When the first hint of dawn appeared in the east, the battle that started with a night attack was over.
On the sea, except for three warships of the Bold-Violet joint fleet that managed to break through the encirclement and escape, the remaining ships were either sunk or captured.
Even the flagship of the Combined Fleet, the HMS Glory, became a trophy.
The fighting on land was even more brutal.
Because the only passage to the south, the Beigang Bridge, was controlled by reinforcements, the Principality Coalition's retreat was completely cut off and they suffered heavy losses from being attacked from both sides.
On the Dorne River, floating corpses could be seen almost everywhere. They were all Allied soldiers who had jumped into the river in panic.
In the camp on the river bank, the death toll due to squeezing and trampling was even greater than those killed in the battle, so collecting the bodies became a rather difficult task.
Some clever nobles led small troops out of the encirclement and fled to the north.
However, more nobles and soldiers eventually chose to surrender.
This even includes the extraordinary preparations of Bold and Violet.
Because the coalition camp collapsed too quickly during the night attack, the fleeing soldiers also affected the regular army's camp, causing the extraordinary regular army to be unable to organize an effective magic array, and was directly killed by Tulip Lord's regular army.
Obviously, they had more people and better equipment, but of the nearly 10,000 elite troops in the two principalities, one-third were missing or dead, and the remaining two-thirds were all taken prisoner...
It can be said that it couldn't be more frustrating.
This is the limitation of extraordinary preparation.
As long as there is no noble command and there is no time to deploy the magic array, apart from being slightly stronger than ordinary soldiers in combat, they are just ordinary people with better physical fitness.
After all, although many of them are extraordinary people, they are not at the entry level.
In addition to the extraordinary standing troops, there were even more conscripts who surrendered.
The coalition soldiers almost gave up resistance as a whole. Especially after seeing the destruction of the joint fleet and the disappearance of the third prince, the nobles chose to surrender with their troops.
When Viscount Ryan Castel saw the situation in the camp, he was stunned.
He made a rough estimate and found that if the number of the allied forces of the two principalities was really as close to 30,000 as the surrendered nobles said, then as many as 15,000 of them would have been taken prisoner.
The captured extraordinary equipment alone would probably be enough to make up for Castel's losses in this war.
Viscount Leon Castel knew that Castel had won.
After this battle, the Principality's coalition forces were completely annihilated, especially with the loss of so many extraordinary standing troops, which was definitely a heavy blow to the two principalities...
To be honest, he is still a little dizzy.
Because he really couldn't imagine that Castel, who was still worried about his future yesterday, turned defeat into victory in just one night.
Viscount Ryan Castel couldn't help but look at the reinforcements again.
The number of reinforcements that carried out the night attack was not large, and they were the biggest contributors to this legendary victory.
However, they did not seem to be interested in communicating with Castel's side. After handing over the prisoners, most of them returned to the galley fleet anchored in the bay.
The old Viscount only learned that they were extraordinary mercenaries hired by Charlotte.
"Are they really just extraordinary mercenaries?"
Viscount Leon Castel looked at the galley fleet anchored on the shore and felt a little grumbling in his heart.
Not every force has such a large-scale paddle-sail fleet, and the East Yunite Black Land, where the extraordinary mercenaries are most famous, does not have any navy.
Although these galleys all flew the flag of Castell, he was experienced and could tell at a glance that these ships were probably not made in Castell.
In comparison, it has a bit of a Falling Star style.
"Falling stars..."
As if he had thought of something, the old viscount seemed to be thinking about something.
Of course, no matter what the origins of these "mercenaries" are, one thing is certain: Castel has won the war.
And now, he also understood why the Earl always kept silent about the reinforcements, and no longer trusted the northern nobles who swore allegiance to her.
Thinking back to the nobles he had captured before the night raid last night based on the intelligence provided by the Earl, the old Viscount felt a pang of fear.
Even he didn't expect that at this time, there were still so many nobles in the North who were still secretly in contact with Bold!
Among them, what made him most sad was his son.
Even his most trusted offspring had correspondence with the South!
If the Earl had told the nobles about tonight's plan in order to calm people's hearts, I'm afraid the entire Principality Alliance would have known about it the next day, and tonight's victory... I'm afraid it might not have happened.
"Sir Len Castel, what are you thinking about?"
Looking at the old viscount who had fallen into silence, Charlotte asked with a smile.
Viscount René Castel sighed and said:
"Thinking about those traitorous nobles, I never thought that there are still so many fools in the North who still have illusions about the South. Even Derek..."
Having said this, he paused and said bitterly:
"My Lord Earl, it is the failure of our family's education that has disappointed you..."
"Don't blame yourself. After all, the Third Prince is a strong contender for the throne. It's normal that many nobles are unwilling to follow me on adventures, not to mention that he has organized such a large army."
Charlotte waved her hand and said.
"But he still failed and was defeated by you. After today... your name will soon spread throughout the kingdom, or even the entire continent! Throughout Castel, the entire Crescent Kingdom, and even the entire West Yunete region... no one will dare to look down on you again!"
The old Viscount couldn't help but praise.
Charlotte shook her head.
"It was just luck. In fact, if it weren't for Lord Roman Forge's reminder, I might not have known that there are still many nobles who still have illusions about the South. Many of my actions these days are also inappropriate. It is normal for everyone to complain."
Viscount Roman Forge
After hearing what Charlotte said, Viscount Leon Castel couldn't help but look to the other side of Charlotte. Vincent, the eldest son of Viscount Roman Forge, was standing respectfully on one side, only half a step behind the earl and him.
Noticing his gaze, Vincent smiled and said:
"Father was just lucky enough to seize some letters from the nobles. To be honest, it is the Earl who is more capable. Father only gave a warning before the war started, but the Earl was able to find all these people one by one."
Then, he looked at Charlotte again and asked respectfully:
"Mr. Earl, what do you plan to do with those nobles who have dealings with the South?"
After hearing Vincent's question, Viscount Ryan Castel became nervous. He also looked at Charlotte with a conflicted and nervous expression.
Charlotte thought for a moment and said:
"We will severely punish the ringleaders, and for the rest... we will give them lighter sentences based on the severity of their crimes and their families' contributions to the war, and we'll see how they perform."
After hearing what Charlotte said, the old viscount breathed a sigh of relief:
"My Lord, be merciful."
Charlotte smiled and said nothing more, but looked towards the battlefield:
"Do a good job of post-war cleanup. There will be a great epidemic after a war. All the bodies must be dealt with as soon as possible."
"Also, the captives must be properly accommodated, especially the nobles, who are all walking Quintana."
"We can try to recruit those captured extraordinary regular soldiers. I heard that many of the soldiers in this regular army are just civilians who accidentally mastered extraordinary powers. We can give it a try."
"… "
Charlotte had no experience in commanding a war, but she knew a little about how to deal with the aftermath.
Seeing the young earl giving orders in a clear and organized manner, Viscount Ryan-Castell became more and more awed.
At this moment, the noble who was responsible for cleaning the battlefield came in front of everyone on horseback.
He dismounted, knelt on one knee in front of Charlotte, and said respectfully:
"My Lord Earl! The leader of the Night Walker Mercenary Group wants to see you!"
Viscount Ryan Castel's heart moved slightly.
Night Walker Mercenaries... That was the name of the extraordinary mercenary group that supported Castel last night.
Of course, he had never heard of this name before, and it sounded more like a temporary name given by the other party.