I Will Be The Crowned King

"My commander, what do you think?"

In a room in Thundercastle, Carl Bain, the head snake of Thundercastle, was not only not shocked, but even wanted to laugh after hearing the whole thing.

"If that warehouse hadn't been emptied, how could the scumbags of the empire not move at all?!"

"But this is the Thunder Fortress, the largest distribution center and military depot to the north of the southern fortress!" An Sen, who was stunned, still couldn't figure it out:

"If the equipment of those ten infantry regiments is gone, where else can they go?"

"This is simple."

Carl's face showed a kind of playful smile that only veterans have. He took out a bottle of rum from behind like a juggler, and placed it on the table firmly:

"Whoever pays the money will be there."

An Sen was stunned and looked at the wine bottle he took out:

"Reselling arms?"

"Or... this batch of arms didn't exist from the beginning." Carl shrugged.

"The Privy Council has placed an order, and the money is sent to a big man in charge of military supplies. He only needs to send a hundred empty carriages to Thunder Fort and run back and forth, and then... poof!"

He gave Anson an explosive gesture: "In that spacious warehouse, there are a lot of military supplies that no one can see."

"So blatant, won't it be discovered?" Anson still didn't quite believe it.

"The clerk who issued the approval document, the inspector responsible for escorting the transport, the accountant who counted the accounts, and the commander of the fortress—do you think which of these people will definitely not accept bribes and will be loyal to the kingdom to the death?"

Carl asked in a different way.

"..." Anson.

"I don't know about the southern fortress. That kind of military center close to the border and the front line can probably still be honest and clean, right?" Ignoring Anson's dull expression, Carl continued to think to himself:

"When I was a militia company commander before, the militia division formed by the resident commander spent three-tenths of a year's tax revenue. In the end, less than 200 beggars and homeless were sent to the barracks. Even the guns were all I wanted. There's a way to do it!"

"Compared to those shreds that have to be occupied even by the establishment, the Thunder Fort, which just devoured the supplies, is already considered to have a conscience."

Just embezzling materials?

An Sen, who was slightly startled, looked at him in disbelief: "You mean not only this warehouse, but also the others..."

Carl Bain, who coughed twice, nodded vigorously.

"Although I don't know the exact number, but from the information I have inquired about from other infantry regiments, this conscription has suffered a lot from top to bottom." Shaking his head, Carl sighed in a low voice:

"Except for the light and heavy artillery, which is not easy to carry, the rest, whether it is guns and ammunition, daily logistics, and even the most important military food reserves, are seriously inconsistent with the accounts!"

"Throwing out the part lost in the melee and the consumption of the imperial scum in the past twenty days, the reserve of the entire fortress is only one tenth of the account at most!"

"Accounts can supply 15 to 20 infantry regiments, but there is only a pile of dried meat that I don't know how many years ago. It's enough to feed a full regiment for a day or two!"

Carl, who was quite emotional, unscrewed the cork, sighed and poured a glass of rum for himself and Anson.

etc……

Holding the wine glass, Anson suddenly felt that something was not right.

"You said that Thundercastle's reserves can only support a few hundred people for a day or two?"

"It's almost, maybe it's worse than this." Karl nodded, and said in a slightly gloating tone: "Anyway, our brigadier generals and the group leaders have all suffered big losses."

"That is to say, the imperial people can last in the fortress for a day or two at most, and then they will definitely break through?"

An Sen, who continued to question, felt that his brows were twitching wildly.

"Of course, unless they plan to starve to death here..."

Carl, who had not finished speaking, immediately reacted, and looked at Anson with a look of astonishment.

If you think about it this way... In fact, the levy does not need to attack at all, as long as they continue to surround the Thunder Fort for two or three days, they will win? !

An Sen, whose brows twitched, shook his head inwardly.

Do not.

It's not that simple.

In addition to the nearly 1,000 defenders, there are Old Gods and Kroger Bernard in Thundercastle.

