True charm is the honest expression of the self, and sometimes, a certain kind of shyness or gaffe, is charming, because they come from the heart, are honest, and make us see a unique side of a person. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

- Sofia Loren (famous Italian actress)

When White Peak, who was leading his army, received information from Adrien again, his army was only seventeen days away from the camp where Upton and Francis were engaged, and Francis' assault on Upton had just begun.

At noon the day after Adrien sent the information, Francis's army of 50,000 troops arrived at the camp where Upton's army was located, but this camp was Francis's own camp after all, and he did not immediately attack Upton's army.

Francis's 30,000 elite cavalry surrounded the entire camp, and he himself personally led the remaining 20,000 elite soldiers to the main gate of the camp 200 meters before trying to persuade Upton to lay down his arms and surrender.

Francis, who wanted to solve the crisis without blood, even did not hesitate to hold on to his own power, promising Upton many favorable terms, including allowing Upton to inherit his father Atabaz's camp and old ministry.

If Francis had given Upton this a month ago, why would he have gotten to where he is today? Now that the situation has developed to such a point that there is no possibility that Upton would ever have turned back.

How could the nobles of the Estheni Kingdom who followed Upton to start a rebellion allow Upton to hand over the fate of himself and others to Francis? Even if Upton was willing to surrender to Francis again, he would not be able to take a single soldier with him!

Among the 40,000 troops under Upton's command, there are less than 5,000 warriors who are truly loyal to Upton, and the other 35,000 warriors are controlled by those nobles, who are the actual controllers of Upton's army.

These nobles were not fools, and they naturally understood that whether Francis would spare Upton or not, he would not be able to spare himself and others, so Francis's persuasion was doomed to be futile, and it was an unavoidable battle.

Francis, who failed to persuade Upton to surrender, did not attack immediately in a rage, but intended to persuade the soldiers in the camp to surrender in the same way as before, and because of the threat of the Roman city, Francis was still unwilling to continue such internal friction.

Unfortunately, Francis's 'good intentions' could not impress the nobles who were determined to carry out the rebellion to the end, and they firmly controlled the soldiers of the army, strictly ordering no one to step out of the barracks, completely cutting off any attempt by Francis to persuade him to surrender.

After several days of unsuccessful efforts, Francis, who had exhausted his patience and food, decisively ordered the whole army to attack, and 20,000 of Francis's elite soldiers immediately launched a fierce attack on the front of the camp.

The 40,000 soldiers in the camp were more than a step behind the 20,000 elite soldiers attacked by Francis, and the fierce offensive of these 20,000 elite soldiers once caused the defenders in the camp to lose the front of the camp.

If Upton hadn't personally gone into battle and forcibly recaptured the lost camp gate with superior forces, I am afraid that Francis's elite cavalry would have taken the opportunity to kill the camp, and even if Upton recaptured the camp gate, it would not change the fact that they suffered heavy casualties.

Thankfully, the reinforcements of Nabazani and Assam greatly improved the situation on Upton's side, and just two days before Francis's army officially attacked Upton, Nabazani and Assam's troops had already taken the initiative.

With Adrien and his battlefield ghosts providing them with information, they had long known the movements of Francis's other army and had devised a detailed ambush plan for the enemy's course of action.

From Francis's camp to Nabazani and Assam's camp, there are still many suitable ambush sites along the way, especially a narrow mountain road facing mountains on both sides, which is an excellent ambush location, which is where Nabazani and Assam set up ambushes.

The generals of the more than 100,000 troops under the command of Francis are not newcomers to the battlefield who do not know anything, and they naturally know this place that is very easy to be ambushed, and have arranged careful preparations for ambushes.

The ghosts of the battlefield, who were very good at stealth, helped the armies of Nabazani and Assam to quietly hide 20,000 soldiers on both sides of the mountain road, and the other 50,000 troops under their command were openly blocked at the exit of the mountain road.

Francis's army, who had inadvertently stepped into the ambush circle, did not notice the ambush until they spotted the enemy army blocking the exit of the mountain road, and their full attention was attracted by the 50,000 troops.

Soon Francis's army organized an elite vanguard and launched a powerful assault on the armies of Nabazani and Assam, and fierce fighting unfolded at the exit of the mountain pass.

The Francis army desperately attacked to break through the combined defenses of the Nabazani and Assam armies, while the Nabazani and Assam armies desperately resisted and won the most suitable opportunity for the ambushed army.

After more than three hours of scorching fighting, the well-timed Nabazani and Assam ambushed the army and rushed down from the hills on the left and right sides of the mountain pass, and the unprepared Francis army was blinded on the spot.

Francis's army had to abandon the attack and retreat in battle, and the head-on attack by Nabazani and Assam inflicted more than 40,000 casualties on Francis's army and won the crucial initiative in the war.

When Francis, who was attacking Upton, learned of the crushing defeat of this army, he did not give up the attack on Upton, but still drew 10,000 elite cavalry and personally led the reinforcement of this army.

Without Francis's command, his army's assault on Upton would have lost its previous fierceness, after all, the camp was full of their family and relatives, who could really be ruthless?

The fighting on Upton's side eased slightly, and the armies of Nabazani and Assam did not take advantage of the victory to pursue, but chose to defend on the spot, and the successful cooperation of Nabazani, Assam, and Upton made Francis tired of coping.

The army under Bai Feng's command was also using this precious time to rapidly advance into the hinterland of the Acenian Kingdom, and the successive battles caused the number of troops under Francis's command to plummet, and the balance of victory was more and more tilted towards the side of the Roman city.

After two battles of attacking Upton and attacking Nabazani and Assam, the number of troops under Francis's command also dropped to less than 150,000, while Bai Feng's army maintained strong combat effectiveness and did not reduce in number.

More importantly, the total strength of the three generals Upton, Nabazzani, and Assam was as high as 70,000 or 80,000, and this unexpected army also became a friendly force in the city of Rome, and as the long term passed, Francis's cards became fewer and fewer.