Chapter 266:
In just a few breaths, Zhan Nings, Sophia, Richard, and Soros joined forces to kill a sixth-level warrior on the battlefield. Seeing this scene, Viscount York felt in his heart It was clear that it was impossible to succeed in attacking the magician.
Although the Viscount of York was very powerful in combat, he had wounded Lost in just a few breaths and got rid of Lost's entanglement, but he knew in his heart that even though Lost was injured, he was still capable of fighting. After all, Lost is already a fourth-level knight, and there are many professional officers around him.
If he continued to entangle and let Lost take a few breaths, he would also be surrounded and annihilated by the enemy.
Seeing that the enemy infantry had broken the gap in the shield formation, Viscount York suppressed his grief and immediately turned around and fled. He is extremely fast and his choices are very decisive.
Richard, Sophia, Thoros and other masters mainly focused on breaking through the enemy's formation, without immediately blocking them, and successfully allowed Viscount York to escape into the wilderness.
The Viscount of York fled, causing great confusion among the defenders.
There had been a gap in the formation, but now the general was on the run and the soldiers almost dispersed.
Seeing that the enemy was defeated, the warcraft cavalry in Harland's territory immediately mounted their horses and pursued and annihilated the defeated troops.
This encounter was successful. The intervention forces from the three provinces successfully crossed the Feiraman Mountains and broke through the second line of defense.
In this battle, Richard lost less than 200 troops and annihilated all 2,000 defenders. Viscount York only escaped with his life.
Viscount York luckily saved his life from the battlefield, fled back to Nero Castle in a panic, and met Viscount Nero, the commander of the coalition of nobles in the middle of Stanik.
Although there are no big nobles in the central region of Stanik, the strength is not weak. The three viscounts and sixteen barons add up to a total of 12,000 noble private troops.
Among these dozen noble families, many people have good talents.
Viscount Nero is the strongest in the territory. There are three thousand elite soldiers in the territory. Viscount Nero is also a powerful epic knight and is not far from the legend. His two assistants, Baron Solawan and Viscount York, are both seventh-level silver knights, and the soldiers under their command are not weaklings. They are considered capable of fighting in the Grand Duchy of Stanik.
When the orcs invaded, Viscount Nero also led the coalition of nobles to achieve many military exploits, and was Stanik's famous commander.
After hearing the information brought back by Viscount York, Viscount Nero's heart skipped a beat. He never expected that the coalition of nobles from the three provinces of Grant Kingdom would be so good at fighting?
In less than ten days after entering the Grand Duchy of Stanik, Richard led the intervention forces from the three provinces to win two battles, annihilating five thousand enemies, captured Bursen Castle, and broke through the Ferraman Line of Defense.
Such power instantly frightened Viscount Nero.
Viscount Nero carefully asked Viscount York about the intelligence on the battlefield, paying special attention to many details, and then summoned the main military officers and invited the clergy of the Church of Fortune.
Because of Duke Jonathan, the exchanges between the two countries have not been particularly close in the past hundred years. Regarding the opponent's intelligence, Viscount Nero's eyes darkened, but he actually didn't know much about it.
"Bishop Elman, the Church of the Goddess of Fortune has been operating in Grant Kingdom for many years. How much do you know about the coalition of nobles from the three northern provinces of Grant Kingdom?" A
battle for the throne broke out between the two countries, and the clergy negotiated not to participate in the civil war between the two sides. However, Bishop Erman and Viscount Nero have known each other for many years, and there can be some exchange of information.
"In recent years, a new great noble has emerged in the Grant Kingdom. This person is Earl Harland of the Gedda Province. Earl Harland is less than thirty years old and is already an important commander in the three northern provinces of the Grant Kingdom. , has repeatedly made military exploits in the war with the orcs, and was named an earl last year.
It is said that this earl is not only good at fighting, but also good at managing the territory, and has also contributed to magic research. He is a magic earl." After listening to Bishop
Elman's words , After the introduction, Viscount Nero nodded and continued to ask: "Which noble noble is this Count Harland from?"
Elman shook his head and said: "Earl Harland was born into a family of military officers in Northern Xinjiang. His father was just a first-generation baron?"
Upon hearing this, Viscount Nero's face changed greatly: "He was born in an ordinary family and became a master before he was thirty years old. Can I be promoted to an earl?"
Viscount Nero is over sixty years old. He has been an epic knight for more than ten years. He has participated in many northern wars and has not yet been promoted to an earl due to his accumulated merits.
