I will be crowned king

The raging fire turned the dim sky in the evening red again; the choking smoke was mixed with the soldiers' howls, and the sometimes dense and sometimes sparse gunshots filled the chaotic battlefield in the southern border of Thun.

The 5,000 Storm Divisions advanced separately under the cover of 10,000 Thun recruits. In less than three hours, they successfully passed through the ineffective defense line of the Paya Principality coalition forces.

When the coalition soldiers realized that something was not right, the Storm Division had already completed the insertion and assembly behind them and launched a full-scale offensive.

For a moment, the coalition forces were caught off guard, not to mention fighting immediately. Even quickly gathering the soldiers who were scattered across the entire inner line, burning, killing, looting and deserting, was an impossible task.

They could only fight company by company on the open plains, on farms, and in the fields, "greeting" the five thousand Storm Division soldiers who were shouting and fighting fiercely.

Even though the troops on the books are twice as strong as the Storm Division, even if their combat effectiveness is almost the same, it seems that they are not incapable of fighting. Even if they cannot be defeated, they can still escape.

But the problem is that the entire coalition command is actually not unified, and there are not conflicts between them - some hope to withdraw to the principality, some hope to stick to the place, some are reluctant to part with the property looted during this period, and some I simply want to cause trouble for my teammates...

As a result, you can't escape even if you run away, let alone fight.

Often, the Storm Division had just finished a round of volley fire, and the infantry company on the opposite side fell down by one-third before it could even form a horizontal line, and then the entire line collapsed.

Some of the knights who shouldered the responsibility of commanders resisted resolutely and were shot to death in the volley; some fled faster than the soldiers - the pale-faced messengers often turned around and found that their knights were already on both sides. It's a hundred meters away.

The outcome of both sides is often determined the moment the battle begins.

The raid lasted only thirty minutes and quickly turned into a pursuit; facing the enemy's defeat on all fronts, no matter how cautious Anson was, he had to break the entire Storm Division into pieces and dismantle them into infantry battalions one by one. Go capture prisoners all over the mountains and plains.

The only cavalry battalion was released immediately, chasing the coalition headquarters that had been lost as soon as the war started.

The battle was fought so without any suspense, which really surprised all the Clovis officers; although the armies of Thun and Iser could not be regarded as capable of fighting - their marksmanship was so bad that they could not be seen, and hand-to-hand combat was often extremely rigid because of their rigid tactics. Stupid... But at least he still has the will to fight, and the problem basically lies with the officers and training.

But the coalition forces in front of them were really... wearing imperial-style military uniforms. They were really no different from serfs holding hoes and dung forks, or tramps with sallow faces and skinny muscles.

When night fell, the bloody battle in the southern border of Thun came to an end without any suspense; the coalition army with a total strength of 10,000 was wiped out, and the remaining defeated soldiers also escaped into the mountains and forests during the pursuit, and dispersed as birds and beasts.

Crows screamed in the desolate wilderness, and the lucky captives were gathered together. What awaited them would be the farms of the Thun nobles and the dark mines...

Of course, there are a few lucky ones among them - the knights of Arezzo who survived the entire battle unscathed, and their first task when they woke up was to take Anson Bach's letter to the capital of the Principality of Paya.

Tell the news of the annihilation of the entire army to Duke Lagar, who is still ambitious and dreams of replacing the Francois family.

……………………

Grand Duchy of Thun, White Tower City.

Accompanied by guards, an old man shivered into the castle - he was not short, but his stooped back made him appear half shorter than the young man behind him; his gray beard and hair looked a bit messy, full of The bloodshot eyes were embedded in a tired and worried face. He even staggered up the stairs and needed support from the people behind him.

He looks like any other old man in his sixties or seventies who has some physical problems.

But those who know him can't help but be surprised - Duke Lagar, one of the majestic Seven Cities Alliance, is two years younger than the Grand Duke of Thun, who just celebrated his fifty-fourth birthday!

Walking to the door of the White Tower City Hall, the guard behind him stepped forward to knock on the door and "invite" the old man into the room.

The spacious hall of White Tower City still looks familiar to the old man when he came many years ago. Only a few details have changed - the luxurious decorations and carpets have all disappeared, replaced by a map of the vast land facing the door.

