I will be crowned king

"My leader, what do you think?"

In a room in Thunder Castle, after hearing the whole story, Carl Bain, the leader of Thunder Castle, was not shocked, but even wanted to laugh:

"If that warehouse has not been emptied, how could the empire scum not move at all?!"

"But this is Thunder Castle Fortress, the largest baggage distribution center and military depot north of the Southern Fortress!" Anson, who looked astonished, still couldn't figure it out:

"If the equipment of those ten infantry regiments is gone, where can they go?"

"This is simple."

Karl's face showed a playful smile that only veterans can have. He took out a bottle of rum from his back like a magic trick and placed it firmly on the table:

"Whoever pays will be there."

Anson was startled for a moment and looked at the wine bottle he took out:

"Selling arms?"

"Or...this batch of arms never existed from the beginning." Karl shrugged.

"The Privy Council placed the order, and the money went to some big shot in charge of military supplies. All he had to do was send a hundred empty carriages to Thunder Castle and back, and then... poof!"

He made an explosive gesture towards Anson: "In that spacious warehouse, there are a lot of military supplies that no one can see."

"It's so blatant, won't it be discovered?" Anson still didn't believe it.

"The clerk who issues approval documents, the inspector responsible for escorting transportation, the accountant who counts the accounts, and the commander of the fortress - which one of these people do you think will definitely not accept bribes and will be loyal to the kingdom to the death?"

Karl asked in a different way.

"..." Anson.

"I don't know about the southern fortress. That kind of military powerhouse close to the border and the front line can probably still be upright and honest, right?" Ignoring Anson's dull expression, Karl continued to think about himself:

"When I was the commander of a militia company, the militia division established by the resident commander spent three-tenths of a year's tax revenue. In the end, less than 200 beggars and homeless people were sent to the military camp. Even the guns were mine, I think. Got it somehow!"

"Compared to those miscellaneous people who want to seize even the establishment, Thunder Castle, which just embezzles supplies, is already considered to have a conscience."

Just embezzling supplies?

Anson was slightly startled and looked at him in disbelief: "You mean it's not just this warehouse, but the others..."

Carl Bain coughed twice and nodded vigorously.

"Although I don't know the specific figures, from the information I heard from several other infantry regiments, it seems that the conscription army suffered a big loss from top to bottom this time." Shaking his head, Karl sighed in a low voice:

"Except for the light and heavy artillery that is difficult to transport, the remaining guns and ammunition, daily logistics, and even the most important military ration reserves are seriously inconsistent with the accounts!"

"Throwing away the losses in the melee and the consumption of the empire's scum in the past twenty days or so, the reserves of the entire fortress are only one-tenth of the account at best!"

"The accounts can provide reserves for fifteen to twenty infantry regiments, but what is left is a pile of dried meat from an unknown number of years ago. It is enough to feed a full regiment for a day or two!"

Karl, who was quite emotional, unscrewed the cork of the bottle and poured himself and Anson a glass of rum each with a sigh.

etc……

Holding the wine glass, Anson suddenly felt that something was not quite right.

"You said Thunder Castle's reserves can only feed a few hundred people for another day or two?"

"Almost, it might be worse than this." Karl nodded, and said in a slightly gloating tone: "Anyway, our brigadier general and the group leaders all suffered huge losses."

"That means the Imperials can hold on in the fortress for a day or two at most, and then they will definitely break out?"

Anson, who continued to ask, felt his brows twitching crazily.

"Unless of course they plan to starve to death here..."

Karl, who hadn't finished speaking, immediately reacted and looked at Anson in astonishment.

If you think about it this way... In fact, the levy army doesn't need to attack at all. It only needs to continue to surround Thunder Castle for two or three days to win? !

Anson, whose brows twitched, shook his head inwardly.

No.

It's not that simple.

In addition to the garrison of nearly a thousand people, there are also the Old Gods and Kroger Bernard in Thunder Castle.

At this moment, Anson vaguely guessed Kroger's plan - he discovered the serious loss of the fortress reserves from the first day he arrived at Thunder Castle, but he still assumed a posture of holding on to the city.

