Chapter 106. Stalling, and Figuring It Out
Over the next few days, William led the main force into Count Kao's territory.
This vast plain stretched for thousands of miles with rich, fertile land. He had originally thought the advance would be as smooth as it had been at Galefall Fortress, only to et Count Kao's stubborn resistance at the border.
At first, William did not pay it much attention. In Silver Oakleaf, Count Kao was only a mid-ranking noble, and at most he should have had no more than two legions under his command.
William directly deployed three noble legions to the front, thinking they would take it with ease.
Yet in less than half a day, the news coming through the Communication Crystal made his expression change drastically.
The three noble legions had actually been defeated. Not only had they failed to break through the defensive line, they had suffered nearly a thousand casualties and were now retreating in disarray.
“What did you say?”
William's fingers tightened slightly around the crystal, and he could barely believe his ears.
Three against two, with the advantage in both equipnt and manpower, and they had still lost to Count Kao's local army?
He imdiately summoned the noble commanders who had retreated in defeat. The two n knelt inside the tent, their faces pale as death.
“Your Highness, Count Kao's army is not right.”
One of them explained in a trembling voice.
“Although their soldiers wear ordinary armor, they are utterly fearless, and their coordination is terrifyingly seamless. Especially that personal guard led by the count himself—every single one of them has Gold-Rank Combat Power. They smashed straight through our formation...”
William's eyes turned sharp. A personal guard of the Gold Rank? That was absolutely not sothing an ordinary local count should have been able to field.
He rose abruptly to his feet, and his armor gave off a crisp clang as it struck together.
“Co. I want to see for myself what exactly this Count Kao is hiding.”
On the battlefield, the legions advanced like a torrent of steel.
Standing atop Darwin's back, William could clearly see Count Kao's formation.
The soldiers' ranks were not flashy, yet they carried a fierce, hardened edge. Especially that black-clad personal guard at the front—their auras were steady and restrained, clearly the mark of elite troops seasoned by countless battles.
“Count Kao, co out and answer ,” William called, his voice spreading across the battlefield through mana.
A middle-aged man clad in black armor stepped out from the formation. His face was stern and cold. It was Count Kao.
“William Kroll, this land belongs to Silver Oakleaf. As its lord, I will naturally defend it with my life.”
“Defend it with your life? I doubt the people behind you only ordered you to defend it.”
His voice suddenly rose.
“Tell Silver Oakleaf's royal family to co out and speak! Sending a count out as a shield is truly insulting.”
Count Kao's expression changed slightly, but he said nothing more. He rely raised a hand and waved it forward.
“Attack.”
The black-clad personal guard charged first, crashing directly into the soldiers of the Gold Legion.
William saw it clearly. Their coordination and combat strength were plainly at the level of a true elite regular army.
“As expected. Elite troops hiding behind another banner.”
A cold light flashed through his eyes as he gave Kru an order.
“Tear open their center and capture Count Kao alive!”
The royal legions' heavy infantry ford a shield wall and advanced like a moving fortress, while the Knight Orders flanked from the sides.
The tide of battle reversed in an instant. Before overwhelming strength, Count Kao's defensive line began collapsing step by step.
The mont Count Kao realized the line had broken, he withdrew at once with his main force without the slightest hesitation, leaving behind only a small number of soldiers to cover the retreat.
Those rear guards knew they were dood to die, yet they still fought to the bitter end without taking a single step back, buying ti for the main army with their flesh and blood.
The next half month turned into a bizarre pursuit.
Count Kao was like a ghostly shadow, always keeping his distance from William's legions—never too near, never too far.
At tis he sent small detachnts to harass them. At other tis, he set crude traps along roads they had to pass. But he never engaged them head-on.
Even more alarming was the fact that the size of his legions did not seem to shrink at all. It was as though fresh troops were constantly being fed into them. Like a leech that could not be shaken off, he continuously drained the Kroll legions' strength and attention.
