The Bonn warehouse is not far from Hegeello's office, but even if the carriage moves slowly, it will take more than a quarter of an hour to arrive.
Before we reached the warehouse, the street was no longer as peaceful as before. Both sides of the street were filled with moaning and screaming injured people. Most of them were civilians, and small broken pieces were scattered on the ground.
crumbs.
Under the sunlight, these debris reveal a bright and gorgeous faint red light; at a glance, this street seems to be lightly sprinkled with a layer of light from the sunset, which looks so beautiful, but a little beautiful.
desolate.
Someret leaned down and gently plucked it with his fingers. The light red powder immediately stuck to his fingers.
Looking at the crystal clear red powder, Somyret smiled bitterly and shook his head.
The scene in front of them confirmed what they had just guessed.
No one knows better than Somilet what a huge loss this means for them. More importantly, it is obviously impossible to make up for these losses, because the Kingdom of Leiding has tightly closed their doors.
door.
All transactions, whether overt or covert, were stopped.
These originally inexpensive crystals have now become a resource tightly controlled by the Kingdom of Leiding.
When Somilet came back to his senses from his deep helplessness, he realized that Horkels III had gone very far.
Slowly following His Majesty the Emperor, Somyret glanced at the miserable scenes around him.
Obviously, in order to prevent a single piece of crystal from remaining, the Laiding people used far more power than necessary.
This terrible explosion affected many nearby buildings, but the more powerful one was probably the earth-shattering roar.
Most of those lying on the ground wailing and howling did not have many scars on their bodies, but Somyret was absolutely certain that they would often be in endless nightmares in the years to come.
Stepping on the light red debris on the ground, there was a rustling sound under my feet.
Someret felt like he was stepping on soft sand, but only he knew best how expensive this beautiful layer of sand was.
The further you walk, the thicker the red powder spread on the street becomes.
And the red powder was gradually mixed with a lot of broken rubble.
When they came to the end, the horrific scene shocked everyone among them, although both Somyret and Milinda knew very well what the energy-filled exploding crystals possessed.
power.
However, when they saw the damage caused by these extremely beautiful crystals with their own eyes, any one of them was still shocked.
Somyret didn't see any warehouse at all. All he saw was an open space. Even the rubble was blown far away by the terrible explosion. Around the open space, there were piles of rubble.
ruins.
There may have been a luxurious villa there, or it may have been a rather expensive building.
However, no one can now imagine their original appearance, and no one even makes an effort to rescue the people who were trapped under the rubble.
Somyret was almost certain that it was absolutely impossible for a single person to survive under those ruins.
He didn't even think that there were living people in the houses further away that looked relatively intact.
Just take a look at the cracked walls, the completely shattered window glass, and the roof with beams and pillars exposed due to the peeling of the outer layer, and you can imagine the people living inside.
How fatal injuries may be sustained.
After looking around, the prime minister did not see a corpse. Maybe the corpse had been carried aside. Maybe it was so close that the people affected had already been shattered to pieces. The air wave after the explosion,
Blows far away.
Someret walked towards the clearing.
Only the walls and foundations were left here, and they had been so completely destroyed that he would never expect to find anything useful.
"How much is the loss?" Someret gently patted the shoulder of Hegeiro, who was standing on top of the pile of ruins.
At this time, Horkels III and Milinda also came over, "Although what was originally stored here was only a part of it, accounting for about one-third of all the crystal mines, but what is stored here is of the highest quality.
Well, the largest crystals are enough to be worth 10,000 Kobe Leos." Haguero said slowly.
Although he tried his best to appear calm, after all, it was impossible to look at such a huge loss so indifferently, not to mention that Hagrid was not a magnanimous person in the first place.
"It seems that we are not at the end of our rope yet. Don't we still have a lot of crystals in our hands? But I always feel very strange, how could this explosion be so complete?"
"All the crystals were blown into pieces. I didn't even see a slightly larger particle. No matter how powerful the explosion was, it was unlikely to cause such a result." Somyret said about himself.
The doubts in his heart, this matter, really confused him deeply.
Hagero and Milinda turned their attention to His Majesty the Emperor standing aside.
Because they know that only this guy might know the right answer.
Horkels III gently twirled the crystal clear red powder with his toes. He could still feel bursts of weak magic power slowly emanating from the crystal powder.
"These crystals themselves are the most dangerous items. We all know that they can explode as long as some magic energy is poured into them. If a little magic energy is poured into these crystals, although they may not be able to produce much power after the explosion,
It’s enough to turn the crystals themselves into powder.”
