Chapter 197 None of them are good things
Fawcett was clearly the worst off of all the forces.
The supplies in Eagle Claw Castle were basically exhausted, morale was low, his hometown Lion Lake City was lost, and he was besieged by three forces - he could not defeat any of them.
After seeing the banner of the Lion Knights in the west, Fothert realized that Lion Lake City was probably impossible to recapture.
He now had only one thought in his mind - to run away quickly with his most elite troops.
This judgment is undoubtedly wise.
Right now, the remnants of Kaedren's army are fleeing in all directions, the Stern Crow army and the Lion Knights are fighting each other, and the Jatu people are only concerned with taking advantage of the Stern Crow camp. This is the best opportunity to escape.
But Fothert also understood that if he told the soldiers directly that he was going to retreat, it might cause the already low morale to collapse directly...
Because the soldiers also knew that Lion Lake City was lost. Once they left Eagle Claw Castle, they would be an isolated army without a base, and they would be considered rebels to both the Kingdom of Sarleon and the Kingdom of Ravenstern.
In this situation, the best outcome would probably be that all the soldiers would become deserters. As for the not-so-good outcome, I'm afraid some brave guy would use Fothert's head to atone for his crime...
Besides, it is impossible for Fothert to evacuate everyone. Those slow-moving infantrymen or wounded soldiers will definitely not be able to escape, and the Lion Knights are right next to them!
In order to ensure that he could escape, it would be best to leave some people to cover his retreat and create better opportunities - for example, completely disrupting the battlefield.
But in this situation, I'm afraid no one is willing to cover the rear, and we can't even say we want to retreat...
So, Fawcett gave a deceptive speech to his soldiers at Fort Eagle Claw.
"Brothers, do you see those Jatu people? Don't be afraid! They are friendly forces, and they are here to help us! You also saw that they have occupied the military camp of the Kingdom of Ravenstern!"
Fothert waved his sword and acted as if he was about to win. "Brothers, we are now facing the best opportunity! Our enemies are fighting outside the city... I will open all the gates of the castle in a few minutes. Everyone, get ready. We will launch a full-scale attack with our friendly forces! Everyone will attack, disrupt the battlefield, and then wipe out the enemies fighting outside in one fell swoop. We can counterattack back to Lion Lake City in one fell swoop! Cheer up, brothers! I will take you home!"
“Oh…oh…oh!”
Sometimes, deception can also boost morale. Upon hearing that the huge Jatu army was a "friendly army", the soldiers of Eagle Claw Castle were indeed cheered up.
If the Jatu people were really friendly forces, then if they launched an all-out attack, it would be possible for them to defeat the Lion Knights and the Stern Crows who were fighting to the death at the same time!
Fothert's speech was not actually very inflammatory, but he cleverly took advantage of the current situation to describe the Jatu people as "friendly forces" and his plan to escape as "an entire army will attack to bring the brothers home", which was obviously in line with the wishes of the soldiers in Eagle Claw Castle.
Although the soldiers were somewhat surprised that the Jatu people would send such a large number of "friendly forces", this also matched the actual situation of the Horton family all along - Duke Alma had cooperated with the Jatu people a lot in the past...
In the soldiers' view, Fotherg is Alma's biological son, so it seems normal that he can contact the Jatu people for help?
As a result, all the gates of Eagle Claw Castle were opened at the same time, and more than a thousand soldiers, along with all the residents of Eagle Claw Castle, rushed out and rushed into the battlefield...
Yes, Fothert's all-out attack was the kind that brought out everyone living in Eagle Claw Castle as well - he wanted to make the situation more chaotic and easier to escape.
And just as they rushed out, the Jatu people set fire to the camp of the Stern Crow army.
In fact, this is just the looting habit of the Jatu people, but in the eyes of everyone, it does seem like a close coordination - light a fire as a signal and kill together?
No one expected that Fossett's troops would abandon the city at this time.
No one expected that Fothert would dare to send his troops and civilians to disrupt the battlefield at this time...
The battle situation suddenly became quite chaotic, and even the Lion Knights' charge team was a little unsure of the direction.
As for Fothert himself, he did not participate in the melee. He left the city from the south with several hundred elite troops and began to flee in the southwest direction - that is, the direction of Payne Village.
