I will be crowned king

"boom--!!!!"

Amid the explosions that shook the earth, the city of Clovis, shrouded in thick fog, finally ushered in its dawn.

As the blockade that blocked the outer city fell, a flood of people began to pour into the inner city from one street after another; some of them were wearing factory uniforms, some were small shop owners, some were beggars and vagrants who had been homeless on the streets for a long time, and some Wearing cheap ready-to-wear formal clothes, they belong to a certain trade union with a decent income...

But their expressions were surprisingly unanimous.

Beyond indifference, there is anger—anger for losing one’s job, anger for being displaced, anger for one’s family being destroyed in the riots, anger for being turned away from the welfare home…

So when the Old Gods took to the streets to shout loudly, when gangsters smashed open warehouses and set fire to factories, these people did not hesitate to join the team heading towards the inner city.

Why are we displaced while those people have a place to live?

Why were we taken away from our land and driven into factories, working exhaustingly but unable to feed our families, or even ourselves?

Why do we usually work diligently for our employer, but when something goes wrong, we are kicked out?

Why can they live carefree in castles and mansions, while we have to face being robbed, rioted, stolen, murdered all day long... Why is no one protecting us?

Why?

We need an answer! A promise! A statement!

If they can't give it...

Then they will have to pay the price!

The angry crowd poured into the inner city of Clovis like a tide, and their mixed shouts and roars sounded like earth-shaking thunder.

With the influx of people, one house after another was set on fire, and one shop after another was burned; the closed door was forcibly smashed from the outside, and the shivering people hiding behind were forcibly dragged out of the door, begging for mercy. He was tortured to death and screamed, and his belongings were looted.

In the chaos, in addition to the gangs and rioters from the outer city, the more violent perpetrators and those who ransacked the streets were the dispersed Guards and mercenaries of the security company.

In order to prove their strength to the royal family and the Privy Council, the Guards dispersed their troops throughout the city of Clovis and finally suffered the consequences of doing so: although at 4:30 in the morning, the news of the fall of the first barricade had been sent In the hands of the commander of the Guards, but until dawn, the entire Guards was still in disarray.

This is not because the capabilities of the Guards are limited, but because the troops are really too scattered - only platoon-level troops of all sizes are scattered in all key streets. Not to mention asking them to immediately establish a defense line, but to let the entire city It is a very huge project for all the troops to gather at the designated location.

And when these small-scale defenders faced rioters hundreds or thousands of times their number, they collapsed unsurprisingly; and a considerable number of soldiers calmly allowed themselves to escape after fleeing for their lives. He became a member of the rioters and used his actions to illustrate the truth of "if you can't beat them, join them."

A similar situation also occurs with mercenaries of security companies, and they are even more decisive than the Guards - they have long maintained community and street security, and they know the financial status of each household far better than thugs and gangs. .

In the streets burned by the fire, the defeated soldiers smashed open doors one after another with their rifle butts amidst the screams, and pointed their guns at the rich people they usually looked up to, leaving one after another behind. Ruins full of corpses.

With the complete collapse of order, countless tragedies were staged one after another. The fire and billowing smoke also continued to cover and extend into the inner city as the crowds poured into the city. Soon, they were surrounded by streets and long alleys. The flow of people spread to more surrounding neighborhoods.

The towering clock tower, the integrated apartment buildings, the bustling shops...all turned into ashes with only broken walls.

This situation lasted until the thugs approached the square of Baihu Park. More than two thousand defeated soldiers retreating from all directions, under the command of a Guards colonel officer, established a relatively stable defensive position and successfully established a defensive position. Several light artillery pieces arrived.

The rioters who were traveling unimpeded were finally resisted. Angry shouts and gunshots filled every crowded street. The rioters faced the continuous gunfire and artillery fire, and were encouraged by the Old Gods who were mixed in the crowd. Down, he rushed towards the temporary fortifications desperately.

