I will be crowned king

"Let's go, let's go immediately!"

In the Summit Tower Fortress, as soon as the expressionless Fabian walked out of the cell where the prisoners of the Imperial Expeditionary Force were held, he said in a deep voice to the subordinates waiting outside: "Let's go to the Stone Castle Fortress!"

"Now?!" the commander of the first battalion who had just returned from the Border Corps asked loudly:

"But we just..."

"No but, set off immediately!" Fabian's eyes showed a hint of impatience:

"Claude Francois's disastrous defeat means that the Blackstone Castle is in danger - if we can't evacuate as soon as possible, if Archduke Aiden decides to defect to the empire again, we will be locked in the summit tower area. !”

The former Guards officer's face looked very ugly.

According to the report of the commander of the first battalion, the work of persuading Archduke Aiden was not going well.

This result was not beyond Fabian's expectation - although in order to fight against the imperial invasion, Aiden agreed to join forces because of Thun's concession, this did not change the fact that the two families were in the same boat.

From the perspective of the interests of the Emmanuel family, it is more advantageous to hold on to the Summit Tower Fortress for a generation and cut off the communication between the Imperial Expeditionary Force and the rear than to advance eastward.

After winning, Claude Francois had nothing to say. After all, Ayden had tried his best, and it was also his own order to order Grand Duke Ayden to regain the summit tower.

Losing...that is only a matter for the Francois family. The Emmanuel family, which controls the summit tower and still has strength, still has the capital to negotiate with the empire.

Therefore, from the beginning, Fabian did not really expect that Archduke Ayden would agree to march eastward or send many reinforcements - otherwise he would have done the persuasion work himself.

In the view of the former Guards officer, there is such a strong fortress as the Wild Stone Castle, and there are 60,000 armed Hantu troops. In addition, the worries of Carindia Port have been completely eliminated, and 20,000 coalition troops are already reinforcing. on the way...

This... Even if the Imperial Expeditionary Force cannot be defeated or annihilated for a while, it can still be done by dragging the war out for a month or two, right? !

It doesn't take a month or two, but as long as it can hold out for three or four weeks, the expeditionary force, which has run out of ammunition and food, will collapse without a fight!

But this bunch of Hantu people just didn't do it... Not only did they fail to do it, they also made the situation develop into the most dangerous situation!

The victory that was already within reach became dangerous again as the whereabouts of Claude Francois was unknown.

"How about you try harder?"

Looking at Fabian's gloomy face, the commander of the first battalion, who had failed to complete the task of convincing Archduke Aiden, was a little uneasy: "After all, the Border Legion has 20,000 people, and its combat effectiveness is not weak."

Yes, compared with the 20,000 miscellaneous troops in the Deserted Stone Castle, Archduke Aiden's border army is definitely elite; but...

"Then how hard should we work?" A somewhat irritable Fabian looked at him coldly.

"How about making him the new king of Hantu?" the commander of the first battalion suggested:

"Promise Archduke Aiden, as long as he is willing to send troops and maintain his alliance with Clovis, Storm Division...ah no, Clovis will support him to replace Claude Francois and be crowned as the new king of Hantu. !”

This is a good idea... Fabian's eyes lit up.

After all, Clovis just wants to form an alliance with Hantu, and he doesn't care what the ally's last name is. As for whether the Francois family can accept it after the war, and whether Hantu will be divided because of this... What does that have to do with the Storm Master?

"no."

After thinking carefully for a while, Fabian still rejected this tempting-sounding proposal: "If this sentence were said by Mr. Anson Bach, it might still have some weight... He is also a duke after all, so it's not like that. Believe what an infantry regiment commander says."

"Not to mention that there are Thun nobles in the Border Legion. Doing this will only make us feel guilty and make Archduke Aiden feel that he has a rare commodity and that there is capital to be sold. He may want to join the empire even more!"

"What should we do?!"

"Leave immediately, the sooner the better, don't pay attention to Archduke Ayden's people anymore." Fabian said in a deep voice:

"We need to let him understand that even if Hantu's entire army is annihilated, Clovis...Stormmaster will still have absolute confidence to defeat the Imperial Expeditionary Force alone!"

"Whether he loves it or not!"

……………………

In the evening, the area around Barren Stone Castle.

