Leaving the task of democratizing abilities to Emerson, Todd began to focus on the war in the east.

According to feedback from the Knights of the Twilight, the Church Coalition has completed its buildup along the border and intends to launch an attack in late autumn.

There are two things about this war that make Todd very concerned.

First, in just half a year, the Church has integrated the crusading armies of twenty kingdoms since the Twilight City issued "Justification by Faith" to attack the Church and completely tore its face apart. This speed and scope of the army is unique in the history of the Church's foreign warfare. The only explanation is that the Church has been secretly plotting a crusade against Twilight City for a long time, and this time it was able to assemble a large army so quickly.

Second, the time for the attack of the Church coalition was chosen in late autumn and early winter. From the point of view of warfare, it is not a wise choice to choose such a time to launch an attack. Cold weather and snow on the roads can greatly affect the morale and logistics of the attacking side. On the second point, Todd, after thinking and analyzing, believes that the reason why the Church took the risk and chose to launch an offensive at this time was entirely because it was disrupted by the matter of the throne of the Holy Acropolis.

In the original plan of the Church, after Sinclair took the throne, the Church regained control of the Holy Acropolis and included it in the encirclement of Twilight City, which was supposed to be a safe and secure thing.

But the intervention of the Presbyterian Church, Leoric's ambitions, and the appearance of the fake Felichild completely disrupted the entire plan of the church and put a person they had never thought of, Mary, on the throne of the Queen.

Therefore, after some consideration, the church decided to take advantage of the new king and the foundation was not yet stable, and it became the only choice to capture the Holy Acropolis as soon as possible and re-establish the encirclement of the city of Twilight.

With these things in mind, Todd began to focus on the war.

In terms of military strength, the Knights of the Twilight West have three hundred heavily armed knights, and all the equipment is top-of-the-line.

In addition to this, there are Scout Inheritors, Sniper Inheritors, and Elemental Inheritors. These military forces can play a great role in the defense of the city.

But the crux of the matter lies with the soldiers of the Holy Acropolis. Those armies that originally belonged to different families, although the patriarchs of the families to which they belonged were basically killed and injured in the turmoil, it was difficult to ensure that the rest of these families would not give up, and they were both snakes and rats in the defense of the city.

Therefore, in Todd's view, Queen Mary has just succeeded to the throne, and whether she can hold these military forces tightly in her hands may be the key to the victory or defeat of the Battle of the Holy Acropolis.

Todd, who returned to the audience room, finished the work at hand one by one, looked out the window at the gradually darkening sky, beckoned Huggins, and asked him, "According to the results of the last meeting, the troops of the Church Alliance should have arrived on the battlefield of the Holy Acropolis today. ”

Huggins nodded and replied, "Yes, Your Majesty." ”

Todd tapped his finger on the table: "Have a meeting with the Holy Acropolis after dinner." ”

After a brief dinner, Todd pulled out a map of the Acropolis's defenses, as well as a map of the surrounding area. After a closer look, the soul space was opened, and Cumberland and Mary were summoned in first.

Cumberland, dressed in knight's armor and helmet in his arms, saluted when he saw the king, then wandered the room around the room before remaining silent.

Mary put on a piece of women's chain mail, and when she saw Todd, she just nodded coldly.

Todd sat on a chair in the conference room of the institute, motioned for the two to sit down, pulled Huggins into the soul space, and asked, "How is the situation on the battlefield?"

Cumberland didn't speak, but turned on the 3D projection and played back the fragments of his memories.

In the 3D holographic film, the sky of the Moon Creek Plain is overcast, and the cold wind of late autumn blows blades of grass and branches in all directions.

A distant drum beat came from afar.

At first, only a few dozen heavily armed knights came into view, and soon thousands of horsemen climbed over the mound and reached the plain near the Holy Acropolis.

Todd looked at the cavalry in the picture with various banners, and said with a solemn expression: "These are the troops of the Church Alliance?"

"The Kingdom of Shilka, the Duchy of Fenton, the Kingdom of Sloby, the Kingdom of Moroeric......" Cumberland looked at the flags in the picture, counted them one by one, and finally sighed: "I forgot, I haven't seen such a big battle for many years." ”

As the cavalry began to probe around the battlefield, the enemy's infantry corps slowly appeared in front of the defenders.

Nearly a hundred phalanxes, waving the banners of different kingdoms, entered the battlefield one after another.

A cursory glance at the past shows that the mountains are full of enemies, the towering heads have completely covered the meadows, and the fierce drumming has drowned out the whirring wind.

Todd looked at the enemy's army in surprise and said hesitantly: "Originally, I thought that the enemy's troop strength numbers would be exaggerated to a certain extent, so it seems that I may be wrong." ”

Cumberland pointed to the formation in the picture and said to Todd: "This phalanx is Adelan's spearmen, and this is Miranco's longbow regiment...... Although the total strength of the enemy is claimed to be 15,000 men, which is quite a lot, a closer look at the flags and equipment of the army formation shows that a large part of the people are peasant soldiers in charge of logistics and miscellaneous chores. ”

Todd said to Cumberland, "How much of the enemy is left without the peasants and other non-combatants?"

