I will be crowned king

In the early morning of July 8, one hundred and three years in the Saint's Calendar, the Red Moon was in the province, at Junqi Mountain.

Sunny, cloudless.

In the smoke-filled wilderness, more than 8,000 imperial line infantrymen spread out in array. Golden iris flowers reflected the moonlight and bloomed in the blue-white bayonet phalanx.

Directly in front of them, Fernando Herred, wearing a golden-blue cloak, was holding a saber. His bloodshot eyes scanned the excited, indifferent, nervous, and embarrassed faces in front of him.

From the expressions of these soldiers, he could clearly feel the deep uneasiness and anger - the battle around the Military Flag Mountain had been going on for almost ten days. Even the most confident Imperial soldiers could not help but feel anxious. You can realize how unfavorable the situation is to you.

All four legions were blocked by the enemy, and their logistics and retreat routes were cut off. Reinforcements were not seen for a long time. The Jialan legion responsible for breaking up the rear was ambushed. The situation of the important stronghold of Hongyue Town Fortress is unknown...

If an outsider were to look at it, no matter how tactful it was, they would probably think that this imperial army could only end in a disastrous defeat, right?

However, Fernando's army did not actually suffer heavy losses. Apart from the fact that the army was divided and its logistics was temporarily cut off, its strength and condition were even better than that of the Clovis army that "had the upper hand" - the latter was the real Seventy-Eight. If it falls, it will be difficult even to assemble an army of 10,000 people in the front.

If you want to reverse the situation, you must conquer the important high ground of Junqi Mountain. You cannot allow the Clovis people to continue to control the rhythm of the battlefield from a high position and take the initiative back into their own hands.

They...or Fernando Herred, have only one chance to lose the battle, or delay it until Anson Bach completely defeats the Garland Army. The only option left for him is to strive for a decent ending and avoid the annihilation of the entire army. .

In order to ensure a smooth battle, Fernando mobilized all his troops regardless of the consequences - leaving only more than 2,000 reserve soldiers to guard against the rear where the Clovis would attack. The remaining ten infantry regiments and the only artillery regiment were all put into battle. , the elite knights dismounted and acted as skirmishers, and all twelve cavalry cannons were pushed to the front line to increase their firepower.

Didn't the Clovis people play a trick and hide their cannons in their positions? Very good, now I am blasting into the sky with your position, how are you going to deal with it?

Of course, if you attack the prepared high ground from the bottom up, losses are inevitable; but as long as you capture the Flag Mountain, no matter how many tricks Anson Bach uses, it will be of no avail. He can only get out of the way obediently, otherwise he must Make plans to die with yourself on this nameless hill.

It is not difficult to tell from the Holy War in the New World that he is a smart man, and smart people... do not like to fight hard.

"Soldiers... I am Fernando Herred, your commander; in tonight's battle, I will fight side by side with you to capture the Flag Mountain position, crush the traitors in the world of order, and let the Clovis people in their own land Bleeding."

Under the night sky, Fernando's rich voice sounded: "It's useless to talk nonsense. It's five-thirty now. Before twelve o'clock, I want to see the emperor's golden iris military flag planted on the top of that mountain."

呲鎯——

Fernando took a deep breath and drew out his sword, pointing the tip of the sword at the top of the mountain with determination never to retreat:

"Long live the Emperor!"

"Long live——!!! Long live——!!!! Long live——!!!"

……………………

The dawn that pierced the dark night woke up the entire Flag Mountain camp. The Rangers soldiers who were huddled in the defense line poked their heads out in horror, staring in disbelief at Fernando's army that began to sweep down the hillside like a wave. The scale was far larger than that of Fernando's army. all previous attacks.

"This...what was supposed to come has come..."

Chief of General Staff Carl Bain, who was trying to remain calm, gritted his teeth, feeling helpless in his heart... Ring of Order, why is he always the one who encounters such troubles?

"Immediately assemble all the soldiers on the position, send signals to each position, and execute the next order!"

Karl, who turned around to give the order, looked at the officers and staff whose faces were full of uncontrollable fear, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart: "Have you informed me of all the instructions I gave you last night?"

