Realm of Power

When Emperor Thoradin I of Istanbul got off his horse and got down to the ground, his entourage had already taken the polo club from his hand and handed him a wet towel that was hot but not scalding. ,,The horse trainer who had been standing next to him also quickly pulled the sweaty horse away and took a slow stroll to catch his breath. In the dusty polo ground, there was still the thundering of hooves. Dozens of Istani knights divided into two teams waved their clubs, shouted loudly, and raced back and forth.

Thoradin I sat calmly on the chair on the sidelines, drinking hot soup, watching the game on the field, closing his eyes to rest his mind, and then turned his attention to the intelligence officer who had been waiting beside him for a long time, with a dissatisfied tone. He groaned, "How is the progress on the Crown Prince's side? He has been blocked on the front line of Anlil for three days."

Before Thoradin I turned his gaze over, the intelligence officer stood straight beside him without making a sound. The intelligence officer knew the emperor's habits well and showed that even if the sky was about to fall in the next second, he would never allow himself to do so. Being panicked and calm are the basic qualities that a royal family of noble blood should have from an early age. As a member of the royal family, Thoradin I was disrespectful when he was young, but since he sat on the throne of the emperor, he has followed every rule passed down by the royal family of Istan very devoutly. At the same time, he also has the same requirements for his subordinates. .

"His Majesty!"

The intelligence officer opened the file and reported the current situation. "The Fourth Army of the Empire led by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was ordered to cut off the access from the Feishan capital to the Labuda Fortress from the flanks, and to deploy layers of defenses to block the Feishan army from advancing towards the Labuda Fortress. reinforcements, but it has been confirmed that Feishan was the leader of the rescue team. Reaching the trapped troops, Yolanda, the famous general of Feishan, was mobilized. His legion was the Black Crow Legion, known as one of Feishan's three legions, with a strength of 60,000, while His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's fourth legion was only 4. With tens of thousands of people and a huge disparity in the strength of the two armies, it is no wonder that the Crown Prince had difficulty opening up the situation for a while! "

"It's not like the Black Crow Legion has never fought before. Their combat power is only this, but they were blocked for three days in a row. It's really... This is a war, not a palace playing war games! If the Crown Prince can't do it, find someone else!" Thoradin I closed his eyes and nodded, calmly "Call the Crown Prince, let him come back. As the future monarch of the empire, a qualified strategist is not necessarily a qualified front-line commander. He should have realized it by now, and looks at the war situation from a strategic position." Far more valuable than being on the front line! ”

"Yes!" The intelligence officer closed the folder with an ugly expression. Then he said, "Strand Sea Country secretly sent someone to request an audience with His Majesty."

"Strand Sea Kingdom?"

Thoradin slowly opened his eyes. Looking at the dust and mist filling the polo ground. His eyes couldn't help but shine. Since the defeat of the southern part of Gangfei, the reputation of Haiguo has plummeted, and its sphere of influence has also shrunk significantly.

However, the strength of the Sea Kingdom fleet is still able to rank among the top three in the inland sea, and it appears to be weak. That also depends on the opponent. The combat power of the Falcon Empire Navy is already the best among them. If compared with Fei Shan's navy, Haiguo's strength is comparable.

And the Feishan Navy is now cruising on the coast of the Istan Empire like a shark, seriously threatening the coastline of the Istan Empire. If it were not for such consideration, Emperor Thoradin would have suppressed the 300,000 Istan army in one go, instead of It is necessary to maintain a combat strength of 50,000 people at all times as a precaution like now, so progress is slow.

Now the Strands are sending their men! Emperor Thoradin is not a fool. The other party should be here to make a deal. The Strand people's desire for the Feishan Coast has long been no secret.

The reason why the Feishan Kingdom is willing to spend huge military expenditures to maintain the strength of its navy is not only to cope with the pressure of the Istan people, but also to prevent the Strand people. If the main force of the Feishan navy is still in the country, The role that the Strand Navy can play is minimal, but now that the Feishan Navy is lingering outside, the sudden addition of the Strand Navy is definitely a heavy weight to break the current stalemate in the war!

