I will be crowned king

In the dark moonless midnight, the Grenadier Regiment braved the cold wind and heavy rain and marched along the muddy road towards Oak Town.

The situation... can be said to be extremely bad.

Roman, who was riding a horse, followed closely on the right side of the queue. There was a hint of worry under his cold face that was wet with rain.

Although he knew that the overnight operation would not be easy, he still decided to set out in the violent storm, trying to reach Oak Town as soon as possible and restore order as quickly as possible.

Although relying on a sufficient number of rain gear can prevent the soldiers from getting soaked while marching, the impact of heavy rain alone on road conditions is serious enough - almost consecutive days of heavy rain have washed away all road signs. , the already muddy road became even more rugged, making the march in groups extremely difficult.

Coupled with the poor visibility conditions at night... From the time of departure to now, the entire Grenadier Regiment has not completed one-tenth of the distance, almost only half of the original plan!

"Lieutenant Colonel Roman!"

The urgent shouts made Roman tighten the reins and look behind him; a scout cavalry was running along the side of the queue with a torch in hand, and could not stop until he rushed in front of him.

"According to the order of Brigadier General Ludwig Franz, commander of the levy force of Thunderburg - suspend the order of the Grenadier Regiment to Oak Town and return immediately to the original route!"

"What?!"

Roman, who looked shocked, immediately gestured behind him. After a few bugles, the marching team stopped.

"The Brigadier...entrusted me to bring you a message..."

The anxious-looking cavalryman approached Roman and spoke in a low voice:

"Something unexpected happened, and he must issue an order to siege Thunder Castle tonight; but it is also important to quell the unrest in Oak Town as soon as possible, so Lieutenant Colonel Roman is asked to make his own judgment. If you think..."

"when it start?"

Before the other party could finish speaking, Roman with fierce eyes said eagerly: "I'm asking you, when did the siege start?!"

The cavalryman was slightly startled: "Uh... it's one o'clock in the morning!"

Roman, who looked a little ugly, took out his pocket watch. Using the torch in the cavalry's hand, under the flickering firelight in the heavy rain, the number on the dial stopped at ten-thirty.

"Grenadiers, all of them—turn back!"

The moment he made the decision, Roman, who threw away his pocket watch, took the torch directly from the cavalryman, held the fire in his hand high, and galloped towards Thunder Castle:

"The rear team becomes the front team and advances into Thunder Castle!"

…………………………

In the Thunder Castle Fortress in the heavy rain, the battle is gradually entering a fierce stage.

The defense system that the imperial defenders had hastily established relying on breastworks and palisades was turned into a mess after being subjected to the "fearless" charge of the levied troops, and was on the verge of collapse at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The hastily formed defense line was quickly crushed by the levied army, which was three or four times their number. Relying on their numerical advantage, the levied soldiers faced the casualties they would never be able to withstand in ordinary times, and took advantage of the empire in the smoke of gunfire. The defenders' defense line was not yet stable, and they rushed into the defense line in a chaotic swarm, turning the offensive and defensive battle into a complete melee.

The artillerymen who discovered the enemy's situation on the city wall aimed their light artillery into the city amidst the hoarse shouts of the officers and gunners.

Looking at the dark bottom of the city wall, they didn't know where the enemy was, and they had to be wary of the artillery fire from the siege positions behind them, as well as the conscripted soldiers who didn't know when they would rush up the city wall. They could only fire in the direction of people based on their feeling.

Amidst the roaring artillery fire, shrapnel shells exploded above Thunder Castle; countless small lead bullets were splashed on the crowd along with the heavy rain, leaving blood and flesh flying everywhere, mutilated limbs everywhere, and screams and wails continued. The crowd stirred.

As for whether the person hit by the artillery was the enemy or one of our own... neither the artillerymen nor their officers really thought too much. They just mechanically controlled the artillery and fired at the preset enemy attack position.

