I will be crowned king

May 30th, 102nd year of the Saint's Calendar, 5:55.

Although it was already the end of the morning, perhaps because it was in the mountains and forests, the sky at Gray Pigeon Castle was still shrouded in a starry night. Only by standing at a high place could one vaguely see the dazzling light at the end of the horizon, like the pupils of a giant. It is rising slowly.

Before it was fully light, Alexei and Norton, who had already been prepared, immediately issued orders to organize all the defenders and the few remaining people to gradually evacuate in batches.

No matter what time it is, an orderly retreat is always 10,000 times more difficult than a reckless attack - even if there is advance notice, detailed arrangements and plans, and even when there are various worst-case scenarios and preparation plans, Alexei and Norton, who presided over this operation, were still indescribably big-headed.

Those who are lucky enough to want to stay, those who want to move the house onto the carriage, those who procrastinate and refuse to abide by the time... Even if the matter is at hand, and they have witnessed the brutality and ferocity of the Jihadist Army, those who are unwilling to cooperate with the action... The people of Pigeon Forge still accounted for the vast majority.

After repeatedly issuing assembly orders many times, and even sending troops to enforce supervision, but to no avail, it was Pauline Frey who personally came forward to advise, and the people of Gray Pigeon Castle were finally willing to put down their large and small belongings and carry their thin luggage. , supported the old man and the child, and left the castle under the escort of the army.

Before retreating, they did not forget to destroy the houses in the city, fill up and smash the wells, destroy all the machines in the factory, and burn all the food and various materials that could not be taken away... except for an empty stone fortress, there was nothing. Not left for the Jihadists.

With such a large-scale operation coupled with procrastination and no discipline at all, it was impossible for the people to avoid the attention of the Jihadi Army outside the city - almost as soon as it started, every move of the defenders appeared in front of the legion commander. On Arthur Heritage's desk.

Arthur, who received "military advice" from Ludwig, believed that this was the result of several days of hard work and that everything was as planned; so he ordered the entire army to be under martial law, so that the retreating troops and people could only leave in one direction, heading towards Black Reef Harbor.

Until it was confirmed that the defenders in the city should have retreated, the ecstatic Arthur immediately ordered to shrink the encirclement and launch a full-scale attack on the already empty Gray Dove Castle.

At this time, except for Pauline Frey, there are only less than a hundred colonists left in the city of Gray Pigeon Castle, plus more than a thousand indigenous people; the former are basically all those who fled thousands of miles away after the last fall of Gray Pigeon Castle. The liberals who came to Beluga Port to join the Frey sisters; the latter were slaves who were resettled by the League of Trustees around Gray Dove Castle and regained their freedom during the previous beast slave rebellion.

For these followers who took the initiative to surrender to her, Polina did her best to give everything she could; after the Storm Legion recaptured Gray Pigeon Castle, the first thing she did was to re-recognize the original status of the colonists. property and turned most of them into members of the Parliament of Gray Pigeon Castle.

Later, when responding to Anson Bach's call for "freedom and equality", Polina also held high the banner of the "Declaration of Resistance". Not only was she the first colony to free the slaves, she was also the first to recruit them into the colony. Factories and even land were granted, allowing them to enjoy equal treatment as other colonists.

Therefore, even though the two groups of people were in different situations, their relationship with each other was definitely not friendly - the natives who were slaves hated the colonists, and the arrogant colonists could not accept a group of natives as equals to themselves.

But at this moment, they all decided to stay and fight to the last moment for Gray Pigeon Castle, which was destined to fall; even if they knew they couldn't do it, they still had to defend this hard-won treasure.

At 12:35, just as the Jihadi Army launched its attack with great momentum, a broken red swallow-tailed flag slowly rose from the top of the tower of Gray Pigeon Castle.

"Are they... planning to fight to the end?"

Looking at the flag that was particularly eye-catching under the noon sun, Arthur Herred, whose pupils shrank suddenly, murmured to himself, his face full of disbelief.

After being stunned for several seconds, he silently put down the telescope in his hand, picked up his saber, and strode toward the outside of the headquarters.

"grown ups!"

The guards nearby reacted immediately and rushed over to block him in shock - obviously this was not the first time: "Sir, what do you want to do?!"

"What are you doing? Of course you accept the challenge!"

Arthur, who was full of fighting spirit, excitedly pointed at the flag on the top of the tower in the distance, and said with a matter-of-fact expression: "The opponent has already raised the bloody swallow-tailed flag. As the commander-in-chief of the entire army, how can I not refuse to fight?"