"Who is the emissary of the Strand people? Emperor Thoradin stood up from the bench, looked at the exciting polo match in the distance, and asked in a solemn voice

"It's the Commander of the Fifth Squadron of Strand Sea Kingdom, Duke Ai Halley!" the intelligence officer replied respectfully.

"I love Harley. I have an impression of this person. He is a young man full of ambition and motivation!" Emperor Thoradin nodded, waved to the intelligence officer and said, "Bring him to see me in the afternoon!"

. . . . . . . . .

The commander of the fifth squadron of Strand Sea Kingdom, Ai Harley, rolled up the documents he brought one by one and neatly put them into nine equal-sized wooden tubes. He heard a rush of footsteps coming from outside. The personnel of the Istanbul intelligence department who were in charge of liaison this time cheered up Aihare with the news. Thoradin I agreed to see him. Aihare's heart flashed with ecstasy. The sea country finally took a successful step towards the land. took the first step,

You know, this time it was personally proposed by Prince Anji, who is from the neutral faction, and reviewed by the Supreme Council of the Sea Kingdom. The resolution of the Strand Sea Kingdom to intervene in the Feishan battle was rarely recognized by the top leaders of the neutral faction and the action faction. This This resolution is also regarded as a major turning point for Haiguo to reverse its own destiny. As a secret resolution that can change Haiguo's destiny, the order for Feishan's battle is now kept strictly confidential.

The documents brought by the Haiguo faction Ai Harley are just copies of the entire combat plan. To ensure that the secrets are not leaked, there must be no more than ten people in the Haiguo who know this plan. The entire plan is completed in three parts. The first step is that the Haiguo The naval raid on Feishan's coast completely destroyed the foundation of Feishan's navy. In this way, even if the battle was unfavorable, Feishan's navy would not be able to survive in a short period of time. It poses a threat to overseas islands during the period. The second part is that the Haiguo provides the fleet and the Istan Empire provides the army. They land on the land connecting the Haiguo and Feishan. After the fleet obtains a fixed point on the coast, it will use the connecting point Supporting the Istan Empire from the sea to advance into the hinterland of Feishan, the Istan Empire is responsible for protecting the land interests of the maritime country.

The last and most critical thing is that the Haiguo Navy met the main force of the Feishan Navy that had withdrawn. Facing the powerful Feishan Navy, the Strand Navy asked the Istanians to join the dragon-class battleship from the Falcon Empire. Fighting, this is also a factor that the Supreme Council of the Sea Country considers participating in the war. If the Strand Navy and the Feishan Navy are a balanced scale, then the addition of this super battleship with powerful attack power is a heavyweight bargaining chip that is enough to reverse the power balance between the Strand Navy and the Feishan Navy. As a reward for attacking Feishan, the Sea Kingdom hopes that Emperor Thoradin I will promise to allocate the coast of Feishan to the Strand Sea Kingdom after defeating Feishan. For this, the Sea Kingdom does not worry about the Istan people not agreeing. , the Istan Empire, which boasts an army that is proud of the Central European Barro, has always ignored the existence of the coastline, and the Istan Empire does not have a navy. It is even more impossible to choose to face the revenge of the sea country just for the sake of some coasts.

In the afternoon, the Istan intelligence officer brought Duke Ahaley to meet Emperor Thoradin I. After reading Haiguo's plan, the emperor was silent for a moment, tapping his fingers on the armrest rhythmically, and looked at the nervous Duke Ai Halle. Ning Sheng said, "This is a very satisfactory plan. I also believe in the sincerity of Haiguo. Paying the coastline after the war is not a problem, and it is not difficult to let Dragon-class battleships participate in the war. But if Haiguo Yu Fei Shan's naval battle What to do if we lose? According to the plan, my army has landed at that time. Once your fleet withdraws, our imperial army will be attacked from both sides! "

"Your Majesty, no one can guarantee 100% victory. All we can do is try our best! And once the battle fails, I believe that the first target of Fei Shan's navy will still be our Haiguo. And your Majesty's army can evacuate calmly!" "The Duke of Love Harley stood up straight and bowed respectfully.

