Iron Powder and Spellcasters

   Chapter 435 The great alliance moves forward (seven)

   Green Valley is burning.

   The green valley that used to be lush and green, has now turned into a red valley.

  The fire on the south bank spread to the mountains, not only did not go out, but became more and more out of control; soot with embers drifted across the Achyranthes with the wind, and the wheat fields on the north bank were also ignited.

  The sides of the valley were reddened by firelight, and the Hyssop River, reflecting the flames, looked more like molten glass. The clouds were also smeared with the color of **** by the revelry demons, and even from a few kilometers away, the enchanting and terrifying river of blood over Green Valley Town could be seen.

Major    Alder Felt merged the remaining three well-organized infantry battalions into a "grand phalanx". When he tried to rearrange the formation, black cavalrymen jumped out of the thick fog constantly, attacking the large phalanx that was still assembling from all directions, intending to completely destroy Felt's department.

   Felt not only had to do everything in his power to block the harassment of the enemy light cavalry, but also did everything he could to prevent the self-disintegration of the large phalanx.

  Fortunately, the black cavalry with only a Plato saber and a dwarf Herd horse lacked the ability to make a final call. They could only launch a threatening charge and could not break the spear forest.

  The enemy infantry did not catch up either—the fire cut off the battlefield and cut off Felt’s army, but also caused a lot of trouble to the enemy.

Major    Felt's commander fought and retreated until they retreated to an unknown farm outside the valley.

   There is a large barn at the southwest corner of the farmhouse, with a half-meter-thick stone wall and a two-story building, which is a common grain depot for the villagers.

   As he passed by this place in the afternoon, Felt noticed this strong and tall building at a glance.

   So when he retreated out of the valley with the remnants of the three battalions, he immediately occupied this big barn.

   Now is the green and yellow month, and the barn is empty except for some grass.

   Felt sent people to cut out shooting holes in the barn walls, and at the same time sent people to demolish the farmhouses near the barn to clear the field of fire.

  The wood and stone removed from the farmhouse were used to reinforce the barn, and what could not be taken away was torched.

   After earning himself a little respite, Major Felt finally found a chance to count the damage:

   The sixth brigade stationed in Green Valley Town was completely wiped out - if it weren't for Felt's cautious nature, I am afraid that the remaining five brigade would face the same fate as the sixth brigade;

  The seventh and eighth brigades at the top of the marching sequence also no longer exist. There is no news of the brigade leaders.

   The 9th and 10th battalions escaped because they were located in the back, but there were already a small number of soldiers who took advantage of the chaos to desert, and the remaining soldiers were also anxious and had no will to fight.

   In addition to the loss of personnel, Felt's troops also lost all the carriages, food, ammunition, and equipment were also lost along with the carriages.

   If it were normal, Alder Felt would probably have already started to think about which era of war history to choose as his lifelong research direction.

  However, the current Major Felt should not talk about planning for the future, even if it is the day after tomorrow, he has no spare energy to think about it.

   At this moment, he is only thinking about one thing - how to survive tonight?

   Residents of this little-known small farm have found their homes turned into battlefields, and have fled with their families overnight.

  Standing on the roof of the barn, Major Felt could see the loaded wagons, livestock, and humans running down the road, away from the Green Valley. In the direction of Green Valley, the fire has not been extinguished yet.

   The flickering dim lights almost formed a line, and the cries of children could be vaguely heard in the wind.

   The sight before him made Felt feel inexplicably sad, but he soon lost his mind to be sentimental.

   Perhaps it was the burning farmhouse that attracted the attention of the enemy, who caught up shortly after Felt ordered to clear the field of fire.

  The day had turned completely dark, and the fire at the farmhouse temporarily screened out the darkness around the barn.

   However, in a place where the fire did not shine, in the depths of the night, the black cavalry appeared again from the thick fog.

   First there were only scattered hooves, then more and more cavalry joined the ensemble, as if performing some mysterious ritual, scurrying around the barn where Felt's department was located.

   By the end, the sound of hooves roared in all directions of the barn, making it impossible to tell how many enemy cavalry were galloping through the darkness.

  The spirits of some defeated soldiers trapped in the barn were also forced to collapse.

"It's a wolf! That's not a man! It's a wolf!" A disheveled soldier threw away his weapon, rolled and crawled towards the barn door, shouting frantically: "I've seen wolves! Wolves run around their prey! Only wolves do It will run around the prey! This is a sacrifice! It is the wolf who wants to sacrifice us to the devil! Run away! Run for your own life!"

