I will be crowned king

"According to the latest intelligence, the vanguard of the Jihadi Army has already set off. The number of troops and the departure location are unknown, but the total size should be around 20,000, and the fleet size is almost a large fleet of no less than 30 warships."

"Although it is not clear which port it will take, it is just a choice between Adland Port and North Port, and the departure time is probably in early April."

On the way to the Supreme Conference Hall, Anson walked quickly while whispering to Louis beside him the "first-hand information" he had just obtained.

The simple yet delicate cedar door kept opening in front of the two of them. Ignoring the representatives on both sides who were trying to please them, they walked straight towards the main hall.

"The strategic plan, combat objectives, and navigation routes are all unknown; but even according to the most optimistic estimates, it is at least a replica of Bernard Morweis's army - not only the strength is twice that of his original one, but also the There’s a huge fleet.”

Anson, who did not look back, continued to state calmly, which was in sharp contrast to the increasingly solemn expression of Louis beside him: "If we want to have a decisive battle with the enemy, and under the premise that we are almost certain to die if we do not defend the port, we can only do so at a certain point. Only by engaging in street fighting in a city can we reduce our disadvantages and assemble no less troops than the enemy."

“In other words, the entire main force of the Confederacy must be assembled to compete with the enemy, and because it is a street battle, the casualties must be more tragic than on the frontal battlefield; even if we are still optimistic, we must be prepared for a quarter of the casualties; The Confederacy could only fight this kind of battle once.”

"But the Jihadi Army with its fleet can choose the battlefield at will, leaving us exhausted." Louis, with a tight brow, whispered in a low voice, feeling extremely heavy:

"Even this is just the vanguard. There will be a main force of no less than 100,000 people later. Once they all arrive..."

"We have to prepare for the fall of more than half of the Confederacy's territory and retreat to the inland strongholds." Anson nodded lightly:

"If you are unlucky, you may be trapped and die in a certain port colony, and be forced to fight a hopeless defensive battle; in the end, you will either surrender or be destroyed."

The young knight's heart tightened and he pressed his lips hard.

"Therefore, the most important task now is to improve the survivability of each colony and increase the number of troops as much as possible within the Confederacy to establish a Confederate legion of at least 50,000 people - this is the bottom line."

Before reaching the main hall door, Anson suddenly stopped and took a deep look at Louis: "Establish a staff department, establish a systematic command system, and improve the organization."

"Of course, we must try our best to obtain reinforcements. The Bernard family and other imperial families who oppose the war must continue to write letters, state their interests and interests to them, and mediate for this war, even if the other party refuses."

"Also, Clovis, Hantu, Iser, the Three Kingdoms of the North Sea... and even the Holy See itself, use all the connections that can be used as much as possible. No matter how slim the hope is, we can't let it go."

"To put it bluntly, all the efforts we are making now are not to give the Confederacy any hope of defeating the Jihadi Army; they are to increase the bargaining chips for subsequent surrenders after blocking the first round of the Jihadi Army's offensive."

Taking a deep breath, Louis nodded vigorously:

"I see."

Of course he knew that Anson's intention was not only to find ways to protect the Confederacy from the front of the Jihadist Army, but also that as the governor of Sailing City, he must agree, and even fully stand on his side, to promote the establishment of the General Staff and elect the Confederate Legion. commander in chief, and centralization of power over the entire Confederacy.

This is of course not in line with the young knight's wishes, and even completely goes against his original intention of becoming the governor of Sailing City - to curb the Confederate colonies that were originally part of the empire and completely fall to the Clovis forces led by Moby Dick Port, or in other words, Anson... Bach's personal property.

But after experiencing so many things, Louis gradually understood a truth: although ideals are important, there is still something more important than ideals in this world, and that is survival.

If even the most basic survival cannot be guaranteed, no matter how lofty the ideal is, it is just the ravings of an idiot; the knight who fights to the end is indeed great, but if the price is to cause millions of innocent people to die in vain, then he is just a coward who dare not face failure. A selfish and self-deceiving liar.

