Chapter 261: Marching Problems

Early the next morning, after finishing breakfast, the Noble Allied Forces stationed north of Jushi Territory formed up and set off.

Although every noble's contingent had a designated person in charge, when these troops converged and marched toward Jushi City simultaneously, problems arose with the march.

After all, there was only one road; if everyone wanted to walk it, congestion was inevitable, and if things went poorly, a contingent might even get scattered, with a few here and a few there.

Luoning had originally intended to wait until they reached Jushi City to worry about organizing the troops, but faced with this situation, he, as the commander, needed to do something.

First, he had Ruidar, Maiken, and others order all contingents to stand by in place, and with the Wubei Territory Knight Squad maintaining order, he waited for one noble's contingent to fully hit the road before the next noble's troops followed.

Second, Luoning also had Jennie and Kelami go to the front of the column in advance, and as each contingent passed by them, they registered the detailed information of the contingent:

Such as the identity of the leader, the strength of the contingent, the specific numbers of main combatants and logistics personnel, and so on.

Although this process was not fast, at least after this series of operations, the chaotic troops could be considered to have preliminary order.

"I originally thought the matter of the march would give Luoning a headache; I didn't expect him to resolve it quite quickly."

The One-armed Lone Wolf German was somewhat surprised.

Although Luoning's method was not complex, for someone on the battlefield for the first time and serving as commander, it was already very good that he could find a solution so quickly.

"Compared to Weijinsi, Luoning seems to be more adept in this regard."

Mawen, who was beside him, could not help but nod.

As deputy commander, his main duty was to assist Luoning when the attack began; as for matters regarding the march, he did not care much.

In fact, even if Luoning made no arrangements, the Noble Allied Forces would still reach Jushi City while clamoring, it would just be a matter of slower speed or some friction occurring.

While the two were talking, Ruidar rode over and politely reminded them: "Baron German, it is your turn!"

German nodded in acknowledgment, then signaled his subordinate, Knight Andeliya, to lead the contingent to follow the previous one, while he himself looked the Wubei Territory commander up and down.

"Knight Ruidar, that shout of yours just now was no simple feat; I wonder what your current strength is?"

It was precisely Ruidar's roar, which sounded like a dragon's bellow, that had calmed the chaotic situation.

It was also this roar that let the noble's troops know this knight was not to be trifled with, which was why they raised no objections to the arrangements.

Ruidar smiled slightly and did not answer the question directly, "Perhaps when we reach the battlefield, Baron German will know."

"Haha, then I shall have to take a good look when the time comes."

German did not ask further and left with his contingent.

"Your Excellency Viscount, your contingent is arranged at the very end," Ruidar reminded.

"No problem."

Mawen instructed: "Talun, you are responsible for leading the contingent; I will go see Luoning."

"Very well, my lord."

At this moment, Luoning was riding on a Tayunjv, observing the empty campsite after the allied forces had left.

A night had passed, and a lot of trash and excrement had been left behind, like a tourist spot after some holiday, a complete mess.

It was fortunate that they had only camped here for one night; if they had stayed for a few more days, hygiene would have become a major problem.

For a Transcendental, this was not a critical matter, after all, their constitutions were strong and they would not easily fall ill.

But for ordinary people like infantry, cavalry, and logistics personnel, that was not necessarily the case; if not handled well and a plague broke out, that would be troublesome.

"Luoning, what are you looking at?" Mawen walked over.

"I am thinking about how to handle the hygiene issues during marches and camping."

Luoning looked toward Mawen, and thinking that the other party was a veteran of many battles, he asked: "I wonder how you handled it when you fought in the past?"

Mawen clearly did not expect to be asked this question; he rubbed his chin and pondered.

In the past, when marching, he had not paid much attention to this aspect.

"When we set up camp, we generally choose to be downstream from the water source to keep the water source clean."

He pointed to the trash on the mountain: "As for these things, I don't think you need to worry too much. If it's truly too dirty, we just move to another place; anyway, the wilderness is so vast that setting up a new tent is much more convenient than trying to find a way to deal with them."

"That... is indeed one way."

Although he said that, Luoning frowned slightly.

This approach of Mawen's was suitable for troops that were not large in number and were flexible in movement.

Once there were many people—it didn't need to be many more, just over four or five thousand—when the difficulty of moving increased, it was still more convenient to camp in place.

And when it truly came to a standoff where an attack could happen at any time, where would there be time to move positions every few days?

But wanting to solve the camp hygiene problem was also difficult.

After all, logistics personnel came from all over, their quality varied, and some only knew how to obey the orders of their own superiors, which made commanding them troublesome.

"I will wait until we enter Jushi City and Tolu, Keruien, and the others have all arrived before we discuss and decide."

The Noble Allied Forces surged into Jushi City in a mighty torrent, and the anxious citizens, upon seeing this massive force, finally felt their hanging hearts drop.

They no longer had to worry about the threat of the Bolante Bandit Group.

Tolu, Keruien, and their men had long been waiting outside the city; they would arrange for people to lead the contingents to continue forward and camp in the pre-arranged area south of Jushi City, waiting for the next move.

Luoning and the other nobles and contingent leaders would stay and rest at Jushi Castle.

"Hahaha, welcome to Jushi City, Viscount of Wubei Territory, Commander Luoning!"

Keruien laughed as he came up to greet them, first saying hello to Luoning, then acknowledging Mawen.

His appearance looked more like a host welcoming guests than a defeated man who had suffered serious injuries.

Luoning bowed politely and asked with concern: "I heard Baron Keruien was seriously injured; looking at you now, you have recovered quite well?"

"Thank you for your concern; I have already recovered."

Keruien restrained his smile and said sternly: "In this war, everything will follow your arrangements, Commander. I will do my best to make up for the mistakes made at Chishan Town. But before that, please allow me to host everyone as the master of Jushi Territory!"

Luoning naturally would not refuse such a thing, and he saw that the remaining noble knights were already prepared to have a full meal at Jushi Castle; if he refused, it would only invite resentment from everyone.

Next, led by Keruien, the group walked into Jushi Castle.

This was a castle much more magnificent and solid than Zhaozebao; it was not hard to see that Keruien's financial resources were substantial.

Although danger lurked everywhere outside and the Bolante Bandit Group was watching like a tiger eyeing its prey, the liveliness of the luncheon did not diminish in the slightest; Keruien even spoke of the arrangements for the dinner in advance.

Fighting is a matter for tomorrow; one should still enjoy themselves today.

After everyone had their fill of food and wine, they were arranged to rest in their respective rooms.

"My lord, this is the situation that Kelami and I have tallied; please take a look."

Luoning took the parchment from Jennie's hand and began to read it carefully.

The Noble Allied Forces consist of 53 groups in total, with 1,855 combatants and 7,421 logistics personnel.

Among the combatants, there are 95 Professional Knights, including 3 Silver Knights, 8 Bronze Knights, 14 Advanced Knights, 25 Intermediate, and 45 Primary.

The Bronze and Silver grades only add up to 11 people?

Luoning's left eyelid twitched; he had already anticipated that the number of Transcendentals would not be high, but he had not expected it to be this low.

Fortunately, the First Knight Order, the Fifth Knight Order, and the men from Wubei Territory were not included in the count; otherwise, with only this many people, he would not know how to fight this battle. (End of chapter)