This medium-sized battle in the mountains is usually considered to have far more political significance than military significance. This battle declared the bankruptcy of the Paro people's quick battle plan. The main force of the Greyhound Knights was almost wiped out, and the remaining troops began to shrink and could only wait for reinforcements. Princess Irina quickly expanded her power. Now she is no longer the reward target that fled to remote mountainous areas under the pursuit of the Greyhound and was worried all day long, but rises slowly like a new star. Now it is the turn of the Greyhound Knights who are scared.

On the military level, this battle still clearly proves the outstanding ability of veteran Thomas. This legendary veteran, who was not old, won a great victory after coming out again, and made a remarkable mark on his invincible record.

Although his enemy (no record left the name of the unlucky Greyhound Commander) is regarded by many as a typical example of stupidity and arrogance, if you carefully analyze this person's past experience, you will find that he is by no means an incompetent person. It is impossible to combine a chaotic and loose-organized force like the Greyhound Knights to pursue Princess Irina all the way (and almost succeeded). The reason why he didn't even know his name was just a deep-rooted prejudice.

If we analyze from an objective perspective, the lack of heavy troops in this battle is the real cause of the defeat. They have no heavy troops that can confront the Saint Gene Knights. Once the musketeers cannot be in place in time and cannot cause a major blow to the Knights, this will immediately become a fatal injury.

After winning this battle, Thomas pursued the defeated soldiers of the Greyhounds. But in fact, the next step was just an armed march, and there was no war breaking out worth mentioning. Because the Greyhounds had neither confidence nor the strength to fight Thomas head-on. On the contrary, many Saint Gene's knights responded to the princess' call and joined Thomas's command. After sweeping away the remaining soldiers of the Greyhounds, Thomas quickly came to the Castle of Sedine. This was the stronghold for the Greyhounds to defend, and it was also their last chance to stop Thomas from advancing. Due to the losses of the previous battle, the main force of the Greyhounds had become the Paro people at this moment.

Sedin Castle is located at the junction of the mountains and plains, with a narrow terrain and a strong castle. If it is lost, then suppressing St. Gene will become impossible. Relatively speaking, if Sedin is occupied, Thomas will open up the passage between the mountains and the plains. Princess Irina will truly obtain a stronghold on the plain and establish her own palace.

With Seding as the center, lords from all over the country would gather under the princess's flag...

——Excerpt from "History of the Stigia War"

There are also endless hills ahead.

It is located at the junction of plains and mountains. The undulating hills form the main topography of this area. Countless stone dots of different sizes are scattered on these not-so-high hills, with white patterns dotted in the green meadows.

"Let's go back, Ashu Rufate." Leo suggested. The latter just said "hmm", and his eyes were still looking into the distance.

There were fifty people and three horses forming this team. This number of people seemed to be an inconspicuous small spot in this wild hill. An eagle flew past and made a sharp roar.

"There is no road here at all," Leo complained. "Besides climbing, it's climbing."

For single travelers or squads, although this terrain is troublesome, it is not impossible to cross. However, a real army is completely ineffective. It is impossible for the baggage vehicles to pass through this terrain. Precious war horses will also suffer huge casualties under this terrain.

"I'll go over there and take a look." Duncan suggested. He led the two of them to the highest hillside.

He is one of the two militias who have been recently enthroned as knights, and he is still the militia captain. He and his subordinates surrounded and annihilated the last enemy who resisted to the end on the battlefield. He performed very bravely and received such a huge reward. Most of the knights disdained these two newly promoted "rusty buns" and were even unwilling to treat them as knights.

More than one knight publicly threatened to question Thomas's decision in the court of honor. Of course, even the most stubborn knights admitted in private that this enthronement had effectively increased the morale of the militia.

Although the militia with a lowly origin was promoted to a knight, it was not an unprecedented innovation. But if someone really looked through history and listed the names of these lucky ones, he would find that the list was far from as long as people expected. Although bloodline and origin, although not the key to the eyes of some philosophers and great men, occupies a deep-rooted mainstream position in the prejudice of the world.

An apprentice knight was promoted to a knight and a militia was promoted to a captain, which were all small things that few people would care about. But from a militia captain to a knight, he took a step almost separated by the abyss. A civilian was then included in the category of nobles and lords, and a serf who was originally only worthy of kneeling at his feet could be on par with the master at once. For militia, there was no greater ambition than this.

