I will be crowned king

The deafening sound of cannons tore through the dead silence of the dark world, and countless firelights enveloped the dark smoke pillars, rising wantonly under the moonless night sky.

At exactly twenty-fifty-one, the storm division located at the main gate on the west side of King Yser's Court launched a fierce attack on the city gate on time.

Four twenty-four-pound mortars, eight twelve-pound cannons, and a dozen or so howitzers and field guns of various styles... Dozens of artillery were lined up in a row on the position, under the skillful operation of the artillerymen. The golden-red gun flames were spitting out, and they were densely packed like a "city wall" across the front of the battle line.

Facing the sudden artillery fire, the Ysel Elf defenders, who had been hastily assembled and had no idea that the enemy would launch an offensive so quickly, were in panic.

The towering city walls were crumbling under the volleys of artillery fire. Brilliant sparks bloomed wantonly on the towers and wall stacks. The exquisite carvings and murals were instantly destroyed by the violent heat wave.

After enjoying a long period of peace, the city defense facilities of the Royal Court of Yser have long been like most capitals in the world. They have become "decorations" with more symbolic meaning than practical value. They cannot withstand the attack of modern heavy artillery. Play an effective defense.

The Storm Division, which had already obtained the Royal Court's city defense blueprints from Knight Buller Matias, concentrated fire and destroyed the forts on the first line of defense at the main entrance as soon as the battle began.

In the thick smoke, the unprepared Yser Elf soldiers shivered and huddled in the bunker, coughing violently while looking at the "rain of fire" falling from the sky with horrified eyes.

With the continuous shelling and explosions, some of the walls and fortresses, which were gorgeous in shape but unfortunately severely lacking in defense, were destroyed first; the soldiers hiding behind did not even have time to cry out for help before they were destroyed by the shattered rubble. and the ruthless crushing of solid bullets.

Under the dazzling explosion fire, the shadow of the useless struggle was shattered into pieces. The flesh, flesh and bones turned into charred fragments with no discernible shape, and rushed into the sky with the expanding air waves.

Under the moonless night, the main entrance of the Royal Court was plunged into a sea of ​​flames; the choking smoke surged into the entire city in the evening wind along with the heat wave, and the dark ashes spread all over the sky like snowflakes.

"Dong dong dong..."

Amidst the suffocating roar, a strange knock on the door suddenly sounded outside a closed bunker.

Before the Yser Elf soldiers hiding in the bunker could get up, the locked door was forcefully pulled open with a "Boom!" from outside.

A young man wearing a black three-cornered hat and a slim, high-collared black windbreaker appeared in front of them, his hands in his pockets.

"Who are you?!"

The elf soldiers roared in horror and hurriedly picked up their weapons.

The smiling young man answered their questions with practical actions - he took out an exaggeratedly large silver revolver from his pocket and pulled the trigger cordially.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The dazzling gunfire illuminated the dark bunker, and the deafening shelling and explosions completely overwhelmed the sound of the gunfire. The elven defenders hiding inside fell to the ground before they had time to react, and dark red blood overflowed the entire room.

After clearing away the intrusive people, the young man stepped over the corpse and walked into the room. He took out a slender and delicate cane from under his windbreaker, walked into the bunker with it, and sat down on a full table without caring. It's plasma on the chair.

Three minutes later, a group of figures filed in.

Cole Dorian stood up from his chair with his legs crossed, leaning on his cane and looking at the people who came in. His usual sunny smile was revealed under the three-cornered hat he took off.

"Okay, gentlemen, as you can see, our combat plan has gone very smoothly so far - most of the defenders in the city have been attracted by the Storm Division, and there are very few defenders on the inside."

"According to the plan, starting from 8:51 thirty minutes ago until one o'clock in the morning, the Storm Division responsible for the feint attack will conduct continuous artillery bombardment for four hours. These four hours are our 'golden time'."

"After that, the shelling will be carried out every hour for fifteen minutes each time until it ends at 5:50 a.m. on October 27."

"In other words, we have eight hours to complete the mission; if we have not succeeded by then, we must be prepared to be surrounded by an army of tens of thousands of elves."

