I will be crowned king

"Oh, it seems like I hit something!"

Holding a long monocular telescope, the young knight looked excitedly at the explosions and rising black smoke in the distant woods. He spoke with interest to the middle-aged noble next to him; his bright red cloak rolled up in the wind. , revealing the golden saber on the side of the waist and a beautiful long-barreled revolver.

"I'm right, bringing that cavalry cannon is a very correct decision!"

Faced with the young man's boasting as if asking for praise, the middle-aged aristocrat with strong cheek lines just smiled bitterly.

"You are right, but please don't forget that this six-pound cavalry cannon was bought by the Archduke of Thun from the Empire at a high price. Using such a sophisticated weapon to sneak attack a group of smugglers is almost the same as using gold. It is as luxurious as plowing the ground with a hoe.”

"Weapons are valuable only when they are used. The swords placed in the collection room are just a pile of beautiful gold coins." The young soldier obviously has a different view from the middle-aged noble:

"What's more, if there is no actual combat test, how can everyone understand its power? Now I feel more and more that Sir Louis Bernard's remarks are very reasonable. Compared with rifles, they are more powerful and easier to move and operate. Artillery, coupled with elite, heavily armed elite knights, and the swift and windy light cavalry are the core of future wars!"

"The infantrymen holding spears are, at best, just cannon fodder to embellish and fill the battle lines."

The young knight became more and more excited as he spoke: "Just watch, Henares. When I become the master of Jinshi City, sooner or later I will import more of this kind of light artillery from the empire; I will also set up a special cannon outside the city." Military factory, make our own cavalry cannon!”

Facing the young knight's enthusiastic declaration, the nobleman known as "Henares" did not continue to argue. Instead, he nodded slightly fondly:

"Of course, Master Leon Francois."

After the words fell, the two people's attention turned back to the thick smoke billowing from the woods; looking at the deathly silent woods, there was a trace of confusion on the face of the middle-aged noble.

This confusion is not just because the scene is too quiet, but also because the whole "smuggler incident" is full of weirdness.

First of all, someone actually crossed the snow-capped mountains in March, when the harsh winter had not yet passed, when the wind and snow in the Dawn Mountains were the most intense. In the noble's limited memory, he had never seen such a smuggler who was not afraid of death.

Secondly, the Clovis people were also very confused. They were probably doing this for the first time. They wanted to bribe the local guards and villagers. They were too generous and were treated as fat sheep by the guard captain and the villagers. Except for a few clever ones who succeeded. He ran away and the rest became the meat of the villagers.

The villagers found bayonets, revolvers and grenades on them; fearing retaliation from the smugglers, they quickly reported the news to the passing patrols.

In the eyes of the middle-aged nobles, this group of people is more like mercenaries and bandits than smugglers; taking advantage of Clovis's simultaneous declaration of war on the empire and the Ysel elves, they fled from the border to the mountains, hoping to How about building a camp where you can rest and loot at the same time?

The frowning middle-aged noble raised his right hand and waved it forward slightly; a dozen cuirassiers wearing cloaks and wearing different cuirassiers immediately urged their mounts to disperse around and drew their sabers from their saddles.

Behind these elite cavalry, hundreds of line soldiers in miscellaneous clothing and carrying rifles on their shoulders maintained a tight column formation and advanced slowly amidst the shouts and curses of their officers.

"Want to attack?"

The bright-eyed Leon Francois looked at the middle-aged nobleman, his smile dazzling than the sun: "I can take the lead in the charge!"

"……No."

The middle-aged noble who originally wanted to say "yes" immediately changed his words when he saw the young master's excited look. Looking at his immediately disappointed expression, he had no choice but to explain a few more words:

"What I mean is that it is better to continue firing with artillery and let the smugglers escape from the woods and hilly areas to avoid the artillery. This way we can better utilize the strength of the cavalry."

"Coordination of cavalry and artillery, Sir Louis Bernard also said this!" the young knight said with a hearty smile. He immediately turned his head excitedly to look at the two light artillery pieces that had already set up their mounts, and excitedly raised his right hand towards the artillerymen:

"The artillery is in position, rapid fire in one minute - let go!"

………………

"boom--!!!!"

