I'm not a lord

Chapter 376 Capturing River Bend Fortress

"It's about to end."

Lynn remained atop the stern of the flagship White River. In his view, his two vanguard units successively scaled the city walls and began a fierce battle with the defenders.

At this stage of the siege, capturing the castle is not far off.

Once the vanguard has secured the western city wall and gate tower, and has raised the city gate using winches, Lynn's main force can then advance unimpeded and completely conquer this formidable city in the North.

Chief Secretary Victor stood by his side, beaming with joy, and said, "Congratulations, Your Majesty, on conquering River Bend in one battle and taking a third of the Crown Territory. You have taken another firm step toward the goal of unifying the North."

River Bend Castle is the water and land transportation hub of the western region of the Crown Territory. Controlling this castle is indeed tantamount to controlling the western region of the Crown Territory.

In fact, the most important regions of the North can be seen as grapes strung on the River Tranquil, and almost all of the major cities and castles in the North are adjacent to the River Tranquil or its tributaries.

By controlling the key nodes on the grape bunch, one can naturally control a large area of ​​land around it.

"Taking over the territory is just the beginning; the key is the subsequent governance. Moreover, unlike the White River Territory, the Crown Territory does not have natural mountain ranges as a barrier. If Otto avoids the strategic decisive battle and instead harasses the western part of the Crown Territory with multiple small-scale forces, the difficulty of governing this territory will be greatly increased, and it will be difficult to transform the territory into war power in a short period of time."

The fighting on the front lines was not yet over, but Lynn and Victor had already begun to look ahead to the future governance of their territory.

He is now the new king of the North, not just a military commander, so he naturally has to be meticulous in every aspect.

Moreover, the outcome of this war could be predicted long before it even began.

Before the war even began, Otto III acted like a cowardly lizard, leading several thousand men to retreat and turning River Bend into an isolated city without any outside support.

Why would Lynn refuse such a golden opportunity?

The battle at River Bend Fort is about to come to an end, and consolidating the gains must be the top priority.

Victor immediately reminded him, "Your Majesty, we also need to be wary of Vasa in the south. Otto has already withdrawn 20,000 troops from Mirror Iron Territory, and Vasa will definitely take action. Perhaps he is already preparing to attack Luyuan Territory."

Lynn gazed at the war-torn River Bend Fortress and grinned: "No doubt about it. With Vasa's keen sense of smell, he certainly won't let this opportunity slip by. However, Otto probably won't completely abandon Luyuan Territory. He'll definitely leave a portion of his troops there. With Vasa's pitiful forces, he probably won't be able to take Luyuan Territory in a short time."

He then turned to look at the north bank of the Jinghe River and continued in a calm tone:

“You say I’ve taken one-third of the Crown Territory, but I think it’s only one-sixth, just a small area west of River Bend Fort and north of the Jing River. I can’t control the Luyuan Territory and some other small territories to the south for the time being, and they are not easy to control. If I really cross the river south to attack the Luyuan Territory, then Vasa will turn against me.”

Although Lynn currently possesses artillery that is ahead of its time, he still faces two major problems: insufficient production capacity of gunpowder and artillery shells, and a shortage of army troops.

To put it bluntly, their hard power is not strong enough, and they cannot defeat the entire Northern Territory by themselves.

Luyuan Territory is right next to Vasa's Mirror Iron Territory. It is a piece of fat meat that Vasa covets the most, and it is also a necessary place for Vasa to expand eastward.

If Lynn takes over this territory, it will effectively shut down Vasa's room for 'progress'.

Unless Vasa is prepared to submit after the war, he will definitely break off the alliance with Lynn.

Lynn is not ready to fight on two fronts, nor does he have the manpower. In order to consider the feelings of his allies, he can only reluctantly ignore this easy target.

Upon hearing this, Victor pondered for a moment and then offered a brilliant plan: "Your Majesty, the actual controller of Luyuan Territory is Count Harvey from the Southern Territory. Although he is nominally Otto's subordinate, he is not a nobleman of the Kingdom of Rui. The soldiers under his command are recruited from various places in the Southern Territory and are not Otto's direct troops."

I think you could select a few prisoners of war who know Harvey, and have them carry a vaguely worded letter across the river to the south. At the same time, strictly control your navy and prevent them from attacking cities on the south bank. Let Harvey know that you currently have no intention of crossing the river to the south. This way, he can temporarily hold off the Vasa for you without damaging your alliance with the Vasa.

