After that snowy night, Todd's speech sent the entire town of Twilight to full speed in anticipation of the upcoming battle.

A notice written by the head of the regiment was posted on the square at the entrance of the church, and the catechumens loudly explained to the people what was about to happen.

Todd begins with a detailed account of the great crisis facing Twilight at the beginning of next spring, then he stresses that he and the Twilight Knights will be stationed until the last minute, allowing the people to evacuate with their belongings, and that Twilight will arrange evacuation routes and safety points, and finally, the Knights will issue weapons to those who are willing to stay and fight together, and train them to join the battle as militia.

After a brief period of confusion, the residents took different paths.

Some of the wealthy newcomers, packing up all their valuable belongings, escaped from Twilight Town in a horse-drawn carriage that night.

Some of the cowardly residents, knowing that they could not go far in this snowy season, gathered at the entrance of the church, hoping that the Order would arrange for them to evacuate to a safe place.

But many more people choose to stay. These include the artisans and fishermen who first joined Twilight, the farmers who fled from the aristocracy, and the alien refugees who sought refuge......

The men went to the Knights' recruiting point, took up arms, and joined the militia, while the women tore off the curtains of their homes, tore the linen cloth from their beds, made cloth armor, and donated it to the church.

At the recruiting point, you can see such a scene every day. The silver-haired old man and the young man stood in front of the recruiter and asked loudly why they were not allowed to join the army.

It's mid-December.

At noon, the sun rises into the sky, and the snow reflects a blinding white light in the sunlight. On the streets of Twilight Town, you can't see the bustling flow of people, and you can't hear the noisy and complicated sounds of the past. The men were instructed in weapons and formation training by the sergeants on the training ground, while the women and children were at home making arrows, herbs, bandages, and other war supplies.

Todd was in the chapel of the church, presiding over the second pre-war convention of the Knights of the Twilight.

In addition to Cumberland, Mary, Huggins, Alfonso and others who participated in the meeting last time. Monk Joe, who had left for the monastery as soon as the cement was developed, had just returned to the town with more than thirty monks a few days earlier to catch up with the conference.

This monk in his thirties, with a "Mediterranean hairstyle", was energetic and outspoken, and before everyone was officially seated, he stood up and recommended himself: "Chief Commander, if you agree, I am willing to go to the Silver Ring City and persuade the enemy to abandon the attack on us." ”

Todd pursed his lips and smiled wryly, he had to explain to the hot-blooded monk the situation in Twilight once again. Seeing that the other party finally dispelled his thoughts and sat down, he nodded towards Huggins.

The latter stood up, looked at the paper in his hand, and said in a deep voice: "At present, there are still 1,075 residents in the town, of which 829 are willing to stay. ”

When Todd heard this, he asked, "Except for those old and weak women and children, how many people can be organized into a militia?"

Huggins looked up: "290 people." ”

Todd frowned, motioned for Huggins to sit down, and then turned to Cumberland and asked, "How's it going over there?"

The old knight replied, "According to the message brought by my old acquaintance, there is good news and bad news. The good news is that the commander of the Southern Legion, Count Emerson, was placed under house arrest last month, and it seems that he should have refused the nobles' requests, and the bad news is that the Silver Ring army attacking Twilight Town this time not only includes the Southern Legion and the nobles' private soldiers, but also a group of temporarily redeployed Northern Legions, with a total strength of more than 1,200 men. ”

Hearing this, Alfonso asked suspiciously, "Northern Legion, how could they join this battle?" Isn't Silver Ring City worried that the northern barbarians will take advantage of the opportunity to ......?"

At this point, the knight suddenly stopped talking and opened his eyes. Stayed there.

Cumberland sighed, "The biggest possibility is that the Silver Ring Kingdom and the barbarians have reached an alliance. ”

Alfonso shouted in disbelief, "Are they crazy? Didn't they think about the consequences of doing this?

Dion, a knight dressed in a white dress, said at this time: "I guess that when the Silver Ring Kingdom made the decision to attack Twilight Town, it had already made up its mind to conclude an alliance with the northern barbarians. ”

Todd, who was standing on the pulpit, frowned, his eyes fixed on Richel.

