I will be crowned king

"Long Live the Free Confederacy!!!!"

The earth-shattering shouts drowned out the artillery shells flying over the battlefield. Unexpectedly, the Storm Legion, wearing the same red and black uniforms as the opposing Jihad Army, had broken through the first line of defense and was surrounded by strongholds layer by layer. The second line of defense quickly interspersed and went straight to Ludwig's command post.

The stunned Ludwig hurriedly raised his telescope. The overwhelming Storm Legion had completely established a foothold on the first line of defense. Many strongholds near the edge of the second line of defense had also been defeated. Not only did the defeated deserters The organization completely collapsed and directly disrupted the subsequent reinforcement team.

"Immediately send out reserve troops to follow up and collect the defeated troops!" Ludwig, who was trying to remain calm, was still making arrangements in an orderly manner, showing a calm and composed attitude: "There is no need to be nervous, they only have four or five thousand people. , it is simply impossible to break through the heavily guarded second line of defense."

Although he said that, in fact, he had no confidence now, and even the confidence he had at the beginning was completely lost, and he was completely at a loss.

What...they...just happened?

I carefully recalled the intelligence I had just received: In order to cover the right-wing attack of the colonial rebels, the Storm Legion even took the initiative to expose its artillery positions and opened a gap in the first line of defense. Then more than 5,000 soldiers quickly broke into the battlefield in columns and pushed forward. He poured into the first position with his own artillery fire...

Well, that's pretty much the whole process, but there must be something missing, a detail that was inadvertently overlooked, a detail that allowed Anson Bach to get right into it.

If they want to attack the first line of defense, they must first cross the front firing slope. As a result, the speed and frequency of their attacks will be greatly slowed down, making it difficult to concentrate their forces to break through quickly...

Wait, shooting slope?

Suddenly realizing something, Ludwig quickly turned his attention to the first line of defense, but due to the height and viewing angle restrictions, the opposite gentle slope was a perfect blind spot. He didn't know what to do until he grabbed a hurried messenger. Something happened.

It's very simple. The targets covered by the New World Army's only round of concentrated fire are not the defenders at all. They want to blast several large gaps in the first line of defense. The collapsed earth and rocks can also make the shooting slope even more difficult. Smooth, the effect of limiting speed is greatly reduced.

In this process, the Holy War Army actually "helped" a lot: the artillery aimed at the Storm Legion must have fired at a downward angle, and naturally many fortifications and protective walls above the firing range also disappeared; the artillery shells that bounced and rolled down, It's like helping to smooth out the bumpy ground...

"Moreover, the density of shelling on the opposite side was very high, creating a large number of craters in front of the first two lines of defense. Their skirmishers hid directly in the craters while attacking, and threw grenades at our small stronghold - some ordinary ones, There are also the ones that just smoke but don’t explode, and then soldiers will rush into the stronghold with shotguns to sweep them away!”

"……smoke bomb?"

"Yes, yes, this is it!"

The messenger nodded excitedly. It took more than ten seconds to realize that something was not right, and he looked at the legion leader curiously.

Ludwig, who looked tired, didn't want to say another word, and waved his hand feebly at him: "You go down first, and tell the troops behind to remember to pay attention and be sure not to be easily approached by the enemy."

"Uh...yes!"

The messenger straightened his back suddenly as if he had just woken up from a dream, and then hurriedly reported his intention to the commander-in-chief: "Grand Commander Grad Manfred said that if the battle situation is really tense, the Judgment Knights are willing to lend a hand." Help will immediately go out to support you...er, our side!"

"Grand Master... tell him there is no need, our defense is still rock solid!"

After thinking for a moment, Ludwig directly refused: "Compared with the center line, the movements of the right-wing Beluga Port headquarters and the Sail City rebels are particularly critical. Once there are no heavy troops stationed, it is very likely to become a node for the enemy to quickly open up the situation. , there must be a powerful elite force like the Judgment Knights to hold the bottom line in order to ensure that nothing goes wrong!"

