I will be crowned king

Black Reef Port, the city center area.

Under the choking billowing black smoke, the commander of the Imperial Cuirassier Battalion raised his telescope and looked at the figures heading towards the town in the direction of the city gate with the help of starry sky and firelight.

Even though it was impossible to distinguish the figures in the night, there were no less than two thousand people that could be seen; and they had already broken through the obstacles set by the imperial cavalry at the city gate, pouring into the chaotic city like a torrent.

"Give the order and let everyone get ready." He turned his head expressionlessly and looked at the commander of the hussar regiment who was temporarily serving as his deputy:

"If nothing else happens, we will have to retreat soon."

"Withdraw...are you leaving now?!"

The commander of the hussars was startled, as if he couldn't believe his ears: "Why? I mean... didn't Lord Bernard's order require us to break through the Parliament and capture the MPs and officers in Black Reef Port? "

"First of all, it's not 'now', but 'soon'." The cuirassier battalion commander glanced at him sharply, his pupils shrank suddenly, and he said expressionlessly:

"Secondly, our most important mission is to create turmoil and chaos in Black Reef Port City and disrupt the enemy's order as much as possible - as long as we do this, the mission has been completed."

"As for the traitors in Black Reef Port...their life and death will not have much impact; now the conflict between Black Reef Port and the advance army has completely broken out, and no one can easily reverse it."

"But this is the order of the colonial minister after all." The commander of the hussars was still a little worried, with an uneasy expression:

"Is it possible to blatantly disobey military orders like this..."

"Don't worry, nothing will happen."

The commander of the cuirassier battalion said without turning his head, and there was some imperceptible sarcasm in the corner of his mouth: "I can even bet you that when we go back, the minister in charge will not say a word more, and even We are commended for our 'quick response' and avoiding greater losses."

"Well, why is that?"

"You shouldn't ask 'why', you should ask 'why'."

"Then...why?"

"We are the only army in the entire counter-insurgency army that will carry out his orders without compromise."

The cuirassier battalion commander put away his telescope, and his sight once again passed over the defenders of Black Reef Port who had entered the city in the distance; the roaring footsteps were getting closer and closer to them, and in ten minutes, their vanguard would be discovered. By myself.

This is not good news.

The Clovis people of the advance army are almost taking control of the Parliament. If they cannot evacuate from Black Reef Port as soon as possible, they will be caught in the middle. If the existence of the "Imperial Assassin" is confirmed, the plan to provoke conflict between the two parties will be impossible. Bankruptcy will ensue.

"What's going on with the mopping up troops? Have they gotten rid of the pursuit of the Clovis people?"

"Not yet... not yet!" The commander of the hussars paid careful attention to his words with a slight emphasis, and said nervously: "The skirmishers sent on the opposite side are very tight, and our people can't get rid of them no matter how hard they are."

"Then wait for them for another ten minutes. If that doesn't work, send a signal to cover them and allow them to be exposed if necessary." The cuirassier battalion commander glanced at him again:

"Besides... the emphasis on 'temporary' in this context is purely redundant."

"Uh, yes, yes!"

The silenced commander of the hussars could only nod in agreement, and before leaving, he did not forget to salute the other party's back:

"Thank you for the reminder, Sir Sadow!"

……………………

Just as the Imperial cavalry, who were trying to attack the Parliament unsuccessfully and being pursued by the Storm Division Skirmishers and Guards Companies, were planning to run away, the defenders of Black Reef Port who urgently returned to defense entered the city from three sides at the same time - the soldiers guarding the city wall. The imperial cavalry was aware of the opponent's numbers and did not dare to interfere, allowing the defenders to pass through the city gate without firing a shot.

Amidst the messy footsteps, the tense Black Reef Port militiamen crowded together and formed four irregular columns on the definitely not spacious street. They jogged to suppress the commotion while advancing towards the Parliament.

Opposite them, the assembled "advance army" had successfully controlled the Parliament, its surrounding streets and ancillary buildings; the line soldiers who had redressed in Clovis uniforms spread out defensive formations around the square, preparing for a confrontation. Prepare.

Due to the requirements of a certain commander-in-chief's "perfect plan", the line soldiers did not deploy any defensive facilities - roadblocks, horse barriers, foxholes... standing in front of the defenders of Black Reef Port were only rows of lines. and two hollow phalanxes, totaling less than a thousand line infantry.