To reassure Vasa, you could send an envoy with a vague promise: tacitly allowing him control of Luyuan, but without directly granting him control of the territory.

Lynn nodded in satisfaction after hearing this: "A very good suggestion. I will have the Ministry of Foreign Affairs take charge of its implementation. As long as Vasa fails to conquer Luyuan Fortress this year, you will be credited with the greatest achievement."

It's not even May yet, but Lynn has already completed most of his strategic goals for the fall season.

The Crown Territory is too vast to be consumed in one bite.

Moreover, Otto's main force did not suffer many losses and still poses a significant threat to Lynn.

Next, Lynn will switch to a strategic defensive posture, building a defensive line based on River Bend and consolidating the newly occupied territories. He will only launch another large-scale offensive in the fall when all military supplies have caught up.

Of course, if Otto is reckless and underestimates his opponent, Lynn wouldn't mind launching a defensive counterattack.

If he can seize the opportunity to take over Koren, where Otto has stockpiled a large amount of supplies, then the final fate of the North will be no longer in doubt.

As the two were talking, the battle on the western wall of River Bend Fortress was drawing to a close.

The entire First Battalion of the First Army Corps, led by Lucas, stormed the eastern wall, and the White Bear banner, fluttering in the wind, was raised for the first time on the walls of River Bend Fortress.

"For the King's sake, slaughter all the people and lackeys of the Southern Border!"

Under the banners, Lucas and his soldiers shouted fanatical slogans, brandishing their longswords and battle axes, and advanced recklessly on the city walls like steel chariots.

The enemy troops in front of them were either crushed, fled, or simply knelt down and begged for mercy.

Karula's second battalion of the Wilderness Legion surged up the western city wall like a tide and engaged in fierce fighting with the stubborn Southern Noble Officers.

"For the King, defend River Bend Fortress, fight to the last moment, to the last man!"

Count Schulz, wielding a blood-stained longsword, slashed wildly at the barbarian warriors before him.

His plate armor had multiple scratches and dents, and even his gray beard was stained with blood.

On his left and right were noble officers who fought to the death.

These officers all came from noble families in the Kingdom of Rui, and most of them were second sons or illegitimate children who had no right of inheritance. Otto took them in and gave them well-paid jobs.

At this moment, their families remain in Rui, and they too have a reason to fight to the end.

"For the King!"

Whether they were barbarian warriors or these Rui nobles, they all shouted the same slogan.

They all believed they were on the right side and were willing to sacrifice their lives for it—that's war.

As for the Northern soldiers under the officers' command, most of them had already fled. If they had spared a glance at the fortified area below the walls, they would have seen a large number of the garrison soldiers surrendering to Lynn's side.

"We are all from the North. Those who lay down their weapons will be spared. King Lynn promises to treat all who surrender well!"

The soldiers who followed Lin Enfang were chanting slogans and persuading wave after wave of the defending soldiers to surrender.

These soldiers, who came from the North, were quite straightforward. They shouted, "We are all from the North, we are willing to surrender," and dropped their weapons and knelt down to surrender.

Of course, Count Schulz could neither hear nor care about any of this. All he wanted to do now was fight with all his might, and if he could kill one more enemy, he could take one more unlucky bastard down with him.

"Come on, I am the commander of River Bend Fortress, Count Schulz of Rui. Anyone with the guts, come and cut off my head!"

Schultz even introduced himself, attracting more barbarian warriors to rush towards him, only to be killed by him and several elite noble officers with their formidable martial arts.

Inspired by him, the few remaining noble officers displayed great fighting spirit and strength. With fewer than fifty men, they held their own against an entire battalion of elite barbarian warriors.

Karula thought the war was over and that it would be time for a pleasant harvest and pursuit. She had captured a prisoner and was preparing to torture him to find out the location of the wine cellar in the city.

Lynn had promised her before the battle that after the city fell, she could choose any two carts of fine wine as a reward for the siege.

But she didn't expect that even after they had stormed the city walls and the enemy had surrendered in large numbers, there was still one tough nut to crack inside the city.

Upon noticing the commotion Schultz had caused, Karula immediately gripped her bone sword tightly.