The woman stood up and took out a palm-sized piece of cloth from her bosom: "According to the information sent by Beidao, this time it was a tribe called 'Panya' that attacked Dusk West Town by sea, and they poured out of their nests, using ten warships, 200 pirates, and about 300 barbarian warriors. ”

"Are there 500 enemy troops at sea......" Todd suddenly thought of the berserker with the 'adrenal parasite' in his body when he was ambushing pirates in the past, and hurriedly asked, "Is there any rumor that there are some powerful berserkers in this pirate tribe?"

Rachel shook her head, "Commander, you should be talking about the Berserkers in the North Island, these people are extremely rare, and I have not heard of such people in the 'Panfang Clan'. ”

Todd felt a little relieved, and after motioning for Rachel to sit down, he began to calculate the strength of the enemy and the enemy.

Twilight's side: Huggins and his squad of 12 Inheritor knights, Alfonso and his three servants, Cumberland and his 200 sergeants and a dozen men, and 290 hastily trained militiamen.

On the enemy side: a 1,200-strong Silver Ring army consisting of the Southern Legion, the Northern Legion, and the nobles' private soldiers, plus 200 pirates and 300 barbarian warriors.

In terms of troops, 500 men against 1,700 people, Twilight Town needs one person to deal with three enemies, and it is completely defeated.

In terms of troops, Twilight Town has 25 heavy cavalry, 15 light cavalry, 15 archer cavalry, and 180 sergeants, but the same class of troops on the enemy's side, compared with this number, will only be more and not less. The only ones left on their side are some militiamen who have just entered the battlefield, and if they face the enemy's pirates, warriors and private soldiers, it is estimated that they will be beaten and dispersed immediately.

The disadvantages of this battle are simply too great......

Todd, who was standing on the pulpit, rubbed his eyebrows: "Everyone here, is there anything else to add?"

To his surprise, there was a person who stood up hesitantly, and it was the honest and honest little Jerry.

This shy young man, watching everyone focus their eyes on him, whispered shyly, "...... I know ...... Fisherman...... They ......"

Todd opened his mouth slightly, tilted his head sideways, and tried to distinguish the words spoken by the other party, but the other party's voice was too small to be heard.

Edgar, who was sitting next to little Jerry, couldn't take it anymore, he stood up in his chair and said with a dance, "I'll help him! I'll help him! Little Jerry knew some old fishermen, some of whom had even fought with pirates. They have an old way of dealing with those bastards who come by boat at sea, find a group of people with good water ability, see the ship approaching, dive into the sea, wait for the ship to pass, and then float up and stick to the bottom of the ship, use a chisel to dig a big hole in the bottom of the ship, and wait for the ship to sink. ”

Little Jerry listened to Edgar's words, suddenly bent down and whispered something in the latter's ear.

Edgar nodded as he listened, and then added: "Those old fishermen also said that the method of digging the bottom of the boat can only be done by those who are good at water, can hold their breath, and can grasp the bottom of the boat, and now only a few of the fishermen have this ability, and they have all said that they are willing to give it a try for the sake of Lord Todd." ”

Todd listened to Edgar's introduction, and suddenly thought of something, and his eyes lit up.

"Edgar, later you bring the fishermen who volunteered to scuttle the boats to the church, I want to meet them. After Todd said this, he motioned for Edgar and Jerry Jerry to sit down, looked at the people in the hall, and said, "So, can anyone talk about the tactics of this battle?"

Huggins glanced at the people around him and spoke first: "This battle, if you just stick to the town, I'm afraid you don't have much chance of winning." ”

Alfonso nodded: "I agree with this point of view, about the two enemies of land and sea. I suggest that we should concentrate our superior forces and defeat one unit first, and then turn around and defeat the other. ”

Knight Dion flicked the ponytail that hung diagonally on his chest with his fingers: "The key problem is the time difference. The Silver Ring army and the pirates will definitely calculate the distance of the march in advance and agree on a time to attack together. If we can get one of these armies to arrive early or late, it will give us enough time to defeat each of them. ”

The old knight Cumberland stroked the beard on his chin and made a proposal: "I think it is still possible to change the speed of the Silver Ring army. I am very familiar with the military orders of the kingdom, and as long as I forge a copy so that the enemy does not see any flaws, it can be effective. ”

Hearing this, Huggins guessed, "Lord Cumberland, are you planning to use a fake military order to delay the march of the Silver Ring Army and deal with the pirates who have landed on land first?"

