Obma City was the political center of Garris Territory.

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This city held the same position in Garris Territory as Red River City now did in Red Eagle Territory.

It was located in the center of Rorylan Territory, which, as the directly governed land of the Count of Garris, lay at the heart of Garris Territory. Four other territories bordered it from the east, south, west, and north.

Among them, the eastern, northern, and southern territories had already been reclaimed by the Southern Army of the Tyrella Kingdom.

However, about a month ago, the Black Hawk Legion suddenly launched another suicidal assault. Overnight, the conflict and intensity of the war escalated several levels, even breaching the Southern Army's defensive line and forcing them to reimpose full military information control—

—and engage in the fiercest combat with the Black Hawk Legion.

Both sides launched a relentless struggle over the southern region of Rorylan, turning the battlefield into a meat grinder.

Under such circumstances, the Aust Empire’s army, which should have been resting and on standby, suddenly launched another surprise attack from the west, initiating an offensive from the Viscounty of Ashak and opening a second front against the Southern Army.

In an instant, the Southern Army found its forces stretched thin.

As a result, they had no choice but to redeploy troops that had just withdrawn to the second defensive line for rest and resupply.

Even then, the Southern Army's existing forces were insufficient to maintain a two-front war—indeed,

In the original strategic plan, neither the Southern Army nor the Tyrella Kingdom’s military anticipated that the nobles of the Western Region would so decisively betray them and join the Aust Empire’s camp. This was the fundamental reason why the Southern Army stationed on the Garris Plains now found themselves in such a dilemma.

Under these conditions, the Deputy Commander of the Southern Army had no choice but to issue an order, summoning the garrison troops of Bayor Territory—who did not fall under direct Southern Army command—to the front lines.

The Ashak-Rorylan Line referred to the boundary between the Viscounty of Ashak in western Garris Territory and the central Rorylan Territory.

The third defensive zone lay to the northwest of this boundary—this line had four defensive zones: two in the west, and two in the northwest. Among them, the most dangerous were the second zone in the west and the third zone in the northwest.

The first zone was already near the southwest, which was the main battlefield between the Southern Army and the Black Hawk Legion. The only force clashing in that direction would be the Black Hawk Legion.

The fourth zone, on the other hand, was very close to the northern barony of Rorylan. That area was not under enemy control and remained in the Southern Army’s hands. It even housed a recovery camp for wounded soldiers. If the enemy attacked in that direction, the second-tier rest troops could quickly reinforce the defense.

Only the second and third zones were positioned relatively "externally," making them the main targets of the enemy’s assault.

It was precisely because of this that casualties in the Southern Army began to rise rapidly, and shortages in manpower appeared.

Perhaps, in the eyes of the Southern Army's Deputy Commander stationed in Garris Territory, Yam’s logistics unit of fewer than three thousand troops wasn’t even worth asking Tyrot Kasein or Wade Kasein for detailed information; or perhaps he never even reviewed the specific Combat Sequence chart and simply ordered all "logistics units" to the front lines for Line-Filler Order duties, to buy time for the main forces to reorganize and counterattack.

He didn’t even bother to issue detailed operational commands, only giving a vague directive to “hold the line.”

In fact, in Hales’s view, this was the Tyrella Kingdom army’s typical stupidity: they couldn't even be bothered to reorganize their joint combat sequences and simply assigned command in a hierarchical structure. Back in the Western Region, the Western Army had once pulled a large number of noble coalition forces to form a new unit, then directly assigned the sequence ranking of that new unit to a second-tier force.

The result? That court marquis—who had almost no real combat experience—along with his entire command staff, were completely wiped out. This cut off the Tyrella Kingdom army’s path of retreat into the Aust Empire and led to massive casualties as the Aust Empire devoured them step by step. Later, that surviving court marquis shifted the blame to the Western Region nobles, leading to the first conflict between the Western nobles led by the Duke of Black Hawk and the Western Army, sowing the seeds of future distrust and disunity.

“So, if you had compromised back then, wouldn’t the Western Region have avoided its total downfall due to the fallout with the Western Army?”

“Compromise wasn’t an option.” Hales shook his head and sighed at Yam’s question. “Let’s not even mention that my family represented the interests of all Western nobles. If we had compromised, it would have been an admission that we disobeyed orders. Then all the blame for the military failures and the Western Army’s severe losses would have fallen entirely on us nobles. That would have planted even deeper seeds of danger for the future.”

“Besides, the bigger issue was that since the noble coalition forces had already been assembled, a joint combat sequence should have been used, not a hierarchical one.”

“What’s the difference between the two?” Akar, ever unafraid to ask what he didn’t understand, posed the question directly.