"Of course we ourselves would not do such meaningless things, but our enemies can use this method to destroy our most precious resources."
"There must be a clever magician among the people who infiltrated here, and this person has some way to infuse all the crystals with the power of fire. Then he only needs a slightly more powerful crystal, and then everything is done.
Now, all you need to do is detonate that powerful crystal, and everything will be turned into rubble."
Hearing this, Milinda suddenly frowned. Among these people, except for His Majesty the Emperor, she was the one who knew the most about magic.
And she, who was led into this mysterious land by Enleco, naturally had completely different ideas from other magicians.
"In this way, those Ledin people should not carry too many explosive crystals, at least not so much that they would attract the attention of the magicians who monitor the safety of Vedsk."
Regarding what Milinda suspected, Horkels III nodded in affirmation: "You only need to ask the magician on duty yesterday to find out, but I doubt that the matter is indeed as you guessed, Lai
The Ding people will definitely have some arrangements before carrying out this operation. I believe they have already tried repeatedly to bring as many explosive crystals into the capital without attracting the attention of the monitoring magic."
"Then the magic energy injected into these crystals cannot be very large either." Milinda asked.
"I've already said that it doesn't take a lot. It's enough to completely destroy the crystals themselves." Horkels III replied affirmatively.
He didn't find anything suspicious in this matter, but Hegeiro who was next to him obviously knew what Milinda was thinking.
"Then what's the reason for such a strong explosion? Could it be that the power of the explosion is not necessarily related to the amount of magical energy." Hagrid asked impatiently, he was very eager for the answer.
This time, even His Majesty the Emperor understood what was going on.
After frowning and thinking for a while, he nodded slightly and said: "Perhaps, the real key is that all the crystals explode at the same time. Although their energy is not very large, when they are added together, they produce an amazing effect.
Unimaginable power."
Someret also nodded. In fact, apart from Hegeero, he was the one who grieved these crystals the most, because he had originally tried every means to get these crystals from the Kingdom of Leiding.
"Now it seems that we no longer need to go to great lengths to hoard crystals. Didn't we once say that red glass is a cheaper but much worse quality substitute? Perhaps, we can use quantity to make up for the lack of quality.
"I can definitely guarantee that you will get as much glass as you need," Somyret said with a smile.
However, he found that Hagrid obviously did not listen to what he said.
I saw this guy standing there blankly, muttering: "Explodes at the same time... at the same time... at the same time..." Suddenly, this guy's eyes lit up, and his eyes were bright.
At this time, he no longer looked as sad and anxious as before, as if endless power poured into his body in an instant.
"Weak power, as long as the timing is accurately grasped and exploded at the same time, it can produce unimaginable destructive power."
"Those Ledding people taught me something interesting. When the battlefield is no longer determined by steel and flesh and blood, it will be very outdated to use the old way to decide the strategy. A battlefield dominated by magic.
, the one who really has the power to decide is undoubtedly the magical energy."
Seeing the excitement of his old friend, Somilet quickly reminded him, "I'm afraid this is just your idea. To make this idea a reality, I'm afraid you have to go through the test of the battlefield."
"Why not let Felt launch a full-scale attack, on the one hand, try the tactics you just thought of, and on the other hand, let the Montita people really feel some pressure, let them show off their trump card as soon as possible
."
Haguero glanced at Somyret: "Is it possible that you can prepare for all attacks in such a short period of time?"
"What exactly do you need? Why not make a list? Maybe I can help you prepare everything in the shortest time." At this point, Somyret glanced at Hagrid.
This pair of friendly friends looked at each other and smiled, with a malicious smile on their lips.
The Montita grassland has always been calm, which made Enleco, who would have been frightened because of the war, feel a little relieved.
In his opinion, the pace of war is still far away from them. At least before this hot and redundant summer passes, the Kaoqi people will not launch an attack.
Because of this, Enleco even took time out to study the "artificial uterus"
Enleco never expected that the war would come so suddenly.
When the news reached his ears, Enleco felt as if he had had a nightmare.
Following the large group of people, he only felt groggy. The weather was originally clear and clear, but to him it seemed to be gloomy, full of unbearable depression, and seemed to be so dull that it was suffocating.
Even the green grass in the field seemed to be lying listlessly on the ground.
It seemed as if everything in heaven and earth was mourning what had just happened.