"Speaking of which, I don't think any of us think that the mission will be delayed until eight hours later, right? Ah, no, no one really thinks so, right?"

"The process of the mission is also very simple. There are basically only two tasks: first, annihilate the Thirteen Councils, whether they are Yser elves or not; second, rescue the Elf King Igor Moses Field - the second task takes priority. .”

"Of course, there is a small problem here, that is, we are not sure where the Elf King Ysel is currently being held, and we have no idea where the Thirteen Council considers their headquarters."

"But fortunately, we can basically limit the scope to six buildings - the Yser Palace, the Cathedral of Praise, the Grand Council, the Arsenal, the Inner City Fortress, and the Royal Library."

"Needless to say the first three places, the arsenal is a place that must be destroyed regardless of whether there are enemies or not. The inner city fortress is where the Guards Corps was previously stationed."

"As for the Royal Library... Before the forty-seventh year of the Saints' Calendar, it had been an important gathering place controlled by the Thirteen Councils. After the Yisel elves converted to the Circle of Order, it was transformed by the Moses Field royal family. A place where classics are stored.”

"In order to ensure nothing goes wrong, and more importantly, to buy time, the best option is to split up. As it happens, there are thirty of us except the inquisitor who is responsible for responding outside, so we are divided into six groups of five people each. "

"The specific plan is to rush in and kill all the old god sects you see. If the Elf King is there, don't make any noise and take him to retreat immediately; otherwise, no matter whether the task is completed or not, a signal must be sent to the surroundings."

"Everyone should judge based on the signal that they should rescue their closest companions, or cover the retreat of those who discovered the Elf King - one last time, we are not trying to kill all the Iser elves, so we must ensure that the Elf King is alive no matter what. If he dies, this incident will not end well!"

"As for who to form a team with, you can decide by yourself where to go. Anyway, we have to meet up in the end; so..."

Cole Dorian looked around at the people with different expressions: "What other questions do you want to ask?"

……………………

"Just one—why are you following me?"

In the empty alley, Anson, who was holding his shoulders, looked at Priest Karin Jacques who was hiding behind the wall and shivering with an incomprehensible expression.

Regarding this obvious question, the enthusiastic former contraband and intelligence dealer relieved Anson's doubts with the most concise and clear answer: "Nonsense, do you think I am voluntary?!"

If hell really exists in this world, Karin Jacques firmly believes that the place where he lives now is it.

Originally, I was living and eating in Clovis City, but first I fell into the trap of Sophia Franz, and then I was forced to go with the Inquisition. Finally, I found myself as a temporary guest "war reporter" , and actually had to work part-time as a judge, fighting to the death with a group of Ysel Elf Old Gods.

As a devout priest who makes a living by buying information and contraband, and who relies on his flexible movements and words to resolve conflicts in 99% of the cases, this kind of "manual work" is an unbearable burden in his life.

But he knew better that he had no choice at all - compared to the Thirteen Council, which was about to be destroyed, the Truth Seeking Order and Miss Sophia were obviously more terrifying; so even if his legs were weak and his hands and feet were cold from fear, Feeling weak and in a daze...he still came.

As for why he followed Anson... In addition to Miss Sophia's order, and because he couldn't find any sense of security among a group of inquisitors, the devout priest Karin Jacques really couldn't find it.

Once he encountered the Iser elf spellcaster, Cole Dorian or some other inquisitor decisively threw him out to block the gun, or threw him behind the palace... He really couldn't find anything inconsistent with that scene.

So Karin Jacques, who was trembling all over, moved out of the corner little by little, calmed down his excitement, and forced a flattering smile on his face: "Well, Colonel Anson Bach..."

"Um?"

Anson smiled and winked at him, rubbing Lisa's little head with his right hand.

"That's it... you also know that the person who sent me here is... Miss Sophia Franz..." Karin Jacques smiled more and more flatteringly: "The task is to objectively record and interview your... every move... "

"Yeah." Anson nodded with a smile: "I know."

"So if you can protect me, I can better complete the task assigned to me by Miss Sophia..." The black-robed priest began to rub his hands:

"I mean, for example, I mean... convey to her your outstanding performance in a more 'objective' way, such as defeating the leader of the Thirteen Council, rescuing the Elf King, etc..."