"By the way...you, an Imperial member, don't know what this flag means, right?"

"Of course my subordinates know!" the guard immediately shouted. Once the bloody swallow-tail flag is raised, it means that this unit has decided to fight to the death and will never retreat. Usually, the enemy will show respect and attack with all its strength, but …

"But you are the commander of the Holy War Legion, the commander of an army of more than 20,000 people! Even if you want to fight, there is no reason to let the commander go to the front line - it will only humiliate the soldiers and think that you do not trust them!"

"Don't trust me? Stop joking!"

Arthur grinned disdainfully, his eyes full of fighting spirit: "Only a commander who trembles and hides behind the soldiers and dares not to fight will be abandoned by his army; an excellent knight should charge at the forefront and serve for the soldiers. Let us point the way forward!”

After saying that, he pushed the guard away, took a Ring of Order flag from the flag officer next to him, got on his horse, and galloped towards the battlefield down the mountain.

At this moment, both the Gray Pigeon Castle defenders and the Holy War Legion looked back one after another, looking at the figure waving the military flag and riding down from the mountain in shock.

Riding on the galloping horse, the excited Arthur Herred gradually stood up straight, the battle flag in his hand fluttering in the wind and making a hunting sound.

"Soldiers - in the name of the Circle of Order - advance!"

Amidst the shouts that resounded throughout the mountains, Arthur Herred, who had drawn his sword, had already taken the lead and rushed towards the gate of Gray Pigeon Castle.

The deathly silence lasted for a few seconds, and he was answered by a shocking cry——

"In the name of the Ring of Order——!!!!"

Amidst the roar of guns and cannons, the 20,000 Jihadi Army finally launched the final offensive, pouring down like lava spewing from a volcano, rushing towards Gray Pigeon Castle unstoppably.

There were only a few thousand defenders left in formation on the fortifications and parapets, firing round after round of volleys at the enemies coming from Wuyangyang... There were no officers to give orders, everyone was a soldier; but with previous combat experience, They were taught step by step by the Storm Legion and still maintained a high degree of discipline without any disorder.

Under the neat volley of guns, the first person to suffer was the commander of the regiment who was at the forefront of the charge. Before he could get close to the gate, his mount, which was killed by random gunfire, was thrown out like a sandbag.

However, he didn't care much about it. Like a child who had messed up, he laughed to hide his embarrassment and continued to run towards the city gate on foot while waving the battle flag.

Under the leadership of such a legion commander, the entire legion was like a stray dog, howling and attacking from all directions.

Facing an enemy with dozens of times their own strength and unreasonable madness, the remaining defenders of Gray Pigeon Castle quickly lost the outer city walls and were forced to retreat into the interior of the fortress. Relying on the destroyed ruins and defense facilities, Blocking at every level.

As the first large-scale colony of the Empire to successfully establish a foothold in the interior of the New World, the Gray Pigeon Fortress, which is responsible for the east gate of the Sailing City and the inland bridgehead, was designed to be sieged, even in the case of outnumbered attacks. The lower city defense was breached, so layers of defense lines were built in the city based on the curvature of the hillside.

For the attackers, breaking through the city gate is just the beginning. What stands in front of them is the second, third, and fourth lag positions constructed with low walls and slopes, ensuring that the attackers are at least under attack at all times. Under the double fire nets from the front and overhead.

Even if the four lines of defense are broken through, there is still the innermost main fortress tower and the outer courtyard called the military camp fortress, which can actually accommodate at least hundreds of people, condescendingly attacking the enemies climbing up the mountain.

If Bernard Morweis, or any commander with any sense at all, had been present and had even the slightest understanding of the structure of Dove Castle, they would not have approved of storming the fortress, besieging it to death, or deceiving The best option is for the enemy to take the initiative to open the door and disarm.

But under the command of Arthur, the jihadi army not only chose to attack by force, but also attacked continuously, withstanding the firepower of two sides, breaking through one line of defense after another!

Although the defenders fought hard, facing a group of jihadist soldiers who were personally led by the regiment commander and could continue to attack the city despite huge casualties, the numerical gap between them quickly erased the advantage brought by the fortifications; coupled with the ammunition supply. There was not much left, and the defense lines quickly fell one after another.

By 18:30 in the evening, all four lines of defense in the castle had been breached. Only less than 300 defenders were left, who withdrew into the main castle tower and set fire to the outer courtyard directly below.

This is not only to delay the enemy's attack, but also to cut off the final retreat and show the determination to fight to the end.

