To be honest, this is Lauri’s first encounter with the Doug Army, which dares to take the initiative.
Different from the Northern Army that Lauri had encountered before, this army is disciplined in their approach, obviously well-trained, with professionals and ordinary soldiers working in harmony. It can be said to be the ideal army of Duke Lars’s era.
“It looks like the garrison in Silverwing City.”
Darsi, as a scout, observed the retreat route of this army and reported back to Lauri.
Aside from the Third Army Group, Lauri’s First Army Group also gradually entered the battlefield. Currently, Lauri’s main task is to work with White to clear out the towns that can aid the Beitang Defensive Line.
With Black Iron City in their possession, the Graywhite Territory’s movements in the west became much more convenient. During the attack on other cities, Lauri didn’t even need to rush; he could simply set up camp in the nearby villages surrounding the cities.
If they ran low on supplies, instead of waiting for resupply, they could directly purchase from the villages, and Lauri even pushed Lind’s Land Allocation Act in these villages, effectively playing out a scenario of sharing the wealth.
It’s uncertain whether it was overconfidence regarding the Beitang Defensive Line or a complete lack of this concept, but even with the Graywhite Territory’s army approaching, these important cities had no intention of implementing a scorched earth policy, resulting in a chaotic situation where the First and Third Army Groups could freely dart between these cities.
Thanks to their good military discipline and genuine land sharing, these villages were ready to welcome the Graywhite Territory’s army with food and provisions.
This approach received full approval from Lind, who even gave Lauri a specific commendation.
Lauri initially thought that capturing the last city, Silverwing City, would be as easy as the previous towns, requiring just a couple of cannon shots to bring it down. However, to his surprise, as soon as he entered the area of Silverwing City, Lauri sensed something was off.
The towns surrounding Silverwing City were devoid of people and supplies; the Doug Army actually implemented a scorched earth policy, and they seemed to have proactively engaged.
What Lauri didn’t expect was that besides enforcing a scorched earth policy, the enemy also initiated an attack, and they had classic Lars Knights leading the charge with their followers.
Moreover, the followers were equipped with firearms, providing cover for the charging knights, and some knights were accompanied by mages responsible for offensive magic. It was almost a replay of the Graywhite Territory’s tactics, just without the previous artillery bombardment prior to engagement.
You could always believe in the charging Lars Knights; they are straightforward, efficient, effective, and most importantly, very resilient.
Even when faced with equipment disparities, the knights charging in still absorbed most of the damage thanks to their innate abilities, successfully attacking the vanguard of the First Army Group.
In the end, the losses weren’t significant, and the opposing charge wasn’t without cost either, losing a few elite professionals. From the outcome, it could be said that Lauri didn’t lose.
However, Lauri still couldn’t accept the situation. This was the first time since the declaration of war that such circumstances had arisen, raising Lauri’s vigilance; the Doug Army wasn’t entirely useless, much like the former Northern Army. Even if nine out of ten officers and knights were incompetent, there was still one who had some skills.
Otherwise, they wouldn’t have tangled with the border and the Demon Clan for so long.
Looking at the bound prisoners, Lauri couldn’t help but notice that they were mostly professionals, with many being Lars Knights.
This already hinted at something; generally speaking, even if the opposing side knew that only professionals could successfully cover for the retreat, in such tense situations, it is rare for professionals to actually step in to cover unless the followers were ordered to do so.
The military quality of their personnel is indeed very high.
Lauri sat in the camp and asked, “Who exactly is the general of your Silverwing City’s garrison?”
Yet the knights all answered uniformly: “Northerners do not fight Northerners.”
No matter how Lauri asked or who he asked, the answer remained the same.
Hearing this response, Lauri chuckled and nodded, saying, “Exactly, Northerners do not fight Northerners.”
With a little thought, Lauri guessed that this was a pre-discussed strategy on the opposing side’s part. You rebels like to wave the banner of Northerners not fighting Northerners, don’t you? Well, my prisoners are Northerners too, so what’s their stance?
