King

"Da da da……"

The sound of marching footsteps surged from the Blackstone Mountains to the Hessian Kingdom. Sensing something was wrong, Tan Ma, who was responsible for monitoring the Centipede clan, hurriedly lit the beacon.

In the blink of an eye, news of the foreign invasion was transmitted all the way back from the Blackstone Mountains, causing an uproar in the Hessian Kingdom.

The worst case scenario happened after all!

Before the Hessian Kingdom government could react, the centipede army had already walked out of the Blackstone Mountains and launched an attack on them.

"kill!"

The cry of killing rang out, and the barony that had just evacuated half of the area fell directly. Countless people who had no time to leave fell directly into the food of the Centipede clan.

Benevolence, morality, propriety, justice and shame do not exist here, there is only endless killing.

Gutland Province, Creston County.

As the master, Viscount Pierre was standing on the city wall, looking into the distance anxiously.

The small territory had no ability to stop the enemy's attack and was abandoned by the kingdom early. In order to better resist enemy invasion, the royal government ordered a strategic contraction half a month ago and relied on city fortresses in various places to hold on.

After all, the time is too short, and the huge population and wealth cannot be evacuated all at once.

With the exception of a once-in-a-decades tide of beasts, Creston County has no experience in resisting foreign enemies, and now it is simply chasing ducks.

The footsteps were getting closer and closer, thousands of troops and horses were marching together, and the earth trembled.

"Lord Viscount, the enemy is camped five miles away!"

Upon receiving the news, Viscount Pierre first breathed a sigh of relief, and then sighed again.

The kingdom's top officials pinned their hopes of wiping out the races in the center of the Blackstone Mountains on the Kingdom of Alpha. Instead of sending a large army to station, they simply ordered the nobles in the border areas to mobilize.

This kind of coping method is naturally enough in the Alpha Kingdom. But the problem is: Gutland Province is not the Southeast Province, and the Kingdom of Hesse is not the Kingdom of Alpha.

It has only been a short month since the traces of the race in the center of the earth were discovered, and the military mobilization within the province has not been completed in time.

Low mobilization efficiency is not only a mechanism problem, but also a human problem. Countless noble lords did not take the invasion of the inner earth race seriously at all.

Especially after receiving the news that the Centipede Army invaded the Southeast Province, everyone relaxed their vigilance. Wishful thinking is that the enemy will not dare to provoke the Hessian Kingdom when they have the powerful enemy of the Alpha Kingdom.

After all, when given a choice, no one would be stupid enough to provoke powerful enemies everywhere, leaving themselves strategically vulnerable to enemies from both sides.

Even Viscount Pierre thought so. Unfortunately, he never expected it. The race in the center of the earth cannot judge based on common sense.

Due to the lack of information, the fledgling Centipede Clan had no idea what fear was.

First, he was unfortunate enough to fall on the iron plate of the Southeast Province, and then he was taught to become a human being by the Warcraft. What's even more tragic is that they don't know that the magical beasts in the ground world are no longer as innocent as they were tens of thousands of years ago.

After receiving the promise from a group of sacred monsters, I thought that the Blackstone Mountains were safe and there was no danger of being attacked from both sides.

After the southeastern province won a great victory, they delayed launching a military counterattack, which was interpreted by them as being afraid of the reaction of the Warcraft and not daring to send troops to the Blackstone Mountains without permission.

If the Warcraft in the Blackstone Mountains wanted to protect them to the death, there was nothing wrong with this judgment. Hudson would not go to provoke the powerful enemy of Warcraft after he was full.

History has long proven that the cost-effectiveness of fighting Warcraft is too low.

Even if they could barely win the battle, the barren Black Rock Mountains were not suitable for farming.

Even if there are a lot of training resources, the high cost of war cannot be recovered.

With the financial resources of the Alpha Kingdom, it simply cannot afford to play such a luxurious game. Everyone would rather spend the same war funds on orcs.

However, all of this is just a hypothetical. If you live in the surface world for a few more years, you will know that if you provoke the Azure Beast, there will definitely be trouble in the future.

King Tianqing's promise can at most represent his own position. The other holy beasts did not promise them anything.

Azuremon still has credibility, and it may not be a blatant breach of contract, but he is good at being flexible.

Go back and take a nap, or go out and visit.

When he returned, the battle was already over.

Anyway, what they promised was to ensure the safety of the Blackstone Mountains, not the Centipede Clan.

"Give me the order to make a fire and cook dinner in advance to prevent the enemy from launching a night attack!"

Viscount Pierre ordered calmly.

Deep down, he was already panicking.

