The hastily assembled Griffith Battle Group had not trained together, the temporarily appointed commander was not familiar with the troops, and the combat effectiveness and characteristics of each unit were unknown.
Such an army, even if it is armed with the latest equipment and tactics, can only hold its position at most. It is impossible to defeat the main force of the rebels that can rival the legion in a face-to-face field battle.
Griffith circled a range on the map:
"This is a rebel-controlled area, and rushing into it rashly will only make Macdonald's mistake the same.
"Bertier and Lannes are responsible for the organization and coordination of the army. During this period, I will find the weaknesses of the rebels and choose the battlefield.
"As for Macdonald, he can only ask for his own blessings."
The attendees listened in silence.
"But will it go so smoothly?" asked Warren Hayden who was present.
The rebels in Verona came and went without a trace like ghosts. The regular army chasing them wasted energy, morale and supplies in vain but could not find a chance for a decisive battle. In hostile areas, reconnaissance work became extremely dangerous. Often it was
A perfect strategy has been formulated, but there are no conditions for execution.
Griffith understands everyone's concerns.
"Ophelia, please tell me something."
Ophelia, who had not recovered from her injuries, left her seat. She still looked shaky, but her thinking was still clear and quick, and she immediately began to report:
"The rebels in Verona have strong mobility and are supported by local people. They help transport supplies, take care of the wounded, and gather intelligence about our army. This is something we do not have.
"However, these alone are not enough to constitute the combat power to defeat the Legion.
"According to the intelligence we collected during this period, the rebels have two stronger forces besides the army composed of spears and muskets.
"The first one is Gulam, a hybrid experimental force that was abandoned by the government. After the war in the east, they were helpless and gradually transformed into a mercenary force that relied on brotherhood.
Regiment, serving Isius and the rebels.
"They paid a huge price to obtain power. Their bodies and extraordinary characteristics are very unstable, and they will collapse little by little even if they are left alone. Such a miserable group of people have simple sympathy and attraction for the local civilians, but after all, they are not
the same."
At this point, Ophelia paused briefly. Berthier added: "The demands of the ordinary warriors of the rebels and the hybrid experimental subjects must be different. We can find the differences between the two. Once they are divided, the rebels will
Losing important mysterious flanking power. Otherwise, we will have to be prepared to deal with high-level mythical creatures."
For example, let's say a dragon... Everyone here couldn't help but start talking about it.
"Order," Griffith tapped the table, "Ophelia, please continue."
Ophelia continued:
"The second force comes from the professional army composed of mercenaries, bandits and surrendered troops.
"The rebel forces are growing rapidly. They cannot train advanced units such as cavalry and two-handed swordsmen in a short period of time just by recruiting new soldiers. During last year's war, many legion veterans joined them and became the core of the team.
"According to the intelligence we have collected, many troops fighting in the rebel camp are dissatisfied with Xia Boyang's strict discipline. They are eager to rob and attack large towns, and are very resistant to fighting regular legions.
"To sum up, even if the rebels have many loyal and brave soldiers like Loper, we can still find a gap..."
Ophelia was making a report when a messenger suddenly knocked on the door and came in, delivering an urgent report to Berthier.
The venue fell silent for a moment, and everyone stared at Berthier who was opening the letter. The new chief of staff glanced quickly, raised his eyes, and said calmly:
"The Fourth Legion has collapsed, and the remaining troops are moving closer to the Twelfth Legion. The Senate ordered Verona to concentrate all its forces."
A thunderbolt struck the venue, leaving everyone speechless. Berthier handed the letter to Griffith as if nothing had happened, saying that the urgent report was to be delivered to him.
In addition to the first sentence read by Berthier, there was another message in the emergency report——
"Xia Boyang will hold a meeting of each column tomorrow. All senior commanders will be present. The address is in the attachment. The meeting materials are with Viscount Sindra."
A simple map marked a small town not far from the camp where General MacDonald had previously held. The sender and issuing address were unknown.
Griffith closed his eyes and thought for a moment.
The amount of information in this urgent report is quite large.
