When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

Duke Redwood's "retreat" wasn't just a casual shout; he was a seasoned veteran who had skirmishes with the Northerners daily and possessed a keen sense of the battlefield.

In this chaotic battle, a thousand knights from the Shattered Stone Plain besieged a small wagon fort held by a few hundred soldiers from Thousand River Valley.

Not only did they fail to easily break the enemy, but they also paid the price of several Edict Knights.

They even used divine magic and potions, yet still couldn't breach the wagon formation.

Upon closer inspection, they had left nearly seventy bodies in front of the wagon fort.

For an unplanned, advantageous encounter, such a casualty rate far exceeded the morale tolerance of the knights.

It also surpassed the number of casualties Duke Redwood was willing to accept.

Thus, caught between a forced attack and retreat, he chose to cut his losses in time.

Before morale plummeted to rock bottom, the Duke decided to withdraw to the east bank of the Rust River.

But alas, it was already too late.

At the end of the rain, on the rain-blurred wasteland, clusters of iris banners swam in the sky.

Thousands of knights galloped back and forth across the muddy wasteland, armored soldiers and Thousand River Valley's new army soldiers jostled each other with their spears.

Falcon cannons and holy muskets shattered the rain, turning into showers of blood on the wasteland.

No one had imagined that this small encounter involving an escort convoy would escalate into such a state.

First, the Feldheim garrison, upon learning the news, took the initiative to attack, holding back Duke Redwood's forces.

Then, a count from the nearby Shattered Stone Plain led several hundred soldiers to help, drawing the attention of the mountain knights in the standoff.

Next, these hundreds of mountain knights also rushed to the battlefield, followed by Duke Redwood's infantry.

The two sides fought and retreated, all the way from morning until evening.

With each side adding forces, they forcibly turned this small encounter involving a thousand or so people into a full-scale battle with nearly six thousand participants.

However, even with old Rafer's blurry vision, it was clear that the situation was slowly shifting in favor of Thousand River Valley.

Although most of those present on both sides were cavalry, with only a small number of mounted infantry, the reinforcement speed of Thousand River Valley was much faster than that of the Shattered Stone Plain.

These mountain knights and the Autocracy's soldiers, though not as high in morale as the Salvation Army, were extremely resilient in battle.

And the knights from Thousand River Valley, under the threat of iron fists and whips, had to obey orders even if it meant facing a rain of blades.

The knights led by Duke Redwood were unwilling to continue marching when they encountered heavy rain.

Moreover, many nobles were waiting to see Duke Redwood make a fool of himself.

…………

On the other side, the west bank of the Rust River.

Slumped beside the wagon, old Rafer could clearly hear the roar of falcon cannons in the distance.

A large tent had been erected next to the original wagon fort, with alchemist priests, witch doctors, and apothecaries going in and out.

Even sitting not far from the entrance, old Rafer could smell a strong medicinal odor.

The Rust River, named for its unique red sandy riverbed, now also exuded a strong smell of rust.

Both human and weapon rust.

Although the battle of the Besser infantry regiment had ended this morning, the exhausted old Rafer and others didn't recover until the afternoon.

To say nothing else, old Rafer was still seeing double.

Resting by the wagon for a while, old Rafer waited until the double vision subsided a bit before standing up, leaning on his scabbard.

He limped through a row of grass sheds, stepping over the other soldiers who were sleeping head to head.

In the wounded soldiers' camp for external injuries, one could hear wails of pain, with severed hands and feet, and broken bones.

Barbers stitched up soldiers' wounds with special spider silk, while the accompanying priests held the soldiers' hands or heads one by one, anointing them with holy oil and praying.

Old Rafer roughly estimated that after this battle, not counting the fleeing laborers, the official establishment would shrink by a third.

After walking around the wounded soldiers' camp for a long time, old Rafer finally found Kaler, who was lying on his side with gauze wrapped around his chest.

