Chapter 338: Tiki-Taka

Cobblestone, a small town in Preston city. Inside a simple civilian house, Benjamin, Lancelot, Liam and the other generals were discussing their next move.

While they had been waiting in Cobblestone to join up with the imperial army, the reaver reinforcements had suddenly arrived. 80,000 cavalry surrounded the small town, sealing it off completely.

The Guard Camp collapsed without a fight. Inside the city, they had only 15 days of food left. The reavers, having interrogated captured Guard soldiers, now knew the situation inside and opted for a siege.

"General, we need to break out! The reavers are planning the same thing they did to Preston, they want to starve us and crush any reinforcements. Word of our situation must have reached His Highness by now. Are we just going to sit and wait for our allies to die trying to reach us?" Lancelot said firmly, without a trace of fear.

Benjamin remained silent in thought. Outside, the enemy cavalry belonged to Fern’s reinforcements. He didn’t know whether Fern was personally leading them, but the reavers now had cannons.

Liam stood up angrily and said:

"Never mind everything else. At least let us destroy their cannons! Their artillery threatens our wagon formations. Let’s show these reavers what our cannons can do!"

"Exactly! Let’s fight. We can’t just sit in Cobblestone and wait to die!" The other officers agreed.

After a while, Benjamin replied. "Not yet. Without the imperial army, we can’t attack blindly. I trust Lancet. He knows what to do. If Fern wants to trap us, we might just be able to hit him from both front and rear."

"But... Can we really trust the imperial army?" Lancelot asked doubtfully.

Liam said. "They might not be as good as our Brambleford troops, but my father leads the Imperial Guard, they’re elite forces of the Eldorian Empire. They won’t run away like that cowardly Guard Camp."

"We’ll see on the battlefield." Lancelot muttered. He was frustrated with the slow arrival of the reinforcements. If food ran out, they’d starve to death before the enemy even attacked.

Benjamin frowned. With Cobblestone under siege, he had lost all communication with the outside. He had no idea how many reavers they were truly facing.

---

Meanwhile, in the reaver camp outside Preston City, Fern sat in the main tent. Around him were leaders from the Sunderland Tribe: Clinton, Meryln, and others.

The Sunderland Tribe had come out in full force, 150,000 elite cavalry and 200,000 slave soldiers. A massive force of 350,000 troops.

The chaos in Preston had severely weakened Prince Augustus. There had been no strong resistance to Fern’s invasion, which boosted his confidence.

"Prince Fern, Preston has been under siege for over a month. Morale is low, it’s the perfect time to attack. Once we take the city and wipe out the Brambleford army, Prince Simon will be powerless to stop us." Clinton suggested.

Fern calmly shook his head.

"Prince Augustus is already finished. He’s a rat trapped in a sack. What matters now is the 30,000 Brambleford troops in Cobblestone. If we attack Preston while they strike from behind, we’ll be caught in a pincer."

"You’re absolutely right, Prince Fern!" Clinton quickly agreed.

Meryln added. "Prince Fern, the imperial army is only thirty kilometers away. We must not delay. Let’s attack Cobblestone now and destroy the Brambleford army. After Rowe’s death, it’s clear how dangerous they are. Some say the Brambleford army wields strange, powerful weapons. Give Prince Simon a few more years and he could become a major threat to the Order."

Fern looked at Meryln. "So you want to attack Cobblestone immediately?"

"Yes, Prince Fern." Meryln said, bowing.

Fern gave him a cold glance and said:

"The imperial army is a disorganized rabble. Nothing to fear. Just send one cavalry force to block them. The Brambleford army only has half a month of rations left. After that, they’ll fall apart on their own."

Meryln frowned. His tribe had never fought the imperial army, but the Martel Tribe had warned that Lancet was not an easy man to deal with.

He opened his mouth to object, but seeing Fern’s stern gaze, he fell silent.

---

Thirty kilometers away, Lancet was marching with the Imperial Guard toward Cobblestone.

Just then, a scout rode up:

"General! The Brambleford army is trapped in Cobblestone, thirty kilometers from Preston. The situation is critical!"

"What?!" Lancet’s face changed instantly. "How many enemies?"

"At least 150,000 cavalry, plus 200,000 slave soldiers."

Lancet’s face darkened. The Sunderrland Tribe’s cavalry was one of the strongest in the reaver forces. This was an all-out invasion.

Fern clearly intended to conquer the entire northern region in one swift strike.

After thinking for a moment, Lancet ordered:

"Keep monitoring the enemy’s movements. We move for Cobblestone immediately."

He had brought the best soldiers of the imperial army with him. 60,000 cavalry, 30,000 spearmen, 40,000 sword-and-shield troops, 20,000 archers.

All were elite Imperial Guard, personally trained by Lancet.

"Yes, General!" The scout replied and rushed off.

The army advanced. But ten kilometers later, another scout rushed in with urgent news:

"General! 70,000 reaver cavalry are heading straight for us!"

Lancet frowned. The reavers clearly intended to block them from reaching Cobblestone. Their plan was obvious.

At that moment, his son Randy stepped forward and said:

"Father, General Benjamin must be waiting for us to coordinate a pincer attack. I suggest you lead 60,000 cavalry around the enemy to Cobblestone, while I hold the line here with 90,000 infantry."

Lancet looked at his son with admiration.

’This child has my foresight and courage.’

"Leave 10,000 cavalry with you." Lancet said. "This battlefield is yours now. I’ll ride ahead."

Randy nodded solemnly. "Please take care of yourself, Father."

Lancet gave him a concerned look, then said nothing more.

With a shout, he urged his warhorse forward and rode off with the main cavalry force toward Cobblestone.

As soon as Lancet left, Randy’s expression hardened. He began issuing orders: spearmen in front, archers in back, sword-and-shield troops to guard the flanks.

The soldiers obeyed, swiftly rearranging into nine massive formations, each with 10,000 men.

Just as the formations were complete, a great cloud of dust rose in the distance, the reaver cavalry had arrived.