The Lord Of Blood Hill-Chapter 159: Turning Up the Heat for the Duchy
After calming his excitement, Jansen asks Henwell, "You really don't want anything?"
Henwell pours Jansen a drink, "Nope! If I want something, I'll take it myself!"
Jansen moves on from the topic, "Henwell, from now on, we need to be cautious! Even if we join the Noble Alliance, we'll have to play along for a while because of our lack of foundation."
Henwell smirks, "Heh... Uncle, we just need a year to develop. By then, Amir might not even have claimed the throne! We’ll be well on our way. Over the next year, I'll provide you with weapons and equipment for ten thousand men."
"As for the soldiers, you'll need to recruit them yourself! A year from now, I'll have twenty thousand troops, and you'll have nearly twenty thousand soldiers too. Together, we’ll have forty thousand elite troops, much money, and land! Whose approval do we need then? Who would dare look down on us?"
Damn it! I've worked all these years just to stop relying on others!
To prove he's not just bragging, Henwell takes Jansen to his armory that night, where rows of weapons and equipment are neatly arranged. Jansen, being a military man, estimates that there are enough arms to equip over ten thousand men. Henwell promises to send weapons for three thousand men to Jansen the next day.
The two then start hashing out the details of their plan—how to make the duchy recognize their importance and how to subtly inform the higher-ups of their conditions for deploying troops. This requires finesse; outright demands would be too blunt.
Military strategy is crucial too. The Ogiro army isn't just a pushover; a comprehensive battle plan is necessary.
After staying at Henwell's estate for two days, Jansen secretly returns to his own territory. He brings back not only a large cache of weapons and equipment but also a stack of strategic plans.
Jansen immediately begins reorganizing his army, re-enlisting veteran soldiers and equipping them with Henwell's weapons. In just a few days, he gathers nearly ten thousand troops. Although the assembly looks impressive, they don’t march out immediately; instead, they remain in place for training.
When the duchy's envoys urge him to take action, Jansen has a reasonable response: his troops haven't seen battle in a long time and need adaptive training; otherwise, they'd be useless on the battlefield.
Over half a month later, the duchy finally receives Jansen's demands. However, the high command, still reveling in recent victories, dismisses Jansen as a mere beggar dreaming foolish dreams. To pressure Jansen into compliance, the duchy’s frontline command transfers Jansen's eldest son to the most intense battlefront.
Upon hearing this, Jansen is furious, cursing for an entire morning. Henwell, on the other hand, understands that the duchy hasn’t woken up to the seriousness of the situation. Thus, he plans to throw a cold bucket of water over them to bring them to their senses.
On one hand, Henwell, through Meredith, provides Divarak with more intelligence to stir up more chaos in the southern region of the duchy. On the other hand, he orders Rawkins and Arnold in the new territories to deploy their forces and crush the Ogiro noble coalition that constantly bluffs and postures.
At this point, both the left and right flanks of the army exceed ten thousand troops each, with an additional cavalry unit of nearly four thousand. These forces are drawn from militia and logistical support units, all seasoned by battle and now fully capable soldiers.
The two armies launch a swift offensive, executing a pincer movement that shatters the noble coalition, even capturing their main camp. The speed of the attack is such that the two northern corps of the Ogiro Kingdom fail to react in time. It is only when some members of the noble coalition manage to flee back to their camp that they realize the coalition has been defeated.
This camp houses a significant portion of the kingdom's northwestern nobility! The two corps commanders, not daring to delay, immediately dispatch troops for a rescue. However, as soon as they leave, Arnold leads a cavalry battalion in a surprise attack on their camp. Shortly thereafter, a newly formed reserve force maneuvers into the two camps.
The prisoners from the noble coalition are already being escorted back to the Peace Haven defense zone by the logistics troops. The massive camp of the noble coalition is now being transformed and fortified by the two armies.
The situation becomes awkward. The two Ogiro Kingdom corps, having launched a hasty offensive, find themselves sandwiched between their own two captured camps. Not only have they lost their supply lines, but retreating has also become a significant issue.
Rawkins and his team aren't in a rush this time, choosing instead to slowly wear down these two corps. Realizing their predicament, the kingdom's commanders attempt a retreat, hoping to reclaim their camps before the Peace Haven forces can fully establish themselves. Even if they can't retake the camps, they aim to at least ensure their escape routes aren't cut off.
However, the reserve troops stationed in the camps aren't just hastily assembled militia. Most of them are veterans who retired from Henwell's forces, having undergone two years of rigorous training.
After over a month of intensive training, these troops are re-enlisted and reorganized. They aren't yet part of the regular army simply because they haven't faced the crucible of battle. Following this defensive engagement, they’ll gradually be integrated into the left and right flanks.
With the advantage of being well-rested, having defensible positions, ample weaponry, and well-trained reserves, the kingdom's two corps soon find themselves in a tough spot. Despite their prolonged assault on the camps, they can't make a retreat, as the four-thousand-strong cavalry battalion waits nearby.
Meanwhile, the ten thousand troops from the left flank leave the noble camp and begin maneuvering towards the kingdom army's retreat path. Five days later, with their supplies exhausted, the two corps recognize the inevitable and surrender. This marks the first time since the conflict began that entire corps have capitulated.
Although the noble officers are reluctant, hunger makes even walking a struggle, let alone fighting. Rawkins, respecting their dignity, orders his troops to use arrows without tips during the nobles' desperate charge for honor. So it appears that over a thousand are felled, but casualties are minimal.
Seeing Rawkins extend this gesture, offering them a dignified surrender according to noble customs, the corps commanders wisely yield, lying down to be captured. At least they can claim they were wounded in a valiant charge rather than simply surrendering.
In less than ten days, the two corps and the northwestern noble coalition are completely neutralized. By the time Ogiro Kingdom receives news, their reinforcements have only just set out. Witnessing the ferocity of the Peace Haven troops, they halt in their tracks. Many quickly realize that Peace Haven's forces are indeed formidable, unlike the duchy's southern troops, which are much less aggressive.
Why target the easier prey?
Because soft targets are easier to conquer!
Consequently, two days later, four Ogiro Kingdom corps push through the gap Divarak opened, advancing directly into the southern region of Vorry Duchy!
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Chapter 159: Turning Up the Heat for the Duchy
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