On July 5, 1781, of the Galentea Continent's Common Era, the Northland Four-Family Alliance of the Andinak Kingdom and the Fisablen Family suddenly launched an offensive against the Sabaji Duchy of the Central Four Duchies.
On July 6, the Flying Tiger Corps, armed by the
On July 9, the Shahin Family legion from the Northland Four-Family Alliance, along with the allied noble forces, besieged Meishan Castle. Seeing the banners and campfires covering the ground outside the city, the Grand Duke of Sabaji roughly estimated the enemy strength at no less than one hundred thousand. Thus, he fell for
On July 11, Count
Since the Central Four Duchies had sent troops to reinforce the Fisablen Family in a major battle in the Southern Province against the family forces of the Northland Four-Family Alliance—only to be utterly routed and sent fleeing—the Central Four Duchies and the Northland Alliance were already on hostile terms. This was why the Sabaji Duchy, bordering the Southern Province, had established its Second Legion and positioned it in Limade Province, implementing a scorched-earth policy and severing communications. Similarly, Count Filim in the Southern Province had dispatched the Pegasus Legion to patrol and guard the border. The two sides acted like enemy nations.
This resulted in a communication breakdown. Intelligence reports about the Northland Four-Family Alliance dispatched by the Central Four Duchies had to travel from the Southern Province to the Imperial Capital, then pass through the two southwestern provinces into Handel Duchy before reaching the Sabaji Duchy. For two neighboring provinces, sending a secret report required a massive detour, taking almost two to three months.
Three years had passed since that defensive battle in the Southern Province. The only intelligence the Central Four Duchies had regarding the Northland Four-Family Alliance was about the ongoing conflict between the Fisablen and Norton Families—such as the Rock Legion capturing Mount Podorichi and establishing defensive positions along the border between the Southern and Eastern Wasteland Provinces, appearing to garrison for the long term; the Grand Duke of Fisablen defeating the Norton Family's Hunting Ranger Legion on the Muye Plains with barbarian cavalry; and the
The Central Four Duchies finally breathed a sigh of relief. Compared to His Royal Highness the Second Prince, the Northland Four-Family Alliance's attention was not on them; they had been preoccupied with the Fisablen Family. It seemed that before these two sides had determined a victor, they would not turn their spears toward the Central Four Duchies. Realizing this, the Central Four Duchies deeply regretted having believed the slander of the Fisablen Family and sending troops to reinforce the Grand Duke of Fisablen, simply because the Northland Four-Family Alliance was nobility of the Andinak Kingdom. As a result, they had not only offended the Northland Four-Family Alliance but also suffered a crushing defeat, consuming those sixty to seventy thousand elite duchy infantrymen.
Over the past three years, the Central Four Duchies had long since relaxed their vigilance against the Northland Four-Family Alliance. In their view, with the Grand Duke of Fisablen tying down the Northland Alliance on the northeastern steppes, the Alliance simply had neither the time nor the energy to deal with the Central Four Duchies. Thus, they refocused their attention on the Second Prince. They were very aware that the Second Prince harbored a bone-deep hatred for the Central Four Duchies' betrayal and was watching them like a hawk at all times. Regarding the Second Prince, hailed as the new-generation God of War, they dared not be careless in the slightest.
Last year, the Second Prince successfully advanced to become a First-Tier Great Swordmaster, which gave the four Grand Dukes of the Central Four Duchies quite a fright. Subsequently, his plan to inspect the northeastern region made their eyes widen. Unfortunately, the news that the Second Prince had successfully persuaded the Grand Duke of Fisablen to return to the Andinak Kingdom and was preparing to jointly attack the Central Four Duchies was hurriedly dispatched by those spies, who took a massive detour, and only reached the Central Four Duchies near the end of May. Even if the Central Four Duchies immediately organized new legions, it would take time, delaying the arrival of their reinforcement legions in the Sabaji Duchy.
The military system of the Central Four Duchies was essentially that each duchy maintained only one standing legion, with the Sabaji Duchy being a special case. When faced with invasion, the duchy would conscript able-bodied men, split the standing legion in two, and expand it into two legions, using veterans to lead the recruits so that combat effectiveness wouldn't drop too drastically. Then, one legion would stay behind while the other went to the front line, with rotation occurring after a set period.
Upon receiving confirmed intelligence that the Second Prince intended to attack the Central Four Duchies through the Southern Province, Handel Duchy, Fakel Duchy, and Forlundo Duchy all initiated combat mobilizations, expanded their legions, and dispatched second legions to Limade Province. Simultaneously, they kept a close watch on the Second Prince's movements. In the view of the Central Four Duchies, even if the Second Prince wanted to return to the Imperial Capital and then redeploy the White Lion Legion from the two southwestern provinces' border to the Southern Province, the march alone would take until August, and an attack would surely not begin until mid-August. By then, the reinforcement legions would have long arrived in Limade Province and set up defensive lines, waiting for the White Lion Legion to charge and break its head.
