I will be crowned king

Beluga Harbor Council Basement, 17:30.

Fernando Herred was sitting on an armchair in the corner, smoking a pipe and staring motionlessly at the exit of the basement with slightly dull eyes.

In the deathly silent room, the atmosphere was indescribably depressing.

Everyone's expressions were particularly unnatural, and the air was filled with fear and vigilance; the flickering kerosene lamp reflected the map of Beluga Harbor on the table, seeming to foreshadow something.

Trying his best to control his emotions, Ludwig turned his head and glanced at Pavel Dukaski from the corner of his eye. The two understood each other.

The Fernando Crusaders were destroyed, and the remnants voluntarily surrendered to the colonial rebels... It seemed that only one-sixth of the Crusaders were completely annihilated, but this one-sixth was almost the last soldier who would be loyal and fight for the interests of Emperor Hred. .

In other words, from now on, the outcome of the war no longer has anything to do with His Majesty in Snapdragon City; even if he wins in the end, don't expect to get even half a piece of the cake from the New World.

At this time, Hantu stayed out of the matter. Ed Levent's army suffered heavy casualties, and Arthur Herread's army was still trapped on the battlefield... It was still unscathed. The one who could organize the largest number of troops to protect Beluga Port for the Jihadi Army, It turned out to be Clovis's Crusaders!

Ludwig, who clenched his fists tightly with both hands, tried his best to calm down his breathing. The more victory was in sight, the more he had to stay calm and not expose even the slightest flaw, or let the Vatican seize any leverage, otherwise he would The success fell short.

Fernando's legion was destroyed, and Hantu and the Dukaski family were also attracted by him. One can imagine how vigilant the Judgment Knights will be against him; the slightest bit of unnaturalness will become an inducement to eternal disaster!

Sir Philus, who was in an extremely complicated mood, gently closed his eyes.

Five minutes passed without anyone speaking.

"Major General Ludwig, according to the arrangement previously agreed, we should now deploy a new defense line outside the town of Beluga Harbor."

Philus opened his eyes again and looked at the heir of the Franz family with a calm expression: "Please leave for the front line immediately and urge the soldiers to build fortifications to meet the Arthur Herred Army; the rebels And the false believers will attack at any time, and we don’t have much time.”

"And Marquis Pavel Dukaski, please mobilize your legions as soon as possible, burn and destroy the houses on the outskirts of the town, and drive the residents around the port to prevent the thugs hiding among them from assisting the enemy in attacking the city."

"In addition, I will also temporarily hand over the command to you for the fleet anchored in the port; it is up to you to make arrangements to ensure that the naval guns can suppress the rebels attacking outside the town and suppress the thugs inside the town."

"I……"

Pavel was obviously startled... It was obviously more appropriate for Ludwig Franz, who was also a Clovis, to be responsible for suppressing the town. What did it mean to leave it to him? The Holy See wanted Clovis Drive the forces out of the town so that they can be controlled later?

And how to define thugs? Do they still have plans to massacre the city?

The stunned Marquis of the Palace subconsciously looked at Ludwig, but the latter had already left without looking back. Immediately aware of the problem, he quickly made up for his mistake and deliberately said loudly: "Please leave the defense outside the city." Yours, Lord Ludwig."

"Arthur Hered is the youngest commander of the Crusaders, and a well-known hero - no matter what method you use, you must ensure his safety!"

Ludwig, who had already reached the door, stopped, nodded slightly behind him, and looked at Sir Philus with a meaningful expression.

The gentle and elegant commander-in-chief of the Holy War Army, the adjutant of the Grand Commander of the Knights of Judgment, had eyes full of cold and piercing murderous intent.

……………………

At 17:10, that is, twenty minutes ago, after the last desperate struggle and in vain, the Fernando Jihad Army finally chose to bow to reality and raised the white flag to surrender to the New World Army.

But this is not because the Fernando Legion was really impressed by the courage and wisdom of the New World Legion, and willingly surrendered like a knight who fell under the opponent's sword; on the contrary, they even thought this was a strategy!