Hales thought for a moment, then explained, “Our current situation is an example of a joint combat sequence. You and I are equals, acting together toward a strategic goal. Whoever is the better commander takes charge of leading the army. A hierarchical combat sequence is like now—after our Vengeful Undead joined the Shelf Mercenary Group, all of us, including myself, must follow Lord Aliman’s orders.”

“Even if it means dying?”

“Yes.” Hales nodded.

“Then I understand now.” Akar also nodded. “In that case, an incompetent commander could get everyone killed.

If it were me, I wouldn’t even give them a chance to issue orders. I’d kill them first.”

“Ha ha ha.” Lurt laughed aloud. “Then you’d definitely be thrown into prison, and even your family would be held accountable. At least, in the Aust Empire, that’s how it works. If a commander makes a mistake, a higher authority conducts the inquiry. But if you dare disobey orders on your own, then they’ll deal with you first.”

“But this is the Tyrella Kingdom.”

“Which is why your Western Region fell.” Apaz, who rarely voiced opinions, sneered and rolled his eyes. “I think what’s most important right now is that even if we’re being sent to the front for Line-Filler duty, we absolutely can’t die here foolishly.”

“Let’s first see exactly what kind of defensive zone we’re supposed to reinforce.” Yam thought for a moment and then said, “Until we have accurate intel, there’s no point in thinking too much. If the commander in charge of us is competent, there’s no need to go against them, right?”

“What if they’re a fool? What do we do then?”

“Then we deal with them.” Akar shrugged. “Just as you’re responsible for your Vengeful Undead, we are responsible for the people we’ve brought. Sacrifices in war are inevitable, but if it’s foolish, senseless death, being used as cannon fodder—

—I won’t accept that.”

This time, even Yam didn’t object. He silently acknowledged Akar’s stance.

Hales saw the serious expressions on Yam and Akar’s faces and understood where the brothers stood, so he said nothing more.

Because the Southern Army was pressing hard, once they received the order, Yam immediately sent a letter to Monica and then departed Bayor Territory with nearly everyone, heading toward their designated station at the Ashak-Rorylan Line.

But unexpectedly, even though Yam’s group set out almost without delay, the Southern Army sent three urgent messages in succession, all urging them to reach the defensive line as quickly as possible.

By the fourth message, it had become a direct order: arrive within two days.

This showed how dire the situation at the front was.

But Yam’s forces obviously couldn’t meet that speed—mobilizing nearly ten thousand troops and escorting a large amount of supplies meant just breaking camp each morning and setting up camp at night took massive amounts of time. Not to mention, to ensure no deserters, they had to conduct a full roll call every morning before marching.

At least one-third of each day was spent on such trivial matters.

So, it wasn’t until midday on the third day that Yam’s forces finally reached the third defensive zone of the Ashak-Rorylan Line.

But soon after, Yam encountered a completely unexpected development.

“Is that—Aliman?” Akar’s eyes widened in shock as he saw Aliman galloping away on horseback with a group of light cavalry chasing him.

“Those are Aust Empire soldiers!” Lurt spoke up immediately. “Reconnaissance unit.”

As Lurt finished speaking, Akar had already loosed a flaming arrow, instantly killing a light cavalryman in black leather armor.

The remaining three Aust Empire scouts quickly pulled on their reins, their mounts rearing up,

—but Akar didn’t pause. Two more arrows flew in quick succession, immediately felling two more riders. The last one, seeing the situation, turned and fled.

But by then, Hales and Lurt were already pursuing on horseback.

Their arrival to support the third defensive zone absolutely could not be discovered by the Aust Empire, or serious complications might arise.

“Lord Yam!”

Aliman galloped back quickly.

“What happened?” Yam couldn’t help but ask upon seeing Aliman’s disheveled state.

“There’s a major battle ahead!” Aliman said hastily. “I don’t know the exact details, but it seems the Aust Empire has launched a new offensive. The defensive camp has already been breached. We must reinforce immediately, or the entire zone could fall!”

At that moment, Hales and Lurt returned after killing the final scout.

“Standard Aust Empire offensive.” Lurt said. “There’s heavy black smoke ahead, likely from the breached camp. We don’t know exactly what’s going on, but since they’ve deployed reconnaissance units to cut off and contain us, it’s clear they haven’t secured the whole zone yet. If we act now, we still have a chance to keep the zone out of the Aust Empire’s hands.”

“There were two Third-Tier Bloodline Users at the outer blockade and ambush point. I’ve already dealt with them.” Hales added. “Now, whether to enter the battlefield to reinforce, or withdraw—we need your decision immediately.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com