Even if he is not accepted by the mainstream, the knight who has just been promoted is already satisfied and has no extravagant desires. He may be discriminated against, but it doesn't matter. He has still entered the world of aristocratic and can enjoy all the rights of a knight. His descendants will also enjoy the family business and benefits he earns.

In fact, under normal circumstances, only the extraordinary record of those lucky generals who killed the enemy alone, or killed giant beasts (and had to be more than once), can allow the militia to take this step like a vast abyss. And this is only "possible". Not every general can oppose the theory of blood like Thomas.

Leo waited for a short while and watched Duncan return dejectedly. There was no terrain nearby for traversing.

"Mr. Thomas will definitely be disappointed. It is impossible to cross here. We cannot cross this area unless we conquer Sedin." Leo said in a quip tone, trying his best to make his two depressed companions happy. However, his efforts did not work. Duncan was depressed because he urgently needed achievements to prove himself. Ashu Rufate's depressed seemed to be simply because he failed to complete the task assigned by Thomas.

Thomas's mission was to let them try to find a path that could be accessed. They had been leaving the camp for four days, but they had found nothing. They could only go back empty-handedly.

At dusk, they could already see the Sedin Castle, and even the cannons set up above the castle were vaguely visible. The location of this fortress was too important, completely guarding the main road leading to the plains of Saint Gene's army. Unless it was conquered, even Thomas would not be able to make any progress.

The Greyhound Knights gathered all the troops they could gather here, including the remnants of the last battle, with more than two thousand people. Thomas's troops were twice as powerful as the enemy. But conquering a strong city has always been a bloody battle, and even if they win, they will suffer heavy losses. This is also the reason why Thomas does not take action for the time being and looks forward to finding a roundabout way.

The Greyhounds no longer had the courage and strength to fight against Thomas, but they could not hide, and Thomas could not do anything to each other for a while.

"I understand, there are no small roads or anything else nearby."

Thomas did not sigh or remain silent as expected. I wonder if it was an illusion, but Ashu Rufate felt that Thomas was in a good mood and was even a little happy.

"Leo, Ryan, Ashurufate, you three happen to be there. Now I will give you a question to test you." Thomas inexplicably changed the topic. "Suppose we are fighting in the jungle, and the weather is hot, and the enemy and our soldiers will only be exhausted for two hours. Now someone proposes to divide the army into several parts and attack in batches. Although the previous waves of troops will be annihilated by the enemy, it will also exhaust the enemy's physical strength. We will launch the final attack when the enemy's physical strength is exhausted. If you are generals, what will you choose? Leo, let me talk first."

"Although it's cruel, it's a very good strategy. If it were me, I think I would agree with this tactic." Leo said. "Although it's unfair to those soldiers who died, the war is ruthless."

"If it were me," Ryan replied. "I will avoid this choice as much as possible. Because even if this situation is won, it will have a major blow to our morale. It should be understood as a medicine with strong side effects and cannot be taken unless it is forced."

Thomas's eyes turned to Ashu Rufate.

"I think... I won't use this tactic. Because if the enemy annihilates our first wave of troops and withdraws the troops immediately, I have no means of countermeasures." Ashu Rufate answered cautiously.

Thomas laughed.

"Yes. The reason why bad ideas are bad ideas is that they look like a good idea before they are practiced. So remember, unless the price is small, try not to try those wild 'tactic's. Let's talk back, and now Sedin Castle is blocking our way, what should we do?"

The three of them looked at each other and the answer was very simple, but no one spoke.

"Siege." In the end, Leo answered.

"If they don't attack the city, is it possible for them to leave by themselves?" Thomas asked.

"Unless we have three times more troops, the Greyhounds will never leave."

"That's right, if the troops of the two sides are so different that even a strong city is not enough to offset it. Then trapping the lonely city will become a dead end. In this case, the only choice is to break through and retreat. Unless there is another reason for not being able to retreat, even the bravest knight will make this choice." Thomas said with a smile.

"But...but...Sir Thomas, where are the troops you are talking about?" Leo couldn't help asking.

Like all the places in the world, the population of the mountainous areas is always much smaller than that of the plains. Because there are not so many farmlands for cultivation in the mountains. Now, almost all the warable soldiers have gathered under the banner of Thomas. If Thomas can successfully conquer Seding Castle, enter the plains and gain the support of the lords, then triple the strength of the troops is naturally no problem. However, the premise of all this is to conquer Seding.

"I have gathered some craftsmen and start building siege equipment tomorrow." Thomas said irresponsible. His eyes remained on the three young men in front of him.
Chapter completed!