King
Chapter 1004 - 1004 129 Land Bonds

1004: Chapter 129, Land Bonds 1004: Chapter 129, Land Bonds Daylight broke, and Batelyn Port had been reduced to a sea of fire.

Aside from sporadic resistance within the city, all else lay down forever amid the flames of war.

“We can’t confuse the enemy with our decoy for long; they will soon discover our real purpose.

Pass the order, have our men quickly destroy the port, and then retreat immediately,” said Duke Daniel, his expression grave.

The true target of this surprise attack, evident from his personal command, was Batelyn Port.

The simultaneous assaults at multiple locations mainly served to distract the enemy’s focus.

As the Commander of the Army, he had to consider not only carrying out the strategic ambush but also the retreat of the forces.

Delving deep into enemy territory was fraught with danger.

Once the enemy realized their destination, even if the ambush succeeded, a safe withdrawal would be unlikely.

War is inherently inhumane, and the more improbable events on the battlefield often become crucial turning points.

Simultaneously ambushing over ten fortresses was militarily nearly impossible.

A mistake in any part could lead to severe losses for the army, but Duke Daniel did it anyway.

Apart from the necessary capture of Batelyn Port, everything else was grabbing opportunities.

It was good to capture them, but it was also fine if not.

From planning, the role defined for the armies was — feint.

Using the main forces’ attack as cover, they sent a few experts to infiltrate the cities and burn the enemy’s food and supplies.

With no mandatory targets, every destroyed storage of strategic resources was a bonus; the main goal was sabotage.

Since it was a feint, naturally, the allocation of forces would not be too high.

Besides the ten thousand troops led by Daniel personally, other battlefronts had varying cavalry forces ranging from two to three thousand.

With the cover of night, creating the impression of a large force was not difficult.

The enemy, unable to grasp the situation, could only stick to their defenses.

Even when neighbors were attacked, nearby armies hesitated to move out under uncertain circumstances.

People weigh risks and benefits.

Without a direct command from above, staying still held no blame, but an unauthorized attack leading to defeat would bring accountability.

As dawn barely broke, the retreating Orc Cavalry from failed sieges gradually began to withdraw.

After all, this was the Kingdom of Alpha’s domain; the longer they tarried, the quicker local forces would gather and turn the tide against them.

The capture of Purple Gold Pass was unexpected; most troops merely executed the feint.

Still, they caught the defenders off guard and managed to destroy much strategic material.

Everything proceeded according to Duke Daniel’s plan; the only difference was that during the evacuation, they encountered no pursuit from Alpha Kingdom’s forces.

…

In the Jade Palace, holding the battle report, Caesar IV exclaimed in disbelief.

The front lines hadn’t shown problems yet, but chaos had already erupted in the rear.

If wars were fought this way, what was the need for frontline defenders?

Even if they couldn’t stop the enemy, they should at least have sent back news of the enemy’s intrusion!

“What is Marquis James doing, allowing so many enemies to penetrate so deeply into our territory?” Caesar IV roared almost.

In his heart, he felt nothing but regret.

Retaining Marquis James for barely a month had led to such a blunder; even the King couldn’t cover this.

If he had known such a thing would happen, he would have replaced him sooner.

The warning documents from the front were even more timely than pleas for aid from various regions.

Whether it was inefficiency, misconduct by the front line officers, or their sheer incompetence in not detecting the enemy’s sinister intentions beforehand didn’t matter now.

The deed was done — Batelyn Port was destroyed, and the Kingdom’s ability to transport supplies to the Northern Border had dropped by at least fifty percent.

Additionally, multiple supply depots, including Purple Gold Pass, suffered heavily from enemy raids.

According to data summarized from the front line, the enemy’s raids last night resulted in nearly thirty thousand casualties among the Kingdom’s troops, with tens of thousands of tons of strategic materials lost to the flames of war.

Caesar IV was furious, and the faces of his ministers were no better.

The Kingdom’s supply stockpiled at the front had lost seventy percent overnight.

The most direct consequence was: the safety of the frontline troops was now in jeopardy.

With a massive loss of strategic materials and no quick way to replenish them, the issue wasn’t that the Kingdom lacked resources; it was that the front lines lacked them.

Now, with reduced transport capacity and supply speeds unable to keep up with consumption, the frontline’s stockpile wouldn’t last long.

“Your Majesty, what’s done is done.

Let’s think about remedying the situation first.

Given the suddenness of the enemy’s raid and the unpreparedness of our defenders, their achievements are not surprising.

It is clear; their Commander is no ordinary leader.

Considering the entire history of cavalry usage, this is unprecedented.

It is understandable that Marquis James missed this.

Our immediate priority should be to stabilize our positions and quickly restore Batelyn Port to ensure our maritime supply line remains unobstructed.

If that proves impossible, consider abandoning some areas to contract our strategic defense and shorten our supply lines, ensuring logistical support.

To minimize losses, let’s first have civilians from several provinces at the Northern Border evacuated.

After securing their retreat, there’s no need for the Noble’s Private Army in the border region to hold the castles; they should move together with the main forces,” suggested Hudson objectively.