Are you kidding me? If the Judgment Knights come to the headquarters to "support" themselves, then it will be unknown who will command whom. Maybe even the initiative that they have finally won will be taken back by the people of the Holy See.

What's more, although the knights are very elite, the land cruisers are only suitable for exerting their power in open areas, and their effectiveness in attacking and defending is not very good; the well-equipped Judgment Knights are obviously better at small-scale combat and have no experience in large-scale battles. , it is 100% impossible to obey your own arrangements and commands.

Even the most elite Ludwig would not want an army that would most likely not be able to obey orders and might even in turn order his own.

Ludwig exhaled forcefully and gritted his teeth, hoping for a battlefield filled with smoke. A thick sense of frustration poured into his chest like a flood.

In the end, the carefully arranged position found a flaw, and even turned it into an opportunity for the enemy to successfully break through... Even if it was premeditated, the reaction was too fast and timely.

Judging from the current situation, the assault headquarters should be just a feint attack. The real purpose should be to flank the right or left wing to open up the situation, stand firm and continue to destroy their own defense system, gradually disintegrating the three lines of defense, and create conditions for attacking the city gate.

Fifteen minutes later, the Storm Legion, which had already opened up the situation, had repelled two rounds of counterattacks by the Jihad Army, and began to try to open up the situation on both sides, just as he had guessed.

At this time, the disadvantages of dispersing the troops and turning them into company and platoon-level strongholds are fully exposed: the enemy does not need to worry about more enemies every time he attacks, as long as half a battalion of troops is assembled, each stronghold can be easily captured. , so fast that the surrounding armies had no time to reinforce.

The same goes for the almost semicircular trapezoidal earth wall, which increases the fire coverage but sacrifices the frequency. At the same time, the enemy who conquers the nearby stronghold can use it as a cover to launch an attack on the next one. It is easy to bypass the front and go straight into the back without using it. They were worried about the support of the surrounding enemies - the earth wall was only half-way, so they dared to open fire only if they were prepared to kill all the friendly troops as well.

But Ludwig is not particularly worried... After all, Arthur Herred is stationed on the west side. Although this dragon roar knight is simple, he is really strong; with him at least he can give Anson Bach Add a lot of trouble.

But...is his arrangement really limited to this?

………………………………

"That's for sure, otherwise we really have to attack from the front?"

Anson knocked the ashes vigorously at the corner of the table, and looked at the high-spirited Louis with a dumbfounded look: "Let the colonial militia on the Western Front organize another round of attack, or let the defenders of the Beluga Port Command cooperate with the Sail City Army to get the verdict first A surprise attack before the Knights take action?”

"Of course it's okay!" Louis, who was holding the handle of the knife tightly, took a step forward: "If necessary, I can serve as the vanguard leader, and you stay here to command - really, I promise to obey orders!"

"Uh...I don't doubt that, but do you still remember the arrangement we agreed on before?"

"Of course I remember. How could I forget such a thing?" Louis raised his eyebrows, obviously slightly dissatisfied with Anson's skeptical attitude:

"But you also said that the plan is risky, and it may not be 100% sure of success; but now the opportunity to defeat the Jihadist Army's defense line is right in front of us, why can't we try it?"

"Why...because this opportunity is just an illusion."

"Illusion?"

"Uh...can't say it's an illusion, anyway...oh, forget it!"

Sighing helplessly, Anson couldn't help but smile bitterly and said: "Let me ask you bluntly, what do you think is the probability that we can defeat the three lines of defense carefully prepared by the Jihad Army and seize the city gate with just one raid?" ?”

"This..." The excited Louis calmed down slightly, his expression solemn.

"Although it is not good to exaggerate the enemy's strength, Ludwig Franz... my respected boss is really not weak enough to be manipulated by others so easily." Anson's tone became very playful and entangled. It’s like a migrant worker who doesn’t know how to evaluate his last boss:

"He is just not good at dealing with emergencies. In terms of precise positional warfare, he is still very strong. Especially when the enemy is dazzled by the short-term advantage and launches an attack with full confidence, he will definitely be in countless positions. In front of the reserves and fortifications, we hit our heads with blood."

