I will be crowned king

May 31st, the day after Anson annihilated the allied forces of the Paya Principality, "coincidentally" was the same day that Duke Lagar arrived at White Tower City; 5,000 storm divisions followed the road south and directly entered the Paya. In the hinterland of Ya Duchy, soldiers surrounded the capital city of Blood Horn Castle.

Facing the unkind Stormtrooper army, all the elites were lost. At the same time, without the Duke himself as the commander, Bloodhorn Castle was in panic and chaos.

Despite the panic, Blood Horn Fort first mobilized thousands of militiamen to defend the city, and at the same time sent an envoy to negotiate with Anson Bach, hoping to ease the situation and "peacefully resolve the conflicts between the two parties."

Faced with the Knight of Arezzo who was forced out of the Blood Horn Castle to negotiate, his face was obviously bloodless, but he still tried to pretend to be neither humble nor overbearing. Anson did not embarrass him - he didn't even talk about it.

"Go back and tell the people in the castle that the Storm Division will hold an entry ceremony at 6:30 in the afternoon; so either you take the initiative to open the door, or I will ask my artillery company to 'help' you open it!"

Faced with such a murderous declaration, Arezzo, who felt humiliated, immediately wanted to draw his knife - and then he was knocked unconscious, tied into a rice dumpling, thrown on the horse and put back.

At 2:30 in the afternoon, the Storm Division launched a siege position in front of Bloodhorn Fort and set up an artillery position directly opposite the city gate.

At six o'clock in the afternoon, the artillery position opened fire on time.

Twelve artillery pieces, with only forty-eight rounds of rapid fire in one round, caused the temporarily pulled up defenders of Bloodhorn Castle to instantly avalanche; a small number of them were killed by "accidental fire", and most of them had not even figured out what happened. Completely frightened by the roaring cannons and crumbling city walls, the entire army collapsed.

At 6:05, Bloodhorn Castle slowly opened its city gates; the red bull flag on the city head was removed and replaced with a very eye-catching white flag.

At 6:30, the Storm Division held an entry ceremony on time and easily occupied the capital of the Principality of Paya.

At this moment, Duke Lagar, who was receiving the "warm hospitality" of the Stormtroopers in White Tower City and preparing to sign the "Wartime Agreement of Equality, Friendship and Mutual Benefit", didn't know that whether he signed or not signed this agreement actually didn't matter much. There is a difference.

The Lagar family has essentially become a vassal force of the Kingdom of Clovis.

Immediately following the third day of June 1st, the moment the news of the collapse of the front line and the Bloodhorn Fort came, the entire Principality of Paya fell into huge chaos.

The noble lords who were originally loyal to the Lagar family rebelled one after another. Some announced that they would "fight to the end" with Clovis, some expressed their "willingness to conditional allegiance" to the Storm Master, and some wanted to "replace" the Lagar family. .

For this group of guys with diverse and even contradictory interests, Anson had only one way to deal with them - suppression.

Complete, no-negotiation bloody repression.

So the Storm Division, which had just finished two battles and had not had time to rest, immediately threw itself into the counter-insurgency battle without stopping; under the walls of the Blood Horn Castle, it launched a vigorous decisive battle with the 8,000 rebels who swarmed in.

One thing to say is that although the combat effectiveness of this rebel army is still not very good, there is no artillery, and some soldiers are even using matchlocks; but at least the morale is not low. After being blown up by the artillery of the Storm Division with shrapnel, The rear of the army suffered two more rounds of volleys before it was completely defeated...

Duke Lagar is much better than the five thousand "elites" who are running all over the mountains and plains and cannot be caught by themselves.

After neatly annihilating the 8,000-strong army that the rebels had assembled here and there, the entire Principality of Paya completely bowed its head to the Storm Division...at least on the surface.

After receiving the news of the defeat, the allies of the Principality of Paya, two small counties and a free city, the leaders of the three places decisively came to the Storm Division's military camp with an apology and surrendered to Anson Bach, along with a gift. Keys to their respective castles and cities.

They had no choice but to be decisive - the coalition forces were completely wiped out, which meant that for the Principality of Paya, it was in dire straits, and for them, they lost a large number of important young and strong labor forces in one fell swoop, which was equivalent to having their spines broken!

In this case, it is a good thing for the Storm Division to declare to occupy their territory; at least it can deter some malicious eyes and bear the cost of maintaining order for them... It is not impossible to pay some price for this. accept.

