Mount and Blade System: Start from Pioneer Lords

On the boundless prairie, the rye grass, resembling waves of wheat, was buried under thick snow, creating a vast expanse of white.

The biting wind stirred the hearts of everyone.

The group halted their horses on a high slope, gazing at a distant basin.

Just a few days prior, this place had been a chaotic encampment of the wilderness coalition, with animal hide tents stretching for miles, but now it was littered with messy footprints, excrement, and garbage.

These remnants proved that such a coalition had indeed existed here.

Though reluctant to admit it, the reality was that these wilderness scoundrels had retreated...

"Damn it, we've been played!"

The lord cursed, kicking a protruding rock, shattering it into pieces with a loud "bang".

Everyone fell silent.

They had come expecting to deliver a decisive blow, but the wilderness coalition had retreated, leaving them empty-handed.

It felt like putting all their strength into hitting cotton.

"I take full responsibility for this. As the commander in charge of the entire army, I failed to detect the enemy's main force retreating," Fugeroth said calmly, stroking the ring on his hand. "I will voluntarily report to the Bailiu City military court."

Anyone could tell that the legion commander was in a bad mood.

Undoubtedly, this blunder would be recorded in history.

After all, in a battlefield of tens of thousands, failing to notice the enemy's retreat was a complete dereliction of duty for the commander.

"Fugeroth, this isn't your fault. As a scout team, nine-tenths of the cavalry were taken away by the duke, leaving less than a hundred riders. Facing the threat of the enemy, they could only guard the camp's perimeter and couldn't be sent out to gather intelligence," Skye consoled truthfully. "They launched a night attack just as reinforcements arrived yesterday, leaving no opportunity to send out scouts."

"Moreover, their retreat was too swift and decisive. I strongly suspect they organized the retreat before launching the night attack, using the night attack as a smokescreen to reassure us," Skye sighed.

No one could have imagined that an army that had launched a night attack one moment would silently retreat the next.

It was unlikely to be a spur-of-the-moment decision; it had probably been planned for days.

The group arrived at a flat area of ruins, and Skye walked to a bonfire, picked up some ashes, rubbed them, and gave his experienced assessment: "These bonfires have been extinguished for at least six hours, which is exactly the time after we repelled them."

Frequently venturing into the northern lands and camping in the wilderness, Skye was skilled at judging how long ago people had left based on the remains of the camp, and he rarely made mistakes.

"Lord, Fugeroth, what do we do now?"

Skye looked at the two helplessly.

Even if they sent people to chase, unless they were cavalry, it would be impossible to catch up.

And even if the thousand light cavalry reinforcements caught up, they couldn't possibly hold back the wilderness coalition.

So now it was difficult to decide what to do next.

Moreover, although his status was ostensibly the same as Fugeroth, he only commanded a cavalry regiment of forty or so men, so it wasn't his place to decide whether to stay or leave.

"What do we do? Stew in it!" the lord said irritably.

He had planned to crush these scoundrels in one blow, capture a few of the highest-ranking ones to find out the dark elves' purpose, and then decide whether to return to Highcliff Fortress or stay here to seek more benefits.

But now all of that had come to nothing.

"Might as well disband early, everyone go home. I've had enough of the communal living here, too," Levi said, kicking the snow, and gestured. The two hundred Highcliff Fortress warriors immediately turned around and formed a perfect formation.

With a single command, they could return to the camp, then break camp and return to Highcliff Fortress.

Although Flirina's departure was still full of doubts, it didn't concern the lord much. Now that there was no battle to fight, it was a good time to prepare for next year's southward campaign.

"Sigh," Skye sighed again, inexplicably wanting to persuade them to stay. "Lord, are you really leaving?"

They were supposed to stay for at least a few days, but now they were suddenly leaving, creating a sense of unreality.

"This isn't a dinner party. Now that there's no battle to fight, does it not cost money to keep people and horses here every day? Or are you nostalgic for the days when you had to queue up to go to the toilet?"

The lord mounted his horse, saying without looking back.

As he said, they had gathered here to deal with the southward wilderness coalition, although it had ended in a dramatic fashion.

But the original strategic goal of this war had indeed been achieved—these wilderness people had retreated into the depths of the wilderness.

Since the goal was achieved, they naturally had to return.

Skye was speechless. He knew that Levi was telling the truth.

But he inexplicably wanted to persuade them to stay. Perhaps it was because, despite everyone here being locals, the Highcliff Fortress lord, who was a southerner, was his best friend.

"Goodbye, Skye. Remember to come find me for a drink when you pass by Highcliff Fortress."

The lord waved his hand, leaving only his upright back.

The middle-aged knight shook his head and looked at Fugeroth, who remained calm.

"Are we chasing or staying?" Skye asked.

"Duchess Flirina has sent a message."

Fugeroth looked at Skye, didn't answer, but took out a stone from his pocket that flickered with dim light.

"A shadow stone?!" Skye exclaimed in surprise.

As the name suggests, a shadow stone is an alchemical magic item that allows the mother stone to transmit real-time messages to the child stone across thousands of miles.

It has a wide range of uses, not only in the military but also for long-distance communication and contact.

It can be said to have countless advantages.

But it has two non-negligible drawbacks: one is that it is expensive, and the other is that the shadow stone can only be used once, after which it is no different from an ordinary stone.

Therefore, unless it is a very important matter, this kind of magic item is generally not used.

"Lord Flirina left a shadow stone when she left," Fugeroth said.

"Then just now..." Skye suddenly understood why the legion commander hadn't said a word when Levi left just now.

"Unless it is a very important matter, Lord Flirina would not use the shadow stone. Therefore, it was necessary to dismiss outsiders," Fugeroth said, opening the shadow stone in a specific way.

Buzz buzz buzz~

At first, the shadow stone began to show intermittent images and unpleasant sounds.

But as it gradually stabilized, Fugeroth placed the shadow stone on the ground, and a figure was transmitted from it.

"Lord Flirina."

The two saw the figure above the shadow stone and bowed respectfully.