As a special person, Enleco was crowded among the crowd. This time he rode a war horse like everyone else.
They were the first unit to rush to the front line for reinforcements. Although they only had 2,000 troops, they were all elites in the Unicorn Corps.
The leader of the army was Dak, the future king and the captain who was loved by everyone in the Unicorn Corps. Enleco glanced behind him. He didn't know how many people were following him. He even
It is impossible to guess whether this will be the beginning of a full-scale war.
In the sky, two falcons were flying quickly, and they used their sharp calls to indicate that there was no threat ahead.
Perhaps the owner of one of these two falcons is Bashan, and perhaps the scout exploring the road ahead is one of the people he is familiar with.
Since the bad news came, Enleco's mind has been empty.
It's not that he has never experienced battlefields, he has also been involved in bloody battles, but he has never felt as powerless as he does now.
In the past, he was fighting desperately for himself, for his own freedom and safety. All he needed to consider was himself and his comrades fighting alongside him.
He has never used other people's flesh and blood and lives to win the war as a commander like this time.
Although he had hesitated, worried, and been afraid, he never thought that when the soldiers died, he would feel so guilty.
It was as if he was the one sending these people to their deaths.
Along the way, Enleco always doubted whether he was really qualified to command this battle.
After all, he is not Most, and the battle situation is changing so quickly.
A small mistake may cost thousands of brave soldiers their precious lives as the price of failure.
Enleco hurried forward with a heavy heart.
The melancholy mood seemed to be constantly draining his physical strength. Enleco was panting and felt very tired.
It was early summer, and the midday sun was scorching the earth.
When the scouts brought news from the front line, and when the large group of troops arrived at the fortress calling for help, a strong smell of blood hit Enleco's nostrils.
What shocked him was that behind the position, the west side of the fortress was covered with low graves. Duck waved his hand and told everyone to dismount.
Everyone led the horses and walked slowly past the cemetery where the Montita soldiers who died bravely in battle were buried.
This is the only way living people can express themselves.
This is the respect these brave and fearless warriors deserve.
Everyone was immersed in a solemn and sad atmosphere, and no one made the slightest sound.
Even the war horses seemed to be infected by the desolation. They walked gently without making any sound.
The gate of the fortress in the distance has long been opened, and an old man with gray hair is standing on the wall.
His head was wrapped in a white cloth, with little blood seeping out from under the white cloth.
There was a long string of carriages parked next to the fortress.
The soldiers were carefully moving the things on the carriage down. These soldiers all had scars on their bodies.
Duck gave some instructions to his deputy, who then ordered a small team and walked towards the carriage.
Enleco followed Dak, and the two of them went straight to the fortress.
As for the others, they immediately entered the position.
Everyone is on alert because no one knows when the enemy will launch an attack.
Walking on the long slope, Enleco looked around in surprise.
The fortress is full of wounded.
Those who were less seriously injured sat there supporting each other, giving up precious open space to those who were truly seriously injured.
Although the smell of blood was everywhere, Enleco did not hear anyone moan.
"You have finally arrived. I originally thought it would be difficult to hold on any longer." The old man standing at the top of the fortress said slowly.
Enleco had some vague impressions of this old man in his mind.
In Enleco's memory, this old man can be regarded as one of the few people with a good mind in the Unicorn Corps.
No wonder that while other fortresses fell one after another, he was the only one who still stood firm.
"How much is the loss?" Duck asked bluntly.
"I don't know the exact number. I only know that the defense line on my left has almost completely collapsed, and the four fortresses have probably been captured."
"Only about 1,300 people can retreat here, but most of them are injured. We urgently need treatment now, and there is not much holy water left, and many people's injuries are gradually getting worse."
Having said this, the old man pointed to the wounded around him.
Five or six of the wounded were huddled together, their heads, hands, and chests were tightly bandaged, and they were looking listlessly at the sky.
What are they thinking about in their hearts? Is it the yearning for their tribe? Or is it the concern for their wives and children at home?
As if feeling the gaze of Enleco and the others, some of the injured slowly raised their heads.
Dak nodded towards them, perhaps he could only express his gratitude to these warriors who fought bloody battles in this way.
The wounded also nodded slightly towards here, but their expressions looked confused and haggard. "What are the specific circumstances of the sudden attack launched by the enemy?" Dak turned his head and asked.
, the old man slowly walked to the other side of the fortress. Along the way, he carefully avoided the wounded lying on the ground.
Dak and Enleco followed the old man.