In order to control the occupied area as quickly as possible, Anson slightly relaxed the extortion of several small lords - the servant army does not need to be sent out, and the number of hostages can be reduced, but the compensation must be paid in full.

Even if you really have no money, you can borrow money from the church and pay for it with luxury goods and oil paintings, not even a copper penny less!

Under this unabashed plunder, the small treasury of the stormtroopers and Anson himself began to expand rapidly, and even the officers also made a lot of money.

Originally thinking that they had been assigned, the newly joined officers not only stopped sighing, but even looked at Anson with more loyalty.

After successfully getting the first pot of gold from the south and getting a good start in the war against the Seven Cities Alliance, the overwhelming situation allowed Anson to finally let down his guard and officially announce his "perfect plan" to the entire army.

……………………

"To be honest, I think this plan is too fanciful."

Pointing to the Seven Cities Alliance map behind him, Army Major Carl Bain, temporary chief of staff of the Storm Division, said simply.

An awkward atmosphere filled the conference room shrouded in silence.

The Storm Division officers sitting on both sides of the long table looked at each other, and carefully turned their gaze to Anson Bach, who was sitting on the main seat at the other end of the long table.

The silent deputy commander rested his elbows on the table and crossed his fingers, looking at Karl with a smile, making people wonder what he was thinking.

As if he could not feel the awkward atmosphere around him, the chief of staff continued to talk to himself:

"The entire Hantu claims to be united under the unbreakable Seven Cities Alliance, but in fact this so-called alliance is just a cover, put on by Hantu or the Seven Cities Alliance; the purpose is to ensure the formal independent status of Hantu , the interior is a complete hodgepodge of fragments.”

"There are actually only four countries that can really exert influence in the vast land." Carl Bain spread out the little secretary's notes on the table while extending his baton to the map behind him:

"The first to bear the brunt is the Grand Duchy of Thun. It has a population of two million, an annual income of three million gold coins, and a total military strength ranging from 20,000 to 60,000. It is a regional power in the eastern part of the land."

"Now that we have captured the Principality of Paya and several small counties in the south, Thun's strength has increased slightly; the energy source continues to provide at least one standard legion-sized reinforcements and bear the war expenses of no more than 500,000 gold coins. "

Karl drew a circle on the eastern part of the Hantu map: "Basically, Hantu can be regarded as one-quarter to one-fifth, and it has become our stable rear area."

"Unless the Southern Army is completely defeated and the Ysel elves counterattack to Eagle Point City, we, the Storm Division, don't have to worry about being attacked from both sides."

As soon as the words fell, the conference room was immediately filled with a cheerful atmosphere; it was obvious that the Southern Army could not be defeated.

The Imperial Guards have all been wiped out, and the next step is to fight all the way to the Royal Court of Yser - how to lose?

"Then, there are the enemies we are about to face - three countries whose strength is comparable to Thun."

Karl changed the topic and knocked down the baton in the center of the map with a "pop!" sound: "The first to bear the brunt is the Mith who occupy the hinterland of Hantu and are formed by the union of four principalities with a population of nearly four million and a total strength of about 50,000. The Grand Duchy.”

"Directly south of the Grand Duchy of Mist is the Republic of Carindia, which controls the southernmost tip of Hantu, a nearly triangular peninsula, and has the best natural harbor. It has a population of 1.5 million and an army of less than 10,000, but it controls almost the entire The annual income of Hantu’s coastline is close to 10 million gold coins.”

"They also have another title, called 'Hantu Money Bag' - and then, the cathedral, the core of the entire Hantu Diocese, also happens to be in the capital of the Carindia Republic."

"Finally, there is the Principality of Aiden, which controls the western part of Hantu and is far away from Thun. It has a population of 1.5 million and a total strength of about 10,000 to 40,000. It controls the fortress and the only transportation linking Hantu to the empire. The main road also has the title of 'Gatekeeper of the Vast Earth'."

"Thun, Mist, Carindia, Aiden...these four countries occupy half of the territory and population of the entire land, and two-thirds of the wealth; the remaining small countries such as the Principality of Paya..."

"Compared with them, they are nothing worth mentioning."

Carl Bain raised his head and looked at Anson Bach:

"According to the draft plan formulated by the deputy commander, I summarized it as 'picking the weak first' - first, the Carindia Republic tried to remain neutral and secretly supported the Ysel Elves as an excuse to invade; the Ysel Elves were defeated before they could. Before the news of Eagle Point City spreads throughout the vast earth, it will occupy the purse of the Seven Cities Alliance."

