That's not how you use a witch!

Chapter 53 If you can't beat Thorn Territory, can't you beat Purple Mist Territory?

As the sun dips below the horizon, the two moons slowly rise, and night descends upon Terra under the sun and moon.

On the banks of the White River, the Blood Moon Black Flag still flutters, but it no longer possesses the uprightness and stability it had when it first entered the Western Regions. The flag swaying in the cold winter wind is just like the morale of Manstein's army.

He listened intently to today's battle report with a solemn expression:

Before that mysterious western border garrison, both the flanking flanking forces and the frontal assault forces suffered complete defeats:

The left and right flanks responsible for the flanking maneuver suffered nearly 300 casualties and more than 100 wounded. The witch Evelyn not only failed to turn the tide, but was completely suppressed by the witches defending the left flank. The situation on the right flank was also not ideal. The enemy relied on witches who could control water to break through the battle line. The right flank army, which did not send witches to accompany them, could only be beaten on one side.

Even setting aside the witch, the well-trained, well-equipped, and disciplined ambush troops were a persistent nightmare for them.

This was the first time since the start of the campaign that the rebel soldiers had felt fear towards the enemy soldiers.

Instead of turning the tide, the main force led by Gorman was nearly wiped out by the defenders' deadly arrow rain, with nearly 200 men killed in a single charge.

Those were all elite heavily armored knights; the death of even one was a major loss!

"My lord, I have failed in my duty as commander. Please punish me according to military law!"

Gorman dismounted and knelt down, his fists almost slamming into the mud.

"You've done enough. Anthony and I also bear responsibility for the misjudgment in this defeat."

Manstein's tone was neither angry nor happy. "We didn't expect that the military strength of the Thorn Territory had developed to this extent, and that they had even recruited those witches to serve them. Given the intelligence asymmetry, our victory is that we were able to preserve our strength and retreat unscathed."

"But……"

Gorman gritted his teeth.

The question he wanted to ask was actually what most of the soldiers were concerned about: But how should we fight next?

Fulong Valley is the gateway to the western border. If we fail to take it, not only will the morale of our army be low, but we will also be vulnerable to being attacked from both sides by the royal army, which will gradually catch up.

If we choose to launch a full-scale attack, the best outcome will be a Pyrrhic victory. Even if we manage to break into the western border, the rebels will be exhausted.

Anthony, however, proposed a bold tactic that surprised him:

Instead of going through Fulong Valley, they feigned a retreat, then crossed the Ronghai Mountains on the northwestern border and took the mountain path directly into the heart of the western territory, Zimo Territory.

"Purple Marquisate is a marquisate, wouldn't that make it even harder to conquer?"

Gorman was a bit confused. He had chosen the long way around and the hard way, which was a major taboo in military strategy.

"On the contrary."

Anthony shook his head.

"The Thorn Territory is guarded by at least three powerful and loyal witches, and even has thousands of well-trained elite soldiers. I dare say there are few forces in the entire Western Territory that can match it. This Ronan has clearly put a lot of effort into targeting us. As for the Purple Passage, although it seems prosperous and wealthy, its military is actually lax and lacks any intention of fighting. It's all just a facade. More importantly, the Purple Passage has already been infiltrated by us. When we cooperate from the inside and outside, it will be much easier to take it than to take the Thorn Territory."

Manstein also said, "I agree with Anthony's view. The significance of taking one Purple Pass is incomparable to taking ten Thorn Passes."

Gorman nodded thoughtfully.

Once he came to his senses, he realized that this was a brilliant move that seemed to be high-risk and high-reward, but was actually almost risk-free.

Choosing the long way around while neglecting the near certainly goes against common sense, but the Western Frontier shares the same idea, which is actually a blind spot in their understanding. Moreover, the situation in Zi Mo Territory is almost transparent to the rebels, and as for Thorn Territory... who knows what other trump cards they might pull out?

"Let's set off now!"

Gorman's fighting spirit was rekindled. "Let me lead the charge again and get back at them!"

"No rush."

Manstein gave a half-smile. "The soldiers have come from afar and are exhausted. Let them rest for two days to recharge before setting off again."

"Won't this delay our opportunity?"

"Not only will we not, but we'll wait for the right opportunity."

Manstein told Gorman that although the Thornlands had won a battle, they had not achieved any substantial results; and although they had lost a battle, they had not suffered any substantial losses.

Ronan knew the situation remained dire and would certainly seek aid from the Duke of the West and urge the lords of the West to prepare for war. If the rebels continued their overly aggressive tactics, it would surely alarm some.

Therefore, they need to adopt a low-key and defensive posture at this time, letting these people continue to sleep. In this way, Ronan, the only one who is awake, will become the target of everyone's criticism.

"And we can add fuel to the fire."

"Manstein said slowly."

"I will spread rumors that this is just a small-scale probing and that we have no intention of attacking the West. If all goes well, the rumors of the Thorn Lord's attention-seeking will soon be rampant in the West. If all goes well, those good-for-nothings in the West might even pin a trumped-up charge on him and remove this thorn in our side."

Gorman opened his mouth wide, speechless.

He realized once again that war is more than just fighting...

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Meanwhile, Thorn Ridge.

The joy of victory spread throughout the land as the militia returned in triumph. Under Ronan's leadership and with the help of the witches, they defended their homeland and their hard-won new life.

However, the atmosphere within the militia was somewhat somber.

On the main battlefield, the militia routed the rebel cavalry charge without even engaging the enemy; they also achieved great success on the flanks. However, in the fierce fighting with the rebel vanguard, two militiamen were seriously wounded and four militiamen died on the spot.

From a military perspective, an exchange ratio of 6 to 300 is clearly excellent.

However, for the militia, it was not just a number, but six brothers who lived and worked with them day and night.

At this moment, Fermi and the militiamen were huddled in a wooden hut with a sign that read "Military Region Hospital," looking with complicated expressions at two wounded soldiers lying on the bed, barely breathing.

One of them was someone who enlisted through special recruitment at the same time as him. Everyone called him Iron Nail. In today's battle with the vanguard of the fleeing soldiers, he was surrounded by five enemies. After killing two of them, he was stabbed several times and fell to the ground.

After the battle, his comrades worked together to carry him back, but he was too badly injured, and everyone knew that there was no way to save him.

The other was Old Neil, the leader of the Iron Nails, who was said to be a veteran from the same cohort as Payne. In order to buy time for Payne's group, he chose to expose himself and was shot in the neck by a rebel archer.

Old Neil didn't die on the spot, but most of the time, enduring the countdown to death is more cruel than death itself.

"I'm sorry, old Neil! It's all my fault!"

Seeing his comrade on the verge of death, Payne covered his face and wept. This was the first time the militiamen had ever seen him cry so bitterly.

Old Neil's wife and daughter, standing by the bed, also had red eyes and their faces were covered in tears.

Old Neil, whose breathing was growing weaker, forced a smile and comforted Payne, telling him not to blame himself too much, and that even if it had been any other brother today, he would have done the same to protect him.

What he can't let go of most right now is his wife and daughter. He doesn't know what will happen to them after he's gone.

Just then, a commotion suddenly arose from the back of the crowd, with someone saying that the lord had arrived.

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