When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

Chapter 817: Bloody Wine Swallows the Reflection of the Broken Dam (AI-generated title)

"Hail to the most honorable King Jinigis!" Count Dreta raised his glass to everyone at the banquet.

"Hey, hey!" (Lya slang, agreement, greeting.)
The knights and earls raised their gilded goblets.

"Hail to the greatest Kingdom of Leia!"

"Hey, hey!"

Baron Macherov, who was standing beside Count Dreta, stood up and raised his glass like a relay: "Salute to Count Dreta who led us to conquer Castle Adam!"

"Hey! Hey!"

There was a huge cheer at the scene with whistles, clapping and applause, which almost made the plates and candlesticks on the table jump up.

Count Dreta smiled, pressed his hands, and humbly bowed to the knights.

At this moment, the castle hall of Adam Castle was brightly lit and the atmosphere was quite warm.

The fire in the fireplace burned brightly, lighting the stone walls red.

The center of the banquet hall was filled with sumptuous dishes, and the air was filled with the smell of roasted meat, spices and strong liquor.

The maid in an apron walked between the dining table and the kitchen, and from time to time her greasy hands reached into her clothes.

On the dining table, silverware, candlesticks and wine jugs were neatly arranged, and in the light of the fire, they even sparkled with a golden luster.

The nobles sat at the long table, talking loudly, laughing loudly, and even singing folk songs from their hometowns while tapping silver spoons on porcelain plates.

However, in the corner of the banquet hall, three nobles seemed out of place.

"Humph, this is ridiculous." A noble with slightly chubby cheeks lowered his voice and said, "It was the people of Qianhe Valley who took the initiative to retreat."

Another young noble sneered and took a sip from his wine glass. "The garrison of Adam Castle has been severely reduced in numbers and their food is running out. It would be strange if they didn't leave."

There were two armies that attacked Castle Adam. One was the 20,000-strong kingdom army led by Lavle, and the other was the 3,000-strong vassal army of the Duke of Wing Nest.

The Duke of Wingchao guarded his hometown, Shattered Stone Plain, himself, but lent his own 3,000 troops to the Kingdom Army.

Later, when the city of Xialu was captured, the kingdom's army exchanged positions with the 16,000 vassal troops from Dawn Island and Thousand River Valley.

In addition, the Duke of Wing Nest also hired an additional 4000 Norn mercenaries to continue the siege.

What a coincidence was that just as these three Stonebreaker nobles handed over the main attack power to the Dawn Island troops, the Thousand River Valley people withdrew.

The army of Dawn Island captured this sturdy fortress without much effort.

So they could only watch as Count Dreta of Dawn Island took away all the glory.

"These guys are still bragging here, as if they broke down the city gate themselves... Can they win without us?"

"Isn't it?" The third noble said gloomily, "I am full after eating the fifth loaf of bread. Can I be full just by eating the fifth loaf of bread?"

Looking up and drinking the expensive wine in one gulp, the three of them glanced out the window inadvertently.

In the darkness of night, a row of corpses on the towering gallows in the castle square swayed in the wind, and their black shadows were stretched out long in the light of the fire.

"Poor people of Qianhe Valley." The slightly fat noble said softly, and it was unclear whether there was pleasure or pity in his tone. "It won't be long before they know that in addition to the bread of the priests, the empire also has the swords of the knights."

Meanwhile, at the main seat in the banquet hall, Count Dreta still had a smile on his face.

As the Earl of King Leia's palace, his military skills are those of Gottfried and Heinzmann.

While he was drinking and socializing with those at the table, he was still thinking about his next move.

Xialu City and Adam Castle have already fallen into our hands. Now as long as we take over Haji Castle, we can completely cut off the water logistics routes of the people of Qianhe Valley.

In this way, their supply lines can be cut off. Without supplies, those large and small fortresses can be killed by siege.

By then, the war situation in the entire Thousand River Valley will turn to the Kingdom of Leia.

Their current progress is far behind His Highness Jinigis' original plan.

According to the plan to capture Thousand River Valley in three months, they should have broken through the Detention Dock and approached Rapids City in February.

