I will be crowned king

Although the situation was extremely dangerous, Carl Bain had not completely lost confidence.

On the one hand, this is of course because the defense facilities of the Wild Stone Fort are strong enough and it is a modern standard bastion that will not be knocked down like the Iron Bell Fort. It also occupies an absolute geographical advantage and has sufficient reserves of strategic materials.

On the other hand, it is how true the information about the Hantu Legion is; to put it more bluntly, Carl Bain does not quite believe what those Hantu soldiers said.

This can be regarded as a kind of "experience of those who have been there" - for well-known reasons, no matter whether an army wins or loses, it will inevitably lie about its military situation when reporting.

Of course they wouldn't dare to lie completely, but exaggerating the results when they win, exaggerating the enemy's troops when they lose, telling the living to be dead or the dead to be alive... are all very common phenomena.

According to Karl's experience, only one-half of the information from an escaped soldier is credible at most - that is, the Hantu Army was defeated miserably and the Wang Family Army forced a breakout.

As for the other parts... they may not have lied, but they must have imagined it; the besieged Central Garrison Corps, no matter how fierce the imperial artillery fire, no matter how cruel their attacks, killed 20,000 people in five hours It is also impossible for humans.

However, with the low level of organization and establishment of the Hantu Army, if an army is defeated, even if the 20,000 people are still alive, the possibility of being able to regroup and rebuild in the rear is infinitely close to zero.

So in a sense, these defeated soldiers are not actually lies. At least on paper, these defeated soldiers are already "dead people" to the Hantu Army.

But no matter what, these "dead people" will become an obstacle for the Imperial Expeditionary Force to attack the Deserted Stone Castle, slowing down their march and buying the Deserted Stone Castle time to strengthen its defenses.

The Major Chief of Staff, who had no choice but to bite the bullet, could only pray for reinforcements from the Storm Division to come quickly to save lives, while pretending to be confident and start his "Absolute Defense Plan for Barren Stone Castle".

The first step is to collectively change the clothes of these 20,000 miscellaneous brands.

As the most important supply point in the Principality of Ayden, the various military supplies stored in the Deserted Stone Castle are enough to supply the Hantu army for ten to fifteen days of continuous operations - of course, mainly the most elite Royal Army and the Border Army of the Grand Duke Ayden. It has little to do with the rest of the people.

But now that the Royal Army has been "annihilated", Karl is no longer polite - 20,000 soldiers collectively changed to Clovis' Leyden muzzle-loading rifles, completing the "leap" from modern to modern armies in one day.

As for why they are not equipped with the more advanced August... the main reason is that these "new recruits" have not received standard training at all, and it is impossible for Karl to make them immediately understand the difference between rear-loading and front-loading guns. It is more practical to use Leiden.

The artillery is basically the same. All artillery are placed in various artillery fortresses of the Wild Stone Fort and are directly commanded by Karl. He is not worried about being captured by the enemy, but is afraid that inexperienced ammunition operators will turn the artillery into fixed explosive shells.

At least with the protection of the fortress wall, there would be no accident of "one shot detonating and the group ascending".

Considering the worst-case scenario, Karl didn't even expect these artillery pieces to really play a big role. After all, the gap in artillery strength between the two sides was too disappointing - firing two cannons to strengthen their courage before the war started, and then using them as targets to attract firepower after the war. Well worth the money.

The second step is to build a defense line outside the Wild Stone Castle.

On the one hand, it is of course to increase the difficulty of the enemy's attack on the city and prevent the enemy from being pushed directly to the gate of Huangshi Castle as soon as the battle begins. On the other hand, it is also to cover the retreating Hantu troops as much as possible and gather them as much as possible.

Although these defeated troops had no morale, lost their armor and even their organizational structure; compared with the 20,000 miscellaneous troops currently in the Wild Stone Castle Fortress, they were still an elite division that had completed at least three months of recruit training.

After experiencing the initial rejoicing and the subsequent panic, the entire reserve army officially began to save itself - 20,000 motley soldiers who had completed the change of clothes, wore brand-new uniforms, and carried new guns on their backs. The outside of the fort turned into a huge construction site.

