for the battle.

Thousands of elderly, children, sick and disabled people had already evacuated to the southern shallows county, while the remaining 7,000 people moved into the castle and five manors, building a defensive line with towering wooden walls.

These castles and manors were left over from the feudal aristocratic era. With just a few minor renovations, little Albert was able to make them play a significant role in the face of foreign invasion.

It can only be said that the feudal aristocratic system was not without its merits.

“Albert, you’re in charge of the castle. The instructors and I will guard the manor.”

The fifth son, Andrei, is currently in charge of the county's defenses. He generously left the safest castle to young Albert and a group of officials, while he himself leads a hundred instructors to be stationed at five manors.

Andrei's goal was simple: to hold every manor before Lynn arrived with reinforcements, maximizing the decoy's effectiveness.

He wanted to become a hidden, unbreakable metallic lure, to firmly hook those tens of thousands of deserters in White Bear County.

“Okay, I understand. Please be careful.” Little Albert didn’t refuse. He knew Andrei’s character and personality very well and knew that persuasion would be useless.

All he could do was equip the people who remained on the estate with as many weapons as possible, and also hand over the hundreds of adult draft horses in the territory to Andrei.

If things go wrong, Andrei can at least lead the instructors to break out.

Although draft horses are not warhorses, they can still carry people for several hundred meters in an emergency.

"Hahaha, I have no use for these draft horses. If those damned Rift Valley tribes were to breach a manor, how could I possibly face the Earl? I might as well just kill myself!"

Andrei held the northern barbarians in contempt from the bottom of his heart.

Given the poor weaponry of the barbarians, when they swarmed and stormed the walls like ants, even an ordinary farmer wielding a spear could act as a war god while standing on the four- or five-meter-high wall.

After leaving the castle, Andrei went straight to the northernmost manor, number two. Two hundred meters north of this manor was the wide road leading to the salt mine.

He will face the first wave of attacks from the barbarians.

The following afternoon, Augusta personally led four thousand warriors from his tribe to attack Baixiong County along the salt transport road.

The other six tribes' more than 10,000 warriors were scattered in the forests on both sides, spreading out like crane wings, sweeping and advancing at the same time.

Through long-term tribal struggles, Augusta was able to accumulate some military experience, at least understanding the importance of formation width and the detection of ambushes.

Although the six tribes he conquered were enemies of the Rift Valley tribe, after tasting the delicious salty rye porridge in the salt mines, these tribes had become mortal enemies.

By wielding a big stick and using the illusionary carrot, Augusta was able to easily command these defeated subordinates.

"Kalura, this Rui is even more cowardly than a rabbit. Before we even arrived, he had already shrunk into his tree hole."

Looking at the empty village and the manor walls bustling with people, Augusta almost burst out laughing.

As expected, the local people of Shirokuma County had no intention of fighting in the field and only dared to rely on the high walls for defense.

Augusta was all too familiar with this type of wall built from tall tree trunks.

Several tribes, including the Rift Valley tribe, built similar walls on the wasteland.

This kind of wall certainly has some defensive capabilities, but not much.

Augusta has several ways to easily deal with attacks, fire, and digging.

Instead of rushing to attack the city, he first climbed the abandoned watchtower on the north side of the manor to determine the total area of ​​the manor and the approximate population hiding there.

Afterwards, he sent a thousand-strong force to investigate the specific situation in White Bear County, set up his main camp north of the manor where Andrei was stationed, and sent messengers to urge the six-tribe allied forces to join him as soon as possible.

Finally, Augusta ordered a thorough search of the villages outside the estate and selected the largest stone farmhouse as his temporary command post.

"Search the village, find all people and supplies, and remember, do not set fires. If anyone dares to destroy a house, I will chop off their hands and feet!"
Augusta had clearly come to regard White Bear County as his own property, and he naturally hoped that the Wastes would occupy the land for a long time.

Before long, one piece of good news after another reached Augusta.

Based on the information gathered so far, it can be confirmed that the intelligence provided by 'God of War' Carula is basically accurate.

The troops stationed in White Bear County had indeed been transferred away by Lynn. On the walls of each manor, one could see patrolling militiamen wearing ordinary leather armor, while regular soldiers clad in iron armor were quite rare.

