Chapter 250: Chapter 249: Conscription Order

Wushan Castle was immense, filled with numerous buildings. A square tower stood in an area on its western periphery.

Over a hundred Message Birds were kept here. Flying in and out daily, the tower served as a vital communication hub connecting Wushan Castle with the outside world.

On May 26th, the place saw its busiest day.

Liaison Officer Carolina sealed the letters that officials had written through the night, then tied them to the Message Birds and sent them off.

As the Message Birds soared into the sky, news of the Polante Thief Gang’s occupation of Chishan Town would soon spread far and wide.

The nobles and Knights all knew that war was coming again.

Last year, Wushan Territory had also launched a forced counterattack. The enemy then was the Black Gold Brotherhood, which had been causing trouble on the southeastern border.

This year was another forced counterattack, only the enemy had changed to the Polante Thief Gang from the southwestern border.

For some time now, the Marquis’ Domain of Wushan had been relentlessly plagued by these two factions.

Although the nobles were frustrated, they were no longer surprised by it.

Over the years, some had even come to see these two factions as a training ground for gaining experience and earning merits. Those who performed exceptionally well could even be granted a fief from it.

For example, of the territory retaken from the Black Gold Brotherhood last year, though several parcels were given to the Hyde Clan to distribute, the remaining two were awarded to Knights who had fought valiantly, creating two new Barons.

The nobles weren’t particularly opposed to such campaigns.

Wiggin’s mobilization order would reach the various nobles of Wushan Territory within a day or two, which was relatively fast. However, the time it would take for each Lord to mobilize their forces would not be as quick.

The nobles below him needed to prepare their troops, provisions, and various other supplies, a process that would take a considerable amount of time.

Fortunately, dealing with the Polante Thief Gang wasn’t considered a major war. Based on the experience of previous years, a mobilization of this scale would take about half a month, followed by another month to reach the front lines.

In other words, the Noble Alliance Army would arrive at Giant Stone City around mid-July, and the war would truly begin around the end of July.

Although the situation in Giant Stone Territory was urgent, this mobilization time could not be shortened. They couldn’t just expect their Knights to prepare nothing and gallop off to Giant Stone Territory on a single horse, after all.

Of course, Giant Stone Territory would not be left to fend for itself during this time.

To prevent the situation from worsening as much as possible, Toru had Philip Kent, the Vice Leader of the First Knight Order, set out for Giant Stone City with five Knight Squads the very next day.

The next afternoon, a Message Bird again brought a letter from Giant Stone Territory.

In response to Wiggin’s inquiry, Coren explained in detail the reasons for his defeat, while also providing an overview of the current situation in Giant Stone Territory and Chishan Town.

According to Coren, the five Knight Squads led by Vice Leader Hahn had failed to properly defend Chishan Town.

It was their negligence that led to their failure to promptly detect the enemy from Casier Town launching a sneak attack under the cover of darkness.

By the time Coren arrived at the outskirts of Chishan Town with his remaining Knight Squads, the battle inside was already nearing its end. The enemy had nearly slaughtered Hahn and his Knight Squads to the last man, and upon spotting Coren’s forces, they turned to attack them as well.

Outnumbered and facing a Golden Knight, Coren could only fight a running retreat. In the end, he managed to withdraw to Giant Stone City with the remnants of his forces, but not before sustaining grievous injuries.

He had expected Giant Stone City to fall as well, but the Polante Thief Gang showed no intention of storming it, instead retreating directly back to Chishan Town.

“Perhaps their only goal was to occupy the iron mines of Chishan Town. Once they achieved their objective, they naturally wouldn’t continue the attack.”

Ronin put down the letter in his hand, voicing his speculation.

After all, the other territories occupied by the Polante Thief Gang had no iron ore production.

Rather than buying ore from Coren and the others at a low price, it was better to just seize the mine and dig it themselves. This way, they could not only save a large sum of money each year but also have the opportunity to sell the surplus, profiting from both ends.

Moreover, Giant Stone City was a Baron’s domain and held a tactical advantage. If the Polante Thief Gang attacked it continuously without rest after a battle, they would surely suffer significant losses.

Still, Ronin didn’t understand. ’Didn’t they consider that this would provoke retaliation from Wushan Castle?’

’Or were they really so short-sighted, content to pull off one big score and hold the territory for as long as they could?’

Ronin was skeptical of that idea.

“Since you’ve decided to go to the front lines, I’ll arrange for Toru and Kabil to assist you. Marvin will likely be involved as well.”

Lurans explained his arrangements while stroking his cane.

“The Noble Alliance Army that Wiggin is assembling will have no problem taking back Chishan Town. You should treat this as a learning experience. Observe and learn as much as you can, and listen to their opinions when it comes to specific actions.”

Ronin nodded.

He still wasn’t sure what style of warfare existed in this world. ’Does it involve intricate strategies, or do both sides just agree on a time and place, line up their formations, and charge?’

’He really did need to observe and learn.’

Ronin knew the three men Lurans mentioned and was on good terms with them, so communication shouldn’t be an issue.

However, there was one among them whom Ronin felt was not suited to go to the front lines.

“Sir Toru is going to the front as well?”

The First Knight Order was permanently stationed in Wushan City. Besides maintaining order, they were also responsible for protecting Wushan Castle and Lurans.

With the Vice Leader already gone to Giant Stone Territory, if Toru left as well, who would guarantee the safety of Wushan Castle?

’Does Lurans still have the strength to fight off an enemy?’

“Are you worried someone will take this opportunity to assassinate me here in Wushan Castle?”

Lurans smiled, then gave Ronin a reassuring look.

“Don’t worry, I’m not that easy to assassinate. Besides, I’ll have Melonika come over.”

Ronin realized then that the Marquis already had a plan.

Melonika was the Leader of the Third Knight Order, a veteran Golden Knight who had followed Lurans for many years. He and his Knight Order were currently stationed in Wushan Town, southwest of Wushan Castle.

Ronin had never met this Leader in person; his predecessor had only bumped into him a few times at the Extraordinary Academy in Wushan Town.

Even at Lurans’s birthday banquet, the man had only sent his son to offer congratulations, not attending himself.

It wasn’t that Melonika was too busy, but rather that the man had an eccentric personality.

He disliked crowds and especially loathed attending banquets.

It was even said that Lurans had intended to ennoble Melonika as a Lord early on, but the man had insisted on remaining a simple Knight, having little interest in managing and administering a territory.

But regardless of Melonika’s personality, his strength and loyalty were beyond doubt.

With Lurans transferring him over from Wushan Town, the castle’s security problem could be considered solved.

Ronin set aside his worries and obtained more intelligence about the Polante Thief Gang from Lurans.

After staying in Wushan Castle for two days, he mounted Carlos and returned to Wubei Territory to make his pre-war preparations.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep