I will be crowned king

"All storm divisions are dispatched - immediately blockade Beluga Port and prepare the fleet parked in the port to open fire on the city at any time!"

This was the first reaction in Anson's mind when he heard the little clerk's report.

Then...he threw this ridiculous idea into the wastebasket.

The current problem is just that the patrolling troops were attacked. Once they really blockade the city with great fanfare, or even let the fleet bombard the port, all the preliminary work that they have spent huge efforts on will be in vain.

Accordingly, if you are indifferent to the military attack... Regardless of whether the morale of the Storm Division will be affected, at least in the eyes of the enemy, this is definitely a sign of weakness. The deterrent effect of the Storm Division on Beluga Port and even the entire colony will be greatly reduced.

In order to arrive at Beluga Harbor before the New Year, the Storm Division's logistical preparations can be said to be quite inadequate; although the weapons are barely sufficient, there is basically only a base number of guns and ammunition, and they can last at most two quick battles of low intensity.

If the entire army were to be deployed in Beluga Port to maintain public security or even suppress the rioters, one month would be enough for the entire army to run out of ammunition and food.

Considering that there is still preparation to expand outside and fight against indigenous harassment and imperial invasion, before receiving the first support from the mainland in March, the Storm Division can only organize one large-scale battle at most... and cannot invest its logistic reserves. To pointless internal friction.

Even if Beluga Port is not very loyal - of course to the mainland, not to Anson himself - it must try its best to avoid a head-on conflict between the Storm Division and the colony, causing the supply of resources to the mainland to be affected.

This is the bottom line.

After thinking through these issues, Anson took a deep breath and looked at Fabian: "What is the army doing now?"

"The outpost is being built to prepare for subsequent land reclamation and road construction." The commander of the Grenadier Corps responded decisively, his expression becoming extremely solemn:

"All troops will be assembled within an hour at the latest; as for Fleet Commander William Cecil...he himself is in the military camp now."

After the words fell, Fabian said no more, but the meaning was already clear.

"Assemble the troops immediately and ask everyone to return to the military camp - be ready for battle, but you are not allowed to leave until you get the order." Anson said solemnly:

"As for Colonel William Cecil... at least try not to let him find out until the matter is resolved, including the suicide of the natives."

Fabian's expression changed slightly after hearing this, but he quickly regained his composure: "Understood."

"Alan!" After arranging the troops, Anson turned to look at the little secretary who was still lying on the ground, retching:

"Go and tell Miss Thalia that I want to go to the White Whale Harbor Council immediately and ask her not to wait for me any longer tonight - and also go find Lisa and ask her to take the guard company with me! "

The most important thing now is to calm down the situation as soon as possible and find the cause of the incident. At the same time, it cannot appear too radical. It is necessary to maintain the deterrent effect of the Storm Division on Beluga Harbor while avoiding the situation from escalating.

If we were in Hantu, this situation would have allowed us to order warships to bombard the city, but this is a colony... If we want to make Beluga Port truly our base, we must exercise as much restraint as possible.

After discussing the decision, the three of them immediately started to act separately without wasting any more time.

On the carriage heading to the White Whale Port Assembly, the little clerk who came along introduced Anson to the general situation of the matter.

The cause of the incident is very simple: four soldiers on patrol entered a relatively remote community and had a conflict with the indigenous people living there due to some quarrels; during the dispute between the two parties, an indigenous person suddenly pulled out his weapons, so the soldiers immediately pulled the trigger...

The original dispute turned into a riot. Soldiers from nearby churches and patrols immediately rushed to reinforce and reported the situation to Carl Bain, who was in the Beluga Harbor Council. The first officer to arrive at the scene immediately tried to block the scene, but Beluga The houses in the port are crowded and the roads are narrow, so the newly arrived stormtroopers cannot completely blockade it.

So the officer only found the bodies of the four soldiers and a dozen civilians of Beluga Harbor...including natives and colonists.