"The notice has arrived! According to the wishes of the Chief of General Staff, every soldier has been informed of all your arrangements!" Several officers nodded tremblingly and responded: "But...is it really necessary to do this? I mean to let the soldiers If we know so much, will it cause any deviation in the plan?"

"Yes, yes, these soldiers are all vulgar and uncultured country people. Just let them obey the orders. If you give them too detailed instructions, they may cause some unexpected troubles. …”

"Ahem...Thank you very much for your advice, but this plan is really not so complicated that it will cause trouble if the truth is known!"

While stopping the frightened officers from chatting, Karl rolled his eyes wildly in his heart - What's wrong with the country people? What's wrong with the country people who didn't go to a military academy? I'm also a country boy who didn't go to school. Didn't I become the chief of general staff?

He really didn’t know what the “truth” was to hide: the enemy was at the end of its tether, and as long as the Junqishan camp could block Fernando’s final offensive, it would directly determine the outcome. The only problem was that this battle had a high probability. There are no reinforcements.

The reason is also very simple. Not only Fernando, but the Rangers who have persisted for ten days are actually already paper tigers.

Even if it is 100% sure that the target of the attack on the opposite side must be Junqi Mountain, the Ranger Corps does not have the capital to make trial and error. It will mobilize the troops stationed on the roads at various checkpoints to reinforce; if Fernando seizes the opportunity to break through, he will fight with anyone in the north or south When an imperial army successfully unites, it really falls short!

"I know everyone's worries, but now I am the chief of staff of the Ranger Corps. All decisions are made by me. If an accident occurs in the end, I will bear the responsibility." Carl sighed softly, his face A wry smile appeared on his face:

"Don't worry. If the situation is really out of control, surrender if you have to. You don't have to worry. I won't force you to die."

"But before we get to that point, I want everyone to fulfill your responsibilities and stick to your posts - at twelve o'clock, within six hours from now, the enemy must not be allowed to break through the outer defense line of the camp!"

"yes--!!!!"

The staff and officers secretly breathed a sigh of relief. They were not worried about anything else, but they were afraid that Anson Bach, the airborne commander-in-chief, would use Flag Mountain as a bait and sacrifice them for the final victory.

Now with Carl Bain's personal promise, the army that had put down its worries finally began to move. Under the cover of night, three infantry regiments quickly entered the outer positions and were on standby, preparing to meet the enemy's first round of offensive, and then...

"Boom!!!! Boom!!!! Boom!!!!"

The dazzling artillery flames tore through the night, and the thick fog sprayed out, carrying the screams of death, and exploded with loud noises in the Junqishan position.

Facing the poorly fortified peripheral positions, the only twelve cavalry cannons left in Fernando's hands exerted extraordinary power. Each round of four-pound solid bullets easily crushed the earth wall in front of them into powder. The soldiers hiding in the bunker at the back were not spared. As the collapsed earth and rocks turned into broken limbs, flesh and blood spread everywhere.

What followed closely was the iconic charging bugle of the empire.

"go ahead!"

Fernando Herred, who was holding the fleur-de-lis flag high, replaced the drummer and stood at the front of the phalanx column along with the flag bearers, with his blade reaching the Clovis unicorn flag on the position: "Charge!"

Before the frightened Clovis soldiers could recover from the bombardment, they saw several "jungles" lined with bayonets attacking them from the darkness in the light of fire.

"Everyone has it - shoot in formation!"

The officers' roars exploded behind the panicked soldiers. After hearing the order, they began to obey the instinct mechanically, raised the Leyden rifle in their hands, stood up straight and leaned out of the bunker.

Roaring sounds began to sound in the messy footsteps. The Imperial soldiers and knights who seized the opportunity chose to stop without hesitation and pulled the triggers towards the Clovis soldiers who were leaning out of the bunker.

The choking smoke began to spread, but the Clovis soldiers who were waiting in formation seemed to have forgotten the panic just now. They also ignored their colleagues who were shot and fell to the ground, and the back row quickly stepped forward to fill the casualties. Vacant, maintaining the front line, silently watching the approaching black shadow.

"One hundred meters—fire!"

Following the officers' orders, a thick milky fog swept across the entire position in an instant, and the dense gun flames were lit as smoothly as a pipe organ; followed closely by a storm of lead bullets, making the "Bayonets Jungle" The momentum of the charge stopped instantly, as if it had hit an invisible wall.