At the top of the tower, Paulina Frey, who was holding the flagpole and holding the "Declaration of Resistance" in her arms, looked down. The entire Gray Pigeon Castle had been turned into a sea of ​​fire; the cheering jihadist army gathered into a huge torrent and headed towards the last isolated island.

At this time, the girl has long lost her original dignity. The long skirt on her body is full of traces of smoke and dust. The delicate satin fabric has been torn into strips. There are coagulated blood stains on her forehead, arms and calves; there are enemies and comrades. , also has its own.

He looked as embarrassed as... just like himself when Gray Pigeon Castle fell and he was rescued by the Storm Legion cavalry.

With a slight self-deprecating curve at the corner of her mouth, Polina slowly lowered her head, opened the "Declaration of Resistance" in her arms, and read aloud in the eyes full of smoke and fire:

“The moment the first colonists bravely crossed the turbulent sea and established a settlement under the protection of the Ring of Order...the brave pioneers secured two irrefutable rights for themselves and all their successors...the pursuit of happiness. The right to live without any restrictions and to exist freely and independently in this world in the way you want!"

In the thick smoke, the indigenous people who had run out of ammunition and food formed the last flesh and blood defense line. They raised their bayonets and rushed towards the Jihadi soldiers who had reached the lower end of the tower.

Pierce the flesh and blood with bayonets, break bones with lead bullets, put the muzzle of the gun into the mouth... The two sides struggled with each other red-eyed; even though the defense line was riddled with holes, and they were surrounded by enemies behind them, these were all important in Gray Pigeon Castle. The freed indigenous warriors did not retreat.

Arthur Herred, who finally put out the fire in the courtyard, did not intend to get involved with these people. He left a knight responsible for exterminating the remaining soldiers and led the team himself into the tower of the main castle.

"...How could I expect that the 'civilized' imperial power is indeed as cruel and exploitative as ever... The words 'justice' and 'legal principles' in the article are full of 'tyranny' and 'dictatorship'!"

"...Since the empire is so arrogant, we don't need to continue to rely on words to influence his head that always refuses to lower its head... The volleys of gunfire are our words, and the bayonets will become the exclamation lines written down, and the numerous cannons will The sound is our shield. The sound of the iron boots and the galloping hooves of the cavalry will turn into our ups and downs..."

"...let the flag of revenge fly on the tower of Gray Pigeon Castle!"

Polina Frey's face was full of tears, but her face was filled with indescribable happiness at this moment.

At her feet, the desperate colonists were still making their last stand, using traps, cold guns, or simply guarding the powder keg to die with the enemy - even if they died, they would take the enemy to hell with them.

But unfortunately, their enemy is Arthur Herred.

These guys who are worse than the bandits and bandits in the mountains and plains of the empire are no match for Arthur at all. The desperate colonists lit the last powder keg, but were offset by his "dragon roar", and their flesh and blood bodies were exploded before they could even scream. The air waves tore and shattered.

At this point, the road to the top of the tower was no longer blocked, and victory had begun to beckon to him.

"We are the upright people of the New World... We officially declare, in the name of countless free people of the New World, to officially... declare war on the Empire!"

The vibration coming from under her feet caused the girl to sway. She slowly took a deep breath to steady herself, then turned to look at the figure climbing up the tower.

The panting Arthur looked at the beautiful figure under the bloody swallowtail flag, and his excited expression suddenly froze: "Oh, you, you..."

"I swear here!" the girl said coldly, staring at him with murderous eyes:

"I will do my best and use all means to fight against the Empire. I will resist the Empire's aggression at any time and anywhere. I will fight side by side with any warrior who is willing to resist the Empire. I will never...never abandon any Burning The land of freedom!"

The imposing girl slowly raised her right hand, revealing a revolver with the hammer cocked, and pointed the muzzle at Arthur Herred.

The young knight first smiled disdainfully, then suddenly realized something, turned his head suddenly, and found that the top of the entire tower was filled with barrels of gunpowder and lead bullets!

Facing his horrified expression, the girl who sneered happily used all her strength to pull the trigger of the pistol for the first time in her life:

"...until no golden iris can bloom in the new world!"

"boom----!!!!"

Golden-red flame flowers bloomed in the sky above Gray Pigeon Castle.

The name Polina is indeed a play on the "Saint of Toulon" and also borrows a little bit from Joan of Arc; but regardless of the origin of the name, Kong Kong treats every character seriously, and they all He has his own thoughts and behavioral logic and is not an accessory to the protagonist.

So everyone is actively submitting submissions. As long as the characters are confirmed to appear, Kongkong will take it seriously!