I will be crowned king

After sending away the troublesome Imperial Knights, the Chief of Staff who had been extremely tough just now "Plop!" collapsed on his chair, like a deflated ball.

It happened that Alexey came in from outside at this time, with a bit of surprise still on his face. He glanced at Karl next to the map table and couldn't help but said:

"Hey, I just heard from the guards that the Empire was going to withdraw and leave Gray Pigeon Castle to us...what's going on?"

"Ask me, I also want to ask Bernard what's going on with that bastard!"

Karl, who scratched his hair that had become a bird's nest, raised his head and glared at him, said angrily: "There was no sign at all, and he suddenly ran away! He threw the colony to us, why did he suddenly become so generous - this There’s something wrong inside!”

"There must be something wrong, otherwise why would he run away!" Alexey also rolled his eyes:

"So do we want it or not?"

"Nonsense, of course! Why don't you want the land you got?"

Sighing, Karl pressed his right fist against his cheek angrily, tapping the ground with his heels, with an anxious look on his face: "As long as we take the Gray Pigeon Castle, the Sailing City will be right in front of us. We don't have to wait until August, maybe this will happen." We will see the outcome in a war - did you bring a cigarette?!"

"If it is possible, the problem is that we only have more than 2,000 people, and we are not very well prepared. Taking control of the entire Gray Pigeon Castle will greatly restrict the power at hand; and just let Bernard and his 8,000 troops go. Is it really okay to return to Yangfan City?"

Alexey was still worried. As he spoke, he took out a shriveled cigarette case from his coat pocket and handed it over: "Should we discuss it with the commander-in-chief again and ask for his opinion?"

"The fastest round trip from here to Black Reef Port is six days. The other side only gave us three days, which is too late!"

He bit out the last remaining low-quality cigarette from the cigarette box, struck the match on the edge of his boot and lit up delicate sparks, and milky white smoke immediately dispersed in the command room.

"The other side must have calculated correctly that we don't have time to discuss, so they gave such a hearty advance notice. I guess Bernard probably also wants to use this to disrupt our original deployment, so that even if the army arrives at Gray Pigeon Castle, it will not be able to set sail immediately. March into the city and give him time to deal with the trouble."

"What trouble?"

"I don't know! But what makes him do this is nothing more than two things - the rebellion in Sailing City, or the Gray Pigeon Castle is no longer important, so he can generously give it up so that he can return to the base camp to regroup."

Karl shook his head and took a deep breath, turning the cigarette butt into orange: "No matter which one, the original deployment can no longer be used; the information must be sent to Commander-in-Chief An immediately! The army's march route needs to be adjusted, and the material reserves must also be increased. The siege of Sailing City is likely to become a protracted war."

It would be troublesome if it really turned out like that... The transportation of supplies from Red Hand Bay to Black Reef Port is completely different from that to Sail City. The consumption will almost double. Maybe it will end up being the same as the siege of Black Reef Port. Victory without victory, defeat without defeat.

But in fact, Karl still had one piece of information that he did not disclose to Alexei: He had not guessed the rebellion in Sailing City, and he was present when the information from the black-robed priest was sent; but considering Anson's ambiguous attitude, he finally decided not to tell him as well.

This is definitely out of consideration for colleagues... When working under Anson, a boss who is always keen to explore ideas, many times the less you know, the better.

The more you know, the more important your role is in his "perfect plan" - and the chances of being unlucky and scapegoated increase dramatically.

But based on Alexei's recent situation, it may be too late for him to do so...

"Send someone to go to Black Reef Port and report the situation we encountered truthfully." Carl sighed, biting his cigarette butt and said dullly:

"The troops are all assembled and ready to take over Castle Gray Pigeon."

"But what if this is just a smoke bomb deliberately released by the enemy, and the actual target is to prepare to launch a surprise attack on us?"

Alexey remembered the "tactic" that Anson used once in Black Reef Port. There was no reason why the other party couldn't copy it exactly: "Prepare to assemble in advance, will it be unnecessary?"

The chief of staff thought carefully for five seconds and gave his answer:

"Uh... not really."

"Why?"

"Because they have eight thousand people, you don't need to use any tricks to attack them head-on; if you must, you have to find the fatal flaw in the position and kill us in one go - gather and pack your bags in advance, so that it will be convenient for retreat."

Alexey "..."