"Well, okay, deal!" Thoradin I smiled, and the Sea Kingdom joined his side. It will be difficult for Feishan Kingdom not to die this time!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

In the central and southern part of Congo, the Southern Army of Congo led by Varisian was unexpectedly blocked. Isaac Sonko, who had lost the first battle, ordered the entire army to retreat. Only then did Varisian realize that he was using Thor's numbers. Deceiving and deceiving Aisa Sonko, Aisa Sonko was also deceiving himself by holding on to the front line. Ten miles away from the battle line, the throat of Sovala Fortress leading to the northern region, a huge fortification suddenly appeared in Varisi. In front of the army of grace,

When Isaacsonko knew that he could not stop the Falcon Army's attack, he was already preparing for the second line of defense and moved the main force to the front line. It seemed that he was competing with the Falcon Army on the opposite side, but in fact, the Falcon Army was unable to pay attention. When they arrived at the second line, more than 20,000 laborers mobilized by the coalition forces spent half a month carrying out large-scale excavations in the Sovala Fortress. The soil of the Sovala Fortress was relatively soft, and the surroundings were basically fields. Even in winter, no hard soil formed, and 20,000 laborers dug hundreds of spider web-like tunnels here!

"This is.....!"

Even with Varisien's calmness, he couldn't help but be dumbfounded. All the coalition forces retreating from the battle line suddenly entered the tunnel. The Falcon Army's advantage in thunderous firepower and long-range crossbows were basically gone. The coalition forces have arranged a large number of archers in these tunnels. As long as the Falcon Army wants to get closer, flying arrows will be shot from the direction of the tunnels, and no one can see them.

The Imperial heavy infantry who acted as the vanguard of the attack, wearing heavy armor weighing almost thirty kilograms, arrived at the tunnel despite the rain of arrows. The tunnel in front of them made these brave Imperial heavy infantry hesitate. The depth inside the tunnel was definitely more than one meter and a half. Some areas were deepened by more than two meters, and allied archers stepped on a wooden ladder knot. If the heavy infantry jumps from the structure and shoots outward, the thin wooden ladder will collapse. With dozens of kilograms of equipment and heavy shields and spears, it will be difficult to easily climb out of such a deep tunnel, even if the heavy infantry have physical strength. Chaoqun climbed out and saw that there were more than a dozen similar tunnels in front of him. The corners of the eyes of the heavy infantrymen were twitching.

It's so shameless to think of such a method! Varisien could only temporarily order the legions to stop attacking. Although he could not fully see what was inside the tunnels from his position, he could already predict that as long as these tunnels were aimed at the Falcon Emperor's sharp gun in the distance, Attack, this is the first time the Falcon Emperor has encountered such a helpless situation. No matter how intensive the artillery fire and crossbows are, it is impossible to kill all the coalition soldiers hiding in the tunnels. The soldiers of the Allied Forces can easily block the large-scale advancement of the Falcon Army through the cover of the tunnels.

It seems that we can only use the stupidest method to conquer one tunnel after another! Varisien's nose was so angry that his nose was crooked. Coupled with the intense fire and cold, he saw through the lookout mirror that more coalition soldiers were continuing to expand the tunnel about three hundred meters away. These coalition soldiers who had withdrawn from the front were arranged in well-organized columns. He lay on the ground and silently waved the tool. He turned over the soil in handfuls to his right hand, and scattered it in an orderly manner. But I can clearly see that the spider web behind the fortress is expanding.

"Thor, stop them immediately!"

Varisien shouted angrily. "Rumble!" The thunder god located on the position began to roar. Rows of black smoke pillars rose in the direction of the tunnel. People and debris could be seen flying into the air. However, if you want to be accurate at a distance of 200 to 300 meters, It is quite difficult to hit the coalition soldiers who are digging tunnels. Except for part of the Thor's hit range, the rest of the explosions are basically a waste of Thor bombs. Fortunately, the Thor bombing caused confusion among the coalition soldiers digging in the ground. The excavation work temporarily stopped, and the battle line between the two armies remained as calm as it had been for some time before.

In desperation, Varisien decided to organize an attack. The imperial heavy infantry built a passage with wooden planks and directly attacked the fortress. As a result, about a hundred meters away from the fortress, they suffered a fierce counterattack from the trebuchets above the fortress. Although the trebuchet is not very powerful. But it was enough to suppress the Imperial heavy infantry who had to step forward on the plank. The firepower of the coalition archers from the side tunnel was equally fierce, and the imperial heavy infantry was once again forced to retreat.