Dark red blood flowed freely amidst the screams and screams. Within a few minutes, the ground around the square was covered with corpses; hot and slightly red solid bullets screamed out of the barrel and rushed towards the rioters. of flesh and blood.

With every gunshot, rows and rows of figures fell down; with every explosion, countless mutilated limbs and pieces of flesh exploded into a dark red mist of blood among the crowd.

Although the number of rioters is still dozens of times that of the defenders, their thin flesh and blood bodies are just a rapidly increasing number of casualties in front of the army that still maintains complete organization; among the fanatical rioters, there are also many people He quickly calmed down in the face of the horrific casualties and chose to sneak away quietly.

However, the only location with a solid defense was Baihu Park Square. More garrison points were still occupied by the Guards, who were severely lacking in troops and firepower. They were struggling to hold on in front of the rioters who were nearly a hundred times their number, as if Like a rock in the waves, it could be shattered to pieces at any time.

The rioters, who had no organization and no discipline, could only use their flesh and blood and simple weapons to fight against the rifles, grenades and artillery in the hands of the Guards; the real threat to death to the Guards was the people mixed in with the crowd. The spellcasters among them.

Amidst the billowing smoke, the burning flames have formed an irregular circle in the city of Clovis. A quarter of the inner city is already covered with collapsed houses and streets covered with ashes; the remaining quarter Three were wrapped up in it, and they were repeatedly jostled amidst the fighting of blood and fire, the roar of rifles and artillery.

Outside this purgatory, the streets seemed to have been crushed by a giant dragon in deathly silence. The people who had escaped from death carefully opened the door, and the scene in front of them immediately made their faces turn ashen.

Within the "Ring of Fire", the Guards who tried their best to maintain several important transportation hubs and streets could not really stop the frenzied rioters; tens of thousands of people were actually mobilized by the Old Gods organizations and gangs. The crowd has bypassed these lines of defense in streets large and small and is approaching their real target.

"Osteria Palace?!"

"Yes, according to the latest information we just received, at 8:33, that is, five minutes ago, at least 5,000 people have appeared outside the Osteria Palace!"

In the prayer hall, Little Clerk Alan Dawn stepped on three ammunition boxes and stood in front of the map hanging on the wall, stuttering to answer a stunned question from a Storm Regiment officer.

The secretary, who was always smiling and calm at all times, not only stuttered when speaking, but also had a look of extreme fear on his face. His legs were shaking when he stepped on the ammunition box, and he asked Lisa to stand behind the map. So be ready to catch him at any time.

"According to information sent by the Guards, the thugs have completely captured the blockade in the outer city and occupied the twelve outermost blocks and main roads in the inner city, and people are still pouring in. Come!"

"A rough estimate, it's definitely over 100,000 people!"

As soon as the words fell, the entire hall gasped.

"In order to cope with this extreme situation - if you have a long object, can you lend me... ah, thank you - to maintain the security of Clovis City as much as possible..."

The trembling little clerk took the bayonet from Lisa's hand and gestured on the map to everyone in the hall:

"The Commander of the Guards has gradually withdrawn the main force to the Ostria Palace. First of all, he will ensure the safety of His Majesty Carlos II and... uh... the distinguished members of the Privy Council who happen to be staying in the palace." being threatened."

"The biggest impact on us is undoubtedly the two thousand Guards stationed at Baihu Park Square. They blocked most of the attacks in this direction; once they retreat, I'm afraid we will have to fight those thugs. ”

"Can't we find a way to make them stay? We can provide them with ammunition, or we can garrison with them!" the deputy company commander of a skirmisher company couldn't help but ask.

The little clerk's face showed a bit of embarrassment.

"Actually..." He wiped the cold sweat from his face and returned the bayonet to Lisa:

"The person who told us this information was the colonel stationed at Baihu Park Square; and the reason why they told us such important information was because they were preparing to retreat."

"When will they retreat and will there be time to stop them?"

