I will be crowned king

At twenty-three o'clock, the West Gate siege position was established.

Under the dim moonlight, the bullet marks streaking across the sky still showed no sign of stopping, and the deafening roar was played almost non-stop; not only the city wall, but the entire city defense position had been plunged into a sea of ​​flames.

Round after round of artillery shells rose from the Storm Division position that had been shrouded in gunpowder smoke, and in an instant they lit up countless dazzling explosion points in the sea of ​​​​fire; whenever large areas of sparks rose up on the city wall, there would be fire on the position. An equally deafening cheer erupted.

"The power...is still not enough."

Looking at the fireballs constantly exploding on the wall opposite, Fabian murmured to himself as the hot heat wave brushed his cheeks.

Although all the artillery was concentrated and the amount of ammunition was unlimited, it was barely able to create a considerable momentum, but it is still undeniable that the power of the artillery is still insufficient in the face of sufficiently strong city defenses.

It seems huge, but the real damage it can cause to the city walls and enemy bunkers... is actually basically over after the first round of artillery covers and destroys several sections of city walls, several towers and outer fortresses.

The rest is more unpleasant to say, even if another 10,000 rounds are fired, it will not have much effect; unless it is replaced with a more powerful artillery, the pure deterrence far exceeds the killing.

But there is another paradox here, that is, the more powerful the artillery, the less convenient it is to carry; the lighter six-pounder alone already requires at least two draft horses to pull it, but it can really penetrate with one cannon. The sixty-eight-pound caron gun at the city gate... Fabian could not imagine any means to move such a steel behemoth on land.

Steam train?

This seems like a good idea, but then wouldn’t it mean that wherever we go to fight, we have to build railroad tracks?

And if it’s so troublesome, why not just embed the carronade on the locomotive and build a steam train that can run without rails? Wouldn’t it be more convenient?

Well, it seems that this is really not possible. Ordinary gravel roads cannot bear the weight of steam trains. Stronger roads still need to be built... The problem seems to be coming back again.

So is there any way to eliminate the need to build roads, save the terrifying weight of carronades and steam trains, and be able to easily conquer a fortress without being restricted by terrain?

Just as Fabian was thinking hard in front of the sea of ​​fire, Carl Bain suddenly walked behind and patted him on the shoulder.

"What time is it now?"

"Now?" The former Guards officer was shocked and subconsciously took out his pocket watch. The minute hand happened to stop on "one":

"It's five minutes past eleven...is it time to send out line soldiers for a feint attack?"

"No, that's still early." Karl waved his hand, his expression suddenly became strange:

"It's another thing."

"another thing?"

"The Truth Seeking Order...the liaison officers left behind by the judges to be in charge of communications just told me that they had received news from the headquarters of the Church of Order." Carl Bain glanced at the surroundings with his peripheral vision and lowered his voice and said:

"The Knights of Judgment, they are almost here."

So fast? !

Fabian's pupils shrank suddenly, and he immediately understood the urgency of the matter - it was the evening of October 26th, and there were still nearly fifty hours before the deadline at 0:00 on the 29th.

The other party didn't come early or late, but he showed up at this time with a special notice... It definitely couldn't be a coincidence.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Fabian quickly regained his composure from the shock and whispered: "What do you need me to do?"

As a former officer of the Guards, Fabian was very clear about his "position" in the Storm Division - as a "confidant" of Anson Bach, he thought he could probably be ranked fourth or fifth, but the grenades The position of commander of the corps gave him a status similar to that of a deputy division commander, and at the same time, his military rank was second only to that of a certain deputy commander of a corps.

Therefore, his most important job is to handle some of the more "tricky" tasks on behalf of the deputy commander.

"Nothing, just a little...confused." Karl shook his head slowly and looked at Fabian with confused eyes:

"The liaison officer said that the Judgment Knights were about to arrive in two hours, and asked us to stop the bombardment half an hour early. He said that it might... accidentally hurt them - do you have any clues?"

"No." Fabian was startled:

"Accidental injury, how to accidental injury?"