On top of the city wall, two guards were standing guard, their bright eyes always looking into the distance.
The old man pointed to the plain on the northwest side. The land was stained with blood.
Large areas of pasture were trampled to pieces, exposing black soil.
There were burnt marks everywhere, and circular scorched spots were revealed on the ground.
The earthen wall near there has long been reduced to ruins, leaving only a few isolated sections that still look intact.
On the contrary, the trench looked quite complete, with only a small section collapsed by the explosion.
The old man pointed in that direction, as if recalling the tragic scene at that time.
After a while, he slowly said: "Those Kaoqi people chose to attack at dawn. At this time, there was only one small team serving as guard."
"And they have been on guard duty all night and are already exhausted."
"Now that I think about it, it is really a lucky thing that we were not completely destroyed like several other fortresses. The magician under me was particularly cautious. He first noticed the enemy who sneaked in."
"He raised the alarm and allowed us to survive. Because the situation was unclear, I adopted a defensive strategy just to be on the safe side. I sent three squads to guard the defense line in front of the fortress, and at the same time ordered two cavalry squads to pay attention to the position.
Both sides.”
"Their duty is to prevent the enemy from bypassing the defense line and attacking the fortress at any time. Now that I think about it, it was this that allowed us to survive. The Kaoqi people did send two troops to outflank us from both sides, and they ran into me head-on.
The cavalry sent out.”
"We have strong fortifications, and the Kaoqi people have deployed many magicians."
As he spoke, the old man pointed to the distance again, and saw a defense line several kilometers long, extending in that direction until it disappeared on the horizon.
He added: "I have never seen anyone use magic so intensively; it only lasted a few minutes, but the position was almost completely engulfed by the bursting flames. I suggest you go there and have a look.
I believe that after you see that scene with your own eyes, you will have a deeper experience of this battle."
Having said this, the old man sighed heavily, his sigh full of sadness.
"However, one thing is certain. Those trenches are indeed very useful in reducing casualties. The position was almost completely leveled, but my men were able to survive in this hellish place."
"Nearly half of the two teams were lost, but the other half that survived successfully blocked the Kaochi forward. I have to admit that those Kaochi soldiers were also very brave. They jumped down the trench and fought with my men.
Every inch of the position, it was truly a thrilling battle!"
"The advantage we have is that the weapons we use are spears. We didn't expect that this kind of thing can be most powerful in a narrow trench; and what they are better than us is that once they encounter obstacles, their magicians will
I will use that terrible magic to clear the way."
"Originally, I thought there was no hope for us to be able to survive. The only magician under me could only support the defensive magic of this fortress. He could not spare any time to deal with the magicians of the Kaoqi people. Because of this, I
After sending a signal for help, all soldiers were ordered to join the position."
"I'm very worried that with the Kaoqi people's intensive magical attack, even if we retreat into the fortress, it will be useless. The fortress will be destroyed sooner or later, so it is better to fight to the death with the enemy in the position."
"When I put most of my men into the battlefield, those Kaoqi people have already broken through the first line of defense from the front position you see now."
"We have to thank those mines. They are indeed very useful things. It's a pity that we don't have many of them. However, we are quite lucky. When those mines are put to use, the Kaoqi people
Right into the trench we had abandoned."
"Our mine blasts were not wasted at all. When we cleared the battlefield, we saw the corpses of the Kaoqi people piled up in the first trench. Almost none of the corpses were intact, and their thick armor
, and there is no way it can withstand the power of the explosion."
"This setback seemed to be a big blow to the Kaoqi people. They never launched another attack. Even the Kaoqi people who attacked from both sides evacuated the battlefield; I ordered my men
A small counterattack was launched, and all the remaining mines were used by my men in this counterattack."
"The results were pretty good. This counterattack caused a lot of corpses of the Kaoqi people to be thrown in front of the position. Although the Kaoqi people gave up the all-out attack, they did not retreat because of this. These guys relied on their magical advantages.
We set up a battle formation at a distance where we can't attack them."
"Their magicians throw a row of explosive flames on our position every ten minutes. Although there are only a dozen or so sparse explosive flames, they still cause us some casualties. I dare not let it happen
My men retreated back to the fortress because I was worried that the Kaochi would attack again."
"Those Kaoqi people saw that this move had no effect on us, so they concentrated all their magicians to attack the fortress. For a while, I even thought that I could no longer hold on because our magicians were exhausted.
Exhausted!"
