Five days later, the scouts made first contact with the advance guard of the Northland Four Families Alliance. A hundred-man squad of the Third Border Patrol Mounted Corps was ambushed at the border between the Southern Province and Winston Province by an equally sized hundred-man scouting detachment. After leaving thirty-seven bodies behind, the Third Border Patrol scouts chose to retreat. In this engagement lasting barely ten minutes, the Northland Four Families Alliance scored the first victory with a thirteen-to-thirty-seven kill ratio, kicking off what would later be known in the war history of the Galentea Continent as the Battle of the Southern Province.
Grand Duke Fisabren had already gleaned from the intelligence gathered among the fleeing stragglers over the past few days that this was not some impulsive attack by the Northland Four Families Alliance, but rather a long-premeditated campaign to destroy the Kingdom of Iberia. The last dozen or so Fisabren household guards who had escaped from the Winston royal city reported seeing the banners of three
The Norton Family's Bedrock Legion, Flying Tiger Legion, Imperial Guard Legion, and the Fury Bear Knight Order, plus the Pegasus Corps — Grand Duke Fisabren's brow furrowed deeply. The Norton Family had dispatched every single one of their legions and main forces to Winston Province. Did they truly intend to fight the Fisabren family forces to the death? Or had Lorence actually received the
If it was the latter, Grand Duke Fisabren wouldn't mind retreating first, ceding the Southern Province and watching the Four Central Principalities and the Northland Four Families Alliance tear each other apart — he might even be secretly delighted about it. After all, the Second Prince's grudge against the Four Central Principalities was common knowledge, and ordering his loyal Northland allies to destroy the Kingdom of Iberia, seize Winston Province and the Southern Province, and then attack the Four Central Principalities would come as no surprise. The Fisabren family forces could bide their time and strike when both sides were exhausted, dealing a lesson to Lorence and the Northland Alliance while reaping the rewards as a third party.
But Grand Duke Fisabren's wishful thinking was shattered two days later when several fast riders brought two pieces of unwelcome news. First, the fortress city of Pidro, guarding the only pass through the Pispel Mountains at the border of Winston Province and the Muye Plains Province, had fallen to the Norton Family's Flying Tiger Legion. Of the ten-thousand-plus troops of the Fourth Border Patrol Mounted Corps stationed at Pidro, barely two thousand had escaped. The second piece of bad news was that the Muye Plains Province had been ravaged by the Norton Family's light cavalry — the losses were catastrophic. Nearly twenty thousand subjects were rounded up and dragged north to the Northlands. The Fourth Border Patrol Corps commander, Golden Knight Boukri, had led a regiment in pursuit only to stumble into an ambush with devastating casualties. Boukri took three arrows and died on the battlefield...
The Fourth Border Patrol Mounted Corps now numbered only twenty-eight thousand troops. Deputy Corps Commander Knight Benles reported both pieces of bad news to Grand Duke Fisabren while simultaneously pleading with the family for reinforcements. With several settler garrisons to maintain, the Fourth Border Patrol Corps was getting the worse of engagements against the Norton Family's so-called Hunter Corps light cavalry. Signal fires dotted the horizon across the Muye Plains Province as the Norton Family's Hunter Corps light cavalry roamed freely through the countryside. Scattered herders and their grazing cattle, sheep, and horses were seized and driven north — the losses were enormous.
Grand Duke Fisabren hurled his golden goblet to the ground in fury. There was no need to deliberate any further — it was unmistakably clear. Lorence was leading the full might of the Northland Four Families Alliance straight at the Fisabren family. His notion that the Northland Four Families were the Second Prince's diehard loyalists who would clash with the Four Central Principalities had been nothing but wishful thinking. Obviously, even if the Alliance eventually moved against the Four Central Principalities, they would first uproot the Fisabren family as the thorn in their backs. The war now facing Grand Duke Fisabren was a matter of his family's very survival...
However, Grand Duke Fisabren had no room to turn his attention elsewhere. The Filim Family's Pegasus Corps had arrived in the Southern Province over the past two days. As a light cavalry corps, the Pegasus Corps' scouting cavalry was locked in fierce engagement with the Third Border Patrol Mounted Corps' scouts, with over a dozen clashes occurring daily. From the looks of the battlefield situation, the Pegasus Corps' light cavalry scouts held a clear advantage. The northwestern territory of the Southern Province was being gradually obscured by the Pegasus Corps, and the Third Border Patrol Mounted Corps' scouts could not cross the cordon line the Pegasus Corps had set up.
Grand Duke Fisabren found himself pinned down in the Southern Province. What concerned him most was that the Norton Family's Angry Bear Knight Corps, upon reaching the Sehaic Ridge at the border between Winston Province and the Southern Province, had inexplicably halted their advance and instead set up camp on the ridge. What was going on? Weren't they supposed to press straight up to the Third Border Patrol Corps' main camp and prepare for an assault?
