I will be crowned king

Under the cover of the heavy fog, the two quickly moved through the trenches, avoiding the search of the imperial soldiers.

Occasionally, Anson would try to take a detour when encountering a lone enemy standing guard; if he had to, he would find a way to kill the enemy, and then leave quickly to avoid triggering alert.

However, he soon discovered that this "caution" was a bit unnecessary: ​​the enemy seemed not to be aware of their presence at all, and large-scale troops were rapidly gathering in the same direction in companies and platoons.

Obviously, the enemy is very busy now and has no time to pay attention to these two "small targets".

But this is only temporary: once the enemy achieves the combat goal, the next step is to start cleaning the battlefield in a larger area and more carefully; when the fog dissipates, he and Karl behind him will only be blocked in the trench and shot at indiscriminately. Beat to death.

On the other hand, Anson found that he was gradually getting used to all this and adapting to his "new identity": not long ago, he was frightened and uneasy because of "traveling", and was so nervous that his heart almost stopped beating.

Now he can calmly shuttle around the battlefield and kill enemies who stand in his way calmly, as if he is accustomed to it.

I really don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing, Anson sighed in his heart.

In addition, the way a certain guy looks at me is getting weirder and weirder...

Anson stopped, looked sideways for a moment, and glanced at Carl Bain behind him from the corner of his eye. The other person's eager eyes made him shiver.

It was like thinking that I just picked up a coin, only to find out that it was actually an antique.

Thirty minutes later, the two men, who had almost walked through the "enemy-occupied area", finally arrived at the last artillery position of the siege position.

This is a rather rough temporary fortification: it has no roof, and its main body is made up of compacted elevated earth walls and gravel blocks. There are a large number of sandbags stacked on the front, plus protective walls and gun emplacements that are obviously not yet completed.

Although it looks like an unfinished project - of course that's true - it is still a solid fortress with complete defensive measures, capable of withstanding enemy frontal bombardment, and accommodating eight to twelve artillery pieces.

Looking at the artillery position that was already close at hand, Anson and Carl, who had escaped, felt a sense of security.

To be on the safe side, the two men did not step forward immediately; Carl Bain, who was hunched over, was scouting in front, and Anson, who followed closely behind, although he knew that there were no enemies in the fort, still raised the Leopold rifle in his hand to cover.

Looking around nervously, Karl took a deep breath:

"Cough cough cough!"

As soon as the voice fell, Carl Bain immediately hid behind the bunker and fell to the ground.

Immediately afterwards, a sound of footsteps came from the fort.

"My King...Osteria!" A sonorous and powerful voice sounded from the fort.

Carl breathed a sigh of relief after hearing the password, nodded to Anson, then dusted himself off, got up, and shouted inside:

“His daughter is awesome!”

"..." Anson.

Soon, seven or eight private soldiers with happy faces walked out from behind the bunker, and crowded Anson and Carl into the artillery base.

In the artillery position, the soldiers who saw the two men "returning" showed expressions of surprise, but it was still difficult to conceal their inner uneasiness and panic.

Or they were staring attentively at the two people who had returned, waiting for something excited and a little dull; or there were three people gathered in a corner, whispering; or they were sitting slumped behind the fortifications, clutching their rifles tightly. My hands are shaking...

The expressions varied, but they were all the same fear.

Looking at the unfamiliar yet similar faces, Anson could probably guess the reason.

The army was defeated across the board, and with the thick fog, no one knew when the enemy who was sweeping the position would appear; or whether they would collide head-on with the enemy as they retreated.

No, they didn't know where to retreat at all...because the "former Anson" had been killed, and he, the "supervisory adjutant", didn't know any bullshit retreat orders!

The main force was defeated across the board and missing, the enemy was overwhelming, only a group of remnants remained, the fog blocked the sight, the retreat was without a plan...

The only thing to be thankful for in such a desperate background is that everyone did not forget their identity when they fled for their lives - although everyone looked embarrassed, they did not drop their guns, and at the same time they were able to maintain their original organization after retreating. It shows that although morale is low, organization is still there.

Of course, this is probably not because of strict discipline, but because many people, like Anson just now, were brought here before they could figure out what happened; it happened too suddenly, and the officers would not be stupid enough to tell the soldiers specifically. " Our army is defeated.”

Besides...the place where they are hiding now is the artillery position.

What's in the battery emplacement?

Light and heavy artillery, ammunition warehouses, emergency supplies... Even if most of these were moved away when the main force fled for their lives, it is still a strong fortress that is easy to defend and difficult to attack, has relatively complete fortifications, and can withstand artillery bombardment!

"Captain Carl Bain."

"Huh? Here!"