"Set up camp and rest!"

Varisien really felt a little helpless. The opponent was using a typical turtle tactic, killing him without showing his face. Even a fool could predict that the opponent's purpose was not to fight. Instead, delay as much as possible. For me, the most stressful thing now is time. If you cannot get behind the main force of the coalition within the scheduled time, the entire campaign may be reversed! At the same time, the battle reports were also reported level by level. Even the fat man was alarmed at the end.

"Huh? This is...a trench?"

After carefully reading the urgent report, the fat man's expression was very exciting.

Isn't this the trench that only appeared in the seventeenth century to combat morale? How come the super defense specially designed to deal with long-range covering firepower is applied to yourself?

Damn it, couldn't it be that someone else traveled through time to join the coalition forces? Fatty didn’t realize that war is the best catalyst for the development of things. Now that the Falcon Empire has the frightening long-range weapons, some people will naturally come up with ways to restrain it. War itself is a powerful evolution.

The fat man walked back and forth a few times in the temporary headquarters in Puntau, his eyes a little red. Since Varisien started taking action, the Imperial Guards followed the Imperial Navy southward to Puntau, and the Imperial Central Army moved to the southwest area. The net has been opened, and now they are waiting for Varisien to cut off the coalition's retreat, but the chain is dropped at such a critical moment.

Once the coalition forces became alert, the trap he had spent 500 miles of land to set up as a bait was completely ineffective. Fatty suddenly stopped and said fiercely to the officer who sent the battle report, "Sue Varisien and remove all the crude oil incendiary bombs you carry." Use it. Since the opponent wants to use tunnels to block it, then use burning The incendiary bomb cleared a passage!" The fat man paused and said decisively: "Tell Varisien that I will immediately send someone to transport 500 barrels of crude oil to him from the Putao area. We will not be able to break through within two days. If the coalition forces block it, he, the governor of the southern Congolese and Putao joint regions, should stop doing it!”

After receiving the Fat Man's order, Varisien immediately started preparations and sent more manpower to assemble a simple trebuchet out of wood. The Confederate Army itself carried 500 rounds of incendiary bombs, which were mainly used to attack large fortified fortresses. Now they will With the addition of the 500 barrels of crude oil transported from the Putao area, Varisien's confidence immediately increased. His Majesty Falcon was still too smart to blow it up. Could it be that he couldn't burn it! As long as the crude oil is poured down according to the area and the whole area is burned, the coalition soldiers in the tunnel will have no other way to go except running out before they are burned to death. Moreover, in order to encourage the coalition military morale, the coalition commander will also direct The troops also moved into the tunnel.

On the morning of January 19, the battle started again.

As the sharp trombone sound coming from the direction of the Falcon Army tore through the calmness of the sky, the coalition soldiers in the tunnel ran out from every corner like ants that had been poked into their nest.

In the direction of the Falcon Army, the small triangular flag of the Falcon Army hung in the hands of the riders at the front of the queue, making a rustling sound in the wind. Heavy shields and spears with cold light were densely arranged in ten huge square formations in front, and the metal shields A bursting cold light shines in the front, and behind the shield, you can see the entire long tassel fluttering like flames. It is the beautiful red tassel on the helmet tip of the Falcon heavy infantry, fluttering in the wind, like The red color of the burning earth is boundless and fills everyone's sight, giving people a strong visual impact.

"Haha, here comes the heavy infantry again! Don't the other side know how to use another method?" The coalition soldiers looked at the Falcon Army in the distance with a relaxed expression on their faces. The powerful momentum on the opposite side was not to them.

The previous battles have proved that the heavy infantry of the Falcon Empire cannot cross the tunnel area at all. Not many people noticed that behind these powerful military formations, hundreds of heavy catapults like giants were slowly moving under the push of soldiers. The long catapult arms were more than twice as large as ordinary catapults. In the baskets were round wooden barrels.

With a command, these round wooden barrels were thrown out, falling from high places into and outside the opposite coalition tunnels, breaking into wood chips with a snap, and the black pungent liquid inside was splashed everywhere. As the wooden barrels broke over a large area, the tunnel section was lower than the surrounding area, and the black liquid flowed into the tunnel from the ground like a stream (to be continued..)u