He knew very well how difficult it was to be promoted to earl?
"Lord Viscount, it seems that our opponent is indeed smart and capable. According to Viscount York, the enemy army also has a mage group to assist in the battle. The mage group plays a great role in the battle formation. If we are not fully sure, we should not fight with the enemy. , My opinion is still to keep the wall strong and clear the country. When the enemy runs out of food, they will naturally collapse."
In the previous two battles, three barons have been killed, and three more barons have destroyed the entire army. Five noble families including the Viscount of York have lost more than half.
Now there are only 7,000 soldiers left in the coalition of nobles in central Stanik.
Seeing that the situation was so dangerous, Viscount Nero immediately regretted it. He carefully analyzed the battlefield and discovered that his biggest mistake was to divide his forces for fighting.
However, the special situation forced the coalition of nobles in central Stanik to divide their forces to fight.
The soldiers of the noble coalition are of good quality, and there are many professional officers among them. According to common sense, their combat effectiveness should be second only to the main army.
But on the real battlefield, the performance of the noble coalition is often mediocre. The biggest factor is serious internal friction. The nobles' armies were their lifeblood, and there were often many conflicts between neighboring nobles, making it difficult to unify on the battlefield.
When the situation didn't look so dangerous, Baron Solawan and other border nobles were unwilling to give up their territory and gathered behind them. The nobles in the rear were slow to move, and the soldiers had not yet gathered, and Burson Castle had already been lost. As a last resort, the Viscount of York could only lead the vanguard to fight defensively in the Feiraman Mountains. As a result, the troops were divided continuously and were defeated by Richard one by one. He lost 5,000 soldiers and the situation became passive. If the forces continue to be dispersed, the central noble coalition is in danger of defeat.
Viscount Nero stared at the map and said seriously: "The current situation is like this. The enemy will cross the Feilaman Mountains the day after tomorrow. We only have one day to assemble and clear the country." Viscount York said: "One day is not enough at all
. Whether it is people, livestock, or food, one day is not enough time to move it. It would be good to convey the order to the village." "
Ordinary serfs, don't worry about it. When you go back, immediately bring your soldiers and their families to Nero's Castle. , take away all the weapons and equipment, take as much food as you can, and burn the rest. The families of the soldiers are basically concentrated near the castle. One day is enough for you to assemble." "Abandoning the serfs in the village, our losses are too great
. , Moreover, concentrating the soldiers into Nero's Castle will increase the number of soldiers' families by tens of thousands. How long can the food of Nero's Castle last?" After hearing Viscount Nero's decision, a baron immediately raised objections. .
Although it is easy to say that the country will be strong and the country is clear, it is particularly difficult to implement it.
Especially for hereditary nobles, such an order is almost like cutting off their flesh.
Many nobles do not have a view of the overall situation, and it is extremely difficult for them to take action on themselves. Many people do not agree with maintaining a strong wall and clearing the country.
Although Viscount Nero was powerful, he was not a great nobleman and had no nominal command power.
In recent months, Linus Castle has been in chaos. It has changed several owners and has not taken care of the central border area at all. No noble coalition commander has been appointed.
The reason why everyone is united is basically to organize spontaneously to deal with external threats.
Without the name of the central government, unified command is more difficult. They will only execute orders that are in their own interests. Nobles will inevitably delay the implementation of orders that are not in their own interests.
But under the current situation, if Viscount Nero wants to continue fighting, he can only continue to implement the strategy of strengthening the walls and clearing the country.
The nobles in the middle of Stanik are all members of the distant branch of the Linus family and are connected by blood to the royal family. With such an origin, they would not dare to surrender easily, unless Duke Jonathan was willing to sign a soul oath not to hold them accountable.
Viscount Nero originally planned to use Bourson Castle to wear down the enemy's energy, wait until Fountain's fortified city was attacked, and then assemble the army, cooperate with the Burson garrison inside and outside, defeat the coalition of nobles from the three provinces in one fell swoop, take advantage of the momentum to counterattack to the Dukedom of Fox, and seize Some castles, extending the border a little further east.
Unexpectedly, Baron Solawan, with three thousand soldiers, could only hold on at Burson Castle for a few days.
The enemy's offensive was so fierce that Viscount Nero did not dare to fight Richard. After careful consideration, the best way he came up with was to strengthen the walls and clear the country.
The only weakness exposed by the coalition forces of the three provinces now is the shortage of food. They can only strengthen the walls and clear the country. If it is delayed for a period of time, the situation may change.
