Valentine's words instantly heightened the tension in the woods. The soldiers had just begun to relax when this news arrived, which was indeed a form of mental anguish.
Yun Zhe rolled over and lay on the ground to listen. Sure enough, there was a huge tremor coming from the ground. Yun Zhe sat up, looked to the north, and a look of doubt appeared on his face.
Valentine was about to say something when Yun Zhe interrupted him, "The sound wasn't loud, and the distance was still far. I'm just wondering about one thing: the direction they came from is a bit unexpected."
Upon hearing Yun Zhe's words, Valentine instantly thought of a possibility, "My lord, could it be reinforcements?"
Yun Zhe had also considered this possibility, but such a big commotion seemed unrelated to the "secret advance" he wrote to Serena in his letter.
Yun Zhe coughed lightly, then summoned all the centurions. "The situation has changed somewhat. Have the soldiers prepare their horses. We may have to retreat again at any time. This time, the retreat direction is Dorgnitzburg. Everyone will be in teams of ten, and each will rely on their own abilities." After saying this somewhat disheartening statement, Yun Zhe felt it was inappropriate, so he added, "Only by surviving can there be any hope."
The centurions nodded in agreement and immediately went to make the arrangements.
"Akdina, you might need to go scout ahead and figure out their direction and marching pattern. See if you can spot their flags, and report back to me. Oh, and by the way, if cavalry is preparing to attack, they'll spread out in formation; if it's a tight formation, they're marching cavalry." After giving these instructions, Yun Zhe felt a renewed sense of fatigue, and at the same time, his thirst for blood intensified. Yun Zhe also keenly felt the changes in his body and couldn't help but feel anxious.
The surrounding soldiers began to organize their equipment in an orderly manner. Akdina's return was swift, which made Yun Zhe have some uneasy predictions again.
“Unlike Belvaldo’s army, their armor is haphazard, yet they advance in orderly formations. They also have scout cavalry, seemingly looking for a place to set up camp.” Hearing Akdina’s words, Yun Zhe’s heart, which had been hanging in suspense, instantly relaxed. Judging by the time, Serena’s reinforcements should indeed have arrived.
"Tell the soldiers they can get some rest now. And tell Valentine that the sentries must not relax their vigilance; maintain double the distance and manpower." After saying this, Yun Zhe was indeed overwhelmed by the overwhelming fatigue and the faint, lingering urge to succumb to bloodlust. He wrapped himself in a blanket and fell into a deep sleep under the tree.
Seeing Yun Zhe like this, Akdina felt a pang of sadness in her heart. She quickly relayed Yun Zhe's words, then went to where he was sleeping and sat down next to him under a tree. Akdina could feel the excitement of the soldiers around her and hear Yun Zhe's even breathing beside her. The forest gradually quieted down; the soldiers had all found good spots to sleep. Akdina, however, was wide awake. Leaning against the tree, she stared at the few stars peeking through the treetops, her thoughts drifting further and further away.
Serena's reinforcements consisted entirely of cavalry, numbering as many as six thousand. This large number of cavalry not only alarmed Yun Zhe but also Yom in Belvaldo's camp.
Yom paced back and forth in his tent, his mind troubled by the arrival of reinforcements, especially now that the reinforcements from Guralburg were only a day away.
Worse still, he couldn't determine whether these cavalrymen were part of the entire surprise attack or just a portion thereof. Logically, six thousand cavalrymen should be followed by at least thirty thousand infantry. If that was the total force, his plan was certainly doomed.
Upon learning this news, Marquis Kurman, still basking in the aftermath of a "great victory," suggested a night raid, taking advantage of the enemy's weakened position and their numerical superiority. Yom, however, could only wryly smile at this suggestion. Numerous superiority? The four thousand cavalry Kurman had brought were only half of Yom's available force. The remaining twenty thousand-odd cavalry were, at best, just mounted soldiers. They were good for intimidation, but in actual combat, forget about it.
Of course, these words couldn't be said to Kurman, since he still needed to maintain the persona of Belvedere's elite troops, highly skilled generals, and exceptionally high quality in front of him.
Of course, there was good news as well: the middle section of the three armies was seeing an increasing number of soldiers returning to normal, which greatly encouraged Jom. Many of these soldiers were dismounted cavalrymen. Based on the proportions, there were probably two or three thousand of them. Jom thought to himself, this might be a turning point in the war. Feeling somewhat relieved, Jom finally stopped walking, downed a large glass of wine, and collapsed onto his bed, falling into a slightly more peaceful sleep.
Some people can sleep, while others can't. Tedler, the leader of this reinforcement force, was in no mood for sleep at all. Bad news kept coming in. First, scouts discovered that a force was lying in ambush in the woods not far from them. Both sides' sentries had exchanged glances. However, following orders from their superiors, they didn't make any rash moves, and the other side didn't seem to intend to attack.
Upon learning this news, Tedler didn't immediately order the enemy to be wiped out simply because they were outnumbered. The reason was simple: he knew a man named Yun Zhe was leading a force of less than a thousand men against this army of one hundred thousand. What if, just what if, this small group was one of their own?
It was dark and windy, making it difficult to discern the truth from falsehood. The best course of action was to wait until dawn before making any plans. Therefore, he doubled the number of sentries and instructed his soldiers not to attack unless the enemy attacked first.
On the other hand, his whereabouts were also discovered by the Belvedere army. He also learned that Belvedere still had at least 20,000 cavalrymen. Thinking of this, Tedler couldn't sleep. What kind of sneak attack was this, to plunder treasure? It seemed like they were just handing the enemy a victory.
With six thousand cavalry against more than twenty thousand, unless the enemy were all inexperienced riders, this battle would be pointless.
Besides these two points of anxiety for Tedler, another thing that troubled him greatly was how to explain to Baron Yun Zhe that his reinforcements consisted of only six thousand cavalry, including two thousand mercenaries. Yun Zhe likely expected the same force as Count Serena: a force of forty to fifty thousand, or at least twenty to thirty thousand. Instead, he was met with a mere six thousand cavalry. Faced with such a huge discrepancy, how could he explain it in a way that would convince Yun Zhe?
"My cavalry is incredibly elite, each one capable of taking on ten men?" Tedler pondered this lie, then suddenly laughed self-deprecatingly. "If that guy suddenly acts recklessly and sends my cavalry, capable of taking on ten men, to charge the enemy cavalry, wouldn't that make things even more difficult to handle?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
