Under the command of Jerome Bonaparte, Marshal Renio led two brigades and an additional regiment across the floating bridge at Sevastopol Port, arriving sequentially at the north shore of Sevastopol.

At this moment, the north shore of Sevastopol was already in chaos, with the presence of the British Army everywhere.

"Where is Marshal Lagren?" Upon stepping onto the land of the north shore of Sevastopol, Marshal Renio grabbed a British officer who was busily running about, inquiring about Marshal Lagren’s whereabouts.

"Marshal Lagren is currently overseeing the battle on the eastern side (Johan River)!" the officer promptly responded to Marshal Renio.

Marshal Renio immediately led his forces toward the Joya River, where he saw Marshal Lagren and Omar Pasha.

At this moment, beside Marshal Lagren and Omar Pasha, who were mounted on horses, were only four aides and a company of soldiers. In front of them, roughly a regiment of Turkish soldiers and a regiment of British soldiers were slowly approaching the position they had lost before.

Unfortunately, before they could get within effective firing range, they were suddenly attacked by the artillery of the Russian Empire set up at the cliff’s edge.

The dense cannonballs rained down like a storm on the British-Turkish Army, and the sounds of explosions and screams echoed on the battlefield.

The Turkish Army on the left wing, upon seeing this situation, frantically pulled the triggers on their rifles.

The Minie bullets swiftly flew out of the barrels, immediately hitting the "target."

Screams came from the Turkish ranks; it turned out the target hit by the Turkish Army was their own troops. Dozens of Turkish soldiers in the front row died not at the hands of the enemy but at the hands of their own men.

The left-wing Turkish Army quickly descended into chaos, with many Turkish soldiers spontaneously retreating, showing no intention of cooperating with the British Army to capture the position.

Standing at the foot of the hill, Commander Lagren watched the Turkish Army slowly retreat with a look of frustration on his face.

Next to him, Omar Pasha also showed a look of shame, hastily pleading with Marshal Lagren to allow the troops to withdraw first and wait a moment before attacking the position again.

"Alas!" sighed Marshal Lagren, "That’s the only choice we have!"

Marshal Lagren reluctantly dispatched an aide to issue the command to halt the attack. After a while, the soldiers of the British Army also began retreating like a tide.

Cheers of "Urrah" came from the positions of the Russian Empire, making Marshal Lagren and Omar Pasha’s faces even more grim.

At that moment, Renio’s voice came from behind Marshal Lagren and Omar Pasha: "Lagren, Omar!"

Upon hearing Renio’s voice, Marshal Lagren hurriedly turned to glance behind him, asking, "When did you arrive?"

"Just now!" Renio briefly responded.

"Made a fool of ourselves in front of you!" Marshal Lagren replied to Renio with a wry smile.

"It’s nothing!" Marshal Renio comforted, "It’s just a temporary oversight! I believe that if the British Army and the Ottoman Empire can rally and attack again, they will surely capture this position!"

The comfort from Marshal Renio did not bring solace to Marshal Lagren and Omar Pasha. They surely knew that if they could mobilize all the forces on the north shore of Sevastopol and gamble everything, they could certainly take the position!

But if they did so, it would inevitably weaken their defenses at Star Fortress and the coastal batteries.

If the garrison at Bakhchisaray and Saki launched an attack on them, they would likely be in danger.

From the map perspective, the distance between Bakhchisaray and the north shore of Sevastopol is just over 20 kilometers. If Bakhchisaray rushed at all costs, they had the ability to reach Sevastopol in two to three hours.

"Renio, we need your help!" Marshal Lagren sincerely pleaded with Jerome Bonaparte.

"The purpose of this trip is to help you capture the position!" Marshal Renio replied with a smile to Marshal Lagren.

While Marshal Renio, Marshal Lagren, and Omar Pasha were discussing how to attack the position at the lowest cost, a Russian soldier dressed in a green uniform slowly walked down from the position waving a white flag.

All three showed a hint of curiosity on their faces, unsure of what the Russians were up to.

After a while, this Russian Empire officer arrived at the British and Turkish Army station and was brought before Marshal Lagren by the British Army.

"Marshal Lagren, Marshal Renio, Omar Pasha!" The Russian officer greeted the three who were mounted on horses.

"What do you mean by this? Are you surrendering to us?" Marshal Lagren still inquired of the Russian officer with an arrogant posture.

Facing Marshal Lagren’s arrogance, the Russian officer still maintained a respectful and humble attitude, stating, "Marshal Lagren, I am here on Commander Pavlov’s orders to negotiate a temporary ceasefire with your army. I believe your forces wouldn’t want the bodies of your soldiers to be left like this, would you?"

