Chapter 858: The Battle of Upper River County and the Chief Priest
Standing at the bow, Horn stared in a daze at the billowing white smoke behind the hills in the distance until it disappeared from his sight.

The view turned to the sails behind us, and the sailors were nervously adjusting the ropes to adapt to the change in wind direction.

Fortunately, there is a tailwind blowing from the north today, otherwise the speed of sailing against the current would not be so fast.

Starting from Matou Town and heading north along the Nauan River, you will reach Horn’s destination – Upper River County.

That is his hometown and where he was born.

At least that’s what it seems in the eyes of the world.

As for why Horn took the Guards Regiment to Upper River County, it was naturally because the situation had changed.

After the previous Battle of Redwayne, the Leia army, which had rested and reorganized, launched another attack in May.

All the way from the Holy See to Horsehead Town, Horn could hear relevant news reported by the Cheka.

At the beginning, he tried to use the previous “peace talk” to encourage the soldiers to surrender and cease fire.

Later, when they found that it was not working, they began to build military stations and stables everywhere and demolish the fortresses that Horn had built earlier.

This is clearly a preparation for a long-term battle.

When the troops were increased to 80,000, they were eager for spoils of war and were faced with the difficulty of defeating the Thousand River Valley Holy Alliance army.

The first thing these newly arrived troops did was to start looting.

Not to mention the ordinary villages, even the manors where the nobles who surrendered from Qianhe Valley were located were extorted and robbed by deserters, regular soldiers and defeated soldiers.

However, after the great looting, the soldiers who had originally gathered together showed a tendency to disperse.

According to the Vindicator’s intelligence, the Leia army is suspected to have abandoned the Kenk Town-Detention Dock defense line and moved on a large scale to Upper River County.

Horn judged that this was not a change in the main attack direction, but simply because hundreds of thousands of people gathered around Xia Lucheng and made rice expensive.

Fifty thousand people are more than enough to attack the Nauan River defense line. The remaining thirty thousand people will either go south to attack Kasha County or go north to attack Upper River County.

Judging from the intelligence from the Guardians, Cheka and French spies, King Gigi still chose Upper River County.

He sent a letter to Andre and received the same answer.

After all, Upper River County is located upstream. Once conquered, they can go downstream, bypass the detention dock, and enter Rapids City directly.

It just so happens that Lower River County borders Gravel Plains and Thorn Garden, so the Osra family of Thorn Garden can be responsible for the baggage supply.

This was indeed a helpless move, as increasing the number of troops to 80,000 would have led to problems with logistics and supply.

If it weren’t for the Nauan River transportation artery, King Jiji could only send out 30,000 troops at most.

With the support of the Black Crown Regiment, the Wild Wolf Regiment, the Worshipful Regiment, and the Divine Punishment Regiment, the Nauan River defense line has been stabilized.

Then the defense line of Upper River County in the north would seem somewhat precarious.

“Your Majesty, Lord Valentyl has arrived.”

Wearing a thick black robe, Valentyl looked like a weathered uncle, and he didn’t know when he had glasses on his nose.

“It’s been a long time since we last met, Your Majesty.”

Horn smiled and shook his hand. “I’m really sorry to trouble you to come here in such a hurry.”

“How can I be a nuisance in front of His Majesty?” Valentyl said decisively, “Did Andre fight with the Leia people?”

Horn snapped his fingers, and a privy monk stepped forward, opened a wooden folder, and explained the situation.

Although this attack relied on the logistics of the Thorn Garden, it was not the army of the Osra family.

King Gigi still dragged Duke Omes to attack the Nauan River defense line.

If the Osra family’s army were to attack Upper River County from the Thorn Garden, it would surely be that Duke Omes was slacking off.

Maybe in the later stages of the battle, Duke Omes feels unwell and goes home without King Gigi knowing about it. That would be the end of it.

According to the judgment of the privy monks, the young king must keep the Duke of Ormes by his side to feel at ease.

So this time, it was the army of the Border Knights that attacked Upper River County.