The most important thing for the Free Confederacy at the moment is to survive; since Anson Bach's method seems to be the most feasible at present, it is natural to give up some unnecessary persistence if there is nothing to do about it.

"let's go."

The determined young knight said solemnly: "Sailing City will fully support your decision. As for convincing others... that is your strength."

"I think it's time for them to know the truth."

……………………

"the truth?"

Polina Frey, who was sitting on the seat, raised her head in surprise and looked at the figure she trusted most. There was a hint of panic in her voice:

"Master Anson Bach...Mr. Governor, can you speak more clearly?"

After the words fell, the speakers and acting directors of each colony on the council, and the representatives of the thirteen colonies, uniformly turned their attention to Anson.

"The so-called truth is that Sir Louis Bernard and I have never mentioned it to everyone before, and the enemy you think the Confederacy is about to face is the Empire, or the Clovis Legion trying to regain the colonies... I'm afraid it is Incorrect."

Facing the representatives with different expressions, Anson, who looked dull, said in the most understated tone:

"According to the intelligence we have so far, the empire has obtained authorization from the church to call on the entire world of order in the name of God to assemble an army to fight for faith and launch a holy war against the Free Confederacy."

"Their excuse is the rebellion of the colonies, their disobedience to the Circle of Order, and the many ordinary people and indigenous people living in this land who do not believe in the Circle of Order but are not persecuted for it; their goals To exterminate us, plunder our wealth, destroy the order of the Free Confederacy, divide parishes among the ruins, build cathedrals, and enslave all who remain.”

"So it is very regrettable that our enemy this time is not the empire, but the whole world."

"Yes, you don't have to doubt it. You heard it right. Our enemy...is the whole world."

After the words fell, Ansen, expressionless, lowered his head and pretended to sort out the documents on the table casually, as if he had just announced something boring like a routine announcement about "grain price increases this year."

The atmosphere in the hall was already as dead as suffocating.

Both the speaker and the ordinary representatives fell into silence, with a word that they had never thought of, or dared not imagine, echoing in their overly shocked minds.

We...the Free Confederacy...a mere thirteen colonies...a confederacy with a population of less than two million...

Want to be the enemy of the whole world?

The young knight lowered his head and sighed softly.

Although he had known this information for a long time, the moment he heard Anson state the facts in this tone again, an indescribable feeling of powerlessness would still well up in his heart.

"Desperate?"

In the silence, the expressionless Anson spoke again: "Yes, we should be desperate; when we choose to embark on this path, we should be prepared to experience this feeling."

"When we raise the banner of freedom and equality and declare our fight against slavery and injustice, we should think of how powerful, despicable and shameless our enemies are! We are not fighting an individual, but the devil, the evil god, and the monster. !”

"When we are forced to a dead end, we can't bear it anymore, and when we have no retreat and we rise up to resist, we should think that the evil gods and devils will not give up and sit idly by. They will even put on a kind face and pretend to be noble and moral knights. , get along well with us.”

"You should all know that that is impossible!"

Looking around at the people present, Ansen had a sarcastic smile in his eyes: "Putting your life and death in the hands of others, and even hoping to get fairness for the other party through humiliation... Oh, it should be fair and just on the surface, with courtesy. The treatment is ridiculous, just like a slave asking his master for wages and feeling as if he has gained freedom."

"But it's a pity that this slave owner not only doesn't want to pay wages, he also entangles all the 'little friends' who have been bullied and oppressed by him, and finally bowed to him, and come together to say bad things about us as a slave. Call us immoral."

"He even felt that it was not safe to do it himself, because we slaves seemed to be able to resist; so everyone must come together, hold down our hands and feet, beat us, ravage us, slit our throats, break our bones, and tear us apart Flesh and blood, dig out the internal organs, and finally point at our corpses and say..."