A well-informed person wants to invite me to attend a meeting of the rebels. How can I, an officer from Beyelan, attend a meeting of senior commanders of the rebels? It seems that some things require not only self-strengthening, but also historical considerations.
process!
This Viscount Sindra was the one who was defeated by Lancenis in the battle last year and lost all his army and territory. The meeting materials are with him. What is this meant to express...
"Do we need a new plan?" Seeing Griffiths deep in thought, Ophelia asked inquiringly.
"No, no need for now," Griffith stood up, "Everyone continues with their respective tasks. I will be away for some time. During this period, Berthier and Lannes will act as command."
…
April 8, 1445, Second Age.
The Verona rebels, who had almost annihilated the Fourth Army of Beyeland and its auxiliary armies, set up their headquarters in a small town in a valley. Starting from early morning, horse teams continued to come from all over, passing through tens of thousands of people.
The army camp, go to the inner camp.
Viscount Sindra was also among them.
Since his defeat last year, in order to escape punishment, he fled to the rebel side with some troops. Nominally, he was the commander of a brigade of the rebels; in fact, he and other surrendered nobles and surrendered troops were doing
An act of seizing land from past neighbors.
However, he had bad luck. After joining the rebels, his troops were sent to block the 12th Army of Beyeland and suffered heavy losses.
Most of the Viscount's army had been wiped out. He only took two guards with him and was thinking about what to say later.
Suddenly, a knight in black robes came from the nearby woods on horseback and shouted loudly.
"who?"
The guards immediately drew their sabers and stood in front of the viscount. They saw the galloping knight riding a strong black horse, and the outline of the heavy armor under the black robe was clearly visible.
Is this a vigilant sentry? Such a ferocious and dark aura must not be ordinary. Sindrazi put his hand on the scabbard vigilantly and responded to the knight:
"Sindra, commander of the 2nd Brigade of the 5th Column."
Xia Boyang's army set up police posts along the way. The Viscount had passed by the fourth and fifth floors of rangers and sentries for inspection, and there were also patrolling cavalry nearby. The Viscount raised his whip and pointed:
"We are going to meet Generalissimo Xia Boyang right now.
"How far is it from their headquarters?"
"I don't know either."
The Black Knight groaned hoarsely, not like a human voice.
The Viscount felt as if a rusty saw was tearing at his ears. Before he could take out his sword, a pale bone sickle flew out of the dense forest beside the road, piercing the neck of a guard and taking off his horse;
Before a guard could shout, a black shadow flashed behind him.
In the blink of an eye, Viscount Sindra's two guards were killed without even a chance to grunt. The Viscount was so frightened that he wanted to scream, but his throat was suddenly choked.
What's going on? I can't breathe. The Viscount grabbed his throat frantically, trying to remove the noose-like suffocation. However, the invisible power, uneasiness and fear seemed to have grown out of his body and had eroded away.
all over his body.
The black knight came to the Viscount's side, approached him like an old friend and reached out to pat his face.
The Viscount's heart suddenly tightened. There seemed to be no human face under the pitch-black hood. Only a jet-black ink-like liquid was flowing.
"Who are you?!"
Just as the Viscount was about to scream, he felt a sharp pain in his waist. A dagger pierced his unprotected waist and abdomen, and the heart-breaking pain tightened his heart.
The pain was so severe that his consciousness was blurred. In the white trance, Viscount Sindra could not scream or break away. The inhuman liquid under the black hood was squirming and taking shape.
The Viscount saw his own face in the shadow. It was pale, weak, and full of disgust for the world.
"Uh, uh..." The Viscount wanted to question, but was speechless. He could feel himself like a captured bug, his internal organs and flesh melting, and then being sucked out bit by bit.
A few minutes later, Griffith, who had become exactly like the Viscount, patted his cloak and moved his hands and feet. The appearance, voice and demeanor were all reproduced on Griffith through the potion. However, it did not
You cannot master the other party's memory and can only do limited imitation.
At his feet lay a twisted mass of shriveled corpses, with no human form clearly visible.
Minos ate the essence of the corpses of Viscount Syndra and the guards, leaving behind a pile of chewed sugar cane-like residue. Griffith took a bottle of dark blue potion from the saddle and poured it carefully on the remains.