Large quantities of stored grain were found in farmhouses in several villages, and wheat grains, clothing, and farm tools were scattered everywhere on the village grounds.

It is evident that Bai Xiong County was unaware of the sudden attack by the deserters beforehand, and the local people's retreat was quite chaotic.

From this, it can be deduced that the more than 10,000 people who reside in Shirokuma County must have all gathered in manors and castles.

By conquering these manors and castles, Augusta will gain another 10,000 slaves at his disposal.

Among these slaves were not only the Lowlands and High Cliffs, whom he hated most, but also the Rui people, who were skilled in farming and brewing.

By enslaving these Rui people, the seven tribes of Augusta will master the most advanced farming techniques and live a wonderful life of drinking porridge every day.

The women and children in the tribe will also be freed from the misfortune of dying of hunger and cold in winter.

Within a few years, the population size of the entire race will surely see a leap forward.

A road had appeared before Augusta's eyes, a golden road that would allow the wasteland people to regain their glory.

But looking at the present, we must drink the porridge one spoonful at a time, and walk the road one step at a time.

The most pressing question facing Augusta is how to conquer the castle and five estates in White Bear County.

While fire attacks and digging tunnels can breach a city, they take too long, often ten days to half a month.

Although a direct assault will result in huge personnel losses, it takes the shortest amount of time.

If you can occupy a section of the wall, you can break through it on the same day.

"Kalura, in tomorrow's battle, I hope you can lead the warriors of the entire tribe to charge and break through this manor before us. You are the war god of the Rift Valley tribe. With you leading the way, the warriors will surely forget about death and gain endless courage and strength."

As evening fell, Augusta sent men to invite Carula to the temporary command post and pleaded with her to lead the charge.

To his surprise, Carula not only did not agree as usual, but also came up with a plausible excuse to refuse.

"You are the most respected chieftain among the tribesmen. Wouldn't it be more inspiring for the tribesmen to take the lead?"

Karula remained expressionless, and after speaking, she took a small sip of her crisp beer.

She found the wine last night in the house of Elder Hafdan of the High Cliff tribe.

She knew Old Ha's residence like the back of her hand, managing to snatch all the bottles of good wine from the house before any of the other wastelanders could. Augusta was furious inside, but he still had to smile and try to persuade her, "Kalula, it's best if you come. Besides, I have to command all the wastelanders and can't afford any accidents."

Regardless of the circumstances, Karula is the war goddess worshipped by the people of the Rift Valley tribe.

Without her valiant performance on the battlefield over the past two years, Augusta would not have been able to unify the wasteland.

Unfortunately, in the wilderness that is roughly equivalent to a primitive tribe, Karula's combat power is still too overpowered.

"So you mean I can handle accidents? What, you can command all the wasteland people, but I can't? I am the war god of the wasteland people, and I am naturally qualified to lead them forward."

Carla remained expressionless, but her words grew increasingly sharp.

The title of 'God of War' that she was given was created by Augusta himself, so she simply used this title to turn the tables on him.

"you you."

Augusta was speechless and blushed with embarrassment after being refuted. He even reached into his collar with his right hand, looking like he was about to pull out a weapon.

He never expected that Karula, known for her terrifying strength, would possess an equally high level of eloquence and wit.

In his eyes, Carla's once clear image gradually became blurred.

He suddenly realized that he had never truly understood this woman.

In fact, Carla's thoughts were very simple; she just didn't want to be enemies with Lynn.

Those are her future bread and butter, her endless wine cellar, how could she dare to offend them?
Carla was only willing to stay and act alongside Augusta to appease him temporarily, following Lynn's orders.

Only by winning over these tens of thousands of deserters could she enjoy the generous treatment offered by Lynn with a clear conscience.

After a moment's thought, she decided to give Augusta a way out.

“Augusta, I’m doing this for your own good. Think about it, if I have to do everything I can to attack a wooden wall, how can you establish your authority as chieftain in the hearts of the other six tribes?”

Karula was never stupid; on the contrary, she was incredibly smart.

