Chapter 341 The jealousy of the Earl family
"So, defeated...?"
Viscount Fowler did not hear Marquis Faraday's surrender, and he did not need to hear it. Just a pair of eyes was enough to observe the situation on the battlefield.
The golden-red light on the 1,000 heavy cavalry was so dazzling that Fowler could see how they tore apart the Chinese defense line without anyone else reporting it.
The Chinese army's more than 30,000 troops collapsed almost instantly.
Several phalanxes that were originally gathered together have been smashed into scattered sand on the ground. From a distance, it looks like an ant nest that has been dug up. The ground is full of collapsed and scurrying black spots.
Affected by the Chinese battlefield, the already shaken troops under his command also collapsed.
The supervising team could not stop the fleeing soldiers. Some even dropped their weapons and the iron cross sign on the supervising team, and fled together with the soldiers!
Even the defenders in the high wall of Sigh poured out of the city gate in large numbers, squeezing the living space of Eivor's army from the rear.
But even faced with this fact, Fowler still couldn't accept it.
"How could it be defeated? How could it be?"
Before the war started, Fowler had conducted sandbox simulations more than once. Although they would suffer losses more or less, they had never concluded failure.
70,000 versus 10,000, and there were only 3,000 newly surrendered soldiers supporting the opponent's left wing.
There are more heavy armors than the opponent, and there are three priests and knights invited from the Church of Light in the team. No matter what, they should not lose to Raven!
Even in this situation, there was still a messenger who was faithfully performing his duties. He rushed to Fowler and said:
"Earl Palmer died in battle, Marquis Faraday ordered the entire army to surrender!!"
As soon as he said this, the guards and adjutants around Fowler all turned their attention to Fowler, and their expressions seemed to be much more relaxed.
In such a chaotic battlefield, if you really want to escape, you will be killed as a minor character if you get mixed up with the deserters.
Surrendering is a very wise choice.
Moreover, there was Marquis Faraday on his shoulders, so even if they were to be blamed later, they would not be blamed.
But Fowler's palm tightened on the sword at his waist, and veins popped out on the back of his hand as white as a woman's.
The long sword collided with the scabbard, making a rattling sound.
"...You mean, surrender?"
"Yes, my lord."
Fowler staggered, his chest heaving violently.
surrender?
Why should you surrender? How can you surrender? ?
Count Wanda, who guarded the high wall, died in the battle, Count Tudor of the Bolland region committed suicide, and Count Palmer also died in the battle.
And in all these wars, the Marquis Faraday, who had the highest rank, wanted to surrender! ?
You still have the blood of the Eivor family in your veins!
Fowler wanted to fly to the center of the army immediately, put his sword on Faraday's neck, and told him to stand up and not surrender!
But when Fowler glanced around him and saw the eyes and attitudes of the people around him, the anger in his heart gradually disappeared, leaving only helplessness.
"Those of you who want to surrender, please stay where you are." Fowler said lightly:
"But I haven't forgotten that I'm Eivor."
"Give me my order! Those who are willing to surrender should put down their weapons where they are."
"Those who are unwilling to surrender, follow me and retreat! Fight your way out of the siege!"
Some people did not dare to look at Fowler, left their swords and left sadly, but more than half still stayed.
As the order was passed on, not all soldiers were willing to surrender.
Some, like Fowler, cherish the righteousness of their family and country; some simply do not want to be captured and have their fingers cut off; some want to escape from the beginning, and it is better to have Fowler's command and protection than to fight alone.
There were originally three regiments with nearly 17,000 men. Even though many were killed and injured, Fowler still had close to 13,000 men under his command.
But in the end, less than 2,000 people escaped with him.
Fortunately, when night fell, Fowler's men did not suffer much losses, and the main force of the Eagle Army did not follow them.
Because this time, the Eagle Army was not too obsessed with chasing death and chasing north.
A team of 2,000 people wanted to eat it all in one go, unless heavy cavalry penetrated from behind, or an entire Eagle Army of no less than 3,000 people surrounded them.
