Chapter 1391 - 592: Different Choices, Different Fates

Chapter 1391: Chapter 592: Different Choices, Different Fates

The argument between the two sides went on for half a day without any result, so they simply split into two factions, with those wanting to defend the river doing so, and those opting for retreat defending the final stronghold.

Thus, roughly ten thousand rebellious peasants defended by the river, while the remaining twenty thousand retreated towards the last stronghold.

When the rebellious peasants arrived at the riverbank, they expressed relief for Huán’s pacification army had just arrived at the opposite riverbank. It was midsummer, and the river was fast-flowing. The leader of the rebellious peasants set up camp, thinking that such swift waters would prevent the Master Knights from daring to cross without sufficient boats.

It must be said that the decision of the rebellious peasants to defend along the river was correct, but their lack of knowledge and narrow perspective rendered it useless. They had no idea that there was such a thing as Dwarf pontoons, which did not require boats.

With the aid of Dwarf Engineer Dugen the Ironman and guidance from local peasants familiar with the waterway, Huán and the two Counts successfully built a pontoon six kilometers upstream during the night and crossed the river.

By then, most of the rebellious peasants were still fast asleep.

Huán was patient and indicated to his army to wait until the Dwarf Artillery had completed the crossing before officially ordering the attack.

Cannon fire resounded, followed by the Knights’ charge, and finally, the Old Guard led the Peasant Infantry Corps into battle. Battle-hardened, seasoned through countless trials of blood and fire, and boosted by fine equipment, the Old Guard showed the rebellious peasants firsthand what a true professional army was, causing those who had relied on the Long Spear Array and large wooden shields to contort with the Master Knights for years to crumble at last.

Someone shouted "The Old Guard is here," causing direct panic and ultimately leading to the chain collapse of roughly ten thousand rebellious peasants.

After a night of fierce battle, the more than ten thousand rebellious peasants’ army fell apart, with less than two thousand fleeing and all remaining captured.

Due to a strong desire for population, Huán strictly forbade his army from killing captives and those surrendering. The Baron looked at the thousands of rebellious peasants kneeling on the plain, pleading for their lives, feeling quite pleased inside.

These were all labor forces! Fresh, alive labor forces.

Having settled the captives and left part of the army in charge of them, Huán, following Laine’s instructions, reminded his army not to kill captives at will and to move eastward, emphasizing these individuals as labor forces for production recovery.

Along the way, villages were one-tenth occupied, and ruins lay amidst bones, with wild grasses overgrowing and fierce beasts coming and going.

As the army traveled further, the soldiers and Knights grew increasingly solemn.

Remon felt particularly anguished.

After several years, he finally returned to his village, the place of his birth and upbringing.

But what awaited him was a wasteland; the entire village lay in long-abandoned desolation due to war and pillaging. To others, it might appear as just another destroyed village along the march route, but to Remon, it was his home.

Home was gone.

The village was nearly burnt into a wasteland, with the remains leaving almost no recognizable traces of yesteryear. Overgrown grasses and shrubs covered the area.

Remon’s home had collapsed long ago, and this Old Guard member found his house door smashed and its contents looted when he arrived at his doorstep.

Once a Leonais runaway slave, he shook his head helplessly: "Forget it, there was nothing valuable at home anyway."

"Is this where you used to live?" Baron Biocari Huán came forward; he was quite younger than Remon, with youthful energy and self-confidence on his somewhat childish face under his golden solar burning ring helmet. He scrutinized the scene and then said, "I remember many came fleeing from Leonais."

"After getting used to His Grace the Duke’s lands, I almost forgot not every place in Brittania is as prosperous as His Grace’s domain." Remon said cautiously yet sadly, "Such villages are the norm in most places."

Hearing this, the weary Count Durin understood.

This young one was a runaway slave!

This runaway actually made it as an Old Guard?!

The established noble felt a pang of bitterness, considering this despite his previous reluctance to converse directly with peasants, as it demeaned his status.

However, Count Durin and Count Larot saw things more clearly than those Musillon nobles still feigning aloofness, and Durin decided to make the first move: "Judging by your accent, you’re Leonais too! You brat, you managed to escape, do you know how many died trying to flee?"

"Uh... hehehe~" Remon laughed awkwardly, feeling naturally self-conscious as an escaped slave in front of such local nobility, but as an Old Guard, he knew he represented Duke Laine’s image, so he nodded silently.

Count Durin didn’t pursue the matter further, but continued speaking, his tone heavy: "That’s the situation. Some manage to escape like you did, but some are forced into rebellion. They break into Knights’ homes, raid warehouses, and attack guards. Over time, peasants group together, forming rebellions, leaving nothing but ashes, while only the Goddess’s Temples remain untouched. They raid not only Knightly nobility’s homes but also peasants’ scarce grains. When bandits ravage the land, local peasants suffer equally, having all their grains and possessions seized, they’re forced into revolt. Over time, the rebellious peasants grew larger like a snowball growing in size."