Chapter 252: Chapter 251: Urgent Intelligence

The first week of June had just passed. Ronin was about to announce who he would be taking to Chishan Town when a Message Bird from Wushan Castle changed his mind.

“The Polante Thief Gang is coordinating with the Black Gold Brotherhood?”

The letter contained news about none other than the Black Gold Brotherhood. This force had gathered troops on the southeastern border of the Wushan Territory and had even begun harassing neighboring lords’ domains.

“Ridder, what do you think?”

Ridder took the letter and read it carefully twice. Only after a moment of contemplation did he voice his opinion.

“My lord, there are two possibilities. The first, as you just said, is that the Polante Thief Gang and the Black Gold Brotherhood are connected. They’re coordinating their actions: one seizes the opportunity to occupy Chishan Town, while the other applies pressure from the southeast, forcing Wushan Castle to divide its forces and fight a war on two fronts.”

“However, there’s a second possibility: the two forces aren’t connected at all. The Black Gold Brotherhood heard that the Polante Thief Gang had occupied Chishan Town and saw it as an opportunity, so they’ve gathered troops on the border, waiting for the right moment to strike.”

Although Ronin felt the first scenario was more likely, the second wasn’t impossible.

After all, the Black Gold Brotherhood made its move after the Polante Thief Gang. If the two were truly allied, they should have acted at roughly the same time.

One side would occupy Chishan Town while the other, even if it didn’t launch a surprise attack to seize territory, would at least have made some sort of move. It wouldn’t be like this, with news of them massing troops on the border only arriving nearly ten days later.

“But regardless of the scenario, it seems Earl Wiggin’s plan to use his numerical superiority to steamroll the Polante Thief Gang and quickly retake Chishan Town is no longer viable.”

Ronin nodded.

This was exactly why Wiggin had sent another letter to the various lords, demanding they ramp up their war preparations and summoning all nobles, great and small, to Wushan Fortress on June twelfth to discuss the campaign.

“My lord, from what I know, the Black Gold Brotherhood suffered a major defeat in last year’s war and was forced to relinquish several territories they had occupied. It’s highly suspicious that they have the strength to provoke Wushan Ridge this year.”

As matters in the territory stabilized, Ridder, Macken, and the others began using their spare time—outside of training the troops and their own personal practice—to actively gather intelligence on the various powers within Wushan Ridge and even the greater Oduin Kingdom.

Especially with the recent outbreak of war, Ridder had even held a private meeting, asking Rogner, Krami, and Grado—the three Knights from Pasture City—to give a detailed briefing on everything they knew about these two factions.

“Ridder, there’s no need to doubt your judgment. They have other powers backing them. Especially the Black Gold Brotherhood. Don’t be fooled by the fact that their territory is only the size of two viscount’s domains; they have a considerable number of Knight Squads under their command.”

You can’t judge a force with external backing purely by the size and prosperity of its territory.

“The Black Gold Brotherhood is not our enemy this time. Our opponent is the Polante Thief Gang.”

He had already made a plan with Wiggin. Even if the Black Gold Brotherhood stirred up trouble, Ronin’s campaign would still target Chishan Town.

But things were different now. With fewer troops available overall, Ronin needed to bring more of his own men to guarantee the capture of Chishan Town, unlike his original plan to go with only a few attendants.

“Ridder, how is our Knight Squad equipped?”

“Right now, we have more than enough Ironwood Shields, Ironwood Helmets, and Long Spears for every man. The Zha Armor for the Cavalry is fully stocked, and the Chest Guards for the Infantry and Archers are ready, but we’re still short a great deal of Zha Armor for them.”

Ronin’s brow furrowed slightly as he listened to the report.

With the growth in population, the Ironwood Workshop had expanded several times over, and its monthly output of weapons and armor was now quite substantial.

It was just that this war had broken out too suddenly. If it had been delayed by another two months, perhaps even the infantry could have been outfitted with Zha Armor.

“I’ll have Wilson push the Ironwood Workshop to increase their production over the next month or so. I want our soldiers to be as well-equipped as possible before they step onto the battlefield.”

Ridder was taken aback. “My lord, we’re dispatching a full Knight Squad this time?”

“That’s right!”

Ronin confirmed, “Besides me, we’ll be dispatching twelve Transcendents. The Cavalry, Infantry, and Archers will be deployed at their standard strength.”

Originally, he had just planned to piggyback on Wushan Castle’s forces, bringing only a few trusted men.

But things were different now. With Wushan Castle having to divide its army, retaking Chishan Town was no longer a sure thing.

If they were defeated, forget about the Chishan Iron Mine—Ronin’s reputation as a Commander would be in tatters.

So after some consideration, Ronin changed his original plan and decided to lead his own Knight Squad into battle.

There are always casualties in battle, and Ronin had spent a great deal of effort and money cultivating this Knight Squad.

But if these soldiers only ever trained within the territory and never experienced the carnage of a real battlefield, their combat skills would never truly improve, and Wubei Territory would never possess a truly battle-hardened army.

Of course, Ronin wasn’t just going to let his troops charge in blindly. As the field commander, he could certainly manage to assign his own squad a weaker section of the front to attack.

“We still have some time before we actually deploy to the battlefield. You and Macken are to continue training as usual.”

Ronin ordered, “And another thing—build their confidence. Tell them that if we are victorious, everyone who fights will receive handsome rewards. Money, land—everything is on the table!”

’If I can take the iron mine, then giving the soldiers a share of the spoils will be a small price to pay.’

’Besides, this battle will make the weapons and equipment from the Ironwood Workshop known to the world.’

’Outfitting an entire force of cavalry and infantry with iron equipment is incredibly expensive; not every noble can afford it.’

’But if they were to use Ironwood Equipment, they might just be able to consider it.’

’Although armor made from wood is somewhat vulnerable to fire, Ironwood Armor isn’t the kind of wood that ignites instantly. Even if a soldier were standing in flames, it would take a good few seconds to catch fire.’

’Unless the enemy has a Mage capable of casting a large-scale fire attack like a Flame Pillar, the disadvantage isn’t that significant.’

“I understand!”

Ridder nodded solemnly.

Ever since the decision was made to formally establish the Wubei Territory’s Knight Squad, the selected cavalry, infantry, and archers had poured most of their time and energy into training.

In addition to learning discipline and obedience, these soldiers had also picked up numerous combat techniques from Ridder, Macken, and the others. After several internal sparring tournaments, they had developed a decent level of combat effectiveness.

Of course, there was still a gap between their strength and that of battle-hardened veterans, but they were far superior to the hastily drafted militia.

’I hope Wubei Territory develops quickly under the lord’s leadership. That way, I’ll have more soldiers to train!’

Ridder thought to himself.

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