novelraw Chapter 511: Joint Defense of Siyuan Keep
Chapter 511: Joint Defense of Siyuan Keep
Siyuan Keep was only sixty li away from Liwei Keep.
If taking the waterway, going downstream was very convenient.
Taking the main road was also convenient; one could reach it by first going to Kahndorf Fortress and then crossing that temporarily constructed Pontoon Bridge.
But the march route Li Wei chose was, after crossing the Ness River, to head directly west over a mountain ridge, cross through two valleys and a forest, and then cross over two more mountains before arriving at Siyuan Keep. The journey was nearly 150 li, and the roads were hard to travel.
This area could be said to be the favorite of the Scout profession. The vegetation was dense, the terrain was complex, with jagged rocks, high mountains, and steep paths—it was simply extreme.
But Li Wei did this intentionally.
He led a large army, Brandishing Power, and circled this area for two full laps. A journey that should have been 150 li was directly stretched to five hundred li. In one breath, he forcefully drove out three Scouts hiding in this area, who likely belonged to three different factions.
After all, he was leading an army of one thousand six hundred men. No matter what rank of Scout or Ranger you were, being discovered meant death.
In a sense, for these Scouts, this could be considered a Dimensional Strike.
"Damn it, what are you so smug about? I don't believe you can stroll around here with a large army every day. I, alone, tricked a whole bunch of your people into fighting me. I clearly made a profit!"In the distance, a Fourth-Tier Ranger who was forced to retreat over a hundred li cursed furiously.
It was too treacherous.
Li Wei was also a Ranger, and also a top-tier Scout. He understood his peers' operational styles and hiding spots all too well.
All his peers felt the anger of being backstabbed!
Ha, To Joke.
But they didn't know that Li Wei's intention was to conceal Li Yue's six hundred Heavy Cavalry.
Currently, all of Li Yue's troops had stored their Warhorses and were putting on an act to disguise themselves as Infantry. The purpose was to maximally deceive the enemy forces. Otherwise, if the enemy opposite knew there was a unit of six hundred Heavy Cavalry, how could that be okay?
This was six hundred Heavy Cavalry, not six hundred Infantry.
The characteristics of the troop type and Profession determined everything.
The enemy might not feel much about five thousand Infantry, but six hundred Heavy Cavalry, no matter whose Faction Intelligence they fell into, were enough to warrant high attention.
And this was also the intention behind Li Yue's near-tantrum persuasion of Li Wei earlier.
The Royal Guard had been formed for too short a time. Even if they were enhanced a wave, they temporarily couldn't play a strategic role. They couldn't be sent on a suicide charge across The Plains. In the future, they would be more suited for positional warfare, defensive warfare, siege warfare, mountain warfare, and guarding Li Wei's castle.
Loyalty was their greatest advantage, but Loyalty couldn't substitute for everything.
Because they just weren't a field combat unit.
But right now, under the grand context of needing to Help Defend Siyuan Fort, and with an endless basin and great plain in front of Siyuan Keep, throwing all Resources into the Cavalry would truly yield immediate results.
Therefore, even though many people had objections to this wave, and even though Li Wei himself didn't quite agree at first, he ultimately chose this route.
Listening to both sides leads to clarity; listening to one side leads to darkness—this was a principle from textbooks.
If one couldn't bear a bit of teasing tone and couldn't listen to a bit of differing opinion, how could they hope to compete for Duke in this Age of Great Strife?
Around three in the afternoon, Li Wei finally ended the sweep of this jungle and led his army to arrive at Siyuan Keep.
This location was actually quite ordinary. In terms of terrain and geographical advantage, it wasn't even a tenth of Kahndorf Fortress across the river. If only a Faction occupied here, no one would build a fortress here.
But now that the two major factions were confronting each other along the Ness River, this location became very important.
At this moment, at the construction site of Siyuan Keep, there were already nearly a thousand Artisans and laborers bustling about. The one thousand two hundred soldiers led by Li Siyuan were encamped on a small hill outside the construction site.
His one thousand two hundred soldiers included eight hundred Heavy Infantry, two hundred Archers, and two hundred Cavalry.
These two hundred Cavalry had originally been incorporated by Falcon Karl into the Fifth Cavalry Battalion, commanded by Tancred, under the name Crimson Knights.
So it could be seen how much importance Falcon Karl attached to Siyuan Keep.
At this time, as Li Wei arrived with his army, two Faction messages also surfaced.
[You arrived at the designated location within the time specified by the Marshal. Required: six hundred men. Actual: one thousand six hundred men. You gained 50 Faction Contribution. You need to encamp at the designated location and are allowed to build fortifications. No matter what, you must ensure the successful construction of Siyuan Keep.]
[Friendly reminder: During this mission, the Marshal will provide your soldiers with a monthly food subsidy of ten thousand Gold Coins, and an equipment subsidy of ten thousand Gold Coins. In addition, your soldiers have the responsibility and obligation to obey Li Siyuan's dispatch and commands. But if you discover an opportunity for battle, you will also have the authority to launch combat plans independently. However, you will bear all consequences. If it causes severe consequences, the Marshal will consider that you had other important matters and went astray on your own, and it will not be the Marshal's responsibility.]
"Whole army listen to my orders, encamp here, build defenses!"
Li Wei shouted, then mounted his horse to visit Li Siyuan first. He had to at least say hello. For the next half a year, until Siyuan Keep was successfully built, everyone still had to maintain a relationship of Unity and Fraternal Love.
"Lord, I think this place is unsuitable for encamping."
He Yibo suddenly spoke up at this time, putting on an act as if he were reciting lines.
"The terrain here is relatively flat without barriers. If the enemy diverts the water of the Ness River to attack, we will all become drowned rats."