When the four Grand Dukes received the news, they were nearly dumbfounded. Wasn't the Second Prince and the White Lion Legion just entering Ddelaimuke Province? Weren't they only now meeting up with Duke Kenmaise's two heavy infantry regiments? At the pace of infantry marching, it would take them at least a month to reach the Southern Province. How could the Northland nobles' allied forces and the Fisablen Family's forces begin their attack already? Were they not afraid of the Second Prince's wrath of thunder?
Only when the front-line reports reached the ears of the Grand Dukes of Fakel and Forlundo did they truly panic. Count Filim's Pegasus Legion and the Grand Duke of Fisablen's two light cavalry legions had already been frequently entering their duchies' borders, pillaging villages and towns. It was said they took not only money and goods but even forced the inhabitants to migrate. The two Grand Dukes cursed the Fisablen Family for their ingratitude while urgently conscripting able-bodied men to form armed forces to guard the borders and establish defensive lines. At the same time, they sent an urgent plea for aid to the Grand Duke of Handel. Now, none of them could spare any thought for the Grand Duke of Sabaji, trapped in Meishan Castle.
The problem was that the armed forces of the Central Four Duchies were mostly infantry and lacked mounts. A major reason they had been willing to send troops to reinforce the Fisablen Family years ago was their hope of securing a sufficient and stable supply of warhorses. Unfortunately, this plan had been ruined by the Northland Four-Family Alliance. Back then, Lorist had intended to sever the Fisablen Family's trade routes to the Central Four Duchies, but unexpectedly, he had also destroyed the path by which the Central Four Duchies obtained warhorses.
Even the few warhorses the Central Four Duchies did possess were mostly controlled by the territory's nobles, leaving insufficient mounts to establish a cavalry force of any significant scale. As a result, facing the harassment, guerrilla raids, and pillaging by the three light cavalry forces—the Pegasus Legion, the Reserve Legion, and the Third Border Ranger Legion—the garrison troops of Fakel and Forlundo Duchies remained in a constantly passive, beaten position. This situation only came to an end when the three reinforcement legions organized by the three duchies arrived at the border of Samora Province.
However, while the three reinforcement legions secured the border of Fakel Duchy, the neighboring Forlundo Duchy suffered disaster. The Grand Duke of Fisablen and Count Filim agreed to leave the Third Border Ranger Legion to contain the three reinforcement legions deployed at the Samora Province border. Meanwhile, they led the Reserve Legion and the Pegasus Legion to drive straight into Forlundo Duchy's Fuliwode Province, advancing unopposed until they reached the gates of Forlundo Duchy's capital, Pedro City. In an instant, warning signal fires blazed across the entire duchy. The Grand Duke of Forlundo, hard-pressed on all sides, had to simultaneously hold firm in every town and strongpoint of his duchy while frantically appealing for urgent aid from the Grand Dukes of Handel and Fakel.
After over half a month of busy operations, Tiger Ross finally led the Flying Tiger Corps to Meishan Castle and joined forces with the Shahin Family's legion. By this time, Lorist had already roughly cleared the entire Limade Province, leaving behind a vista of devastation and ruins everywhere, with no sign of life for a thousand miles...
The Grand Duke of Sabaji, trapped in Meishan Castle, finally decided to break out. Although Meishan Castle was called a castle, it was actually a city expanded around a central fortress. The entire city had a population of nearly seventy thousand, and with the refugees who had fled inside, it exceeded one hundred thousand. Although they had ample manpower to defend and stored grain sufficient to feed everyone for a year, the Grand Duke of Sabaji felt extremely uneasy trapped within the castle. Over these twenty-odd days, he had not simply sat idle; he frequently sent out forces to battle the besieging Shahin Family legion. However, he had not gained any advantage from Baron Shahin.
The reason was simple. Baron Shahin employed deep trenches and strong fortifications to besiege Meishan Castle. Meishan Castle only had gates on three sides. The deployment of the Shahin Family's legion consisted of two light infantry regiments and two light cavalry regiments. Baron Shahin had the two light infantry regiments establish two defensive camps in front of the two side gates, while the front gate was left to the allied noble forces to guard. Their task was to hold their camps firm if attacked by the Sabaji Duchy's First Legion, while Baron Shahin personally led the two light cavalry regiments to counterattack.
