I will be crowned king

Just as Fabian was in a dilemma and decided to take a gamble, the main force of the coalition forces heading north, led by Anson, was confused and advancing towards the battlefield of Wild Stone Castle.

Among the endless mountains of Eden, this army, which is a hodgepodge of Thun farmers, Clovis vagabonds, Carindia defeated troops, and Eden mountaineers, pulled out on the winding and rugged mountain roads. Incredibly long queue.

"So why is our destination the Wild Stone Castle instead of heading directly along the road to the main battlefield - if it's like you said, it's already too late?"

Lenore, who was riding a chestnut pony, turned to Anson and asked, while pretending not to see his body that was constantly shaking slightly on the horse.

Even though he had been in Hantu for several months, and after countless marches and secretly practicing in private, Anson found that he was still very resistant to "horseback riding" - or, in other words, having a living thing under his body.

When everything was going well before, he could still use the excuse of "sharing the joys and sorrows with the soldiers" to ask all officers to hike with him as deputy commander.

But now it was a forced march... Even though he knew it would be embarrassing, he had no choice but to mount his horse.

However, there is a very good saying: As long as you are not embarrassed, the embarrassment belongs to others - Anson feels that this sentence is very suitable for his current state.

"It's because it's almost too late, so we have to go to Barren Stone Castle."

Feeling that countless pairs of eyes behind him were constantly trying to avoid his sight, Ansen, who kept vibrating at a high frequency for a long time, said very seriously: "Otherwise, it will really be too late!"

"Why?" Renault focused all his attention on the map in his hand, as if he was talking to himself.

"Because mobilizing an army for a long-distance march is a very complex and extremely difficult matter." Anson explained:

“The difficulty between letting ten people arrive at the destination at the same time and letting a thousand people arrive at the destination at the same time is not just as simple as the number of people increasing a hundred times.”

"And our coalition has a total of 20,000 people. To change the destination, we need to complete two things immediately - first, re-plan the march route, and second, communicate this new plan to 20,000 people."

"It takes time, and we don't have much time."

"But you don't need to tell 20,000 people." The keen Leno immediately discovered the loophole behind this question:

"All you have to do is tell two hundred company commanders."

"This is not the point. The point is that we have no time to waste." Anson interrupted:

"Instead of wasting time re-planning the route, it would be faster for the soldiers to march according to the established plan. Isn't this right?"

That's true... Renault frowned slightly and nodded. According to the original plan, the emergency march would be more efficient. It might be faster than turning around, but...

"Are you really not planning to die just because you think Claude Francois is dead and don't want to be buried with him?"

"Of course not!" Anson stared at Renault with serious eyes:

"Leon is my cousin, the entire François family is my relative, and Hantu is my ally - how could I do this to my relatives and allies?!"

Faced with Anson's complete disclosure of his heart and his eyes that were so clear that they couldn't be clearer, even Lenore, who had always had no trust in the Clovis people,...

Well, it’s useless even if he doesn’t believe it anyway.

"And more importantly, even if we don't change the marching route and forcefully march along the original route, we probably won't be able to reach our destination as scheduled!" Anson added.

Renault's expression was a little embarrassed.

As the westernmost territory of Hantu, the Principality of Ayden, whose only specialty is goats, not only has a rugged terrain, covered with uninhabited hills, forests and swamps, but also seriously lacks a mature and reliable transportation network - except for the main transportation road that runs from east to west, the remaining All of them are mountain and forest trails, which are simply unable to pass through for a large army of organized size.

Could it be that Aiden, one of the two most powerful principalities in Hantang Hantu, couldn't even build a road?

Faced with the collective complaints of all the soldiers of the coalition except the Aiden Corps and the officer corps, Lenore could only rely on his own memory and drew a "shortcut" on the map that could directly reach the Deserted Stone Castle from the Salted Village, and said In three days at the earliest, they could meet up with Claude Francois.