"I know, but this is the encamping location designated by the Marshal. It might be disadvantageous for defense, but it can maximally protect the construction of Siyuan Keep. Otherwise, if the enemy charges in with a lightning Cavalry strike, can you stop them from far away?"
"Rest assured, it's not a big problem. We have to believe in our Supply and Engineering Battalion!"
"But then again, we also have to consider things more comprehensively. How about this, He Yibo: you take six hundred men there to build a new camp, making it easier to coordinate."
Li Wei similarly recited some lines pretentiously, then pointed towards the direction they came from. There was a low hill connecting to the mountain range behind it. From all aspects, it was suitable to be used as a defensive position, it was just too far from Siyuan Keep, about fifteen li away.
"Understood!"
He Yibo immediately accepted the order and set off with six hundred men. However, among these six hundred men, three hundred were Heavy Cavalry disguised as Infantry.
The purpose was not just as simple as deceiving the enemy; it was also to deceive their allies.
Because the order the Marshal gave you was to Help Defend Siyuan Fort, you couldn't blatantly Stir Up Trouble.
But the soldiers I brought this time have exceeded the minimum limit; a minimum of six hundred was required and I brought one thousand six hundred. So dividing my forces to defend is not a problem, right? Especially since the defense zone you assigned me is a low-lying flatland.
Anyway, no matter how you looked at it, this was flawless.
Next, Li Wei dawdled for a bit before taking Li Yue and those forty-two Tier-3 Dark Moon Knights. This was the facade of the Blazing Legion and also their most important core combat power.
As for the Blazing Legion soldiers remaining in the camp, they also summoned their Warhorses one after another. No more, no less, it added up to exactly three hundred Warhorses.
Clear as Daylight, all my three hundred Cavalry are here.
Li Siyuan's camp was four li away from where Li Wei needed to encamp, like two great gate gods guarding the left and right of the Siyuan Keep construction site.
At this time, when Li Wei had led his team more than halfway there, Li Siyuan also brought dozens of knights to welcome him.
"Brother Li Wei, I've heard a lot about you! Seeing you today, you truly are a young hero. No wonder Karl is willing to marry his precious daughter to you. If I had a daughter, I would choose you as my son-in-law too."
From far away, Li Siyuan laughed loudly, his enthusiasm turned up to the max.
"Old Brother Li, it is you who are growing stronger with age and proving your worth over time. You are exactly the role model we young people should learn from. Leading my army here to assist in defense today, I'm actually quite anxious inside, terrified of making a mistake and ruining the grand scheme. Old Brother Li, I will still need much guidance from you moving forward!"
Li Wei also threw out free flattery casually. Whether it was appropriate or not, who didn't like hearing pleasant words?
The two dismounted and exchanged another good round of mutual flattery. After the conversation flowed for a while, Li Siyuan casually smiled and said, "Li Wei, I saw you split off a part of your troops earlier. Do you have some kind of plan?"
"What plan could there be? It's just to prevent our retreat path from being cut off. Furthermore, I brought quite a few soldiers this time; they can't all fit in the camp here, and there's the risk of being flooded. I just decided to split the troops, just in case."
"Hehe, that's not bad."
Li Siyuan didn't delve deeper. They were allied forces of equal rank; what was there to delve into?
Besides, one could guess at a glance that Li Wei had another plan. But so what? In the end, they were just Faction allies. As long as it passed on the general rules, there was no way to question it.
Next, both sides exchanged some more pleasantries about looking out for each other, then each rode their horses back.
This could be considered meeting the standard on the Faction side. The Faction Quest to Help Defend Siyuan Fort had no procedural issues, and if anything happened in the future, things could be clearly explained.
Meanwhile, in Li Siyuan's camp, he and his subordinate Tancred were also observing.
"I bet this kid Li Wei has some ideas. As the saying goes, a horse doesn't get fat without night grass, and a man doesn't get rich without unexpected wealth. He wants to Causing Trouble!"
That Tancred laughed. He could see through this kind of trick at a glance. Actually, these little tricks were just auxiliary; to truly gain benefits on the battlefield, one still had to rely on true strength.
"Of course he wants to Causing Trouble. This guy is not a content person. Now his territory is restricted to one place. With Kahndorf Fortress and our Siyuan Keep in front, and Fierzway Fortress blocking the way behind, he has no chance to rebel even if he wanted to, and no space to develop. So it's understandable that he wants to ruthlessly make a profit before Siyuan Keep and Fierzway Fortress are fully built, and before the real great war starts in the future."
"Otherwise, with his status as a vanguard, his foundation will eventually be exhausted, and he'll end up being incorporated in the end."
Li Siyuan sighed. Actually, it wasn't just Li Wei; who among them Followers wasn't like this? In this Age of Great Strife, one had to strive to rise.
"Then should we hitch a ride?" Tancred seemed somewhat interested. In front of Siyuan Keep was a vast plain, perfect for Cavalry to sweep across. Once Li Wei wanted to Causing Trouble, they could entirely take this opportunity to gain some benefits for themselves too. Didn't accumulating foundation rely on War?
"Do not Act Rashly. Our goal is to ensure the construction progress of Siyuan Keep. Li Wei can be willful because he is a vanguard; Falcon Karl won't say anything about whatever little moves he makes. Furthermore, Duke Kaidel's side aren't useless either; they have their own awesome figures. Seeing through Li Wei's little scheme won't be difficult."
"Actually, what I'm more curious about is, why is this Li Wei so confident?"
"Who gave him the courage to think he can jump around like this at a time when a great war is imminent, massive armies from both sides are gathering, and experts are endlessly emerging?"