Under such an indiscriminate blow, the offensive momentum of the levied army was slightly curbed, but the artillery shells falling from the sky also blew many fortifications into pieces; the originally narrow passage became more open, and even cleared the way for the rear row.

Seeing that the forward troops opened the gap so quickly, the officers of the conscripted army who had originally planned to "wave the flag and shout" from behind saw an opportunity and blew the charge horn one after another to let their troops rush into the gap.

As a new round of levied troops poured in through the gap in the city gate, the entire fortress's internal defense line also went from being on the verge of collapse to splitting into four or five. They fought independently under the command of various knight officers to cope with the two of them. More than twice as many levies.

Although under the command of the knight officers, the imperial soldiers had a completely different morale than usual; but this does not hide that they have not received much shooting training, let alone how to deal with emergencies.

If we say that in the shooting stage, these imperial soldiers could barely fight back and forth; when they fell into melee and hand-to-hand combat, the rigid and rigid line tactics immediately exposed their shortcomings.

However, most of the levies on the offensive side were also trained for only three months. They could only pretend to be in the volley and charge stages. They had not received much hand-to-hand combat training at all. Their level of inferiority was as low as that of the imperial soldiers. They relied purely on Only through numbers and night fighting did we gain a slight advantage.

It is precisely because of this that the imperial soldiers who were retreating were finally able to maintain their front line, instead of collapsing in one attack and destroying the entire defense line like the siege positions that were raided before.

As the defense lines fell one after another, the offensive side's numerical superiority in levied troops began to become increasingly apparent. Forced into hand-to-hand combat, it became increasingly difficult for the imperial defenders to block the chaotic group charges; they began to be forced into blind spots on the fragmented front, and the trapped beasts continued to fight.

The levied soldiers, relying on their superior strength, successfully extended the battle to the inside of the fortress without even realizing it, further hampering the possibility of the imperial defenders regrouping and further spreading the scope of the melee into the fortress. every corner.

But just this sudden "sap" is not enough to completely defeat the imperial defenders - the advantages and disadvantages of heavy rain and night fighting are fair to both sides, and the imperial soldiers who are unclear about the casualties and situation are also holding on to the death. Hold the position and resist step by step.

Soldiers from both sides continued to engage in small-scale battles around a parapet, a fence, or even a light artillery; they used bayonets when they ran out of bullets, rifle butts when the bayonets were broken, and rifle butts when the guns fell off. Use sabers, use fists, use boots, use teeth... use everything they can find to kill guys who look similar to them and wear similar clothes, only the colors of their clothes are different.

In the entire fortress, it was no longer clear where was the front line and where was the stable rear; people were fighting, shooting, killing, wailing, and dying in every corner!

The roaring sound of artillery was still raging in the siege position. The smoke shrouding the artillery position was so thick that the gunners could not aim at all. The panting artillerymen mechanically repeated, stuffing the shells and propellant into the tremors. There are more than one gun barrel.

Standing in the thick smoke, Ludwig clasped his hands behind his back, staring intently at the battlefield in the distance, as if he couldn't feel the temperature of the hot barrel next to him.

"what time is it?"

"Report, it's exactly two eleven in the morning!"

The herald standing behind him suppressed the desire to cough and said loudly.

In other words, a full hour has passed since the war started?

Taking advantage of the night battle and the sudden attack of heavy rain, the levy army seemed to have won a good start, but it was far from the point of determining the outcome - the enemy had not completely collapsed, and there was still the possibility of a comeback.

Looking at the brutal offensive and defensive battle in the distance, Ludwig finally understood the reason why Anson insisted and believed that Roman would lead the Grenadier Regiment back.

At this stage of the battle, it is meaningless to discuss tactics; striving to invest more reserves at the last moment before the enemy collapses is the only rule of victory!

Ludwig was silent for a moment and made a decision:

"Command - at 3:10, the cavalry company, artillery company and all reserve units are ready for battle and launch a general attack on Thunder Castle!"

"yes!"