"Ceasefire? Impossible!" Marshal Lagren decisively rejected the Russian Empire officer’s suggestion. He responded to the Russian officer with a sneer, "Don’t think I don’t know your plan! You just want to take this time to send someone to Bakhchisaray to call for reinforcements! I can tell you clearly now, forget about such things!"

The Russian officer, after a moment of silence, responded sincerely, "If we are willing to return your army’s flag and the Duke of Cambridge, would your forces agree to our conditions?"

Upon hearing the second condition from the Russian officer, Marshal Lagren fell into contemplation. He knew that requesting a ceasefire now would essentially give the Russian Empire an opportunity to mobilize reinforcements to the North Bank of Sevastopol.

However, the return of the British Guard Division’s flag and the Duke of Cambridge did spark a slight interest in Marshal Lagren.

After all, a military flag is the soul of an army.

Losing the flag not only means losing the soul but also the possibility of being directly abolished. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

If the London newspaper reporters were to find out, Marshal Lagren’s life would be ruined.

Sevastopol would become an indelible stain accompanying him forever.

For someone of Marshal Lagren’s age, reputation is more important than life itself.

No one wants to be buried under the title of "Destroyer of the Guard Division."

Seeing Marshal Lagren wavering, the Russian officer once again assured him that this ceasefire would absolutely not exceed two hours. They could even claim to the outside world that the Duke of Cambridge and the Guard Division held their ground for a long time, and the Russian Empire released them out of respect.

"Your Excellency Marshal, please rest assured! We will definitely not embarrass you!" The Russian officer put on a face of concern for Marshal Lagren, seemingly certain that Lagren would agree with his suggestion.

After all, Commander Lagren was a very honor-conscious old man who would surely not want to leave any blemishes.

Unfortunately, the Russian officer clearly did not understand what honor Marshal Lagren truly upheld.

An expression of indignation appeared on Marshal Lagren’s face as he pulled out a pistol and fired a shot at the ground near the Russian officer’s feet.

With a "bang," the bullet shot into the dirt at the feet of the Russian officer.

The Russian officer looked pale as he faced Marshal Lagren, who, having fired the shot, seemed to have exhausted all his strength. He panted heavily and pointed the gun at the Russian officer, saying, "You are insulting a soldier’s honor! If we were in a duel, based on what you just said, I could shoot you down!"

Marshal Lagren paused for a moment, then mustered his strength to shout at the Russian officer: "I tell you now, in this world, there are only British soldiers who die in battle, never those who survive dishonorably! Want a ceasefire? Fine, as long as you can beat us! Get lost! Don’t let me see you again!"

The guards beside Marshal Lagren looked menacingly at the Russian officer, clearly implying that they would tear him to pieces if provoked further.

"Alright!" The Russian officer shrugged, with a tone that revealed unwavering determination: "Since the Kingdom of Britain is unwilling to accept our request for a temporary ceasefire, we can only let war do the talking!"

After speaking, the Russian officer left Marshal Lagren’s premises.

Marshal Lagren continued to pant heavily and said to the adjutants beside him, "You head to the front line immediately, assist those fools in taking control of the army, and engage in battle as soon as possible!"

"Yes, Marshal!" The adjutants looked worriedly at Marshal Lagren, wanting to say something, but in the end, they remained silent. They just saluted Marshal Lagren before leaving.

Subsequently, Marshal Lagren turned his gaze to Marshal Renio, almost in a plea, he said to Renio: "Renio, help me!"

"Alright!" Marshal Renio nodded and then extended his hand.

Marshal Lagren and Marshal Renio clasped each other’s hands tightly.

At 4:30 in the afternoon, the sun gradually moved from south to west between the towering mountains.

The Kingdom of Britain’s artillery was also fully prepared, comprising three 9.2-inch large-caliber naval guns dismantled from ships, ten twelve-pounder guns, and over twenty six-pounder and eight-pounder guns. They launched an attack on the positions of the Russian Empire’s artillery, far fewer in number than theirs.

The large-caliber shells crashed into the Russian Empire’s positions, with the resulting shockwaves burying Russian Empire soldiers around the shells into the ground.

"Counterattack! Quickly have our artillery counterattack!" Standing at a temporary command post at the rear of the position, General Pavlov, through his telescope, observed his artillery position being shelled by the Kingdom of Britain, and immediately ordered the artillery brigade beside him.

"Yes, Your Excellency!" The artillery brigade commander saluted Pavlov and proceeded to the artillery positions.

A while later, the artillery brigade commander returned to the temporary command post with a distressed expression.

"What’s going on? Why haven’t we counterattacked?" Pavlov questioned the artillery brigade commander sternly.

"Your Excellency, our artillery range is nowhere near a match for theirs, and they also have naval guns at their disposal!" The artillery brigade commander replied to Pavlov.

"Then what should we do! Just sit idly by?" Pavlov accused.

The artillery brigade commander said no more, his intentions were self-evident.

"Ah!"