The two people looked at each other in confusion.

……………………

Twenty-three fifteen, underground passage.

In the dark environment, everyone followed closely behind the young knight, stepping forward in the water that covered their ankles. Their footsteps echoed in the dead corridor.

But even without having to lower their heads, the smell that was as strong as real substance and the sticky texture when lifting the feet were enough for everyone to understand that it was definitely not running "water".

Those are the residents who are "missing" from the west wing promenade.

Compared with when he first arrived, Louis Bernard, who was leading the way, seemed much quieter; except for explaining the direction and the approximate location ahead when necessary, he did not say a word during the whole process, and even turned his head very rarely.

Only the expression he showed occasionally when he glanced sideways showed that he seemed to be planning something.

The pipe-smoking Judge Chanis was also very quiet. He staggered on his steam scythe and followed the team silently...like a vigilant old vulture.

The black-robed priest was still trembling, and the trembling frequency even made Anson couldn't help but wonder if he had installed some magical props on his body that kept vibrating.

Anson, who was holding Lisa, had always wanted to get Karin Jacques and ask him more about the riots of the Council of Thirteen, such as why the Society of Truth took the initiative to intervene, and what the relics of Saint Isaac were. , how related is Luther Franz to them...

But asking such a question in front of a judge really went against his character as a "devout believer", so he had to give up.

I don't know when the group of people stopped running wildly and began to slow down; the tense atmosphere was replaced by dullness, anxiety and uneasiness.

The narrow space and depressing atmosphere, the endless darkness, the slowly flowing river of blood...devour everyone's sanity.

Fortunately, perhaps it was because all the corpses had been squandered, or more likely, the blood mages who controlled that area had been killed... Apart from the darkness without any light and the foul smell of blood, the five of them did not encounter anything else. "Accident".

Soon, after passing through a curve that resembled a drain, Louis, who was walking at the front, suddenly started to speed up his pace again, so that the entire team started to move faster.

Looking at his frown, Ansen had a vague guess.

Soon, at a "crossroads" that was similar to the bottom of a well but much larger, Louis suddenly stopped and looked back at everyone.

"What, what's wrong?"

The frightened Karin Jacques almost stopped and bumped into Anson's back: "Why did you stop suddenly?"

"We're here." Louis spoke silently, raised his hand and pointed to the top of his head:

"Going up from here is the Yser Palace."

Following the direction of his finger, everyone looked up in unison, looking into the deep darkness.

"The palace...is up here?" the black-robed priest asked uncertainly.

"Yes." Louis nodded slightly, but then suddenly paused:

"Strictly speaking, that's true."

"strict?!"

"Iser Palace is not a castle, but a complex of several palaces; from here along the wall is a fountain garden, and from there to the Elf King's palace, there is only a corridor in between." The young knight explained .

"Oh..." The black-robed priest suddenly realized, and then his face became sad again:

"Then how do we get up there?"

Louis did not speak, but walked to the wall, raised his hand and patted it in the darkness, and the clear vibration of the metal ladder immediately echoed in the corridor.

"Dang~dang~dang..."

Amidst the echoes, Karin Jacques had no expression on his face.

At this moment, even he felt that the young knight in front of him had become unlovable.

And just when everyone was about to set off, Louis suddenly stepped forward to stop them.

"what happened again?"

"Uh...no, it's nothing!" Louis' voice suddenly became a little nervous, and his eyes flickered left and right in front of everyone with different expressions:

"There's just a little problem."

"What's the problem?" The black-robed priest was startled.

"We have to leave one person here." Louis suddenly said seriously, clenching his fist with his left hand behind his back and breathing a little quickly:

"This underground passage is the top secret of the Yser Elf Royal Family. If the Elf King is really in the palace and we want to retreat from here later, it is best to leave someone here to guard it."

"Of course, although it is a secret, we have just been exposed, so it is hard to say whether there will be enemies; therefore, this candidate should be better at hiding, and sending the right signals to others when necessary, and supporting when necessary other people."

