Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters
Chapter 1188 - 22 The Great Alliance Moves Forward (7)_3

Chapter 1188: Chapter 22 The Great Alliance Moves Forward (7)_3

Jacob hurriedly took his leave.

As soon as the obstructive fellow left the tent, Colonel Seber’s roar erupted: "Why won’t you let me pursue?!"

"Your light cavalry lacks the capability for assaults," Winters explained calmly and rationally, "and they are too precious. They have the courage to shake the Big Square Formation, but I don’t want to waste them on confronting it head-on."

"Where are your infantry?! Can’t I assault? And where are Captain Mason’s cannons?!"

"The fire got out of control, and the infantry had to retreat; otherwise, they’d be caught in the blaze. Captain Mason’s artillery has already retreated in advance, lacking the support of cannons, facing the Big Square Formation head-on would cost us dearly in casualties."

Colonel Seber was going mad; his roars grew louder: "High casualties? When it’s time to seize the victory, you worry about casualties?! Don’t you know? If we let the Provincial Guy establish a foothold, we’ll suffer much higher casualties than now?!"

"We’ll have to accept the fact that we can’t completely annihilate the enemy today."

"You missed the opportunity!"

The voices of the two could be heard outside the tent, scaring the guards into shrinking their necks, and the clerks tried their best to avoid the argument, not daring to eavesdrop.

A series of heavy footsteps sounded again, Andre entered the tent with his bare upper body, summoned by Jacob Green.

Seeing Colonel Seber spraying spittle at Winters from a height, Andre was pleased rather than angry.

"Don’t look at me; I’m not here to mediate. Only Mason would do such a thankless task, not me."

Andre leisurely strolled to the other end of the tent and poured himself a glass of water—only clear water was available in Winters’ tent.

He turned around, leaned against a small cupboard, and said enthusiastically, "Besides, I’ve always been curious whose swordsmanship is better between you two."

Colonel Seber snorted lightly, stood upright, and tidied his old military uniform.

He took a deep breath, held his saber, and said coldly, "The fire on the South Bank has reached the mountain; the provincial avenue is entirely passable. The Provincial Guy’s troops are just outside Green Valley, and my men have locked onto his position. If we set out now, there’s still a chance to wipe them out completely. Wait any longer, and that Provincial Guy will fortify the granary into a turtle shell!"

"We will not waste any more time on them," Winters paused for a moment, pulled out a map from the bottom of layers of different scale maps, and handed it to the colonel: "Bazenaur’s troops have been supplemented, Colonel Bod’s forces are at a disadvantage, and we need to meet with Colonel Bod as soon as possible."

Seber took the map, frowned, and asked, "Are you sure the other half of the pseudo-government’s legion has already reached Bazenaur? They might still be on the ship."

"Unless I see it with my own eyes, I can’t be sure. But currently, the intelligence from different sources can be mutually verified."

Seber was silent for a while, gritting his teeth, "Emotionally, I want you to support Colonel Bod quickly. But rationally, I still think it’s more prudent to annihilate the enemy in front of us first, then pressure Maplestone City."

"I’ve seen Maple Fort; it’s a very formidable fortress," Winters shook his head lightly, "Taking it with the cannon we currently have is nothing but a pipe dream."

Winters’ reasons were very sound, but the attractive spoils of war were right in front of them, easy to obtain. Who would easily give up without attempting?

Seber eagerly supplemented his reasons: "Of course, Maple Fort is hard to conquer, but the defenses of Maplestone City are very weak! Maplestone City is the quintessence of the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province! Wealth! Population! Resources! It has everything! Capturing Maplestone City means all of Adams’ accumulated supplies and armaments are ours! We can recruit more soldiers, and we can rebuild the New Reclamation Legion."

Andre on the side also kept nodding.

Winters firmly and indisputably refuted, "The army is everything to us. If Colonel Bod’s main force gets defeated, then even if we temporarily seize Maplestone City, we will lose it sooner or later. If we can defeat Colonel Sanel’s troops, then even if we abandon Maplestone City today, we can reclaim it sooner or later."

"I worry," Seber’s voice was no longer as loud as before, and his face turned gray: "That if we miss this opportunity, we might never capture Maplestone City and Maple Fort again."

Winters also stood up, looking at Seber at eye level, firmly stated, "Even if that’s the case, we absolutely won’t betray our allies!"

Seber was cornered by Winters’ gaze; he gritted his teeth and stomped his foot: "Fine! Let’s do it!"

Having made up his mind, Seber regained his sharp and aggressive demeanor, coldly said, "But you should consider, even if we hurried to meet Colonel Bod now, we might still be too late."

"I know." Winters knocked on the map in Seber’s hands, "I’ve thought it through."

It was then that Seber paid attention to the map given to him by Winters and spent a good while recognizing the lines and marks on the map, matching them with his memory of the mountains and rivers.

When he truly realized what the map symbolized, as brave as Seber was, he broke out in a cold sweat.

"You... this... I..." Seber couldn’t speak a full sentence for a long time, finally glaringly asking: "What about the Provincial Guy’s troops outside Green Valley? If they catch up, we’re doomed!"

"Based on Major Alder Felter’s performance, he is a conservative and extremely cautious commander," Winters sat back in his campaign chair, fondling a small pastoral knife in his hand, "It’s his caution that saved his forces today."

"Caution." Andre looked disdainful: "I see it as being timid as a mouse!"

This time, it was Colonel Seber’s turn to nod; he grinned and said, "Luck is also pretty good!"

"Caution is a valuable quality," Winters’ fingertips brushed the knife blade, contemplating, "However, perhaps we can make Major Felter’s ’caution’ work for us."

"Then..." Seber asked unwillingly: "Do we just let him go?"

"Who said we are letting him go?" Winters raised his eyebrow: "I only meant we can’t annihilate him completely today."

Seber looked dumbfounded, and Andre was also puzzled.

"Hey! Don’t brag!" Colonel Seber slammed on the table, somewhat annoyed: "Although the Provincial Guy is not great at field battles, he’s a master at defending turtle shells! The more time you give him, the harder he becomes to deal with. Besides, once we go to meet with Colonel Bod, where do we get additional forces to handle him?"

"Colonel Seber Carrington." Winters unusually called Seber’s full name, sighing: "Although you’re an expert in using light cavalry, your thought process is still that of the Paratu People, always seeking to end all battles with a decisive main force engagement within an hour or a morning."

"What do you mean?" Seber flared up instantly: "Not using Paratu People’s thinking, would you use the Herd Barbarians’ way?!"

Winters stood up, thrust the small knife into the campaign table: "Exactly! The upcoming battles will be fought using the methods of the Hed Tribes! If the Herdman’s methods allow us to win with fewer casualties, I will never waste my warriors’ lives!"

Seber couldn’t respond for a moment, and Andre belatedly asked, "You let that Pierre kid lead the troops out, just for this?"

"Yes." Winters calmly said, pulling out the knife from the table: "Major Alder Felter will be handled by Pierre Mitchell."