Logically speaking, the Stern Crows' army was fighting fiercely with the Lion Knights in the west, and the Jatu army had just moved from the east to the north. In fact, the southeast should be the safest direction now.
Moreover, to the southeast of Eagle Claw Castle, there are endless hills and slopes, as well as many forests, and further back is an uninhabited area of hundreds of miles.
As long as you hide in the hilly area, it will be difficult to be found. This location used to be where many bandits and robbers were entrenched - Riva used to be a bandit here.
Fothert is a local and he actually knows the terrain.
But he still did not go southeast, but retreated to Payne Village in the southwest.
Because his lies had to be complete. If he went to the no-man's land, his men would find out they had been deceived and might even mutiny and kill him...
He had to run to the Lion Lake City area, which was like "bringing the brothers home."
This was a helpless choice - there were many helpless situations on the battlefield. In such a battle situation, it was good enough that Fothert could adapt to the situation and find such a way to survive.
Fortunately, he did not run to the southeast, otherwise he would not have been able to escape - the lord's troops were actually in the small woods in the southeast...
And Fotherg's unexpected move forced Brennus to change his tactics helplessly.
Originally, the Lion Knights would definitely be able to defeat the army of the Kingdom of Ravenstern in a field battle - in fact, they are now in pieces.
But at this time, all of Fossett's troops left the city and joined the chaotic battlefield, which made Brennus quite nervous - he also thought that Fossett and the Jatu were in the same group.
Otherwise, how could Fothert dare to abandon the city and deliberately disrupt the battlefield?
After all, disrupting the battlefield is most beneficial to the Jatu cavalry.
Brennus also knew that the Horton family of Alma had been cooperating ...
Therefore, even though the Lion Knights' previous charges had been effective and they had gained the upper hand, Brennus still had to make a helpless decision - give up chasing the Ravencrows and deal with the Jatu instead.
After all, the Jatu have already set fire to the Ravenstern Kingdom's military camp, and it seems that they are planning to rush into the battlefield...
In fact, these Jatu people just want to take advantage of the chaos to get some spoils. Their supreme leader, 'Destroyer' Juda, is not here, and they are not actually willing to engage in any big melee.
But Fothert's troops rushed out to disrupt the battlefield, and the Jatu people seemed to be gathering their strength. This scene really looked like the Jatu people and Fothert were joining forces to wipe out the Lion Knights and the army of the Kingdom of Raven in one fell swoop...
So Brennus had to withdraw his troops. He felt that he could no longer fight against the Raven Stern army.
Right now, all the members of the Lion Knights are on the battlefield. Brennus is accompanied by the Royal City Guards, who were originally a reserve force, ready to pursue the Ravencrows at any time.
But there was no need for the reserve troops to be thrown into the chaotic battlefield now, so the Duke quickly made the most correct judgment - he blew the assembly call for the Lion Knights and led the Royal City Guards to rush towards Eagle Claw Castle.
Blowing the assembly call at this time actually means that the Lion Knights will withdraw from the battlefield and let the troops of the Stern Crow Kingdom go.
Duke Brunus was also a veteran who had fought in many wars, and his decision was actually very smart.
Under the current situation, the Crow Kingdom's military camp was burned down, and the baggage must have been lost, temporarily losing the ability to launch a large-scale siege.
The Jatu people are all light cavalry and do not have the ability to attack cities.
The Lion Knights currently have the upper hand and will not be trapped, they can come and go freely at any time.
Fothert's troops marched out of the city in large numbers, and now the city gates are not closed. If they move faster, perhaps they can rush directly into Eagle Claw Castle with the Royal Guards?
Anyway, the camp of the Stern Crows was burned down by the Jatu people, so they will definitely fight to the death with the Jatu people. No matter who wins, they will not be able to attack the city...
In this way, we can sit back and watch the fight between the Jatu and the Stern Crow Kingdom...
Brennus's idea was good, but who knew that just as he was charging towards Eagle Claw Fort, the Jatu people also started charging towards Eagle Claw Fort...
The Jatu people saw that Fossett's troops were marching out of the city in large numbers, leaving the city gates wide open. They had never encountered such an easy opportunity to enter the city and rob people - of course they wanted to take advantage of the opportunity...