"Just like now, an important prerequisite for us to break through quickly is that Major General Ludwig did not deploy many troops on the first line of defense, and there are still a large number of reserves that have not been deployed in the rear; in contrast, the New World As long as the legion's attack is frustrated once more, they will be driven out of the position immediately and the situation will be restored to the state it was a few hours ago!"

This is of course an exaggeration, but it is absolutely true that Ludwig still holds several trump cards; in the most extreme case, a loyal lieutenant and core member of the Truth Society may still Reveal your plans directly.

Therefore, Ludwig's confusion was only temporary. As long as he determined the enemy's action plan - even if it was just what he thought - he would quickly return to his original calm and rational state and organize a counterattack in an orderly manner.

To put it more bluntly, simply comparing military quality, the only person in the entire Crusade Army who can be at the same level as Ludwig should be Bernard Molwes; even if it only compares attack and defense, Anson himself is not as confident as him. Think he is stronger than this old boss.

After all, this kind of battle relies more on the use of artillery and various fortifications, and these happen to be Anson's own weaknesses - the only things he is really good at are skirmishing tactics and column raids.

"So...you still stick to your original plan, are you really not going to try it?"

Louis still did not give up completely, after all, the opportunity was right in front of him: "If...I mean if we can make a breakthrough from the front, wouldn't it put more pressure on the Holy See, so that they don't even have the final retreat, they can only bow their heads and admit defeat? Do you accept the terms we offer?”

"Definitely. After all, not only have we left the last trace of face, but we have also met the Holy See's minimum goal of launching a holy war. The Holy War Army, which has no choice, will definitely agree."

Anson nodded slightly: "But we don't rule out another possibility, that is, the Jihad Army, which has absolutely no way out, will choose to die with us."

"If...I'm just saying if, they reject our conditions, and the Holy War Army is eventually wiped out, what will the thousands of Ring of Order believers in the Old Continent think?"

"They will not regard this as the end of the war, but as the beginning. Endless jihadist legions will continue to land in new worlds, take away colonies and build new ones, and then others will come again, using Similar pretexts for mass killing and looting...When there is nothing left to loot, these jihadist armies will start attacking each other."

"This process will last for more than ten years, or even decades, until several large forces gradually rise, and then it will gradually stabilize and eventually return to the state of the New World almost thirty or forty years ago." Anson said meaningfully:

"Then...it's a new reincarnation."

Louis pursed his lips tightly, seeming to be somewhat unwilling:

"So in your eyes, we can only try our best to beg the Holy See to accept our conditions, right?"

"Well... I have always felt that the person before you and me who was particularly ungrateful and disrespectful to the Church of the Ring of Order should never be the heir of the Bernard family." Anson couldn't help but laugh:

"But you are right, the premise of everything must be that the Holy See recognizes and accepts the compromise, which is just the minimum bottom line."

"Now... at least for now, the New World has not been able to truly turn the world upside down and ignore the most powerful force in the Old World - none of them. This is also the trump card I said may succeed or fail. reason."

"Is that so? I thought your 'trump card' might not abide by the agreement in the end." Louis shook his head helplessly:

"I really don't understand, how can you have so much confidence in... such a group of people?"

"It's simple, because I'm a good person." Anson's smile never faded.

"……What?"

"The most basic criterion for a good person is to believe in the words and promises made by another good person, and one should not delve too deeply into the other person's details to see if he is a truly good person."

Anson, who took the trouble to explain, took out his pocket watch, opened the watch cover with a "pop!" sound, and the pointer happened to be close to eleven:

"By the way, how's the weather outside now?"

"Very good - if there wasn't so much smoke." Louis said a little unhappily: "There are no clouds, the wind is not strong, and the sun is not very dazzling. It is a rare good weather in the New World."

"Really? That's good." Anson couldn't help grinning:

"In this case, Sir Philus opposite will be able to see at a glance the surprise I have prepared for him."