"There are about 10,000 more. Cumberland shrugged: "I admit that the number still sounds huge, but the enemy's weakness is also reflected in the formation. ”

Todd wondered, "The enemy's weakness?"

Cumberland's two-handed telescopic model swaps out the entire 3D battlefield for a bird's-eye view.

Todd saw some clues at this point.

The enemy's military formation seemed to be tight, but it seemed to be faintly divided into three phalanxes.

Two group phalanxes in front and one in the back.

"...... this?"

"The enemy army is not monolithic, the first two phalanxes are the armies of the secular kingdom, from the Middle and Eastern dioceses respectively, and the one behind is the direct force of the Church. ”

Todd looked at the battlefield diagram carefully, and after a while, he spoke: "The direct army of the church, which is at the rear, looks a bit like the Warlords. ”

"That's right. Cumberland zoomed in to the back half of the battlefield, pointed to the phalanx of the Church, and said: "The Knights of Stigmata, the Baptist Order, the Mardrin Order, etc., these forces are the strongest in combat, but in my opinion, their main purpose is not to participate in the war, but to monitor. ”

"Surveillance?"

Cumberland touched his chin and said to Todd: "Your Majesty, think about it, in just a few years, the three kingdoms of Silver Ring City, Dusk West City, Holy Acropolis, and the Western Diocese have defected one after another, and have broken away from the control of the church one after another. For the Church, this battle was not only about regaining lost territory, but more importantly about testing for unfaithful in the remaining kingdoms. ”

Todd somewhat understood the meaning of the other party's words.

"Therefore, it can be seen from the military array that there is a contradiction between the secular kingdom and the church in the coalition, and according to my guess, the contradiction is not small. The specific reason should be related to the religious reform initiated by Your Majesty, the abolition of the church tax and the protection of royal power, these two articles alone can make these kings re-examine their relationship with the church. Cumberland raised his eyebrows and said with a smile: "If we can amplify this contradiction, or completely break the balance of contradictions, we can win this battle with minimal losses." ”

When Cumberland said this, he suddenly remembered something, and he frowned and asked Todd: "Your Majesty, although the enemy has weaknesses, our army, as the defender of the city, also has weaknesses, do you know where our weaknesses are?"

"We also have weaknesses?"

Todd was stunned for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "Are you referring to the army of the Holy Acropolis?"

Cumberland nodded happily, the king's gradual maturity and wisdom gave him the feeling of watching his disciple grow up.

"Your Majesty, you are right, our weakness is the unstable army in the Holy Acropolis. If I were the commander of the Church Alliance, I would do everything I could to contact the nobles in the upper city, ambush the inner city, and rebel in the middle of the war. ”

Todd asked with a solemn expression, "So do we have any way to deal with it?"

Cumberland nodded: "There are several ways, first, after the battle begins, I will divide and isolate the Holy Guard, and ensure that their combat position will not affect the situation of the battle, second, Queen Mary has persuaded Lord Gordon, as the lord of White River City, who has a high reputation among the nobles, and he can help us keep an eye on the restless people in the city at all times, and third, as for the third ......"

Seeing Cumberland's stumbling appearance, Todd was a little anxious: "What's the third?"

"Although I don't want to admit it, the leader of the Xenomorph Society, Rachel, is indeed a resourceful commander, and the Xenos in the whole city are under her command, and even the mice hidden under the brick are clear......

Todd was a little surprised by Cumberland's slightly mocking tone, "Isn't it a good thing that Rachel can mobilize the Xenomorph Society to gather information in the city?"

Cumberland sighed softly: "Your Majesty, you can see this as an old man's stubbornness and prejudice, but I always feel that there is something hidden by that woman, and to be honest, I don't believe her." ”

Todd shook his head helplessly, "The war in the Holy Acropolis is crucial to the kingdom, and any force that can help should not be ignored. I know that Rachel does show some "mystery" at some point, but her loyalty to the kingdom can be trusted. But, Cumberland, you are the commander of the battlefield, and I respect your judgment and opinion, and if you feel that Richell's men cannot be trusted, then use this power as a supplement and use it carefully. ”

Cumberland chewed Todd's words, and after a long while, nodded solemnly: "Your Majesty, I understand what you said, I am going to return to the Holy Acropolis now to prepare a battle plan." After the war began, at this time of every night, I will report to you on the results of the day. ”

Todd nodded, and then instructed Huggins to transcribe some of the supplies that Cumberland needed, and watched the two leave the soul space.

"Your Majesty, do you have time?"

Todd was startled by the pleasant female voice in his ears, and he turned his head with great difficulty to see Queen Mary's beautiful face.