novelraw Chapter 10: Retreat Route Cut Off
Chapter 10: Retreat Route Cut Off
Fabio and several other officers were in the tea room, cursing out the commanders of the Billie Kingdom.
"What complete idiots! How could they wait ten days after being trapped before notifying us for rescue?"
"The enemy has already built fortifications and taken all advantageous positions—how are we supposed to save them now!"
"Damn it! These pigs are blaming us for the mistake! The person handling the supply transfer with our transport team was a noble from their Billie Kingdom, and the receipt for the supplies even bears the Allied Forces' seal!"
"Fools! Did they sell their seal at a brothel? The Billie people are truly a bunch of morons!"
At this point, Fabio turned to Henwil who was pouring tea and said, "Sorry, Henwil, you know we're talking about those stupid commanders—no offense meant toward you!"
Henwil didn't respond, only offering a polite yet somewhat awkward smile.
Henwil had heard from Kavizé yesterday that an allied army unit had advanced lightly equipped and suddenly inserted itself between Kuka City and Plains City, establishing a foothold in a small town.
Regular legion movement speeds weren't particularly fast—soldiers couldn't march long distances in armor without developing numerous wounds from chafing.
Thus, during legion movements, supply wagons always followed, carrying metal armor along with necessary provisions.Soldiers only donned their armor when approaching combat zones.
Therefore, the Allied Forces hadn't paid much attention to these lightly equipped allied troops without armor, assuming they were just farmer-turned-soldiers deployed to delay their operations. After all, in this feudal era, the combat effectiveness of armored versus unarmored troops wasn't even comparable.
The Allied Forces frontline command analyzed that these lightly equipped units were merely harassing supply lines, lacking the courage to actually attack them.
And indeed, as they predicted, these forces didn't assault the armored supply escort teams.
Instead, they converged directly at a small town called Fire Eye.
This town was originally called Goods Eye, formed as a gathering point for north-south cargo transshipment.
During winter snowstorms, merchant caravans would stop here for shelter.
Then a heating accident caused a massive fire that burned the place to bare ground.
Afterwards, under the coordination of major merchant groups and the Ika Kingdom, a small town was rebuilt to prevent such tragedies from recurring.
Due to its nature as a trading post, the town hosted numerous merchant caravans and was actually quite spacious with adequate defenses.
Many merchant groups built warehouses beneath their purchased properties for temporary goods storage.
Logically, this small town located along the supply route should have been occupied.
But due to the war, merchant caravans had stagnated, and this trade-dependent town quickly became depopulated.
There was no profit to be gained here anymore!
More importantly, the Allied Forces currently suffered from troop shortages and couldn't maintain a transfer station here.
There were no slaves or prisoners of war to handle labor, and managing this place with conscripted noble troops would be disastrous.
Thus, when the allied forces gathered here, they occupied the entire town with almost no effort.
And this small town rapidly became a crucial strategic point in the campaign due to the 100,000-strong Allied Forces attacking Kuka City.
The allied forces even obtained Allied Forces seals, using captured Allied nobles to receive several supply shipments from Plains City.
After twenty days without supplies, the Allied Forces frontline realized something was wrong.
They immediately dispatched a military unit to return and investigate.
This several-thousand-strong force then encountered interception and annihilation by the allied forces at Fire Eye Town.
Occupying advantageous high ground and outnumbering their opponents, they dealt the Allied Forces unit a crushing defeat.
Only then did the Allied Forces recognize the severity of the situation, sending out cavalry scouts for reinforcements while organizing more troops to eliminate this small town.
But after several failed assaults, Kuka City's defenders began showing signs of preparing pursuit operations.
This forced the Allied Forces to consolidate their forces to prevent being caught between two fronts during retreat.
Now Fabio and others were cursing the Billie Kingdom commanders' stupidity for leaving only a few hundred troops guarding such an important location.
The Billie Kingdom was blaming the Worui Duchy for not securing the supply routes, allowing such heavily armored forces to appear so brazenly on their retreat path.
The Worui Duchy officers found this utterly unacceptable.
They conducted daily cavalry reconnaissance—it was impossible for nearly ten thousand regular troops to evade detection and reach that area.
The Worui Duchy officers unanimously believed the Billie Kingdom's troops were simply incompetent, struggling even against the Ika Kingdom's conscripted serf armies, thus exaggerating the enemy's strength.
Now the Allied Forces command was ordering the Third Legion stationed at Plains City—the Silent Battleaxe Legion—to advance to Fire Eye Town.
The Allied Forces would simultaneously dispatch another legion for a pincer attack to eliminate this obstructive town.
Have the Allied Forces detour around?
Obviously impossible!
Not only could the Allied Forces not retreat via detour, but the supply lines couldn't be rerouted either.
This wasn't just about distance—it was about road conditions.
Moreover, Fire Eye Town's presence threatened nearly a hundred-mile radius—how enormous a detour would that require?!
Therefore, whether continuing the attack on Kuka City or retreating to Plains City, this obstacle had to be eliminated first.
After the officers had all left, Kavizé stopped Henwil: "Speak up! I know you've figured something out! I haven't treated you badly! You can't screw me over, can you!"
Seeing Henwil remain silent, Kavizé rolled his eyes: "You brat, have you forgotten my life-saving grace? You definitely know why Fire Eye Town is so difficult to deal with!
My death won't benefit you—at least not now!"
After hesitating momentarily, Henwil said: "It's just speculation! Not necessarily accurate!"
"Speak! I'm not asking you to tell the Allied Forces commanders—I'll judge its validity myself!"
Henwil lowered his head: "Fire Eye Town is a warehouse-style city with numerous secret storage facilities that merchant groups used for supply storage. I suspect the Allied Forces haven't discovered these warehouses yet!"
Kavizé froze momentarily, then held his head: "Damn it! Hell! This is a trap!"
He had already figured out what was happening!
The Billie Kingdom hadn't lied—there were indeed fully organized regular legions there with complete weaponry and equipment.
As for why the Worui Duchy's cavalry scouts hadn't detected them—those farmer-turned-soldiers they'd seen earlier were actually the regular troops all along.
They had advanced lightly equipped, then upon reaching Fire Eye Town, rearmed themselves using weapons and equipment hidden in the warehouses!
Kavizé: "Do you know how much those warehouses can hold?"
Henwil: "I heard from my father that a single large merchant group's warehouse could store enough equipment to arm several thousand troops. As for how many warehouses there are—I don't know exactly, but I can say there are many!"
Kavizé rubbed his forehead: "We're finished! The war is about to end!"