Chapter 1494 1334: Unexpected Turn 1
However, Alex didn't take action until the very end to strengthen the coordination of his men. He realized that the situation at the end was rather concerning, which was why he had chosen to settle the Orcs by himself. But he wasn't feeling delighted because, even though his men coordinated well at the start of the battle, he wasn't able to test out his tactic fully.
Although his men were trained in a situation where the reinforcements from the rear failed to appear, that was established under the fact that the main forces were trapped or defeated by the enemies. Under such a circumstance, there were only three choices for Alex. Firstly, he could choose to retreat instantly and escape to their base using the Teleportation scroll. Flee if one couldn't win in battle—that was the essence of guerrilla warfare. Second, Alex could shield the others as they retreated.
The third choice was to defend their position and wait for the main forces from the rear to arrive before launching the pincer attack. Alex had intended to use this third method to train his men. However, Johnson's sudden disappearance was too unusual and he might as well end the battle as soon as possible.
Alex wanted to try various strategies and finally pick the right one, he was using the current situation to learn let's not forget.
However, he still has to do his job properly, it was why he must understand why Johnson and his cavalrymen hadn't shown up.
''Mr. Johnson… Where could he be?"
Alice murmured behind zlsx5 and scanned the surrounding ice field worriedly. However, there were still no signs of him or his Cavalrymen at all. After sweeping up the battlefield, everyone gathered around with unique expressions. But their suspicions were all the same. Even though eliminating the Orcs wasn't an important mission, this was their first time engaging in a coordinated tactic, after all. However, Johnson vanished into thin air without any proper reason, which left them rather resentful. They also wished to see this tactic succeed. Everything had gone smoothly from the start, but the unexpected situation at the end forced Alex to take action himself. Although this could also be considered part of the tactic, some of them felt dissatisfied. It would be fine if Alex assisted them in the face of the Undead Legion. But these Orcs shouldn't have landed them in such a miserable state.
At the same time, everyone had the same doubts. Where in the world are Johnson and his troops?
Everyone was informed beforehand of the tactic and they were clear of the Cavalrymen's strength. Although in terms of individual strength, the Cavalrymen weren't comparable to the elite squad, their gathered forces shouldn't be belittled.
No one believed that they were murdered by the Orcs. But if that wasn't the case, what else could explain it?
"My Lord, do you want a few of us to search for them?"
Joe flipped the dagger in his hand and scuttled toward Alex. His usual witty smile had been replaced by a stern expression.
"We didn't find any spoils of war from the Orc corpses. I guess Johnson wouldn't be defeated by them that easily. Perhaps an accident has happened?"
"Ah, Leader. Look!"
As Alex nodded in agreement, suddenly, Anne jumped up and yelled loudly. She pointed forward and everyone followed her gaze. They were astonished.
On the horizon of snow, a black figure emerged and darted toward the group. Even though the figure was sprinting, it appeared seemingly slow in the eyes of the anxious group.
They opened their eyes wide and stared at the figure in the distance. But at this moment, Alex frowned and instantly recognized that the figure was indeed one of the Cavalrymen.
However, he felt that something was amiss. The Cavalryman didn't seem to be injured and there were no signs of damage on his armor. On the contrary, his expression was filled with anxiety. What happened?
In a few moments, the Cavalryman witnessed the pile of Orc corpses and his eyes brightened instantly as soon as he spotted Alex. He urged on his warhorse and flipped down his saddle hurriedly before the warhorse came to a halt.
"Sir! Sir! It's great that everyone's doing fine… W-We have met with trouble!"
"Calm down."
Alex twitched his brows and responded softly. The Cavalryman took in a deep breath and held himself together.
"Sir Johnson and the others have been trapped!"
"What?!"
The men exclaimed in shock. Alex waved his hand for them to remain silent before gesturing to the Cavalryman for him to keep talking. This was what happened. While Johnson Cavalrymen lured the Orc riders away, this Cavalryman had led his warhorse much farther away from the others due to fear. As a result, he failed to return to the group immediately. He knew that Johnson was strict on discipline, so he desperately tried to return before Johnson led his Cavalrymen back to the fort.
