Realm of Power

Drizzle fell all over the sky. Starting from the afternoon, the clouds in the sky became thicker and thicker, blocking the sun and the sky. At dusk, light raindrops finally fell. In the distance, straight up to the Hokuriku Plateau, a vast expanse of rain powder shrouded, like smoke and mist. The raindrops fell on his face, soaking him with cold. Looking at the black smoke rising from the mountain road in the distance, a smile appeared on the corner of Estante's mouth. Sir Lytle can rest assured, I dare not say more, within two days, Prince Albert’s army will definitely attack the mountain road."

"Are you so sure that the remaining Hokuriku army will not leave the mountain road?"

A flash of light flashed in Lytle's eyes. He was wearing an imperial general's armor and riding on a majestic black horse. The red cloak behind him was shaking slightly in the wind. To his side, the imperial army was coming. They are constantly gathering at the entrance of the Hokcontinent. This is already the edge of the Hokcontinent, and the climate has also changed from that of the Feize King's capital area. The heat has become much cooler, and the geographical environment has changed from plains to raised mountains. Even the scenery has changed. The hero flowers unique to Hokuriku, large tracts of extremely beautiful and weird purple, these wild flowers There were so many that they almost overwhelmed the mountain road extending up ahead, looking like a long purple carpet.

Originally, the imperial cavalry had already caught up with the remnants of the Hokuriku nobles who were fleeing north in the royal capital area of ​​Feize. According to the combat power of the imperial cavalry, they could easily annihilate the remnant army of the Hokuriku nobles in the royal capital area. However, after learning that After Prince Albert's army also entered the Hokuriku, Estant suggested that the remnant army of the Hokuriku nobles should be sent into the Hokuriku as a bait to attract Albert's army that had previously entered the Hokuriku.

Lytle was startled by Estante's words. Allowing the remnant army of the Northern Territory to escape back would definitely have an impact on the empire's entry into the Northern Territory, and the time given by the emperor was so tight. It only took time to travel. After four or five days, the time left to conquer Hokuriku is probably less than ten days. Isn’t it too risky to adopt tactics full of changes in such a short period of time?

Estante took a deep breath, looked at the direction of Hokuriku ahead, and said in a deep voice, "This remnant army of Hokuriku forced its way through the mountain road. I believe that the Albert Army must have noticed it at this moment. For the hard-fought Albert Army, this is definitely a good opportunity. This remnant army of the Northern Territory has suffered heavy losses, but it is the last hope of each family. Once this remnant army of Hokuriku is repaired and replenished in Hokuriku, and gets the support of all the Hokuriku families, it will only be a dream for Albert's army to conquer the entire Hokuriku in the shortest possible time, so Albert The army will definitely attack with all their strength, striving to wipe out the last hope of the Hokuriku families in the shortest possible time, and then use the prestige of this victory to force the Hokuriku families to surrender."

"This Hokuriku remnant army only has three to four thousand men. It is impossible to avoid the blockade of Albert's army. The only way is to stick to the mountain road and use the mountain road defense to delay Albert's army. As long as it is delayed, In the past few days, the Hokuriku families were able to launch a counterattack against the Albert Army after a brief respite. The other party wanted to deliberately create an illusion for the Albert Army and regard this battle as an offensive battle. Understand that either Albert's army will eat up this remnant Northland army and force all parties to If the big family surrenders, either the Albert Army will be dragged to death on the mountain road by this remnant army of the Northern Territory. I believe this. The Albert Army knows this very well. "What the other party is really hiding is the Imperial Army coming behind them." "Estant's voice After a pause, his tone became even more murderous and ferocious. A hundred thousand troops were not just a hundred thousand rats. They were marching towards Hokuriku in such a mighty manner. Unless the other party was blind, they would never be able to see it. However, the remnants of the Hokuriku army could not see it. Stopped in the direction of the mountain road,

"Have you ever heard of the term luring the tiger and driving the wolf away?" Estante's eyes were unusually bright. He licked his dry lips with his tongue and grinned slightly and said, "Luring the tiger and driving the wolf away?"

Lytle muttered it twice in a low voice, shook his head slightly embarrassed, and asked in a solemn voice, "Although the literal meaning can be roughly understood, what does this have to do with our battle in Hokuriku? If we It's the tiger, the wolf is Albert's army. You don't want to tell me that this remnant army of the Northland is actually deliberately leading us into the north. Lu? How is this possible! "Letter's look of disbelief was quite ridiculous. The Imperial Army wiped out the Hokuriku noble army in one battle, beheading as many as 40,000 people. Having almost wiped out the best of the entire Hokuriku nobles, how could the remnants of the Hokuriku nobles still deliberately lead themselves to Hokuriku?

