I will be crowned king

When the artillerymen in charge of the cavalry artillery loaded the second round, the battle at the Red Beard Tavern was over.

No matter how brave and fearless the mercenaries are, they are still vulnerable to a large, organized army with heavy firepower.

When the "warriors" who tried to break out fell in pieces under the muzzles of the carbines in the hands of the cavalry, the remaining mercenaries immediately woke up; they cried and threw down their weapons and knelt down to beg for mercy, or they scattered and tried to escape.

But it's the same no matter which way: being killed by the line soldiers firing their rifles or the cavalry using their revolvers.

When dealing with this kind of problem, the Storm Division, who has no experience in managing urban security, can only "carry forward" the tradition that Fabian inherited from the Guards; there must be no tolerance for the rioters, let alone any hope. No matter how much information was extracted from their mouths, they were all shot to death without leaving any alive. This was the best deterrent to those who came after them.

"...The most critical point in suppressing riots is speed! It must be fast, clean and not sloppy; only in this way can we show the city the strength and determination of her guardians, and let everyone see how decisive our actions are. Minimize losses!"

“…Any civilian, if they are just protesting, then they are still a civilian; if they pick up a weapon, especially if they pick up a rifle or any homemade firearm, they are a thug, and they will not hesitate to shoot them in the head. Trigger is the best way to protect yourself and the city..." Fabian said.

Lieutenant Jason was convinced of this. If Commander Anson Bach hadn't been in the tavern, he had originally planned to blow up the tavern as well.

Looking at the corpses everywhere, Jason was even a little disappointed; the thugs fell too fast, and the citizens of Beluga Harbor could not even see the scene of the cavalry charging on the street with knives, knocking the thugs away.

The cavalrymen who had cleaned up the remnants of the enemy dismounted one after another and began to clean the battlefield. They dragged the corpses to both sides of the street and then collectively loaded them onto the cleared artillery and ammunition trucks and dragged them away.

Minimizing the impact of the accident on the community and preventing ordinary people from seeing what happened is also an important part of maintaining stability and stopping losses.

"It looks like it's over."

Looking at the shrapnel-shattered wreckage on the street outside, Carno put away the spear that turned into a shield, stood up and looked around, making sure there was no danger before looking back at Anson:

"In order to suppress the urban riots, they did not hesitate to use cavalry and shrapnel. They are worthy of the famous Clovis Royal Army."

"Thank you for the compliment...how are you going to leave?"

Pretending not to hear the cynicism in the other party's words, Anson, who was sitting on the ground and smoking his pipe leisurely, asked:

"The streets outside are now full of cavalry. The Second Infantry Regiment in the city must have blocked the port and several surrounding communities. If you go out like this now, you will definitely be arrested and questioned."

"Thank you for your concern, but I have my own solution."

Carno's back was turned to Anson, and the spear in his right hand disappeared under his clothes like a magic trick.

"Okay." Anson didn't dwell too much. After all, the two parties are still in the initial stage of "cooperation", and trust is a luxury:

"Then if I plan to negotiate again, how can I get in touch with you?"

Carno paused for a moment. Although his back was turned to him and he did not look back, Anson still saw the hesitation in his expression due to his "superpower". He was obviously very wary of exposing his own stronghold.

But after a moment of hesitation, he still gave the answer: "There is a shop selling cinders and charcoal in the White Pigeon Market. If you really want to see us right away, just leave a note there and write down the time and place. We will I will keep my appointment on time."

The White Pigeon Market is a community close to the parliament area. It echoes the large market area directly opposite the port area, which is full of chambers of commerce headquarters, exchanges and warehouses. They are mainly daily necessities stores and flea markets; and what Carno said A store that sells cinders "happens" to be owned by the Wetzler family.

So the Faithless Knights have really turned many of the Wetzler family's properties into their own, or this was originally a deal reached between them... Ansen guessed in his heart.

