When the Saintess Arrives, No King Exist-Chapter 866 - 817: Crimson Vintage Swallows the Breached Reflection

"To the most honorable King Jinijis!" Count Dretta raised his glass to the people at the banquet.

"Hail, hail!" (Leia vernacular, meaning agreement or salute.)

The knights and counts raised their gilded cups.

"To the greatest Kingdom of Leia!"

"Hail, hail!"

Baron Marchelov, beside Count Dretta, stood up, raising his glass like a baton: "To Count Dretta, who led us to break through Adan Castle!"

"Hail! Hail!"

The scene erupted into a fervent cheer of whistles, table thumping, and applause, almost shaking the platters and candleholders on the tables.

Count Dretta smiled and gestured to lower the volume, humbly bowing to the knights.

At this moment, the castle hall of Adan Castle was brilliantly lit, and the atmosphere was quite lively. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

The fire roared in the fireplace, casting the stone walls in a crimson glow.

The center of the banquet hall was filled with lavish dishes, the air saturated with the scent of roasted meat, spices, and strong liquor.

Apron-clad maidservants moved between the tables and the kitchen, occasionally having greasy hands slip under their clothes.

The table was laid with neatly arranged silverware, candleholders, and wine jugs, gleaming golden in the firelight.

The nobles sat by the long table, chatting loudly, laughing heartily, even using silver spoons to tap porcelain plates while singing hometown ditties.

However, in the corner of the banquet hall, three nobles seemed out of place.

"Humph, it's absurd," said a slightly chubby noble in a low voice, "the Thousand River Valley People retreated on their own accord."

Another young noble gave a cold laugh, taking a sip from his cup: "With the Adan Castle garrison seriously reduced and the grain nearly exhausted, it would be strange if they didn't leave."

Initially, two armies were besieging Adan Castle, one led by Raffel with twenty thousand Kingdom Army troops, and the other by the three thousand Servant Army of the Duke of Wing Nest.

The Duke of Wing Nest himself guarded his homeland, the Shattered Stone Plain, but lent his three thousand troops to the Kingdom Army.

Later, after Xia Lvcheng fell, the Kingdom Army and sixteen thousand local vassal troops from Dawn Island and Thousand River Valley replaced them.

Additionally, the Duke of Wing Nest hired an extra Norn Mercenary Corps of four thousand to continue the siege.

Coincidentally, just as these three nobles from the Shattered Stone Plain handed over the main attack to the troops from Dawn Island, the Thousand River Valley People retreated.

The troops from Dawn Island easily took this strong fortress.

Thus, they could only watch as Count Dretta from Dawn Island seized all the glory.

"These guys are still here bragging, as if they personally smashed open the city gates... Without us, could they have won?"

"Indeed," the third noble's voice was grim, "eating the fifth loaf of bread to get full, can you get full by only eating the fifth loaf?"

Tilting their heads, they downed the precious wine in one gulp, and the three unintentionally glanced outside the window.

Under the night sky, the bodies on the tall gallows in the castle square swayed in the wind, their black shadows elongated by the firelight.

"Poor Thousand River Valley People," the chubby noble spoke softly, his tone uncertain whether of pleasure or pity, "it won't be long before they realize that aside from the Priest's bread, the Empire also has the knight's sword."

Meanwhile, in the main seat of the banquet hall, Count Dretta's smile remained undiminished.

As Palace Count to King Leia, his military acumen was matched by people like Gottfried and Heinzman.

While drinking and socializing at the table, he could still contemplate his next move.

With Xia Lvcheng and Adan Castle already in his grasp, only capturing Haji Castle remains to completely sever the Thousand River Valley People's waterborne logistics route.

This way, their supply line would be cut, and those fortresses, big or small, would be starved by just laying siege to them.

Then, the entire battlefield situation in the Thousand River Valley would tip toward the Leia Kingdom.

Their current progress is far behind the original plan of His Highness Jinijis.

According to the plan to capture the Thousand River Valley in three months, they should have broken through the Damp Dock and were advancing on Rapids City by February.