……………………

When two conscientious officers were having a headache about how to write a report to be sent to the rear, a certain officer dumped the blame on them. He, his fiancée (Talia) and his sister (Lisa) were leisurely in Black Reef Port. The commander-in-chief Youya is holding a grand event that he has been planning for a long time.

The city gates opened under the golden sun amidst the overwhelming salute. The belated main force of the Storm Division appeared on the outskirts of Black Reef Port, forming a compact and neat square formation in company units. Amidst the lively rhythm of military music, March into the city with neat steps, holding high the Clovis King's flag and the Confederate flag!

Although the city is still in the recovery stage, not to mention that the city walls and even the craters and trenches on the outskirts have not been completely filled in, this did not cause any inconvenience to this grand military parade, and it even had some other effects.

In addition to the Stormtroopers, the "Confederate Legions" composed of colonial militiamen also arrived one after another. Due to practical factors, it was impossible to uniform uniforms and even the "Legion Soldiers" with various equipment had different styles, making it easy to tell where they were at a glance. people.

Among them, wearing long-sleeved windbreakers, scarves around their necks and tricorn hats, the one who most resembled the Imperial Line Soldiers was the "Long Lake Town Line Regiment"; wearing animal skin hats, covering themselves from head to toe, and marching on their backs The bag is the "Winter Torch City Chasing Regiment" composed of colonists and adventurers, including cavalry and infantry. From domestic firearms to Leyden rifles, you can see the "Red Hand Bay Rangers" and "Red Hand Bay Rangers" "Infantry Regiment"...

Even the Gray Pigeon Castle Liberals, who only had a group of refugees, formed the "Gray Pigeon Castle Spearhead Company" under the strong insistence of their leader Polina; relying on their closer relationship with the Storm Division, they even equipped a A batch of Leyden rifles, and everyone had a complete or nearly complete set of Clovis infantry equipment.

These colorful "Confederate Legions" followed closely behind the Storm Division. There was a fierce quarrel about order on the eve of the parade. Their bruised and swollen formation was in sharp contrast to the Clovis army in the front row.

In order to celebrate this event, Talia also specially invited David Jacques, who was far away in Beluga Port, to Black Reef Port through the newspaper to paint a commemorative oil painting. She had already thought of the name - "Free Corps to Black Reef Port" Advance".

However, what David Jacques is best at is actually landscape painting, and he has recently been obsessed with various "splicings" that reflect the great changes of the times: adding a large chimney emitting black smoke in the scenic river valley, and a steam train with a roaring whistle heading towards the wild wilderness. In the countryside, on the top of the steep cliff is a huge factory that looks like a castle...

The rich people of Beluga Harbor who originally welcomed him warmly became more and more unfavorable to this great artist as time went by, causing him to run into obstacles everywhere just like in Clovis City. In addition to wanting to achieve his painstaking "artistic masterpiece" There is no way that the wealthy people who curry favor with the Luen family can be sold.

Therefore, although group portraits and figure paintings were not his strong point, David still accepted Thalia's order and brought his young apprentice Baekelan Wetzler to Black Reef Port.

According to Thalia's conception, the whole painting shows the scene of the imperial army besieging the crumbling Black Reef Port, and countless reinforcements rushing to help from all directions: the brave advance soldier relied on the damaged city wall to stand upright amidst the raging artillery fire of the imperial army. He raised the Confederate flag with a blue star ring on the position and fought side by side with the defenders of Black Reef Port.

In the distance, the Stormtrooper army holding high the flag of King Clovis was approaching in an instant. Confederate soldiers with different weapons and clothing were surrounding, rushing towards Black Reef Port; the Imperial army panicked when they discovered the reinforcements. At a loss, he tried to escape.

A commander wearing a general's uniform stood on the damaged city wall, instructing his guards to launch a counterattack. Among the soldiers behind him, there was a petite figure of a girl...

All in all, it cannot be said to be completely similar to the scene of the military parade that day, but it has nothing to do with it... The only thing that worked was the unrepaired city wall and the craters and trenches outside the city, which gave David Jacques unlimited inspiration.

Of course, it is impossible to complete a huge group portrait like this on the spot. It usually takes several months or even years to show its final effect. To suit the occasion, he also specially painted an additional portrait of the same size. An oil painting with the same subject matter and even the same name.

But when Anson suddenly wanted to see how it was done out of curiosity, he was stunned by the "super masterpiece" in front of him.

