A Tale of Strategies For the Throne

Another day passed, and the heavy horn sounded again on the battlefield, and the corpses dropped by the Gastad people on the ground once again receded from the city wall like a tide.

The tall city wall still stands firmly here, blocking Aaron Landis' enemies and protecting Aaron Landis' people.

Black blood precipitated on the city wall, which was accumulated layer by layer from countless blood splattered on the wall in the past few days. No matter how strong it is, the boulders continuously hit by slingshots from a distance will still make it cratered.

However, even if it is stained with a layer of blood and has many potholes, those not only do not erase the majesty of the city wall, but make it more vicissitudes and solemn heaviness.

Time is passing by, but the royal city of Aaron Landis still stands proudly on the earth.

The Gastadians were defeated again and again before it.

And it remains standing.

After receiving the news of the fall of Judas City, Tire no longer wasted time and began an all-out attack on the city the next day.

The offensive was fierce, often lasting a whole day, without giving the Aaron Landis any chance to breathe.

However, several days passed and there was still no progress in the siege.

In addition to the sufficient town garrison, Aaron Landis used less than 10,000 city defenders to resist the Gastad army that was more than ten times his own size.

Under the command of Heimos, they did not give the Gastadians any opportunity to take advantage of them.

"Heimos... deserves the name of the 'Black Knight'. He is ruthless to his enemies and ruthless to himself."

The siege failed again, Tier said with emotion.

At first, he was a little surprised by Heimos' strategy of "strengthening the wall and clearing the country".

Originally, the defenders of those towns were somewhat troublesome on their way to the royal city and would bring them some small losses. However, when Heimos did this, they allowed them to march straight in without any encounters on the road.

Some of Gastard's generals even laughed at the black knight, saying that he was timid before fighting. Before they could fight, the black knight who had been praised to the sky before was reduced to a coward.

Although he did not think that a strong man like Heimos did this because of cowardice, but for a moment he did not understand what the purpose of Heimos's actions was.

It wasn't until he received the news that Rudas City was recaptured by the Crown Prince's troops that he reacted suddenly.

The road transporting food for the army was cut off from behind!

And they marched all the way, but because Heimos forced all the residents of those towns to move away with supplies, they didn't plunder any food at all.

I didn't think much of it at first, but when the crown prince cut off his retreat, Heimos' seemingly cowardly and self-destructive approach immediately took full advantage.

The food and grass in the rear are cut off, and the army is surrounded by empty areas, making it difficult to plunder supplies. Once the army's food is exhausted, the consequences...

Tire originally wanted to capture some Aaron Landis from the surrounding towns, tie them up as shields, and force them to open the way for the army to attack the city.

If the defenders don't have the heart to attack, they can attack the city wall.

This method worked almost every time when attacking Karnar, and even the royal city of Karnar was destroyed because of this move.

However, Huymos emptied all the nearby towns and drove all the Aaronandis far away, so Tire could not capture anyone at all.

...The two princes seemed to have an invisible understanding between each other, so they joined forces to deal with him severely.

…

Although the defense of the royal city is still stable, the leader of the Royal Knights still looks bad at this moment.

"I heard that almost no one from Prince Garlan responded to his summons."

He was sitting there wearing armor, and his angular square face sunk down, giving people a sense of power.

"Those people who act according to the circumstances must have seen that Aaron Landis was in a bad situation, so they all stood still and waited for the opportunity to take action! Doesn't Aaron Landis even have a loyal minister now? Yet--?"

"Not entirely."

Although Xie Muer also had a sullen face, he still managed to speak impartially.

"There are also some people who are not loyal enough, but who have doubts about Prince Gallan and dare not rashly entrust the army to him. After all, it is the first time that the prince has entered the battlefield and has not established enough prestige to make it difficult for others to do so. convince……"

At this point, the priest fell silent.

He silently raised his hand and gently flicked away a speck of dust that had just fallen from the shoulder of his clean priestly robe.

In Aaron Landis, it is difficult for a king without outstanding military exploits to make everyone surrender.

According to the original plan, King Camos planned to take the crown prince to the battlefield starting from next spring, allowing him to slowly accumulate merits and establish enough prestige among everyone bit by bit...

Who knows, in an instant, everything will be turned upside down.

The priest's silence made the leader of Sage, who was still angry, also fall silent.

Indeed, not to mention those people who are just like grass on the wall, even loyal ministers will definitely feel sorry for a young crown prince who has almost never seen him, has never really proven himself on the battlefield, and is not even a minor yet. doubt.

It's natural that they would be hesitant.

Loyalty does not mean being foolishly loyal.

Sighing, Sage raised his head, looked across, and couldn't help but frown.