But...this degree of lag is not enough to stop Fernando's offensive.

The expressionless commander seemed unable to see the dense rain of volleys. He held up the fleur-de-lis military flag in his hand and strode towards the Military Flag Mountain camp without looking back.

He had no choice. As a commander deeply trusted by the emperor and a royal affiliate with no background, Fernando Herred simply could not afford the consequences of the annihilation of his entire army.

Either he becomes the victor who turns the tide of the war, or he dies gloriously on the battlefield - otherwise, even if the emperor wants to protect him, he will only become a weapon used by the princes and dignitaries to damage the imperial power, and end up with a notorious reputation that will last forever.

So Fernando Herred can only move forward, not backward.

"Imperials—forward!"

"go ahead!"

The roar that exploded from the chest echoed in the ears of the Imperial soldiers. The dense phalanx, which was delayed by the volley, stepped on the corpses of their companions and continued to charge at the Flag Mountain camp, hitting the Ranger Legion's defense line hard.

After withstanding several rounds of volleys and random gunfire, both sides launched a bayonet charge tacitly and decisively, and began a hand-to-hand battle around the earthen wall that had been blasted away by cavalry artillery.

On the chaotic frontier battlefield, no one of the soldiers from both sides who sacrificed their lives noticed that the sky was gradually getting brighter. The golden-red morning light swept away the gloom on the Junqishan battlefield and shattered the darkness.

"This guy Fernando really put all his cards on the line..."

Standing in the camp fortress, the stunned Karl stared at the dark figure below, and he was so shocked that he could not speak.

Although according to Anson's speculation, he did guess that the opponent was likely to make a desperate move, but guessing it was one thing. Seeing with his own eyes an army of nearly 10,000 people swept away his little army of less than 3,000 people, and was about to run out of ammunition and food. Camp, that's another story.

This kind of desperate determination and the charisma that can make subordinates risk their lives are not something you can just talk about.

"Chief of General Staff, this..."

The legion staff officer who had just breathed a sigh of relief tensed up his nerves again, as if he was frightened: "Otherwise, we should consider it and ask for help from the surroundings..."

"Asking for help? There's no need at all!" Before the other party could finish speaking, Karl decisively said, "Everything is within the commander-in-chief's plan!"

"Can we gain the upper hand with more numbers? We are guarding the high ground. If we can directly crush it with more troops, shouldn't the opponent have taken action a long time ago? Can we wait until now? The terrain of Junqi Mountain itself is doomed. No matter how many troops there are, the area of ​​attack that can be launched is extremely limited."

"In this case, no matter how much troops are invested, it is just a tactic that wastes soldiers' lives and sacrifices in vain. This is ironclad evidence that the enemy has reached the end of his strength and is completely helpless against us!" As he spoke, Karl deliberately raised his voice:

"Yes, as long as we persist a little longer, it will be easy to find that the enemy's offensive is no different from the previous ones. And when they themselves discover this fact, it will be the beginning of a complete defeat!"

"Oh?" The staff officer, who had been in a state of decadence just now, suddenly said, "Really?!"

"It's absolutely true!" Karl lied without changing his face: "This is an absolutely perfect plan formulated by the Commander-in-Chief himself. How dare you have any objections?!"

"I'm... I'm really sorry. The main reason is that the enemy's offensive was too fierce, which made me feel unreasonably shaken." The staff officer's face showed a look of shame: "Unlike you, Chief of General Staff, no matter what the situation , will not have the slightest doubt about the Commander-in-Chief’s plan.”

"Well, this is exactly where you are immature. You are easily blinded by the illusions you see with your own eyes. Unlike me... who have rich experience and have already mastered the skills of seeing the essence through phenomena."

The corner of Karl's mouth twitched slightly, but he still forced himself to calm down and patted the staff officer's shoulder: "Go and fight. Only more battles can help you develop the vision that a qualified officer should have."

"yes!"

The encouraged chief of staff turned around and left without seeing the confident chief of general staff rolling his eyes in the distance.

"Ten hours... I can only buy you so much time at most." Karl sighed exhausted, talking to himself, and took out a cigarette case from his jacket pocket:

"If it's too late, only the Ring of Order knows what will happen!"