Chapter 1562: Chapter 75: Siege (45)
Just like every commander in history besieged on a mountain, Vansco Alda quickly discovered that his most urgent shortage was not food or ammunition, but water.
In fact, mountains don’t necessarily have no water sources, but unfortunately, the 5-0 Heights isn’t a true mountain; it’s just a small hill lacking in vegetation cover.
However, it’s not small enough to be pierced by a few pickaxes held by the “Twelfth Legion”—at least not before everyone in the “Twelfth Legion” dies of thirst.
Alda imdiately ordered the collection of all the soldiers’ water pouches for unified distribution and sent people down the high ground at night to look for water in the forest.
But it was like trying to irrigate a large field while holding in urine—painstaking, yet not quenching the thirst.
Moreover, even if the soldiers of the “Twelfth Legion” carried nothing but water pouches, the water would still not be enough.
Because it’s not just people who need water, so do the animals—a warhorse can drink up the ration of dozens of people in one go, and draught horses drink even more than warhorses.
Not to ntion, the stingy Mountain Front Territory Infantry Provincial only provides ordinary soldiers with a small leather water bottle—whose cost is deducted from the soldiers’ wages—and by the afternoon of the battle, many in the “Twelfth Legion” had already emptied theirs.
At ho, soldiers of the United Provinces Army never had to worry about water while camping. What troubled them was too much water.
At high tide, many polders are even below sea level; dig a few shovelfuls randomly, you’d see wet mud; if trenches aren’t dug overnight, by morning, they’d turn into ditches.
But in the Kingdom of Galloping Horses, in this place that seems vibrant but is actually overgrown with thorns, the people from the lowlands are on the verge of literally dying of thirst on the “high ground.”
The optimistic soldiers of the “Twelfth Legion” were still trying to stash away clean water;
The pessimistic ones had long licked the last drop from their bottles, preparing to gather urine.
Alda convened a eting of all officers overnight, explaining his judgnt and boosting the morale of his subordinates.
He stated:
After a day of fierce battle, our soldiers were exhausted and their morale was shaken, with an overnight breakout prone to causing a massive rout;
The rebels were the sa, not being able to take advantage of their montum to seize Jade Crossing indicated that they were also at their limit;
However, the rebels had stronger cavalry, with the high-level mage “Blood of the Wolf” aiding them, making a brawl advantageous for them;
And if the super long spear wasn’t in a square formation, it was no better than a dagger;
The “Twelfth Legion’s” advantage lay in training and discipline. Alda firmly believed that—even though both sides were exhausted—the morale and combat strength of the “Twelfth Legion” would recover faster than the enemy’s, and after resting overnight, even without reinforcents, they could possibly straightforwardly defeat the enemy.
Most of the officers present actually didn’t believe that there was “still a chance to turn the tide.”
As for Alda’s analysis, it could fully serve as an argunt for making the opposite decision to many who heard it.
But at least the commander provided seemingly sufficient reasons, and the officers of the “Twelfth Legion” were long accustod to silence and obedience.
Hence, in the eting of all officers, no one openly challenged Alda’s command to hold the ground.
However, everyone agreed on one thing: if the water problem couldn’t be solved, then tomorrow they would have to break through, regardless of reinforcents, because dying in battle was better than dying of thirst.
Alda agreed with this point as well.
Yet, by the next dawn, the return of the main rebel cavalry force completely shattered Vansco Alda’s hope of turning defeat into victory.
At this point, the “Twelfth Legion” could truly only choose between dying in battle or dying of thirst.
While the United Provincials were writing their last letters or licking dewdrops, there was suddenly so movent on the small high ground opposite the provincial road.
A rebel soldier walked down the slope to the middle of the main road with a helt on a spear, without armor or swords, and looked over at the “Twelfth Legion’s” position with his neck stiffened.
“What does this an?” Alda asked, frowning.
“It’s a rule among the Paratu people to hang a helt on a spear tip to show harmlessness,” Thomas Hamr, who hurried over, explained in a low voice, choosing his words carefully, “the rebels… should want to negotiate with us.”
The expressions of the other officers present were somber. Everyone knew that Major Hamr was trying to maintain the commander’s dignity—at this point, what negotiations could there be? Surrender was more likely.
Vansco Alda understood this point himself.
“Should we see them?” Hamr asked as calmly as possible.
The officers silently waited for the commander’s decision.
“Yes, why not see them?” Alda snorted coldly, “Let’s hear what they want to say!”
Thomas Hamr secretly breathed a sigh of relief and imdiately made the arrangents.
However, it wasn’t Alda who would et them personally. After all, among the rebels, there was a high-level mage that all officers feared.
Though given the current situation, “Blood of the Wolf” had no real reason to risk his life for an assassination, the “Twelfth Legion” could not afford to overlook it.
So Alda assigned a junior officer to et with them.
He specifically chose a young cadet from the 21st class—the very centurion who recognized Winters Montagne when the red flag was raised at dusk yesterday.
To be honest, Vansco Alda was sowhat expectant of the bewildered look on that Vineta kid’s face when eting his classmate.
After a lengthy conversation with the rebel envoy, Cavalry Lieutenant Danilo Orsper turned his horse around and dashed back to his side of the battlefield, looking a bit peculiar.
Reviews
All reviews (0)