Upon hearing this, the commander was momentarily speechless. He then slammed his helmet to the ground, pointed at the distant town of Muxi, and shouted angrily, "Which bastard built this town?! Don't they even understand the most basic principles?! They're so lazy outside the town that they couldn't even afford to build a single city wall!!!"
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Cumberland watched the seven men ride away.
Todd stood beside him and reminded him, "This is the third batch already."
The old man suddenly brought up something unrelated: "I think I just heard someone address you as Commander-in-Chief?"
Todd glanced at him, neither confirming nor denying, and remained silent.
"I also heard that two months ago, a special envoy from the Papal States, accompanied by a bishop, visited Muxi Town."
Todd tucked his hands into his sleeves. "Mr. Cumberland, you're very well-informed."
Cumberland laughed: "Details are something you'll always find if you pay attention to them. Take this town for example. Mediocre commanders who come here, for the sake of a ridiculous sense of security, will always think of building a wall or blocking the streets with earth and stones to hold out for reinforcements. They never think that this approach will not only block the enemy but also trap themselves."
"Your Excellency..."
A cool, clear female voice caught their attention.
Queen Mary changed into an ill-fitting leather armor, piled her hair up high, and tucked it into her helmet.
The old knight looked down at the silver crown badge on his breastplate and said to the woman, "Your Majesty, please stop calling me Baron."
The Queen nodded gently and said calmly, "Then please stop calling me Your Majesty the Queen. I have no further connection with the kingdom."
Cumberland was somewhat surprised, then laughed: "That's right!"
Seeing his subordinates bring over the horse, he walked to Mary's side, intending to help her mount.
Unexpectedly, the woman politely declined the old man's offer. She grabbed the edge of the saddle with both hands, flipped herself onto the horse, and took the reins.
Cumberland raised an eyebrow, walked to his horse, and once mounted, said to Todd, "Two hours at most. Wait for my good news... Commander-in-Chief..."
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"Commander! Commander!"
The cavalry company commander paced around the campfire, watching his subordinates rush towards him, and asked irritably, "Seven more? Did seven more bastards show up?!"
"No, no, no, there are only five people this time!"
The commander was taken aback: "Five people?"
The cavalryman swallowed hard: "And Cumberland and that fugitive are among them!"
Upon hearing this, the commander jogged a few steps and grabbed the cavalryman by the collar: "Those two are both here?! You didn't see wrong?!"
"It's absolutely true! Someone saw their faces when they passed by! There's no mistake!"
The commander burst into laughter: "That old bastard, he's finally shown up! Where are the troops that were chasing the 'decoy'? Why haven't they returned yet?!"
Seeing his men looking at each other in silence, the commander waved his hand impatiently: "No more waiting! Pass on my order: everyone else, mount up and give chase!"
The cavalryman hesitated, "Sir, the remaining men are mostly heavy cavalry..."
"What?!" After a moment of surprise, the commander thought carefully and finally realized what was happening.
In order to pursue the first three batches of "bait", he had sent out most of his light cavalry and horse archers. The rest, apart from heavy cavalry, consisted of some mule soldiers with little combat capability.
"Have the heavy cavalry remove their armor, take their weapons, and go into battle lightly armed!"
Ten minutes later, the remaining thirty men of the Eastern Legion cavalry finally caught up with Cumberland and his group of five.
The commander saw from afar that the escapees were riding into a forest, and some of them were clutching their chests and leaning against their horses in pain.
"There are wounded among them! They can't move fast, the whole army should give chase!"
Running along the forest path, the commander looked at the dense trees and bushes around him, and a bad premonition grew stronger. He wanted to order the troops to stop, but the target ahead was less than fifty meters away, and giving up at this point was simply too much for him to bear.
The cavalry company spurred their horses on for a while longer when suddenly several tripwires rose from the ground. The neighing of horses and the screams of cavalrymen filled the air as those at the front were thrown heavily to the ground by their unbalanced steeds.
"An ambush! An ambush!"
Seeing the soldiers in the front ranks fall to the ground, the commander hurriedly stopped his horse. Just as he was about to give an order, a huge log crashed down behind the column, blocking their retreat.
Countless soldiers rose from the grass, extending their halberds and sickles to pull the cavalrymen from their horses. Swords and axes fell, blood splattered everywhere. The heavy cavalry, wearing no armor, lost more than half of their number in just a few breaths.
The company commander raised his sword, about to strike a soldier who approached him, when a stray arrow shot him off his horse.
A pair of steel-clad combat boots stopped in front of him, and a deep voice sounded above his head.
"Hmm... what was the church's army's strategy for persuading surrender? 'In the name of the Father, lay down your weapons!'"
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