I will be crowned king

After receiving Alexei's affirmation, Louis breathed a sigh of relief, and his tense heartstrings finally relaxed temporarily.

In fact, the reason why he did not immediately march to Sailing City and only sent cavalry to sweep the border areas was not because he didn't want to, but because he couldn't.

First of all, the "20,000 troops" that he has assembled under his command are just a hasty assembly, and there is no decent command system. His ability to restrain them is extremely limited; the military quality is seriously worrying, and the level of armament is so poor that he has fled into exile. level and simply do not have the ability to fight in large groups.

Even if these 20,000 people were able to reach Sailing City alive, it was thanks to the New World Company that spared no effort in mobilizing all the colonies and providing sufficient logistics. Otherwise, maybe one-half of them would have starved to death on the way.

Currently stationed at Gray Pigeon Castle, relying on the deep ditch barrier, it still barely looks like a powerful army; if they really have to confront each other in the wild, I am afraid that their true colors will be exposed as soon as the gunshots are fired, and the entire army will be destroyed in an instant.

To be more practical, this 20,000-strong army is a real paper tiger; whether they can scare the opponent does not depend on themselves at all, but depends on the enemy's imagination.

Of course, the problem of poor quality and failure to obey orders can be solved through various means; the Storm Legion has very rich experience in training new recruits. It is not that Louis, who was also born in the empire, has never seen such a coalition composed of multiple parties. As the heir to the Grand Duchy of Adlan, he is also very familiar with this aspect.

The problem is that these all take time; before this "reinforcement" can truly form a combat effectiveness, it must be ensured that the jihadi army attacking the city does not dare to act rashly; so it would be great if the enemy could be deterred from acting rashly by relying on numbers.

"But this does not mean that we can sit back and relax and confront the Jihadi Legion boldly."

From the top of the tower of the main castle of Gray Pigeon Castle, overlooking the crowds of people below the city and the messy army barracks like a beggar's shack, Roman, with his hands behind his back, said coldly: "Major General Ludwig is indeed cautious, especially in Ise After the war...but when a decision had to be made, he was more decisive than anyone else!"

"Once the decision is made to 'solve the threat from the north before conquering Sailing City', he will march here without hesitation - just like when he was trapped under the castle of Thunder Castle, he still divided his troops to protect Oak Town."

Looking at Colonel Roman's back, Alexei nodded inconspicuously; he had not actually participated in the Battle of Thunder Castle, but he had learned a lot about the Commander-in-Chief from Chief of Staff Carl Bain's daily complaints. The "great achievements" of your Excellency and this old boss.

If Commander-in-Chief Anson Bach is a genius with great imagination and strong execution ability, then Major General Ludwig is a lunatic who often breaks things at the last moment, regardless of the consequences.

One really dares to say it, and the other really dares to believe it.

"Then when do you think Major General Ludwig will take action to deal with our...threat from the north?" Alexey asked tentatively.

Roman did not answer immediately. He hesitated for a while as if he was deep in thought, then looked back and stared into the eyes of the commander of the 2nd Infantry Regiment, with a stern expression: "...It's hard to say."

Uh...huh?

Although he didn't expect the other party to give any guarantee, this answer still made Alexei stagger for a while.

"Whether Major General Ludwig sends troops or not mainly depends on the intelligence he has obtained...or what he thinks is the intelligence." Roman's voice suddenly lowered in the second half of the sentence and he murmured in a low voice; but he soon regained his tone:

"The intelligence we deliberately released before is enough to ensure that the major general realizes that this is a levy army that has assembled the entire Free Confederacy. Its total strength is almost equal to his, but its combat effectiveness is bound to be much inferior."

"According to the Major General's usual style, he should first break through the defenses around Yangfan City, then build siege positions, and implement an oppressive blockade on the defenders in the city. After confirming that the enemy has nowhere to escape, he should divide his forces to wipe out everything except the siege and occupation. threaten."

"With the size of Sailing City, if we want to cut off some of the outer fortresses and build a blockade that can surround the entire city, it will probably take at least one month to fifty..."

"Lieutenant Colonel Alexei!"

Rapid footsteps and shouts interrupted the conversation between the two. The expressionless Roman glanced at Alexey meaningfully and silently hid in a corner at the edge of the tower.