There was an old saying — a copper coin's worth of goods costs exactly one copper coin. The standard equipment the Fisabren Family had purchased from the Norton Family was the cheapest around…
If the Norton Family's Angry Bear Knight Corps had marched directly on the Third Border Patrol Corps' camp and launched an attack, Grand Duke Fisabren was confident that the camp's defensive fortifications would have smashed the Angry Bear Knight Corps into a bloody mess. Although the Angry Bear Knight Corps were heavy cavalry whose defensive and offensive capabilities far surpassed those of the Third Patrol Corps' light cavalry, assaulting a fortified camp was siege warfare, and Grand Duke Fisabren had no shortage of ways to deal with those tin cans of men.
It was no surprise to Grand Duke Fisabren that the Angry Bear Knight Corps, among all the Norton Family's armed forces, was the first to reach the Southern Province. The Grand Duke had been keeping a close eye on the Norton Family's military for some time. The Rockfall Legion was heavy infantry and would still need some time to reach the Southern Province. The Flying Tiger Legion was lance cavalry — halfway between light and heavy cavalry — and having already captured Pidro City, they wouldn't be heading to the Southern Province anytime soon. The Royal Guard Legion was a garrison force, and being dispatched to Winston Province meant they were tasked with taking over the defense of several strategic strongholds. So the Angry Bear Knight Corps, as the primary heavy cavalry and mainstay of field operations, arriving first in the Southern Province was only natural.
What was Lorence playing at? Was he planning to gather several of his family's legions and the Fisabren Family's forces for a decisive battle in the Southern Province? Otherwise, what was the meaning of the Angry Bear Knight Corps stopping at the Sehaic Ridge? To garrison the position? That was impossible — a knight corps was built for offense, not defense. And by halting their advance, weren't they simply giving the Fisabren Family time to mobilize troops and redeploy? The most logical course of action would have been to attack without hesitation, driving the Fisabren Family's Third Border Patrol Corps out of the Southern Province and cutting off any possibility of reinforcements from the Four Central Principalities linking up with the Fisabren Family's forces…
Grand Duke Fisabren could not leave the Southern Province at this juncture. He suddenly realized that the situation had reversed — he was now the one who needed to hold the vital corridor linking the Southern Province to the Four Central Principalities, while the attacking Northland Alliance families' forces were taking their sweet time doing as they pleased, paying no mind whatsoever to the heavily fortified Fisabren camp sitting astride the Southern Province's key transportation route. Not only had the Norton Family's Angry Bear Knight Corps made camp on the Sehaic Ridge, but the Filim Family, after seizing the northwestern region of the Southern Province, had not only established a tight blockade line but was also launching anti-bandit operations across the area…
What on earth was going on? Grand Duke Fisabren was scratching his head in bewilderment. After studying the map for a long while, it finally dawned on him — the northwestern region that Count
Grand Duke Fisabren scoffed dismissively. The Southern Province would soon descend into chaos — what good would seizing the old territory do? Develop it? That would be like throwing gold coins into the water, because the Filim Family's old territory had nothing. No castles, no farmland, no manors, no peasants — absolutely nothing. All that existed were roaming bandits and horse raiders. Rebuilding and developing the land would require an unimaginable investment of manpower, time, and gold. And once the flames of war reached it, all efforts would be rendered futile.
It should be noted that the Filim Family's old territory accounted for a full quarter of the Southern Province's area. Though it lay in the northwestern region, one shouldn't be fooled — despite the Pegasus Corps currently holding the upper hand in skirmishes with the reconnaissance cavalry, once the full-scale battle began, given the Fisabren Family's ranger warfare tactics, the northwestern region would not escape the crossfire. The Pegasus Corps, no matter how formidable, was still just a light cavalry corps. The Fisabren Family's border patrol corps could dispatch just two of their own and send the Pegasus Corps fleeing in disarray.
He would leave the Filim Family's Pegasus Corps aside for now and let them enjoy their brief moment of smugness. Grand Duke Fisabren figured the family's primary adversary should be the Norton Family's forces. The Angry Bear Knight Corps halting at the Sehaic Ridge most likely meant the Rockfall Legion lacked the mobility to keep pace and still needed a few more days to arrive. Lorence, it seemed, was trying to bait him into coming out for a field battle or decisive engagement…
Am I that stupid? Grand Duke Fisabren would sooner die than engage the Norton Family's forces in a field battle or decisive engagement. Using light cavalry against heavy-armored knights and heavy-armored infantry — only someone with a brain squeezed between a doorframe would make such a braindead decision. The Grand Duke's original plan was to rely on the sturdy fortifications and extensive defensive installations of his main camp to mount a fighting retreat, wearing down the enemy's strength and morale. Then he would dispatch his ranger cavalry to harass and raid the enemy's logistics and supply lines, ultimately forcing the Norton Family's forces to withdraw from the Southern Province. This would leave an opening for his border ranger legion to strike into Winston Province and carry the flames of war to their doorstep.
