Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest
Chapter 200 - 5: The Advantage is Mine

Chapter 200: Chapter 5: The Advantage is Mine

Roman disembarked and first released a hundred scouts.

The horses were all entrusted to the riders and scouts.

Illuminate the field of view first.

Roman had once led a surprise attack on Kant Territory, but he couldn’t use the same tactic now.

The enemy was prepared.

Furthermore, there were undulating terrains along the mountain paths. Although passable for marching, they were unsuitable for arranging formations, permitting only small-scale combat.

Once entered, it would be a path to certain death.

Given the enemy’s numerical superiority and the numerous hidden paths in the rugged terrain, Roman would be subject to attacks from multiple directions.

It was better to take the main road.

The terrain downstream in the wilderness was perilous; Roman took a day to cross the border of the Wilderness and led his troops to a wide avenue beside.

This road branched from Black Iron Avenue, a secondary route that led directly to Kant Territory.

Two thousand military servants with various supplies were continuously sent here from the rear.

Roman discussed with his Conquest Knights what kind of battlefield to choose.

On this very day.

His dispatched scouts sent back news.

Noble coalition forces were advancing in this direction, with six banners fluttering in the wind.

Their family crests were the black beast (Bexites), golden treasure chest (Vilechka), salt flower (Gailande), beast’s heart (Carter), closed gate (Simon), and towering castle (Kant).

Their total force was about seven thousand men.

There were approximately three hundred cavalrymen.

And about seventy Conquest Knights.

The rest were infantry units.

Those armies were each gathered under their own family banners.

Their marches were clearly divided, unrelated to one another.

The Bexites family had the fewest troops, only fifty cavalry, but one-third were Knight level. The leader was Flant, clad in blood-colored plate armor.

Earl Kant’s force was the largest, about three thousand plus men, which constituted half of the total force, a truly impressive sight.

The other four major families had forces in the hundreds or thousands.

They would arrive here the day after tomorrow.

...

Roman and Dick discussed for a long time.

They could not choose terrain that was easy to defend but hard to attack.

Not to mention whether such terrain was available, even if it were, it wouldn’t do.

If the noble coalition hesitated before formidable terrain and did not attack, they would simply besiege, and if a prolonged stalemate ensued, Roman’s logistics would falter—he had only brought enough supplies for half a month.

He had come out for a quick and decisive battle, not for a war of attrition.

So, a decisive battle it was to be.

Probably the enemy thought the same; after two months of encampment without any gains, continuing the stalemate was a loss.

But he could not engage in battle on the plains either.

Roman needed to use the terrain to neutralize the cavalry unit.

It was easy to find terrain where cavalry could excel, but places where they couldn’t were also easy to find.

Finally, Roman chose a valley terrain to engage the noble coalition forces in a head-on confrontation.

The valley’s terrain, narrow and winding with uneven slopes, was somewhat like a mountain pass.

The slopes on both sides were too steep for marching; one had to find relatively gentle terrain to enter the valley.

Originally a rift valley, likely carved out by years of torrential rain and flooding.

Now, not yet the peak of summer, there was only a small stream flowing, with scattered rocks covering the gully floor, forming a rocky beach.

Once horses set foot in it, they would be unable to mount a charge; they could only walk over.

Calling it narrow and winding was somewhat of an exaggeration; even the narrowest section was forty to fifty meters wide, and the wider parts were a hundred meters or more.

This also meant that when narrow paths cross, the brave prevail.

Roman had spent a day covering twenty kilometers, leading his soldiers to this land to begin hasty training in military formations, continually drilling them to ensure they didn’t all become soft-shelled shrimps.

Though outnumbered,

two thousand against seven thousand. But Roman felt the advantage was ours.

...

Two days flashed by in the blink of an eye.

Roman’s scouts were gathering intelligence.

And the Noble Alliance’s scouts had also learned about Roman’s rough troop numbers and deployment. Basically, it was mutual transparency.

Vilechka sneered, "Roman really dares to show up! He’s really seeking death!"

Flant said to the Earl, "Lord Kant, that battlefield isn’t suited for the Conquest Knights to exert their full strength, Bexites might not be able to offer you much help."

Bald Carter said, "We cannot attack rashly."

Sir Simon agreed readily, "You are right, we have suffered losses before, Lord Carter."

Steve said, "Sir Foucault, we need to defeat Roman quickly."

Lord Earl said, "Lord Flant, I have borrowed a thousand troops for this battle, we can only win, not lose, I hope you can provide more support!"

The six Nobles each had their own opinions, none corresponding to the others.

Vilechka was conversing with Gailande, claiming that they must quickly crush that Riptide vassal and avenge their past disgrace.

The Carter Family and Simon Family, these two outsider families, were united, refusing to be the first to stick their necks out.

Earl Kant hoped Sir Flant would give his support.

The Earl’s fighting force was not large, as Roman had plundered nearly one-eighth of the Kant Territory’s population.

Most importantly, the loss of troops was severe.

To maintain the quality of his army, the Earl had to borrow a thousand troops from distant Noble relatives, essentially betting his family’s future on this battle.

...

Sige Town, situated in a corner, had developed rapidly over these two months.

The Noble Alliance had also undergone significant changes internally.

Simply put, they started off disliking each other, and after the defeat at Sige Town, their disdain only grew, the conflicts intensified, and their quarrels became increasingly fierce, nearly leading to blows several times.

Flant of the Bexites family watched with cool detachment.

He had been sent here to scoop up some easy profit before leaving, so this time he only brought a hundred Riders.

The Bexites family had answered the call of Grand Duke Fury, and the family’s main forces were currently fighting pirates along the coast.

The frontline situation was urgent.

Initially, Earl Bexites had ordered him to return quickly.

But for some reason, he changed his mind en route and left Flant on this land.

But being short on troop strength was still a problem, hence half of the hundred Riders were reassigned, and that Earl gave him a thought-provoking order.

"Observe and act accordingly."

Such orders had to be interpreted based on the master’s temperament.

Flant understood his lord’s disposition very well; Earl Bexites was ambitious, unlike Earl Kant—whom unfortunate conditions plagued, lacking in many aspects, willing to gamble almost everything he had for a Salt Mine.

Earl Bexites played a bigger game; he was a top-tier Earl, controlling half of Black Iron Land’s salt production, ranked only below the Black Iron Duke, and hoped to lead his family even further.

Thus, he acted very aggressively.

In Flant’s view, when the Earl asked him to observe and act accordingly, it meant he should do nothing.

He was a Knight of the Bexites family, naturally obliged to follow his lord’s command.

But how to handle this matter well was a bit troublesome.

They were still nominally part of the Noble Alliance; relations were awful, and they spewed invectives at each other, but it hadn’t come to blows.

Once the Salt Mine was secured, interests would be reallocated.

Then, grievances and grudges would be settled.

Now, the tough nut was yet to be cracked. Everyone still needed to contribute, whether it be money or strength. And he couldn’t just idle around.

Yet everyone seemed to think...

Seven thousand against two thousand, the advantage is ours.