Chapter 1098: Section 687: Let’s Count (3)
In Malin’s view, the Northern Kingdom’s offensive had already fizzled out, and while the Merno Defense Line could be held, pushing further east was unrealistic. Malin’s initial plan to train the first batch of troops for the Northern Kingdom was to gain combat experience through steady and solid tactics, and then have the veterans lead the rookies. The ultimate goal was to cram the personnel of two or even three regiments into one regiment’s structure. When everything naturally fell into place, the Northern Kingdom’s forces would experience a natural growth.
Unfortunately, during the Swoopsko Battle, more than half of the regiments were either lost on the battlefield or in the rear-guard fight.
During the battle of Merno, the heavily battered veteran regiments fought to their limits. Were it not for Malin swearing to these young men, Merno would have been lost three days earlier. At that time, Merno only had the port area left, and a total of six regiments of seventeen veteran regiments held this drafty defense line to the last. At the crucial moment, the Church army organized by the southern Church of Justice arrived in Merno via convoy and pushed back to the city’s outskirts.
Even though the new regiments have now been replenished, everyone understands that these new soldiers can never compare to the veterans trained by Malin.
However, the good news is that, with the end of the Chaos siege on the Merno line, many scattered troops who failed to enter Merno City during the retreat for various reasons began to gradually return.
The most surprising thing for Link was that his brother was still alive. After the Swoopsko battle, Jon and his regiment occupied a hill for three days, then rappelled down the other side of the cliff and escaped under the cover of darkness. Watching Merno under siege for the past few days, they were anxious, but with only seven or eight hundred men left, Jon understood that they couldn’t even make a ripple. As they were about to continue retreating, they suddenly noticed two factions of the Chaos Legion fighting each other and discovered the siege of Merno inexplicably lifted.
When scouts confirmed the city was still in their hands, Jon eventually brought a scout squad with great reluctance to the city, only to see his brother with a broken arm, washing his face with tears.
This was one of the rare instances of fortune within misfortune.
Ultimately, Merno sheltered about seven thousand scattered soldiers within a week—all scattered veterans from the Swoopsko battle. The high-intensity training and the strong faith Malin forged for them allowed these soldiers to endure this time. They traveled westward, behind enemy lines, just to return to their troops.
Malin, along with Daniel, welcomed all the returning soldiers, with the Crown Prince apologizing to each one—not because of Malin’s coercion, but due to the young man’s own initiative.
It had to be admitted, this young man was indeed a born politician.