King

The army returned to the city, Caesar IV brought hundreds of officials to welcome him, and Hudson also enjoyed the highest level of treatment.

All were normal operations, and the expeditionary force’s achievements were legendary in themselves. What's more, there are negative teaching materials from allies, which makes the victory even more hard-won.

It can be seen that everyone is very satisfied. In addition to the coach Hudson who benefited from the glorious victory of the expeditionary force, a number of princes and nobles were also beneficiaries.

Military merit belongs to everyone. The children of various families who followed the training not only accumulated rich combat experience, but also gained a lot of military merit.

The most important thing is that the death rate of elite children is low. Except for a few unlucky ones, the direct descendants of each family basically returned in triumph.

It's not that Hudson took care of them deliberately, but that these people were protected by experts arranged by various companies. In the case of constantly winning battles, as long as you don't seek death yourself, you basically can't die.

However, small casualties are also relative terms. The 35,000-strong army at the time of the expedition only had more than 26,500 left when they returned, with a battle loss rate of nearly a quarter.

Heavy casualties do not mean a decrease in combat effectiveness. After a series of victories, the expeditionary force has also demonstrated its military spirit.

If you stop anywhere, everyone will know that these troops are elite, and the aura they expose is so powerful that you can feel the murderous aura even from hundreds of meters away.

Fortunately, the top leaders of the Alpha Kingdom all came out of the military. Otherwise, they would have made a fool of themselves on the spot if they were so provoked by the expeditionary force.

Hudson clearly felt that Caesar IV had lost his temper, but he concealed it well and few people noticed.

As soon as the triumphal ceremony ended, it immediately entered the celebration phase. It's really not easy. This is the first time the kingdom has held a banquet since the outbreak of the continental war.

As the protagonist of the banquet, Hudson not only failed to take advantage of it, but was made physically and mentally exhausted.

Being worshiped by others is a pleasure, especially being worshiped by the opposite sex. But a beautiful aristocratic lady is very eye-catching, and if a group of beautiful aristocratic ladies surround her, she is suffering.

Unfortunately, Hudson just had too much sex to enjoy it.

On the contrary, the officers under his command had more fun at the banquet, and some powerful guys had even hooked up with noble ladies.

Of course, this is also a high-risk job that tests your eyesight. If you mess with someone you shouldn't hook up with, the consequences will be very serious.

For example: Most of the aristocratic ladies who surrounded Hudson asking questions were not to be messed with.

Either the princess of this family or the young lady of that family. Those with low status cannot squeeze in.

Fortunately, this situation did not last long. After satisfying everyone's curiosity, the crowd quickly dispersed. After all, a married aristocrat like him is not everyone's cup of tea.

When it comes to having an affair, you must first consider whether you are willing to pay the price. Many things in the aristocratic world have their prices marked in advance.

"Marshal Hudson, you came out so quickly. Is it possible that there are so many ladies and ladies in the royal capital, but none of them can catch your eye?"

Hearing the teasing voice, Hudson felt depressed. Now he is a favorite in the eyes of many people, and they all want to take a bite.

How dare he mess around if he doesn't know where the other person is coming from. Since ancient times, there have been countless heroes who have been ruined in bed.

"Your Highness, how do you want me to respond to your words?"

Hudson said angrily.

Unlike the princesses from princely and aristocratic families, the Princess Madeleine in front of her is the real princess of the kingdom, the biological sister of Caesar IV.

The last time they met, the gap between the two sides was so big that Hudson could only watch from a distance.

Now everyone can talk together, but this is not a reason to make friends with him. According to the practice of the Aslant continent, Princess Madeleine should marry a king or heir of a certain kingdom.

If Hudson had not been married, given his current status, it would have been possible for the royal family to get married for the purpose of winning over people.

Of course, this is also a small probability event. The object of royal marriage is first of all, the royal family in mainland China can be more or less related to each other.

It's definitely not a good thing for two people who shouldn't be friends to get together. If any scandal spreads and affects the royal marriage, Caesar IV will have to fall out with him.

"snort!"

"You men are all lechers!"

After hearing Princess Madeleine's words, Hudson almost spilled the wine in his hand. It would be too obvious to attract his attention in this way.

"Your Highness, if this is the case, I will take my leave first."

After saying that, Hudson turned around and left. A royal princess was not worthy of his efforts to study.

There is no such thing as love and hate for no reason in the world. He did not believe that Princess Madeleine, who had received royal education for a long time, was an idiot and came to him simply out of curiosity.

If it were so easy to attract her, then everyone should have met at the last celebration party.

Everything is value. Intuition told Hudson that there was no peace in the Alpha royal family, otherwise Princess Madeleine would not be so rash.

Even if you want to make friends, there is no need to be so eager. Especially when women are used to attract men, things can easily go wrong.

If something goes wrong, the unmarried Princess Madeleine will suffer far more than him, a married nobleman.

It's not that she can't get married. With the national power of the Alpha Kingdom, royal princesses will always be in demand. It's just that the marriage partner is likely to change from the king or heir to an ordinary prince.

