I will be crowned king

Facing the Clovis army that suddenly appeared and blocked the way forward, the Imperial Expeditionary Force, which was unexpected and unprepared, broke out into a small-scale commotion.

The exhausted soldiers looked at each other in disbelief at the heavily deployed and well-defended positions on the opposite side, and an indescribable feeling of powerlessness arose spontaneously.

After all, they had just suffered a "defeat" under the Wild Stone Castle, and after the setback, they were somewhat resistant to "attacking the enemy" - especially the flag hanging opposite was not a thorn flower, but Clovis's bloody unicorn.

The Kingdom of Clovis, which has been at war with the Empire for many years, is the only country in the entire Order world that dares to use "infantry" to challenge the majesty of the Empire.

The imperial knights, who were more confused and confused than the soldiers, and who were more aware of their current situation, all looked pale and seemed even more confused than the soldiers.

After more than ten days of siege battles, no matter how hard they tried to save, there was not much left in the logistics. The ammunition could probably last for two or three short conflicts, but the food reserves had bottomed out.

If it weren't for this life-and-death issue, the officer corps would not dare to risk being hanged or having their heads blown off, blatantly disobeying military orders on the battlefield.

Two days... Within two days, if they cannot reach the supply point as soon as possible or collect enough food, the expeditionary force will run out of food!

And no matter how underestimated the Clovis people were, it was unlikely that such a strong position could be conquered in two days.

"Quiet the hell!"

In a state of panic, Casper's violent voice exploded instantly like twelve pounds of shrapnel: "Why are you panic?!"

"What's there to panic about?!"

"You are the Imperial Expeditionary Force, not rabbits in the Emperor's royal forest!"

"You climbed over the Dawn Ice Peak, conquered Hantu's strongest fortress, the Summit Tower, in just three days, defeated 20,000 Hantu vanguards in one hour, and surrounded and annihilated Hantu's main force in four hours!"

"The conquest of Hantu is just around the corner. At this time, you are still afraid of a bunch of Clovis bastards?!"

The irritable Casper sprayed tons of shotguns at everyone: "I really doubt what kind of garbage I am commanding, and I even have to pretend to be cowardly against the Clovis?!"

"We are not afraid!" A knight trembled and stepped forward: "It's just that the expeditionary force is really..."

"boom--!"

Casper didn't give him a chance to finish his sentence. A long-tube spinner turned his head into a blooming watermelon, dyeing all the frightened eyes around him red.

"The only way to retreat to the top of the tower is now in the hands of a bunch of Clovis scum; if you want to get over, you will smash their turtle shells until no scum is left!"

"Don't you want to go back? I'll take you back!"

Looking around at the people with bloodied faces, Casper pointed his gun at the headless corpse on the horse: "Who is his adjutant?"

"I!"

A cuirassier suddenly raised his hand, gritted his teeth and stood up nervously: "I...Guillaume Lowes is...the...deputy commander of the 2nd Cuirassier Regiment..."

"very good!"

Casper grinned: "Guillaume Lowes, now you are the commander of the 2nd Cuirassiers Regiment!"

"I order you! Reorganize your regiment immediately, form a charging formation, prepare for the attack, and serve as the vanguard for the entire army!"

"As you command!"

Guillaume, who had no time to think, was shocked and responded loudly and excitedly.

"The rest of the troops immediately deployed their formations, and the artillerymen found the preset positions as soon as possible and aimed at the artillery base of the Clovis Formation to prepare for artillery counterattacks!"

"Gentlemen, I will fulfill my promise to you and take you back to the Summit Tower Fortress; and I only want one thing from you! That is..."

"victory--!!!!"

The loud shouts echoed in the wilderness in front of the nameless valley.

Caspar Hered, who spent thirty minutes reorganizing his team and regaining command of the army, looked at the surprise on the other side with infinite fighting spirit in his eyes.

And what he...or the entire expeditionary force didn't know was that the "Clovis Army" on the opposite side was no less surprised than they were.

……………………

"Golden Iris—is it the Imperial Expeditionary Force?!"

The shocked Renault stared blankly at the black figure on the horizon that seemed to appear out of thin air. He couldn't believe his eyes: "They are coming! They are really coming?!"

This shock only lasted for a second. The brass telescope in his hand hit the heads of several other guys with their mouths open with a "pop!": "What are you still doing in a daze? Set up your defenses!"

