Chapter 252: Urgent Intelligence

Just over the first week of June, as Luoning was preparing to announce who he would take to Chishan Town, a Letter Bird flying over from Wushan Castle changed his mind.

"Is the Bolante Bandit Group coordinating with the Black Gold Brotherhood?"

The content of the letter was none other than news regarding the Black Gold Brotherhood; this force had gathered troops on the southeastern border of Wushan Territory and had even begun to harass neighboring noble territories.

"Ruidar, what do you think?"

Ruidar took the letter, read it carefully twice, and only after a moment of contemplation did he voice his opinion.

"My Lord, there are two possibilities. The first is as you just said: the Bolante Bandit Group and the Black Gold Brotherhood are in contact, and they are coordinating their actions. One side takes the opportunity to occupy Chishan Town, while the other uses the chance to apply pressure from the southeast, forcing Wushan Castle to disperse its forces and fight a two-front war."

"However, there is a second possibility: these two forces have no connection at all. The Black Gold Brotherhood heard the news that the Bolante Bandit Group had occupied Chishan Town, felt it was a good opportunity, and thus stationed troops at the border to wait for their moment."

Although Luoning felt the first scenario was more likely, the second was not impossible.

After all, the Black Gold Brotherhood's actions came after those of the Bolante Bandit Group; if the two were truly allied, they should have acted at roughly the same time.

If one side occupied Chishan Town, even if the other did not launch a surprise attack to seize a piece of territory, they would at least have made some move, rather than waiting nearly ten days to report the news of troops being stationed at the border as they had now.

"But regardless of which possibility it is, Earl Wiggins's plan to use his numerical advantage to steamroll the Bolante Bandit Group and quickly retake Chishan Town seems destined to fail."

Luoning nodded.

It was precisely because of this that Wiggins had sent this letter to the various lords again, demanding an increase in war preparations while summoning nobles, both great and small, to Wushan Fortress on June 12th to discuss the expedition.

"My Lord, as far as I know, this Black Gold Brotherhood suffered a defeat in last year's campaign and had to give up several territories they had previously occupied. It is highly suspicious that they still have the energy to provoke Wushan Ridge this year."

As the affairs of the territory moved onto the right track, Ruidar, Maiken, and the others would actively learn about the relevant forces in Wushan Ridge and even the Auduin Kingdom, in addition to training the troops and cultivating.

Especially with the recent rise of war, Ruidar had even held a private meeting, having the three knights from Muma City—Luogena, Kelami, and Geladuo—explain the information regarding these two forces in great detail.

"Ruidar, do not doubt your judgment; they both have other forces supporting them from behind. Especially this Black Gold Brotherhood—do not look at the fact that the territory they occupy is only the size of two Viscount territories; they have quite a number of Knight Squads under their command."

For a force supported by someone behind the scenes, one could not simply judge its strength by the scale and prosperity of its territory.

"The Black Gold Brotherhood is not our enemy this time; our opponent is the Bolante Bandit Group."

He had already finalized the plan with Wiggins; even if the Black Gold Brotherhood caused trouble, Luoning would only be setting out for Chishan Town.

It was just that things were different now; without so many troops available, Luoning needed to bring more men to ensure he could take Chishan Town, unlike before when he only took a few people.

"Ruidar, how is our Knight Squad armed?"

"Currently, Iron Wood Shields, iron helmets, and spears are equipped for everyone with some to spare. The cavalry's lamellar armor is fully prepared, and the infantry and archers have their chest guards, but there is still a significant shortage of lamellar armor."

Luoning frowned slightly as he listened to the report.

With the expansion of the population, the scale of the Ironwood Workshop had grown several times over compared to before, and the quantity of equipment and armor produced each month was now quite considerable.

It was just that this war had broken out too suddenly; if it had been two months later, perhaps even the infantry could have been equipped with lamellar armor.

"I will have Wilson urge the Ironwood Workshop to increase production over the next month or so, so that our soldiers can be as well-equipped as possible before they go to the battlefield."

Ruidar was startled, "My Lord, are we deploying a Knight Squad this time?"

"Yes!"

Luoning answered affirmatively: "Besides myself, twelve Transcendental will be deployed, and the cavalry, infantry, and archers will be arranged according to the normal scale."

Originally, he had only wanted to tag along with the Wushan Castle troops and take just a few trusted aides.

But the situation was different now; with Wushan Castle having to split its forces, retaking Chishan Town was no longer a certainty.

If they suffered a defeat, let alone the matter of the Chishan Iron Mine, Luoning's reputation as a commander would likely not sound very good either.

So, after some thought, Luoning changed his original plan and decided to set out with his own Knight Squad.

Combat would certainly involve casualties, and Luoning had spent a great deal of energy and money to cultivate this Knight Squad.

But if these soldiers only trained in the territory and never experienced the slaughter of the battlefield, their combat level could never truly improve, and Wubei Territory would never be able to obtain a battle-hardened force.

Of course, Luoning was not going to let his troops charge blindly. As the battlefield commander, he could manage to choose a weaker direction of attack for his own troops.

"There is still some time before we truly go to the battlefield; you and Maiken continue training according to the usual plan."

Luoning instructed: "Additionally, you must inspire their confidence. As long as this battle is won, everyone who participates will receive generous rewards—money, land, all of it!"

If he could successfully take the iron mine, then distributing some spoils of war to the soldiers would be nothing.

Moreover, through this battle, the weapons and equipment produced by the Ironwood Workshop would become known to the world.

The cost of getting a set of iron equipment for all the cavalry and infantry was enormous, and not all nobles could afford it.

But if they used Iron-wood Equipment, perhaps they could consider it.

Although armor made of wood was somewhat afraid of fire, the Ironwood Lamellar Armor was not wood that would ignite at a single touch; even if the soldiers stood in a fire, it would take several seconds to catch fire.

Unless the opponent had a Magician capable of casting large-scale fire attacks like a Flame Beam, the disadvantage was not that obvious.

"I understand!"

Ruidar nodded solemnly.

Ever since the formation of the Wubei Territory Knight Squad was officially confirmed, the selected cavalry, infantry, and archers had devoted most of their time and energy to training.

In addition to learning discipline and obedience, these soldiers had also learned quite a few combat techniques from Ruidar, Maiken, and the others; after several internal competitions, they still possessed some combat effectiveness.

Of course, their strength certainly had a gap compared to battle-hardened veterans, but they were much stronger than the militia temporarily dragged onto the battlefield.

"I hope Wubei Territory can develop quickly under the Lord's leadership; that way, I will have more soldiers to train!"

Ruidar thought silently to himself. (End of chapter)