"The vigilance of these Empire troops is really high! There's absolutely no chance for a night surprise attack." On the cliff far away from the railway, several reconnaissance soldiers of the Revolutionary Army were lying on the ground, gazing at the train and soldiers repairing the tracks, trying to find an opportunity for a surprise attack.

But the Northern Army's alertness and defense were well-executed, leaving no chance for the Revolutionary Army to launch a surprise attack.

"Are the Empire troops from the Northern Territory elite? It certainly seems they aren't on the same level as the regular colonial garrison!" Another reconnaissance soldier of the Revolutionary Army couldn't help but exclaim.

Although they are soldiers now, just a few months ago they were ordinary workers.

Therefore, in terms of military discipline and tactical skills, they still have considerable shortcomings.

Despite having grown through several battles, many Revolutionary Army fighters are still unable to attain a state of strict discipline.

Even though they're on a reconnaissance mission, they are sufficiently far away not to be too cautious or tense, allowing themselves to discern the differences between the Northern Army and colonial forces.

As the highest battlefield Commander of the Revolutionary Army, Kevin was also present.

He did not mind this chatter among his soldiers.

Although he preferred to lead a competent, elite unit, for now, his sister had only these soldiers for him to command, so he had to make do with them.

Fortunately, these soldiers, although lacking in professionalism, were very enthusiastic about fighting and obeying orders, daring to fight hard and follow commands on the battlefield.

This was enough to qualify as an elite unit.

After all, professionalism could be trained, military skills could be honed, but the spirit and atmosphere of a unit are hard to forge.

Typically, a unit's spirit, atmosphere, habits, and style combined are described with a professional term, and that term is military essence.

The Revolutionary Army was still some distance from forming this military essence, as they had mostly been involved in non-confrontational asymmetric warfare, not having been tempered in extreme adversity or difficult dilemmas.

No one knew if they could withstand the pressure of dire straits, and whether their current performance was merely castles built on sand.

But at least the current performance showed that the Revolutionary Army had the potential to become a unit with military essence.

They just lacked experience and real engagements with true elite forces.

Perhaps the Northern Army could serve as a touchstone and whetstone for the Revolutionary Army, allowing them to sharpen and truly grow.

With this in mind, Kevin spoke: "They are the Empire's Guard Army, different from ordinary troops. Only a unit that has truly endured the baptism of brutal war and gained brilliant victories, earning merit for the Empire, might receive the title of Guard Army.

The Northern Army descends from the Seventeenth Guard Division, a veteran Guard Army of the Empire, whose fighting spirit and training level far surpass those of the New Continent colonial troops resembling militias."

"The Revolutionary Army had previously fought only the Empire's third-rate troops. This time, encountering the Empire's genuine elite forces, Kafka was curious about their performance..."

"For the sake of Master Kafka, even if they are the Empire's elite, so what? We're fighting the elite!" Clearly, these Revolutionary Army fighters had built considerable confidence from past battles and did not hold the Northern elites in high regard.

Kevin had no doubt about their confidence; after all, confidence was good, and there was no need for him to dampen it.

As long as the troops avoided arrogance and complacency, preventing pride from leading to carelessness, that would suffice.

As for more crucial matters, the battlefield would reveal the truth with real weapons.

"Let's retreat for now. The opponent's alertness is very high, and their organizational level is decent. Forcing an attack will only turn into a protracted battle, which is unnecessary." Kevin originally planned a surprise attack, but seeing the current situation, he had to abandon the initial plan.

The other Revolutionary Army soldiers had no objections to this, or if they had thoughts, they wouldn't express them here.

Since its inception, the Revolutionary Army emphasized military discipline, with obedience to superior orders a key focus in the regulations, and these soldiers, while somewhat free-spirited, were quite good at following orders.

Moreover, Kevin's prestige in the Revolutionary Army was accumulated through numerous battles, earning the soldiers' respect.

Besides, everyone understood the current situation, recognizing that a surprise attack would have no advantage.

Soon, the Revolutionary Army originally ambushing on the cliff began to withdraw.

Meanwhile, the Northern Army below continued repairing the damaged tracks in an organized manner, striving to restore railroad traffic as soon as possible and move forward.

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A few days later, despite delays, taking about two days longer than expected to reach the target city, the Northern Army still smoothly entered the city meant for suppressing unrest.

This city is just one of many unknown small towns in the New Continent colony, mainly focused on mineral and agricultural output, supplying raw materials and primary agricultural products to Pignes Castle.

As Pignes Castle gradually declined, this city also followed into desolation, but when Pignes Castle showed signs of life from Northern orders, this city also briefly revived.

Thus, when strikes and riots broke out in Pignes Castle, this city naturally experienced strikes and riots as well.

The colonial authorities wanted to reclaim Pignes Castle, and this city happened to be on the must-pass route, so reclaiming it was a straightforward choice for the colonial authorities.

The colonial authorities initially gathered their forces to launch a fierce attack on this city, even once breaching into it, nearly reclaiming it.

But the Revolutionary Army did not directly clash with the stronger colonial forces, instead employing tactics to cut off the attacking troops' logistics and supplies, even burning their grain, severely hampering the colonial authorities' offensive.

Additionally, the colonial forces themselves lacked fighting spirit, naturally quickly defeated by the Revolutionary Army.

Currently, it was the Northern elite forces' turn to test the Revolutionary Army's worth.

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