"The cash, boots and some valuable luxuries they had on them were all gone...but the weapons and military uniforms are still there." The uneasy little secretary had not fully recovered from the previous shock and said with lingering fears. :

"Not just them, but the belongings of other corpses on the ground, including boots, belts and gloves, were also missing."

"Steal money?" Anson asked subconsciously.

"The officer in charge of the blockade also reported the same. He believed that one of the goals of the attack on the patrol team was probably their belongings."

The little secretary nodded blankly: "You know, apart from the obvious things like military uniforms and warm clothes, the soldiers of the Storm Division also look very... luxurious when they are patrolling outside."

The two looked at each other with tacit understanding, showing a somewhat helpless expression.

A Hantu War ended, and the entire Storm Division made a lot of money; although the little secretary used various means to turn the biggest cake into the public property of the army and Anson's personal property, scattered in bits and pieces. It was scattered in the accounts of more than a dozen banks...but the other officers and soldiers still gained a lot.

In addition, because the garrison location was changed from Clovis City to Beluga Port, in order to "protect morale", Anson did not stop paying their military pay even during the two months at sea.

But the problem is that there is nothing to consume at sea... The direct consequence is that these soldiers are now in a state of no shortage of money. With their savings and head-to-toe attire, jingling pockets, and 50% Compared with immigrants, they are all absolute "winners in life."

You can imagine how many people's attention and eyes they will attract when they come in and out of "consumption places" such as taverns and markets.

"But in addition to this, the officer also mentioned a particularly strange situation." The little secretary raised his head, with a familiar fear in his eyes:

"Those four soldiers...and all the remaining corpses...their heads were all smashed!"

Broken?

Anson's pupils shrank suddenly.

If only one or two of them had this situation, it could be understood as an accident during the riot; but if they were all smashed... then it could only be interpreted as someone doing it deliberately.

The question is why must the head be smashed? Is it to avoid their true identities being discovered, to cover up other wounds, because of a specific ritual or belief, or is it really out of some extremely low-probability accident?

The first thing Anson thought of was the beast slave who smashed his head into pieces.

There are spellcasters, heretics and even heretics in the new world... These are not news, but well-known facts; from Thalia's mouth, Anson also learned "shocking" information - known as the "Land of Rest" The new world is still the tomb of the three old gods.

Therefore, it would be perfectly normal if there were some heretical belief that "soul and life reside in the brain".

This is actually not unreasonable... Under the belief system of the Old Gods, the most important organ in a spellcaster's body is his heart, followed by his brain; for believers of Mutt, the King of Dark Magic, the importance of the brain is even Be better.

If it was really done by indigenous people or pagans, could it be related to this?

With a slight vibration, the carriage slowly stopped outside the gate of the Beluga Harbor Parliament.

Anson subconsciously looked out the window. Twenty heavily armed line infantrymen were guarding the door of the Parliament with loaded guns and ammunition. There were even horses and cables used to block the streets. They were completely prepared as if they were facing a formidable enemy.

Entering the hall, the dim light made the atmosphere seem extremely dull. The temporarily gathered members of parliament were sitting scattered in the hall; some were gathered together, and some were alone, but without exception, they all chose to sit closer to the inside. , far away from the gate.

Anson glanced around and found that the people who came were basically members of the "Timber Supply and Demand Committee", as well as a small group of ocean-going merchants and fishermen.

Ignoring the gazes of others, Anson walked directly to his loyal chief of staff and patted him on the shoulder: "How is the situation?"

"The situation has been brought under control." Carl Bain sighed and leaned aside:

"Lieutenant Colonel Alexei led two infantry battalions to blockade the entire community. The remaining troops are still patrolling the whole city, trying not to affect the security of the port... Of course, we can only do our best."

Beluga Harbor is a port city with only 40,000 people. It is impossible for a gun battle to occur in a place like this without the news leaking out at all - you don't need to think about it to know that the news of the attack on the Stormtrooper soldiers must have spread throughout the world. The whole city.