"Your Highness Heymos, you don't seem worried at all."

He asked unhappily as he looked at the prince who was sitting at the table, finishing his dinner quietly and slowly wiping his fingers with a white handkerchief.

"Nothing to worry about."

Putting down the handkerchief, Heimos picked up the hot tea on the side and took a sip.

"That's Garlan."

he said, understatement.

His answer stunned Sage for a long time, and he was speechless for a moment, not knowing how to answer.

…………

……………………

For three whole days after Garlan issued the summons, the city of Rudas remained quiet, with no one coming.

As a result, the so-called summoning order of the crown prince became a joke in the eyes of those who secretly watched the crown prince's every move.

The news even spread like wildfire, spread quickly to Aaron Landis, and became a joke among nobles in other countries after dinner.

There are many people who ridicule the crown prince's self-righteousness, ridicule him for being young, and ridicule his whims.

Wise? Upright? Kind?

These things are useless in a war between the weak and the strong, and powerful forces can easily trample them to pieces.

The so-called 'wise prince' can only be at a loss on the battlefield, and he doesn't even have the ability to convince others.

…

Not only the people outside were watching the joke, but everyone in Rudas City also became anxious as time passed.

All day long, Xinyas was wandering around the room like an ant on a hot pot.

In the evening, he finally couldn't bear it anymore and rushed to Garlan with an angry face.

"Brother! I'm going to catch all those disobedient guys and bring them to you!"

he shouted angrily.

How dare those bastards disobey his brother, it was unbelievable!

You must know that as soon as he received the summons from his elder brother, he led his troops and rushed over day and night without saying a word.

Xinyas took it for granted that as soon as Garlan's summons was issued, everyone should rush over immediately like him.

did not expect--

Although no one came to Rudas City for three whole days, there was no trace of anxiety on Garlan's face.

Facing the angry Xinyas, he smiled and threw a big pear in the fruit plate on the table next to him.

"Eat this to reduce the fire."

Garlan said with a smile.

"……oh."

Seeing his elder brother smiling at him, the sturdy young man who was furious a moment ago scratched his head, sat down obediently, and nibbled on a big pear beside Garlan like a big baby.

Garlan sat, turned his head, and looked far through the window at the silent city wall where no one was entering or leaving.

He looked very calm, without the anxiety that others had guessed, but no one could guess what he was thinking at the moment.

At this moment, on the city wall, Kehos and Tewa were patrolling.

Since that night, in order to avoid accidents happening again, one of Kehos, Tewa, and Xinyas must be with Prince Gallan at all times.

Now that Xinyas was following Gallan, they came out to organize the army and inspect the city wall.

Along the way, Tewa looked at the quiet city wall and was also worried.

After walking for a while, he finally couldn't help himself and spoke to Caijos.

"Lord Kayhos, the prince is doing this... is he a little too anxious?"

he asked with a frown.

"Well... I say this not because I think the prince is incapable... We all know the prince's ability, but others don't."

Although Tewa doesn't like the malicious ridicule of the prince from the outside world, there is one thing he agrees with.

That is, the so-called reputation of being wise has no role in war.

"Do you also think that no one will respond to the prince's call?"

"Well, I just think... we understand how powerful Prince Gallan is, but this power cannot be reflected on the battlefield. His prestige is not enough, so..."

The weak eat the strong.

Although he recognized the prince's mental strength, on the battlefield, only strength was everything.

Just like everyone in the world will only pray to the God of War and not to Shamash on the battlefield.

Tevar's hesitant words didn't make Kehos angry.

He glanced at the slave-born general behind him, raised the corner of his mouth, and smiled.

"'On the battlefield, only strong power can make everyone yearn for and surrender'... It's not just you, I'm afraid everyone in the world thinks so now."

He said, looking calm.

Tewa waited for him to continue, but Caihos suddenly closed his mouth, turned his head, and glanced outside the city wall.

"Someone is coming," he said.

Tewa was startled and followed Kehos' gaze.

On the horizon, I saw an army with a somewhat messy formation heading towards Rudas City in the setting sun.

The first army to enter Rudas City caused a lot of discussion among the people who came to watch.

The formation of this army is scattered, and people are gathered in twos and threes or scattered. They don't even have uniform attire. Some are wearing leather armor, some are wearing armor, some are carrying bows, some are carrying swords, and some are carrying swords. The ones carrying goads or even hammers looked messy.

Even the people of Rudas City could see that this was a chaotic motley army.

After waiting for three or four days, an army like this arrived?

What combat effectiveness can such a miscellaneous army have?

The appearance of this miscellaneous army made them disappointed. After looking at each other, they shook their heads and dispersed.

