I will be crowned king

The moment the Hantu Fleet appeared, there was no longer any suspense in this battle.

Faced with the firepower coverage of naval guns and artillery positions, Arthur Herred, who only had four line infantry companies, had no ability to fight back at all - even the so-called strongest "Dragon Knight" bloodline, after dozens of There is no difference between a field gun and a Chihuahua roaring at a lion.

After the line infantry on both wings began to press forward, this small infantry regiment had no other choice but to quickly turn in... Four infantry companies covered the two wings, relying on line volleys and feint attacks to push back the two wings in an attempt to encircle them. Their company of soldiers.

So the Thun Legion, which originally planned to save face and make up for the loss of its position, "showed its ugly head" again in full view of the "friendly forces" of the Storm Division - a menacing bayonet charge, with the tacit cooperation of several "talented" knights, and The imperial line infantry were defeated by alternating firepower, and the scattered troops also blocked the offensive route of reinforcements from behind, buying enough gaps and time for the enemy to retreat.

Soon, this sudden and inexplicable battle ended quietly before everyone could react.

The infantry regiment of more than 500 people, after leaving behind more than a dozen corpses and a few unlucky guys with particularly bad luck, disappeared without a trace on the rugged mountain roads of Ayden and on the horizon.

The soldiers of the Storm Division and the Thun Army, who looked at each other, began to clean up the battlefield full of craters, inspecting and repairing the fortifications damaged by artillery, amidst the curses and shouts of orders from their superiors.

The division's hussar battalion, under Anson's instruction, only "drove" them to the direction of the Wild Stone Castle, then stopped pursuing them, tied the injured and stragglers into rice dumplings, and drove them to A warehouse just built in the military camp was used as a temporary prison for their detention.

At seventeen forty-four... the eight thousand Ayden Legion, originally agreed to arrive today, finally appeared on the horizon in mighty force, rushing to join the Storm Division and the coalition forces.

The main reason why it was "late" was that Renault Emmanuel could not act like Anson and act as a hands-off shopkeeper, leaving Carindia Port there and leaving immediately.

Whether it is his replacement in the reconstruction committee or the subsequent operation of the city, proper and sufficient arrangements must be made, otherwise he will never be able to hand over this city, which is crucial to the Emmanuel family. Those idiots who jumped around repeatedly... therefore wasted a lot of time.

Even being able to "step on the spot" was the result of Renaud Emmanuel noticing the shelling in the direction of Salt Village and ordering a rapid march to try to reinforce.

However, because the main force of Ayden's army was almost all infantry, and because of Ayden's rugged mountain roads, the battle had ended four hours ago by the time they arrived.

Considering the disgraceful performance of the Thun Army throughout the battle, for the Aiden Army, which is also good at "mad dog tactics", being late is not a bad luck - at least now they can laugh at others as much as they want, instead of becoming The object of ridicule.

"So...who starts?"

With his back to Aiden and the map of the land behind him, Anson stood at the end of the long table, holding a glass of rum and speaking in an easy-going tone.

The stormtroopers and coalition officers present were not in such a "good mood" as he was. They were all speechless, with their heads lowered one by one, sitting upright and curled up in their chairs, staring at the wine glass in front of them, as if they couldn't wait to see it. Stuff yourself into this container, which is not much bigger than the palm of your hand.

This is the "welcoming feast" prepared to welcome the arrival of the Aiden Legion. According to the customs of Hantu and Clovis, an "alcohol"-based venue like this should be filled with dirty jokes, jokes, bets and swear words. It was filled with laughter and laughter created together; everyone had fun together and sang "Our friendship lasts forever".

But they had just suffered a "defeat" and were not in a good mood to celebrate.

"Cough cough cough!"

Fabian coughed slightly and slowly stood up, trying to keep a straight face: "Although this encounter did not cause too many losses, it fully exposed our army's lack of coordination when encountering emergencies. , each unit is fighting independently; as for the consequences, everyone has seen it now..."