After the words fell, Louis pursed his lips involuntarily.

Chanis, who was holding a pipe, raised his eyebrows.

"Oh, that makes sense." Karin Jacques next to him nodded matter-of-factly and began to mutter to himself: "So this person had better be good at hiding, and be smart enough to be able to do it when he has to. Act as a backup..."

The expression of the black-robed priest suddenly froze, and his words stopped abruptly.

The whole team suddenly became quiet.

"Wait... you're not talking about me?!" The suddenly excited black-robed priest had a face full of despair. His legs went limp and he fell to the ground, grabbing Anson's trouser legs: "I don't! I definitely don't want to be fooled." Can the one left behind be replaced with another one?!"

"I……"

Louis, whose heartstrings were tense, instantly panicked and stood there helplessly: "I, I didn't say I must have you..."

"You didn't say it, but that's what you meant!" The black-robed priest was so frightened that he almost cried: "You think I'm in the way, and you want to leave me to die!"

"I didn't mean that!" Louis' face was full of innocence.

"Then that's what you think!"

"I really didn't!"

"You are!"

"I……"

Amid the messy quarrel, Chanis frowned and chewed his pipe, preparing to interrupt this time-wasting nonsense.

But before he could speak, Anson suddenly stepped forward:

"That's it, I'll stay."

Um? !

The chaotic atmosphere suddenly condensed.

Karin Jacques, who was so desperate that he was about to cry just a second ago, suddenly looked back, as if he had seen the holy light falling from the sky with his own eyes.

The flustered Louis froze in place with a shocked face, looking at Anson with eyes filled with disbelief.

Chanis, who was interrupted, looked sideways slightly, his expression changing from shock to amusement.

Lisa, who was still in Anson's arms, kept staring with big clear eyes, not knowing what had just happened.

"I'll stay here to guard the retreat route for everyone." Anson smiled calmly and repeated what he just said.

Until just now, he had probably guessed what Louis' plan was; but Anson, who had been prepared to "cooperate", suddenly changed his mind.

"You stay..." Louis, who was "interrupted from his plan", suddenly stammered:

"Then I...no! I-I mean...then Lisa, what about Lisa?"

He regretted it as soon as he said it, and his cheeks instantly turned red.

But this problem is actually practical - the person who brought Lisa here is Anson. If she is not counted as one of the members, then their team only has four people.

For this kind of small-scale raid, one more person or one less person has a huge impact...especially when the combat effectiveness of a certain black-robed priest is basically negative.

"Uh..." The black-robed priest, who clearly noticed that something was not right in the atmosphere, looked at the people with different expressions and couldn't help but swallowed:

"Well...actually I'm quite good at hiding..."

"Lisa can come with you."

With a calm expression, Anson put Lisa down from his arms, held her little head and looked at each other: "What do you think, Lisa...can you temporarily replace me and protect everyone?"

The girl nodded proudly and punched her raised breasts with her right hand:

"Um!"

Raising his head, Anson looked at Louis who pursed his lips with a smile: "No problem."

"Anson..."

Louis bit his lower lip, hesitated for a moment and then took a half step forward: "I actually..."

"I said, there's no problem." Anson interrupted with a smile and gently pressed his shoulders:

"Don't worry, everything will be fine."

The young knight's pupils shrank suddenly.

After having a "gatekeeper" who was willing to take the initiative, the remaining four people continued to climb up the iron ladder under the leadership of Louis to the Yser Palace.

Ten minutes later, Anson was the only one left in the dark corridor.

Amidst the choking smell of blood, the lonely Anson Bach repeatedly confirmed that there should be no one around, and then began to take out the prepared props from his arms.

A revolver, a bayonet, a silver whistle, a pocket watch, a pipe, and a pair of monocles.

There is also a diary.

Three minutes later, Anson, who was wearing a monocle and chewing a pipe at the corner of his mouth, solemnly stuffed his diary into his coat pocket, adjusted his three-cornered hat, and looked up into the darkness that was no longer deserted.

"Plan begins."