"mercenary?"

After receiving Kaihos's report, Garlan asked in surprise.

"I didn't hire any mercenaries."

Mercenaries are irregular troops who help the employer fight or do things after collecting their property.

Since mercenary groups only work for money and have no loyalty, they are an uncertain factor on the battlefield. Therefore, on formal large-scale national battlefields, very few countries hire these corps to participate in battles.

Since the mercenary group is not a regular army, even if it participates in a war between countries, it will be treated as an outcast and cannon fodder, so they will almost never accept employment in such a war.

"Prince, the leader of this mercenary group wants to see you."

"I know, let him in."

Garlan was also a little curious as to why the mercenary group, which had no profit and could not afford to go early, took the initiative to come to Rudas City.

As soon as the leader entered the door, Garlan was startled.

It's not him, it's her.

The leader of this mercenary group was actually a woman who looked to be in her twenties.

The young female leader had clean, short hair and was wearing close-fitting flexible leather armor. She had a long sword on her back and a dagger stuck on her thigh belt.

Although she is a woman, she exudes a fierce aura and looks heroic.

When she saw Garlan, the sharp-eyed female leader fell into a trance. She looked as if she was remembering something, and her eyes softened when she looked at Garlan.

She leaned over and knelt in front of Garlan, looking up at him with soft eyes.

She said: "Your Highness, please allow me to kiss you."

"ah?"

Garlan was startled by the female leader who spoke such bold words when they first met.

The female leader smiled.

"It's not your face, how dare I offend you, I just want to kiss your hand."

She said with a smile, then reached out and took Garlan's right hand in both hands.

She closed her eyes and kissed the back of Garlan's hand with an extremely pious attitude.

Garlan was stunned for a moment.

Something flashed through his mind. The female leader kissing him with her eyes closed overlapped with the girl kissing the back of his hand deep in his memory.

"...Kelly? Are you Keli from Vinal City?"

The female leader let go of Garlan's hand and looked up at Garlan with a smile on her face.

"I'm glad you still remember me, my prince."

At this time, even Kehos, who was standing aside, showed a look of astonishment and carefully looked at the female leader in front of him.

She is... the little girl who was rescued from the cult by the prince?

"Like my uncle, I became a mercenary."

"Because of the relationship between cults and floods, many of the children you rescued became orphans. However, due to your kind deeds, a temple was built there to adopt us and prevent us from being displaced."

"When everyone grew up, I formed this mercenary group with some of them to make a living."

Kneeling on the ground, Klee put a hand on her chest and stared at her prince.

Her eyes were gentle yet firm.

"My prince, you protected me when I was young and protected everyone. Now, we have all grown up, so it is our turn."

"Although it is just a weak mercenary group with only a little strength."

she says,

"But, Your Highness, we also want to use this meager power to protect you."

Kelly lowered her head and said she was a little nervous.

She knew that the prince might not see this little bit of her power.

But she still wanted to use all her strength to protect the prince, so she rushed here desperately.

"……good."

The sound coming from above shocked Keri, and she raised her head excitedly.

The boy smiled at her.

The smile is the same as the bright smile of the child many years ago, and it has not changed in any way.

"Kelly, I'm glad that you are willing to lend me your power."

"...don't dare to take it seriously."

Kelly lowered her head and answered.

There seemed to be a warmth surging in her chest at this moment.

very nice.

she thinks.

Her prince hadn't changed at all.

very nice……

At this moment, a local soldier from Rudas City suddenly rushed over.

"Lord Kayhos, someone is coming to the city gate again."

"The people... the people are scared," he gasped.

"Huh? Are you scared? That army just arrived and disturbed the people?"

Sinas immediately said dissatisfied.

"My lord brother has clearly issued an order that no one is allowed to disturb the people."

"No, they didn't disturb the people, but everyone was scared."

"what are you talking about?"

"Lion..." the soldier stuttered, "a big lion has come in."

Garlan and Kayhos looked at each other and immediately walked outside quickly.

…

Garlan hurriedly rode to the city gate.

As soon as he got off his horse and took a few steps forward, a huge creature suddenly jumped from the front and threw him to the ground.

The people watching nearby screamed in surprise, but everyone following Garlan remained calm.

Immediately afterwards, those people who screamed saw the big lion that threw their crown prince to the ground, rubbing Garlan's head and chest vigorously, and licking Garlan's face from time to time. Two times.

No matter how you look at it, it looks like a big cat acting coquettishly, completely losing the majestic look it had when it was standing there just now.

Even though he screamed twice, the sound didn't have the momentum of the king of beasts roaring through the mountains and forests, and it still sounded a bit aggrieved.