Sitting in the hall is no longer the once proud and elegant Earl Brand and his family, but a polite-looking soldier and a...

Little boy?

"Ah, you must be the famous Duke Lagar, right?"

Seeing the old man's figure, the officer sitting on the left side of the long table immediately stood up, stepped forward with a gentle face and smiled at the old man:

"It's really hard for you to come all the way."

The old man with cloudy eyes stiffly shook hands with the officer and glanced at the empty chairs at the long table:

"you are……"

"Commander of the 1st Grenadier Regiment of the Storm Division of the Southern Army, Army Major Fabian."

Fabian, who was holding the old man's hand, bowed first, and then said a little apologetically:

"I'm really sorry, because time is urgent, and the deputy commander Anson Bach is currently commanding the army on the front line, and he really can't get away!"

"Therefore, I have specially assigned a humble position to be responsible for all negotiations with the Principality of Paya; Oh, and the deputy commander's personal secretary, His Excellency Alan Dawn, will serve as a witness." Fabian pointed to the young man behind him:

"Do you have any objections to this arrangement, Your Excellency the Duke?"

"Ah...no, it's nothing! I...can understand...can...understand..."

Duke Lagar, who barely managed a smile, felt his heart go cold.

"It's great that you are willing to understand our difficulties!"

The former Guards officer smiled again and made a "please" gesture to the old man enthusiastically: "In that case, let's not delay any longer and let's start now!"

"Uh...Okay, okay..."

The two of them sat down on the left and right sides of the long table on both sides of the map. The old man with a stooped back struggled to pull out the chair, and it took a lot of effort before he finally sat down.

"So...the first is the territorial dispute between Paia and Thun."

Almost as soon as the old man sat down, Fabian immediately smiled and said:

"About this matter, we have fully communicated with the Grand Duke of Thun, and...successfully obtained the Grand Duke's understanding of you!"

Um? !

The old man was frightened at first, and then he looked happy:

"Really?!"

"It's absolutely true!" Fabian nodded vigorously with a smile on his face:

"This is what Grand Duke Claude Francois told us personally. He is willing to make a written commitment - as long as the Principality of Paya returns the territory and population it has captured, the Grand Duke...is willing to treat you and Lagar The family will let bygones be bygones!"

"Not only that, he also proposed that if you are willing to become an ally of the Kingdom of Clovis like him, he is also willing to share all the alliance reciprocity with you fairly - these are what he told us personally!"

"I do, of course I do!"

Duke Lagar said excitedly. At this moment, he was not only relieved, he was simply overjoyed!

Five thousand elites and allies were wiped out. He was completely desperate. He thought he was lucky to be able to keep a small territory in the hands of Thun and Clovis. He never expected that Kroger Fran Sova, you are actually willing to let yourself go? !

Could it be that Thun was seriously injured in the battle at Eagle Point City and did not have enough strength to take over his own territory in one go?

Or is it that Clovis has exploited Thun too much, so he urgently needs an ally who can be won over to fight against Clovis's erosion?

All kinds of beautiful fantasies appeared in Duke Lagar's mind, and he seemed to be ten years younger in an instant.

"That's great!" Fabian's voice brought the old man back to reality again:

"If I heard that Duke Lagar of the Paya Principality was willing to help us, Deputy Commander Anson Bach would be very happy!"

The former Guards officer smiled and looked at the little clerk beside him: "In that case, please quickly give the document to Duke Lagar for signature."

"Documents?" The old man was startled.

"It's a wartime agreement."

Fabian crossed his fingers and said with a gentle expression: "This is a formal declaration that the Principality of Paya has broken away from the Seven Cities Alliance and joined the Kingdom of Clovis - of course, this is only a temporary document, and a formal reciprocal covenant will have to wait until later. "

The serious Alan Dawn nodded slightly and handed a parchment scroll and an ink pen from the document bag to Duke Lagar.

The old man with a somewhat incomprehensible expression took the scroll and raised his hand to open it. The specially bolded and enlarged title first caught his sight.