Along with the billowing smoke and the burning towering trees, one after another roar exploded in the forest; the pale-faced soldiers picked up their weapons amidst the scoldings of the officers, and the entire camp was in chaos.

"Where did these guys come from?!"

Anson, who was leaning behind a rock, asked Carl Bain, who was still loading the two Leopold rifles at hand, as he hurried over to answer Carl Bain.

Didn't it mean that the people of Thun are hospitable and would never be enemies of smugglers who are willing to do business?

"The scouts sent to the villages and towns were slaughtered by the villagers as fat sheep, and they were given to the passing patrols - maybe they were afraid of our revenge!"

Karl, who was covered in sweat, gasped for air, took off his hat and kept fanning:

"The point now is not this. The point is that there are hundreds of Archduke Thun's troops outside. We have been exposed. What should we do next?!"

"What should I do?" Anson raised the corner of his mouth and locked the gun with a "pop!":

"Of course we'll wait until the fight is over!"

"Finished?!"

Karl's eyes widened and he struggled to organize the words in his mouth: "Are you crazy?! We are now in the territory of Grand Duke Thun. Are you planning to fight all the way to Eagle Point City? Are you crazy or am I crazy? Already?!"

"Hey, this sounds familiar. Have you said this before?"

"Don't interrupt!"

Looking at Anson who laughed "Pfft!", Carl Bain looked livid:

"What on earth do you think?"

"What I think is not important. What is important is what would the Archduke of Thun think if he knew we were coming?" Anson, who had suppressed his smile, said in a deep voice to Karl:

"Clovis has just declared war on the Yser elves, and before the Seven Cities Alliance had time to express its stance, a Clovis outpost appeared on his territory - if you were the Grand Duke of Thun, what would you think? "

What do you think... Karl frowned and suddenly understood what Anson meant:

"This is not your intention..."

"I just think it's worth a gamble." Anson couldn't help but raise the corner of his mouth:

"If we win the bet, we will make a lot of money from this war against the Yser elves, and we will no longer have to 'cooperate' with anyone; if we are lucky enough, it is not impossible to form an independent army."

"How about it, do you want to gamble with me?"

Amid the sparse gunfire, Karl stared at the smiling Anson, but he soon gave up.

"Okay, whatever you say is what it is! We're all on the pirate ship anyway, can I still turn around and go back over the snow-capped mountains?!" Karl, who looked helpless, rolled his eyes and grabbed the rifle from Anson's hand:

"What do you want me to do?"

"Go to Fabian. You two lead two infantry regiments to attack from the front - don't press all the way up at once, and try not to shoot until the pressure reaches 100 meters." Anson reminded:

"Slowly spread out the troops and try to see if you can outflank them."

"What about you?" Karl looked at Anson who jumped up from the ground.

"There are cavalry in the enemy's queue, and there may be one or two valuable hostages inside." Anson raised his hand and pointed to the west side of the woods:

"I rushed out with the storm group to see if I could capture them alive; if the plan failed, the Grand Duke of Thun came with 20,000 people to encircle us - although I think it should be impossible - maybe we can rely on this Let him let us live."

Always have a backup plan. This is the key to judging whether a plan is perfect enough.

And my plan has always been perfect... Anson, with his lips raised slightly, quickly put the rifle behind his back:

"Lisa!"

"Anson?!"

The girl's eyes lit up when she heard the call, and she poked her head out of the hidden mud pit.

"Come with me, let's meet these hospitable Thun people - and give them some Clovis specialties by the way!"

"OK!"

The excited girl jumped up from the ground, carrying three rifles on her back and a ring of grenades hanging on her waist. She still jumped up and down behind Anson like a ragdoll cat.

These madmen and monsters... Carl Bain couldn't help but sigh, and raised the silt-filled Unicorn King flag to the turbulent camp.

………………

"Soldiers—advance!"

Accompanied by the gorgeous sabers waved forward by the young knights, hundreds of infantrymen holding muzzle-loading rifles were driven forward by elite cavalry amidst the shouts of officers. The dense formations spread out to the left and right into several horizontal formations, heading towards the thick smoke. advance through the dense forest.