However, he never expected that an accident would happen at that moment. A group of Mage and Warriors emerged out of nowhere and surrounded Johnson's group. The Cavalryman smartly came to a halt and flipped down his mount to peek at the situation from behind the snowy hills. The intruders came aggressively and Johnson seemed afraid to take them on bravely. Shortly after, Johnson's group was stripped of their equipment. This lucky Cavalryman realized the grave situation and he hurried back to the fort to report the situation to Alex.
"Stripped of their equipment? Who dares to do that?"
Marcus exclaimed in surprise.
"We're the private soldiers of Lord Alex, so even regional corps have no right to do this!"
Many of them nodded in agreement. Yes, they weren't mercenaries anymore. Instead, they were private soldiers governed directly by a noble and weren't restricted by any regional corps. The regional corps by the borders wouldn't dare question them at all as soon as they announced Alex's name. But now, there was a group of people who dared to do that.
Alex wasn't as astonished as Marcus. He calmly listened to every word of the Cavalryman and said.
"Have you seen who they are?"
"Y-Yes, Sir. As clear as crystal."
The Cavalryman sucked in a deep breath and stuttered.
"T-They are… the Kingsley's Kingdom army.''
"What?!"
The group exploded into a commotion.
"Kingsley's kingdom? What are their bastards doing in the Renner Kingdom? Don't they have enough trouble on their hands?"
"My Lord, this is ridiculous! Those bastards dare to come to our land and capture our people!"
The group was agitated, where even Alice and her team of Healers sulked and appeared furious.
Although the Kingsley's Kingdom and the Renner Kingdom didn't have a close relationship, it had worsened over the years, and the Northerners in the Kingdom would grit their teeth at the mention of Kingsley's Kingdom. The ultimate reason was the 'Grasseland Battle' 100 years ago.
In the summer, of 100 years ago, the Kingsley's Kingdom border troops 'Sun Knight's Dividi9' entered the territory of the Renner Kingdom, the Grassland Plain, in the name of military exercise. This invaded the vagrants' gathering place and the vagrants responded quickly by asking them to leave.
However, not only did they not leave, but they also launched attacks on them, which destroyed their gathering place. This incident shook the entire Renner Kingdom. What made them even more furious was that when the former ruler interrogated the Kingsley's Kingdom parliament about it, the latter made a false countercharge and justified that they were defending themselves as it was the barbaric vagrants who attacked them first. Their soldiers had warned the vagrants of the consequences but were neglected and the vagrants retaliated instead. Not only that, but the Kingsley's Kingdom parliament also accused the Renner Kingdom of fabricating facts about a crime and attempting to smear their reputation and troops. In the end, the kingdom did engage in hearings and trials, but the savage executioners expressed that it was all a 'misunderstanding' that they had entered the Renner Kingdom's territory by mistake. It was a 'tragedy' caused by 'wrong judgments' and the Kingsley's Kingdom parliament let the murderers go off scot-free!
Thereafter, this caused a complete standoff with both sides.
The Renner Kingdom Northern Army crossed the borders of Kingsley's Kingdom in the name of military exercises. The trade associations and merchants who were related to the Kingsley's Kingdom in the Renner Kingdom had taken a huge toll, where the other kingdom forcefully closed the distribution trade routes from Renner Kingdom.
Alex was secretly shocked by the amount of information he learned every time he was sent somewhere. It was almost unbelievable.
〖Tch! Don't be so surprised, I can do the same thing. He's just a clone.〗Silveria's voice rang in his head making him chuckle.
〖What is so funny?〗
'Nothing, you almost sound cute and I like it.'
〖Sweet talker. I'm not talking to you anymore.〗Silveria pouted but nonetheless, she was happy.
Alex wanted to mess with her but now wasn't the time, he had to play his part, and the others were waiting.
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