Volume 2: Chapter 122 - Capture of Liushui County

  Raid on the sixth day.

  The dawn sunlight pierced the gloomy sky, like a golden tide, constantly unfolding from the horizon, illuminating the icy earth, and draping a layer of rippling silk over the swiftly flowing Daim River, looking like a picturesque poem.

  However, the soldiers of the Black Flame Legion did not have the leisure to appreciate such a beautiful view. Because they now had to seize every minute and second, and withdraw as quickly as possible before the arrival of the first army "Golden Branch" recognized by the Kingdom of Bellmard.

  When the banner representing the Black Flame Legion, with a black base and pale flames burning on it, finally withdrew from the Flowing Water County under the escort of the mighty troops, a long-suppressed cheer suddenly burst out from the distant raid squad.

  Whether they were adventurers or Golden Branch soldiers, their faces were filled with ecstatic expressions. At this moment, they were no longer mutually suspicious and isolated individuals, but had become a whole due to this battle, this victory, and everyone's face was beaming with joy.

  It was actually done, with two thousand people attacking and capturing Liushui County, which was guarded by twenty thousand people.

  The cheers echoed through the sky, even the retreating Black Flame Legion noticed it. General Knife Scar gazed at the distant flag with three golden lions embroidered on it, imagining the mocking smiles of those enemies, his mouth twitched slightly, and his eyes burst forth with angry resentment, but he ultimately did not give the order to attack.

  What if it's another trap and he accidentally traps 20,000 people here, the consequences are unthinkable. After all, the main force of the Golden Branch is only half a day's journey away from here.

  So, the Black Flame Legion had no choice but to keep a low profile, ignoring the enemy right in front of them, and slowly retreated.

  Mi Di didn't intend to block the opponent, with their current number of people, they couldn't even hold them back. The only thing they could do was to send out scouts to follow behind and understand their movements.

  "The Adventurer's Guild has sent a few skilled hands to tail the Black Flame Army, monitoring their movements and reporting back at all times. The cavalry will enter the city with me." Middy issued the command calmly, this time without any surprising content, "It's time for Hamilton's flag to return to this land once again."

  However, this plain sentence still caused a stir among the raiders.

  The thought of retaking the county town with their own hands was enough to fill even the Golden Branch cavalrymen, known for their extremely strict discipline, with excitement.

  An army that pursues victory has cohesion. The performance of his subordinates made Midy faintly smile. However, such a record was a matter of course for him.

  Because from the very beginning, Mide had already seen through the root of this five-day battle.

  That is the value of Liushui County itself.

  Rivière County is a springboard for the Sces family's offensive rather than a defensive fortress. Its most critical value lies in the canal's powerful transportation capabilities, which make up for the Sces' disadvantage of inconvenient transportation on Hamilton territory, allowing them to quickly gather troops and large amounts of supplies, thus becoming a thorough stake nailed into enemy territory.

  What would have happened in these five days if there hadn't been Mideer's raid?

  A fleet of troop ships that can transport two thousand soldiers every day, in five days, it would be ten thousand.

  A batch of supply ships every other day can provide the legion with about a month's worth of food and consumption. Five days is equivalent to five months.

  At that time, when the Golden Branch Army arrived at this place, they would face a powerful enemy with an army of 30,000 troops, which was on par with their own side in terms of military strength, and had sufficient supplies, and was waiting for them with ease in Liushui County.

  Of course, the Golden Branch Army of the Principality of Bellmard, which is first in combat power, may still be able to achieve final victory, but compared to the current situation, the price to be paid is much greater. After all, they did not make full preparations and only responded hastily.

  But now, under the endless and crazy harassment of Medici, in these five days, for four days, the value of Flowing Water County was completely suppressed. Although in these few days, the raid did not bring too many visible results, however, just delaying time itself is enough to make the strategic plan of the Seth family thoroughly shelved.

  To know that at the time when the Black Flame Legion was in a state of panic, the Hamilton family's military strength had never stopped gathering. In this situation where one side weakens and the other strengthens, if the military strength does not increase, it is equivalent to defeat.

  Now, facing the main force of the Golden Branch Army that has gathered, Liushui Prefecture, which was unable to exert its value in transporting troops, has lost its significance in defending.

  For nobles who are used to measuring everything with benefit value, what kind of choice they will make is obvious.

  Because he understood the significance of Liushui County's existence and saw a way to destroy that significance, and knew that the Black Flame Army had few means to stop him, Mi Di dared to boast that with 2,000 against 20,000, he could capture Liushui County.

