I will be crowned king

South of the Dawn Mountains, in the Republic of Carindia, Green Valley.

Earth-shattering roars, shouts one after another, burning houses and broken city walls, collapsed towers and streets filled with corpses and flags, billowing smoke that filled the earth, and black smoke columns rising straight into the sky...

All these together constitute the Green Valley battlefield at this moment.

After experiencing the disastrous defeat at the border fortress, the four thousand Carindia troops who fled all the way and collapsed, were finally regrouped in pieces in the Green Valley, and re-established a defense line on the spot.

After learning the bad news on the front line, the Carindia nobles were panicked. They gathered four thousand troops from here and there and rushed to the Green Valley for reinforcements. At the same time, they sent people to the Storm Division base in White Tower City to get According to the previous treaty given by Anson to the Principality of Paya, the surrender was required.

Although this request is extremely excessive, once it is agreed to, it will inevitably cause Carindia to bleed; but once it is annexed by the Principality of Aiden, it is not a problem that money can solve - Aiden, who is already strong, brazenly tore it apart. Breaking the alliance and launching a full-scale invasion at all costs, even a fool knows what he wants.

On one side are the Clovis people who plan to cut leeks, and on the other side are the Aiden people who plan to soak the roots of the leeks, level the fields and plant their own leeks - all Carindia nobles who still want to survive know what to do. Which one to choose.

On the other hand, after conquering the border fortress of Carindia, the 13,000-strong Ayden Army held on to the tail of the defeated troops and rushed directly into the hinterland of Carindia, visiting fortresses and transportation hubs along the way. Either they fled with the defeated troops, or they surrendered at the speed of light after being beaten head-on.

Until the Green Valley, the Aiden Legion, which had been marching forward, finally encountered some decent resistance, but it was only "decent".

The defeated troops of Carindia retreated to the Green Valley on June 7th, and the vanguard of the Aiden army had arrived outside the city on June 8th; the rushing Aiden people had not even established a stable siege position, and they were in a hurry. Patiently, they launched an attack on the town.

The Carindians, who were caught off guard, had no time to reorganize the city defenses. Not to mention the artillery positions and deep trenches, they did not even dig out decent trenches. They were immediately attacked by the pursuing Aydin army.

On June 9, the day after Eden's army arrived in Green Valley, the outer city wall was declared to have collapsed; the two armies, who were also preparing in a hurry, were in the narrow streets, churches, warehouses, the governor's house... amid the collapsed walls and burning buildings. During this period, a battle for the town began that was more brutal than the battle on the plains.

"Bang! Bang—! Bang—!"

In the streets filled with gunpowder smoke, Aiden's soldiers, who had long been red-eyed with blood, held rifles with bayonets in their hands, howling and launched a round at the barricades made of rubble, baggage boxes, carriages and rags. charge.

The Carindians, who were limited in number and, more importantly, had extremely low training standards, could only huddle behind the broken bunkers and fire rounds of messy volleys amidst the hoarse shouts of several veterans.

There is nothing that can be done about it - if the broken troops and new recruits are allowed to rush out and engage in a bayonet-to-bayonet battle with the "Gatekeeper of the Vast Land" Aiden's regiment... the consequences of this have already happened once in the border fortress.

In this era when the accuracy of rifles is still ambiguous, the stage that best demonstrates the vast difference between new recruits and well-trained veterans who have experienced war is not a free fire or a volley from fifty meters away, but within three steps. bayonet charge.

Facing the lead bullets splashing from behind the barricades, the Aydin soldiers holding high the Iron Fist flag were like waves rushing towards the coastline. They fell down row by row amidst screams. In just a few minutes, on the streets, There were piles of corpses left on the ground.

No matter how low-level the soldiers of Carindia are, as long as they can put the lead bullet into the barrel, pull the trigger and shoot it at the enemy, the crowded and narrow streets can even help them "correct the trajectory" - even if it is a stray bullet. , as long as it can hit something casually, it can also pose a fatal threat.

After leaving behind more than a dozen corpses, Knight Aiden, who could not bear such heavy casualties, waved his war flag and ordered to retreat, and the tide of troops began to disperse to the left and right of the streets.