   Felt didn't even need to speak, and Lieutenant Kadar, who was guarding the gate, knocked the mad deserter to the ground with one punch.

   Kadar stepped on the deserter's back, grabbed the deserter's hair, gritted his teeth and pulled out his saber, looking at the major inquiringly.

   Felt hesitated, and shook his head.

   Kadar inserted his sword into the cracks of the bricks, greeted his subordinates to tie up the deserters, and stuffed the mouths of the deserters with straw.

   During the whole process, the mad deserter was struggling desperately, whimpering and screaming.

   The attention of the other soldiers was attracted by the mad deserter, who silently watched Lieutenant Kadar control the deserter, wondering what they were thinking.

Major    Felt signaled Lieutenant Kadar to take the deserters into the barn attic to keep them alone, lest the latter attack the morale.

   "What wolf? What demon? It's all crazy talk!" Major Felt said loudly on purpose: "I think he's frightened stupid!"

Felt patted the walls and gates of the barn, pretending to be indifferent, trying to remove the impact of the sudden situation: "This house is strong enough to be used as a fortress. If the rebels can Call in, they've already called in! Do you still need to crawl around like ants outside? Tonight, the 100-member teams will take turns to watch the night, and the others will seize the time to rest."

  The barn was silent, except for the rumbling coming from outside the walls.

  The soldiers neither spoke nor went to rest as the major said, but stood silently on the spot with arms on their hands.

  A soldier belonging to the Maplestone City Brigade took courage and asked timidly: "Major, but I heard that there is really a wolf among the rebel generals..."

   The voice of the questioning soldier was low, but the barn was so "quiet" that everyone could hear his trembling babble.

The last thing Major Felt wanted was for someone to continue the topic of "wolves", but now he had to maintain the few remaining loyalties of the soldiers as much as possible, so he waved kindly: "Don't be afraid, come forward and say loudly What did you just say? There is a wolf among the rebel generals?"

   No matter how Major Felt beckoned, the soldiers who asked the question did not dare to step forward. A second lieutenant couldn't stand it any longer, grabbing the collar of the questioning soldier and dragging the latter to the open space in the middle of the barn.

   "What wolf? A wolf can also be a general?" Major Felt looked around at the soldiers and asked with a smile, "Could it be that the order is written on the food bowl, and whichever food bowl the wolf eats, the order will be executed?"

   Soldiers from Xilin Province laughed along, but there was no smile on the faces of the soldiers from Maple Leaf Fort.

"No, it's not a wolf, it's a man, and it's a wolf too." The soldier who asked the question swallowed hard, reciting incoherently the legends he had heard: "The rebels call him [Wolf Blood], and some say it's because He can turn into a wolf at a full moon..."

   "It turned out to be a nickname." Major Felt was interested in imagining what kind of officer would get such a nickname.

   He pressed the questioning soldier on a stack of hay and encouraged: "Don't be afraid, speak slowly. Tell me everything you know about the 'Blood of the Wolf'."

  …

   Just when Major Felt was listening to a story that he did not know how many hands had been passed down, the protagonist of the legendary story he was listening to was at the moment outside the town of Green Valley, which was less than five kilometers away from him.

The headquarters of the    Iron Peak County garrison is being transferred.

  The clerks of the headquarters destroyed the correspondence and files that could not be taken away, and carried the documents that could not be destroyed on horseback.

  Without the coordinator of Captain Mason, the transfer process of the headquarters lost its previous orderly style, and it seemed a little disorderly and flustered.

   Winters himself was sorting out the map. When Jacob Green walked into the tent, he just glanced up and nodded slightly.

   "Sir." Jacob bowed to greet: "The clerks are all ready."

Jacob carefully glanced at the map on the tribunal's small table, and unexpectedly found that the parchment marked with complex marks was not the map of Green Valley, but painted Longhu Town, Snake Lake and Baze. Naur's valley rivers.

  Winters was engrossed in his homework on the map, measuring and writing calculations, as if the people outside the tent were shouting that the horse neighing didn't exist: "Go when you're ready. The sooner you catch up with Mason Tribunal, the safer you'll be."

"Yes." Jacob turned around and wanted to leave, but he couldn't give up the opportunity to spy on the blood wolf's inner world, and boldly asked: "You have just won a brilliant victory, and you have already set your sights on the next brilliant victory. Did you win?"