"They are going to... uh..." The little clerk lowered his head and glanced at his pocket watch:

"We retreated at 8:05, which is thirty minutes ago - so it's definitely too late."

After the words fell, everyone fell into silence.

When there was deathly silence in the hall, Anson stood up slowly, walked to the map and took down the little secretary who was so scared that he could not stand still. He forced himself to look at everyone calmly:

"Now, in the name of the commander of the storm group, I give you the final order!"

"There are eight companies in the regiment, including the 1st and 2nd Private Companies and Skirmishers. Four companies cooperate with the artillery company to garrison Red Brick Street; the Grenadier Company and the 3rd and 4th Private Companies serve as reserves and prepare to fall on Red Brick Street. I will act as a substitute and cover the rest of the group's retreat into the cathedral!"

"Our mission is to hold on to the cathedral for at least sixteen hours from now on. Clovis Cathedral must not fall before midnight on March 2nd. Do you understand?!"

"clear--!!!!"

He was answered by a uniform shout.

The Storm Regiment is an extremely young army from top to bottom, which is both a disadvantage and an advantage; these young officers who have just stepped out of the military academy, like all graduates, treat the first job they get with all enthusiasm .

The salary is comparable to that of the Guards, the excellent benefits and the lack of understanding of war allow them to execute every order of Anson Bach without hesitation.

At the end of the meeting, the officers left one after another. Only Anson, who was still standing in front of the map, and three inquisitors from the Truth Seeking Order who were pretending to be officers were left in the spacious hall.

"Are you really going to do this?"

Cole Dorian, who could never bear it, glanced at Serra and Lawrence, who were still silent, and looked at Anson with suspicion:

"Or let me put it another way, do you really think the Black Mage will do what you want?"

"Yes, he will definitely do it." Anson's face showed a confident smile:

"This is the only chance he has to take away the "Great Magic Book" from Clovis Cathedral without really alarming the Church of Order."

"Even if I'm not wrong, he should have made countless attempts in the past few years - either sneaking into the church to steal, or buying the help of some powerful people with "channels", or simply giving up on Clovis. City, turn your target elsewhere."

"But in the end these attempts failed, so a huge and exaggerated plan was hatched in the heart of the black mage..."

"Causing a large enough riot in Clovis City, it was so large that everyone could ignore that a spellcaster walked into the cathedral openly and took away the "Great Magic Book" in front of everyone."

Cole Dorian was stunned, and suddenly thought of a question: "But then the Church of Order will never let go of the Old God Sect in Clovis City. Wouldn't there be no place for him here?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he felt the female judge next to him looking at him with her usual look at a fool.

"Yes, you are right." Anson nodded, resisting the urge to laugh and explained to him with a serious face:

"But once the "Great Magic Book" is obtained, he will have no reason to continue to stay in Clovis City, right?"

The Lesser Inquisitor suddenly realized.

"And when do you think he'll show up?"

Laurence Bernat, who had a hoarse voice, asked.

"It's hard to say, but there are two possibilities." Anson shrugged:

"One is to show up while we are fighting the rioters, and the other is to show up after it is over and all of us are exhausted."

"Then when do you want him to show up?" Cole Dorian couldn't help but asked curiously.

Anson raised his eyes, hesitated for a few seconds and then answered seriously:

"I hope he doesn't show up."

Cole Dorian: "..."

Captain Lawrence, on the other hand, looked at Anson calmly and couldn't help but nod slightly - he had the same idea as Anson.

"The biggest uncertainty in the entire operation is not how many rioters there will be, but the true strength of the Black Mage - in order to ensure that he can take away the "Great Magic Book", he will never show any mercy or hesitation; once He has truly become a blasphemous mage, and we are all doomed."

Anson took a deep breath, his serious expression still filled with the same confidence as before: "Of course, even if that happens, there is no need to worry, because..."

"Because your plan is so perfect."

Ignoring Anson, who was speechless, the expressionless Sierra Vigil spoke lightly.