At the same time, before the exhausted Carindians hiding behind the barricade had time to cheer, a sharp-eyed veteran carefully picked up the edge of the barricade and poked his head out. The only clean eyeball on his face covered with blood and mud suddenly suddenly appeared. shrink.

"Artillery incoming! Everyone - get down!"

"boom--!!!!"

The moment the exclamation rang out, a fire lit up at the other end of the street; six-pound lead bullets spurted out from the gunfire and struck them with a scream that ripped through the air.

In an instant, the simple barricade was blown to pieces by artillery shells. The shattered rubble and smoke mixed with minced meat and blood sprayed into the sky like a geyser, and then sparsely smashed to the ground.

When the roaring stopped, the veteran lying on the ground raised his panicked eyes - only a few ruins of the barricade were left, and a few soldiers who wanted to escape were torn into pieces when the bunker was blown to pieces. … Less than two-thirds of the remaining soldiers were alive, and all of them were injured. Some were even pressed under the rubble, wailing in low voices.

At the same time, the charging shouts of Aiden's army rang out again on the street opposite them.

The veteran holding the rifle limped to his feet, stuck the bayonet in the slot under the muzzle, loaded the ammunition calmly, raised the gun, and aimed.

"For Carindia—!"

Amidst the continuous gunfire, the remaining Carinthians were beaten into pieces one by one by the volleys of the Ayden Legion on the opposite side, and fell in the ruins covered in blood.

After the remaining soldiers fired the last round of volleys, they roared and charged towards an enemy that was several times or even ten times their size...until they fell to stray bullets or shining bayonets, they still refused to retreat.

Similar scenes have been played out countless times in the green valley filled with smoke.

Carindia, known as the "Money Bag of the Vast Earth", has excellent sailors, but it has never had excellent soldiers; to be more precise, from the day this country was born, this country composed of merchants and landed aristocrats has No thought was given to giving her a real army.

Even their only army and militia are just "guards" organized to protect trade routes and warehouses from looting and loss, and to clean up bandits and smugglers.

But officially this group of "not an army" troops, after experiencing a tragic rout, broke out with unprecedentedly high morale in the small green valley; even though the city defenses had been breached, they withstood the attack of the Principality of Aiden. attack.

Because they have no choice... there is no place to retreat.

Because behind them is Carindia Port.

Even though they knew that they were no match for the Aiden Legion, the panic-stricken nobles in Carindia Port had packed up and sold the entire Carindia to the Clovis people, even if they blocked the attack of the Aiden people. They still have to pay a large sum of compensation and agree to countless unequal conditions...

Even though there were no officers to lead them, weapons were scarce, and there was no hope of victory...these broken soldiers and new recruits still had no hesitation, dragging the advancing Aiden Legion back in the small green valley.

On June 12, the fourth day after the Aiden Army arrived in Green Valley, the town's defense line had not yet been breached, and two-thirds of the city was still under the control of the Carinthians.

……………………

Facing the warm wind filled with the smell of gunpowder smoke, Victor Emmanuel, Duke of Eden, standing on the top of the tower, held up a gold-plated monocular telescope and looked toward the front of the battlefield with high spirits.

As the owner of the Western Gate of Hantu, Duke Victor is only in his early thirties this year. He is much younger than the Grand Duke of Thun, Claude Francois, who is also the "Gatekeeper of Hantu". His energy and physical fitness are at the absolute peak. state, and still retains the adventurous spirit of his youth.

Otherwise, he would not have led a lone army all the way to the port of Carindia while half of the army was still fighting fiercely at the border, intending to complete the battle in one battle.

It is not difficult for any experienced commander to discover that the seemingly menacing Aiden Army is actually in danger; because it did not immediately support the other half of the army after breaking through the defense line, but chose to continue the attack, resulting in two There has been a virtual separation in the military.

Once either of the two armies suffers heavy losses and has to retreat, the other army will not only be unable to provide support and cover, but will also run the risk of completely exposing its flanks or rear to the enemy's offensive, and will suffer destruction as well. of blow.

But the high-spirited Duke Eden still rejected the suggestions of all his generals and knights and chose the most dangerous tactic - because there was really no time!

