Chapter 1423 - 765: Welcome to... Hell!

Chapter 1423: Chapter 765: Welcome to... Hell!

The neatly dressed knights emerged, clad in well-maintained, full metal armor gleaming with metallic luster. Each donned a surcoat to distinguish their identity, commanding their high horses surrounded by escorts, exuding a majestic presence.

The ordinary soldiers watched the knights’ figures with growing ambition and yearning, they too dreamed of achieving greatness and becoming knights.

Onlookers felt their hearts swell with excitement; with such powerful knights, what could possibly defeat them!

The Baron was not skilled at war, but he was adept at misleading the common people.

Although the situation outside was dire, news was tightly controlled, and most of the populace was unaware of what was happening outside; they only knew that the advantage was ours!

However, the knights appeared very serious, while the Baron returned to the manor after watching the troops depart, his public appearance of defiance gone, his expression filled with anxiety and unease.

The enormous gap between ordinary people and the Baron perfectly illustrated "the fearless are ignorant"; they had never been to the battlefield nor killed anyone, yet fantasized about rising above all through killing.

But now they had no choice, eagerly following the knights onto the battlefield...

Most of the terrain south of Hamlet was plains, the environment at most comprised dense forests, with any mountains being mere hills, precluding any possibility of turning the tide through terrain; it was simply a straight advance.

However, there was no major road, only uneven dirt paths barely wide enough for two carriages. The advancing army stretched into a long snake-like formation.

The artillery and baggage were drawn by carriages on the road, acting as targets for those lurking in secret, as both sides’ scouts began clashing in the shadows.

The Baron’s men were not all useless; having suffered several losses, they smartly learned, choosing attackers familiar with the surrounding environment. Their ambushes were hit-and-run tactics, evidently aiming for attrition.

The cavalry dispersed into small squads of threes and twos, patrolling against possible ambushes, consistently repelling enemy harassment attempts.

The woods contained not only enemies but numerous dark traps; evidently, the Baron had not abandoned any opportunity to secure victory during this time.

Among these were quite a few mercenaries, a simple interrogation revealed their high asking price; it turns out mercenaries prioritize money over life.

But those guys, now captured, were likely unable to claim their payment. Severely injured ones were dealt with directly, while lightly injured ones received simple treatment, with their toes amputated conveniently, followed by an indefinite labor camp life awaiting them.

Hamlet’s Army’s advancing speed did not change due to the harassment, even easily crushing several temporary military fortifications.

Finally, they reached the battlefield selected by the Baron, a farm outside a town, evidently reinforced in recent days, surrounded by vast harvested farmland, essentially flat land filled with traps, unsuitable for cavalry charges.

Inside the farm, soldiers relied on buildings for defense. Compared to Hamlet’s Army, wearied from continuous travel, their condition seemed better, at least superficially.

Barton rode ahead, accompanied by Reynard, neither eager to attack, instead focusing their attention on the farm ahead.

"Just spent greatly along the way arranging personnel to harass us, now they’re shrinking back, it seems they lack confidence."

"They want to rely on fortifications to counterattack; if we want to take down this farm, it’ll be quite challenging. If the losses are too great, ensuing battles will be troublesome."

The farm buildings were evidently fortified, the piled bricks possibly dismantled from somewhere by the Baron, clearly aware of our inferior light artillery capability, intending to deplete us or drag us into farm interior slugfests, negating Hamlet’s artillery advantage.

"We can directly abandon this place and feign attack on the town, forcing them into field battle; if they dare not come out, we can straightforwardly capture the town, leaving them without a retreat and starving for a few days until submission."

"Fire attack is feasible, given the current weather, igniting a spark could start a fire, infiltrating at night..."

The two effortlessly listed several solutions for dealing with the farm, each executable, yet they didn’t choose any flashy tactics, for one reason only, they were waiting...

Sure enough, after a brief wait, an unknown falcon flew in and perched atop Barton’s horse’s head, its sharp claws and unfamiliar sensation instinctively prompted the horse to shake its head.

The falcon spread its wings to hover, its intelligent eyes looked at Barton, with something in its beak, landing into his hand, before flying off again.

Upon unfolding the paper, he glanced at it, then handed it to Reynard.

It turned out to be a map of traps laid on the flatland ahead, detailing the personnel disposition within the farm.

Evidently, we had someone infiltrated into the high ranks, otherwise obtaining such information wasn’t possible.

"Then let’s do it!"

Reynard nodded in response, knowing the opportunity had arrived.

The previously mentioned ways were all better, but they didn’t have much time to waste on these matters; upon obtaining the map, they immediately launched an attack.

Of course, it wasn’t going to be the cavalry reconnoitering; currently, no one could confirm the intelligence’s accuracy, deploying engineers to disarm traps, essentially violently triggering them, not needing to clear them all, only need to carve a path leading to the farm.