To be honest, the Border Knights are mainly composed of cavalry and should be used mainly in field battles.

It’s just that the Holy League has always used fortress tactics, and Hotam County is densely covered with hills and streams, making it inconvenient for cavalry to fight in the field.

As for the endless small plateau of Gravel Plain, it is the territory where the knights perform their duties.

“According to intelligence from the front, three days ago, the Border Knights had their first battle with the Iron Fist at Bear Gnawing Castle. The castle garrison commander Sochet mobilized a large number of shepherds and offered a large reward, setting an example himself.

They used clockwork cannons to defend against the enemy, and the Border Knights were at a loss when facing clockwork cannons for the first time. They had to retreat after three days of fierce attack.

However, the Border Knights are already mobilizing the Stonebreakers nobles, with a large number of shovels and pickaxes, and they are likely to make a comeback in the near future.”

“Apparently, Andre fought pretty well in this battle.” Valentyl touched the stubble on his chin.

“Who is this Sochet? Why have I never heard of him?” Horn asked puzzledly.

“A Frenchman, he is an old subordinate of Captain Andre when he served in France. He is a civilian and retired as a squadron leader.”

Squadron leader, this is the ceiling for a civilian-born military rank in France.

Andre understood the principle of bringing prosperity to the family. After losing control of Meliati, he brought in a bunch of his old subordinates who had served in France.

In fact, according to Cheka reports, the Iron Fist Chapter is now divided into two factions.

One was Andre’s subordinate when he was fighting guerrilla warfare in the Saint-Sun Volunteer Army, and the other was his subordinate when he served in the French army.

Horn wasn’t sure what Andre was thinking.

During the Bloodless Night, he supported Horn and took the right side.

But he was unwilling to accept Horn’s intensive training, and he was even more self-righteous as the military chaplain.

This fellow was entrenched in Upper River County, organizing a regiment and commanding an army of more than 7,000 men.

Horn has currently only given him military funds equal to the strength of the regiment, and the rest of the money is earned from border trade.

So far, the Thousand River Valley Holy Alliance has not been able to establish effective control over the Iron Fist Regiment.

In addition to helping Andre defend, one of Horn’s major goals is to absorb this Iron Fist Regiment.

Looking up, Horn looked at Valentyl who was thinking about the battle situation: “You were a rebel with Andre before, are you interested in working together again?”

“Now?”

“Yes, Head Priest, Andre has no reason to refuse.”

Valentyl was stunned at first, then smiled bitterly: “Although I have some reputation in the Iron Fist Group, a skilled cook cannot cook without rice.”

“Don’t worry.” Horn smiled slightly, “He has a hardcore club, don’t you?”

“My iron?”

“Do you think you’re the only one making progress?” Horn laughed. “The members of the Holy Sun Army are all determined fighters. Do you think I will let them go?”

“Uncle Valentyl!”

“Is Andre disobedient again?”

“Uncle Valentyl, why are you wearing glasses? Are you a college student?”

“It’s me, Ansel, can you still see me clearly?”

Valentyl turned his head blankly, only to see his comrades from the Saint Sun Rebellion appear on the deck again.

There are both young and old.

Compared with the confusion and numbness in the past, they are now all full of energy and vigor.

The confusion and numbness in his eyes were gone, and instead there was a bit of perseverance and hardship after the war.

“Over the four years, they first learned to read and write at Frick High School, and then served as clerks and military chaplains in the countryside or in war groups.

This time, in order to control the war situation in the north, I pulled them all out of their original units…”

Before Horn could finish his words, he saw a group of young monks rushing over and hugging Valentyl with all their might.

And Valentin Taylor hugged these former comrades one by one with tears in his eyes.

Horn smiled and stopped talking. After not seeing each other for three years, these friends who were as close as life and death to each other must have a lot to talk about.

He needn’t bother.

“Arrange a cabin for you guys. If you have any wine, send it over. If anyone asks, just say I drank it.” Horn smiled and whispered to the monk beside him.

(End of this chapter)