At this moment, Anson vaguely guessed Kroger's plan - he discovered the serious loss of the fortress reserves from the first day he arrived at Thunder Fort, but he still assumed the attitude of defending the city.

The purpose is to strengthen the confidence of the Clovis Kingdom and mobilize the army to besiege.

But the fact is that he had planned to retreat from the very beginning, or he had not considered the life and death of his subordinates at all, and waited for the reserves to run out and the morale of the defenders to disperse to lure the levies to attack the city.

What awaits Brigadier General Ludwig will be an army that can be destroyed at a touch, a fortress that can be easily captured... and a monster that mutates and proliferates indefinitely.

The levy who won the "victory" has no room for explanation, and Kroger Bernard will be remembered by the world as "the innocent victim, the knight of the Empire who fought to the last moment".

And his suspicion of being an "Old God Believer" can also be completely washed away, and no one will mention it again.

Shaking the rum in the glass, Anson said to himself.

"Forget it, don't think about it too much - we won, we are still alive, this is better than anything." Carl Bain is still always practical and depressed:

"After the siege is over, I'll probably stay in the First Corps for a while; I'll probably be left in the fortress as a militia commander or something like before."

"Where's Lisa?"

An Sen's heart moved, and only then did he realize that he had never seen the girl again after saying goodbye from the main hall.

"I don't know, probably waiting to be dismissed at the station like those recruits?" Karl shook his head and said in a somewhat regretful but helpless tone:

"She played beautifully that night and made a lot of contributions, but... my commander, don't you really think that the Army can really give medals to a teenage girl?"

"Even if she could, she was just a little girl with no status, no identity, and no idea where she came from - even if she shot Kroger Bernard, she would only be dismissed after the battle."

"No way, who made her not a nobleman, who made her a girl."

Karl, who was getting more and more uncomfortable, suffocated his drink and glanced at Anson:

"What about you, continue to be the commander of the First Corps?"

"How is it possible - the first corps is a conscripted infantry regiment, without the approval of the army, Ludwig can let me command until the end of the battle is the limit."

The most important thing is that even if he loses his family, he can't afford to pay for an infantry regiment.

"Oh, where are you going then?"

"Wang Du, Wang Family Military Academy." An Sen said lightly:

"When the internship is over, I have to go back and get my diploma."

Well, by the way, I want to meet a professor of history who calls himself a "Black Mage".

"So, do you really want to leave?"

"Yes, uh...why do you ask that?"

With his eyes wide open, Karl took out a letter from his pocket with an envious "tsk tsk" sound ~www.readwn.com~, slapped it on the table with a "crack!" and pushed it in front of Anson.

An Sen, who lowered his gaze subconsciously, found that there was still a bill on the letterhead.

"what is this?"

"The steam train ticket from Oak Town to the Royal Capital, the second-class box." The more Karl said, the more envious he became:

"In the envelope is a check for one thousand gold coins, and a letter of introduction from Brigadier General Ludwig, with the seal of the Franz family - he asked me to give this to you, and said that if the army is in trouble for you If so, you can take it to the Church of Order."

Letter of introduction?

An Sen, who picked up the envelope and looked at it, looked a little stunned.

Although from the moment he accepted the rank of lieutenant colonel, he knew that his future had been bound up with the Franz family and even the Church of Order, but... no matter how powerful he was, the archbishop of the church could not interfere with the army. arrangement?

With a little doubt, Anson put the envelope into his arms.

"The train departs at noon the day after tomorrow, and the name of the train is 'Steel Sky'--oh, yes, Ludwig reportedly arranged for someone to pick you up at the station, so be careful when you get on the train."

"Who?"

"He didn't tell me, you'll know when he says it."

Carl shrugged.

At the quiet wine table, the two were silent for a while.

This is the time to say goodbye.

Taking a long breath, Carl looked at Anson and raised the wine glass in his right hand:

"Congratulations to the victory."

An Sen, who also raised his glass, showed a faint smile on his face:

"Respect for living."

The two of them, looking at each other, raised their glasses and drank it.