.The highly corrosive agent immediately carbonizes the remaining skin and flesh, and dissipates into the air when blown by the wind.
The "Viscount" packed up the remaining belongings, looked through the documents, took away the horses, and continued to move forward. The rebels' inner camp was right in front, and there were no obstacles along the way.
This place didn't look like an army headquarters, but more like a lively market. When passing by a gorgeous tent, Griffith heard noises and curses.
A group of people are gathering inside for a meeting.
"After all," someone shouted in a hoarse voice, "after all, we tens of thousands of heroes are not just sheep at the mercy of the shepherd!"
"Yes, he is nothing without us?" a voice echoed loudly, "He is just the most ordinary person...a librarian. When we followed the Lightning King across Verona, he was still in Old Town
Have a small life!"
"My heroes and I did not join the rebel army to hide in the mountains of Sophia. I swear to the great storm god! ... I swear, we will never go!"
Griffith walked into the camp and found many rebel officers gathered here.
Standing in the center, calling out was Don Joseph, the commander of the fifth column of the rebel army, a twisted and depraved spellcaster.
Another clergyman named Anthony Greene fully supported Joseph's opinion. He himself was the commander of a newly formed column and the commander of three thousand recruits who were being trained nearby:
"Lord Crozier's opinion, I would say, is absolutely correct. Is he here... Hey, who did I see? Isn't this Lord Syndra? It's great to see you. We all thought you had already
He suffered misfortune along with his own army."
"I have no troops anymore," Griffiths said in the voice of a viscount, frustrated. "They were either wiped out by the 12th Army of Bayerland by the river, or they were driven into the river and drowned."
The tragic news prompted an outpouring of sympathy.
"Poor friend! You are the victim of Xia Boyang's escape route and rebellion. Now we fully understand," Don Joseph said with a sad face. His expression was so spot-on that the drama actors in Old Town could not fault it.
.
Griffith accepted their kindness with an embarrassed smile.
What's amazing is that most of the rebel commanders here were once enemies of Viscount Sindra, and many of them also looted his territory. The other part were local nobles who had fought with the Viscount against the previous group of people.
.
Most people's expressions were surprisingly consistent, and they expressed condolences one after another, as if the past had never happened at all.
"Brothers, I speak in the name of freedom and equality!" A strong commander shouted angrily with a thunderous voice. "Is Xia Boyang really a traitor? Hey, this is too much, too much!"
The sound was so loud that Griffith immediately looked away.
Among a group of strong and fierce warriors, he saw a commander named Hart Orwell.
This man was well-equipped, carrying a giant sword and a long bow with both hands on his back, and a resolute face. He was clearly a regular knight. When Griffith's eyes shifted, Hart Orwell's eyes also fell on the false Viscount.
On the body.
Before the knight who had defected to the rebels could finish speaking, another woman with wheat-colored skin shouted in the crowd:
"I got the news that Beyeran is mobilizing the army! This is absolutely true. I, Palali Rabindra, guarantee with the honor of the demon hunter that as soon as we enter the mountainous area, Beyeran will re-enter the mountainous area."
Occupy this place and send more knights to be the lords here."
"This must not be allowed!" a large group of commanders shouted together, "We will never give up our land."
"That's right, comrades," the fallen wizard Joseph raised his hands and shouted in a very contagious voice, "Xia Boyang is going to take us to the mountains. What is there except rocks? There are no patches of farmland.
How much? When we get there, not to mention equipment and weapons, even food will be a problem.
"Byelan's army is waiting for us to go there. As long as they seal the valley with one-tenth of their troops, we will be trapped inside!"
"traitor!"
The camp was boiling like a pot. The voices of Hart Orwell and a few others were completely suppressed.
"We're going east, to fight Old Town, to fight Bayerland!"
Joseph said with satisfaction: "Yes, he is a traitor. His accomplices are farmers and sheepherders. They made up lies and described the already vulnerable Beyelan as an unshakable giant. They wanted to destroy us.
Betrayed to the Beyelan Senate."
"They are all traitors. Anyone who wants to lead us to the Sofia Mountains to the west is a traitor!"