…

"Your Highness, how are you doing?"

The maid's voice sounded, and Princess Madeleine frowned and said with a depressed look: "This guy slipped away before I had time to say anything.

It seems that he is more cunning than we expected. If we want him to stop this marriage, I'm afraid..."

Born into a royal family, while enjoying a superior life, one must also pay a corresponding price. As a royal princess, the price you have to pay is marriage.

This kind of marriage is not only a marriage between royal families, but also involves national politics.

Many times, when it comes to marriage issues, the parties involved do not have as much say as the domestic ministers.

Although an important minister like Hudson could not decide who the royal family would marry, he could destroy the royal family's marriage plan.

"Your Highness, if this is the case, things will be in trouble. Basically, the ministers in the DPRK and China support this marriage. If Marshal Hudson does not object, it will be difficult for us to stop it.

If you really marry that bastard, you will..."

Before the maid could finish her words, Princess Madeleine interrupted: "Things are not that bad, my brother is also opposed to this marriage.

Given the current situation in the kingdom, our need for this marriage is not that urgent.

The ministers simply wanted to promote this marriage out of the interests of the kingdom, but that didn't mean they could force their brother to agree.

As for Marshal Hudson, this man is too shrewd and is not as easy to handle as ordinary nobles.

What I did just now was obvious enough, but it didn't move him. You can't really let me seduce him, can you? "

…

The raging fire cut through the night, and the earth-shattering shouts of killing awakened the defenders from their sleep.

"What happened? How could there be enemies?"

Count Teoron asked in panic.

Obviously no one could answer these questions for him. With the northward expansion of the kingdom's territory, Zijingguan has changed from a frontier to an inland area.

What was once a military fortress has now become a material transfer station for the army. A large number of strategic materials come in and out here every day.

Due to lack of preparation, the kingdom's defense lines in the border areas were not as strong as before. There are not as many strategic supplies stored in castles and fortresses as before.

For the safety of materials, the kingdom has hoarded a large amount of strategic materials in fortresses far away from the front line. Bauhinia Pass is one of the important strategic materials storage areas.

Anyway, everyone was prepared to fight and retreat from the beginning. Each line of defense had its own mission. As long as you delay enough, you can just retreat.

Since Hudson became the commander-in-chief of the kingdom, there has been no fight to the end, and the strategy of exchanging space for time has been implemented.

The fall of the first line of defense caused an uproar. That was because it fell too quickly. According to the kingdom's plan, they should have persisted for three months.

The storm was able to subside quickly because the kingdom had prepared enough lines of defense. Losing a few lines of defense will not affect the overall situation.

Each line of defense is established based on favorable terrain. Not only is it easy to defend but difficult to attack, it also happens to be blocking the enemy's path.

If you escape the defense line, you risk being cut off. Leading hundreds of thousands or millions of troops to fight, no one dares to leave the retreat to the enemy.

Under normal circumstances, Zijingguan is still three to four hundred miles away from the front line, so the flames of war will never come over so quickly.

But the reality was very disappointing. Although I didn't know what happened specifically, it had become a fact that the enemy troops entered the city.

Count Te'olun calmed down and hurriedly ordered: "Quick, call the troops in the city to organize a counterattack immediately. We must protect Bauhinia Pass!"

It doesn't matter what happened, but the pass cannot be lost. Otherwise, not only will there be problems with the army's food routes, but even its retreat will be cut off by the enemy.

It would be a great sin to let what should be one's own defenses become the enemy's defenses.

Unfortunately, it was too late. The raging fire illuminated the whole city, and from time to time it exuded the aroma of meat.

Count Teoron's face turned pale as he stepped out of the headquarters. It's over, everything is over! The countless strategic materials the kingdom had hoarded at Zijingguan were all turned into blazing fire at this moment.

Even if he could save the pass and lost tens of thousands of tons of strategic materials, the kingdom would not be able to spare him.

If possible, he would have wanted to grab Marquis James by the neck and ask him why he had let the enemy in.

"kill!"

The endless anger turned into a word. Knowing that he was helpless, Count Teoron picked up the knight's sword and led his guards to join the fight on the moonlit night.

Shame can only be washed away with blood. At a time like this, we must either annihilate the enemy troops and rescue the burned strategic materials as much as possible; or we must directly hide the corpses.

Almost at the same time, the port of Beitlun, hundreds of miles away, was also attacked by the orc cavalry.

It's just that as a port that the Felix family focuses on, the performance of their family's private army is better than that of the defenders at Zijingguan, and they were not discovered until the enemy entered the city.

The orc masters descended from the sky to rob the city, but met with stubborn resistance from the defenders. Although they were ultimately unable to block it, they bought time for the city's defenders to assemble.

Every minute and second on the battlefield is precious. The combat effectiveness of organized defenders and unorganized defenders are two completely different concepts.

Duke Daniel, who personally directed the raid, stared at the battlefield indifferently. Clearly, he was not at peace inside.

This cross-border raid was actually learned from Hudson. But in terms of application, he changed it flexibly.