Old Rafer quickly turned him over: "You're crazy, with broken ribs, you still dare to lie on your side."

Kaler said weakly, "When the doctor reset my ribs, he pressed my back with his knee, it hurt too much."

"You're lucky to be alive." Picking up the wine skin and putting it to Kaler's mouth, old Rafer yawned, "Have a drink."

After taking a gulp of wine, Kaler's face turned slightly red: "It's really awful..."

Old Rafer picked up the wine skin with a disgusted look: "I can't bear to drink this good wine, you don't know anything about wine."

"How are the battles ahead?" Unlike the previously energetic Kaler, the young man now looked listless.

"We're definitely going to win, instead of thinking about that, you should think about the promotion."

Kaler instantly perked up, revitalizing the family's glory is our duty.

He couldn't wait to ask: "Can I become an officer?"

"I don't know, I estimate I can get promoted to a reserve array leader, you can get promoted to sergeant, and have a chance to get a squad leader."

Compared to the Salvation Army's relatively flat and composite structure, Melia's new army has more strict ranks and different names.

The Salvation Army goes from regimental commander (500 people) to squad leader/array leader (50 people) to squad leader (10 people) to the lowest Edict Soldier.

Melia, however, has newly established five centurions (100 people) under the regimental commander, and a deputy squad leader under the squad leader.

Previously, when old Rafer was promoted from squad leader to full squad leader, he had already promoted a sergeant, and Kaler was his appointed soldier.

In this battle, old Rafer performed mediocrely, but Kaler shone brightly.

It is estimated that Kaler can make a three-level jump, from sergeant, squad leader to reserve array leader, to be on par with old Rafer.

The reserve array leader is actually the squad leader of the array leader's direct ten-man squad, who usually studies command and assists the array leader.

When the time is right and the exam is passed, they can be promoted to array leader.

An officer who can lead fifty people must have been an esquire in the past.

Kaler is okay, but old Rafer, a farmer, can actually become an officer of this rank.

He hasn't been a soldier for even half a year, it's really like a dream.

"What about the spoils of war?"

"They haven't been counted yet, you're injured, so you can probably get a little more."

According to the rules set by Melia, 30% of the spoils and loot are distributed to the soldiers, 30% are kept as the legion's public funds, and 40% are turned over.

This time, old Rafer and others, an infantry regiment, resisted nearly a thousand knights, and also allowed the nearby army to seize the opportunity to divide the enemy's infantry and cavalry, and fight a battle of annihilation.

Just a guess, they know their battle achievements will not be small.

As old Rafer expected, it wasn't long before the judge advocate found them both.

"Rafer Ironwater Hunter from Adrian Village, Ansel Hundred Household District, South Mangde County Muddy Swamp Township?"

"That's me."

"Do you know where your team's Kaler is?"

Old Rafer turned sideways and pointed to Kaler lying on the ground.

"Well, take good care of yourself." The judge advocate showed a gentle smile and stepped forward to press down on Kaler, who was trying to sit up, "You killed two Edict Knights with one shot today, you have made a great contribution."

After speaking, he took out a small booklet and wrote for a while: "Sign it, if you can't write, then press your handprint, the commendation letter will be sent back to your hometown."

Hearing the commendation letter, Kaler was completely awake: "Yes, can I ask, has the battle ahead ended?"

"It's getting dark, if it hasn't ended, it will have to end." The judge advocate casually handed the roster to old Rafer to continue signing, "Now it's not a question of winning or losing, but whether we can catch Duke Redwood."

After speaking, he glanced at the two of them with envy: "You are lucky, last night Autocracy Your Highness just expelled the envoy from the Shattered Stone Plain and declared war on the Shattered Stone Plain.

Today you have a good start, Your Highness will definitely take a look at these commendation letters."

"Which Your Highness?" Kaler asked blankly.

The judge advocate immediately perked up: "Two Your Highness! Cough cough, both Your Highness will take a look."