While he was still lingering on the border of Carindia, the Clovis people had already won the battle of Eagle Point City, nearly annihilating the Ysel Elf's Guards Corps, Alliance Thun, and completely controlling Hantu. Eastern lands.

If these were not terrifying enough, it took only two days to conquer the Principality of Paya and force Duke Lagar to sign a city alliance, which really made his hair stand on end.

This is not some stinky little uncle or free city, but one of the Seven Cities Alliance, a principality that can easily raise an army of 5,000 people!

As for where they want to go next, Victor Emmanuel knows it all.

Carindia is a republic, which means that she does not actually have a real master, but is divided and ruled by dozens of families with varying powers. Naturally, some masters receive more benefits and are more loyal to her; I can only get some leftovers and hold a grudge.

After buying off several of the families, Victor has become very clear about Carindia's wishful thinking; if they don't hurry up, these useless Carindia nobles will really package themselves up and sell them to the Clovis people. !

Amidst the deafening shouts of death, the front line that Kalindia desperately maintained was reduced to a crumbling shabby house under the charge one after another, as if it would collapse instantly if it was kicked a few more times.

It was obviously extremely fragile, but no matter how many rounds of offensives the Ayden Army launched on the front line, and no matter how impressive the casualty exchange ratio was, this dilapidated house could always barely hold on at the last moment of collapse.

Looking at the battle line drawn by gunpowder smoke and corpses, the young Duke Eden frowned slightly, but soon raised the corners of his mouth easily.

It is clear that the outcome of this war has been decided. He has captured one-third of the city defense and the outer city walls. Even if he wins, he will not be able to drive out the Aiden Army. This group of Carindia soldiers who are even short of rifles and bullets are defeated. Even though he knew that his troops and firepower were inferior to his own, he still fought desperately.

Any experienced commander would have left a small number of troops in the Green Valley to contain them, and with the help of the tall city walls of Carindia Port and the open terrain outside, he would have been waiting for a head-to-head fight with his lone army under the city. encounter.

But they didn't. What does that prove?

It proves that Carindia is really panicked. Not only is it panicked, I am afraid that the current Carindia Port is simply an empty city!

As long as he conquers this small town in front of him, at least two-thirds of Carindia, including Carindia Port, will become his own.

Victory is already close at hand... The smiling Duke Eden raised his right hand to the messenger behind him.

The messenger who understood this immediately turned around and roared at the top of his lungs at the artillery position under the tower:

"Fire!"

"boom--!!!!"

Six infantry cannons fired a volley at the same time, blowing the barricade, the houses on both sides, and the soldiers hiding inside into pieces; the Carinthians who lost their bunkers exchanged fire with the swarming Ayden Legion while retreating into the streets on both sides of the street. houses.

But unfortunately, their resistance was doomed to be in vain - although they held the front with high morale, the casualties caused a clear gap in the strength of both sides, especially the veterans.

When the veterans who were defeated from the border continued to die, and the proportion of new recruits increased rapidly, the Carinthian army in the city began to reveal its slow response, hesitation in advancing and retreating, and even did not know what to do. It completely turned into Aiden's embarrassment. A living target for the Legion's guns.

Just like the group of new recruits retreating in a hurry...if there is a veteran on the scene, they will be warned to keep some troops outside the bunker at all times to facilitate reconnaissance and alternate cover.

But they didn't, so the Aiden Army was able to calmly divide its troops in front of them, send a small force to complete the encirclement and penetration from the back streets, block dozens of soldiers and nearly a hundred Green Valley townspeople in the house, and use artillery and random guns to transform The broken limbs and bones were all over the place...

Victory is already within his grasp.

Looking at the houses that collapsed in the gunfire, Duke Eden, who seemed to be able to hear the dying screams of the Carinthians, put down his telescope, his relaxed expression filled with the joy of victory.

at this time……

"What did you say?!"

Duke Ayden widened his eyes and looked at the messenger who came up with a look of shock:

"Clovis?!"

"Yes, our messenger discovered an army holding a red unicorn flag outside the city - confirmed to be Clovis's flag!" the messenger replied nervously:

"The port of Carindia...has surrendered to the Clovis!"