I will be crowned king

"These Clovis people are so shameless!"

Looking at the flag that suddenly rose up on the top of the mountain, Fernando Herred, who rushed out of the tent with the crowd, was first shocked, and then he yelled and cursed, his expression extremely twisted.

As an imperial knight, he would certainly not be unfamiliar with this bloody swallow-tailed flag - a flag inherited from the final battle of the Dragon Knight Hered. Once it is erected, it means that the flag bearer will fight to the end, even if the entire army is annihilated. Never retreat.

If the Flag Mountain camp had erected this flag six hours or even half an hour ago, Fernando might have felt a little respect and called on the entire army to use the most violent offensive and artillery fire to show his respect as an opponent.

But now? !

What's the situation now? !

Anson Bach's army of nearly 10,000 people surrounded the flag mountain with the prisoners of the Garland Army. At this moment, he had run out of ammunition and food, lost his retreat, and all his subordinates rebelled... It was impossible for the defenders in the camp not to see all this while occupying the high ground. Anyone can see that no matter how hard he struggles, it is only a matter of time before he loses the battle.

In this case, there is only one reason for raising the bloody swallow-tail flag... They are expressing their stance, or more accurately, they are forcing themselves to make a decision as soon as possible - because these despicable people know very well that the current Fernando Legion is absolutely Don't dare to attack rashly.

"Lord Fernando, look, the bloody swallow-tailed flag has been raised at the Military Flag Mountain camp!" Sure enough, an officer immediately jumped out and shouted:

"This is the attitude of the Clovis people. If this matter cannot be resolved as soon as possible, they will wipe out the entire legion without leaving any survivors. We have no time!"

"Really? How do I remember that the meaning of the swallow-tail flag is not to let the enemy fight to the end..." Even though Fernando had had enough of the cowardice and incompetence of this group of people, he couldn't help but snorted:

"If you have anything to say, just say it. What exactly do you want me to do?!"

"Well..."

When the moment came for them to be questioned, the officers hesitated again... After learning about the harsh conditions offered by Sir Gloria, they who seemed to have made up their mind began to hesitate again; after all, it was too difficult to talk about killing the officer. It doesn't sound good, and it's easy to give others clues. Once you are found out afterwards, you won't be able to explain it clearly.

"Commander, what are you talking about?" Despite this, an officer still stood up bravely: "We just want to know the truth. If you are innocent, of course we will continue to serve you. Fight for Your Majesty!"

"Yes, we will always be His Majesty's knights and fight for His Majesty!"

"For the sake of the emperor and the empire, we can also raise the bloody swallow-tailed flag!"

“Long live the Empire—Long live the Emperor!”

The officers became more and more excited as they talked, looking at Fernando with eyes full of expectation; but the commander-in-chief knew very well that this was definitely not a look that yearned for victory, but an expression looking at a dead person, or more accurately, a sacrifice.

They... are like the ignorant people who offered sacrifices to evil gods in the ancient dark ages. They respectfully and happily handed over the sacrifices in exchange for their lives and wealth being preserved.

Compared with this group of people, even the smart Clovis people seem to be a bit noble; the Clovis rebels who "fight to the end" and the imperial knights who live in an ignoble existence are really ironic... Fernando said sarcastically in his heart.

……………………

"Chief of General Staff, isn't it a little dangerous for us to do this?"

The young staff officer leaned against the window cautiously, leaning out most of his body, using his arms to support the hanging "bloody swallow-tail flag". His cheeks were so pale that he couldn't even see a trace of blood, so he was afraid of using the word "scared". Engraved directly on the forehead.

"Don't worry, I'm 100% sure. Fernando will never dare to attack us now!" Carl waved his hand casually, and took out a cigarette case and matches from his jacket pocket:

"Let's put it this way, from Anson Bach...ahem! I mean, our commander-in-chief won the battle on the Red Moon Road before Junqi Mountain was captured, and when he led the army to cut off Fernando's retreat, the battle was actually It’s over; all that’s left is how to end it.”

"How will it end? What do you mean..."