"Stormer-Lagar Family Wartime Agreement on Equality, Friendship and Mutual Benefit":

"First, to show the unwavering alliance between the two parties, the Principality of Paya will hand over at least fifty nobles to the Storm Division as hostages;"

"Second, the Principality of Paya must open its entire territory to the Storm Division, hand over all fortresses, strongholds, bridges, road hubs, and important industrial production areas, accept garrison troops, and bear all costs incurred during the war as a show of friendship;"

"Third, the Principality of Paya must transfer one-fifth of its annual income to the Storm Division during the war, as well as all the expenses of fifty hostages. The bills and expenses will be provided by the Storm Division;"

"Fourth, to compensate for the military expenses of Clovis's army and the damage caused to Thun, the Lagar family must pay 100,000 gold coins or equivalent items as compensation;"

"Fifth, the Principality of Paya must hand over half of its army and join the Storm Division's battle order as a wartime coalition; if there is a shortage of soldiers, it should provide logistics supplies and cash as compensation;"

"Sixth, before the end of the war, the Storm Division has the right to request an interest-free loan of no less than 300,000 gold coins from the Principality of Paya, and before the end of the war, it can be repaid in various forms of compensation and transfer payments;"

"Seventh..." Before he finished reading, the old man's vision suddenly went dark and he almost lost his breath.

What kind of equality, friendship and reciprocity is this? This is clearly trying to squeeze out the bones of the Raghar family and the Principality of Paya until not even a drop is left!

The wealth, heritage and reputation accumulated over hundreds of years will be wiped out the moment you put pen to paper.

Once you sign this damn thing, let alone rise, I am afraid that before the war is over, countless serfs and nobles will stand up and overthrow the rule of the Lagar family in the Paya Principality!

He and his family will be nailed to the pillar of shame by all the nobles of the land because of this "agreement", and they will never be able to stand up again, and will be ridiculed and remembered by future generations.

no! Absolutely, absolutely cannot sign this thing!

The wide-eyed old man's breathing suddenly began to quicken, and the right hand holding the ink pen trembled violently.

United...yes! You can unite with Thun yourself, surrender to him, pay tribute to him, or even agree to become a vassal of the Francois family. Thun must stand up and be the first to oppose Clovis' tyranny!

Then, then...then elect the Grand Duke of Thun to be the leader of the Seven Cities Alliance, gather all the power of the Seven Cities Alliance, form a coalition of 150,000 people, and completely drive out the Clovis people...

"Ashamed to say it."

While the old man was still struggling, Fabian suddenly said: "Because the incident happened suddenly, this agreement is actually the same agreement we gave to Thun, except for a few small differences."

The old man was stunned and looked at Fabian blankly.

"Yes, you heard it right. This is the same agreement between Grand Duke Thun and us; he raised his troops north to participate in the Battle of Eagle Point City two days after signing." Fabian rubbed his hands in embarrassment. hand:

"Therefore, many of the provisions that apply to Thun may not be suitable for the Principality of Paya - so if you are dissatisfied with anything, please boldly raise it and we will modify it as appropriate."

"Ah! For example, this is a free loan of 300,000 gold coins. It is said that because Grand Duke Thun promised us an amount of 500,000 gold coins in one breath; so we feel that the Principality of Paya should provide 300,000 gold coins. It won’t be a problem.”

"But...if it's really difficult for you..." Fabian pursed his lips tightly with a very embarrassed expression:

"Deputy Commander Anson Bach, the colleagues of the Storm Division, and the Grand Duke of Thun himself... should also be considerate of you - what do you think, His Excellency Duke Lagar?"

Cold sweat slid down the old man's temples.

"……no problem."

The old man, whose mouth was trembling, murmured in a low voice: "I, our Lagar family...are willing to contribute to the friendship between Clovis and...the Seven Cities Alliance!"

"real?"

Fabian suddenly stood up and looked at the old man with an unnatural expression with concern: "You are our important ally. If you have any needs, you can ask us and we will try our best to satisfy you!"

"No, really not!"

The old man's whole body was shaking unconsciously.

"There's not even one thing you're dissatisfied with? Don't embarrass yourself too much, Duke Lagar."

"Because if you promise now but are unable to fulfill your promise later..." Fabian's face suddenly darkened and he said coldly:

"That's not something that can be solved by just chatting like this."

The old man who twitched his throat hard... his back became even more stooped.

"Duke Lagar."

"Uh-huh?!"

"Sign it."

Fabian said calmly.