Viscount Nero expressed his opinion. Seeing that many people disagreed, he continued to persuade: "Our blood is the blood of the Linus family. Once the Jonathan family usurps the throne, every family will not be spared. More than a hundred Years ago, our ancestors killed all the nobles who had the blood of the Jonathan family in their bodies. Now the Jonathan family will definitely retaliate in kind and it is impossible to forgive us. If we want to
maintain our status, we must fight with blood. As long as we persist until the enemy When we run out of food and retreat, no matter how great the losses are, we should not hesitate and delay. After
defeating Count Harland, we are still nobles even if our lives are harder. If we do not implement the clearing of the country and allow Count Harland to seize the food, we will Everything you own will be taken away. Your wives and daughters can only have sex in the body of the enemy. The
Jonathan family has a blood feud with us, so you don’t need to think about noble treatment. I solemnly say here that I hope everyone can take the overall situation into consideration. Execute the order to clear the country, burn the grain, fill up the wells, and assemble the soldiers towards Nero's castle. Please remember that we only have one and a half days." After grinding for a long time, a dozen
hereditary nobles finally unified their opinions and saw efficiency. With such a low level, Viscount Nero was worried, feeling that even if he executed the task of clearing the country, he would not have much chance of winning this battle.
Just when the coalition of nobles in central Stanik was executing the order to strengthen the walls and clear the country, Richard led the army over the mountains. The food he carried was only enough for about twenty days. The remaining food was stored in Burson Castle and some was left in the camp in the Ferraman Mountains.
After crossing the mountains, Richard immediately released the scouts.
Harland's territory has a squadron of magic hot air balloon scouts and a squadron of lion cavalry. These flying units are basically invincible to the coalition of nobles in central Stanik.
Audrey rode a lion and flew around in a circle, and immediately noticed that the enemy was clearing the field.
With the aerial reconnaissance force, the enemy's activities were immediately exposed to Richard's eyes. The nearby nobles almost burned the grain in the castle. Although there was still some food in the villages below, it was basically agricultural and animal rations and planting grain. Even Li Cha If the police rob tens of thousands of people of all their food rations, they can only last for two or three months at most.
After discovering that the enemy had fortified the wall and cleared the country, Richard immediately strengthened his reconnaissance force. The Warcraft Cavalry and the reconnaissance brigade spread out to suppress the enemy's scouts, attack nearby villages, and collect food supplies.
The magic hot air balloon squadron flew over Nero's Castle, staring at the enemy's main force.
The magic hot air balloon appeared over Nero's Castle and was immediately discovered by the officers and soldiers guarding the city. Viscount Nero had extraordinary eyesight. Even if the magic hot air balloon flew very high, he could still see clearly inside the magic hot air balloon.
In an instant, Viscount Nero saw the magic flame lamp, and he immediately understood that it was a magical creation. Seeing that the enemy actually had a strange flying unit, Viscount Nero suddenly became gloomy.
As the foreign scouts continued to die in battle, Viscount Nero knew clearly that a brutal strangulation battle of scouts took place outside the castle.
When the two armies fought, the first thing that started was the strangulation battle between the scouts.
Any army must strive for the priority of intelligence.
This kind of scout strangulation battle is very cruel and will not end until one side can't bear it anymore. Once the scout fails in the engagement, it means losing the battlefield intelligence rights. When the situation develops to this extent, it will become like a blind person and a deaf person.
Although the scouts of the noble alliance in central Stanik are not weak troops, they are still far behind the Warcraft Cavalry of Harland Territory.
Moreover, there are also a large number of scouts in the three-province coalition. Even if they are exhausted, Richard still has a chance of winning with many soldiers and generals.
The brutal strangulation battle of the scouts lasted for two days, and the coalition of nobles in central Stanik could not bear the losses. In just two days, they lost more than half of their scouts, and more than 200 scouts died in the wilderness.
The three-province coalition forces commanded by Richard only killed seven or eight Warcraft Cavalry and dozens of ordinary scouts. The scout cavalry were all elites in the army. Viscount Nero could not bear such heavy casualties and could only give up the initiative on the battlefield.
Viscount Nero gathered the scouts into the castle, and Richard immediately sent the cavalry of the three-province coalition to collect grain and plunder the surrounding areas. Because the advance was too fast, the nobles in central Stanik were not given too long, and the clearing of the country was not completed at all. There were still a lot of food people left in the nearby villages, which were precious resources for the coalition forces of the three provinces.
(End of chapter)