  This was not a head-on confrontation, nor was it really two thousand against twenty thousand. Rather, it was using the momentum of the three-thousand-strong Golden Branch Army to force the Black Flame Army, which had lost its transportation hub, to retreat.

  What Medici did was just to find ways to withdraw those weights. Everything is the result of careful calculation and execution.

  Just as the Hamilton family crest flag with three golden lions was once again flying high on the bell tower of Linshui County, the main force of the Golden Branch Army, 30,000 men strong, had also slowly approached this place.

  "Hmph, I wonder what our genius Guardian Knight is up to with his two thousand cavalrymen." A general looked at the neat formation of troops under his command with satisfaction and couldn't help but sneer.

  "What's the point? I just hope he doesn't expect us to risk everything and get our best men killed in a meaningless battle." Another young general took over with a cold smile, "Those cavalry are not cheap, they're not some miscellaneous troops from a small family like Asrelex... who knows what our beloved commander is thinking..."

  "That's enough. We are soldiers, not nobles who speak excessively on such matters. For a soldier, there is only one thing that matters: victory." Colonel Clark of the Golden Branch Army finally spoke up, and all arguments ceased.

  Kurk naturally had no good feelings towards Middy, but for a soldier like him, a thousand words were not as good as the actual facts.

  Scoffs and sneers, open ridicule and veiled attacks, those are the games played by nobles. A soldier should prove everything with his battle achievements and scars. By the time the great army arrives at Liushui County, everything will naturally become clear.

  It was known that Middina's words "Capture the Flowing Water County within two days" had already spread throughout the Golden Branch Army from top to bottom. Some admired, some ridiculed, some supported, and some opposed, but regardless of their attitude, no one believed that Middina could really achieve that goal

  Only two thousand people, still two thousand cavalry, and only five short days, facing a garrison of twenty thousand enemy troops, with city walls and towers, what can be done?

  And when Midie, the proxy head of the household and so-called genius commander, becomes a laughing stock in front of everyone, Fina Hamilton's strong will must also come to an end.

  It was then that the Golden Branch Legion truly showed its worth in front of the nobles and regained their respect.

  Kurk thought so and couldn't help but take a glance at the red-haired girl in full armor, who looked like a female warrior goddess with her majestic appearance.

  He was expecting to see a hint of unease on the girl's face. However, he soon became disappointed as Fina's expression remained unchanged, cheerful and sunny, just as if she hadn't considered at all the problems that would arise from Middy's wild words being exposed.

  This is your guardian knight making a fool of himself

  And it's still under your indulgence and support

  Klack was puzzled, why did Feina, who had been strongly supporting Midy's nonsense all along, remain so calm at this moment? Did she really think that an eighteen-year-old kid who had won a few small victories in a county could gain any advantage in this situation?

  The only thing that the proud commander of the Golden Branch Army can infer is that Feena and Middy will probably use some clever words to shift all the responsibility onto someone else.

  So by doing this, he has spoken his mind and doesn't have to worry about any risks, that's why he can be so calm?

  This is utter nonsense! This is war, not some aristocratic child's play!

  Kerker couldn't help but let out a deep sigh in his heart, making up his mind that when he arrived at Liushui County, he would definitely take the initiative to give Midi a show of strength.

  Of course, assuming that Midee wasn't stupid enough to actually charge into the Flowing Water County, otherwise what could be seen would only be his and the 2,000 cavalry's corpses.

  Time flies, and the army has been marching for half a day. Finally, they saw the shadow of the city on the distant horizon.

  Apart from this, under the sunlight, that rippling and turbulent river, which runs through the Kingdom of Bellmare from north to south, finally unfolded like a blue silk in front of everyone's eyes.

  The enemy is right in front of us, and the generals of the Golden Branch Army suddenly became serious.

  They are ultimately unyielding soldiers, and once they step onto the battlefield, there is nothing else they desire except victory. As for being ridiculed like Mideer, it has already been thrown to the back of their minds.

  Banners fluttering, bugles sounding, the army quickly transformed from a marching formation to an attacking formation. The entire process was orderly and flawless, fully demonstrating the quality of the Bellmar First Legion.

  At the same time, a large number of scouts who had been sent out earlier also began to return.

  The first one riding ahead was the leader of a hundred-man vanguard team.

  This highly experienced high-ranking scout rode all the way to the front of the central army before dismounting and heading towards the command position where the generals were.

  "How is it?" Clark asked bluntly.

  The captain of the vanguard first saluted Fina and Clark, paused for a moment, then replied in a slightly trembling voice: "Liu Shui County has been taken over by Lord Mide."

  "Almost simultaneously, all the generals shouted out in unison."