"That being said, it is more likely that we will take the initiative to contact you. After all, Philby and the others are still in your hands." Carno said solemnly:

"As soon as we find any clues about the "Great Magic Book" or the Crecy family, we will notify you immediately. We also hope that the dignified commander of the garrison will not break his promise by then."

"Of course, I will always be sincere towards my friends - so I will never be trustworthy towards my enemies." Anson chuckled:

"Don't worry, I will not only release you when the time comes, but I will also prepare a surprise for you."

"Thanks."

Carno nodded slightly and turned to leave without asking "What was the surprise?", making Anson feel a little regretful.

After watching the other party leave, and making sure that Ian and the Wild Hunt Knight—Anson didn't remember his name—had disappeared, Anson walked straight into the kitchen from the tavern hall.

In the center of the kitchen, which was filled with the smell of alcohol and fish, stood a six-pound field gun with its mount removed and only its barrel left. It was placed on a long table used for processing ingredients, with stones piled underneath. Block fixed.

The gun body looks very old, the bore is full of traces of rust, and the breech block is almost completely rusted to death... The other side actually dares to take out such an old antique that has expired and use it. Are you really not afraid that the first sound will be your last song?

There is no ammunition box in the kitchen, which proves that the opponent only has one shell; of course, this is completely understandable. After all, such an old antique is lucky to be able to fire one shot. No matter how experienced the old gunner is, he will not dare to fire a second shot.

There was no artillery carriage, no steering wheel, and not even spare artillery shells. It was basically certain that the other party knew very well that he would definitely enter that room and sit exactly opposite the wall of the kitchen.

If the judgment is correct, this should be the "trump card" used by the other party to kill him - as for those mercenaries, if it were not for the fact that he withdrew patrol teams from all communities overnight, at most only one-tenth of them would arrive at the tavern. Not really a hassle.

But Anson still had one thing he couldn't figure out clearly. Although Harold deliberately killed him in order to fight against the odds, even if he was really killed, how did he plan to end it?

It cannot be denied that a few Storm Division officers may have been bribed - after all, these cannon fodders are united just to make a fortune - but the rest are enough to blow them up into the sky; after the local accountability, Harrow, as the mastermind Virtue still cannot escape death.

In addition, those mercenaries are also quite suspicious. Even if they are loyal to Harold, so many of them are not afraid of death. Is it too brave to kill themselves, the colonial garrison commander, justly?

While Anson was still thinking wildly, the cavalry lieutenant stepped on the corpse and walked into the tavern, followed by a group of line soldiers.

"Captain Jason Fruhauf, commander of the 1st Cavalry Company of the Storm Division, reporting to you!"

The cavalry lieutenant banged his chest with a loud "pop!", stood up straight and shouted excitedly: "We have wiped out all the thugs outside. Please give the commander-in-chief the next instruction!"

"Very good." Anson nodded slightly:

"Gentlemen, you used the fastest efficiency to contain the further spread of the riot and the negative impact of the further expansion of the situation. You have excellently proved that you are worthy of the name of Storm Division and the honor of being a Royal Army!"

"So I'm going to give you another very important task now - completely clean out the entire tavern, take back all the weapons you see, suspected weapons, and anything you feel is abnormal, and hand them over to the law. Lieutenant Colonel Bean will handle it."

"The entire cavalry company was dispatched and the task of blocking the streets was handed over to the garrisoned infantry platoon. The entire cavalry company was dispatched to search for any suspects who may have escaped."

“But remember, you must not intervene directly. Just convey the situation and news to the Promise Keepers Alliance in each community - tell them the situation here exactly, and let the alliance and the priests of the Universal Sect handle the matter. "

That's right, Anson wanted to intensify the conflict and detonate it completely, turning the entire Beluga Port upside down.

Harold is completely finished, and the Beluga Harbor Council is about to split into dozens of committees based on interests. But this does not mean that the entire Beluga Harbor is loyal to itself... or to the kingdom. To be precise, they are just Just fear.