Who would have thought these impoverished farmers of the Thousand River Valley could fight so well?

Having engaged in battle, Dretta clearly recognized:

In frontal engagements with these "Holy Alliance" armies, without a fifty percent numerical advantage, they were nearly assuredly suppressed.

It took at least 1500 Leia infantry to not fall behind against a thousand Thousand River Valley infantry in battle.

The cavalry from the Thousand River Valley wasn't especially skilled; it was the infantry's suppressive power that was formidable.

And where do you get the money to maintain an army of over thirty thousand within a single territory?

Currently, maintaining this army of 23,000 weighed heavily on Count Dretta, causing him to lose bunches of hair.

This force included about five thousand knights and vassal nobles from across the Kingdom, fighting as elite heavy cavalry at the core.

The other soldiers consisted of mercenaries, infantry, archers, and locally conscripted militia.

Unlike the Kingdom Army's unified command structure, Dretta's troops were mostly vassal armies.

That means Dretta could order a certain earl's five hundred men to attack, but couldn't command a single knight squad among those five hundred.

Because that knight wasn't Dretta's subordinate!

The knight would only think, "Who are you? You're not my lord, why should I obey you?"

This army, though seemingly large, had its soldiers' stamina and morale slowly worn down by prolonged siege and external campaigns.

"Thankfully," Count Dretta thought, "we only need to push a step further, and the Thousand River Valley won't be able to hold on."

Just as this thought flashed across his mind, he saw an attendant briskly approaching.

"What's the matter?"

The attendant whispered a few words in his ear.

Count Dretta's expression subtly changed, his eyes flickered momentarily before setting down his cup.

"Gentlemen," he spoke softly to the surrounding nobles, "I am unable to hold my liquor, please permit me to temporarily leave and rest, and then return to celebrate with you."

Then, Count Dretta stepped out into the corridor outside the hall.

Baron Marchelov and several important nobles exchanged glances and, finding excuses one by one, followed Count Dretta out of the banquet hall.

In the corridor, the candlelight carried a faint and shimmering haze.

Count Dretta washed his face, his eyebrows and sideburns still damp, yet he eagerly beckoned Marchelov and the others over.

"What on earth has happened?" asked a tall knight.

Count Dretta's expression remained grim as he slowly said, "The garrison at Haji Castle has repelled our pursuit."

The tall knight scratched his head. "So what? It was just pursuing stragglers, wasn't expecting any achievements from them."

"The problem isn't there." Count Dretta interrupted, "They suddenly stopped retreating, took the initiative to advance with an army, and occupied Balin Manor."

"Isn't that just perfect?" Baron Marchelov raised an eyebrow, "If he shrinks back and becomes a turtle inside the castle, we wouldn't have much of a solution. But if he dares to come out himself, ha, he's courting death!"

The other nobles nodded in agreement.

However, Count Dretta did not immediately issue orders. His brow furrowed as he slowly said, "We've been fighting outside for a long time, morale is waning, and rash offensives might lead us into their ambushes."

The Duke of Wing Nest had repeatedly suffered from Andre and Moliat's ambushes during the Shattered Stone Plain War, lured like a child.

Baron Marchelov nodded initially, then cleared his throat after a moment's thought: "Your Excellency, the Thousand River Valley People have limited forces, already stretched to defend the fortresses.

Regarding Haji Castle's mobile forces, they're estimated at 5000 to 6000, barely enough to launch an ambush.

They have to guard the fortresses in Kenke Town against the Kingdom Army and Shangruifo County against the Broken Stone Primordial People.

They recently swapped out the Mountain Knight with a new battle group; they certainly wouldn't dare to haphazardly redeploy.

We just need to send someone to Xia Lvcheng to consult with Knight Commander Raffel, let other troops feign attacks.

With others unable to lend a hand, we face no risk of ambush."

Count Dretta pondered for a moment, increasingly feeling the baron's suggestion was reasonable, and nodded.

"That makes sense!" He turned to the attendant beside him, "Send a letter immediately, let the messenger go to Xia Lvcheng to ask Raffel's opinion."