Under the gloomy dome, more than 6,000 Mist people, more than 4,000 Tuun people, more than 3,000 Aiden people, 7,000 Carindia people, plus small nobles and private soldiers from city-states all over the land, shouted to each other. They chanted various slogans and worked hard to dig trenches while sweating profusely on the battlefield.

"Idiot, dig deeper! The trench must be at least half a man deep to be effective in defense. Are you digging so shallow to prepare for being blown up by the Imperials?!"

"The protective wall needs to be built high. Just build it on one side. Do you want to build it on both sides so that the enemy can attack the city?! Ah!"

"Levels, levels! How many times have I said that the position must be built in layers. No one can stop a bare wall! The position must be built into a multi-faceted fortress. Each section of the wall can be short but must be large in number, left, right, front and rear. They should be staggered as much as possible so that the back row can also deliver firepower..."

Under the gloomy dome, Carl Bain, who was trying to remain calm, held a Clovis military flag and kept giving orders back and forth on the battlefield. He deliberately raised his head high and raised his voice so that the people around him would not easily notice his pale face. And the forehead that keeps breaking out in cold sweat.

Although this is not the first time he has been "blamed", the scale and severity far exceed all previous battles.

What's more important is that this time he is not commanding the entire battle as a staff officer or adjutant, but as an independent commander. He no longer has to obey the orders of any crushing boss. He has to bear all the pressure and responsibility himself.

But now...it seems to be going pretty smoothly.

The motley army that carried out the plan step by step showed unprecedented efficiency - not only did it take only half a day to complete the change of uniforms of the entire army, but even the position had already begun to take shape.

Although this group of people, from officers to soldiers, were all inexperienced and even had to be taught by Karl, no one was lazy or shirked their responsibilities, and they were indeed working hard to implement his orders.

The Thuns, the Aiden, the Misters, the Carindians...the Hantu soldiers and officers from all directions put aside their years of grievances and various prejudices, worked side by side in sincerity and unity, and did their best.

Of course, only on the surface.

Karl, who has always been pessimistic, was not dazzled by the "prosperity" in front of him. He knew very well that this group of Han natives suddenly became united purely because of the imminent disaster.

They are like drowning people, grasping at straws as long as they can save their lives; and as a Clovis man - to be more precise, the storm master behind them - is the life-saving straw in their eyes.

Therefore, it was not that he suddenly burst into charisma or suddenly displayed some "leadership flag", but it was the Storm Division who was marching towards the Wild Stone Castle that truly united the originally scattered and motley army. The one who was loyal to him as the "single commander"... was the Storm Division who was marching towards the Wild Stone Castle.

If the Imperial Expeditionary Force collapses the entire defense line in one breath, if the reinforcements are delayed in arriving at Blackstone Castle, if the Storm Division is defeated by the Imperial Expeditionary Force...

Even if this ragtag group of soldiers mutinied on the spot, dispersed, or actively sought death and surrendered to the empire, he would not be surprised at all.

It is only at times like this that Carl Bain misses his days in the Stormtroopers.

Although they are also a bunch of scum cannon fodder, they are at least experienced cannon fodder, and they can still endure hardships and stand hard work most of the time. Even if they retreat, they can maintain most of their establishment and not lose the entire army in one defeat.

Although the officer corps is more "obedient" than the last, and is often as timid as a mouse at one moment, and bursting with self-confidence at the next, they still have the most basic self-knowledge and sense of responsibility, and will never do anything that would make it difficult for friendly forces to turn into Rufeng. …

Well, unless absolutely necessary

………………………

To the west of Ayden, near an unknown hill outside the Summit Tower Fortress.

A small-scale "war of annihilation" ended here just fifteen minutes ago.

The Imperial line infantrymen, who were fully armed and without even a trace of blood on their bayonets, had already begun the finishing work, cleaning up the baggage boxes and Clovis flags scattered everywhere on the position, looking for anything that might be valuable.

Scouts on horseback were sent around, searching for any clues that the enemy might have left behind when they retreated; but there was nothing at all except a pile of footprints whose direction could not be distinguished.

"Is it over so easily?"

Standing on a baggage box, looking at the military flags piled all over the ground at his feet, Arthur Herred said to himself in disbelief.

He didn't doubt Louis' judgment, he just couldn't believe that these Clovis people didn't even resist. They disappeared as if they had evaporated, leaving nothing behind.

