Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest-Chapter 251 - 20: Suppressing the Rebel Army

Roman faced the same problem.

Just like last time, he had arrived at the secondary roads of Black Iron Avenue.

These were small paths branching off from the main road.

In the Kant Territory, most of the time, communication with the outside world depended on this road.

It couldn’t compare to the quality of the stone and lime roads of Origin City.

It was merely a comparatively wide dirt road, about ten meters in width.

Because it was easy to traverse, the rebellious army also came this way.

Roman’s scouts were stationed on this road to immediately gallop at top speed to Roman upon sighting a foreign army approaching.

However, by the time Roman led his troops out, the two sides were less than twenty kilometers apart.

In another day, they would encounter Roman’s army.

Only, the terrain in this area was far from ideal.

There were hills, hillocks, valleys, and other broad, complex landforms, but they fatally lacked any strategic passes or strongholds.

This was what was called the land that military strategists didn’t vie for.

Because it was of little value.

Unless one were to construct a defense as long as the Great Wall, blocking any spot would be simple to bypass.

Of course, the rebellious army was coming for Roman.

Like last time, fighting in the valleys was not out of the question for Roman.

Only, last time, he was low on troops, so he had had no choice but to employ that last resort to shorten the battle line.

Even if the enemy had more soldiers, only about a hundred could be sent to the front line to fight.

So whether it was attrition warfare or pincer movements,

Roman wasn’t afraid.

He was playing a game of tactical exchange.

...

But now it was different.

Roman’s army numbered four thousand, and counting the non-combatants, there were seven thousand people.

Cramming them all into the valley would be entangling oneself in one’s web.

So, how should he fight?

Without the advantage of terrain, open-field battle was the only option left.

To deploy formations and engage in the wilderness.

Only three types of tactics could be used in an open-field battle:

Organize the troops, flank with surprise forces, or hide ambush forces.

Roman had already prepared force organization; the formation was for this very moment.

A surprise flanking maneuver wouldn’t work – to bypass unnoticed, one would need to detour tens of kilometers, and the enemy had scouts. Once discovered, the enemy would immediately send out cavalry to hunt them down. Unless Roman also sent a cavalry, escape would be difficult,

An ambush could be done.

But exactly how to carry it out would depend on how the situation developed.

The next day.

The sky was overcast, as if spring rain was on its way.

In the morning, Roman saw dust clouds rising in the distant sky.

His vision was excellent, and the scouts continuously relayed messages.

The enemy army was nearing, and their numbers were vast; even without seeing it firsthand, the billowing dust of their march still brought a repressive feeling.

By afternoon, the rebellious army was less than three kilometers from Roman.

They didn’t advance further but began to encamp on the spot, conserving their energy.

Roman didn’t launch a raid either; that would have been a futile act.

Come evening, the opposing armies had yet to engage in battle, but the scouts from both sides had already clashed.

Dota led a team of scouts and encountered the enemy scouts in the wilderness.

The scout units were reconnaissance teams, lighting up the vision for the army, avoiding enemy ambushes or surprise forces.

Dota and his men killed four and captured one.

But on Roman’s side, eight scouts were lost, seven of whom were shot dead by special arrows, one died in close-quarters combat during capture.

Nevertheless, they completed the mission, captured a tongue, and immediately rode back at full speed, their backs drenched with cold sweat.

Roman saw those expensive Special Arrows and knew there were Shattered Archers in the rebel army.

He just didn’t know how many Shattered Archers had come.

Having grown up in Split Armor Domain from a young age, Roman knew too well what they were capable of.

Such a unit’s suppression of irregular troops and volunteers was terrifying.

Once encountered, even a hundred meters apart, his Scouts would have no chance of survival.

Roman ordered Dota to bring the captured Scout before him.

"Speak of the specific composition of the rebel army’s forces, and I shall spare your life; my word is my bond. But if you refuse to speak, I will torture you until life is worse than death; my word is my bond!"

The Scout felt the intensity of that gaze.

Just like with Kate, the offspring of the Riptide were not ordinary; their eyes seemed to substantiate.

And he was not particularly loyal or steadfast.

For the sake of his safety, he chose to spill all the intelligence he had.

Through this, Roman also learned that Gael had actually dispatched forty Shattered Archers, two hundred Oath Riders, and four hundred Free Riders.

The so-called Oath Riders were a type of Cavalry unit, ranked second only to Conquest Knights, with mounts but no retainers.

Put simply, they were down-and-out Knights.

Feed them, and they would swear loyalty to you.

If fed by many, they would swear loyalty to many.

And the Free Riders were even worse off, struggling to fend for themselves.

Impoverished, they usually frequented tournaments or battlefields.

Whenever there was conflict, they would be gathered to bolster the ranks.

Accomplishments on the battlefield brought them gold and spoils of war, then they’d search for the next battlefield.

Their process was similar to that of a Mercenary.

But they themselves did not see it this way, fancying themselves as Conquest Knight reserves.

Because many Free Riders gained renown in tournaments or on battlefields, they became true Knights, the idols that many Free Riders aspired to be.

It’s worth mentioning that younger sons of minor Nobles or the offspring of Conquest Knights often became Oath Riders or Free Riders upon reaching adulthood.

Anyway, the army Gael had sent was quite complex in its composition and of rather high quality.

There was a total of about a thousand Cavalry units.

Although there were only seventy high-quality Knights among them.

But neither the forty Shattered Archers nor the thirty Judgement Knights were common Conquest Knights.

Moreover, there was a Divine Group composed of five hundred Nuns and three hundred Priests.

An army of five thousand Believers might not be much.

But the mercenaries from the mire were a frightening factor.

Had last year’s coalition of seven thousand Nobles been replaced with three thousand Mercenaries, his victory might not have been so easy, with casualties rising by at least another thirty percent.

Roman felt some pressure.

After getting the details, Roman waved them off and had the Scout temporarily imprisoned as a prisoner of war.

Afterward, Roman convened a military meeting.

He laid out the current situation to all the commanding officers, big and small.

Roman even brought out a sand table model to simulate the current state of affairs.

There was no denying that the enemy had a significant advantage.

In the current era, this was a formidable force, capable of a major engagement.

But their disadvantages were also not small.

A hasty and haphazardly assembled force against the rebellion was poor in organization, cohesion, and execution.

Their military training could not begin to compare with that of a complete army.

The fight could definitely be fought.

But Roman was unwilling to resort to exchange tactics again.

The last battle had cost him seven hundred of his two thousand men, how many would be lost this time?

Even if victorious, the losses would be devastatingly heavy.

So the problem now was how to minimize those losses.

The meeting lasted for two hours.

Until deep into the night, Roman finally dismissed everyone.