The cavalry cannon bought at a high price from the empire was quite good. Even after a minute of rapid fire, it did not have overheating or explosion problems like Thun's self-made cannon. It could still fire stably and continue to cover the advancing infantry line.

Once such powerful artillery that can move quickly on the battlefield reaches a large scale, quantity and personal strength will no longer be the key to determining the outcome of the war; a side with enough artillery will be able to decide from three hundred or even five hundred meters away. The outcome of the war.

Even the knights and light cavalry that the empire is proud of can only be used as embellishments.

Perhaps Young Master Leon was right, this is what war will look like in the future... The middle-aged noble looked at the two steel monsters breathing flames and smoke with some emotion, and subconsciously touched the saber on the saddle.

"boom--!!!!"

With a loud noise and a splash of smoke in the distance, the two cavalry cannons fired off the last shells - obviously, they could not carry too much ammunition just for patrolling.

But in the eyes of the middle-aged nobles, this is enough. A group of mercenaries and bandits cannot survive the bombardment for long; collapse will happen sooner or later.

Almost at the same time, a series of gunshots came from the direction of the forest; unlucky soldiers in the tight line of patrols were constantly shot in the head and torso, screaming and falling to the ground.

The surrounding soldiers ignored their unlucky comrades, and while the officers and elite cavalry supervising the battle in the back row were shouting and cursing, they raised their rifles and started shooting at the shadowy figure in the woods.

For a time, thick smoke filled the woods inside and outside; not to mention human figures, even trees and obstacles were completely obscured, making it completely impossible to distinguish.

"It finally begins!"

The young knight's face was filled with excitement, and he couldn't wait to wave his saber, and struck in the air:

"The whole army goes out - for the glory of François!"

The neighing white horse raised its front hooves and carried the young knight towards the smokey battlefield, its bright red cloak dancing in the wind.

Looking at the back of the young master rushing towards the battlefield, the middle-aged noble showed a somewhat doting expression.

Just a few days ago, he received news from Eagle Point City that the leading force of the Clovis army, totaling 10,000 people, was about to arrive at the border between Yser and Clovis and was preparing to approach there.

In addition to these 10,000 people, it is said that there is at least an army of 20,000 to 30,000 people later!

Regardless of whether the Clovis people were just bragging, or whether they could really withstand the pressure of the empire while gathering tens of thousands of legions; just being able to send nearly ten thousand people to the border in such a short period of time is already an achievement in itself. Horrible enough.

Once Eagle Point is besieged, it is only a matter of time before the Seven Cities Alliance joins the war; the Grand Duchy of Thun must choose its own position, whether to maintain its alliance with Yser or forge a new friendship with Clovis.

No matter which one it is, the outbreak of war is close at hand.

Before that, it would be a good thing for Young Master Leon to experience some small-scale actual combat... The middle-aged noble who urged his mount raised his eyes and looked at the smoke-filled battlefield in the distance.

As the elite cavalry also picked up their rifles and entered the battle, the smoke in the forest had obscured most of the battlefield; the middle-aged nobles who were walking slowly with a few soldiers could no longer even see clearly the line of the patrol.

No... the middle-aged nobleman narrowed his eyes.

It's not because the smoke is too strong, but because the patrol team is forming...

Weakened?

Amidst the dense and continuous gunfire, several screams were heard from the closely-formed patrol almost every time a gun was fired; but the gunfire in the forest battlefield was not at all sparse due to the reduction in the number of patrols. sign.

On the contrary, the gunshots became more and more fierce and dense, so dense that it seemed as if thousands of people were shooting outside one after another.

Wait...thousands of people?

The middle-aged nobleman's eyes suddenly widened with an expression of disbelief.

In the thick smoke, shadowy figures lined up in a thin horizontal line, slowly advancing outward from the woods; like an eagle spreading its wings, they began to outflank the patrol from the left and right wings of the woods.

The gunfire, which was as dense as a violent storm, continued to explode - it was not a uniform volley, but it sounded more terrifying than a volley, echoing in the forest as if it had never stopped.

And in that thin and narrow line, amidst the frightening density of gunfire, he saw a flag.

A bloody unicorn flag fluttering in the wind in the smoke!