The cavalry platoon will be led by Wyr and will follow Falcon's cavalry division. The infantry will be led by me and we will set off tomorrow afternoon," Cardoj had just issued the order.
"They're leaving so soon?" The platoon jarls were obviously a little surprised. Tens of thousands of people had just arrived in Peterstown after a long journey, yet they had to set off again after only two days of rest. A few of them had already guessed that it wouldn't be that easy to return home.
As if he could feel the gloomy atmosphere in the tent, Cardoj smiled and said, "This time, we're just here to serve as foils. Don't worry about any danger, I promise!"
Only after hearing the baron's words did everyone relax. After discussing the matters of tomorrow's departure, the meeting was dismissed.
"Wyr, Locke, you two stay here!" Cardoj said.
When the others had almost left, Cardoj said, "Your cavalry platoon is just following the cavalry division for a spin. I'm sure they'll be transferred back soon."
"Wyr, try not to let the cavalry platoon suffer any losses," Cardoj sighed.
"Okay," Wyr replied.
Locke only then felt that something was wrong. Weren't they returning home? Where were they going? From what the baron said, it seemed like they were going to war with the cavalry division.
Cardoj didn't say much, so Locke didn't ask further.
Cardoj was very angry. He originally thought that they were returning to his territory, but today's sudden order was for them to follow Falcon to guard the southern border of the kingdom.
Although the countries around Faustian were surging with undercurrents, they hadn't stirred up any trouble so far. However, in order to increase their authority, the Faustian royal family and nobles not only sent one of their four major divisions, the garrison division, to guard the border, but even four of the three major divisions in Shalor were transferred back.
Moreover, they were all elite troops. Not to mention the two cavalry divisions, the two infantry divisions were also the trump cards of the two major corps.
The two divisions that were transferred back from Lion were directly sent to the northern border to be stationed together with some of the garrison division's soldiers. The covetous eyes of the two elite divisions of Karaman really made the Faustian higher-ups unable to sleep.
The two divisions of Falcon were intended to be sent to the southern border to confront the troops of Ligia Union and Josi. The Lion Legion's Cavalry Army and First Army were enough to take on this heavy responsibility.
What infuriated Cardoj was that their battalion belonged to 2nd Division, but because they were returning to the country together, they were forced to take part in the combat missions of the other two divisions.
The reason why their battalion was able to return earlier than the other battalions of 2nd Division was because Angelina had opened the back door for them. Who would have thought that a good thing would suddenly become an undeserved disaster?
Fortunately, many of the higher-ups knew that their battalion had a close relationship with Angelina. Someone had already hinted to them that this operation was just for show, and they would be transferred back soon.
However, how could Cardoj, who had been in the army for so many years, believe their nonsense? The situation on the battlefield was ever-changing, and it was very likely that he would become cannon fodder if he wasn't careful.
This time, their battalion was mixed in with other armies to carry out missions, and was definitely the group of people that no one cared about.
That was why Cardoj specifically told Wyr to take good care of the cavalry platoon. At least he would be there for the infantry platoon. Cardoj was a noble who was about to be promoted to a viscount, so the others would restrain themselves for his sake.
The cavalry platoon could only rely on Wyr, who was a high-rank Knecht, to deter the thieves who wanted to take advantage of them.
Although Angelina had a lot of influence, the county magistrate wasn't as good as the person in charge. She was far away in Audis, so she couldn't interfere in such a faraway place.
The mobilization of the army spread throughout the barracks in just half a day. Countless soldiers who didn't sneak out yesterday were beating their chests and stamping their feet. They were about to set off again, and their superiors wouldn't let them go out and have fun at this time.
Early in the morning, Locke and Wyr led the cavalry platoon and arrived at Lion's cavalry division.
The scale of the cavalry division with thousands of cavalrymen was much more spectacular than the hundred or so people in their platoon. The addition of Locke and the others was like a drop of water in a clear spring; it only caused a small ripple.
The jarl of the cavalry division was a general wrapped in full armour. The scarlet eyes revealed from his helmet showed that he wasn't someone to be trifled with.
After glancing at Locke and the others who had just joined, the jarl's gaze lingered on Wyr for a long time.
"Let's go!" As soon as the jarl gave the order, countless cavalrymen lined up in six and rushed out of the barracks outside Bideslane.
Because he was quite far away, Locke couldn't sense the jarl's strength. He could only roughly guess that he should be a high-rank Knecht like Wyr. He even had a hunch that this jarl was much stronger than Wyr.
The cavalry division spent three days in a row on the road. Thousands of cavalrymen passed through the eastern and central parts of Faustian at high speed, heading straight for the south.