   "Brilliant victory?" Winters repeated the word, ironically and bitterly.

"Yes, a glorious victory! At least I will record it!" Jacob insisted: "Four battalions against six brigades, half defeated, half repelled—for a small price! If it were not a glorious victory , what else is it?"

   "Insignificant price?" Winters asked calmly: "Look at the scene outside the tent, Green Valley has been turned into Fire Valley by me."

   "It's just a season's harvest. Dead trees will sprout, seeds will be sown again, and the green valley will return to its original shape sooner or later."

   "Maybe. But they'll never trust us again."

  Jacob fell into silence, and he considered his words: "This is all...the necessary price for victory."

"Don't console me, Mr. Green. I know what I'm doing. But that doesn't change what I've done..." Winters paused for a moment with the ruler and charcoal in his hand, then resumed rustling: "Neither— And it shouldn't give me any consolation."

  Jacob stopped talking, he stayed quietly with Winters Montagne for a while. And the latter didn't drive him away, just continued his calculations.

   An angry footstep sounded outside the tent, and Cyb Carrington kicked open the curtain and stepped into the tent.

   Seeing that there were other people in the tent, the question that had already reached his lips was swallowed by Major Seber. He stood by the door with his arms folded, looking at Jacob Green without saying a word.

   Jacob hurriedly retired.

   The guy in the way just left the tent, and Major Seber's roar sounded immediately: "Why don't you let me chase?!"

   "Your light cavalry lacks the ability to attack the fortress." Winters explained rationally and restrainedly: "And they are too precious. They have the courage to shake the big square, but I don't want to waste them on the big square."

   "Where are your infantry?! I can't attack? Where is Captain Mason's cannon?!"

   "The fire was out of control, and the infantry had to retreat, or else they would be drawn into the fire. Captain Mason's artillery had already evacuated ahead of schedule and lacked the support of artillery. A head-to-head confrontation with a large phalanx would cost us high casualties."

Major Seber was going crazy, and his roar was louder than he said: "High casualties? When it's time to pursue the victory, you worry about casualties?! Do you know? Once the Federal Governors gain a foothold, we will pay more than we do now. Higher, higher, higher casualties?!"

   "We can only accept the fact that the enemy cannot be completely annihilated today."

   "You missed the opportunity!"

  The voices of the two were heard outside the tent, and the guards were so frightened that they shrank their necks.

   A series of heavy footsteps sounded again, and the shirtless Andre opened the curtain and walked into the tent with his head down—Jacob Green ran to find him.

   Andre was not angry but delighted when he saw that Major Cerber was condescendingly spraying spittle stars on Winters.

   "Don't look at me, I'm not here to persuade. Only Mason can do such a thankless thing to persuade, I don't care."

  Andre paced to the other end of the tent and poured himself a glass of water—there was only water in Winters' tent.

   He turned around, leaned against the chest of drawers, and said cheerfully, "Besides, I've always been curious as to which of the two of you is better at swordsmanship."

   Major Seber snorted lightly, stood up straight, and simply sorted out his old military uniform.

He took a deep breath, held the saber, and said coldly: "The fire on the south bank has reached the mountain, and the provincial highway is completely passable. The Union provincial troops are just outside the Green Valley, and my subordinates have locked him. The location. Go now, and there's still a chance to wipe them all out in one fell swoop. Later, that al-Provincialist's going to fortify that barn into a turtle shell!"

"We won't waste any more time on them." Winters paused for a moment, took out a map from the bottom of the layers of different scale maps, and handed it to the major: "Bazenauer's troops have been replenished, Bo Colonel De's forces are at a disadvantage, and we need to rendezvous with Colonel Bode as soon as possible."

  Cerber took the map, frowned and asked: "Are you sure the other half of the legion of the pseudo-government has arrived at Bazenauer? Maybe they are still on board."

"Unless I see it with my own eyes, I can't be sure. But intelligence from different sources can now be mutually verified." Winters handed Seber another declassified letter: "This is the latest report from Colonel Broad, The colonel has discovered the whereabouts of the main enemy force, and among the main force of the enemy army, flags that do not belong to the New Reclamation Corps have appeared - also verifying the information we already know."

  Cerber was silent for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said: "Emotionally, I hope you will support Colonel Broad as soon as possible. But intellectually, I still think that it is a more secure strategy to destroy the enemy in front of you first, and then invade Maplestone City."

