Chapter 49: 049 Fugitive Chase 1
Translator: 549690339
The setting sun was bloody red.
The killing that had lasted the whole day had finally begun to subside at this moment.
This wolf cavalry camp had become a true graveyard.
Dense black dots circled in the sky, drawn by the scent of blood. They were vultures.
Where there was death, their silhouettes were present.
The Dark Cavalry also had casualties, of course, but the bodies of the fallen warriors would not be left in the wild like the trolls’ bodies to be defiled by beasts; instead, they were gathered and burned.
When he saw the body of a high-ranking knight being consumed by the flames, Colin’s heartache was overwhelming.
What a waste!
However, no matter how much Colin salivated, he dared not desecrate the corpse of the fallen in front of the Dark Cavalry.
The persisting him even went to Earl Dawson and suggested to bury the fallen warriors in the earth.
Earl Dawson rolled his eyes, and dropped a sentence: “How about you try digging a hole in this ice plain first?” Colin actually tried.
Then he was exhausted the point of death.
The frozen soil here was too difficult to dig.
No wonder the Dark Cavalry chose cremation.
With no other choice, Colin could no longer persist, so he had to give up.
After cleaning up the battlefield, the preliminary statistics of this battle’s results showed that the trolls had left more than 30,000 corpses here. Of course, many more wolf cavalry had fled amidst the chaos.
So, the battle had not ended completely.
What followed was a bloody and brutal pursuit.
The original command tent of the trolls had now become the temporary command post of the Dark Cavalry.
Marquis Garcia emotionlessly issued one tactical order after another. Under his command, the Dark Cavalry was like a precise mechanical octopus, stretching out its tentacle-like arms and tightly wrapping around those wolf cavalry who were attempting to escape, until they were all strangled to death. Colin was huddled in a corner, observing closely, learning diligently.
This was a rare opportunity.
Even though he didn’t understand why Marquis Garcia would allow an outsider like him, who was not part of the Dark Cavalry, to observe and learn so freely, Colin certainly did not feel ashamed.
Not everyone gets such an opportunity to learn the art of war from one of the greatest generals of the day.
The military orders were finally issued.
A commander from the Dark Cavalry walked out of the camp in silence.
No objections, no disagreements.
This army has become accustomed to obeying commands of Marquis Garcia.
Because as long as they obeyed, they gained one victory after another.
Without fail.
Authority is established in this way.
When a commander can lead his men to one victory after another, he becomes a god in the hearts of the warriors!
In fact, that’s why successful generals are always the subject of suspicion and concern by the monarch.
In the unique community of the military, everything is spoken through victory.
Even if you are the nominal king, if you cannot lead your soldiers to victory, your orders will not be executed.
The reason is simple, these soldiers do not understand politics, they don’t even understand loyalty, but they understand one simple rule – losing a battle, means someone will die.
And that person could very well be yourself.
So, to survive, you must win.
If rebelling leads to victory, they will also follow the commander and rebel without hesitation.
Colin adjusted his armor and flexed his muscles.
Of course, he did not receive any military orders, after all, he was an outsider. Apart from him, there was another outsider here – Vera.
This female mage had surprisingly started to doze off, her head nodding slowly and cutely.
But one couldn’t blame her, after all, she was called up in the middle of the night, and then there was a full day of tense fighting, she didn’t understand the earlier military meeting, so she inevitably started to fall asleep.
“Hey, wake up.” Colin approached, and elbowed Vera awake with his arm.
“Huh? What’s going on?” Vera lifted her head in confusion and instantly blushed red at the sight of Colin’s teasing smile.
Over there, Marquis Garcia was still quietly discussing something with Earl Dawson, seemingly oblivious to the actions of the two outsiders.
“Is the battle over?” Vera glanced at her uncle and seeing him not noticing her, breathed a sigh of relief.
“It’s not quite over yet. We now have to hunt down the scattered wolf cavalry to stop them from regrouping and especially from joining the main Troll force in the southwest.”