If you want to unite them around King Clovis's banner - or around the Storm Division, in addition to clear interests, you also need to find a clearer enemy.

Anson will definitely introduce a large number of new immigrants and new industries to the colony; legion farms, weapons factories, manufacturing... On the one hand, these are to strengthen the Luen family's local strength, and at the same time, they can also promote the economy of the colony.

But doing so will inevitably affect the interests of local people, especially those industrial owners who rely on exporting raw materials; therefore, there must be a suitable enemy to attract everyone's attention so that they cannot resist.

It's like although the Ysel Elf has very little influence on the Kingdom of Clovis, and even the kingdom does not think it is an enemy that needs to be dealt with seriously from top to bottom; but as long as it hits him, everyone can be silenced.

The current Beluga Port is actually quite similar to Clovis City last winter. The various forces have begun to differentiate and conflicts continue to break out. At the same time, it maintains the final quietness and fragile balance in the coming storm.

The difference is that last time I could only be passively involved and could only try my best not to drown completely; but this time...

He is the one who stirs up the storm.

……………………

Leaving the job of disposing of the wreckage of the tavern to the cavalry lieutenant, Anson left the port and returned to the church in the parliamentary district.

At this time, the Second Infantry Regiment in the city had already begun to take action, and together with the Promise Keepers Alliance, they set up roadblocks and blockades in several surrounding communities, and began to investigate all "suspicious elements" in each building and street.

The Promise Keepers Alliance, which had just obtained the authority to maintain security, showed great enthusiasm and was even more excited and indignant than the soldiers of the Storm Division, as if it was not Anson Bach who was attacked, but their Bishop Ripper.

The soldiers were also happy that these enthusiastic "volunteers" had taken over all the dirty work, and they kept thanking themselves; especially these tasks were all useless, even if there were thugs scurrying around, they would definitely He ran away long ago.

Although the person responsible for the investigation was changed from the garrison to the Promise Keepers League, residents of several communities still did not relax, but became even more frightened - those who can live near the port and the parliamentary area are all the richest in Beluga Port The rich, at the end of the day, own their own fishing boats and shops, which is very different from the poor immigrants on Teapot Street.

In other words, almost all the members of the Beluga Harbor Council live in this area, and they have not forgotten that they were blocked at home by a protest march a day ago and were almost hanged by the mob.

Under the escort of the cavalry, Anson, who passed through the layers of investigation lines and Luka, returned to the church in the parliament area and pushed straight open the door of Carl Bain's office.

The chief of staff, who looked troubled, was behind his desk, holding an opened note in each hand, and stood up in shock.

"what's the situation?"

"what's the situation?!"

The two said in unison, only their tone was completely different.

The four eyes looked at each other, and Karl resisted the urge to roll his eyes and handed the two notes in his hand to Anson: "These two are sent together, one is good news and the other is bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?"

"bad news."

Anson said without hesitation, but did not reach out to take the note: "Let me guess, we killed all the thugs who tried to kill me and knew their identities, but because they were eradicated so thoroughly, we didn't know who the murderer was behind the scenes. ,Right?"

"...half right." Karl hesitated and took the note back:

"We killed all the thugs who wanted to kill you. We found out that they were a mercenary group that hung around the port and made a living by catching slaves. We completely eradicated them and found out who the murderer was behind the scenes - haha Speaker Rhodes.”

"Did they recruit?" Anson was a little surprised.

"Yes and no; we didn't ask. They said it themselves. They seemed to think that they would be shot to death if they did this." Karl shrugged:

"Harold gave these people an investment of eight thousand gold coins - of course they won't get the balance - plus a variety of weapons that can arm at least a company. It is said that there is even an old artillery used for assassinations. you."

"How they knew you were in that tavern is anyone's guess, but that's not important, so it's actually good news."

"oh?"

Anson raised his eyebrows: "Then what's the bad news?"

"The bad news is that Chancellor Harold is missing, and we have no idea where he is."

"..."