"Get out of the way, let me come!"

She had intended to push through the crowd to resolve the problem directly, but the narrow city walls were now packed with deserters.

After looking around, she simply jumped onto the right-hand battlement and ran wildly forward along the dilapidated battlement.

Soon, Karula spotted Earl Schultz and several Southern nobles displaying their prowess in the crowd, and also noticed the circle of barbarian corpses at their feet.

Carula was furious: "Look what you've done! Can't you just surrender? Surrendering won't kill you!"

These barbarian soldiers were all trained by Karula herself, and after spending so much time together, they all developed some affection for each other.

Moreover, these soldiers were very obedient and well-behaved in front of her, calling her "Instructor, Instructor" in a very sweet voice.

Count Schulz was a highly skilled warrior and a veteran of many battles. Even amidst the chaos of the battlefield, he could sense the dangerous aura emanating from the left-hand battlements.

Taking advantage of a brief lull in the battle, he turned his head and caught a glimpse of the anger on Karula's face.

woman?

Why would a woman from the wilderness appear on the battlefield?
wrong!

Schulz was initially puzzled, but he quickly recalled that this woman was the leader of the savages who had rushed into the city through the breach.

But he couldn't understand the language of the barbarians, so he simply drew the dagger from his waist with his right hand, twisted his body to use the momentum, and threw it towards Karula.

What are you mumbling about? Take this dagger!

"Be bold!"

Without the slightest fear, Karula swung her strangely shaped, heavy bone sword and directly knocked the flying dagger away.

The dagger flew to the left and embedded itself straight into the battlement, sending up a burst of bright sparks.

Then Carla suddenly leaped into the air and swung her bone sword down from above her head with great force.

Seeing the danger, Count Schulz immediately dodged, the sword grazing his nose, narrowly avoiding a fatal blow.

However, a noble general behind him was not so lucky. He was struck in the helmet by the bone sword, and under the enormous impact, his entire body collapsed like fermented dough.

Schultz looked closely and saw that the nobleman's helmet was dented into an extremely terrifying arc, and the head under the helmet was probably already smashed to pieces.

He was immediately horrified: This woman's strength was terrifying, far surpassing his own. Could there really be such a woman in the Northern Territory? Or was this some kind of power unique to the Wildlings? And what was that white greatsword in her hand?
But Count Schulz had no time to think. After slashing with her sword, Carula didn't pause for long. She twisted her wrist and used her shoulder to swing the bone sword horizontally to the left, directly towards Schulz's face.

This time, however, he couldn't dodge it. He could only grip the hilt of his sword diagonally with both hands and use his longsword to meet Karula's bone sword head-on.

The two swords clashed violently, and the sound even briefly startled the barbarian soldiers and noble officers present.

The next second, Count Schulz could no longer withstand the terrifying force from the sword. He staggered backward, trying to deflect the force that far exceeded his own strength, but behind him were the longswords, short spears, and battle axes of the barbarian soldiers.

Just then, Schultz tripped over a corpse at his feet. His already aged body instantly lost its balance, his knees buckled, his eyes rolled back, and he fell backward, crashing into the blood and corpses scattered on the ground.

The barbarian soldiers naturally wouldn't let go of this great opportunity for revenge. They swarmed forward and attacked the highest commander of River Bend Fortress with all sorts of weapons.

These barbarian militiamen valued loyalty above all else. Seeing that Schultz had killed too many of their people, they had completely forgotten the value and importance of the captives and only wanted to kill this powerful 'prey'.

In less than half a minute, several longswords and short spears broke through the gaps in the helmet and plate armor, piercing Schultz's body.

After a brief struggle, the Rui nobleman stopped breathing; that was his end.

Following the death of Earl Schultz, other southern noble officers on the city walls were also hunted down.

Without the alpha wolf, the other nobles are nothing more than lone wolves without a leader, and can only be defeated one by one by the skilled hunters.

At this moment, although there was still sporadic resistance inside the castle, it was no longer a significant threat.

Lucas had also led his soldiers to capture the city gate tower and hoisted the iron gate.

Yang's First Legion and Soward's barbarian army entered the castle one after another.

Before noon, the flag bearing the white bear and narwhal, symbolizing Lynn, was slowly raised over the main building of River Bend Castle.

(End of this chapter)