Carl, who heard the voice behind him, turned around quickly, looked at Anson who seemed to have made up his mind, and asked strangely: "What's wrong?"

"nothing."

Shaking his head, Anson glanced at the soldiers scattered around: "Well... let the soldiers gather first."

No matter what he does next, he needs the strength of these people - so he must find out as soon as possible how much fighting power he has here.

"good."

After the words fell, Karl, facing the soldiers, immediately stood up straight:

"First Line Infantry Regiment, all obey orders - three lines, close formation, assemble!"

"yes--!!!!"

The Clovis soldiers scattered in the fortress lowered their voices and made a uniform sound.

A minute later, a fifty-meter-wide three-row formation appeared in front of Anson.

"Now report the situation of the entire regiment, one battalion and one company!" Carl Bain continued to shout.

"Here! The first, second, and third platoons of the company have all arrived, and there are no shortages!"

"Second Company!"

"Everyone has arrived, no one is missing!"

"Bursar John Ness!"

"exist!"

...Next, Karl called the names of a few more officers and sergeants. After getting the answers, he nodded with satisfaction and looked at Anson: "Well...very good, the whole regiment is here, including the two of us!"

Are you all here?

Looking at Karl who seemed relieved, and then looking at the soldiers in front of him who seemed to be waiting for him to say something, Anson was almost stunned.

According to his memory of the Clovis Kingdom's army organization, a fully-equipped regiment should have two battalions, plus a skirmisher company and a grenadier company.

Each of the two battalions has two infantry companies, a total of six companies, with a strength of about 600 to 800 people.

So this "First Line Infantry Regiment" is actually called a regiment, but actually only has one battalion with more than 200 troops, right? !

Anson suddenly realized a very serious problem and turned back to look at Carl Bain in confusion:

"By the way, where's the leader?"

As soon as he finished speaking, looking at Karl's strange eyes, Anson immediately realized that he had said something wrong.

Because in the memory of "former Anson", there is no impression of the leader!

Oops!

Anson's heartstrings tightened instantly.

"Captain? Forget it, don't worry about the captain for now."

Karl looked confused at first, then waved his hands, as if he didn't care about this "little slip of the tongue", and looked at Anson with burning eyes:

"Adjutant Anson Bach, please immediately announce the command of the levy force at Fort Thunder and leave us with the order of the first regiment!"

What?

This time Anson was really stunned.

He didn't get the order to retreat at all, and he had almost no idea what happened. Carl Bain, who came to see him specifically, should know this very well. So why on earth did he...

etc!

Looking at Karl's meaningful gaze, Anson felt that he had probably guessed what he was thinking.

The reason he came to "rescue" himself at first was because he didn't get the order to retreat and didn't know where to break out or where to retreat, so he had to try his luck;

And now, because he believes that his "power of blood" can allow him to escape from the battlefield when the enemy is searching, he can evacuate with the entire regiment!

Of course, it can't be everyone. A collective action of more than 200 people will definitely expose the target... But with the cover of melee, heavy fog and trenches, a small number of people can more or less be able to escape smoothly.

As for why it must be said to be an order from the headquarters, it is of course to stabilize morale.

At this moment, Anson finally understood the reason why Carl Bain looked at him like a savior.

So that's what happened...

Anson, who was stunned in place, gradually returned to normal. Looking at Karl's somewhat flattering expression, he nodded slightly and slowly turned his gaze to the soldiers in front of him.

He looked at them, looking at the pair of curious eyes that revealed uneasiness, panic and fear, and breathed a little quickly.

No retreat, absolutely no retreat... The memory of "another person" in his mind kept reminding Anson.

"...Retreating under the threat of the enemy is a serious and difficult task - routes, targets, cover and detailed plans are all indispensable; you have to convince the panic-stricken soldiers that at the moment of death, strict execution can best preserve their lives. The order of the majority of people’s lives; you have to make them obey the command and maintain the organization as their first priority even if they are running for their lives..."

"...A disorderly, unprepared and unplanned retreat will inevitably turn into a rout; your army will cease to exist as the organization disintegrates, and you and your soldiers will change from warriors to targets hunted by the enemy. Casualties will change from percentage to total annihilation..."

Therefore, it is absolutely impossible to retreat.

"Now, I, Captain Anson Bach, the supervisory adjutant of the 1st Infantry Regiment, officially announce to everyone the order issued by the levy headquarters of Thunder Castle!"

Anson, who was raising his voice, shouted with all his strength; he tried his best to suppress the last trace of uneasiness in his heart and threw all worries behind:

"The first levy force of Thunder Castle, the first infantry regiment...

Stand at the artillery position and wait for reinforcements;

Cooperate with reinforcements to defeat the imperial enemy forces trying to break through...

Annihilate them all here——! "