In the new year, the shadow of war once again loomed over the land of Donic.
Yun Zhe didn't tell Serena about the Kurman scouts, but Philby, who had recently been transferred to a new fiefdom, told Serena everything. Serena was shocked by Kurman's audacity and also puzzled that Yun Zhe had remained silent about the matter, revealing nothing.
"Is Yun Zhe too confident, or has he forgotten?" Serena's heart was in turmoil again. She thought it over and over and felt that either way was terrible.
Serena shook her head, trying to shake the bad mood out of her head. But it clearly didn't work.
Xi Xi thought Serena was worried about the war again, so she came up to comfort her, "Don't worry, with Yun Zhe and Philby around, the southern border is very safe."
Serena knew perfectly well that nothing bad would happen, but that wasn't what troubled her. She could only give Xixi a forced smile to indicate her acceptance.
Although Xixi never participated in national affairs, she had heard about many things. Some time ago, she overheard Blake complaining to Serena that the cost of accompanying the Duke on a campaign averaged ten gold coins per day, even with the Duke's help and only five hundred men. Xixi calculated the current strength of Yun Zhe and Philby's troops, considering that everything had to be paid for themselves, and assuming the cost had doubled and the number of men had tripled, then if war broke out, the daily cost would be sixty gold coins… a year's income wouldn't even last a month of fighting.
War is expensive, and without replenishment, it is indeed a very troublesome matter.
Two days later, a new battle report came from Yun Zhe's side. Yun Zhe's cavalry had engaged in a small-scale skirmish with Kurman's cavalry. Only one of the eight cavalrymen returned, but all six of the enemy's scout cavalrymen were also killed. The casualty ratio was still acceptable.
Looking at the battle report, Serena was satisfied. Her expectations were just as the report stated: the casualty ratio was acceptable. More importantly, the delivery of this report calmed Serena down, and she no longer harbored any further doubts about Yun Zhe.
That same afternoon, Philby also sent a battle report: in a similar cavalry duel, five enemy soldiers were killed and one captured, with their own losses roughly equal. Two battle reports in one day, both indicating heavy losses, but the results were not unacceptable.
Serena laughed out loud, which startled Xixi, who had brought the food. However, seeing her mistress's happy expression, Xixi felt relieved. After all, Serena had been looking depressed for the past three days, and she herself hadn't been having an easy time either.
However, a single battle report can only convey so much. As Yun Zhe's report naturally wouldn't mention, although this was an unprepared encounter for both sides, Yun Zhe's side was led by Blaze and his personal guards. And the opposing force wasn't the elite cavalry of the "Shadow Thorns." Yet, the result was that only Blaze survived. Such a tragic outcome was unacceptable not only to Blaze, but also greatly perplexing to Yun Zhe upon learning of it.
On the other hand, Philby wouldn't mention in his battle report that this was a premeditated ambush, and that despite having a 100-to-6 advantage, he still suffered six casualties. Similarly, the opposing force wasn't the elite "Shadowthorn" elite.
Yun Zhe arrived at the site of the skirmish in Blaze and carefully observed the surrounding situation. Blaze, on the other hand, remained silent, simply following closely behind Yun Zhe.
Yun Zhe glanced at a small earthen mound in the distance, no more than two stories high; that was where the enemy cavalry had been when the two sides clashed. Yun Zhe looked at the bloodstains and hoofprints on the ground. Clearly, Blaze, having discovered the enemy's presence, had chosen to engage in a direct confrontation.
Yun Zhe picked up an arrow from the ground. Judging from the way it landed, it was an arrow shot by the opponent. At this point, they were about a hundred paces away from the earthen mound.
"They fired two volleys of arrows," Blaze said quickly when he saw Yun Zhe looking at the arrows.
Clearly, the two rounds of archery were ineffective, and the opponent opted to charge. At this point, the battle had lost all its artistry and relied entirely on the martial skills of both sides.
"Don't you have crossbows?" Yun Zhe asked, puzzled.
"It happened so suddenly, I didn't even have time to load the crossbow," Blaze said nervously, his voice lowering.
"So what's the reason?" Yun Zhe frowned slightly; he didn't quite believe that Blazer would do such a thing.
Blazer swallowed hard. “During our patrol, we found a farmhouse with its gate wide open. An old man was lying dead at the doorway, and inside, a sheep had been slaughtered and stewed. An old woman inside the house had also been killed. At first, we thought they were bandits, but I found a cloak pin at the scene, which proved they were Kurman's soldiers.” Blazer paused. “Then we found that cavalry unit not far away…”
After listening to Blaze's words, Yun Zhe paused for a moment, then smiled with relief and patted Blaze on the shoulder. "You did the right thing, just remember to load the crossbow before chasing next time." Seeing Blaze's expression of gratitude and confusion, Yun Zhe smiled and said, "Protecting the borders and ensuring the safety of the people is our duty. I'm glad you have this intention. Just don't be so impulsive next time. Prepare properly before chasing."
Blazer nodded, regaining his usual air of authority. His eyes darted around, and he pulled a pin from his belt, handing it to Yun Zhe. It was an exquisite brass pin, the top engraved with a finely crafted coat of arms of the Marquis of Kurmann.
“These cavalrymen are a bit different from the cavalrymen I usually see; they’re all wearing cloaks, which is quite interesting,” Blazer added.
This caught Yun Zhe's attention. "Come on, take me to see those corpses."
Six Kurman cavalrymen lay neatly arranged beneath a tree, beside them four warhorses still clinging to the battlefield. All the cavalrymen were clad in finely crafted chainmail, helmets, and full protective gear. The horses were also clad in simple single-layer chainmail, truly befitting an elite force. However, this armor differed from the plate armor of the "Shadowthorns," but it featured enigmatic red cloaks.
“I think the other party might be a nobleman, or perhaps a military officer or something like that?” Blazer said, expressing his opinion.
“It’s more likely to be officers. It could be a group of centurions or squad leaders coming to the front to scout,” Yun Zhe said, pulling open a cavalryman’s glove and looking inside. “They’re obviously veterans, though they’re not very old.”
Clearly, Yun Zhe wasn't familiar with Kurman. If he were, he wouldn't have been speculating like this with Blaze, because just by looking at their faces, he could tell that one of the six men was Marquis Kurman's son. However, this information only reached Yun Zhe long after the battle had begun.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