The old man's next words surprised everyone: "No, I used the fake military order to speed up the march of the Silver Ring army and defeat the kingdom's coalition army first. ”

Looking at the surprised expressions of the others, Cumberland began to explain: "I know, you may wonder why you don't fight the weaker ones and attack the strongest enemy first. Let me, an old man, tell you the truth about this: first, the best mobile and most effective troops in Twilight Town are cavalry, but if you choose to attack pirates and barbarians first, these buildings in the town will not only affect the deployment of cavalry, but also become the best hiding place for the enemy; The pirate barbarians, on the other hand, were made up of multiple clans, and even if they killed a leader, it would not have much impact on the overall battle situation, and thirdly, and most importantly, the Silver Ring army had cavalry, while the pirates and barbarians were all infantry. If the enemy's cavalry is not routed first, then they can fight at a distance, engage in guerrilla warfare with us, and even attack the evacuated residents of Twilight, forcing us to run for our lives and lose our strength. ”

Seeing that everyone else had a clear look, Todd nodded and returned to the original question: "If there is no objection to the policy of prioritizing the attack on the Silver Ring troops, then there is only one last question left, how to create a time difference between the two troops, or how to make that fake military order that can allow the Silver Ring Alliance to speed up the march?"

Cumberland also showed a look of embarrassment at this time: "This is indeed a big problem, as far as I know, the kingdom's emergency military order needs to be stamped with at least seven seals, each seal is different, and there are some details that ordinary people can't notice at all, even the palm seal minister himself, may not be ......."

At this time, a woman suddenly stood up, and her temperament like a kaolin flower made everyone look sideways.

"I was able to draw all the stamps. ”

When Cumberland heard Mary's words, he said with some uncertainty: "All the seals, those seals were made by different master engravers, and some of the seals have even been lost......

Mary looked at Todd on the pulpit and said softly, "I can guarantee that the seal I drew is exactly the same as the original." ”

Todd looked at the woman who had once been a nobleman, and remembered that since the other party came to Twilight, he had closed himself in his room, not talking to anyone, and all he did every day was to read and paint.

Mary crossed her fingers in front of her lower abdomen, her back slightly bent, and her tone was pleading: "Mr. Todd, I beg you, I hope to be able to help." ”

After a moment, Todd nodded slightly.

——————————————

At the end of the meeting, everyone returned to their posts, trying to prepare everything for the upcoming battle.

Todd took Rachel to his experimental building.

Opening the locked door and walking to the door of the back room, Todd turned to look into the nun's eyes: "Miss Richell, you are my friend and my partner, and I trust you unconditionally. But then everything I let you see, everything that you know, I hope you don't tell a third person other than you and me. ”

To his surprise, Rachel's face was calm, and the woman took his right hand, put it on her heart, and whispered, "Todd, I swear by my life and soul that my loyalty belongs to you alone. ”

Todd withdrew his palm, took a deep look at her, and turned to push open the door to the back room.

The nun entered the room and the first thing she saw was a row of bundled cloth bags on the table.

Todd noticed the other party's gaze, picked up a thirty-centimeter square bundle bag, and said to the woman: "This is called 'explosive pack', and the scientific name is called group medicine pack. The main ingredient in it is nitroglycerin dynamite made from castor oil plus charcoal, saltpeter powder, sulfur powder, etc., but unfortunately I have too little saltpeter on hand, otherwise it ......"

Todd glanced at the confused Richier, then put down the explosives bag in his hand and walked to the depths of the room: "Don't worry about this, what I want you to see today is something else." ”

Todd walked to the corner of the back room and lifted the cloth cover, revealing three cylindrical metal jars, one older and two newer, with several conduits attached to them. He turned to the woman and said, "This is called the 'Volcano Environment Simulation Flask', and it can make something called the 'Sutherland Potion'......"