But after a day of fierce fighting, the soldiers of the Eagle Army were not invulnerable. Shortly after Marquis Faraday announced the news of surrender, most of the Eagle Army simply collapsed on the ground, not caring about the blood on the ground.
Especially the 1st Legion equipped with full armor.
After fighting fiercely for a day, when they took off their armor, they felt as if they had been washed by water. They could drink two or three of the water bags sent by the serfs in one breath.
Some of them fell asleep directly after drinking, and did not wake up no matter how much the auxiliary soldiers and serfs carried and tossed them.
Therefore, the work of gathering prisoners and hunting down fleeing enemies was basically left to the heavy cavalry.
Fortunately, the defenders on the high wall of Sigh were also killed at this time, otherwise just gathering the prisoners of war would have caused trouble until the next day.
"Lord Raven, congratulations, congratulations!" Hyde rode a war horse to find Raven: "This time you won a great victory, and you also captured a real marquis. From now on, you will really be famous throughout the empire!"< br>
As he spoke, he glanced at Marquis Faraday, who was stripped of his armor and shackled.
There was only a layer of white clothes left on Faraday's body, and he looked like a fat worm. Although he heard Hyde's ridicule, he just kept smiling and was not annoyed at all.
"That's thanks to you arriving in time." Raven said with a smile: "Otherwise, once the sighing wall is taken back by them, I'm afraid I will be trapped and die here."
This was of course a polite word, at least Hyde knew that Raven himself had a Wind King - even if he didn't, the Wind King troops could transport Raven back.
Of course, that means Raven's war is an absolute failure.
"You're too polite, Baron Raven." As he spoke, Hyde raised his chest with a serious expression, hit his chest plate with his right hand heavily, and performed a standard military salute:
"On behalf of the Slater family, I would like to express my sincere respect for your achievements!"
On the city wall, Hyde witnessed the entire process of the war.
Although not politically sensitive enough, Hyde knew very well that after this war, Raven's momentum was unstoppable.
He will become an important part of the Nord province, and even a rising star in the empire.
Currently, although Raven's title is still below his, he can no longer treat him with ordinary etiquette.
Raven's expression also became serious and he replied:
"I, Raven Otta Griffith, am also very grateful for the Slater family's assistance."
"The Griffith family will never forget this friendship!"
After saying that, the two looked at each other and smiled.
This is a tacit agreement reached by the two families. From today on, the Griffith family and the Slater family have become de facto allies.
"Master Raven, your performance today is really wonderful, it is an eye-opener for me." Jon, a third-level magician supported by the Slater family, walked up and bowed to Raven:
"You are simply a magic genius that comes once in a thousand years!"
He released 10 third-level magics in succession, and used the Origin Wild Fire to break the fire with fire, destroying the lava beast created by Annihilation. This kind of performance can be seen by many fourth-level magicians, let alone a third-level magician. It is absolutely impossible.
What's more, Raven later personally charged into battle - being able to gallop on the battlefield is a dream that many magicians cannot realize in their lifetime.
The world of magicians is much simpler than the world of nobles. Whoever has stronger magic power and who goes further on the road of magic will be able to gain enough respect.
It has nothing to do with age.
That's why Jon respected Raven so much.
"Master Jon, please stop complimenting me. After all, I should be grateful to you." Raven said with a smile:
"If you hadn't presided over the defensive formation of the Sighing Wall, allowing me time to slowly implement and layout, the outcome of this war would still have to be decided."
The two of them were chatting here, but Hyde was a little bored. He yawned:
"Okay, Lord Baron, it's going to be dark soon, so let's go to the city and stay. If you have anything to say, I'll talk to you later."
At the end of the day, Raven was also a little tired. He nodded, and after giving instructions on various matters, he rode back to the High Wall of Sighs.
According to the rules, the best residence in the city should be occupied by the person with the highest title, but Raven still lived in Wanda's room - and no one has touched this room since Raven left.
No one expressed any objection to this, even Hyde took the initiative to live in the lower room.
In the next few days, the Eagle Army began to clean up the battlefield, demolish the camps, and count the seized materials
Apart from these, there is business talk.