After much deliberation, Grand Duke Fisabren decided to temporarily ignore the unfavorable situation in Muyeyuan Province. He penned a letter promoting Benleis, a Golden Knight serving as deputy legion commander of the Fourth Border Ranger Legion, to full legion commander. He informed him of the current military situation and that the family could not spare any reinforcements for the time. Should the situation become truly untenable, he was to withdraw all the populace from northern Muyeyuan Province to the eastern bank of the Suoqius River, relying on the river's natural terrain for defense and holding out until the situation became clear — at which point, once the Fisabren Family gained the upper hand, they could reclaim the lost territory.
The Suoqius River was a waterway originating in the Pisper Mountains, cutting across Muyeyuan Province before flowing toward the great steppe. It was the province's most vital water resource — whether for irrigation or grazing, the banks of the Suoqius River constituted Muyeyuan Province's most fertile and prosperous heartland. The catch was that the river did not run through the center of the province; it skewed further east, closer to the Eastern Wasteland Province. Grand Duke Fisabren's order was essentially a concession of two-thirds of Muyeyuan Province's territory, asking only that the battered Fourth Border Ranger Legion hold the eastern region along the Suoqius River. In the Grand Duke's mind, the imminent major battle for the Southern Province was far more critical.
……
On the thirty-second day of the fifth month, the Stone Legion finally arrived in the Southern Province.
Lorence was none too happy about it, and he had those damnable roads to blame. Potholed and rutted beyond belief, what was originally a twelve-day march had been dragged out to a full twenty-six. There was no other explanation — the Stone Legion had doubled as a road-repair crew along the way, fixing the road as they marched. Otherwise, even if the Stone Legion had arrived on schedule, the massive train of logistical supplies and provisions that followed would have been completely unable to keep up with frontline consumption on roads in that condition.
Lorence finally understood why the Second Prince and the Southern Province nobles had never spoken of returning after their evacuation — they'd simply stayed in Windbury Royal City to jockey for position with the traditional nobility of Winston Province. It turned out that not only had the Southern Province been reduced to ruins, but even the national highway connecting the two provinces had become practically impassable. Small merchant caravans might still squeeze through with some difficulty, but large transport convoys would find it nearly impossible. To put it bluntly, the highway was worse than a dirt path beaten out by a crowd of pedestrians.
However, the delay had brought its own benefits. First, the Flying Tiger Legion under Tiger Ross had successfully captured Pidro City. Second, the scattered remnants in Winston Province had been swept clean — it was fair to say that Winston Province was now firmly in the family's grasp. Third, Josk and
With Winston Province and Windbury Royal City now in the family's hands, all subsequent arrangements proceeded in an orderly fashion.
As for Baron Faleya's five battalions of the Household Guard, four had been dispatched to Walker Town, Pidro City, Windbury Royal City, and Twilight Lake Town respectively to take up garrison duty and begin constructing castle fortifications. The remaining Twenty-Fifth Battalion of the Household Guard was accompanying the Stone Legion toward the Southern Province. The Sehaic Ridge had been fortified by the Angry Bear Knight Corps into a formidable strongpoint, which would significantly ease the construction workload for the Twenty-Fifth Battalion's castle-building efforts.
The original lightning-strike plan had been completely derailed by that damned road. Lorence tossed the plan — which called for driving the Fisabren Family's forces out of Southern Province and then having the Stone Legion establish fortified camps at every strategic chokepoint, digging connecting trenches to compress the ranger cavalry's battlefield — into the bonfire. Given the current situation in Southern Province, it seemed he would have to fight Grand Duke Fisabren in a proper siege-and-defense battle. Although he was still on the road, scout light cavalry kept streaming back with news from the front lines. Judging from Grand Duke Fisabren's deployments, the old fox clearly intended to rely on the defensive depth of his main camp to weather the Norton Family's offensive, using the time to bleed their numbers and erode their morale. After all, attacking was always far harder than defending.
What a pity, old man — you've miscalculated. Lorence broke into a self-satisfied grin as he watched the Thunder Catapults roll steadily along the repaired road before him. Heh, old man, you'll soon get a taste of the Norton Family's offensive weaponry. Times have changed, and you, that old god of war, it's time you stepped off the stage.
......(To be continued.)