In Lynn's evaluation panel, she has a five-star rating and a [C+] level intelligence score, which is higher than that of Agna when Lynn first met her, and is on the same level as Lia before she became pregnant.

It's just that Karula is often too lazy to think things through.

But for the sake of a bright future, she had to temporarily mobilize wisdom she had never used before.

Augusta squinted and pondered for a moment, then decided to go along with it. He nodded and said, "You make a good point. Tomorrow I will gather the people of the six tribes and let them witness the bravery and fearlessness of the Rift Valley Tribe once again."

"Call me when you're attacking that castle by the river. It's just a wooden wall; I probably won't need to lift a finger, will I?" Karula stood up, not forgetting to take the wine bottle from the table with her.

After Carla left, Augusta breathed a slight sigh of relief, and released his right hand that had been inside his collar.

Hidden in his collar was a sharp steel dagger.

There are actually a small number of iron tools on the wasteland, and most of them were obtained from the Rui people who came to explore.
Augusta turned to look at the four strong guards standing behind him and earnestly reminded them, "From now on, you need to be careful of Karula."

The four guards looked at each other, utterly shocked.

Should we guard against the Goddess of War?
Chieftain, did you eat some moldy rye last night and mess up your brain?
Is this female warrior someone we can defend against?

If she had wanted to kill you, she probably could have kicked all four of us away with a single kick.

Although a million silly deer were jumping around in their minds, the four guards could only nod helplessly.

That night, the more than 10,000 brave warriors who flocked to Baixiong County truly had a wild party.

Using the grain and other food they collected from various villages, they drank porridge to their heart's content and fully enjoyed the pleasure of being well-fed and watered.

The fifth son, Andrei, stood on the manor wall, holding a long spear, listening quietly to the cheers coming from the village.

Under Lynn's guidance, Andrei has spent the last six months diligently studying the language of the barbarians whenever he has free time. He knows that these barbarians have been blinded by the grain deliberately left in the village.

His adjutant suggested, "Sir, we can raid their camp tonight; these barbarians will surely be caught off guard."

These vagrants are far too arrogant; they actually live in the village right next to the manor, the closest one being only three or four hundred meters from the manor gate.

Behind the deputy general were more than a hundred local militiamen, eager to get started.

They were called militiamen, but they were really just local farmers who put on leather armor and picked up spears.

Although they couldn't understand the language of the wild people very well, they knew that their houses had been occupied and that the food they hadn't had time to move was being consumed.

The desire to kill is rising.

Andrei shook his head slightly: "There's no need for that. The fish haven't been fully hooked yet. We can't disturb them now."

Today he only saw groups of adult male deserters; the women and children, who make up the majority of the deserter population, had not yet appeared.

We'll have to wait until most of the villagers have taken the bait.

At this point, one must show weakness as much as possible.

Meanwhile, in the military camp in Green Lake County to the south, Lynn stood in front of a map, holding an oil lamp and examining it closely.

He only stayed in the castle for one night before moving back to the barracks under Chloris's mournful gaze.

For him, women were merely a seasoning in life.

Lynn had already received the urgent military intelligence delivered by fast horse. His gaze was focused on the location of White Bear County, and he slowly said, "At this moment, the enemy should have already moved into the farmhouses I prepared for them and are enjoying the readily available food."

The fourth brother, standing behind him, said impatiently, "Big brother, just tell us when to send out the troops! The soldiers can't wait any longer!"

The income of Lynn's soldiers mainly comes from two sources: daily wages and wartime rewards, which can be understood as a base salary plus performance bonuses.

In the Battle of Turbulent County, the second and third sons' troops achieved great success, and some outstanding soldiers even received medals personally awarded by Lynn.

The 800 veterans and 1,000 new recruits under the fourth brother's command could only garrison Sanhe City and gained nothing.

Not only could the fourth brother not tolerate it, but his soldiers could not tolerate it either.

Right now, real military achievements have arrived in Baixiong County, and everyone from generals to soldiers is eager to go into battle and make their mark.

After a moment's thought, Lynn gave the order: "You will take eight hundred men and set sail tonight. I will lead the rest of the soldiers tomorrow morning, and we will meet up in White Bear County two days later."

(End of this chapter)