Taking advantage of the enemy's lack of defense in the rear and using the cover of night, the cavalry could cross the defense line on the border and go straight to the strategic location behind the enemy's rear to launch a surprise attack.

There are only a limited number of excellent ports in the north, and even fewer have been developed. Beitlun Port is the only large port developed by the Alpha Kingdom in the North.

It can be said without hesitation that after capturing this place, the difficulty of transporting strategic supplies for the Kingdom of Alpha on the northern front has doubled.

Cutting off the transportation of strategic materials and destroying strategic material storage areas was obviously an attempt to trap the defenders on the front line.

In fact, this is what we have to do. According to the upright style of play, the Orc Empire may not be able to take advantage.

Even if they defeat the Alpha Kingdom, if their own strength is seriously damaged, they will not be able to prevent the restoration of the Seven Prairie Kingdoms.

They have personally experienced the strength of the Human Alliance. Daniel knew very well that the current orc empire was no match for the human race.

"Use all the magic scrolls traded from the elves!"

Daniel also secretly felt pain after making this decision. Using magic scrolls as siege supplies is the behavior of a prodigal.

But in order to rush for time, he didn't care so much. For this attack, not only the main force of the cavalry was mobilized, but also all the masters in the Orc Empire were mobilized.

It can be said that this is a huge gamble. If the defenders on the front line of the Alpha Kingdom discover it, the infantry remaining in place will be in danger.

The entire army would not be wiped out, but heavy losses would certainly be unavoidable. If the five emperors hadn't been deceived by him to sit in the rear and play the game of killing first and then showing off, this kind of combat plan would not have been approved.

The addition of magic scrolls made the war more intense, and the sky also emitted colorful brilliance.

For a while, flames flew all over the sky, for a while, hail fell from the sky, and for a while, a meteorite popped out...

Along with the magic attack, there were countless orc masters who took the lead, rushing to the front line of the battle and fighting. The defenders were disoriented.

Similar battles continued to be staged across the entire northern Xinjiang. More than ten strategic locations in the Alpha Kingdom were raided almost at the same time.

Anyone who can organize resistance is considered a good performer. More defenders hurriedly responded to the battle. Before they knew what was happening, the enemy was killing them right in front of them.

A group of officers were bewildered and sent out a request for help. All they knew was that they were attacked by the enemy, and the rest was completely dark.

…

Marquis James, who was sitting on the front line, had insomnia. Although he didn't know what happened, he always felt something was wrong.

"Immediately send griffin dragoons to inspect the defense lines in various places, and order the officers on the front line to be on guard to guard against enemy sneak attacks!

If you notice any unusual movements by the enemy, report them to me immediately. "

After adding an order, he felt a little relieved. It was the first time he commanded so many troops alone, and he felt very uneasy.

Fortunately, as the defensive side, the range of troop mobilization was relatively small. Although there were a lot of chaos, it was generally controllable.

But with the premature collapse of the first line of defense, his confidence gradually became insufficient again. At one point, he wanted to apply to the king for a replacement, but he couldn't help himself in the army.

Everyone knows that sooner or later the war in Northern Xinjiang will be under the command of Hudson, but sooner or later, this time represents completely different meanings.

The king needs him to persist for a while, and the great nobles of the kingdom also need him to persist first. Even if it requires paying a certain price, everyone accepts it.

There is no way. Not only does Hudson have outstanding military exploits, he is also too young to even find political stains.

Now that everyone is working hard, we can still make checks and balances. If we continue to let things go, what will the next generation do?

At that time, the leaders of each family will all be Hudson's old subordinates, and they will be naturally shorter. Even a king would feel emboldened when encountering such a powerful minister.

Unless everyone can ensure that they can survive longer than Hudson, he will not be allowed to become the patriarch of the kingdom and rely on everyone's qualifications to maintain the balance of power.

As soon as the words were spoken, a middle-aged officer broke into the headquarters and reported to James: "Marquis, news just came from the defenders of Bogusburg that the enemy's cavalry crossed from their defense line this afternoon and has not returned yet. "

The matter of orc cavalry crossing the border is nothing new. This kind of thing has never stopped since the war broke out.

It's just that these cavalry usually return to their base immediately after going tens of miles deep and causing some damage.

This is the first time that something like this has happened forever.

"Why don't you report this kind of thing in advance?"

Marquis James asked angrily.

"Forget it, you go down first!"

Taking out anger on others is not what a good commander should do. Reason told him that he must control his emotions.

The fact that the enemy never returns is an uncontrollable event, and no one knows it in advance.

If the cavalry crosses the border and causes damage, the people below will handle it. If such trivial matters were reported to him as the coach, he would probably be exhausted.

The cavalry is taking risks when they cross the border. If they are accidentally bitten by the kingdom's army, the entire army may be destroyed at any time.

In the past few days, the orc soldiers who went deep into the rear were defeated by the kingdom's army not once or twice, but even once.

No good news has been received yet, which means that the enemy cavalry that penetrated deep into the rear has not been annihilated.

Suddenly, James's face changed drastically, his eyes were fixed on the map, and he blurted out: "Not good!"