"Several pieces of the outer wall of the fortress have also been cut off. I am even worried that if we are hit a few more times, the wall under our feet will completely collapse: you can see that it is already full of cracks, but the really big cracks are
Near the bottom, there is a place where you can even extend your entire arm." As he spoke, the old man stamped the ground with his foot.
The cracks all over the ground shocked Enleco.
There were countless cracks stretching out everywhere under his feet, like earthworms crawling all over the wall.
The thickest crack extends to a very deep place, just like the mark left by a sharp ax violently chopping on the wooden board.
"The fierce bombardment lasted for a full four hours. In the end, the Kaoqi people retreated from our position. Then, soldiers stationed in the other two fortresses retreated to us one after another. They brought the fortresses with them.
News of the breach."
"I roughly know from their descriptions that the Kaoqi people launched attacks on our four most peripheral fortresses almost at the same time: each attacking team had about seven or eight thousand people, but they really caused us losses.
What is disastrous is the nearly one hundred magicians deployed in each attacking team."
"Oh - by the way, there is another thing that caused a lot of damage to my men." As he said that, the old man took Dak and Enleco to a corner of the fortress.
There were dozens of crossbows scattered around there. The old man bent down, picked up two of them, and handed them to Enleco and Dak. Enleco weighed the crossbows in his hands. As a crossbow, this thing was quite heavy.
Such a huge crossbow was indeed beyond his expectation. The two stretched out crossbow arms were nearly one meter long. What surprised Enleco even more was that the crossbow arms were as wide as the palm of his hand and were as wide as a mung bean.
Made of wide refined steel bars, the three layers of steel bars are tightly welded together, making this crossbow arm incredibly stiff.
Enleco used all his strength to pull the bow string.
The hardness was enough to remind him of the incomparable divine bow that he had recognized as its master in Haigero's mansion.
Beside him, Dak was also making the same attempt. He pulled the crossbow open with all his strength. His expression was full of surprise. Obviously, this was not an easy task for him.
"I absolutely don't believe that all those Kaoqi people can open such a crossbow." Dak shook his head repeatedly and said: "Even if you kick with both feet, not everyone can open such a hard crossbow.
"
"I'm afraid they have special machinery that can help them complete this difficult task." Enleco pointed to the row of tooth grooves on both sides of the crossbow body.
"Every Kaoqi man seems to be carrying such a hard crossbow. It seems that they only intend to fire one crossbow arrow, but even if there is only one shot, it will cause a lot of casualties to my men."
"The arrows fired from this crossbow can penetrate the soldiers who are protected by magic and wear heavy armor. Those arrows can even penetrate the outer wall of the fortress." As he said, the old man pointed at his feet.
Enleco stood on tiptoes and looked outside. Just as the old man said, arrows with only a small tail exposed could be seen everywhere on the wall of the fortress.
"Could it be that our bows and arrows are useless at all?" Duck asked.
"Yes, we shot down a magician this morning. Obviously, this guy never thought that our bow and arrow could reach such a high place." The old man said.
Dak turned his head and looked at Enleco, and the two nodded slightly.
"So tell me, what is the situation now? How many wounded are there? And how many more people can participate in the battle?" Dak asked the old man.
"Including the soldiers who retreated to me from several other fortresses, this fortress now has nearly 3,700 people, of which only more than 1,000 are my subordinates."
The old man showed an extremely sad expression and said: "Our men have sacrificed a lot. Nearly two-thirds of the soldiers fell on the position in front of us."
Duck gently patted the old man's shoulder. He could only express his condolences in this way.
"So what's going on with the other fortresses? Is it possible for us to launch a counterattack?" Dak asked.
"I once sent my scout, and he exchanged his life for important information. The Kaoqi people have advanced the front line to the fortress they occupied. There are only a few dozen kilometers between them and us." The old man said.
"Let me go and take a look, maybe I should contribute something to this." Enleco said, largely because of the guilt in his heart.
Looking at the bloody fighting of the Montita people, Enleco suddenly felt that it no longer seemed important whether he should continue to hide his identity or not.
He turned his head and glanced behind him.
Behind the fortress are rows of grave mounds. These grave mounds are like trenches in front of the fortress, extending so far that you can almost see the edge.
A few hundred meters behind the pile of tombs, there is a huge, lonely tomb.
Enleco guessed that the Kaoqi soldiers who died in the battle were buried there.
Standing at the top of the city, he felt infinite desolation for a moment. This was a world he had never been familiar with.