The storm division coalition's blocking battle against the imperial expeditionary force is being staged in extremely tragic conditions.

The Imperial Expeditionary Force, which was clearly on the verge of running out of ammunition and food, exploded with astonishing morale and combat effectiveness under the instigation of Caspar Hered; with a fanatical attitude that was almost fearless of death, they violently attacked the hiding positions. Inside, the Storm Division coalition forces were waiting for work.

Facing the sky full of artillery fire, the impatient imperial cavalry did not hesitate or hesitate at all. They ignored the fact that the falling artillery shells around them were constantly being blown into pieces. The soldiers screamed and fell from their horses under the rifle volleys, and launched a desperate battle towards the center of the position. assault.

At the same time, the imperial infantry, which maintained a relatively loose and chaotic line, was divided into three. The main force was covering and establishing behind the cavalry. The remaining lines were mixed with elite grenadiers and infantry knights, and began to move along the hillsides on both sides of the road. Push forward and try to outflank the fort at the top of the hill.

"Tell Guillaume, don't worry about the casualties, let the cuirassiers continue to attack, hold on to the main force of the Storm Division in the front, and buy time for the infantry on the two wings!"

The livid-faced Casper was extremely ferocious, and he was hysterical to the horrified messenger: "I repeat, I don't want casualty figures!"

"I just want to win!"

"O-obey!"

Looking at the irritable old man with a crazy expression, the trembling messenger did not dare to stay where he was for one more second - compared to Casper's anger, he would rather be killed by the Clovis' lead bullets!

Staring at the battlefield in the distance, Caspar Hered's eyes exuded an infinite desire to win.

He once ambushed the Turkish army here, and he had thoroughly understood the terrain of this generation in the last battle - the road stuck between the two valleys was indeed a very good ambush location, and only a small number of troops were needed. Block multiple enemies.

The valleys on both sides are also natural highlands, which are condescending and can provide excellent shooting range and vision for artillery, which is perfect for the defender.

But... sandwiched between the road between the valleys and the highlands on the left and right sides, these three positions are independent of each other!

To put it more bluntly, if any of the positions is attacked, the other two positions cannot be divided into reinforcements except for limited artillery support.

In other words, he only needs to capture any of the two highlands to directly threaten the defense line in front of the expeditionary force at the foot of the mountain, and blast away the "copper and iron wall" that the Storm Division has tried its best to build. Leftover.

This is the opponent's biggest weakness!

Of course, as long as the commander of the "grey shirts" opposite is not a fool, he will definitely notice this, and this problem can be easily solved - retain a reserve army.

This army must have extremely fast reaction speed, abundant physical strength, rich experience, and excellent combat capabilities. It must be able to form a temporary suppressive force in the face of infantry that is two to three times its own number. It must be equipped with the most sophisticated and reliable equipment in the entire army.

Generally speaking, the personal guard of the legion commander or the grenadiers composed of veterans generally shoulder such an important task.

"Boom!!!! Boom!!!! Boom!!!!"

Amidst the deafening sound, the tearing fire and black smoke continued to rise in the Storm Division position. The thick smoke filled the sky over the entire battlefield and refused to dissipate.

Along with the trembling earth and the flashing gun flames, huge pieces of gravel, broken limbs and firearms were flying all over the sky around the shell crater, falling like raindrops.

At the forefront of the battlefield, the powerful Imperial Cuirassiers have already passed through the blockage of the Aiden Legion - no detours, no shooting, no deterrence...only charge!

They broke through the line volleys, stepped over the fences and chests blown by the artillery, flew over the narrow infantry trenches, and ran directly into the bayonet wall of Eden's regiment.

Blood splatters!

The spear penetrated the flesh and blood, the saber chopped off the head in the air, the horse wailed in the trench full of barbs, blood gushes out of the breastplate penetrated by lead bullets, and the swarming bayonets turned the fallen knight into a bloody corpse. Rotten meat, smoking grenades, let everyone die together...

"boom--!!!!"

After suffering nearly one-tenth of the casualties, the cuirassiers almost tore through the defense line of the central position, creating a huge gap in the seemingly impregnable position.

almost……

If they had been stationed in the central position not by the Aiden Corps but by Thun, or even the Storm Division, they might have succeeded.

The Aydin people are known for their chivalry and poverty. Their only specialty is old and tough goat meat. Their biggest characteristic is their stubbornness.