No one tried to stop the Jatu people from entering Eagle Claw Castle. After all, there was basically no one in the city.
So some of the Jatu people stayed near the military camp of the Kingdom of Stern Crow to sort out the looted supplies and be ready to escape at any time.
Another group of Jatu people took the opportunity to enter Eagle Claw Castle and began to loot the city.
In this situation, Brennus rushed even faster - he thought the Jatu people had seen through his judgment and were preparing to fight him for the city...
On the other hand, the Crow Stern Kingdom's troops had just been attacked several times by the Lion Knights, and the formation was in a very chaotic state. The military camp was occupied by the Jatu people, and the supplies in the camp were being looted.
Gregory IV was almost in despair. He certainly realized that these Jatu people were not his allies but his enemies.
Now the soldiers in Eagle Claw Castle are charging out in large numbers again - Gregory IV feels that the situation is hopeless, and enemies are everywhere... and facing the Lion Knights in a field battle, even escaping is difficult!
He even considered surrendering.
But at this moment, he suddenly discovered that the Lion Knights retreated at this time and withdrew from the battlefield quickly!
This feeling is like a Jedi resurrection. Gregory IV almost burst into tears...
He now felt that Duke Brunus was a true nobleman with a sense of honor. He spared him when facing the Jatu people, which obviously meant that he was going to fight against Jatu together with him!
Although this was a misunderstanding, Gregory IV was not wrong to have this idea.
Brennus's main focus now was indeed on the Jatu people.
In the past few years, the Kingdom of Sarleon and the Kingdom of Ravenstern had indeed cooperated to fight against the Jatu people - no matter how the two countries fought, when facing these Jatu raiders, they did have an attitude of common hatred and common enemy.
Gregory IV also knew that the best thing to do right now would be to capture Eagle Claw Fort, but his troops had just been disrupted and needed to be reorganized, so it was probably too late for him to rush into Eagle Claw Fort.
So Gregory IV Rick reorganized his army and launched an attack on the Jatu who had occupied their own camp.
The Jatu people burned down the military camp, which was just a habit of looters...
But doing so would mean forcing the Crow Stern people into a desperate situation, as the Crow Stern army would lose all its baggage and supplies!
They were on a thousand-mile expedition. Even if it was just for survival, the Stern Crows had to kill these Jatu people. They had to take back the supplies and the Jatu people's horses, otherwise they might not be able to return...
Therefore, the battlefield finally took on the form that the Lord had hoped for...
The troops of the Kingdom of Ravenstern were desperately looking for the Jatu people. The Jatu cavalry obviously wanted to retreat, but a small number of Ravenstern cavalry fought hard to hold them back, so they had to fight a big battle.
Meanwhile, Brennus led the Royal Guards in Eagle Claw Castle and fought with another group of Jatu people on the street, and the battle was fierce.
The Lion Knights did not enter the city. These heavily armored knights were not suitable for street fighting, so Brennus asked them to clean up the rebel soldiers outside the city - those who were deceived by Fotherg, and killed them together with the civilians.
Killing rebellion has been the Lion Knights' 'job' for the past ten years.
Everyone is busy...
"Brothers, move out! Head towards Eagle Claw Castle!"
After the scouts confirmed that all forces were fully engaged in the battle, Leon led his troops to Eagle Claw Castle.
"Leon, how can you be sure that they will eventually fight the Jatu people?"
Amy followed the lord, she was a little curious, Leon just asked Ryan's Raven Riders to provoke Brunus, but why did the situation on the battlefield become like this? Was it all expected?
If this could be expected, it would be horrible.
"I'm not sure... Who knows what will happen in the end... I only know that several hostile forces are here. As long as one of them is slightly provoked, they will most likely fight each other - no matter who fights who at the beginning, and no matter what the final result is, anyway, as long as I am the last one to appear, I can control the situation..."
Leon looked at the Eagle Claw Fort in front of him, shook his head and smiled: "Moreover, no matter which country's army, they will definitely not let the Jatu people have the last laugh. The probability of them fighting with the Jatu people at the same time is the highest. Amy, I can't predict all this, but in terms of probability, this result is the easiest to occur..."