"That's right, it's about how the Imperial people on the other side plan to surrender." Biting a cigarette with sparkling sparks, Karl exhaled a puff of smoke with great relief. This was the most comfortable smoke he had smoked in the past ten days: "I said this Well, unless the Ring of Order really doesn’t want us to win, and a certain imperial army rushes to defeat the blocking position of the 1st or 2nd Infantry Division, and they have to rush to the battlefield of Junqi Mountain immediately, otherwise... hum, it won’t help!”

"I see, so the camp is actually out of danger now?"

"That's right, now it's no longer us who really have to try our best to avoid the outbreak of fighting, but the Imperial people on the opposite side!"

"If that's the case, then why do we still raise the bloody swallowtail flag?"

Holding back his sore arm, the staff officer looked puzzled: "The battle has been won, shouldn't this flag be used only during the final resistance?"

Not only that, if you look carefully, it is not difficult to find that this so-called "bloody swallow-tail flag" is actually a "forgery" that was picked up from the company flag left behind by Fernando's regiment and temporarily dyed with paint.

The reason is not difficult to understand: Clovis is not an empire, and there is no so-called knightly tradition at all. How could it be possible to keep such a flag full of chivalry in the army-especially in Anson Bach's army-don't Speaking of soldiers, there are very few officers who are literate and know the meaning of this flag.

However, this kind of "innocuous" small problem is actually beneficial in Karl's eyes. He hopes that the army does not know the meaning of this flag. If everyone knows it, they mistakenly think that they are really going to fight to the death with the Empire. That's really troublesome.

"You...as a staff officer, you need to be more flexible in your mind, and your thinking and vision should be as broad as possible - not only the knowledge in the academy is knowledge, experience and insight are also very important!"

The Chief of General Staff rolled his eyes, obviously very dissatisfied with this subordinate's performance: "In a confrontation with your opponent, it is very dangerous to be seen through or guess your thoughts and purposes; your decision-making cannot conform to their guesses, and even requires you to Try to make it go against common sense in their eyes, or it is not within their scope of cognition at all.”

"Let me put it more directly. Now you and I both know that the Imperials will not attack, but they may not understand. Therefore, our posture is abnormal in their eyes and is beyond their expectations; More importantly... this is destined to help end this battle and is in the interest of all of us!"

"Ah...I see."

The staff officer suddenly realized: "You mean, just because the Imperial people will not attack, we must deliberately put up a posture of resisting to the death, show our attitude to the enemy, and force them to surrender as soon as possible?"

The more he spoke, the more respectful the expression on his face became... He was indeed the Chief of General Staff who was most trusted by the ruling lord. He became a colonel from a mere captain in just two or three years, but he never even attended a military academy; this kind of skill , insight and prediction, and the superb tacit understanding with the commander-in-chief to coordinate exquisitely, are indeed not something that can only be obtained by studying in school.

However, the reality seemed to be a little...well, a little different from his guess.

"Imperial people, who said anything about imperial people?"

"Well, you didn't mean a confrontation just now, your opponent..."

"Yes, I'm talking about Charles Sanders, who followed the commander-in-chief to defeat the Red Moon Road, and the thousands of officers and soldiers!" Karl looked confused:

"They defeated and captured the Jialan Army, and cut off Fernando's retreat. On the other hand, we...not to mention our outstanding military achievements, are still very few. If we don't take advantage of the battle to end, we can leave a good impression on the friendly forces. Strive to be a little bit ahead in the post-war merit recognition and awards, so what are you waiting for?"

"Ten days, we have been able to survive ten days with just these people. Do you really plan to watch Charles Sanders take away all the credit and let the comrades who have been eating dirt for ten days on the flag mountain only get the reward? How about a little consolation prize?!"

Looking at the staff officer who still had a dull look on his face, Karl sighed helplessly... He was so stupid in studying in school that he didn't even understand how to make progress.

………………………………

The two sides on Junqi Mountain have their own agendas, and they also have their own intentions below Junqi Mountain; Anson Bach’s goal is to end the battle on Junqi Mountain as soon as possible, in case the front line is defeated by Fernando’s reinforcements one day, causing another change in the Battle of Red Moon Province, so His only goal was to get Fernando Herred to surrender publicly.