There are strong and weak races in the center of the earth, but judging from the intelligence collected, the Centipede race entrenched in the Blackstone Mountains is definitely not weak.

As long as it is a powerful clan in the inner earth world, no matter how weak it is, it cannot be resisted by a remote border county.

He sent out the letter asking for help as early as when he discovered the enemy's traces.

Kingdoms and provinces, not a single one was left behind.

At one time, he also fantasized about wiping out the Centipede clan with the help of reinforcements, thus establishing his military position in the kingdom.

The idea is beautiful, but the actual implementation is not so easy.

The kingdom's military strength is tight, and a large number of temporarily recruited legions are still being trained.

In a short period of time, the only thing that can be relied on is the support of the province. Viscount Pierre knows best how efficient his colleagues are.

It is strange that everyone can be active in sending troops with no benefit in sight and a purely voluntary nature.

Including within Creston County, which is on the front line, military mobilization work is only half completed.

It's not that everyone doesn't want to move faster, it's just that they lack the experience of mass mobilization and can't move faster at all.

As a price for the slow response, some noble territories close to the Blackstone Mountains have now become hunting grounds for centipedes.

There seemed to be 50,000 troops in the city, but in fact 90% of them were just a make-up, and less than 10% of the nobles' private troops were visible.

This is already the result of the county's strategic contraction and the concentration of private armies of small nobles, otherwise the situation will be even worse.

After watching the messenger leave, Viscount Pierre continued to inspect the city defense. Creston County is where his roots lie, and he cannot abandon it unless absolutely necessary.

The sky gradually darkened, and Viscount Pierre's expression gradually became serious.

He has not been idle in the past month. In order to better resist the invasion of the inner earth races, Viscount Pierre spent a lot of money to collect combat experience between the kingdom and the inner earth races.

It was finally concluded that the enemy was very fierce and liked to attack at night.

"Rumble..."

Countless flying stones hit the city wall, and the city defense magic circle that had been activated for a long time began to take effect instantly.

With a loud noise, a large number of flying rocks hit the magic barrier, causing sparks to shine.

The dazzling light blocked the enemy's flying rocks and also exposed the city defense magic array.

In the Centipede camp, Marshal Howell, who was watching the battle, saw this scene, and his face suddenly sank.

City defense magic arrays are not cheap. Generally speaking, they are important lines of defense and strategic locations, so they spend a lot of money to deploy them.

"Upgrade the magic gun!"

Marshal Howell ordered coldly.

The last time he failed in the offensive and defensive battle of the Southeast Province, he had been humiliated. If he failed again now, his position as marshal would be in doubt.

Giving up his power and going into seclusion early will be his best choice. Maybe he will die suddenly in office if he has no chance to retire and provide for himself.

The political struggles of the Giant Centipede clan have always been synonymous with bloodshed. The pursuit of cultivating Gu produces elites, and losers can only be reduced to nourishment.

The inner earth world is rich in mineral resources, but high-end goods are always high-end goods. The cost may be much lower than that of the surface world, but it is still not as bad as the street.

After suffering a loss, Howell became cautious when using the "Demon Breaking Gun".

There are still many cities to be attacked in the future, and this core strategic material must be used sparingly.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

Waves of gunfire came, and Viscount Pierre, who knew the goods, hurriedly ordered the defenders to intercept them.

If you stop one, it counts. If the city defense magic circle is broken, the subsequent defense of the city will be a copy of hell.

The magic crystal cannons on the city wall are even aimed at the enemy's crossbows, continuously outputting full firepower.

For a moment, the sound of cannon fodder resounded throughout the world, and countless Centipede soldiers had left the military camp and launched a charge under the command of the officers.

As time passed by, the battlefield became white-hot. The city defense barrier, which was constantly being attacked by magic-breaking guns, suddenly set off a big firework.

"Rumble..."

A deafening sound came out, and the scene where sparks originally appeared suddenly disappeared.

Flying stones all over the sky landed directly on the city wall, and the already shaky city defense suddenly became precarious.

A huge boulder fell, and before the two defenders could react, they were smashed into meat patties.

Splatters of blood hit the adjacent soldiers, and there was a burst of piercing screams on the spot, and the scene suddenly became chaotic.

The poor performance of the new recruits immediately attracted the attention of the defending officers, who hurried over to appease the soldiers.

Similar scenes kept playing out before my eyes. Viscount Pierre once suspected that it was a mistake to let the new soldiers go to the city wall.

Getting angry won't solve the problem. Creston County only has so much wealth. In the case of tight manpower, a large number of new soldiers must be used.

For a moment Viscount Pierre's face was filled with regret.

If he had known that there was a foreign invasion earlier, he would have started training for the reserve forces earlier, and he would not have been in the current embarrassment.