The commander of the Second Infantry Regiment, who took a deep breath, turned around and looked unhappily at the panting cavalry officer who was trotting up the tower: "Is there anything urgent, Major Jason?"

"Yes, and it's extremely urgent!"

Jason, who was out of breath, said excitedly: "The hussars who have just returned from the raid around Sail City reported that they noticed that the Holy War Legion had successfully landed and there were signs of large-scale movement to the north!"

Um? !

Not only Alexei, but also Roman hiding in the corner was stunned.

……………………

"Legion Commander, you are so reckless!"

"Yes, we launched an attack as soon as we landed and before we had a firm foothold. Once the defenders in Yangfan City launched a surprise attack, they could cut off our retreat at any time and block us in the hilly area between Yangfan City and Gray Pigeon Castle. There was no way we could There’s nowhere to escape!”

"Isn't this the most dangerous thing? If we act in a hurry, our supplies can only last less than five days. There is still a serious lack of heavy firepower at the breakaway and coastal locations; the Gray Pigeon Castle opposite is a fortress guarded by 20,000 troops. No matter what you think, It’s impossible to capture it easily in just five days!”

"You're right, this is basically going to die!"

"I beg the legion commander to take back his orders. Such a bold military plan is simply not something ordinary people can accomplish!"

In the temporary barracks of the Ludwig Crusade, the officers were complaining and looking for reasons to refuse to carry out this "death order"; both of them were either angry, frightened, or pitiful. His eyes were focused on the face of the gloomy legion commander, and he wanted to rush up to announce the cancellation of the mission on his behalf.

"enough!"

Ludwig suddenly stood up and slapped the map table in front of him with a "bang!", his eyes full of disdain: "You... these officers, is it possible that you haven't seen our current situation clearly until now? ?!”

"Twenty thousand troops are stationed in Gray Pigeon Castle, which means that unless we can make a quick decision, we can attack the city from the north and south at any time with the defenders in the city. If we don't solve this threat, it is impossible for us to attack Yangfan City without any burden."

"And if we don't capture Sailing City as soon as possible, we can't last long with our current supplies. One month is the maximum limit; even if we can still hold on by then, how will we face the Holy See and the headquarters of the Jihad Army? Do we really want to shame Clovis in front of the whole world?!”

"As for the risks, of course I know that doing so will take a lot of risks, but the consequences of not doing so will be even more serious; if any of you can come up with a better solution, or at least a feasible plan, I'm not being stubborn. My own opinion is that you are a stubborn person." Ludwig said in a deep voice:

"But before that, as long as you still think that I am the commander of this legion, what I say is an order; now, execute the order!"

A low roar echoed in the camp, and the stern-faced Ludwig looked around everyone, hoping to find even a little bit of courage and determination on their faces; no matter how bad it was, someone like Anson Bach who "liked to negotiate terms" would do the trick. .

Unfortunately, there was no such thing... In the face of the officer's impassioned speech, the officers of the Clovis Crusade were silent, more indifferent, and indifferent.

This is also normal. After all, Clovis was passive about participating in the Holy War. The army he put together was basically thrown in by various forces and was able to cope with it. It was basically on par with the main elite, not to mention the main force. It is also completely unrelated; it is almost impossible for them to receive various benefits and military achievements.

It was such an army that suddenly told them that they were to be entrusted with important tasks to fight for their kingdom and faith and to carry out risky missions. The first thing they thought of was definitely not the opportunity, but "fellow fellows, let me lend you my head."

Even if the person who issued the order was not Ludwig, but any other general, the officers present would not even listen and would have dispersed long ago.

"I see...I understand."

After a long moment of silence, Ludwig, with a trace of disappointment flashing across his brows, took a deep breath and suddenly changed to a lighter tone: "Indeed, your worries are not unreasonable; if there is a war with the enemy in Gray Pigeon Castle, , the retreat route was cut off by the defenders of Sail City, and they were even attacked from both sides, which is a fatal threat to us who have been on an expedition here."

"But! The prerequisite for this is that the enemies of Gray Pigeon Castle can really block our attack; and the defenders in Yangfan City must muster the courage to go out to fight."

“If neither is true, the risk is gone, right?”