"...Look, what a dirty, ugly, and low-moral slave this is!"

In the quiet air, only Anson's heavy voice echoed in the air.

Louis, who vaguely felt something was wrong, raised his head and wanted to interrupt Anson; but before he could speak, he recalled his promise and continued to remain silent.

Anson, who was still expressionless, noticed his movements. It wasn't until he saw the young knight sitting back down that he continued:

"So if you still feel desperate, please maintain this despair, and then think carefully about what you want to do next and what you should do."

"Of course, some people may feel that even if they are truly enemies of the world, there will still be a period of time." Anson's tone became flat and indifferent again:

"For these people, I have another not-so-pleasant news to tell you, that is, the Jihadi Army has about 20,000 people and a huge fleet has set off from a certain port in the Old Continent and will soon appear in On the Confederate coastline.”

"Sail City, Black Lagoon Port, Red Hand Bay, Long Lake Town, White Whale Port, Slave Port... any of the six ports may become a target of attack."

"With the current military capabilities of the Confederacy, it is impossible to ensure that all ports are foolproof; targeted protection of one or two locations is already very difficult; if we want to fight head-on, we will have to assemble no less than 50,000 troops. There is a possibility of a sure win.”

"Please note that I said 'possible'... We have no idea whether this army is elite or weak, or the level of equipment."

"All we know is that there are at least one hundred thousand troops behind this fleet, and the hostility of the world towards the Free Confederacy."

"Therefore, I hereby formally propose to speed up the mobilization efficiency of each colony, and to mobilize at least no less than 20,000 soldiers... Of course, as an equal member of the confederation, I am only making suggestions to you."

Anson raised his head and looked around the scene for a week: "I also propose to shorten the appeal proposal process, speed up the establishment of the Confederate Army Staff Department, and start selecting a Confederate commander immediately."

"I don't want to tell you that as long as we can choose a commander and form a legion, we will definitely win the freedom of the Confederacy; but what I want to tell you is that our enemies are unprecedentedly powerful and unprecedentedly greedy - when they take us The moment he is designated as the enemy of the ordered world, what he wants is not just our surrender, but complete enslavement from the inside out."

"I need both money... and my life!"

After the cold words fell, Anson intentionally or unintentionally cast his eyes on Reinhard Roland; the president of New World Company pursed his lips tightly and kept looking around, as if he was anxiously waiting for something.

"President Reinhard, do you have anything to say?"

"I?!"

Reinhard was startled when he was suddenly called. His eyes were a little flustered, and he showed an expression that he was hesitant to speak: "I...I do have some situations that need to be reported to you as soon as possible, but not here...I mean, it's a waste of time for everyone. time; maybe wait until after the meeting...you...when you feel that the time is more relaxed..."

"That's not necessary."

Anson directly interrupted his stammering attempt to reconcile: "We are all members of the Confederacy. No matter what the situation, everyone here is entitled to know. There is no need to be secretive."

Reinhard, who was stunned on the spot, was petrified for nearly half a minute.

"...Okay." The president sighed, stood up with his hands on the table in front of everyone, and looked at everyone present with a slightly helpless look:

"This is information just sent by our 'partners' in the Kingdom of Naksil. A large fleet waving the flag of the Ring of Order has just made a short stop at Naksil Port due to a storm."

"The entire fleet has a total of about thirty battleships, including two main battleships equipped with sixty-eight-pound guns and one ironclad ship. Counting all sailors, the total strength is about thirty thousand people."

“This fleet once sent a ‘call’ for holy war from the Church of the Ring of Order to the Kingdom of Naxir, but the Royal Family of Naxir declined on the grounds that the civil war has not yet ended.”

"Currently, the fleet has left Naxir Port and is heading towards the Free Confederacy; and the commander of this army is one of the six commanders of the Holy War Legion..."

"His Excellency Major General Ludwig Franz!"