The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

Chapter 124 Tough Guy

To be honest, this was the first time Lowry had encountered Doug's army that dared to take the initiative.

Unlike the Northern army that Laurie had encountered before, this army was well-trained and clearly had a high level of discipline. The professional soldiers and ordinary soldiers worked together seamlessly, making it a model of the ideal army during the reign of Grand Duke Lars.

"They seem to be the garrison of Silverwing City."

Darcy, acting as a scout, observed the army's retreat route and reported back to Laurie.

In addition to the Third Army, the First Army under Laurie's command has also gradually entered the battlefield. Laurie's main task now is to work with White to clear out the towns that can aid the Pétain Line.

With the city of Black Iron City secured, the Grey Collar army's operations in the western regions became much easier. When attacking other cities, Laurie didn't even need to rush; he could simply set up camp in other villages and towns around the city.

When food was scarce, in addition to waiting for supplies, people could also buy it directly. Laurie could even promote Linde's Land Distribution Act in these villages and towns, directly staging a wave of land redistribution from the wealthy.

Whether it was overconfidence in the Pétain Line or a complete lack of understanding of the concept, even with the Gray Collar army already advancing, these important cities showed no intention of implementing a scorched-earth policy, resulting in the First and Third Armies freely moving between these cities.

Thanks to their excellent military discipline and the fact that they actually distributed land, these villages and towns welcomed the gray-collar army with open arms.

This approach was fully affirmed by Lind, who even specifically praised Laurie.

Laurie originally thought that the last Silverwing City would be like the previous towns, which could be taken down with a couple of shots, but he didn't expect that as soon as he entered Silverwing City's territory, Laurie would realize that something was wrong.

The towns surrounding Silverwing City are deserted and starving. It turns out that the Dogg army has actually carried out a scorched-earth policy, and it's likely that they did so voluntarily.

What Laurie didn't expect was that, in addition to implementing a scorched-earth policy, the other side also launched an attack, even deploying the classic Lars Knights with their squires in a charge.

Moreover, the enemy's squires carried muskets to provide cover for their charging knights, and some knights were followed by spellcasters responsible for outputting damage. It was practically a replica of the tactics that the Gray Collar used to employ, except that they didn't bombard the enemy with cannons before engaging in battle.

You can always trust Lars Knight, who charges ahead – simple, efficient, easy to use, and most importantly, incredibly durable.

Even with a generational difference in equipment, the knights charging ahead absorbed most of the damage thanks to their own domain and successfully attacked the vanguard of the First Army Group.

In the end, the losses were not significant, and the enemy's charge was also tough, with several elite professionals sacrificing their lives. From the results, Laurie's side did not lose.

But Laurie still couldn't accept it. This was the first time such a situation had occurred since the declaration of war, which made Laurie wary. The Doug Army wasn't all useless. Just like the Northern Army in the past, even if nine out of ten officers and knights were useless, there was still one who was really capable.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have been entangled with the demons at the border for so long.

Looking at the bound prisoners, Laurie clicked his tongue. Surprisingly, most of them were professionals, and the majority were Lars Knights.

This already reveals some clues. Generally speaking, even if the other side knows that only professionals can successfully cover the rear, in such tense situations, very few professionals will actually step forward to cover the rear instead of sending their entourage.

The enemy's men are all highly skilled in military matters.

Laurie sat in the camp and asked, "Who exactly is the general of your Silverwing City's garrison?"

But the knights' answers were all the same: "Northerners don't fight Northerners."

No matter what Laurie asked or who she asked, the answer was always the same.

Laurie laughed upon hearing this answer and nodded, saying, "That's right, Northerners don't fight Northerners."

Laurie quickly realized that this was a pre-arranged strategy. "Don't you rebels like to wave the banner of 'Northerners but not Northerners'? My prisoners are also Northerners, so what do you say?"

