Although 10,000 May not sound like much, it was a huge army for this era.

Not anyone has the qualifications and ability to command such a large army.

Even if it's a march, it's not a swarm.

Queue, batch, before and after.

Derek, as a rookie, doesn't have any assignments, so he just keeps moving.

Count Perez's immediate army, however, will have to take the lead.

Some regular officers with the office of the kingdom were assigned a lot of tasks.

The temporary army, however, still needs to learn.

I do not blame others for looking down on this temporary establishment, the difference is really far.

However, the officers at the rank of thousands of commanders were all experienced officers, and there was no trouble, and the rest could not manage so much.

Five days of slow walking, 15 days since the siege of Iron Wall.

That day there was a sound of hooves and a disturbance throughout the Second Army.

Derek rode to a high place to look. Count Pereira did not move, and when the cavalry passed the tenth thousand, he saw the familiar sign.

"It's the Order of Pereira!

The familiar eagle flag, once seen every day.

He had wondered why he had not seen the Order of Pereira, but now he had.

Look at the size, it's doubled, and the queue is neat, not just random soldiers.

"Knight attendants, and knights who have served."

Derek immediately realized that there were many retired knights and knight attendants like himself every year, and Count Pereira could not afford to support so many.

However, over time, the earl also paid money to help the nobles and merchants around the training of knights, is not a good person.

At such times of need, a conscription order was issued, and immediately a large number of former serving knights and knight attendants joined the Order of Pereira.

With their own horses and weapons, these knights who have completed knight training and survived alone outside are not low in combat effectiveness.

Put together, it was a powerful order.

As soon as the Pereira Order arrived, the initial integration of the Second Army of the Northern Province accelerated.

These days, the thousands of commanders did not eat dry food, and all had initial control over the army.

The soldiers and farmers, who had just joined, had also adapted to the rhythm of the army.

The sudden increase in speed did not cause confusion, and even seemed to be in good order.

If a few more battles were to be fought, the Second Army of the Northern Province would be basically a fighting force.

"He is a seasoned veteran."

Derek learned that Count Pereira was responsible for all of this.

Seemingly no big move, in fact, through small adjustments, integration has been completed.

Of course, it is also because Count Pereira has a qualified corps of officers, for a court noble to come over, I am afraid even the head has not been clearly identified.

That evening, Derek saw many of his old friends.

The arrival of the Pereira Order means that the war is about to begin.

In Count Pereira's tent, the senior officers of the Second Army were gathered.

A large map of the northern provinces hung in the center, marked down to every mountain range, every village.

Derek met Chloe Knight and the two nodded to each other, the latter still somewhat surprised, obviously not expecting to see him here.

"Gentlemen, the Iron Wall is ahead. According to the spies, the barbarian army has passed the Iron Wall. We shall soon meet it."

A word from Count Perez makes the atmosphere tense.

"How is Iron Wall now?"

One could not help but ask whether the fate of the Second Army depended on the survival of Iron Wall.

If we lose it, we're in big trouble.

"Our Lord Governor held the Iron Wall, and for a short time there was no problem."

Count Perez gave everyone a clear answer, much to their relief.

But he looked around for a week, and then said in a serious tone, "Two missions, our Second Army has only two missions."

First, drive the barbarians out.

Second, revenge for Chris Jeffries.

The Jeffreys have offered a reward for the Earl's revenge, a baron. '

As another count of the Northern provinces, Count Jefferys died this time at the hands of the barbarians.

It was unfortunate that the count, without any protection, was beheaded by the barbarian army.

The whole process is very smooth, the barbarian seems to have determined his position.

Everyone knows there's a mole.

But catching the mole is not the Second Army's job, avenging the Count.

Don't you see? Count Pereira's words had just fallen, and the sound of breathing in the room was heavy.

What a temptation.

How many barons are there in the whole northern province? Absolutely no more than 20.

Whoever gets this fiefdom means starting a family business.

Not to mention other benefits, such as fame and military merit.

The count has fallen and everyone has eaten.

I just don't know who's so lucky.

Count Pereira was very pleased with the rising morale, which, to be honest, was a difficult task, since the count's murderer was the leader of an entire barbarian army.

If anyone can achieve revenge, a barony seems petty, the king will certainly reward.

But Count Pereira had achieved his purpose, and he took the opportunity to make arrangements.

"The Knights are with me, ready to take on the main force of the barbarians.

The first thousand

The eleven thousand... Clear this area.

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In ten days, I want to see the barbarians driven north of the Iron Wall. Who can't do that... I removed him.