Despite this, compared to the "friendly" Storm Division soldiers, they still appear to be very calm and relaxed; after all, after experiencing the Moby Dick Incident, the Battle of Lake Town and the riots in Winter Torch City, the entire legion has become more and more aware of the "rabble". Ci has a new understanding different from that of Hantu.

It is an exaggeration to say that even if there is a company of imperial troops on the opposite side, they would not dare to relax their vigilance like now.

In addition to the "Commander-in-Chief of the Advance Army", Lieutenant Colonel Alexey himself.

Even when everyone around him was calm and composed, he still tightened his heartstrings and did not dare to relax at all as he looked at the group of allies who were getting closer and closer to him.

Due to the development of the situation, it has already exceeded the "perfect plan" of a certain commander-in-chief.

According to the original idea of ​​the two people: Anson was responsible for negotiating with the Black Reef Port Council. If the negotiations could be reached, the crisis would be resolved; if the negotiations could not be reached or an accident occurred, he, the "commander-in-chief", would use the attempted attack as an excuse. The raid on the Parliament interrupted the negotiations and forcefully forced the Parliament to temporarily hand over command of the army to them.

As for whether the other party will resist privately... Anyway, according to time, the main force will arrive in a week at the latest. They are still confident that they can withstand the pressure and persist for a week.

But no one expected that the defenders of Black Reef Port would want to escape, let alone that the empire would actually send a group of "assassins" to attack the Parliament!

According to the report of Captain Marcos, the opponent is quite powerful; not only can he break through the all-round fire blockade of the line soldiers, but he can even escape the pursuit of the guard company - because of this incident, Miss Lisa bit off two A licorice stick and half a dozen cans were needed to calm the mood.

With this strength, if they were to let them know that the Commander-in-Chief was at Black Reef Port... Alexey couldn't even think about what would happen.

"Stop!"

Hoarse screams sounded, and the defenders of Black Reef Port divided into three columns and appeared around the parliament to confront the advance army.

The soldiers in the first row of both sides were only ten meters apart - the distance of a single charge - with their right hands close to the triggers of their weapons, their sharp bayonets shining under the muzzles, and they glared at each other.

An action, a sound, a gesture... could be a signal to start a war.

Perhaps because of the shoulder wound, Alexei felt his cheek twitching slightly, and he was so nervous that he subconsciously glanced at the parliament door behind him.

Commander-in-Chief... How long will it take for him to get rid of those congressmen? If he keeps waiting like this, the other side may not be able to hold on any longer!

……………………

"ten minutes."

In the dimly lit basement, Anson's words were like hot lead bullets, hitting the hearts of the officers and congressmen in Black Reef Port one by one:

"I will give you ten more minutes to make up your mind... either hand over the command of the army to the advance army, or let the 50,000 people outside Black Reef Port know that you intend to abandon them and escape alone."

Under the depressing atmosphere, everyone who frowned felt a chill behind them, and they all shivered.

Pushwood, who was tied to the chair, looked at the figure in the shadow and clenched his fists involuntarily.

He suddenly had the illusion that the guy outside who claimed to be the "Commander-in-Chief of the Advance Army" was just a fake puppet, and the young man in front of him was the real Lieutenant Colonel Alexey Dukasky.

After regaining consciousness slightly from his trance, Pushwood coughed twice: "Cough - Captain Alan Dawn, that, that we..."

"If you are going to say something like 'at least nominally', to save everyone's time, you can shut up." Anson interrupted unceremoniously, completely losing the gentleness at the beginning:

"The premise of negotiation is sincerity, and your betrayal betrayed our mutual trust, so... now is the time for you to show your sincerity."

As he spoke, he took out his pocket watch from his pocket, opened the cover with a "pop!" sound, and showed the dial to everyone:

"You have eight minutes."

Everyone hurriedly lowered their heads, not daring to look directly into Ansen's eyes.

Pushwood's expression was extremely ugly.

"In that case, why do you still need to ask for our opinion?" Pushwood gritted his teeth and said with difficulty:

"Anyway, we are already your hostages. Use us directly to force the defenders of Black Reef Port. They will have to agree even if they don't agree."

"Because of unity."