“Oh.” Vera’s brows furrowed slightly, but she quickly hardened her resolve, without uttering any complaints.
To be honest, the duke’s adoptive daughter exhibited great fortitude, none of that pampered behaviour common amongst the nobility.
Mages usually have frail bodies, yet she persisted in keeping up with the rest, which was indeed admirable.
“Vera.” Marquis Garcia glanced over and said softly, “You will stay with Earl
Dawson to clean up the battlefield. I will continue the pursuit with the army.”
“Alright.” Vera understood that her uncle was being considerate of her and obediently complied.
Next, Marquis Garcia turned to Colin: “Knight Colin, will you follow me or stay with Earl Dawson?”
Colin immediately straightened his chest: “I choose to follow you!”
Although staying behind was safer and would give him an opportunity to further develop his relationship with Vera, Colin knew what was more important. An excellent learning opportunity like this was not something he could afford to let go of.
Right now, Marquis Garcia was indeed more attractive to Colin than Vera.
“Good.” Marquis Garcia nodded and stepped out of the tent in large strides.
Colin immediately scurried after him.
Although the Dark Cavalry had set up a dragnet to prevent the remnants of the Wolf Cavalry from joining the main Troll Army, it was impossible to prevent any escapes on this vast Ice Plain with paths leading in all directions.
Most of the remnants of the Wolf Cavalry were intentionally driven by the Dark Cavalry to flee in the opposite direction, but there were still some who broke through the tight siege of the Dark Cavalry and merged with the main Troll Army.
Consequently, news of the defeat finally reached here.
The atmosphere in the main command tent was oppressive and solemn.
The tall Troll sitting in the main seat seemed somewhat dazed.
His name was Gumbick Warkin.
He was the prince of the Troll Empire’s south.
The Troll’s governance system was similar to humans, this was their attempt to learn and imitate after being repeatedly defeated by the Glorious Empire.
The supreme ruler was the Troll Emperor—Murdoch Volkin, followed by four princes: East, South, West, North, the positions likened to the dukes of the four territories in the Glorious Empire.
Among them, the Southern Prince had the highest prestige and power.
The reason was simple, the south of the Troll Empire was the North Territory.
This direction was not just the biggest threat to the Troll Empire but also their ancestral land they longed for.
Guarding the southern part of the Sky Ice Plain, without tangible power, they would have been ousted long ago.
So, in general, when battling the North Territory, unless the Troll Emperor himself led the expedition, it was always the Southern Prince serving as the Supreme Commander.
This time was no exception.
Gumbick Warkin, the second most powerful figure in the Troll Empire, was familiar with Marquis Garcia.
The two had struggled for more than ten years, with Gumbick losing almost every time.
Even so, his prestige within the Troll Empire continued to grow.
The reason for this peculiar situation was that although Gumbick consistently lost, his losses were the most dignified and sometimes he even managed to hold his own against Marquis Garcia.
While whenever any other Troll general faced the Dark Cavalry, they were utterly defeated every single time.
So, being the tallest among the short, Gumbick Warkin emerged as the only Troll general capable of standing against Marquis Garcia.
This southern expedition, capitalizing on the departure of Marquis Garcia from the frontlines, allowed Prince Gumbick to finally breathe a sigh of relief. With a series of victories, he proved to the world that—
It wasn’t that he, Gumbick, was incompetent, but that Marquis Garcia was just too formidable.
If you don’t believe it, just look – once Marquis Garcia is gone, there’s no one in the North Territory who can stand against him.
But to his disbelief, that Marquis Garcia had actually returned again!
Moreover, he did it in such a covert manner, catching Gumbick by surprise.
It took Prince Gumbick a long time to finally speak.
His hoarse voice echoed in the command tent: “What should we do now?”
However, the other Troll generals in the tent looked at each other in silence.
The entire tent was eerily quiet..