Louis, having been dismissed by Kerok, did not choose to continue persuading him.
He knew he had no way of making the young master feel any pity for the soldiers from the bottom of society.
Louis could only choose to organize the soldiers himself, making more torches and telling them to watch their footing to reduce unnecessary casualties.
Yet even though Louis did his best, when the sun rose again and they reached the campsite 3 miles behind the New Border City, as many as 276 people were missing during the head count!
The vast majority of those missing were conscripted Militia. They lacked clothes to protect them from the cold and had fallen into an eternal sleep during the bitter winter night.
The soldiers who did reach the campsite were both cold and hungry, with little strength left even to walk.
After Louis and the vice captain checked the condition of the soldiers, they both agreed that the current situation was extremely perilous.
“Most of the soldiers can’t even pick up their spears right now. If the Barbarians attack, we’re dead,” the vice captain said to Louis with a heavy expression.
“Let’s boil water and cook first. Even if it’s only thin porridge, we have to at least let them fill their stomachs,” Louis instructed.
“Fine, I’ll arrange for people to do it immediately.” After the vice captain finished speaking, he went to arrange for people to set up the pots, boil water, and make porridge.
While Louis and the others were still worrying about the state of the army, the commander of this force, Kerok, did not care about the condition of the troops at all.
He selfishly ordered the accompanying craftsmen to set up a comfortable tent for him, then he ducked inside with two glamorous maids to enjoy himself.
As the soldiers lined up to receive a small bowl of thin porridge that barely warmed their stomachs, Kerok had his cook prepare a feast rich with the aroma of meat and brought it into his tent.
This unfair treatment was seen by everyone, but not a single person dared to raise an objection.
This was because Kerok was the commander of this army, the eldest legitimate son of Earl Oca, and the future heir to the title and fief of Earl Oca!
Therefore, no one dared to express any dissatisfaction toward Kerok.
Of course, the people outside the military camp were not necessarily so restrained.
“Compared to His Highness, this guy is truly the worst kind of beast!” outside Kerok’s campsite, Thomas, an Imperial Guard Knight under Anke, said to Jack beside him.
“This thing really isn’t human compared to His Highness! But if our Highness wants to lead the Barbarians over here to attack them, isn’t that a bit immoral? It feels contrary to our Knight’s Spirit,” Jack said with some conflict.
“Now you’re talking about the Knight’s Spirit! Where was it when you pushed me to grab a musket?” Thomas grabbed a clump of snow, packed it into a ball, and smashed it against Jack’s head.
“That’s different! If we lead the Barbarians over here, it will kill a lot of people on the other side!” Jack shook his head to brush off the snowflakes.
“What’s different about it? His Highness said this army didn’t come to help us; they came to pick up the pieces after we and the Barbarians fight to a mutual defeat! If we don’t lead the Barbarians to attack them, we’ll be the ones to suffer! And do you think in such a cold winter, even if we didn’t lead the Barbarians over, how many of them could return safely instead of freezing to death on the road? Besides, if they are scattered and escape to New Border City, maybe even more of them will survive!” Thomas whispered a stern rebuke at Jack.
“But…”
“Any more ‘buts’ and I’ll go finish the task His Highness assigned alone. You can just stay here with that bleeding heart.” After Thomas finished speaking, he crawled down the snow-covered slope.
“Fine, you’re right. It was my fault, I was being too naive. I shouldn’t have focused only on pitying others while forgetting my oath to protect His Highness.” Jack caught up with Thomas and admitted his mistake.
“Sigh, lighten up. Sometimes we just can’t save everyone.” Thomas patted Jack’s shoulder, then led him in a light run toward the snowdrift where their horses were hidden.
The two mounted their horses and rode toward the Iron Jaw Tribe’s temporary camp. Within the enemy’s line of sight, they pretended to be scouts who had been accidentally discovered, leading the Iron Jaw Tribe’s Wolf Riders to discover Kerok’s camp.
The Wolf Riders of the Iron Jaw Tribe were also startled to see such a massive garrison. Not daring to delay for a second, they immediately returned to report the situation to Chief Gros.
“You’re saying there’s another army stationed behind the Border City?” Gros looked in shock at the Wolf Riders who had returned to report.
He was currently waiting for Kasia to finish the Pre-war Prayer Blessing for the warriors of the tribe.
“Yes, Chief. We saw it very clearly. There are at least 3,000 men and several hundred horses!” the Wolf Rider confirmed.
“Is the situation authentic? We won’t be deceived by the humans of Border City again, will we?” Gros asked suspiciously.
“I swear by the God of Thorny Rocks on my life, what I said is absolutely true, Chief,” the Wolf Rider said earnestly.
However, Gros had been tricked by Anke once and didn’t dare believe the intelligence brought back by his subordinates at all.
“…Wait until I go see for myself before making a decision. Nina, you guard the camp for me for now.”
“Yes, Father.”
“Big Barton, call up more than ten of the tribe’s most battle-hardened warriors. We’re going to see if that army is real or fake.”
“No problem, Chief!”
After making simple arrangements, Gros took Big Barton and more than ten elite soldiers.
They mounted their Giant Wolves and followed the Wolf Riders who had brought the report, speeding toward Kerok’s camp.
Only after reaching the outskirts of Kerok’s camp did Gros believe the Wolf Riders weren’t lying. There truly was a human army here.
“Chief, it’s really a large human army!” Big Barton said to Gros.
“Mhm. Looking at the number of pots, there are at least 4,000 people.” Gros was highly experienced.
With a glance at the number of cooking utensils set up in the partially constructed camp, he estimated the size of Kerok’s army.
Doubts also rose in his heart. “But why are there no troops inside Border City, yet so many troops here…”
“Chief, their camp is built so poorly, it looks like they just arrived.”
Suddenly, a casual remark from Big Barton woke Gros up.
“Just arrived? I understand now! So that’s it!” Gros’s sudden exclamation startled Big Barton.
“Chief, what do you understand?”
“I know what that fellow Anke is planning! All those tricks he played yesterday were just to buy time! He has less than 1,000 men in his hands and can’t possibly withstand our attack, so he’s been stalling — stalling until these reinforcements arrived!”
“I can understand some of that, but Chief, if these are reinforcements for Border City, why don’t they enter the city?” Big Barton said as he rubbed his large head.
“Because that brat Anke is thinking about cutting off our retreat! Look, Big Barton, this army has clearly undergone a forced march and needs to rest before it can be committed to battle. If we hadn’t discovered this army and started an all-out assault on Border City today — although taking Border City wouldn’t be very difficult — if Border City’s defenders held their ground and didn’t retreat, they could hold out until the reinforcements here finished their rest. Then the situation would be different. This army could directly circle around our rear and launch a pincer attack along with the Border City defenders. When that time comes, our Iron Jaw Tribe would surely suffer a devastating blow!”
As Gros spoke, he used a branch to draw a crude map of their positions on the snow between him and Big Barton. Though it was rough, it was very clear and easy to understand.
“I understand! Humans really are cunning! Chief, what should we do?”
“It’s simple. While these reinforcements are weak, we will take the initiative and eliminate them first!”
The branch in Gros’s hand was like a sharp knife as he slashed several lines across the circle representing Kerok’s army.
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