Using the ruse of bluffing to confuse the Grand Duke of Sabaji for a few days, Baron Shahin utilized that time to urgently complete the construction of the three camps. By the time the Grand Duke of Sabaji realized what was happening, the camps were already built. The Grand Duke of Sabaji once dispatched three regiments, thirty thousand men, to attack the camp on the north side, but under the pincer attack led by Baron Shahin with two light cavalry regiments, they were instead beaten into a rout, losing over five thousand men.
Thus, the Grand Duke of Sabaji abandoned any further thoughts of sorties. Although he was a First-Tier Great Swordmaster, his advancement to that rank was not due to genuine skill but was forced through the consumption of countless precious medicinal herbs and rare natural treasures. Therefore, he cherished his life and would never lead troops into the fray himself; he wouldn't even deploy the Second-Tier Great Swordmaster who served as his personal bodyguard, lest Baron Shahin might suffer a significant setback.
Trapped in Meishan Castle for over twenty days, the Grand Duke of Sabaji had dispatched many messengers and scouts seeking aid, but very few returned—only two or three out of a dozen came back. The news they brought was all bad, especially the reports from Fakel and Forlundo Duchies, which plunged the Grand Duke of Sabaji into an abyss of despair. Fakel Duchy had barely held its border, while Forlundo Duchy could barely save itself. Clearly, they could no longer afford to send rescue. Remaining in Meishan Castle meant certain death. Therefore, when the Grand Duke of Sabaji discovered that the Norton Family's Flying Tiger Corps had arrived outside the city, his only thought was to escape this perilous situation as quickly as possible...
Lorist planned to let the Flying Tiger Corps rest for a day and attack Meishan Castle the day after tomorrow. After such a long march, they deserved a proper rest. However, in the dead of night, the gates of Meishan Castle suddenly burst open. The Sabaji Duchy's First Legion poured out from the southern gate, with one regiment attacking the camp directly ahead while the main force detoured around the camp and fled in panic toward Chiksex Province. Tiger Ross and Baron Shahin had just lain down when they heard the alarm. Thinking the Grand Duke of Sabaji was attempting a night raid, they sent reinforcements while ordering heightened vigilance. It took an hour before they realized something was amiss, and then soldiers reported that Meishan Castle's gates stood wide open. Immediately after, the attacked camp also reported that the Sabaji Duchy's main force had bypassed their camp and fled.
Tiger Ross and Baron Shahin instantly realized the truth and hurriedly led their cavalry in pursuit of the fleeing Grand Duke of Sabaji. At the same time, they sent troops to occupy Meishan Castle and dispatched a messenger to report to Lorist. That Meishan Castle had fallen so easily was something no one had anticipated. Lorist immediately brought one Hunting Ranger Legion and rushed to Meishan Castle without pause.
Lorist arrived just in time. Before Meishan Castle, swords were drawn and bows bent, with an imminent clash about to erupt. The reason was simple: Tiger Ross had taken two lance cavalry regiments and the Chariot Steel Crossbow Regiment, along with Baron Shahin and his two light cavalry regiments, to pursue the Grand Duke of Sabaji and the duchy's First Legion. The remaining regiment and Baron Shahin's two light infantry regiments had occupied Meishan Castle. Now, the more than ten thousand nobles of the allied force, who had assisted in the siege, were not having it. They demanded to enter Meishan Castle to claim their rightful spoils of war. Since the decision-makers were all absent, the allied nobles were barred outside the city gates. Consequently, they grew furious, cursing and causing conflicts with the guarding soldiers.
Watching the allied nobles shouting, "Enter the city, seize the money, seize the women!", Lorist swiftly cut the Gordian knot. He summoned all the territory's nobles and quickly finalized the division of spoils. The Norton Family wanted people; Baron Shahin wanted wealth. So it was simple: all the city's inhabitants would be taken away under escort by the Norton Family's forces. All valuables within Meishan Castle's central fortress—the palace where the Grand Duke of Sabaji resided—would belong to Baron Shahin. As for all the residential areas in the city, they would be divided into zones, and the nobles would draw lots to determine which zone each would get. They could then enter and loot as they wished, leaving the amount of wealth they obtained to fate. Lorist would dispatch the Hunting Ranger Legion to patrol; anyone who crossed boundaries or instigated disputes would face severe punishment...
Although some nobles remained indignant about not having women to vent their desires, faced with the threat of Lorist's formidable power, they ultimately agreed to this relatively fair distribution arrangement. With the drawing of lots concluded, the soldiers from the regiment left by the Flying Tiger Corps and the Hunting Ranger Regiment began driving the inhabitants of Meishan Castle out onto the streets. Soon, the entire city echoed with mournful wailing and cursing...
Lorist closed his eyes and said to Janolio, "Go tell those inhabitants. We are driving them out of the city to save them. If they fell into the hands of those allied nobles, they wouldn't even be able to cry..."