Today is the fourth day after their departure. What the coalition forces see in front of them are still the familiar mountains and mountains, and they are still far away from being able to see the fortress of Barren Stone Castle.

Then the heir of Aiden discovered that he had made a very fatal mistake... He calculated the time based on his previous impressions, and did not take into account the huge impact that a march of two to three thousand people and tens of thousands of people would have. difference.

Those mountain trails that have neither planning nor maintenance, and no reliable water sources or fixed supply stations along the way, may be able to barely carry a few thousand people on a march; but for a half-formed army of nearly 20,000 people, it is a complete battle. A real disaster!

All the problems once again circled back to the old problem - from top to bottom, the entire Hantu had no experience in large-scale legionary marches and operations!

Because they have no experience, it is easy for them to overestimate or underestimate themselves and their enemies, and make judgments that are completely contrary to the facts; they often find that they cannot exert their "real strength", and the enemy's actions can always be "unexpected" ".

To put it bluntly, although the cooperative relationship with Hantu is closer, if he had to choose, Ansen would rather work for Major General Ludwig Franz than with another Hantu Army." Fight alongside".

Even with the "three hundred thousand troops", the Hantu people's understanding of war is still limited to a battle of a few thousand people and one or two infantry divisions.

Even when Thunder Castle only had four to five thousand levy regiments, Ludwig's understanding of "battlefield" was never limited to the small fortress in front of him.

Maps of battlefields in the far southwest will also appear on his desk; Clovis's powerful railway system is regarded by him as the most powerful logistical support.

In this war that determines the fate and belonging of Hantu, Hantu's "backwardness" has never been just the weapons and the methods of training soldiers...or that the problems of weapons and army establishment are just the limitations of all other problems. .

The real "backwardness" lies in the indiscriminate crushing in all aspects from top to bottom. It is the "gap" that weak countries cannot cross and bridge with "courage" and "determination" in front of powerful countries.

……………………

"That...is the real difference between us and them!" Caspar Hered, shaking his gray beard, roared loudly.

In front of him, the fleur-de-lis flag trimmed with golden tassels fluttered in the wind; two thousand line infantrymen of the Imperial Expeditionary Force had already assembled on the position.

Looking down from a high altitude, the thin front line looks like a thin "blue line" across the center of the road on the mixed brown, gray and green ground.

In the distance, the marching Hantu Army had noticed the "small" obstacle in front of them, and began to gradually slow down their marching speed. At the same time, they methodically spread their fronts to both wings, and advanced towards the Imperial Expeditionary Force in an extremely dense formation. Approach slowly.

The marching speed of the Hantu Army was not fast, and it definitely could not be called "orderly"... But in front of the absolutely crushing force, this slender blue line really looked like it was just a line that needed to be crossed. Just a line.

"It was us who created the original civilization in the world of order; it was us who established the country that united the world. It was us... who brought order, prosperity... and hope to this world!"

"The Empire...is everything, everything...belongs to the Empire!"

"We gave the Clovis people the opportunity to join us. We once persuaded the Hantu people that as long as they did not go against the empire, they did not need to worry about extinction. We used the most generous mind to give civilization to these backward and non-flowering areas. People, I hope they can go in the right direction."

“What have we gained by being so lenient?”

"Betrayal! The most shameful, the most ruthless betrayal!"

"The self-righteous Clovis people rejected the invitation of the empire, and the humble Hantu people abandoned the sincerity of the empire - they jumped up and 'united', thinking that as long as they hugged together, the empire would take them no solution anymore!"

"Is this true?!" Casper growled.

"No----!!!!"

Two thousand imperial soldiers, with red faces and rough necks, responded to their commander with gleaming bayonets and a blast from their throats.

"Well said, right!"

Casper opened his right hand and waved it vigorously in front of him, then clenched his fist fiercely: "I never agree with other people's ideas, but your answer is so - so reasonable!"