"Who is this?"

The stiff-faced commander-in-chief pointed to the figure in the center of the painting who was riding a horse dejectedly, with a look of embarrassment and looked suspiciously like a commander.

"This is the Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Army, Bernard Morweis, the Lord Chancellor of the Colonies...your opponent!"

Baekelan Wetzler, whose face was full of paint, said cheerfully that the only son of Speaker Mason of Beluga Harbor has now become David's apprentice; to be honest, he looks more like his master than the cautious president of the Chamber of Commerce. Father and son.

"What about those people behind him?"

Anson pointed to the surrounding troops carrying military flags, who were also dejected.

"It's the defeated imperial army. They are retreating among the hills near Gray Pigeon Castle. The master also specially changed the surrounding scenery to autumn and winter to make them look more embarrassed."

"Oh, then... where are the Freedom Corps?"

"The Free Corps is advancing towards Black Reef Port!"

"..."

After a full minute of silence, Anson recovered slightly, took a long and deep breath, looked at the great artist next to him who had just realized that he had stopped writing, walked forward with heavy steps, and pressed him with a "pop!" shoulders.

"An...Commander-in-Chief?!"

David was startled. He was particularly keen in the face of danger. He was quite similar to his brother, the black-scared priest: "If you are dissatisfied with anything, I..."

"No, no, no! You misunderstood. There is nothing dissatisfied. I really appreciate your...interesting creativity." Anson raised his head and forced out a smile that was uglier than crying, with sincere eyes:

"So dear David, your brother and I are good friends, so you understand that I will never harm you, right?"

"Uh, Ming, Ming Ming understands!"

"Just understand." Anson's eyes showed some appreciation:

"What about that? Do you remember the "Storm Master Crossing the Morning Mountains" that Miss Franz commissioned before?"

"Remember."

"The Clovis Royal Military Academy's "My King Osteria Leads Us"...the one with the king walking in the middle holding a unicorn flag, surrounded by nobles, knights and civilians...do you remember it?" Anson Talking and gesticulating.

"Of course I have an impression." David nodded again:

"That one can be regarded as one of the pioneers of modern group portrait painting. Even landscape painters have to learn from it."

"Very good!" Anson nodded slightly and reached out to hold the drawing board next to him:

"I'll give you two hours now to combine the two paintings into one painting. The subject is the siege of Black Reef Port. As for the name...it's called "Freedom Leads the New World"! Is it too late?"

"Of course it would be enough to just imitate, but..."

"No but!" Anson interrupted some of his unrealistic thoughts without mercy:

"Believe me, I would never harm you - redraw it and give it to Thalia, if you don't want to be one of those artists who dies young."

"Early, early death?!"

"I'm just saying another possibility, it may not happen." Anson interrupted again:

"But if you do what I say, it'll never happen, okay?"

"understand!"

"How long does it take to finish painting?"

"D-didn't you say two hours?"

"real?"

Anson blinked: "Is that an hour and a half okay?"

"I'll...I'll try my best for an hour and a half!"

"Very good, I know you can definitely do it!"

Patting David on the shoulder with satisfaction, Anson, who was about to leave, suddenly remembered something: "By the way, have you seen your brother recently? I haven't heard from him since the last time he sent a letter."

"No news? Impossible." David scratched his head and said a little strangely:

"The last time I saw him was at Red Hand Bay. At that time, he wanted to come over as soon as possible to see you, saying that there was something particularly important...have you never seen him?"

"No, I thought he went back to Beluga Harbor."

Anson's expression was a little solemn. With Karin Jacques's connections in the new world, it was not difficult to hide. The question was what happened to make him decide to hide - if he really wanted to be hunted down, he would follow the Storm Master or himself. Isn't it safer to move?

There is also the Faithless Knights of White Whale Port... They have not appeared since the siege of Black Reef Port. According to reports, they should not have left White Whale Port yet; if Fel Cressy's goal is to control Sailing City, then take them What is the purpose of staying in Ice Dragon Fjord? ·

And the spellcaster who killed Sir Ed Levent has never appeared again after committing two consecutive crimes in White Whale Port...Winter torch city and Black Reef Port. Why didn't they do it again when they had so many opportunities?

Do you not want to or can't, or can you only do it in Beluga Harbor?

With all kinds of random speculations, Anson turned and left the studio and walked towards the Black Reef Port Parliament.