At this time, in addition to expecting the people in the city to show some subjective initiative, it is purely a dream to expect an infantry regiment of 600 people to maintain law and order in the city...

Anson nodded slightly and asked casually as he sat down next to Karl: "Has the criminal been caught?"

"No! I still can't figure out who the murderer is!" The fatigue of many days and the unexpected incident made the chief of staff look a little irritable:

"The only thing we know now is that not all the people who died at the scene were murderers; a mercenary who joined the Promise Keepers Alliance told us that he saw at least three guys covered in blood running away."

"There are fourteen communities in the entire Beluga Port. Apart from this parliament and the port, there are twelve communities. Eight of them are mixed with indigenous people and colonists. To catch the murderer, we have to investigate them one by one. Unless you bring the entire Storm Division into the city, it's simply impossible - but then you might as well just let the fleet bombard the city!"

Anson nodded slightly. Karl's thoughts were exactly the same as his own: "Where is the person who reported the news? Where is he now?"

"In the bishop's church, staying with other witnesses at the scene." Karl sighed, reached into his coat pocket, and found that it was empty except for a shriveled cigarette case.

Anson took out his pipe and handed him a box of cigarettes and matches: "Didn't you bring them to the parliament?"

"No, that would be too obvious - staying in the church can be interpreted as a religious activity, but taking it to the parliament would be too obvious and would make them nervous. What's more, we don't have that many manpower to monitor it now."

The fire flashed across Karl's hands, and a faint smoke slowly dispersed between the two of them.

"And I have a guess that this is not a gang crime, but more of a temporary act. The residents of that community most likely have little to do with the prisoner."

"What evidence do you have?" Anson took a puff of his pipe.

"Because all the witnesses at the crime scene gave exactly the same answer - they all called the murderer a 'bloody' guy."

Carl Bain held a cigarette in his mouth and frowned slightly: "There was no physical features, no face, and no mention of the clothes he was wearing. All the witnesses noticed was that he was covered in blood."

"I think this can explain one thing, that is, they were not very impressed with the murderer, so much so that they did not notice such a guy appearing near their home when the incident broke out. It is even possible that he was at the time when the incident broke out. , just appeared there."

"Otherwise, even if you plan to hide it for your own people, you should deliberately tell several lies. They all say the same point in unison. It is actually quite suspicious at first glance." Karl explained.

Makes sense!

Anson's eyes lit up: "I didn't expect...my loyal chief of staff to be so good at reasoning!"

"Yes, he is also good at taking the blame for others and doing the work of several people for an extra salary!" Karl rolled his eyes:

"When are you going to find someone to take charge of the security of Beluga Port? I am now the commander-in-chief of the Guards during the day, the chief instructor of the recruits in the afternoon, and I will continue to be your chief of staff at night - even the donkeys on the farm have no Being manipulated like this!"

"You hold on a little longer, hold on for a few more days... uh, a month at most! After one month, I will send someone to take charge of the security work in Beluga Port." Anson smiled comfortingly, and did not forget to add:

"Also...the people responsible for security in Clovis City are no longer the Guards, they are called the police, also called Whitehall Street - our Lieutenant Colonel Fabian lost his job because of this."

"I don't care what his name is, it doesn't matter if he's called the Whitehall Guards!" Karl said hysterically:

"In short, we can't let the Storm Division enter the city now. We can only use the 600 soldiers in the city and your guard company to investigate each community; let Bishop Riper and the people from the Promise Keeper Alliance be responsible for assisting and try to minimize the impact. .”

"They were covered in blood. They must have been seen by many people when they escaped. There is no way they didn't leave any clues. Find their whereabouts first, then seal the city gate after dark. Then it will be easy to handle."

Anson nodded slightly and silently agreed.

Just as the two stood up and prepared to take action, a powerful voice suddenly sounded from outside the door:

"No, I don't agree!"

Feeling better...