Except for the 54 million pounds of grain seized and more than 7,000 sets of heavy armor that cannot be sold, all other supplies are basically within the scope of Raven's sales.
Hyde was greedy while discussing business with Raven.
Because including the 7,000 sets of heavy armor captured by Raven this time, not only the two legions of the Eagle Army under his command can all be equipped with heavy armor, but even the independent legions collected can also wear heavy armor. A pure heavy-armored legion can be divided into two and a half in one breath. Even the Slater family does not have such financial resources.
Yes, the cost of heavy armor is not only the equipment itself. The physical requirements of heavy armor soldiers are larger than those of ordinary soldiers, and they consume more food. Maintenance is also a huge cost.
But how could it be possible to say that Raven was short of money?
After winning three battles in a row, Raven captured so many weapons and leather armor that the market value of Nord Province dropped by a large margin. This could not be exchanged for many gold coins, so I won’t go into details.
Raven's real biggest gain this time is population!
The number of serfs gathered alone is as many as 120,000, enough to fill a viscounty.
Raven had already collected enough serfs, so he freely sold the 120,000.
Being able to accompany the army on expeditions is a kind of screening in terms of physical strength and physique. Therefore, the price of this batch of serfs is as high as 2 gold coins per person, and there is no need to worry about selling them.
Not only does Hyde need population, but also the merchants in the Iron Birch Region, especially the nobles they represent - Faraday has done too much evil before.
What is really in demand are the 30,000 prisoners.
These people are all young and strong young men.
Raven did not insist on cutting off the prisoner's fingers this time.
Check out the 16-9 book bar and see the correct version!
Most of the time we did this before, it was because it was difficult to dispose of it - raising waste food and putting it back to attack the enemy.
Now, as the attitude towards the war within Nord Province becomes more optimistic, these prisoners of war have become the best cargo.
Those with combat experience, young and strong, and with a little training can be good soldiers, so the price of each one is more than 5 gold coins, and if they have a title, then the self-ransom gold coins for each person will not be less than 500 gold coins.
"No wonder all the nobles started out in the war." After having a business discussion with Raven, Hyde sighed: "It's so profitable!"
Anyone from a count family would be jealous of him.
This time he spent more than 40,000 gold coins to buy 2,000 prisoners, 10,000 serfs, as well as various leather armors and weapons from Raven.
And he had an extra bonus - Raven had always been generous in his actions. Because of his timely support this time, Raven directly gave him a camp for Eivor's army.
Adding together the materials and people cleared out, the total value is no less than 20,000 gold coins.
"I'm afraid Raven can earn at least 500,000 gold coins this time, right?"
At the same time, Raven's temporary office.
"My lord, we have calculated the statistics. After excluding the rewards and pensions given to the soldiers, as well as the dividends for officers at all levels, the total income is 623,772 gold coins!"
Hu Xia excitedly introduced to Lei Wen.
Although the more than 600,000 gold coins were not in his hands, the dividend he received after this victory was as much as 50 gold coins!
This is still relatively small.
I heard that Eric and the others, including Akori who was seriously injured and resting, each received a bonus of at least 500 gold coins!
Raven nodded, waved his hand and said: "I understand, you go down first."
"Yes, my lord!" Hu Xia bowed and retreated, his movements extremely swift.
After all, he has a lot to write about.
As the door was closed, Raven changed into a comfortable position and leaned back on the chair, thinking about the pros and cons of this war.
The results of this battle were excellent. Not only did they kill Earl Palmer and annihilate 22,000 enemy troops, they also completely destroyed all the resistance in the southern part of the Principality of Eivor.
However, the loss is not small.
Two Wind Kings fell. Not counting the independent legion led by Lancha, 486 soldiers died in the battle, and more than 2,300 were seriously injured.
Fortunately, the logistics can keep up, and most of these seriously injured people can be rescued.
It's actually a bit embarrassing to say.
Regardless of whether they were killed in battle or seriously injured, a considerable number of them appeared in the 1st Legion of the Eagle Army.
The intensity of the fighting is one thing.
