In the Valley of Wolf.
“Lord Maclean Lyons, this is our last ration,” an aide-de-camp said, presenting a piece of hardtack to Maclean Lyons.
“No need,” Maclean Lyons glanced around at his soldiers, their faces sallow and gaunt from hunger, devoid of any trace of color. He shook his head, then waved his hand, “Distribute it to the severely wounded. I can still hold on.”
“My lord, you haven’t eaten for two days,” the aide-de-camp’s voice was a bit hoarse.
“Neither have you, nor anyone else,” Maclean Lyons shot him a look, “Hand it out. That’s an order.”
“Yes,” the aide-de-camp took the hardtack and left.
“Ah,” Maclean Lyons sighed.
Three days ago, they ran out of food. The logistics unit responsible for the food supply had been defeated by the Ghost Wolf Cavalry that same day. Later, they broke out without carrying any food. So, three days ago, they ran out of food and water.
These three days, they survived on wild vegetables and tree bark.
“Brothers, get ready. We will break out once more,” Maclean Lyons stood up and ordered.
He issued the command, but there was silence below.
“What, you won’t even listen to my words anymore?” Maclean Lyons asked.
He had shared honor and disgrace with these soldiers, his authority still held, these soldiers were willing to listen to him, but not this time.
“Lord Maclean Lyons, we can’t break out anymore, starting from yesterday, none of us could break out. Now, we just want to eat some food, edible food,” a veteran soldier said, trembling.
They were starving.
They were initially able to charge, but not anymore. Hunger clouded their minds.
Maclean Lyons looked at the people in front of him. After several days of charging, there were still more than 20, 000 people left, but now there was no fighting spirit, they were listless, a sense of helplessness flashed in his eyes.
They were trapped. They couldn’t break out. And there was no rescue coming.
“Lord Maclean Lyons, may I ask, where are our reinforcements?” one of the soldiers asked.
They were still holding on because Maclean Lyons had told them about the reinforcements.
“The reinforcements are on their way. Today is the third day. According to the schedule, they should be here to rescue us today. Everyone, hold on, the reinforcements will be here soon,” Maclean Lyons’ voice was stern and commanding, his words convincing everyone.
If it wasn’t for Rocco Lewis’s deception, and his overconfidence, he might not have ended up in this predicament.
But his authority still held, after all, he was Lord Lyons. With one word, everyone obeyed.
At this moment, however, a Ghost Wolf Cavalryman walked in, carrying something in his hand.
“Enemy!” The crowd instantly became alert.
But the Ghost Wolf Cavalryman laughed, “A bunch of starving fellows who can barely stand, better put down your weapons. I’ve come to bring you a gift.”
With a thud, he tossed the object he was carrying into the crowd.
“What is it?” Everyone turned to look, realizing it was a man, dressed in their own military uniform.
“Jackie, I recognize this guy. But he escaped two days ago. How come he’s been captured and brought back? What’s going on?” a captain stepped forward. He then quickly roused the man.
“Jackie, what happened? How were you brought back?” The crowd gathered around, all very concerned.
They were all curious about what the Ghost Wolf Cavalry was up to.
“Eh, Captain, why am I here… Oh, right, I broke out and headed towards South Land. Then, last night, I suddenly grunted and lost consciousness. Next thing I know, I’m here,” Jackie, rubbing his head, was clearly in some discomfort.
“What’s the situation outside? When will the reinforcements arrive?”
This was the most pressing concern for the majority present. However, a sense of dread washed over Maclean Lyons upon seeing this. He had a hunch about why this man had been thrown back in.
“Reinforcements? There are no reinforcements! South Land has abandoned you. The troops at the main camp haven’t moved. The army of 500, 000 to the west have been on the move for three days, and they’re not even halfway here. It’s clear they aren’t planning to rescue you… No… us now,” Jackie recounted what he knew, then suddenly realized he was one of them. He almost burst into tears.
He had risked his life to break out. Why was he back? He was about to return to South Land.
“This is bad.”
Maclean Lyons’ heart sank. As he feared, it was so. He immediately shouted, “This man is spouting nonsense. He must have been captured by Kisia’s people and sent here to deceive us. The reinforcements are surely nearby. Kill this traitor immediately.”
“Yes, sir.”
Maclean Lyons still had some guards by his side. Hearing the order, they immediately moved to kill Jackie.
“Captain, save me! I’m telling the truth. If you go out and ask, you’ll find out that South Land has already abandoned us.”
Jackie was frightened and immediately hid behind his own captain.
“Step aside. I want to kill this traitor.”
Maclean Lyons scolded the captain. However, the captain was also hesitating, whether to protect this man or allow Maclean Lyons to kill him.
In the end, he stepped forward and said, “Lord Lyons, he’s from the same hometown as me. His family is all in South Land. It’s unlikely he would betray us.”
“The less likely he is to betray us, the more certain he is to have done so. Step aside, or I’ll kill you now,” Maclean Lyons said menacingly.
“My lord.”
The captain hesitated.
“Get out of my way.”
Maclean Lyons drew his long sword, ready to do the deed himself.
The captain, in the end, stepped aside, not daring to defy Lord Lyons’ authority.
Finally, Maclean Lyons killed Jackie with a single stroke of his sword. But before he could say anything, wails echoed from outside, and one by one, people crawled back in from outside.
“These are… our brothers who escaped.”
The faces of the men with Maclean Lyons turned pale.
More than twenty.
All of those who had escaped from their side. Now, incredibly, they were all back.
“Brothers, why did you come back?” someone asked as they approached.
“We don’t know. After we broke out, we all scattered. But we were all knocked out last night and woke up to find ourselves back here,” the escaped soldiers said, looking bewildered.
They had all run away. And yet, they’d been caught and brought back.
“I thought we had made it out, but we were caught and brought back. It’s hopeless. South Land has abandoned us. Not a single soldier has moved from the main camp. The troops to the west haven’t covered even half the distance in three days. We’re doomed,” said a young South Land soldier with a youthful complexion.
Then, spotting Jackie’s body, he asked, “This… isn’t this Jackie? He escaped with us. How did he die… die here…”
At that moment, he noticed the peculiar gaze of the surrounding soldiers.