If you dare to torture prisoners, then I can completely tear down your banner and prove it's fake. There's no such thing as Northmen not fighting Northmen. Everyone should still resist and fight.

However, the other side probably didn't expect that the slogan of the gray-collar workers was true, and Laurie never intended to do anything to the prisoners from the beginning.

The prisoners, who had already prepared themselves for torture, entered the prisoner-of-war camp with a head full of questions. During this time, the soldiers in charge of guarding them repeatedly told the prisoners what they could not do, and that if they did, the guards would not show any mercy—that is, they would be shot.

After all, most of these prisoners were professionals, and although they were chained, Laurie still dared not be careless.

But the questions surrounding these prisoners didn't decrease; in fact, they increased. The conditions in the prisoner-of-war camp weren't much worse than those of ordinary soldiers, yet these people actually treated prisoners well. Although the prisoners had many rules, the soldiers guarding them also had rules. The prisoners could even report the guards for abusing them.

"It's only because you're also from the North that they're so kind to us when we're fighting against the demons."

The soldiers in charge of guarding the prisoners left, leaving the prisoners looking at each other in bewilderment.

At night, Hammond, with his scouts, observed the First Army's camp from a distance.

Unlike some generals who had never fought a war, Hammond was not a seasoned veteran, but he was still very experienced and liked to personally go to the battlefield to scout.

Although the rebel camp in the distance was heavily guarded even at night, Hammond felt that there might still be an opportunity. The tactic of raiding a camp at night is never outdated, especially against an arrogant and isolated army like the enemy.

Hammond understood that simply defending would only lead to the city gates being blasted open by cannons, just like other cities. To truly stop these rebels, he had to take the initiative.

Hammond also didn't want to fight in the streets, but for a different reason than Keith. The city was full of people he had recruited through a scorched-earth policy, and Hammond didn't believe in the idea that Northmen don't fight Northmen; it was just a verbal promise used by the rebellious governor to induce surrender.

War is not child's play; if Hammond cannot defend against external enemies, then he has already lost.

As for support—never trust your teammates, a lesson Hammond learned from his long career fighting the Daedric.

Nodding to the scout beside him, Hammond returned to his position, put on his helmet and armor, and called out his elite troops.

Although Hammond found during his reconnaissance that the enemy's scouts were impeccably positioned, making it difficult to find a perfect angle to bypass their line of sight.

However, the moonlight tonight is not bright, and is even somewhat gloomy. It is unlikely that there will be such a good opportunity again after tonight. Moreover, we can take advantage of tonight to rescue the brothers who were captured today. If it is any later, Hammond is worried that the prisoners will either be tortured to death or transferred.

Those were all valuable professionals who had fought alongside Hammond for a long time. Hammond believed that if he made a big enough commotion, his captured brothers might be able to come to his aid.

With a coordinated attack from within and without, we can definitely turn these rebels upside down.

Opportunity knocks but once. Unless the enemy camp has reconnaissance specialists operating at full power late at night, Hammond doesn't think any army could react to this night raid so quickly. No army! Not even the Demon race at its peak.

In Hammond's eyes, the enemy was nothing more than a bunch of child soldiers who could only crush their opponents with their weapons and equipment and had never actually fought a real battle. How could they possibly compare to his own army that had fought against the demons?

If it weren't for his overly straightforward personality, which made him unpopular with the nobles, Hammond, with his strength, should have been the most important garrison commander of Black Iron City.

However, Hammond was eventually assigned to Silverwing, a city that was not very important, because there was not much to gain there. Otherwise, Hammond might not have even been able to get a job in Silverwing.

Hammond had no complaints. He did whatever the lord asked him to do. It was the same during the time of Grand Duke Lars, and it was the same now that the lord had changed. It was simply a matter of loyalty to the lord, nothing more.

"Prepare for a surprise attack!"

Hammond donned his visor, raised a spear in one hand and a musket in the other, spurred his horse forward, and was the first to charge.