There is no hope here, there is only death, either killing the opponent or being killed by the opponent.
Enleco seemed to be able to see the God of Death lingering here.
These melancholy gods use the huge scythes in their hands to harvest the souls of the dead and bring them back to the Lord of the Netherworld.
Enleco guessed that if there is anything in this world that is closest to complete despair, it is undoubtedly the battlefield.
He felt sad, deeply sad for the soldiers who died in the battle and who were about to die in the battle.
Temporarily shaking off the depression in his heart, Enleco covered himself with invisible magic, and then flew into the air.
In mid-air, he saw a long string of carriages in the distance, pulled by eight horses, galloping towards them.
At the front of the carriage fluttered a white flag with the emblem of the goddess of life printed on it.
On the horizon, a faint dark cloud floated up. It was not a sign of an approaching storm, but an army of thousands of troops galloping towards here.
Seeing this scene, Enleco gradually felt relieved and flew towards the distance.
In the camp of the Kaoqi Army, the military flag of the command palace has already been flying high on the wall of the fortress. This is the southernmost fortress, and it is also the most intact one.
The Kaoqi Army, which had just won the victory, was hurriedly building fortifications.
Because the trench originally dug by the Montitas was now located behind them, it could not play any defensive role at all.
Although everyone in the corps is still immersed in the joy of victory, both morale and combat effectiveness are at their peak.
However, the old commander still did not dare to take it lightly.
He was very worried that the Montita people's counterattack might come soon.
As a soldier, he knew very well how terrible the anger of revenge was, not to mention that he believed that the Montita people had enough means to retaliate.
The old commander had no way of predicting whether his deployment would be successful, let alone whether the two powerful magicians would be able to keep the regiment safe.
He tapped the map on the table gently with his fingers. In his opinion, this plan was too risky, but he had no choice.
Just when the old commander felt a little dizzy, there was a gentle knock on the door.
"Help, is that you?" the old commander asked, his voice seemed a bit deep.
The door opened gently, and the chief of staff walked in slowly.
Under his arm was a thick stack of files.
"Has the result analysis report been made?" the old commander asked.
His old friend for many years gently placed the thick file on his desk.
Margrave Felt slowly sat down. He put on his glasses and gently opened the file box.
After flipping through a few reports, the old commander asked directly: "Is there anything in particular that needs attention? I don't want to waste time reading a lot of descriptions of how to win."
"It is undeniable that this is indeed a major victory. You fought this battle extremely well, no less than any of the victories won by Duke Hegeelo in Fertiran." The chief of staff said with a smile.
.
"When did you learn to say compliments?" The old Marquis shook his head and said slowly.
"This is a fact," the chief of staff insisted.
"The fact is that according to the original plan, we should occupy the five closest fortresses. But there is still one fortress in the hands of the Montita people."
"This puts us in an extremely embarrassing situation. Our right side is exposed to the heavy troops of the Montita people. This is not the battlefield I expected for a decisive battle."
As he spoke, the old commander pushed the map on the table in front of the chief of staff.
"We are now more than two hundred kilometers away from the defense line we built ourselves, and we are surrounded by Montita people's fortresses. This isolated fortress is stuck there like a stick, making it difficult for me to move.
”.
"Before I pulled out this seed, I didn't even dare to sleep peacefully. My regiment had to be on alert in three directions at all times to guard against sudden attacks by the Montita people."
The chief of staff knew very well what his old friend was worried about.
He also understands how embarrassing the current situation is.
This half-way attack was far worse than the initial confrontation.
"It is indeed a pity. If we had put in another corps, we might have been able to capture that fortress in one fell swoop." The chief of staff sighed.
"I don't want the soldiers to suffer in vain. The man stationed in that fortress is obviously a guy who knows how to fight. I have already lost half of the regiment and let more than 3,000 soldiers die on the position. This is already a big deal.
It exceeds the troops I lost in the other three fortresses."
"You and I should both know very well, as Duke Haguero said, on this battlefield, steel and flesh and blood are of no use at all. When those brave soldiers break through the first line of defense, when they occupy
The outermost trenches.”
"At that moment, I made the biggest mistake in my life. According to past experience, this is a symbol of victory. I mistakenly threw an entire regiment into the trench that was narrow enough to kill people."
"This is the biggest mistake I have ever made. Facts have proved that on a battlefield ruled by magic, no matter how much troops are invested, it is useless. Even if the hard armor is protected by layers of magic, it still cannot withstand the fierce force.