Anson still smiled.

"Of course, I am definitely not asking you to do such a dangerous thing! On the contrary, these are originally the work of the judges of the Truth-Seeking Cult, and we are all forced to come with them!"

"So what I mean is...to give a simple example, you go to some less dangerous places and wander around - such as the big library - and then we withdraw and leave this ghost place safely. What do you think? Sample?"

Karin Jacques looked at Anson with a smile on his face, his eyes full of hope.

"Big library?"

Looking at the black-robed priest who was trying his best to restrain his hysteria and force himself to be calm, Anson keenly grasped the key words in the other person's words: "Do you know this place very well?"

"Not at all... uh..." The black-robed priest realized that he had leaked something and immediately wanted to make amends, but stopped abruptly under Anson's sincere gaze and smiled awkwardly:

"Just a little, a little knowledge, a little knowledge."

"Oh?" Anson looked at him curiously:

"For example?"

"For example, I have heard some rumors about the Elf Kingdom of Yser and this big library." Karin Jacques swallowed:

"There is a very 'interesting' saying. The reason why the Church of Order attaches so much importance to the Elf Kingdom of Iser and will destroy the Council of Thirteen at all costs is not only because they are the oldest Old God Sect organization, but also because they are A part of Saint Isaac’s research results hidden in his hand..."

Saint Isaac?

Anson was stunned for a moment. If he remembered correctly, wasn't Saint Isaac's greatest achievement the invention of the steam core? If I insist on saying that it is related to the Old God Sect, that is, the compilation of the "Great Magic Book"...

etc!

He suddenly remembered that when he was at St. Isaac's Academy, Bronn, the apprentice of the black mage Mace Honard, once mentioned to him that the legendary St. Isaac was not just a believer in the Ring of Order.

He is also the only spellcaster who has inherited the power of the three old gods at the same time!

Of course, this also raises a question, because historically he was killed by a bomb at home... It is impossible no matter how you think about a spellcaster who possesses three major magics at the same time.

Dark magic that can see into people's hearts, curse magic that is adaptable, and blood magic with extremely tenacious vitality... Even if ordinary people have one, they can easily defeat ordinary people and even talented people with insufficient experience, and he has three.

Of course, this is not the point. The point is that the Council of Thirteen actually owns the legacy of St. Isaac?

Could it be that it is not the empire that the Yisel elves or the Thirteen Council rely on to maintain their confidence, but some kind of powerful relic of Saint Isaac?

Although it sounds nonsense, this kind of "ancient artifact" is probably in line with the ideas of some old-time gods - just like Kroger Bell who was deceived in the Battle of Thunder Castle. Accept.

Well, and myself.

And the attitude of the Church of Order can also be understood... When it comes to Saint Isaac and powerful magic props, the Church's attitude is indeed that it can be killed by mistake but not let go. This is why the Black Mage kept emphasizing himself during the Battle of Thunder Castle The reason why it must be handled in a low-key manner or even dare not take action personally.

Just when Anson was confused, rapid footsteps came from the front of the alley; the cautious Karin Jacques immediately held his breath and hid behind Anson as quickly as possible.

"The road ahead has been explored clearly, and no defenders have been seen." The person who appeared was Louis Bernard. While speaking, his left hand was always holding the handle of the knife at his waist:

"Judge Chanis has gone ahead and asked me to inform everyone to set off - there is a shortcut nearby that can directly reach the destination."

"Okay." Anson didn't say much nonsense. Just as he was about to stand up, he was grabbed by the black-robed priest behind him.

"Um...where are you going?"

"Oh, didn't I tell you just now?" Anson turned his head and smiled at Karin Jacques:

"Royal Palace—We are going to defeat the leader of the Thirteen Councils and rescue the Elf King!"

The Hantu War Chapter is about to end, and Kong Kong suddenly wants to collect some ship names from everyone - of course, this does not involve spoilers and has nothing to do with the plot of the next volume. Kong Kong has not been playing Sea of ​​Thieves recently, just simply Wanting to solicit some ship names, that's all.