"Severe punishment! This situation must be severely punished. Otherwise, what if the enemy that attacks us next time is not a small group of roving enemy troops, but the main force of the Imperial Expeditionary Force waiting for an ambush? If we are not in the salt village position with complete defense facilities, But what about the foothills where there is no cover, or even completely exposed to the enemy’s superior firepower, making it difficult to deploy the line?!”

"There is no doubt that what awaits us is the complete annihilation of the entire army!" the commander of the Grenadier Regiment said extremely sternly.

As a former Guards officer, Fabian's motto is to make things convenient for others and for yourself. He spends most of his time as the red face in the military meetings of the Storm Division and the "public opinion representative" who represents the inner thoughts of most officers. , to ease the conflicts between the deputy commander and others.

Things that "offend people" like pouring cold water on someone, showing loyalty, and obviously acting as a mouthpiece for the deputy commander are usually done by someone who is better at taking the blame.

But it is a pity that Carl Bain is now serving as Claude Francois's military adviser, and even the little secretary is far away in Iron Bell Castle - as a member of the inner circle around Anson, he is a "good old man" "I have to show off for a while.

"Some people... listen clearly, I'm talking about some people! I know what you think, and I don't want to say more, let alone pay attention to it."

"But I must remind you that this is the Storm Division, the Clovis-Hantu coalition, and the army! You are soldiers! As soldiers, it is your bounden duty to obey commands and orders and act according to plans!"

"You enjoy the best logistics management department and the most efficient administrative department in the entire Hantu, which handles all work for you except combat; you are equipped with weapons and equipment that are envied by friendly forces and a firepower configuration that is comparable to Clovis' regular army... What did you do, what did we… do?”

"We... let a group of imperial scum with less than a thousand people... break through the defense line!"

"Still watching them slip away!"

Fabian, who became more and more angry as he spoke, slapped the table with "Pah!", making the officers present tremble.

"This has nothing to do with other people, and it has nothing to do with the soldiers - our soldiers are not greedy for life. They carried out four consecutive counterattacks against the firepower of the imperial line infantry, paid tragic sacrifices, and persisted to the artillery position. They had to retreat after fighting back, and the responsibility is not theirs.”

"The responsibility lies with us!"

"As the commander of the Storm Division Grenadier Regiment, I think I need to review." Taking a deep breath, Fabian held up his wine glass with a face filled with grief and remorse:

"Everyone, let us remember the lesson of this time - victory is not easy, and our enemies are not rotten fish and shrimps that can be easily defeated."

"The only way to win is to absolutely obey commands and orders and abide by the pre-made plan, rather than acting on impulse or taking things for granted!"

As soon as the words fell, the officers with faces full of shame (and fear) stood up quickly like prisoners about to be released after serving their sentences, and raised their glasses to the deputy commander who always kept a smile.

Anson, who was in a happy mood, quickly completed the communication with his Grenadier Regiment leader out of the corner of his eye, and also raised his glass:

"Then use this glass of wine to wish us a triumphant victory!"

"Victory in advance——!!!"

This time, not only the Stormtroopers, but also the Aiden officers who had been watching the fun before finally stopped laughing at the friendly forces and sang "United we are invincible" and "The road is tortuous, but the future is bright" with cheerful faces.

Only Renault Emmanuel looked gloomy and said nothing.

The words of Fabian - or actually Anson himself - seemed to be reprimanding the Stormtroopers present and the embarrassing Thun Legion, but in fact all the words were addressed to Aiden who had just arrived. The Legion listened.

To be more precise, it was a warning and a "reminder" to Lenore Emmanuel.

In the previous battle of Carindia Port, he did not abide by the planned plan and started the war without authorization. Although he won the victory in the end, the price he paid was the near-annihilation of the 10,000-man legion and the complete ruins of an army. Port of Carindia.

If Anson Bach hadn't come to the rescue in time, if he hadn't successfully defeated and captured the Imperial Hantu Fleet in the Battle of Reef Town, if the enemy hadn't suddenly gone crazy and taken away most of the surrounding troops, if...

