Chapter 165 Gunderson Goes South
Gunderson was very angry after conquering Graveson but losing half of his battalion.
But misfortunes never come singly, and bad news followed. The orc battalion stationed at the military station was raided by Richard.
The military station was lost, and the remaining battalion suffered heavy casualties. The captain and deputy captain were all killed in the battle, and only more than 700 remnants were gathered.
In two battles, Gunderson's losses were close to 2,000 soldiers.
Although he still had 8,000 troops under his command, there were only less than 5,000 left in the main force. The remaining 3,000 orcs were all sheep-bodied people, and their combat effectiveness was very weak. Like the city defense army, they could only undertake some second- and third-line tasks.
Gunderson returned to the big tent and looked at the map carefully.
The war has developed to this point, and the choice has once again fallen into his hands.
Should he attack the Harland territory and besiege Fort William?
Or go south, defeat the noble coalition of Black River County, and cooperate with the main army to fight?
Just as Gunderson was analyzing the pros and cons, the eagle-man once again sent a new order from his superior.
The noble coalition forces of Lord Light, County Brena, and County Romen, under the command of Viscount Romen, attacked the baggage train of the main force of the orcs and looted a batch of food and grass.
The commander of the orc army, Derensi, issued an order, requiring Gunderson to go south, reopen the food route, and destroy the noble coalition led by Viscount Romen.
Gunderson was inclined to attack Harland County and avenge his subordinates. But his superiors gave orders, and he could only obey the orders and lead his troops south to fight Viscount Romen.
Richard found that Gunderson's orcs were heading south, and he also put down some of his worries. The orcs had 5,000 main forces. Although the army in Harland County was not small, even with the noble coalition forces of Black River County, they were still no match for the orcs in the field.
Once the orcs enter the territory, they will rob people, burn houses, and pollute wells. Even if the castle is defended and the orcs are repelled, the Harland territory will suffer heavy losses and will never be happy.
When Gunderson's troops went south, Richard immediately asked the indentured servants gathered in the castle to hurry up to do spring plowing and try to avoid agricultural production being affected by the war.
Just as Gunderson led his army south, Richard also received a letter of help from Baron Sharp.
Baron Sharp married Baron Raphael and became the lord of Pratos Castle.
Pratos Castle belongs to Black River County in the territory.
But in military terms, it belongs to the command of Gascoigne Province and is a flank fortress of Flame Castle.
Defending Pratos Castle formed a complete line of defense with Flame Castle.
In recent years, Baron Sharp has trained two squadrons of soldiers. He absorbed some retired officers and soldiers of the Mad Lion Legion, and the quality of the army is quite good.
Before the outbreak of the war, Baron Raphael supported a squadron of soldiers to strengthen the defense of the Pratos fortress group.
With the help of Baron Harden, they have enough strength to hold on.
Orc commander Maruland led three battalions and dawdled for a month, but still failed to break through the Pratos defense line.
But in recent days, the war situation has changed.
This time, the orcs invaded, because of the increase in troops, the pressure on the direction of Flame Castle is also very high.
A few days ago, the cavalry under Baron Harden was transferred to the main decisive battle direction.
Without Baron Harden's powerful cavalry, Baron Sharp suddenly couldn't hold on.
After detecting that Gunderson was heading south, Harland's territory was temporarily safe.
Richard decided to take the main force of the territory, plus the coalition of nobles from Black River County, to defeat Maruland and the orc army together, and reduce worries.
Sophia Castle is more than ten kilometers away from Pratos Castle. Once Pratos Castle is lost, Sophia Castle and Iron Mountain Castle may not be able to hold on?
Now Black River Castle is blocked by orcs and communications are interrupted.
Although Richard defeated a large group of orcs, the defenders of Black River Castle could not receive his report of merit.
Richard ordered the heads of the orcs to be pickled and reported to his superiors after the battle.
Then he brought the cavalry to Vick Castle and wrote a letter to the Black River County noble coalition, asking the Black River County noble coalition to go north to join him.
The Black River County noble coalition stationed troops in Felix Castle, led by Baron Bazel.
In Felix Castle, the armies of the four barons Bazel, Les, Dak, and Diram have already come out in full force.
Baron Les mobilized three main squadrons in the territory, and Barons Bazel and Dak mobilized two main squadrons. Even Baron Diram, the weakest, mobilized 400 auxiliary soldiers with all his strength to perform the second-line mission.
This time the orcs came fiercely, and several barons felt the danger and gathered their troops together.
The noble coalition originally planned to defend to the death in Baron Bazel's territory, but received Richard's request to join forces.
Richard's position is the reserve major general, and his military rank is higher than several barons.
In wartime, he can command the noble coalition.
Moreover, Richard has commanded the noble coalition several times, and his ability has been recognized by the noble coalition of Black River County.
In terms of strength, the Harland family is already second to none in Black River County.
He also explained in detail the reason for the mobilization of troops, and strictly ordered the coalition not to shirk responsibility and must appear in Vickburg the day after tomorrow.
Otherwise, after the war, a motion will be made in the noble parliament to seriously hold accountable the nobles who did not execute the order.
If this battle is won, Baron Rice and others are not afraid of being held accountable.
At most, they will quarrel at the noble meeting.
If this battle fails, Baron Rice and others will be used as an excuse for not executing the order.
Being a scapegoat will definitely not benefit you.
They may even be revoked of their noble titles and deprived of their hereditary territory.
This time the orcs invaded, the Grant Kingdom was not well prepared, the Earl of Martins lost his territory, and the Earl died at the hands of the orcs.
After suffering such a big loss, they must find a scapegoat after the war.
Richard had already made military achievements and was not in a key position, so the reason for the failure of this battle could not be blamed on him.
At that time, the scapegoat could only be the Black River County noble coalition that did not obey orders.
For this reason, even after the troops were transferred north, the territory became extremely empty, Baron Rice and others still did not dare to violate the order, and brought soldiers to Vickburg to join forces with Richard.
In order to defeat the orcs of the Maruland tribe, the Harland territory also came out in full force. Ten squadrons of infantry and one squadron of cavalry gathered together, and after joining the Black River County noble coalition, the number of people had exceeded 3,000.
In addition to the troops in the Pratos Castle, there was no disadvantage in terms of numbers, and in terms of combat effectiveness, because of the alchemical bombs and the Warcraft cavalry, there was still some advantage.
In order to be quick, Richard decided to hurry on.
They set out in the morning and only completed more than 50 kilometers at 10 o'clock in the evening and arrived at the southern part of the Platos Fortress Group.
The arrival of this reinforcement alarmed the beastmen in the north of the Platos Castle. However, the enemy situation was unclear after dark, so Maruland did not rashly send troops to provoke a battle.