Anson gave the answer.

"…Unity?"

"Although you don't care, unity is crucial to the Confederacy and the entire United Front - otherwise, let alone defeating the Empire, even if you want to maintain the status quo, it will be impossible."

"You...the commander-in-chief of Beluga Port, does he really believe that he can defeat the empire?"

"Of course, and the Free Confederacy will eventually be free and must be free!" Anson raised his voice slightly:

"Either independence or destruction, there is no other option, not just for you, but also for us - five minutes left."

"Do you really think Black Reef Harbor can be defended?" Pushwood still couldn't believe it:

"We have been holding on for more than ten days, and the entire city has run out of ammunition and food. What's the point of holding on for another day or two? Where are the reinforcements? How long will the reinforcements have to wait?!"

"Reinforcements will definitely come, and soon."

Anson remained calm: "But the prerequisite for the reinforcements to secure Black Reef Port is that the city has not fallen; otherwise, even if they arrive as scheduled, the reinforcements that have lost their support point will not be able to compete with the imperial army that is waiting for them - three minutes."

Pushwood fell silent.

Time passes minute by minute.

Ten minutes exactly... Anson put away his pocket watch, and just as he closed the watch cover, there was a heavy knock on the door in the basement.

"Dong dong dong!"

Everyone trembled and looked in the direction of the sound.

"Enter!"

Anson said expressionlessly, putting the pocket watch into his coat pocket.

The closed door was pushed open again, and the person who appeared was Marcos, the private company commander of the second battalion line.

As soon as he entered the door, he was startled by the scene in front of him: four guards lying on the ground whose life and death were unknown, a group of parliamentarians and military officers who were tied to chairs and unable to move, a messy conference room... and people sitting in the shadow of lamps Next, the Commander-in-Chief, pointing his revolver at everyone!

But the situation had left him no time to be surprised... Just when Marcus was about to step forward, Anson spoke again:

"stop!"

"yes!"

Although he didn't know what happened, Marcos obeyed the order decisively.

"Please tell me, what's the matter?" Anson said coldly:

"Lieutenant Colonel Alexei specifically asked Captain Marcus to inform me, and you also interrupted such an important meeting. There must be something particularly important happening."

Despite the addition of titles and honorifics, "Captain Alan Dawn" still sounded condescending—at least in Pushwood's eyes.

Marcus didn't think so much, and honestly repeated what Alexei told him:

"The Imperial Assassin failed to attack the Lieutenant Colonel. In anger, he bombarded the port. All four battleships and the port were destroyed. Fortunately, the advance force had evacuated early and there were no casualties - over!"

"What did you say?!"

"The ship sank?!"

"Imperial bombardment of port?!"

There were exclamations one after another in the small basement, and everyone who had managed to remain calm just now could no longer hold their nerve.

Anson's pupils shrank slightly, but fortunately, with the help of his pipe and shadow, the change in his face was covered, and he quickly returned to normal, and said calmly:

"I know, is there anything else?"

"There's one more little thing!" Marcus quickly added:

"Because the empire bombarded the port and sent assassins to set fires in the city and attack innocent people, the Black Reef Port militiamen who were originally stationed along the outer defense line entered the city and cooperated with the advance army to suppress the unrest!"

"Currently, after consultation and recommendation by the grassroots militia commanders, Lieutenant Colonel Alexei has the highest position and is the commander-in-chief of the advance army. He serves as the commander-in-chief. However, Lieutenant Colonel Alexei said that this matter still needs parliamentary permission, so he sent me here. I would like to ask if you can ask everyone in the council to come forward and grant your temporary approval!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Pushwood's face suddenly turned pale.

The only hope of escape has been wiped out, and the biggest trump card has become someone else's, and even he is being used as a hostage... Even if the advance army kills them all, they can all be blamed on the Imperial people, and they can take over Black Reef Port as a matter of course.

If you lose, you... and the entire Black Reef Port Council will lose completely.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The muzzle of the gun tapped lightly on the armrest of the chair. The expressionless Anson stood up slowly and walked towards Senator Pushwood who was tied to the chair with the calmness of a victor. He stopped very humbly three steps away from him. , put your hands behind your back and lean forward slightly:

"Dear Councilor Pushwood, may I ask..."

"Do you need me to untie you?"