If you dare to interrogate the prisoners, I can completely tear apart your banner, proving it false that there’s such a thing as Northerners not fighting Northerners. Everyone is still meant to resist and fight as necessary.
However, the opposing side might not have thought it through. The Graywhite Territory’s slogan is indeed genuine, and Lauri never intended to mistreat the prisoners from the start.
Originally, the prisoners, who had already been prepared for interrogation, entered the prisoner camp with their heads filled with questions. During this period, the soldiers in charge of guarding them repeatedly told the prisoners which actions were unacceptable. If they did so, the guards would show no mercy—meaning they could shoot.
After all, most of these prisoners were professionals. Even though they were chained, Lauri didn’t dare to let his guard down.
But the questions on the prisoners’ minds didn’t diminish; in fact, they increased. The conditions in the prisoner camp were not much worse than those of ordinary soldiers. These people really would treat the prisoners well. Although the prisoners had many rules to follow, the soldiers guarding them had rules too, and prisoners could even report mistreatment.
“Only you guys are Northerners. If you’re not fighting the Demon Clan, they wouldn’t be this kind.”
The soldiers in charge left, leaving the prisoners looking at one another.
At night, Hammond watched the First Army Group’s camp from a distance with scouts.
Unlike some generals who had never fought a battle, Hammond was not exactly a seasoned veteran, but he was experienced and liked to investigate the battlefield personally.
Even though the rebel camp in the distance was tightly defended at night, Hammond believed there must still be an opportunity. Night raid tactics never go out of style, especially against such an arrogant and isolated force.
Hammond understood that merely defending would lead to the city gates being blown open like in other cities; to truly block these rebels, he must take the initiative to attack.
Hammond didn’t want to fight in the streets, but his reason differed from Kiss’s. The city was filled with the citizens he had welcomed in through a scorched earth policy; Hammond didn’t believe in the notion of Northerners not fighting Northerners. This was merely a verbal promise made by the rebel governor to entice submission.
War is not child’s play; if he couldn’t keep the enemy at bay, it would already be a loss for Hammond.
As for support—never trust your teammates, which is a lesson Hammond learned from his long career battling the Demon Clan.
Nodding to the scout beside him, Hammond returned to his formation, donned his helmet and armor, and called forth the elite troops.
Although during the recent reconnaissance, Hammond discovered that the opposing scouts had excellent placements, making it difficult to find an angle to slip past their field of vision.
However, the moonlight tonight was not bright, and it was a little gloomy; it would be hard to find such a good opportunity again. Moreover, he could rescue the brothers captured today under the cover of night. If he waited any longer, Hammond feared the prisoners would either be tortured beyond recognition or moved.
Those were precious professionals who had fought alongside Hammond for a long time. He believed that if he made enough noise, those captured brothers might very well be able to provide some support.
By coordinating an inside and outside attack, they could definitely disrupt these rebels thoroughly.
Opportunities like this do not come again. Unless there were reconnaissance type professionals in the enemy camp, operating at full capacity late at night, Hammond felt no army could respond quickly to this night raid—not a single army! Even the peak time Demon Clan couldn’t manage that.
In Hammond’s eyes, the opposing side was nothing but a group of rookies who only relied on superior weaponry and had never engaged in serious warfare. How could they compare to his soldiers who had fought against the Demon Clan?
If it weren’t for his overly blunt personality and his failure to win the favor of the nobles, based on Hammond’s abilities, he should have been the most important garrison of Black Iron City.
But ultimately, Hammond was assigned to Silverwing City, which was not a very important place because there were no benefits to gain; otherwise, he might not even get the job in Silverwing City.
However, Hammond had no complaints. Whatever his commander ordered, Hammond would comply. It was the same during Duke Lars’s time and now under a different commander; it was merely loyal service—nothing more.
“Prepare for a surprise attack!”
Hammond covered his face shield, raised his spear in one hand, held his firearm in the other, and spurred his horse forward.