But not Sir Garland! As a confirmed true traitor, he had to get Fernando, the false traitor, back into the arms of the Circle of Order as soon as possible in order to avoid the possibility of being liquidated after the war. Therefore, he repeatedly asked the officers to kill Fernando, either explicitly or covertly, otherwise The Clovis would not cease fighting.

The problem is that this lie is actually not that difficult to expose. After all, Anson has no obligation to conceal the truth for him. It’s just that the Imperial Knights are really reluctant to communicate directly with Clovis; but as time goes by, It became increasingly difficult for Sir Garland to control the situation.

Seeing that things were beginning to change, he had to take a little risk and gave his handwritten letter to the military officer's representative, asking him to pass it on to Fernando Herred, and promised that after the latter read the letter, he would "take the initiative" Bear your due responsibilities.”

The representatives were doubtful about this, but they still did it; they actually vaguely felt that the situation was not as Sir Garland said, but no one dared to make such a bet.

At this time, Sir Garland's letter becomes extremely important - even if something goes wrong in the end, the other party will have to bear part of the responsibility, so that they, the "knights who are absolutely loyal to His Majesty the Emperor," will not become someone else's scapegoat for no reason.

Yes, after much hesitation, Sir Gloria handed over his "letter of surrender", proving that he would advance and retreat with everyone in the legion.

And the moment he saw this letter, Fernando naturally thought about this clearly, and his heart was completely numb; the traitors had formed an alliance, which meant that his last hope had been lost.

[Yes, Dear Lord Fernando Herred, when you read this letter, you must have guessed what is going on.

It is a pity that I failed to defeat Anson Bach. This has nothing to do with caution or mistakes. I chose the right tactics, but unfortunately I was completely exposed by the enemy. Your previous judgment was very accurate. This is indeed a very difficult opponent. enemy. 】

[But I still want to say that this is a battle that should not exist at all.

Previously, you thought that the Clovis people would definitely launch a massive attack to recapture the fortress of Red Moon Town. This was a correct judgment. However, you thought that we should take the lead in launching an attack before the enemy could fully assemble to delay the siege of Red Moon Town. The empire strives for room to prepare for war, this...

Obviously, that's not what you really think. 】

[In fact, we all know the real answer, don’t we? Having lost one war after another several times, His Majesty really needs an indisputable victory as soon as possible; and at this time, as his most loyal hound, you... Lord Fernando Herred, must serve His Majesty Get prey that matches it.

The Red Moon Province is the prey. Although Clovis is in chaos, if he can capture the Red Moon Province, the empire will be convinced of the weakness of this turbulent kingdom. At this time, His Majesty can calmly summon his vassals. and the Grand Dukes, calling on all knights to join his army, causing the Clovis people to rebel and start another holy war to restore order to the world.

For this reason, we His Majesty's loyal ministers must take a small risk, but unfortunately the risk is obviously far beyond our initial imagination. 】

[But at that time, you actually still had room for a comeback. As long as you attacked Junqi Mountain with all your strength at the beginning, you still had a chance to reverse the situation; but you misjudged the situation of the battle again and mistakenly thought that Anson Bach planned to fight with you here. In the decisive battle - although the result seemed to be this - the best time to capture Junqi Mountain was missed, and the victory was handed over.

As an old subordinate of yours, I actually know the reason why you did that... A quick attack to capture the Flag Mountain will inevitably result in heavy losses, and a tragic victory will be disgraceful even if it is won. Besides, no one knows how many reinforcements the Clovis people will organize. , many standing armies of the Clovis people on the western border, and whether they will join this crucial battle, and...who would have thought that the Ysel elves could not even hold on for two months. 】

[Unfortunately, there is no if in the world.

And you and I both know how a knight who loses a duel can keep his honor.

Lord Fernando Herred...if I am still qualified to call you that, you will lose all the honors you have received before, but your family will be well protected by all of us, and you now have mine in your hands. You can hide this letter and give it to the person you trust most, and ask him to give it to your child, and wait until one day in the future to avenge me and clear his father's name. 】

[In short, I have done everything I can. I am not you, I am not... His Majesty’s absolutely loyal hound, but I will still bring as many soldiers back to the empire as possible instead of dying on the land of the Clovis people. ,therefore……

Lord Fernando Herred, please...]

[Kill yourself. 】