   "I've seen Maple Leaf Fort, it's a very strong fortress." Winters shook his head lightly: "It's just a fool's dream to take it down with the artillery we have."

   Winters has good reasons, but the sweet loot is at hand, and who can give up without a try?

Sebo eagerly added the reason: "Of course Maple Leaf Castle is not easy to fight, but Maplestone City's defense is very weak! Maplestone City is the essence of the newly cultivated province! Wealth! Population! Resources! Everything! Win Maplestone City, All the supplies and armaments that Adams has accumulated are ours! We can recruit troops, and we can rebuild the New Reclamation Corps."

   Andre on the side also kept nodding.

Winters retorted resolutely but unquestionably: "The army is everything to us. If Colonel Broad's large force is defeated, even if we temporarily gain Maplestone, we will lose it again sooner or later. If we can defeat Colonel Sarnell troop, then even if we give up Maplestone City today, we can get it back sooner or later."

   "I'm worried." Seber's voice was not as loud as it was at the beginning, and his face became dark: "If we miss this opportunity, we're afraid we won't be able to win Maplestone City and Maple Leaf Castle again."

   Winters also stood up, looked at Seber, and said decisively: "Even so, we will never betray our friends!"

  Cerber was cornered by Winters' gaze, he gritted his teeth and stomped his foot: "Okay! Let's do it!"

   Having made up his mind, Seb Carrington no longer hesitated and returned to his usual rebellious appearance.

He licked his fangs and said coldly, "But I have to remind you that if the other three counties have already come into contact with the enemy's main force, then even if we rush to join Colonel Bode now, it's probably too late! "

Seiber supported the marching table and stretched out his hand to draw an invisible line along "Green Valley", "Qingyin Mountain Pass", "Changhu Town", and "Snake Lake": "Even if you march all day and night, from Green Valley to the north at least It will also take two days—two days are the most optimistic estimates, and more than half of your troops are infantry! By the time they reach the battlefield on two legs, Colonel Bode and Sarnell will already be the winner!"

   "I know." Winters tapped the one-page map in Seber's hand: "I also have a countermeasure."

   It was the first time that Seber paid attention to the map that Winters handed him. He recognized it for a while, trying to compare the lines and marks on the map with the mountains and rivers in his memory.

  When he really realized what this map meant, as daring as Seber also broke out in a cold sweat.

   "You...this...I..." Sebo couldn't say a complete sentence for a long time, and finally asked with his eyes wide open: "What about the army of the Union Governors outside Green Valley? Once they are caught up by him, we will be all over!"

"According to the performance of Major Alder Felt, he is a conservative and extremely cautious commander." Winters sat back on the marching chair and played with the herder's knife in his hand: "It is his prudence, Saved his troops today."

   "Cautious." Andrei dismissed: "I think it's as timid as a mouse!"

   This time, it was Major Seber's turn to nod in agreement. He took a deep breath and said in a loud voice, "Good luck!"

   "Prudence is a precious quality." Winters ran his fingertips over the blade and pondered: "However, perhaps we can make Major Felt's 'prudence' work for us."

   "Then..." Sebo asked unwillingly, "Then let him go like that?"

   "Who said to let him go?" Winters raised his eyebrows: "I just said I couldn't wipe him out today."

  Cerber was stunned, and Andre was also inexplicable.

"Hey! Don't talk big!" Major Seber slapped the table a little angrily: "Although the Union provincials are not very good at field combat, they are good at guarding turtle shells! The more time you give him, the more time you have to deal with him. The more troublesome. Besides, once we go to rendezvous with Colonel Bode, where will there be any extra troops to deal with him?"

"Major Cerber Carrington." Winters called Cerber's full name in a rare way: "Although you are an expert in using light cavalry, your ideas are still the ideas of the Platonic people, always seeking to pass A main battle that ends all fighting in a morning or even an hour."

   "Captain Montagne!" Cerber was instantly furious: "Don't use the methods of the Platoons, do you still use the methods of the Heard barbarians?!"

Winters stood up and slapped the knife in his hand on the marching table. Winning with a small casualty proves that the Hurds have better tactics! I will use whatever method works well! I will never waste my soldiers' lives easily!"

  Cerber was speechless for a while, and Andre, who was behind him, asked in hindsight, "That's why you asked that boy Pierre to lead the troops out?"

   "Yes." Winters drew his knife from the table and said calmly: "Major Alder Felt, Pierre Mitchell will be in charge."

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   (end of this chapter)