"The colonial rebels have less than 50,000 people, and it is impossible to effectively manage nearly 20,000 prisoners; no matter what method they use, it will inevitably squeeze out a large number of their manpower and material resources, resulting in further confrontation with the Jihadi Army. Disadvantaged position."

"No matter what the final outcome of this battle is, the people who must confront the rebels head-on must be the Clovis Crusaders; with the Holy See and the Judgment Knights monitoring them, the Clovis people will not dare to defend themselves openly and must do their best. Yes, we can save the town of Port Beluga for the Crusaders - any one of them will suffer heavy casualties, but it will be of great benefit to the Empire and us!"

"So what if he is the last hero of the Holy War? The cake is divided based on strength rather than performance. Who is more capable of controlling the situation of the new world for the Holy See, the Clovis people whose vitality is severely damaged, or the almost intact imperial army? Isn’t the answer obvious?”

"Of course, the only thing that will be damaged in this is the reputation and dignity of everyone in the legion; but for the empire, for the interests of His Majesty the Emperor, and for the golden iris to continue to bloom in the wind and snow of the new world, this small thing What does your reputation mean compared to your mission?!"

"Compared with completing the mission entrusted to us by His Majesty the Emperor and defending the empire's authority in the world of order, is it the right choice to sacrifice the lives of our companions in vain and let the Clovis take advantage of the opportunity?!"

Obviously not, so Fernando's army chose to surrender.

Of course, it was a conditional surrender: the colonial rebels must ensure the safety of the mujahedeen soldiers, not abuse prisoners, not plunder the private property of soldiers and officers, and not extort blackmail from the mujahideen on the condition of their lives and health - until This holy war is over.

Against all odds, Louis Bernard agreed in the name of the New World Legion.

Having said that, there was no "public consensus" at all. Everyone in the Free Confederacy knew very well that they were definitely the ones who took advantage of this result. Although they relied on careful layout, planning, and the determination of the entire army to share the same hatred of the enemy, they finally won the battle. But in fact, if the other party really persists, the outcome is still unknown.

Although the Clovis Crusaders have retreated across the board, the Knights of Judgment are hesitant, and Arthur Herred has been unable to break through the defense line; but as long as the New World Legion shows even a slight flaw and shows a little sign of lack of stamina, these seemingly The threat that has been eliminated will instantly become a force capable of destroying the entire New World Legion.

Cheers of victory echoed everywhere on the messy battlefield. The knights of the Fernando Legion, who were burdened with "mission" and "responsibility", handed over their weapons with a lonely look, and walked with heavy steps towards the prison where the prisoners were held in a lively atmosphere. Camp.

"That's it."

Standing on the raised mound, Ian Clemens, dressed as an imperial knight, lowered his head and looked up at Anson Bach in front of him with vigilant eyes: "According to the agreement, if we complete this final mission, we will be freed. "

"Now that Fernando's army is finished, the last stumbling block blocking your attack on Beluga Port no longer exists. You should still remember your previous promise, right?"

"Of course I remember." Anson shrugged with a slight smile and bit the pipe in his mouth: "But with the current situation, even if you want to leave, it won't be that easy, right?"

"I personally don't care about this, but even if the Storm Legion and the Free Confederacy don't stop them, there are at least two Jihadi armies in the direction of Long Lake Town, and the coastline of the entire New World is full of patrolling fleets. This kind of At that time, a group of criminals wanted by the Holy See suddenly wanted to go to sea..."

"So, please point us to the safest and most appropriate way."

The former leader of the Faithless Knights understood: "What should we do?"

The two sides have been cooperating for such a long time. Ian Clemens certainly knows what the terrifyingly young Clovis Army Brigadier General, the real leader of the Free Confederacy, is thinking.

But even if they are used by the opponent, or take the initiative to hand over their handles and lives to the opponent, this is the only choice for the Faithless Knights; now they have even handed over their last trump card - the intelligence network throughout the new world. Without the other party and the Luen family, there is no longer any bargaining capital.