On the other hand, the battle was too long and many soldiers suffered from fatigue.
Some are armor-removing wind, that is, you are covered in stinky sweat, exhausted, and have to take off your armor. The body temperature changes so much that your body collapses.
Others are actually so tired that they urinate blood. According to Raven, this is typical muscle dislysis.
Fortunately, in addition to the Beacon Treasure, Raven still retains a lot of life essence. As long as the infection is not too serious, he can basically be saved.
Raven also thought about the reason afterwards.
Wearing more than ten kilograms or dozens of kilograms of heavy armor and fighting for a day is a huge drain on the human body, and not everyone can bear it.
Moreover, when the Eagle Army trained previously, most of them did not have heavy armor to wear, and it took some time to adapt.
"I can only adapt to it slowly on the battlefield in the future." Raven murmured to himself
He did not give the soldiers time to practice intensively and hone their skills slowly.
The map on the wall is why.
Raven's previous strategic purpose was to put pressure on the Feton city-states and make the empire more flexible at the diplomatic level.
The tactical purpose is to take down the high wall of sighs, expand the actual control area as much as possible, and gain benefits for yourself.
In the final analysis, Raven still had the mentality and purpose of grabbing something and leaving as soon as it was good.
But now, Raven's appetite doesn't stop there!
Raven has always been very confident in his Eagle Army, and after this battle, it gave him full confidence.
At the same time, the quality of the Eivor Principality's army was also found out.
Except for the core private soldiers of the nobles, neither their training level nor their fighting will is worth mentioning!
And after three earls were killed by his own formation, how many of the remaining nobles would have the courage to stand in front of him?
The nobles cherish their lives, otherwise the tradition of leading troops into battle would not disappear.
Picking up the quill given by Lux, Raven brushed dots on the parchment and repeated the content in his mouth:
"First, within this year, continue to advance and capture the entire Bolan region."
"Second, after consolidating the victory, continue to march north and approach the Eivor region until we reach the Blue Keep!"
"Finally, force Eivor VIII to sign an alliance under the city!"
Putting the quill on the table, Raven let out a long sigh and raised a smile on his lips.
There was a sudden knock on the door.
"Come in." Raven said leisurely.
The hyena walked in with a box in his hand:
"My lord, Marquis Faraday has a valuable gift for you."
"Faraday?" Raven was stunned for a moment: "Wasn't he stripped naked and put under house arrest? Why would he still give me a gift?"
"What's in the box?"
The hyena shook his head: "Marquis Faraday said that you must open it in person, so I did not check it in advance. However, Master Jon has identified it and it does not contain any traces of magic elements, so it is safe."
< br>
"Then let's take a look."
Raven was a little curious, what good thing would Faraday, the Marquis, have secretly hidden and dedicated to himself?
It does not contain magic elements. Could it be the formula of the strange potion used by the Volcano Legion soldiers?
The effect of the medicine is indeed powerful, and although the side effects are serious, it is not impossible to neutralize it with Beacon Treasure. If it is really available and mass-produced, it will indeed greatly improve the combat effectiveness of the army.
The issue of physical strength is no longer an issue.
Or maybe it's a land deed, a family inheritance of combat skills, or even some kind of treasure map?
Faraday has the blood of the Eivor family. Since he wants to please himself, he must not do anything shabby.
With anticipation, Raven rubbed his palms, held the lid of the box with both hands, slowly raised it, and then his expression froze on his face.
The hyenas were a little surprised - is this gift so precious that the Baron attaches so much importance to it?
But immediately, he saw Raven's face darken, his brows furrowed, and the corners of his mouth kept twitching: "Is this really what Faraday wants to dedicate to me?"
With a bang, Raven closed the lid of the box!
"Yes, sir, he said you must be the first to open it! He also said that you can understand what he means."
"Okay, very good, very good!" Raven's fingers were trembling: "He surrendered before the battle. I thought he was a weakling who could act according to the wind, but I didn't expect him to have such courage!"
< br>
"Then I will help him!"
"Take someone over there and cut off his head!"
……
(End of chapter)