This is not an exaggeration or description, it is quite literal - there is no resistance whatsoever.

From the beginning to the end, the Imperial soldiers took the position without firing a shot and without any injuries... Oh, no, there were still casualties - Bernard mistook the trench for a ditch, stepped in the air and sprained his ankle.

The position, which can accommodate four to five thousand people, is empty except for a few trenches that are so crude that they are not even canals, artillery forts that can fall down at a touch, and a pile of baggage boxes and military flags... nothing is left.

Arthur was relieved by this too easy victory, and at the same time, he also felt extremely stunned and confused - even if it was really a trap, could this group of Clovis people "defeat" without firing a shot? Aren't you worried about affecting the morale of the opposing Aiden Army?

Or is this another trap to actively lure them into attacking?

While all the Imperial people were scratching their heads in confusion, not far from the "Storm Division Position", several figures in gray military uniforms were holding their breath and watching everything nervously.

"It's so dangerous..."

Hiding in the cover of bushes, Fabian, whose heart was tense, looked at the Imperial cavalry who were searching the battlefield and tried his best to restrain his cheeks from twitching.

Just a little bit short... Fortunately, I learned the lesson from the Clovis City riots, and I was decisive enough when I ordered the retreat; if I had hesitated for even five minutes, the Storm Group would have been bitten by these imperial people!

But having said that, my disguise is obviously perfect, exactly the same as the deputy commander's routine in Eagle Point City.

What went wrong that made these Imperial people realize that something was wrong?

Or...actually, I just thought it was perfect and didn't grasp the essence of the deputy commander's routine?

"Lieutenant Colonel Fabian, that..."

Just when he was about to fall into self-denial, the officer next to him suddenly said tremblingly: "We just ran away like that. Isn't it a bit too much?"

"Excessive?" Fabian raised his eyebrows:

"Why is it too much?"

"Well……"

The officer looked at Fabian who was full of doubts. He didn't know if he really didn't know or if he was pretending. He could only point to the distance: "I mean... we haven't notified Archduke Ayden yet..."

"Yes, once we withdraw, he will face the Imperial Expeditionary Force alone." Fabian nodded:

"so what?"

"So, so?"

"That's right, we didn't notify him in advance that we were going to attack the Imperial Expeditionary Force with him. Our mission is not to defeat the Imperial Expeditionary Force - so what does the life and death of Archduke Ayden and the Ayden people have to do with us?" Fa said. Bi An asked sincerely.

"Uh, this..."

"What's more, we are just an infantry regiment, not even a thousand people." Fabian directly interrupted his subordinates and said:

"Even if we could withstand the Imperial Expeditionary Force for a moment, there would be no time to win the window for Archduke Ayden to attack the Imperial Expeditionary Force's back; even if we could win it, the cost would probably be that our entire army would be annihilated; even if our entire army would be annihilated, we would not be there. Must be able to defeat the Imperial Expeditionary Force."

"I don't know if we can do it. Anyway, I don't have the confidence."

"But……"

"Or do you have the confidence and plan to volunteer?"

"No! Absolutely not, I swear!"

The subordinate quickly retracted his neck and shook his head rapidly.

"Very good, I think so too." A smile of mutual understanding immediately appeared on Fabian's face:

"So let's leave these imperial people who suddenly appeared to Grand Duke Aiden to have a headache. Anyway, that was his original plan. We Clovis people are generous and considerate and will not compete with the Hantu people for what belongs to them. of glory.”

"Then what are we going to do next?" The subordinate pursed his lips tightly and asked with some fear:

"retreat?"

"Of course not." Fabian's raised corners of his mouth continued to rise:

"We have to take advantage of this opportunity and continue to do our job."

"Our work?"

"Yes, do you remember what the deputy commander sent us to do? Now is a golden opportunity to complete the mission."

Fabian paused for a moment, stretched his neck that was extremely stiff from lying on the ground, and whispered to his subordinate who was still confused:

"We must take advantage of these imperial cavalry's opportunity to 'conquer' the position, bypass them and the Aiden Legion on the opposite hill, and take down our Clovis's bloody unicorn flag before everyone reacts... …”

"Put it on the top of the summit tower!"