"The advantage of doing this is that it can break the balance immediately and get in touch with the archbishop of Hantu to reach a consensus. At the same time, occupying the richest country in Hantu can also prevent it from being occupied by others - to avoid other Hantu's occupation. When the earth countries are hostile to us, they can still get funding and loans from the Cathedral or Carindia."

"So even if we can't successfully capture Carindia, we must fight a battle to make them recognize the reality, join us obediently, and then weaken them as much as possible."

"The next step is to close the door and beat the dog." Karl pointed to the Principality of Ayden in the northwest of the map:

"Get in touch with the Principality of Ayden and win them over to declare war on the Grand Duchy of Myst, which is the largest in area and theoretically the most powerful; try to promise them sufficiently favorable terms and agree to divide the territory and population of Myst between the two parties after the war."

"In the end, the Principality of Aiden, who secretly joined forces with Clovis, will betray their relatives and friends; even without us taking the initiative, Thun, who is fighting for the hegemony of the vast land, will take the lead in going to war against Aiden."

"At this point, the Storm Division doesn't even need to actually engage in battle, because whichever side we stand on will win. At that time, we can completely attack the last two major forces in Hantu based on our interests and the orders of the Privy Council and even the royal family. Stay neutral or bet.”

"The Storm Division will be the biggest winner in this seven-city alliance melee."

Carl paused for a moment, his eyes full of solemnity: "And this is why I said this plan is 'whimsical'!"

"To sum it up in one sentence, it does not take into account the possibility of interference from the empire or even from the country at all - it is purely whimsical and treats the strategic layout as a self-righteous deduction game!"

The moment the words fell, the sound of countless people twitching their throats resounded in the conference room; pairs of doubtful eyes kept flickering back and forth between Anson and Karl.

But the deputy commander didn't seem to notice the glances directed at him, and his attention was entirely on Lisa, who was sleeping soundly on the table, holding the rifle.

I don’t know if it’s an illusion, but Lisa seems to be much taller than when they first met. She’s almost as tall as the rifle with a bayonet attached, and her face doesn’t seem as round as it was at first…

Could it be that... it's finally time for her to grow?

But Lisa is August’s bloodline, and in a strict sense she is no longer fully human—she should be like Miss Thalia of the Rune family, eternally young and beautiful!

When he thought that Lisa would grow up, the absent-minded Anson actually felt a little bit disappointed deep in his heart...

The chief of staff still ignored a certain deputy commander and continued to think about himself: "At the moment, the area we control is limited to the eastern part of Hantu, and because the results of the Battle of Eagle Point City have not been completely spread throughout Hantu, the countries and empires of Hantu They will ignore us."

"But I ask you to ask yourselves, if the Republic of Carindia is captured by the Storm Division, and the Clovis forces enter the hinterland of Hantu with a high profile, can the empire...can continue to ignore it like this?"

"Even if they really don't have a strategic plan for the Seven Cities Alliance, the connection with their allies, the Yser elves, was completely cut off, and an ally from the Kingdom of Clovis suddenly appeared in the weak southeast..." Karl's tone was mixed. With a hint of sarcasm:

"No matter how stupid the empire is, they still know that Clovis is planning to open a second battlefield - can they tolerate this?"

The officers said nothing.

"Then there is the country, that is, the Privy Council and the Osteria royal family; currently their attention is on the battle against the Yser elves, and they have no time to talk to us."

"But if the Seven Cities Alliance receives frequent good news, and it is even as simple as planned and conquers the entire land, what do you think will happen next?"

"I think the most likely thing that will happen is not that our deputy commander will be promoted to brigadier general, but that the army will send a new brigadier general and transfer a regular army into Hantu; and then unify all of us who are in the way. Kick your feet away."

At this point, Karl exhaled and said seriously to Anson and the officers:

"Therefore, in order to ensure that this war will not be interfered by the empire, and to prevent the interests of the Storm Division from being usurped by senior officials of the army; in order to avoid the situation where the higher-ups intervene rashly, but in the end let us take the blame..."

"As the chief of staff, I think it is necessary to formulate a more prudent and feasible strategic plan based on this draft!"

The Hantu War has officially begun, and today is another update full of sincerity.