Deep down in his heart, he had made up his mind that as long as he could survive this hurdle, he would learn from the Alpha nobles on the other side of the mountain and build a powerful family private army.

"Rumble..."

The loud noise sounded again, and a section of the overwhelmed city wall suddenly collapsed, and a gap suddenly appeared in the seemingly solid defense line.

"The third legion will make up for it immediately. Be sure to plug the gap!"

Viscount Pierre ordered almost roaring.

These recruits can also be used to defend against enemies by fighting defensive battles outside the city walls.

It would be unimaginable to lose the protection of the city wall and engage in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy.

In the blink of an eye, the two armies collided with each other. After a brief confrontation, the third army fell into a disadvantage.

The gap that originally appeared was not only not blocked, but also expanded due to the continuous retreat of the defenders.

Realizing that the situation was not good, Viscount Pierre broke out in cold sweat on his forehead.

"Chief of Guards, send a message to the Governor's Mansion immediately.

Tell Marquis Simeone that if reinforcements don't arrive, Creston County will not be able to defend it! "

After saying that, he directly led his own soldiers to supervise the battle team and killed the soldiers who tried to escape.

…

Gutland Province, Governor's Palace.

"Your Majesty the Governor, the situation in Creston County is not good. They may not be able to stop the enemy's advance!"

While talking, the military officer Viscount Paoletti handed over the letter requesting help.

Less than a day after the fighting broke out, I received five letters asking for help, and each one was more harsh than the last.

"Tell Vicomte Pierre to hold on.

Three days.

No, two days!

I only ask him to stick to it for two days!

As long as Creston County could hold out for two days, reinforcements would arrive. "

Marquis Simonyi said firmly.

The enemy came too quickly, and Gutland Province was not prepared at all.

This was a failure of the kingdom's strategic prediction. No one expected that the giant centipede would dare to provoke a new round of war after suffering a huge defeat.

"Your Majesty the Governor, judging from the feedback from Viscount Pierre, let alone holding on for two days, I am afraid it will be difficult to hold on for one day.

Only two hours after the battle began, the city's defense magic circle was broken. At this moment, a hole in the city wall had been torn open by the enemy.

Most of the defenders in the city are new soldiers, and their combat effectiveness is very low. If you want to block the enemy's strong attack, you may have to..."

Before Viscount Paoletti could finish his words, Marquis Simonyi cursed angrily:

"Stupid Pierre, what a complete loser!

When I assigned a military instructor to vigorously develop the reserve force, this idiot didn't take it seriously at all.

Now that something has happened, he wants me to wipe his ass!

Fifty thousand troops are sitting in the city and they can't hold on for even two days. What kind of people are they?

…”

Swearing can't solve the problem, but it can vent your emotions.

Looking at the entire Gutland province, Viscount Pierre is considered an outstanding nobleman, and the scolding he is getting now is just out of anger.

The previous war preparations were not active. That was because the Hessian Kingdom's military mobilization model was problematic and lacked sufficient fairness.

Fortunately, the big nobles have enough say, so they won't suffer too much no matter how they are distributed.

The small and medium-sized nobles are in dire straits.

Whoever has stronger military strength will have to bear heavier military obligations, but there is no guarantee of equal rewards.

They use the justice of the human race and the justice of the kingdom to carry out kidnappings at every turn, in order to consume the small and medium-sized nobles.

In this context, in order to save money, nobles who are not on the front line must learn to behave appropriately to ensure that they do not suffer losses.

Before the invasion of giant foot centipedes, Creston County's only external threat was a once-in-a-decades tide of beasts.

Most of the beast tides are to consume excess monsters and maintain the ecological balance of the Blackstone Mountains. Usually the threat is not great, and high-level monsters rarely participate in battles.

In the early stage, just infiltrate into the castle, wait for the army of Warcraft to disperse, and then fight out to defeat them one by one.

Without pressure, there will naturally be insufficient motivation to expand the military.

The final result is that the upper-level ruling group of the Hessian Kingdom is extremely stable. As long as there is no continental war, there is no replacement of the old with the new.

The price paid was the solidification of classes and the decline in the kingdom's combat effectiveness.

Similar stubborn diseases exist in many old kingdoms. The reforms launched to preserve the economy are actually just to open up the upward channel.

"Your Majesty the Governor, there is no point in talking about this now. Let's talk about everything after the war!

The top priority right now is the defense of the province. If Creston County falls, the next step is..."

As soon as Military Officer Viscount Paoletti finished speaking, the guards outside suddenly broke in.

"The Marquis is in trouble, Creston County is in ruins!"