Surprisingly stubborn.

The specific manifestation is the unreasonable bullying of the weak and the fear of the strong, and the ability to fight desperately to the last moment in an obviously disadvantageous situation.

Regarding this characteristic, while Anson arranged for the Ayden Corps to be in charge of the central position, he also praised it and said, "This is because the Ayden people have a head of steel."

Lenore was convinced.

But no matter how hard-headed the Aiden Corps organized round after round of counterattacks, and repeatedly organized their lines like a flood to thwart the Imperial Cavalry's offensive, they still could not reverse the nearly one-sided battle situation.

Under the empire's terrifying artillery precision strikes, they were unable to organize a line tight enough to block the cavalry charge, and the artillery on the highlands on both sides was completely powerless against the enemies who had rushed into the central position.

What's more serious is that behind the cavalry, the imperial infantry consisting of several lines is slowly advancing.

Come on, let me see what kind of trump card is hidden behind the victory over Eagle Point City and almost annihilation of the Iser Elf Guards... Casper's face showed a beast-like smile.

………………

"What, no reserve army?!"

In the chaotic trench, Lenore, who was obviously panicked, blurted out to Anson: "Are you lying to me?!"

"What's so funny about this?!" Anson shouted innocently with his eyes wide open, trying his best to cover up the sound of gunshots and explosions around him:

"The enemy has already pressed forward on all fronts. If I had a reserve army, could I have kept them waiting until now?!"

Of course, there should have been a reserve army; but the most elite storm group in his hands was originally sent to the summit tower, and it was impossible to get there in a short time.

As for the defenders of Wild Stone Castle, Anson didn't have any expectations; this bunch of miscellaneous cannon fodder could persist for more than ten days under the leadership of Karl. If they were to be reinforced, even Anson himself felt that it was a bit too much. ——Not even Ludwig has done anything so extreme.

The only "trump card" that can be counted on now is Archduke Ayden's Border Legion.

As long as the 20,000 fresh troops can arrive in time, even if the current front is completely defeated, Anson, who hastily reorganized the front, has absolute confidence that the imperial expeditionary force on the opposite side will collapse without a fight.

"Then what should we do now?!"

Renault pointed to the messy battlefield on the opposite side. The position in charge of the Aiden Corps was already crumbling: "We won't be able to hold on for long if we continue like this!"

"You have to persist even if you can't persist!" Anson shouted loudly, and a stray bullet flew over his head:

"The battle now is ultimately a battle of endurance between us and the Imperial Expeditionary Force; as long as we can persist until the other side collapses first or runs out of ammunition and food, victory is inevitable."

"So it doesn't matter even if they are temporarily suppressed, or it doesn't even matter if they lose some ground and retreat. Anyway, the Imperial Expeditionary Force can no longer carry out any follow-up offensive. They are just returning to their former glory - the harder they fight, the faster they will die!"

"Of course I know this!"

Renault frowned and glared at Anson with gritted teeth: "But why are you so confident that the reinforcements will arrive in time?!"

"you!"

Anson pointed at his nose.

Renault was startled: "Me?!"

"Yes, that's you!" Anson smiled and nodded:

"You are my confidence - as long as you are here, I absolutely believe that the reinforcements will arrive in time!"

Um?

Renault's expression was a little dazed, and then he suddenly woke up:

"Anson Bach, are you using me?!"

"This is called rational use of human resources!" Anson corrected.

"What is human resources cooperation...what's the difference?!"

"The difference is that I didn't force you. You took the initiative to serve as the commander of the Allied Aiden Corps. This is all of your own free will!"

As he said that, Anson pushed away the young man who wanted to pounce on him and took a bite from him, while taking his Leopold from the guard: "And if I were you, what I want to do right now is not complain to my boss. , but pray.”

"Pray for what?!"

"Pray...hehe..."

Ansen suddenly smiled, pressed the stubborn face in front of him, and said coldly:

"Pray that in your father's heart, your value is a little higher than Hantu's crown..."

Renault was stunned on the spot, with a bewildered expression on his face.

"One row of guards, stay and protect the commander of Aiden's regiment; everyone else, follow your company commander!" Anson shrugged and waved to the girl beside him who looked cheerful as if he was about to go on an outing:

"Lisa, let's go!"