"How long has the tenth thousand-man team been gone?" Count Perez asked those around him.
"It's the second day now."
"Too fast. Or are the barbarians so weak?" While saying this, Count Perez was actually very excited. "Tell Knight Derek that I will record the first merit for him. Let him send the beheaded and captured prisoners here. In addition... this area is also entrusted to him." After the messenger left, he stared at the map again. If the progress of other thousand-man teams was also smooth, then something could be done.
...
Derek received the new order. In fact, the trophies had already been on the way. It was definitely impossible to keep all the spoils for himself. However, if the beheaded and captured prisoners were sent over, then the other trophies could be kept. This was also an unspoken understanding. There might even be a share later, or it could be directly converted into military merits. Although this was the first battle with results and many trophies were obtained, this bit of military merit was still far from enough. Derek rested for a day, left some wounded soldiers behind, and continued on his way. The new mission area was larger and closer to the barbarian army. Obviously, it was even more dangerous. Simon once again led the cavalry to scout the way. Only Derek was so extravagant. Otherwise, elite knights would never do such a job.
"The situation is worse than expected. At least half of the villages have been breached. Even the town has been looted. Currently, a few hundred barbarians are stationed in Sanhe Town." The news brought back by Simon was very bad. As they got closer to the barbarian army, sure enough, there were suddenly more enemies. Moreover, occupying a town meant that there must be basic facilities. Forcing an attack would result in very heavy casualties. And this group of barbarians didn't seem to be without unified command. No matter how capable the other side was, at least they couldn't be easily bullied. Like a bucket of cold water poured down, Derek instantly woke up. Some of his previous thoughts were more like delusions. Although kindness does not command soldiers, if he really gnawed down this hard bone with lives, what would happen next? He never believed that after taking down this group of barbarians and suffering heavy casualties, he would receive a great reward.
"First, eat up the small groups of barbarians around!" Derek chose to directly set up camp next to the large barbarian army. During this period, the barbarians tried to attack while the tenth thousand-man team was still unstable. Unfortunately, Derek, who was fully prepared, gave them a good beating. They left thirty or fifty lives and finally left in dismay. Then the cavalry teams launched fierce attacks. The elite hundred-man infantry team took turns leading one or two hundred-man teams to follow closely. Those small groups of barbarians with only dozens of people had no resistance at all. The barbarians organized a wave of cavalry again, trying to break the deadlock. However, Derek fought with the infantry in a tight formation and forced them back. The two sides exchanged attacks. Each side lost some soldiers. They had some understanding of each other's strength.
"Where did this army come from? Why is it so much stronger than the ones we encountered before?" Donick, the barbarian leader, stood on the low wooden plank wall. He could see that some of the Lockes were staring at him, and some even had the mood to train. If they hadn't fought several times without gaining an advantage, he would definitely lead people to charge out now. As the leader of a small tribe, although the barbarian king grandly gave him the title of baron. But they were still used to living in tribes.
"The order of the grand commander is to delay the progress of the Lockes. We don't need to leave the town." Donick comforted himself. Of course, he would never admit that he was afraid of the other side. In a tribe, the cohesion of warriors was much higher. But as the leader, he also dared not lose too many tribesmen. Otherwise, the tribe might be annexed by others. The system of the barbarian kingdom still retained the original tribal style. Unlike the Kingdom of Locke, there was also a noble senate to guarantee inheritance rights. The barbarians huddled in the town, and Derek was not polite. While leading people to sweep the small groups of barbarians around, he crossed the defense area and moved in the direction of Ironwall City. From here to the north, at most three days' journey was Ironwall City. The barbarian army was not far from here. There were even more barbarians there, and more towns and villages had been breached. Although there were no major victories, the barbarian headquarters could not turn a blind eye to the frequent attacks by the army of the Kingdom of Locke. In the end, all the pressure fell on the barbarians below. Unfortunately, after several charges, he still couldn't do anything about Derek's army with fewer people. As time passed, other thousand-man teams also advanced to very close places. And one or two thousand-man teams launched fierce attacks and recovered the lost ground at the cost of huge casualties. Other thousand-man teams also began to learn from Derek and continuously advanced and harassed. It was obvious that the number of barbarian troops still active outside had decreased a lot, and even the offensive on Ironwall City had been affected. Derek, bit by bit, took down more than a hundred beheaded again. Then... a new army arrived.
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"Ollie Palmer, thousand-man commander of the eighth thousand-man team of the temporary First Legion of the northern province." The guy standing in front of him with the title of baron looked very kind. Saying he was a soldier was more like a businessman. Derek quickly made a simple judgment.
"Your Excellency Baron, hello. I am Feng • Derek, the thousand-man commander of the tenth thousand-man team of the temporary Second Legion of the northern province." The two got to know each other briefly. Baron Palmer then showed Count Pereira's order.
"The task of our two thousand-man teams is to break through the town in front of us and then continue to advance."
"What's the purpose? How far do we need to advance?"
"As far as possible. It would be even better if we could reach Ironwall City." Palmer obviously knew the meaning of this order. There was a wry smile on his face.
"Knight Derek, this time we have to take care of each other. We must not be defeated here." Palmer felt that this move was very dangerous. As bait, they might be in danger of being wiped out accidentally. But Derek felt that there might be an opportunity.
"What we need to do now is to first eliminate the enemy in front of us." Derek's eyes were firm. These days were not in vain. He had some understanding of the situation of the barbarians in the town.
"There are only about five hundred barbarians in the town. And after several defeats, their morale is not high. With a fierce attack, it should be possible to take it." Derek was confident. As soon as Baron Palmer heard this, he was happy.
"Then let's attack from two directions each. Let's strive to take it down as soon as possible. How about it?" Derek was sure that this guy really had no military common sense at all. Surrounding on three sides and leaving one side open. Don't pursue desperate enemies. This was the most basic operation. Once it was determined that there was no hope of escape, the barbarians would fight to the death. Even if they won, the losses would be heavy. So Derek subtly reminded: "Your Excellency Baron Palmer, you should have never served in the army before, right?" Baron Palmer might not have experience, but he was not stupid. He immediately understood Derek's meaning and answered honestly: "No. To be honest, this is the first time in the entire history of my family to participate in a war." He didn't know where he had said something wrong. But he understood that professional things should be left to professionals. He still needed to learn slowly. So he said straightforwardly: "Knight Derek, why don't you command this time? I heard that you once served in the Pereira Knights. Just let me see the demeanor of the northern knights. How about it?"