But the situation in front of them was so strange. It was just as if the remnant Hokuriku army of three to four thousand people could not see the imperial army behind them. They stopped on the mountain road no more than ten miles ahead as if they had a tacit understanding.

The only explanation is what Estante said, that the other party did it on purpose, but this conclusion is too shocking and completely incomprehensible. We killed so many Hokuriku nobles in the Roston area. Will they really choose to surrender to the Empire? ’ Lytle was also at a loss in his heart. “The situation is already like this, do they still have a choice?”

Estante looked confident, reached out and patted the sluggish Lytle on the shoulder, and said slowly, "Your Excellency is also from a noble family. You should know that a family can be passed down for hundreds of years, and some even go through several dynasties. The best It is to assess the situation and be able to bend and stretch , as long as the family survives, there is hope for a comeback. The worst thing is to change the master. Although surrendering to the empire at this moment seems so embarrassing, but think about the fact that the emperor killed 300,000 elites in one go. A fee that is hard to do even if you surrender Shan, this little grievance is nothing! After all, we still haven’t killed them all in Feize King’s capital area. If we want to seize the wealth on our west coast, we should be prepared to be severely beaten by our army.” But what if this guess is wrong? Once the other party Blocking the mountain road will definitely cost our army a lot of money." Lytle was still a little hesitant. During the battle outside Roston City, he admired Estante's talent. He transferred this person back to the west coast at the most critical moment of the entire layout. , definitely a stroke of genius,

Miraculously, he pulled out a hundred thousand imperial troops and took advantage of the interruption in the Hokuriku noble army's intelligence. In the first battle, he destroyed the Hokuriku noble coalition forces that had been rampant and domineering since they went south, and performed a jaw-dropping miracle. Although he was the one who planned the early stage, but later Facing the Hokuriku noble army, it was Ace who launched a decisive attack in front of him. Tante, he Lytle was also once known as "Calisu's number one general." Although it was just a small local narcissism, he was also promoted to the famous generals. However, after seeing Estante's ability, Lytle You also have to sigh to yourself that if you confront Estante, you will definitely die without a burial place! Therefore, Lytle has unconsciously placed himself in the position of Estante's deputy.

The news hasn't spread yet, otherwise the name of Estante will be famous throughout Obarro after the battle at Roston. "Let's wait and see. Anyway, there is no loss for us."

Estante raised his hand to Lytle, who was still hesitating. He raised his head and glanced at the black smoke in the distance of the mountain road again. A glimmer of light flashed in his eyes. The main force of the Hokuriku noble army had all been killed. There is no longer an empire that can resist the power of the empire. It is inevitable that the empire will take over the northern continent. It’s not just about whether the Hokuriku noble group surrenders to the empire and preserves the family bloodline, or whether they surrender to the Albert Army and then be used by the Albert army as cannon fodder to resist the empire’s northward advance. If they are the Hokuriku noble group, they should do the same. Make the decision you should make, or you should push the other person again! "

In the ruined fort on the mountain road to the north, the Geng Di Army soldiers above looked at the dark Imperial Army camp below the mountain road, and they also looked anxious and uneasy. The Imperial Army troops entered yesterday, and the imperial eagle flag was flying in the air. , below are the murderous teams moving in one after another, densely packed towering spears in the distance. In a short time, the large open space below the mountain road was covered, and a steady stream of troops came out of the forest at the foot of the mountain. The rumble of hooves and footsteps resounded through the foot of the mountain. The soldiers and horses raised a yellow dust mist, and the black array heads and The flying flags were looming in the dust and mist all over the sky. The number of people was almost equal to the size of an army of 100,000.

Looking at the imperial regiments that were advancing continuously from the ground far away on the mountain road, the faces of the Geng Di Army soldiers on the ruined fort were all pale, and their hearts were even colder. The last trace of luck was shattered. Grand Duke Geng Di stood at the crenellation of the castle. His face was extremely calm. Only in a position invisible to others, his fingers were tightly clasped together.

Hokuriku, is there really no choice?