If there weren't so many "ifs", the battle to regain the Carindia Port would have been ten times more tragic than it is now.

Because of the recent victory at the Port of Carindia, and the fact that the Port of Carindia is the "home field" of the Emmanuel family, it is obviously inappropriate for Anson Bach, an outsider, to want to reprimand the "host". .

After all, the Emmanuel family has made a lot of concessions, and Anson still hopes to use the reconstruction of Carindia Port to launder money, no... it is a "reasonable" plan for Carindia's compensation.

So he used this inexplicable battle to warn Renaud not to try to act without authorization again, especially not to violate the "perfect plan" he specified.

Renault, who knew this clearly, would not look good, but he could not refute anything - after all, the deputy commander who was "committed to safeguarding the unity of the two countries" was scolding his own people from beginning to end. , not mentioning him or Aiden at all.

As a result, this "unique" and "extraordinary" reception banquet was pushed to a climax in a joyful atmosphere.

……………………

"Do you have anything else?"

At 8:30 in the evening, Anson, with a normal expression, announced the end of the banquet on time, and asked the officers who were about to drink too much to return to their respective posts immediately, urging them to have a good rest, and said that they would leave on time in the early morning of the day after tomorrow.

After all the officers had the good sense to get out, Anson and Lenore Emmanuel were the only two people left in front of the originally lively long table.

Facing Anson's concerned "greeting", the somewhat drunk Lenore looked a little embarrassed.

He originally planned to wait until the banquet was over and ask Anson if he was being sarcastic just now; but when it was time to speak, he suddenly felt that his behavior was extremely childish, almost like Leon.

So he could only change the question.

"Your Excellency Fabian told me that when that... imperial infantry regiment appeared, you ordered the cavalry not to allow them to continue pursuing." Renault said cautiously:

"Can I ask why?"

"Of course. In fact, I was about to discuss this matter with you - if this group of imperial people didn't show up."

Anson said with a smile, took a sip of rum.

"……What's the meaning?"

Lenore was stunned by this answer.

"It's very simple. What's the purpose of our presence here?" Anson pretended to chat while shaking his wine glass:

"Supporting Claude Francois? We don't know the battlefield situation now, we don't even know the specific positions of them and the enemy, what step the battle is at, what is the situation between the enemy and ourselves... We know nothing about any of this. "

"So in this situation, how can we 'support' our Majesty Claude Francois?"

Renault frowned slightly: "How to support?"

"It's very simple, that is to take the initiative to expose ourselves." Anson snapped his fingers:

"We don't know the specific locations of the enemy and ourselves, but one thing is very clear, and that is our own location - where is this, Salted Village; where is Salted Village, south of Ayden, and the Deserted Stone Castle is in Ayden west."

"Limited by supplies and roads, the battle between the two sides must be fought around the Wild Stone Castle and the Summit Tower. In other words, the center of the battlefield is in the west. The enemy's and our armies are also moving closer to this center, while we are in the south. In other words..." Anson deliberately let it slip.

"No matter what, we are on the flanks and even... the backs of enemy and friendly forces alike?!"

Renault, who was hesitating, seemed a little unbelievable.

"The answer is correct - that's why I insist on landing here and use this as a starting point!" Anson then laughed:

"According to my original plan, I should send out as many skirmishers as possible to conduct tentative fire reconnaissance, confirm the battle situation and at the same time make the enemy vigilant, thus distracting their attention, and weakening Claude. The pressure Francois is currently facing better creates a situation of attacking the enemy from both sides."

"Now...this sudden appearance of the army has allowed me to successfully skip this step that is very likely to cause trouble and go directly to the next step."

"They have seen our firepower and seen the Hantu Fleet with their own eyes; in order to avoid the accusation of having achieved nothing, they will definitely publicize it to their superiors and tell the Imperial Expeditionary Force, which is probably going well at the moment..."

"us……"

"Defeated and captured his fleet..."

"The alliance between Clovis and Hantu..."

"...came to find them!"