The purpose is to strengthen the confidence of the Kingdom of Clovis and mobilize the army to launch a massive siege.

But the fact is that he had planned to retreat the army from the very beginning, or perhaps he did not consider the life and death of his men at all, waiting for the reserves to be exhausted and the morale-less defenders to collapse, and then lured the conscripted troops to attack the city.

What awaits Brigadier General Ludwig will be an army that is about to collapse, a fortress that can be easily captured... plus monsters that mutate and proliferate flesh and blood indefinitely.

The levy force that won the "victory" did not even have room for explanation, and Kroger Bernard will be remembered by the world as an "innocent victim, an Imperial knight who fought until the last moment."

And his suspicion of being a "believer of the old gods" can be completely eliminated through this, and no one will mention it again.

Anson said secretly while shaking the rum in the glass.

"Forget it, don't think so much - we won, we are still alive, this is better than anything else." Carl Bain was still as realistic and depressed as ever:

"After the siege is over, I will probably stay in the First Regiment for a while; I will probably be left in the fortress as a militia company commander or something like before."

"Where's Lisa?"

An Sen's heart moved, and he realized that he had never seen the girl again after bidding farewell to the main hall.

"I'm not sure. I'm probably waiting to be dismissed like the new recruits at the station?" Karl shook his head and said in a regretful but helpless tone:

"She fought beautifully that night and made a lot of contributions, but...my leader, you don't really think that the Army can really award a medal to a teenage girl, do you?"

"Even if she can, she is just a little girl with no status, no identity, and no idea where she comes from - even if she kills Kroger Bernard with one shot, she will only be dismissed after the war."

"There is no way, why is she not a noble lord, who makes her a girl."

Karl, who became more and more uncomfortable as he talked, took a sip of wine and glanced at Anson:

"What about you, continue to be the commander of the First Infantry Regiment?"

"How is that possible - the First Infantry Regiment is a conscripted infantry regiment. Without the approval of the Army, Ludwig can only allow me to command until the end of the battle."

The most important thing is that even if he goes bankrupt now, he still can't afford to bear the cost of an infantry regiment.

"Oh, where are you going?"

"The royal capital, the Royal Military Academy." Ansen said calmly:

"The internship is over and I have to go back and get my diploma."

Well, by the way, I also want to meet a certain history professor who calls himself "Black Mage".

"So, you really want to leave?"

"Yes, uh...why do you ask?"

Karl, who stared with envy, took out a letter from his pocket, slapped it on the table with a "pop!" and pushed it in front of Anson.

Anson subconsciously lowered his gaze and found that there was a bill sandwiched on the letterhead.

"What's this?"

"Steam train ticket from Oak Town to the Royal Capital, second-class compartment." Karl became more and more greedy as he talked:

"In the envelope is a check for one thousand gold coins, plus a letter of introduction from Brigadier General Ludwig, with the seal of the Franz family on it - he entrusted me to give this to you, and said that if the army gives you trouble, If so, you can take it to the Church of Order."

letter of introduction?

Anson, who picked up the envelope and looked at it, looked a little stunned.

Although from the moment he accepted the rank of lieutenant colonel, he knew that his future was bound to the Franz family and even the Church of Order, but... no matter how powerful he was, the archbishop of the church could not interfere with the army. Arrangements?

With some doubts, Anson put the envelope into his arms.

"The train's departure is at noon the day after tomorrow. The name of the train is 'Steel Sky' - oh, by the way, Ludwig is said to have arranged for someone to pick you up at the station. Remember to be careful when you get on the train."

"who?"

"He didn't tell me. You'll know when the time comes."

Carl shrugged.

At the quiet wine table, the two of them were silent for a while.

It's time to say goodbye.

Carl took a long breath and looked at Anson, holding up the wine glass with his right hand:

"To victory."

Anson, who also raised his glass, had a faint smile on his face:

"Respect the living."

The two people facing each other raised their glasses and drank in one gulp.