"All the line infantry entered the parapet, loaded ammunition and waited for orders; everyone fixed their bayonets and were ready to block the imperial cavalry's charge at any time!"

"All scouts are dispatched to find out the exact location of the enemy as soon as possible and report the location to the rear artillery positions!"

"The 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th infantry regiments serve as vanguards. The remaining infantry regiments enter the trenches and fortress bunkers as soon as possible, do a good job of concealment, pay attention to orders, and be ready to attack at any time!"

"Quick! Quick! Quick! Take action without any hesitation! Aiden people - show your courage, don't forget the shame of climbing to the top of the tower, let the empire pay for it with blood!"

There was chaos in the trench, and tension was written on almost everyone's face.

The livid Renault stared at the black figure in the distance. No matter how hard he tried to stay calm, the astonishment in his eyes was still hard to hide.

Anson Bach...how did he do it?

The first time he learned of Claude Francois's fiasco, this guy talked a lot with himself and proved how "correct", how "reasonable" and how "efficient" it was to go to the Deserted Stone Castle first. , immediately overturned all his previous statements, took the map, and asked himself without blushing for a shortcut to the battlefield.

For this reason, he gave a reason that sounded very reasonable - the Wild Stone Castle was very strong and the Imperials could not attack it at all.

In this case, instead of being surrounded by the enemy for reinforcements and starting the battle on the battlefield selected by the opponent, it is better to block the only way for the opponent to retreat, occupy the favorable terrain first, and wait for work.

It sounds reasonable, but the question is whether the Wild Stone Castle can be defended.

As the heir of Aiden and the half-owner of Wildstone Castle, Lenore was full of pride in this fortress and absolutely believed that the Hantu people were no inferior to the Empire or the Clovis people.

But when he asked himself whether he could block the imperial front, he found that he didn't have the confidence of a foreigner like Anson in this fortress and the Hantu people.

To be more precise, it should be that I have no confidence at all.

After all, even the summit tower only lasted three days before it fell. The most elite legion in Hantu could not survive four hours in front of the Imperial Expeditionary Force... Even if the Wild Stone Castle was strong enough, he would not be able to send him away just with the reserve legion. How could an unnecessary motley army be able to stop the Imperial Expeditionary Force? !

How did they do it? !

Anson Bach...how on earth did he guess that the Imperial Expeditionary Force would definitely return in vain and retreat instead of continuing to march towards the Iron Bell Castle?

"This question is easy to answer." Looking at the imperial cavalry in the distance who had begun to organize an attack, Anson raised the corners of his mouth:

"I don't know either."

"Uh~uh..."

Lisa, who was sitting in his arms, had her eyes closed, holding her beloved Borni, shaking her little head with enjoyment on her face.

"To be honest, before I learned the news, my original plan was to find a way to join forces with Carl Bain and integrate the 20,000 reserve troops in the Deserted Stone Castle. In this way, regardless of the quality, the troops in my hands can be increased from 20,000 to 20,000. Expanding to 40,000...it doesn't matter if the quality is poor, after all, in the shooting stage, quantity is quality."

"Even if the shooting efficiency of four Hantu soldiers is comparable to that of one Imperial line infantry, it is absolutely cost-effective; not to mention that the Imperial infantry's combat effectiveness is not much stronger, at most it is more experienced..."

While Anson was talking to himself incessantly, he was still slightly unfamiliar with combing her messy hair with a small wooden comb.

Even Anson didn't know when Lisa started to be obsessed with combing her hair - and she had to do it himself.

Running long distances, eating, losing temper... No matter what happened in the last second, as long as the comb is close to the scalp, the girl can quickly calm down, close her eyes, and show an expression of great enjoyment.

Anson didn't care at first. At most, Lisa had a new hobby besides eating and toys (rifle, revolver, armed belt).

Until he discovered how useful this "little hobby" was - it allowed Lisa to listen to herself quietly, no matter what the content was.

This is so useful!

Since Karl left, he has truly realized how meaningful a pair of ears willing to listen is!

Refutation, impatience, self-righteousness... Anssen can tolerate these, but the entire Storm Division officer corps is not sure whether it is because they are suppressed too hard. Recently, there has been an increasing tendency to give up thinking.