"After all, the Jatu people have no order at all. They are just destroying and killing. The war between countries may not be just, but at least they are all lawful countries... Pure plunderers like Jatu will eventually become the target of everyone's attack..."
Vendatil next to him also nodded. The Noldor elves and the Jatu have had a blood feud for more than a hundred years, and the Noldor are now even more motivated than the rangers.
"My lord! The Lion Knights...they...are slaughtering civilians!"
Raphael in front interrupted their conversation, his voice panicked and intense.
"It seems that the Knights of Sarleon Kingdom are not lawful at all..."
Vendatil frowned and shook his head.
"A bunch of bastards, none of them are good people... The whole army... Forget it! We can't save those civilians now... The whole army turns around, we go east, don't join the battlefield yet!"
Li Ang's originally smiling face gradually turned gloomy.
The troops were now about two miles away from Eagle Claw Castle, and could already see the Lion Knights slaughtering people on the west side of Eagle Claw Castle - the Lion Knights were indiscriminately killing everyone outside the city.
Half of them were probably indeed rebels, but the other half were civilians of Eagle Claw Castle.
But at this distance, it is impossible to save the civilians. By the time we arrive, they will probably all be dead.
Li Ang's face looked very bad. He exhaled a long breath and gritted his teeth: "Follow me! We will cooperate with the Stern Crow Kingdom to block the Jatu people from the east and force them into the city!"
A thousand elite soldiers followed the black-bottomed golden griffin banner and rushed to the east of Eagle Claw Castle.
The Lord brought his mixed forces from the east to join the desperate battle between the Kingdom of Ravenstern and the Jatu people, but did not charge to kill the enemy. Instead, he ordered all members to shoot from a distance and try to force the Jatu people towards Eagle Claw Fort.
The Jatu people gradually gathered their forces together, and they recognized this army - this was the army they had been chasing for a day and a night!
However, the Jatu people were unwilling to get close to Leon's strange army at this time. They had followed them before and ended up getting stuck in the battlefield. Now this army appeared again, and who knows what else might happen...
So the Jatu people felt that they could not be fooled and it was best not to attack that strange army.
Moreover, the Jatu people made a very smart decision at this time. They forcibly withdrew from the battle with the Kingdom of Raven, gathered the entire army, and began to march into Eagle Claw Castle in a large-scale manner!
Their idea was probably similar to that of Brunus - no one was suitable for attacking the city now, so occupying the castle was the safest.
This is also the reason why Leon was able to force them into Eagle Claw Castle. The army of the Stern Crow Kingdom and Leon's troops were sandwiched from the east and west, and the Jatu people would suffer a great loss if they continued to fight.
To the north is the Lion Lake Inland Sea, with no way to go.
Entering the city from the south is the wisest option. If you control the city, it is very likely that all the troops outside will be killed - the Jatu people have just seized the supplies from the Kingdom of Ravenstern, and they can hold out for several days.
The various forces outside the city did not have the ability to attack the city in a short period of time.
The Lion Knights had already completely cleared out all the "rebels" outside the city, leaving more than two thousand corpses west of Eagle Claw Castle, half of whom were civilians...
Brunus had also discovered the lord's troops at this moment.
Of course he recognized Leon's black-and-gold griffin flag. Since it was the army of the Lord of the Fierce Lion Kingdom, it was certainly a friendly force for Brennus.
However, it is not convenient to say hello on the battlefield, and a large number of Jatu people are entering Eagle Claw Castle from the north gate, so Brennus must stay in the city to supervise the battle.
So he raised the marshal's flag on the tower of Eagle Claw Castle and blew the call - this was to ask Leon to enter the city to join him, and at the same time to ask the Lion Knights to enter Eagle Claw Castle to assist in the defense.
Brennus can no longer hold on with just the Royal Guards... There are too many Jatu people, the street fighting in the city is quite fierce, and the Royal Guards have suffered heavy losses.
Brennus is now the Marshal of the Sarleon Kingdom, and it is only right for him to give orders.
When the call to action was sounded, the Lion Knights immediately began to enter the city from the west gate.
The lord also heard the call, but he did not obey the order.