Before Locke could enjoy the fresh air of his motherland, he had already inhaled the dust from the horses' hooves.
On the way, Locke was lucky enough to see the general outline of their capital, Felor, from afar, but only a corner of the city.
The cavalry division's speed was only slightly slower than their full speed. Their current speed was just the limit of what the horses could handle.
Apart from eating, drinking and going to the toilet, Locke spent the past few days on horseback. Sometimes, he even had to march at night. This made Locke wonder if there was going to be a war in the south again.
In fact, it wasn't that there was going to be a war in the south, but the higher-ups of Faustian couldn't wait to show off their strength to the Ligia Union.
On the fifth day, the cavalry division finally arrived at the southern border of Faustian.
The garrison corps' 3rd Division was stationed here. On the other side of the border was the Ligia Union army.
With the addition of an entire cavalry division, Faustian's military strength and numbers had greatly increased.
On the sixth day, the Faustian army seemed to have received some news. The cavalry division, which had only arrived at the southern border for a day, immediately took action. They spread out and surrounded the Ligia Union army in front of them.
The Infantry Regiment had also left their previous battlefront and moved a lot closer to the border.
In the face of the sudden movement of the Faustian army, the Ligia Union army immediately retreated, as if they didn't want to have anything to do with the Faustian army.
For the next week, one side advanced, while the other side retreated. The Faustian army's garrison line had advanced a full two hundred kilometres to the south, of which nearly a hundred kilometres belonged to the Ligia Union.
"What's going on? Why aren't they fighting? "Locke held a tender blade of grass in his mouth and looked curiously at the Ligia Union camp in the distance.
It was already February, and the warm southern Faustian was already showing hints of green. When Locke was a child, he liked to hold a tender blade of grass in his mouth and suck on its fresh fragrance and bitterness.
"They're afraid too," Wyr said jokingly, but he didn't let his guard down. He knew that standing opposite them was the famous Grassi Light Cavalry of the Ligia Union. If they really went head-to-head with them, the outcome would be hard to predict.
The reason why they didn't dare to fight was probably because there was a problem within the Ligia Union, Wyr thought.
As Wyr had expected, there was indeed a conflict within the Ligia Union. Not only the Ligia Union, but Karaman in the northeast, Gondor in the west, and Jose in the southwest also had problems.
In January 1321 of the Aomar calendar, Faustian had just ended its campaign against Shalor and transferred four of its divisions back to Faustian. Two of them were sent to the northern border, while the other two were sent to the southern border. The garrison corps that was stationed in the royal capital was also sent to the western border.
The final result was that at the northern border, two divisions of Faustian's Falcon and one division of the garrison corps confronted the army of Karaman.
At the western border, two divisions of the garrison corps confronted the army of Gondor.
At the southern border, one division of the garrison corps and two divisions of Falcon confronted the army of the Ligia Union and Jose.
Faustian was preparing to fight four enemies at once. As soon as the army was mobilized, it directly ignited public opinion in the surrounding countries. Countless scholars and strategists thought that the Faustians were crazy.
Faustian, which had just ended a protracted war, absolutely didn't have the ability to start another one. This was the consensus of everyone.
However, the countries involved didn't think so. They originally planned to watch Faustian eat the meat and come over to get some soup. Who would've thought that they would ignite a barrel of explosives? What was Faustian trying to do?
After several years of war with Shalor, the surrounding countries had already experienced the ferocity of the Faustian soldiers. They didn't want their countries to provoke such a troublesome guy for no reason.
Another week after Locke and the cavalry arrived at the southern border, the infantry division belonging to Lion finally arrived.
The addition of the infantry division made the Faustian army much more powerful. Seeing this, the army of the Ligia Union retreated again. However, the Faustian army didn't give chase and just stayed in place.
The summit meeting of Karaman, Gondor, Jose, the Ligia Union, and even more distant countries, including Faustian, was finally held at this time. There were dozens of diplomats attending the meeting.
Of course, a small soldier like Locke didn't know the final outcome. Anyway, Locke and his battalion were finally transferred after spending half a month at the southern border of Faustian.
"The order was personally given by Margrave Marmen, who is far away in Shalor," explained Cardoj.
The moment he received the transfer order, Cardoj began to gather the troops and prepare to leave. Although he could guess that there wouldn't be a fight, he didn't want to stay here any longer. The tense situation reminded him of the days when he attacked Audis.
Under the envious gazes of the other soldiers at the border, Locke and his battalion left the border and headed back home.
This time, they were really going back home. The southern border was within the scope of Dor province, and it was only a few days' journey away from Cardoj's territory. All the soldiers in Cardoj's battalion couldn't wait to return home.
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