The frightened people finally thought about it.

There has always been a rumor about their crown prince.

Rumor has it that Prince Garlan was the favored son of the sun god Shamash, so Shamash sent his own lion to guard the prince.

Therefore, Prince Garlan has always had a lion beside him.

Nerga was still rubbing against Garlan's body aggrievedly, when a chubby little fat man ran over and jumped in front of Garlan.

"Ah ah~~Prince, I am so worried about you."

Completely ignoring that this was in public, Tal opened his mouth and started howling.

"I said, why don't you take me with you when you come out? You see you have lost a lot of weight. You must not have eaten or slept well. Mr. Caijos is so careless and careless. He can't take good care of you at all."

Looking at the prince who had lost a lot of weight, Tal felt terribly distressed.

The blond knight lying innocently next to him touched his nose and pretended not to hear.

"Tal, how did you and Nerga come here?"

"Ah, by the way, Prince, I did what you asked me to do. I gave the things to His Highness Heimos, and then Sir Shermour arranged for someone to send them over."

As soon as Garlan asked, Tarr stopped talking about criticizing Kehos's carelessness and started talking incessantly.

"Also, don't worry, Nerga came here in a carriage and didn't scare anyone."

Having said this, he patted his chest hard.

"By the way, Prince, I'm here. Don't be afraid. I'm here. If anyone wants to harm you, I will definitely kill him first... Uh-huh! It hurts, it hurts! Let go!"

A hand reached out from behind, grabbed the little fat man's head, and threw Tal aside as he screamed in pain.

"You're still in high spirits, Rory can't stop talking."

The man who threw Tal aside said dissatisfiedly.

He was a slender young man, with slightly long dark oblique bangs falling from the corners of his eyes.

He has a handsome face and peach blossom eyes. A slight squint of his eyes makes people feel that romantic charm is gathered in the corners of his eyes.

He wore a short cyan robe with a waistband, and no other leather armor except hand guards, foot guards, and a breast protector on his left chest.

Garlan was a little surprised when he saw this handsome young man.

"Schulos?"

The black-haired bard leaned forward with a smile and stretched out his hand to Garlan, who was thrown to the ground by the lion, with a polite and elegant gesture.

"It's been a while, Your Highness."

He used his sweet and melodious voice and the accent that Garlan was most familiar with, speaking like a chant.

"I'm glad that the goddess Avdormir still protects you and keeps you as beautiful as ever."

Holding Shulos' hand, Garlan stood up.

The familiar tone of the bard made him laugh.

"Are you here to help me?"

"Have you forgotten? Before we left, I once said that no matter where I am, as long as I hear your call, I will come back to you immediately."

"Really? I'm very happy. I have a sharpshooter by my side."

"No, my Crown Prince is not a marksman."

The bard smiled slyly.

"Don't you think there are too many people here?"

Following the direction Shulos pointed, Garlan looked over and couldn't help blinking.

In addition to the dozens of cavalry escorting Tal and Nerga, there were more than a hundred people standing there. When Garlan looked over, they all bowed their heads and knelt.

The temperament of these more than a hundred people is very similar to Shulos, and most of them are dressed as rangers.

"Your Highness, they are all friends I have made during my travels over the years. Most of them are rangers traveling on the mainland. You know, birds of a feather flock together. Although the friends I have made are a little worse than me, they are all very capable. It’s still pretty good.”

Shulos flipped his hair skillfully and handsomely, showing off triumphantly.

Bards are also called rangers.

As people who walk alone on the mainland, their individual combat effectiveness is generally not weak, especially those well-known rangers, whose individual combat effectiveness can be considered top-notch.

For example, Shulos is known as a marksman among the rangers.

In fact, not all of the more than a hundred people who came here were Shulos' friends. He just called a dozen of his friends on the way over after hearing the news that Garlan had issued the summons order.

Unexpectedly, those well-known rangers heard the news and rushed over from various places.

Regarding the invasion of their own country by the Gastards and the fall of the country, these rangers, who although their combat power was not weak, also possessed the perceptual thinking of literary youths, had long been filled with anger and grief.

It's just that they are all stragglers, and they have no way to resist the invaders. They can only watch the Gastards wreaking havoc in their own country.

Later, when I heard that the famous sharpshooter Shulos among the rangers was going to the Crown Prince's command with his friends, they all rushed over without saying a word, bringing their own rations.

Their purpose is simple, to drive the invaders out of their own country.

Garlan looked at the group of people and touched his chin.

So, can the ranger unit Shulos summoned for him be used as a special forces unit?

He thought to himself as he glanced at the rangers who looked capable and powerful at first glance.