Ludwig, who was full of confidence, raised the corners of his mouth amid the confused eyes.

……………………

"Barren Grass Forest?!"

Looking at the signs on the map table, Alexei was stunned for half a minute and looked at the cavalry major in confusion: "Is Major General Ludwig stupid... Uh, I mean, why are they staying there? "

"It's not clear at all." The sweaty Jason Fruhauf met the eyes of the second infantry leader, the young knight and the elf girl, and shook his head slightly tiredly:

"After successfully landing and breaking through the outer defense line of Sailing City, Major General Ludwig seemed to have built a simple siege camp outside the city, then led the Jihadist Army all the way north, and finally stopped marching in the grass forest, built a position, and completely It’s a posture ready to fight.”

"According to the report of the cavalry in charge of the reconnaissance, Major General Ludwig must have mobilized all his elite main forces, because he saw no less than thirty infantry cannons, grenadier regimental flags, and cavalry... no less than two in size. A group."

"Two regiments?!" Alexey was even more surprised:

"They brought two cavalry regiments all the way here, are you sure?!"

If he were facing the imperial army, he would never be so shocked, but Clovis is famous as an "infantry captain" - there are two cavalry regiments dedicated to combat tasks in an army of 20,000 people, and they are across the sea. Fighting, this...

Faced with the doubts of his colleagues, Jason Fruhauf did not make any excuses. He rolled up his sleeves silently, revealing his bandaged forearm; a hideous knife wound extended from the wrist to the elbow joint, only a short distance away. Cut his arm right off.

Everything is self-explanatory.

"Major Jason, thank you for your hard work."

The young knight spoke silently. As a knight, of course he would recognize it. If there is no accident, wounds of this degree would almost only be left in head-to-head confrontations between cavalry:

"In addition...if I guess correctly, Major General Ludwig is not preparing to fight, but provoking."

provocative?

The surprised Alexey was stunned for a moment, and then he realized something: "You mean, he is taking the initiative to test us?"

"I'm afraid so." Louis' expression gradually became serious:

"Since Ludwig is a member of the Crusaders, he may have received some information about the colonies from the empire; he should know that with the power of the colonies, a hastily assembled army of 20,000 people cannot have much combat effectiveness. "

"If we take the initiative to attack, he can sit back and wait in the important stronghold of Desolate Grass Forest to defeat or completely eliminate us; but if we stick to Gray Pigeon Castle and show no sign of moving forward, then..."

The young knight did not continue, but everyone present understood what he meant.

If they don't attack, their true identity as a "paper tiger" of 20,000 people will be exposed; then Ludwig will no longer have any scruples and attack Yangfan City with all his strength.

What was originally a clever plan turned out to be a fatal weakness... The atmosphere suddenly became depressing.

"In that case, let's attack."

Alexey was the first to break the silence and said to Louis: "Give the army an order to advance towards the grass forest."

"...Are you sure?" The young knight's pupils shrank slightly:

"With the current quality of the army, if we go head-to-head with Clovis's army, we can say that we will definitely lose."

"Maybe, but you have to wait until you win to know whether you will lose; but if you continue to wait, you will really lose the slightest hope of victory." Alexey raised his head slightly, his eyes extremely determined:

"Before I came here, I promised the Commander-in-Chief that I would not watch the whereabouts of Sailing City, so... give the order, Sir Louis Bernard, to have the army advance towards the Wild Grass Forest."

"Since Major General Ludwig wants to test our confidence, it just so happens that we should also find out whether his army can maintain its combat effectiveness after leaving the cover of the fleet; compete with them to see who is the real one Paper tiger.”

"My Second Infantry Regiment is willing to serve as the vanguard!"

Looking at the suddenly excited Alexei, Louis was stunned for a moment, then subconsciously looked at Freya next to him; the elf girl with gentle eyes said nothing, just smiled lightly.

"Pfft——"

The young knight smiled: "What's wrong with me? Even an ordinary Clovis officer has more courage than me as a knight."

"It's... quite embarrassing!"

With a rather self-deprecating sigh, Louis raised his head and looked at Alexei with bright eyes. The two looked at each other: "Move towards the grass forest."

Alexei nodded slightly:

"Forward to the Wild Grass Forest...!"