There is no need to explain the cause and effect, just say what to do; anyway, you have thought about it, and we can't tell you... It's almost the collective thinking of the officer corps.

Although in his opinion, the real reason is probably because he requested that minutes of every military meeting must be kept.

But now with the cute and well-behaved Lisa, all the worries are no longer worries...

"But now that Claude Francois has been defeated, the original plan has lost its meaning - the Imperial Expeditionary Force has traveled a long distance, even risking their retreat to be cut off, to fight a battle of annihilation, which proves that their supplies are Very destitute and anxious for a quick decisive battle.”

"The stupidest thing in the world is to do what your enemy wants you to do most; knightly tradition, gentlemanly demeanor, nobility, honor... They will use all noble rhetoric to package up the fact that they have the first mover advantage. fact."

"So even if it's a small risk to let this battle go the way they want; the most important thing is that I have absolute confidence in Kal Bain."

"With him here, even if the Wild Stone Castle falls, he will definitely be able to retreat safely with the reserve army, and leave the enemy with nothing but a ruined fortress."

"Or in fact, it doesn't matter even if it's a disastrous defeat, because the enemy's material reserves can no longer support their continued fighting; without Carindia Port, the only mobile force that can respond to them, the eastward advance is a dead end for the imperial expedition! "

"Uh~uh..." The intoxicated girl's face raised the corners of her mouth.

"You're right, Lisa; yes, we just need to hold our ground from now on." Anson nodded affirmatively and combed his hair more diligently:

"Besieging the Wasteland Castle for more than ten days, the enemy is at the end of its war effort and is about to run out of ammunition and food - as long as we try our best to withstand their first few rounds of fierce attacks, the rest is to wait for reinforcements to arrive and annihilate the Imperial Expeditionary Force!"

"Calculating the time, Fabian should have already reunited with Archduke Aiden, captured the Summit Tower Fortress, and rushed here, right?"

"Well, we'll win for sure!"

………………

Outside the summit tower fortress, there is an unknown hill.

Under the bright sky, Victor Emmanuel, the Grand Duke of Aiden, walked through the trench alone and walked into a tent with an expressionless face.

Almost as soon as he opened the door curtain, the strong smell of blood, medicine and some kind of rotten smell mixed together, hitting his eyes and nose.

Even Grand Duke Aiden, who had experienced countless similar scenes, couldn't help but frown slightly, and his suddenly shrinking pupils focused on the figure lying on the hospital bed in the tent.

He was covered in stains, with obvious gunshot wounds on his chest and right arm. The worn-out soles of his boots exposed the bloody soles of his feet; yellow-green pus mixed with plasma and dust could be seen from under the bandages wrapped around his soles and chest. It kept overflowing from his body.

"How about it?"

Grand Duke Ayden looked up at the busy middle-aged man next to him, wearing a white robe and a leather apron.

"It's hard to judge the specific details at the moment, but..." Probably because he was asked suddenly, the middle-aged man seemed a little flustered: "The wounds on the patient's feet and chest have been infected, and the lead bullets in the two wounds have They are all embedded in the flesh and are very difficult to remove; and they are still running a fever, so we can only..."

"That's not what I'm asking!" Grand Duke Aiden looked a little irritated:

"His identity...can it be confirmed?!"

"Uh... yes, yes!" The middle-aged man nodded quickly and said in a panic: "We found a fellow countryman of his, and we can confirm that he should be a cavalry member of the Royal Regiment, the Second Hussars Regiment!"

The moment the words fell, Grand Duke Ayden's expression changed.

He narrowed his eyes with a serious expression and remained silent for nearly a minute before speaking: "Then...did he say anything else before he passed out?"

The middle-aged man nodded again, but this time his expression was obviously much uglier than before: "He...he said...the Wang Family Legion has...already..."

"What has happened?!"

"The entire army has been wiped out!"

Grand Duke Aiden's pupils shrank suddenly.

"He, he also said...His Majesty Claude Francois has been missing since he broke out of the siege. He searched everywhere but could not find any trace of His Majesty!" The middle-aged man was extremely nervous:

"And the Imperial Expeditionary Force, which has completely annihilated the two legions, is driving away the defeated troops, planning to take down the Deserted Stone Castle in one fell swoop!"

"It's over... This fateful battle to determine the future of Hantu is... over!"