The explosion, in that narrow tunnel, no matter how brave the warrior is, no matter how advanced his martial arts skills are, there is no room for escape."
"The entire two squadrons were sacrificed on top of the position. Before that, we had an absolute advantage. In just a moment, our advantage was completely lost."
The old commander showed an extremely solemn expression.
"The guy stationed in the fortress obviously knows how to use the power of magic. His skills are advanced and he knows how to seize the opportunity. You should remember how he organized that lightning-fast counterattack."
"Like a poisonous snake, it suddenly flew out from its hiding place and bit hard. What a skill. I watched thousands of soldiers fall in front of me. They died like this.
Already."
"They were once a so-called invincible corps. They used battle axes and long swords to strike fear into the hearts of the Fetillan Kingdom. The thick shields in their hands once made them invincible. Before that, their opponents had not fallen miserably.
To surrender is to surrender out of fear."
"But yesterday, in the firelight, they were like dummies made of straw, boom - and then... then there was nothing. Who knows how many explosive bombs those Montitas still had in their hands?
?Why should I let my subordinates die in vain if I don’t have a definite certainty?”
The chief of staff nodded and quickly comforted him: "At least we have learned a trick and know how to use those powerful weapons."
The old commander pointed to the stack of files and asked, "Have you written all of this in the report?"
"Of course, this was originally one of our jobs. Haigello sent you and me as frontline commanders just so that we could conduct experiments for him and figure out how to use these weapons and how to operate on this brand-new battlefield.
To survive and win.”
At this point, the chief of staff suddenly frowned and whispered: "There is something I must report to you. We seem to have just lost a magician. He went on patrol but never came back, and the one we are responsible for monitoring
The magician said that the missing magician suddenly disappeared from his perception. What is even more strange is that at the same time that the magician disappeared, there were no obvious traces of anyone performing magic."
The old commander glanced at his good friend. He was silent for a while and asked tentatively: "Could it be that the person who worries us the most has arrived in that isolated fortress?"
The chief of staff did not dare to answer this question casually, because he knew very well that this matter was of great importance.
"Isn't our job just testing? Haguero is quite polite to us. He didn't send those two people. We just need to do our job well." The chief of staff said with a smile.
Full of helplessness.
"Yes, we just need to take care of our own work. This is the value we have." The old commander sighed helplessly.
After a while, he cheered up.
"Help, please help me sort out the results and losses of this time. This is something for us to see for ourselves. There is no need to make empty boasts. Especially for that failure, everyone in the corps must learn from it.
Learn a lesson, and we should also learn something from the enemy's extremely advanced tactics."
"The last thing you need to do is to prepare a report and ask the Arms Department to mobilize more explosive bombs as soon as possible. The more the better. In the future battlefields, it will probably depend on who is more prepared and who will be able to obtain them.
victory."
The chief of staff looked serious this time. He puffed up his chest and replied: "Yes, I will follow your order and I will start preparations immediately."
Having said this, he paused and asked: "The storm may be coming in a few days. Can we take this opportunity to conduct another attack? The storm will make it impossible for the enemy to counterattack."
"I'm afraid those Montita people are also thinking about this idea. Our footing is not stable, and their desire for revenge is hot. There is no need to fight them head-on at this time."
The old commander's words made the chief of staff nodded slightly.
"Amazing, with extremely keen judgment, and calmness and prudence. No wonder Duke Hagueiro proposed that you serve as the commander-in-chief of this corps."
Suddenly, another person's voice came from the room.
As soon as he finished speaking, a figure appeared in the corner of the wall. He was wearing a red robe and his face was hidden under the brim of his hat.
"Mr. Drekes, are you too rude to do this?" the old commander said coldly with a stern face.
"I just don't want others to notice. Some things need to be kept secret." Drakes said calmly.
Suddenly, this small office was filled with an atmosphere of mystery and tension.
"Duke Hegeero has any plan for me to implement?" the old commander said solemnly.
"It's not what the Duke means, I just have one thing to remind you."
"Perhaps the Montita people's counterattack did not come before the storm started. Although you know more about war than I do, you don't know much about the world of magicians after all."
"That terrible storm may be a huge trouble for you and your soldiers. In your opinion, no one may choose to attack at this time."
"However, for magicians with extraordinary strength, violent storms, thunder and lightning are simply the most powerful allies. As long as we can easily deploy the incomparable power in the world, we can give our opponents a fatal blow. In fact
What is needed to complete this work is not even powerful magic, but just high skills." After hearing everything Drex said, the old commander and his chief of staff looked at each other.
