Chapter 445 — The Day of Triumph
Blade of Dawn · Page 1 of 4
The meeting dragged on until sunset, and only when the lamps were lit were the various tasks regarding the takeover, control, and refitting of Boulder Fortress finally arranged in rough outline. Of all these arrangements, the most important was the question of who should next hold this vital northern gateway.
Gao Yang did not choose Philip and Byron, those two "veterans."
The loyalty and ability of the two knights were of course beyond doubt, but they were not suited to garrisoning Boulder Fortress. The First Combat Legion they commanded, as the Cecil main force, bore the weighty duty of maintaining security across the whole Southern Region and defending against the Dark Mountains — especially that second point, which Gao Yang would not dare relax for any reason.
In Gao Yang's eyes, the threat of the wasteland beyond the Dark Mountains far exceeded that of the human kingdoms to the north — though Boulder Fortress was a key gateway to the Southern Region, no matter how important it was, Gao Yang could not weaken the defense of the Cecil heartland for its sake.
Byron and Philip could not be tied down inside the fortress, and apart from them, the young generation of commanders currently cultivated in the Cecil heartland still lacked experience; among them there was no talent capable of shouldering such a burden.
In the end, Gao Yang chose an old knight from the Kant region — Wald Perrich.
With Philip's help, this deeply experienced knight had successfully transformed a troop of old-style noble retainers into the Cecil Second Combat Legion. Though the legion still had much in need of refinement, the old knight's ability had been demonstrated through the process, and what was even more precious was that Wald Perrich's capacity to accept new things and new ideas was unexpectedly strong. As the most senior knight in the Kant region, he actually learned the new weapon tactics and new military regulations faster than the young men, and even Philip had made a point of praising this to Gao Yang.
And beyond his ability, Wald Perrich's character was equally trustworthy.
The task of garrisoning Boulder Fortress and carrying out its refitting and modernization thus fell to the Second Combat Legion.
After the meeting ended, Gao Yang stood in the now-quiet hall, gazing at the map on the wall, sunk in thought.
The Northern Gate had been taken.
The royal capital would likely learn of this news soon, but given that the dukes of the Western and Northern Regions were currently bogged down dealing with the Eastern rebels, they would be powerless to resolve the crisis in the south. They knew the fighting strength of Boulder Fortress, and so could naturally estimate just how powerful the Cecil army that had broken it in a single day must be. As long as they were not fools, the two grand dukes would realize that in such circumstances, even if they scraped together a force, it would be utterly impossible to retake Boulder Fortress — it would only add to their losses. So the most likely response from the royal capital was to send envoys to make contact, seeking a temporary "stability."
And whether the royal capital sent envoys or sent armies, it was much the same to Gao Yang. All he wanted was a Duchy of Cecil undisturbed by outside interference and entirely under his control. He would shut this gate for the time being, isolating all forces that sought to lay hands on the Southern Region, and then quietly absorb and digest this vast territory that had just fallen into his grasp, making his foundation utterly secure and bringing it into a healthy phase of industrial operation. This process might take years — even with the pressure of the magic tide forcing him to accelerate everything, it could not be skipped.