Although the empire has such a large amount of military power on the west coast, and it has been following it all the way from the Feize Royal Capital area, and it was not revealed until this moment, it is enough to show that the main force of the Hokuriku noble army in Roxton City is probably already fierce. Unfortunately, the opposing commander also saw through his intention to lead the Emperor's army into a battle with Albert's army.

The strength of the troops in front of us, even including his own guards, is more than 3,000, and everyone is injured. They are running all the way. It is a miracle that they can reach here alive. What else do you expect?

Hokuriku is right in front of you, but you can't get in. Even if you can open the way to the north, what can you do? Prince Albert will never let you step into the Hokuriku area alive, so Geng Di The Grand Duke had long been determined to die, and deliberately led the Emperor into the northward march. At the same time, he used himself as bait to attract Prince Albert's main army.

The ruined fort where he is located is the exit of the northward route. Although it is dilapidated, it is the result of countless manpower and material resources spent at the beginning. After more than two hundred years of wind and rain, it is still extremely strong. Only this fortress The high wall built is more than thirty meters long. It is entirely built with large solid stones. Under normal circumstances, this last fortress on the northward march can station 5,000 soldiers. Moreover, such a high wall also means that due to the angle of the terrain, if you do not climb over this fortress, The high wall makes it impossible to see inside or outside the wall

This is an opportunity, a hole dug by myself for Prince Albert's army.

The moment Prince Albert's army breached the fortress was the moment the Imperial Army launched its attack.

When the Emperor's Army and Prince Albert's Army meet together, if the Emperor's Army wins, each Hokuriku family will naturally choose to surrender after knowing that the main force of the Hokuriku Noble Army has been defeated, but if Albert's Army wins , fighting with one hundred thousand imperial troops, how many of the twenty thousand troops of Albert's army can be left, and do you still want to conquer the Hokuriku families? I am afraid that the retaliation from the empire will be enough to make it never peaceful! As long as the attention of Prince Albert's army can be drawn away from the Hokuriku families and the Hokuriku can survive this disaster, it will be worth it for all four thousand of my people to die here. The decision to go south in the first place was my own. If only a few people from the 60,000-strong army return, how can I have the dignity to set foot on the land of Hokuriku? That's all, I will live as Hokuriku and die as Hokuriku!

Prince Albert's army arrived earlier than Grand Duke Gengdy expected.

In the early morning of the third day after occupying the fortress, white mist meandered along the mountain road, like a white stream of water flowing through the mountains and forests. The fog at night moistened the ground, as if reasoning had passed, and drew lines on the ground. Thick lines one after another, the sun has just revealed the horizon in the distance, and the blood-red morning glow covers the looming dawn in the east. These gorgeous colors are changing in the distance.

Most of the sky seems to have not yet awakened from the vast darkness of last night, showing a vast floating dark blue like an ocean. "Whoosh" In the morning mist in the distance, there suddenly came a vibrating sound like the wind blowing through the dense forest. A large number of birds seemed to be frightened by something, and they flew out from the direction of the forest. "Attention , there is a situation"

The soldiers on duty made warning sounds, and Geng Di's army, who were resting against the fortress wall with their weapons in their arms, were awakened and stood up in panic. Grand Duke Geng Di came to the battlements with the help of two attendants. His bloodshot eyes stared at the silver The double-headed eagle flag of the Fezer royal family with a blue background is bathed in the golden sun. The corners of the old mouth are slightly raised. This The bastard is finally here. If it weren't for Prince Albert, how could the Hokuriku nobles go south? If it weren't for Prince Albert's temptation, the Hokuriku noble army wouldn't attack the west coast of the empire. If it weren't for Prince Albert's Even if he betrayed his trust, he would not transfer the most elite troops of the Hokuriku noble army away during the fierce fighting that day.

At the pass in front of the fortress, a knight wearing bright silver armor came slowly. He wore a double eagle helmet on his head and a pure white cloak hanging from the horse to the ground. The knight's cold and sharp eyes fell on There was a bloody human head hanging in front of the mountain fortress, and the pupils couldn't help but tighten. Behind him, the morning breeze blew through the large purple hero flowers on the vast square in front of both sides. Countless pairs of heavy footsteps were lifted up and dropped hard, and the ground shook slightly. Dense infantry queues continued to emerge in the morning mist. From a distance, they looked like A series of silver walls suddenly appeared in the hilly area, and their huge momentum seemed to crush the fortress in front of them!