On the contrary, Ian is not worried that the other party will abandon or get rid of the Faithless Knights after squeezing all the value out of him - to put it in a more self-esteem-injurious way, if the other party wanted to do this, they could have done it long ago. Won't wait until now.

With the Luen Family behind him, fugitives wanted by the Holy See like him had no room to fight back; in this case, it was better to simply give up the struggle and leave everything to fate whether he lived or died.

"The Truth Society."

Anson suddenly spoke, with a casual expression as if a new word had just popped up in his mind: "You should know each other, right?"

Um? !

Ian Clemens frowned instinctively, but he quickly figured it out: "Of course we know... After the Crecy family was destroyed, we are still providing them with intelligence and sales and sources of magic props as we did in the past. …Though not for free.”

"The people who directly negotiated with the Society of Truth in the past have always been direct members of the Cressy family. We subordinates are not qualified to know these people, and we don't want to have too much dealings with them. Therefore, we can only say that there is a relationship, but not many."

"It's enough." Anson nodded: "The way for you to leave safely lies in the hands of the Truth Society, and only they have the means to ensure that you will no longer be wanted by the Holy See in the future; if you remain anonymous, you can at least ensure your personal safety. Safety."

"As for livelihood... We have cooperated for such a long time, and of course we will not let you leave empty-handed; the reward will not be much, but it will be enough to satisfy everyone."

Anson promised emphatically that it was Talia who paid for it in the end, and the Rune family took care of it, so he definitely wouldn't feel bad at all.

Ian's eyes widened slightly and he looked quite confused. How could a group of underground organizations that were wanted by the Holy See and nearly destroyed be able to ensure the safety of others?

However, he would not take the initiative to refute at this time. He smiled and nodded: "Then I will thank you for everyone, Your Excellency Commander-in-Chief."

"Don't be so polite. This is what you should do." Anson, biting his pipe, was quite modest: "When this holy war comes to an end, you will be free."

Ian chuckled. Of course, he didn't expect to escape from the other party's control now: "We have been waiting for this day for too long."

"Wanted by the Holy See, served the Crecy family, and became a faithless knight... From the time I can remember until now, killing and being killed always seems to be following closely behind me like fate. I never thought that I would no longer have to worry about dying on the streets tomorrow. What are these days like?"

"But now, such a life is coming soon, but I am not excited at all. I am only infinitely uneasy and fearful, like a fish preparing to grow wings and live in the woods."

Sighing heavily, the former leader of the Faithless Knights looked emotional, as if he was excited and uneasy about the new life that was about to come, but also seemed to be reluctant to leave.

Having experienced countless ups and downs on the verge of life and death, it would be somewhat unaccustomed to suddenly abandon it all.

"That's... that's not a bad idea." Anson shrugged: "Who knows, maybe the first birds were turned into fish - turning the fins into flying wings, the scales into feathers, soaring through the dome like swimming in the sea. "

In a sense, I can actually understand Ian Clemens's mentality, because that's what I did in the beginning; I was dragged into one vortex after another countless times, and I tried to escape from the vortex countless times. Get out of it and return to the peaceful life you are most familiar with.

The difference is that you have recognized the reality clearly, and the peaceful life ceases to exist when you step into the first vortex; in the words of the Old Gods, evolution... is the only path forward, not retreat.

The wrong direction of evolution will lead to death; if an unexpected situation occurs in the plan, the result will be a total loss.

If you want to avoid being swallowed by the storm, you must place yourself at the center of the storm and control the storm with your own hands; if you want to get rid of the vortex, then let yourself become part of the vortex.

"...Your Excellency Anson Bach, I didn't know that your imagination was so rich." Ian raised his eyebrows: "Maybe military career is not your best field. Becoming a legendary bard or A novelist?"

"Don't say that someone is suitable to be a novelist. It's a curse."

Anson let out a long breath of smoke: "Really, this kind of person has no bottom line. He will do anything for the things he imagined in his mind, dramatic turns and plans that are so absurd that they are not feasible at all."

Ian Clemens: “…”