At first, William still wanted to pursue and encircle them, but after several attempts, he discovered that the enemy's familiarity with the terrain far surpassed his own. Every ti, they managed to escape through the complicated river valleys and dense forests.
Half a month later, although the Kroll legions had completely occupied Count Kao's territory and finished taking stock of its granaries and towns, their original plan of ending the campaign quickly and driving straight into Silver Oakleaf's heartland had already been thoroughly disrupted.
Inside the command tent, William stared at the map, now densely marked with harassnt points, his face so dark it seed as if water might drip from it.
Another hourglass on the table had run empty. Half a month was enough ti for a great army to finish assembling and deploying.
“Your Highness, the scouts report that the remnants of Count Kao's forces are moving toward Bluestone Pass. It seems they want to join up with the defenders there.” Zoe's voice carried a trace of gravity.
William pressed his fingertip hard against the location of Bluestone Pass on the map. That was the final pass leading into Silver Oakleaf's heartland.
Suddenly, he rembered the deserted civilians of Galefall Fortress, and he rembered Count Kao's stalling over this entire period... In an instant, all the scattered clues in his mind ca together.
“Stalling for ti... He has been stalling for ti all along.”
William abruptly lifted his head, and a flash of realization appeared in his eyes.
“Taking into account what was strange about Galefall Fortress, Count Kao's abnormal resistance, and the coalition's perfunctory attitude... Silver Oakleaf was never passively defending. They were waiting!”
Waiting for what?
The answer was already obvious—they were waiting for the entire nation's forces to assemble, waiting for the perfect mont to wipe out the Kroll legions that had pushed deep into the Eastern Frontier in a single stroke!
Half a month was enough ti for Silver Oakleaf to move its main forces over from elsewhere. It was enough ti for them to lay an inescapable net at Bluestone Pass and wait for him to lead his exhausted legions straight into it.
“Send orders imdiately. Stop pursuing Count Kao.”
William's voice carried unquestionable resolve.
“Tell all the commanders of the royal legions to co to the Main Tent.” There was a hint of urgency in his tone.
The ssenger acknowledged the order and departed. Half an hour later, the commanders of the Third, Fifth, Seventh, and Eighth Legions all entered the Main Tent. The dust on their armor had not yet been brushed away, clearly showing that they had just rushed over from their camps.
William did not waste ti on pleasantries. He directly laid out his speculation in full.
Silver Oakleaf was deliberately stalling for ti. Its intention was to gather overwhelming forces and set an encirclent trap at Bluestone Pass. They might even join forces with Hartlein's reinforcents and swallow the Kroll legions whole in a single bite.
The tent instantly fell into dead silence. The color drained from the legion commanders' faces, and cold sweat broke out across their bodies.
All of them were veteran generals who had weathered countless battles. With only a mont's thought, they imdiately understood how dangerous the situation was.
If William's judgnt was correct, then the thirteen legions currently deep in the Eastern Frontier had effectively stepped into a carefully prepared pocket.
Ahead of them was the natural stronghold of Bluestone Pass. Behind them, the coalition was “watching from the sidelines.” Once they were surrounded, there would be no escape even if they grew wings.
At the thought of the coalition's perfunctory attitude, everyone's heart sank to the bottom. For a mont, not a single person spoke.
At that very mont, however, William suddenly laughed. The sound of his laughter rang especially clearly in the silent tent.
“Haha, now that we understand their intentions, isn't that sothing worth being happy about?”
He looked at the tense faces of the legion commanders and raised a brow.
“Why do you all look so awful?”
The commander of the Fifth Legion was stunned for a mont, then quickly reacted. The fear in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by a asure of understanding.
“Your Highness ans... now that we've seen through the trap, we can turn it around and make use of it instead?”
“Exactly.”
William withdrew his smile and walked over to the map, his fingertip tracing the region between Bluestone Pass and Galefall Fortress.
“If they want to encircle us, then they had better have teeth strong enough for it. Just so happens, I want to see the power of the Gold Legion.”
User Comments
0 comments from readers