The herald of the thousand men will report twice daily. I want to know where you are and be ready to assemble."

Count Pereira distributed the mission directly by region.

He still has some reserves in his hand, ready to support.

And the barbarians have changes, they can also calmly cope with the battle.

So one step at a time, first drive the barbarians south of Iron Wall, relieve the pressure.

Derek was immediately called in, and the team of ten thousand was relatively small and covered a small, if not major, area.

There was only one town, an area of seven or eight villages, with several knightly estates in the middle of the kingdom.

The exact situation on the ground is unclear though, and it's easier if most of it hasn't fallen yet.

When the meeting was over, he deliberately slowed down his pace, and sure enough, the Cloa knight soon caught up.

"Derek, you've been made commander?"

The knight of Cloa was really shocked, he had thought that the other was not from the pool, and did not expect to rise so quickly.

"Uncle Cloa, I was lucky enough to be just in time."

Derek remained humble. He knew now was not the time for complacency.

The knight Cloa reached out and patted him on the shoulder, very happy: "Well done, if you need help, come to me anytime."

Take advantage of the opportunity to make a few more war achievements, strive to keep the post of commander, you will benefit in the future.

MMHHHMMM... Be safe, too."

The two chatted briefly and soon parted.

After all, with a war on the horizon, there's not much time for small talk.

When Derek returned to camp, the first thing he did was send Simon ahead with a squadron of cavalry.

Soon to leave the army, but no one to help scout, everything depends on their own.

A thousand troops is already a complete military unit, enough to complete general tasks independently, and the test of the commander is also huge.

Fortunately, Derek has trained a group of good helpers, and still feel no difficulties.

Derek left the army and hurried to his area of responsibility.

The situation is better than expected, and there are already small battalions of barbarians streaming in.

The only town that was still in good shape was initially attacked by the barbarians, killing a number of militiamen.

The surrounding villages also fought hard, and although the barbarian troops killed some people and robbed some of the food money, they did not do much.

Of course, thanks to the king's call, all this time the northern provinces were preparing for war.

There were militia trained everywhere, and of course it was impossible to fight a large army of barbarians, but a small army could resist a few.

Derek camped directly outside the town, refusing the local garrison's invitation.

He didn't come here to duck in, otherwise the town would be safe, and he'd be on his way out.

Count Pereira's intention is clear, the division of labor, layer by layer, the steady relief of Iron Wall.

If you really stay there, you're asking for death.

Simon soon returned with the latest news.

"Commander, in our area of responsibility, there are about four or five groups of barbarian troops, totaling not more than 200 men.

They have attacked villages several times and are on the move."

Simon's cavalry was so sharp that he even got his hands on the barbarian's tail and drew a general line.

Derek was quick to determine: "The barbarians' purpose should be only to plunder and harass, and when they receive the news of our arrival, they will probably withdraw soon."

The cavalry is ready. We have a head start.

Adrian, you will take command for the time being and take the elite Hundred on a quick march."

Derek's bold judgment, the Barbarian team might be on the run.

Even if the judgment is wrong, the knights who come and go freely are not in danger, but just run for nothing.

Derek was right. The reason the barbarians crossed the Iron Wall was not purely military.

Although the barbarians have carried out a series of military and political reforms in the past 30 years, some things are difficult to completely remove.

Take the chieftainship system centered on small tribes, for example, the conscription system.

Many of the barbarian armies that invaded this time were warriors provided by various tribes.

The barbarian commander would inevitably have to take into account the demands of these tribal chiefs.

So sending a small force across the Iron Wall is one way to win them over.

And it could slow down the Rocco reinforcements.

It's just that the barbarians underestimated the difficulty of the siege, and the main focus of the Iron Wall over the years was to guard against the Kingdom of the Holy Cross.

So as a northern province, military considerations outweigh commercial considerations.

This central idea of building cities accidentally saved the life of the northern province.

Half a month has passed since the barbarians attacked Iron Wall, and still no progress has been made.

And these marauding squads are very conscious.

When we see Derek's big unit approaching, we join up as soon as we can, and we're ready to evacuate.

At least a certain number would have to be gathered before they would try to make contact with the large Rocco army.

Half a month is enough time for the barbarians to realize the fighting power of Locke's kingdom.

At least the nobles of the northern provinces are not so depraved as to be incapable of carrying knives, quite the contrary... The nobles of the northern provinces are worse than wolves.

Several small bands of barbarian troops quickly converged and retreated according to a predetermined plan.

Although they had some loot with them, they were not too worried about the Lockean army coming after them.