Who would have thought that these poor farmers in Qianhe Valley were so good at fighting?
Having fought in the field, Deretta could clearly understand:
If they did not have a 1000% advantage in manpower when fighting the "Holy Alliance" army head-on, they would almost certainly be suppressed. Even if they were fighting against 1500 River Valley infantry, they would need at least Leia infantry to not be at a disadvantage.

The cavalry level of the Qianhe Valley people is actually average, but the suppression power of the infantry is too strong.

Moreover, you are a leader, but you have to support more than 30,000 troops. Where do you get so much money?
At present, Count Dreta is so worried about maintaining his 23,000-man army that his hair is falling out.

These included approximately five thousand knights and vassal nobles from across the kingdom, who fought on the battlefield with their elite heavy cavalry as their core.

The rest of the army was made up of mercenaries, infantry, archers and local conscripted militia.

Moreover, unlike the unified command system of the Kingdom Army, most of Dreta's soldiers are vassal troops.

This means that Dreta can command a certain earl's 500 men to attack, but he cannot command a squad of knights among the 500 men.

Because the knight is not a vassal of Dreta!
The knight would only think, "Who are you? You are not my lord, so why do you order me around?"

Although this army seems huge, the soldiers' physical strength and morale are slowly being consumed due to the siege and fighting outside for so long.

"That's not bad." Count Dreta thought to himself, "We only need to push forward one more step, and the Thousand River Valley will not be able to hold on."

Less than a few minutes after this thought came to his mind, Count Dreta saw a servant walking quickly towards him.

"what happened?"

The attendant whispered something in his ear.

Dreta's expression changed slightly, his eyes flickered for a moment, and then he put down his glass.

"Everyone," he whispered to the nobles around him, "I can't hold my liquor. Please allow me to leave the table and rest for a while. I will celebrate with you later."

Then, Dreta walked to the corridor outside the hall.

Baron Macherov and several other important nobles looked at each other, found excuses one after another, and followed Count Dreta out of the banquet hall.

At this moment in the corridor, the candlelight actually had a hint of haziness.

Count Dreta washed his face, his eyebrows and hair were still wet, but he couldn't wait to ask Macherov and others to come over.

"What happened?" asked a tall knight.

Count Dereta's face was still gloomy. He said slowly: "The garrison of Haji Castle repelled our pursuit."

The tall knight scratched his head and said, "What's the big deal? We are here to drive out the remaining soldiers. We don't expect them to have any achievements."

"That's not the problem." Count Deretta interrupted him, "They suddenly stopped evacuating and took the initiative to lead their troops forward to occupy the Balin Manor."

"Isn't that perfect?" Baron Macherov raised his eyebrows. "If he hides in the castle like a turtle, we can't do anything about it. But if he dares to come out on his own, he's courting death!"

The other nobles also nodded.

Count Dreta did not give the order immediately. His eyebrows sank, and he said slowly: "We have been fighting outside for a long time and our morale is exhausted. If we attack rashly, we may fall into their ambush."

The Duke of Wing Nest had suffered this loss repeatedly in the previous war in Gravel Plain, and was repeatedly lured and ambushed by Andre and Meliati like teasing a child.

Baron Macherov nodded first, then after thinking for a moment, he cleared his throat and said, “Sir, the people of Qianhe Valley have limited manpower, and the defense of the fortress is already stretched to its limits.

Judging from the mobile forces in Haji Fort alone, it is estimated to be between 5000 and 6000. Even if an ambush is carried out, it will not cause much trouble.

They have to guard against the Kingdom Army in the fortress group in Kenk Town, and against the Stonewallers in Upper River County.

They had just replaced the Mountain Knights with a new regiment, so they certainly wouldn't dare to make random changes.

We just need to send someone to Xialu City to ask for the opinion of Knight Commander Laful, and let the troops in other places launch a feint attack.

If we can't spare any effort elsewhere, then we won't be at risk of being ambushed."

Count Dreta thought for a moment, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that the baron's suggestion made sense, so he nodded.

"That makes sense!" He turned to the attendant beside him and said, "Send a message immediately and have the messenger rush to Xialu City to ask Mr. Lavle for his opinion."

(End of this chapter)