They saw fear and worry in each other's eyes.
Because although the two of them do not understand the mysteries of the magical world, they are very aware of the terror of these powerful magicians.
"In your opinion, how should we redeploy?" Marquis Felt asked.
"Didn't I just say that? You are the real expert on military affairs. I am just putting forward my opinions and trying my best to help you within the scope of my ability." Drekes said slowly.
Hearing what this mysterious magician said, the old commander immediately frowned.
He sat down slowly and spread the map in front of him.
His friend also approached the desk. He also frowned and was constantly analyzing the current situation in his mind.
"Felt, my old friend, it seems we can no longer defend here." The chief of staff pointed at the map and said.
"However, if we retreat rashly, we may be wiped out by the enemy halfway."
The chief of staff pointed to the large open space and said: "We are too far away from the fortress behind us. It may not be that easy to pass through this large open space."
"Mr. Drakes, can you use magic to cover the Montita people's eyes?" the chief of staff asked.
"Although I can do it, if there is a powerful magician hidden among the troops approaching from Montita, maybe he will be able to see through the magic I cast." Drechs said slowly.
"However, if you are confident that you can retreat to the fortress in the rear before the storm arrives, I can take the risk and give it a try. Maybe I can blind the sight of the Montita people." Drechs proposed herself.
suggestions.
The old commander-in-chief and his chief of staff looked at each other, and they saw a trace of deep worry in each other's eyes.
"Can the speed of our retreat be comparable to the sweeping storm? If we are caught in the storm, wouldn't we be seeking death if we were exposed on the grassland?" the chief of staff reminded cautiously.
"Maybe we can retreat part of the troops before the storm comes, throw away all unnecessary luggage, and leave a war horse for each of the last soldiers to leave. Maybe we can have a race with the storm." The old commander said solemnly.
said.
"Now, how many follow-up troops have not yet arrived here?" Marquis Felt asked.
The chief of staff thought for a while and replied: "The 17th, 18th, and 19th squadrons are staying at the rear fortress. The 10th and 11th squadrons are responsible for protecting luggage and supplies, and they should not have arrived here yet."
"The Thirteenth Squadron has just joined us this morning. It is the fifth and last corps to launch. In other words, there are still four squadrons on the way to the rear. The Sixth and Seventh Corps are responsible for protecting our flanks.
"
"In other words, there are only nine corps that have arrived and entered the position. Among them, the four main corps participating in the battle are each injured."
"The one with the heaviest losses was undoubtedly the Fifth Squadron. They only had one-third of their troops left. In addition, the First Corps, which was the first to attack, also suffered considerable losses. Their opponent was obviously a desperate guy.
The only good thing is that judging from the number of casualties, we still achieved victory."
The old commander slowly shook his head and said: "It would be better to have less victory like this. We were so fully prepared and caught them off guard, but we still had to lose so many soldiers. If the opponent was prepared
, aren’t we about to be completely wiped out?”
As he spoke, the Marquis used a pen to draw a long horizontal line on the central axis of the open space.
"Let the regiments that have not arrived yet be stationed here, and let the eighth and ninth squadrons take the place of the first and fifth squadrons, and let them guard the occupied defense line."
"As for the two replaced corps, let them retreat to the fortress in the rear. I believe the Montita people will not think that we are gradually withdrawing our troops."
"In this way, there are only seven corps that need to race against the storm, but there is no need to retreat without a fight. Three corps are left behind to let the Montita people understand that they are not the only ones who know how to defend their positions bravely.
."
"It's a very clever arrangement, and it leaves room for me to use it." Drechs said slowly, his look looked so mysterious.
"However, may I suggest that you leave more troops? Anyway, the decisive battle will come sooner or later. It is better to take advantage of the opportunity when our morale is high to give the Montita people a heavy blow."
The old commander glanced at the mysterious magician, and after thinking for a moment, he solemnly asked: "Is this your intention, or is it a strategy that Duke Hegeero has already formulated?"
To the surprise of the Marquis, Drechs actually shook his head slowly.
"I never like to make my own decisions, and I don't have to listen to the Duke's orders. I am His Majesty the Emperor's envoy, and I only follow His Majesty's will."
The old commander nodded, and the chief of staff standing next to him also understood everything.
The two people looked at each other, as if they had grown older in an instant.