"To deal with these ruthless and ruthless brats who don't know pain unless they are beaten, bastards! It's useless to say so. There is no objection to criticism, and I won't take it to heart if you insult them."

"The only option is to beat! Beat them hard until they can no longer scream or cry out!"

"My dear friend, your deputy commander told me to be lenient to the Hantu people, to accept their capture and surrender, and to let the Hantu people know that the empire is benevolent."

"But I disagree! It is precisely because of our kindness that we gave them the opportunity; it is precisely our magnanimity that allows such things to happen again and again."

"And today, we will end it all!"

"Opposite us, there is an army of 100,000 Hantu, which these rubbish can gather, all the men in the entire Hantu! They wear military uniforms sold to them by the Clovis people, and use them to steal from the Ysel elves. The weapons I came with vowed to challenge the empire..."

A bloodthirsty smile appeared on Casper's face: "I think we should give them this opportunity."

Behind him, the 40,000-strong army was still spreading its front in an orderly manner. At the same time, lightly-armed reconnaissance cavalry continued to break away from the team and search the surrounding wilderness to confirm whether there were any enemies ambush nearby.

Although he showed full confidence, it was just a "personality" used by Claude Francois to suppress his vassals; facing a battle that decided the fate of Hantu and Francois, it was impossible for him not to be cautious.

Especially this enemy army lying in front of him, seemingly blocking his pursuit, made him even more wary - would he do this if he were it?

of course not.

Two thousand versus forty thousand... No matter how advantageous the terrain is, no matter how elite the soldiers are, they can't hold on for long; instead of sacrificing this unit for this meaningless delay, it would be better to devote them to the battle to annihilate the border legions. Makes some sense.

Well, in fact, if it weren't for the crucial importance of climbing the Summit Tower Fortress, Claude Francois would have liked to see Archduke Ayden defeated miserably, or even annihilated.

Therefore, if the other party is not so arrogant and thinks that two thousand people can hold him back, then it must be a trap.

It is a trap to trick yourself into attacking with all your strength, and then be attacked by cavalry on the flanks and rear, causing the entire line to collapse.

Caspar Hered, is this the only trick you can pull off... Claude Francois sneered and raised his hand to look at Henares behind him:

"Get in formation—let the artillery prepare as soon as possible and give the Imperials some of Clovis and Iser's 'specialties' to try!"

"As you command!"

Henares, who promised with a bang, turned around and left. Ten minutes later, the artillerymen who pulled the artillery from the artillery cart formed a straight line of these ferocious black steels in front of the front row, and were ready to launch.

"...Now they have come over, showing off their power to us, setting up artillery positions in front of the empire, pretending to be saying that they are also a modern civilized country."

"But that's just a lie, an extremely ridiculous lie; we have to help them, help these rotten fish and shrimps see clearly, no matter how many advanced weapons they have, whether they have a king, or whether they are related to some evil country Form an alliance..."

"Nothing can change the fact that they are barbaric and backward!"

"You can't even leave a scratch on the glory of the empire!"

"When their corpses covered the land of Eden, when their cries and howls echoed over the Stone Castle, when the Clovis completely abandoned them, when they knelt down and begged for mercy..."

"Soldiers, shall we show the mercy of the Empire?"

Casper spread his hands and asked his soldiers again in a sinister manner.

"No----!!!!"

The imperial soldiers once again responded to their commander with a uniform roar.

"Then what are we going to do?"

"Kill them all————!!!"

"It makes so much sense!" Casper was so excited that he couldn't help himself:

"What you! Me! We! What you said is so... makes so much sense!"

"In that case, let's do it!"

"Let me see it, and let them see it too!"

"With the deaths of hundreds of thousands of natives, let the whole world witness the empire's wrath!"

Amidst the fanatical cheers and the sound of artillery fire from the vast army, the ecstatic Caspar Hered raised his hands high, showing an extremely intoxicated expression.

The battle to determine the fate of Hantu begins.