571: Chapter 270 Risky Military Maneuver_3 571: Chapter 270 Risky Military Maneuver_3 Leon simply found Baron Yevan, who was commanding the army to repair the drawbridge in the northern part of the city, and informed him of his decision to hand over hundreds of scattered chain armor, cloth armor, swords, and spears to the Shatai Griffin Group.
“It’s difficult for my Orland Army to recruit soldiers on Kantadar’s land, but you are a local lord of Kantadar.
These military supplies are for you; have your men repair and polish them.
In the future, they can be used to expand your troops and replenish losses during battles.”
Baron Yevan seemed pleasantly surprised upon hearing this, but his expression quickly turned troubled.
“…Thank you for your generosity, Mr.
Leon, but to be honest, even for a Kantadar noble like me, recruiting troops on the North Shore right now is extremely difficult.
Not many of the populace have the courage to cross the river to face the Undead.”
Understanding his predicament, Leon offered some reassurance: “Though that’s the current situation, once I lead the army to recover the lands south of the river and bring sunlight back to this territory, you local lords simply need to be generous and willing to make promises to the people.
Those who have nowhere else to turn will see hope and opportunity on this war-torn land and join the army to fight for survival.”
“You already have the next step planned?” Yevan, seeing Leon’s confidence in reclaiming the lost territory, felt a surge of excitement.
In just four days, with such minimal cost, Leon had successfully recaptured two critical human strongholds on the South Bank.
The Baron of Avalon standing before him, who had once saved Shatai, increasingly seemed like a divine figure sent by the gods to rescue the suffering masses.
It’s worth noting that many of the veterans in the Griffin Group who had survived the bloody battle of Shatai were still spreading tales of the Divine Envoy and Valkyrie descending from the heavens to drive back the Undead Army.
Yevan could even envision that, after this battle, the mercenary groups would likely worship the Baron of Avalon, who had yet again created a miracle, with even greater fervor.
Leon nodded, not hesitant to bolster Yevan’s confidence.
Of course, strictly speaking, the person who proposed this plan wasn’t himself, but Lola.
He pointed to the North: “I’ll gather all the large sailboats in the hands of the Eastern Alliance, lead an elite cavalry force along the river, sail past the Cloud Domain, and land in the rear of the Undead Army’s territory to strike southward.
The goal will be to sever the connections between Ashford Port and surrounding small Undead outposts.
Then, I’ll regroup and lead a full-scale offensive against the Undead entrenched on the South Bank.”
“…Sail north along the river?!” Yevan’s eyes widened in astonishment.
The outer Ustato River extends northeast all the way to the border between Kantadar Kingdom and Seryan Kingdom.
The tens of thousands of Undead now sweeping across the land had originated from that direction.
“A few trips with large ships can transport at most two to three thousand men.
If you march into the heart of the Cloud Domain with a lone force, the risk is far too great.
If you’re surrounded so far from home, you’ll have no way to retreat!”
“No step in war is completely secure, but rest assured, I wouldn’t gamble with my own life or the lives of my soldiers without confidence in success.” Leon waved his hand helplessly.
He gazed toward the direction of the river.
It was still imperative to scout whether the Undead Army truly lacked a functioning navy, as Lola and he surmised.
At present, bypassing the Undead Army’s front lines and swiftly cutting south from their rear through Baldim County was the fastest path to isolate the river towns from the large Undead Altars to their east.
Once this isolation was achieved, Lola could overturn the altars, and living armies would be able to systematically eliminate Undead strongholds whose Soul Bells had been “forcefully silenced.”
…Resorting to such daring moves was truly unavoidable.
The fighting forces he commanded were ultimately too few.
Facing the massive hordes of Corpse Ghosts head-on, every fallen living warrior represented a heavy loss; even with a kill ratio of ten to one, he couldn’t sustain it, let alone double that.
What’s more, such a favorable kill ratio was only possible against a swarm mostly composed of ordinary zombies.
Against the truly elite forces of the Undead, ordinary soldiers couldn’t come close to achieving such exchange rates.”