Broken Mountain Fortress.

Although the defenders of the fortress have been in a state of readiness since leaving the Horn Fortress, in fact, since the "war" began, there has been no tension in the entire fortress, as if everything is the same as before.

Of course, this is not without reason - after all, although the Azorean elves have declared war on the Empire, there is still not a single army within the control of the fortress, let alone an encounter or siege.

If it weren't for the total annihilation of the Church Knight Chief Naze and his 1,000 cavalry, the defenders of the Broken Mountain Fortress might not have the concept of "the Azorean elves are a strong enemy of the Empire" at all.

In addition, it is the "blessing" of the Boi hussars.

Unlike the principalities of the empire, Boi's army was not based on peasant soldiers but mainly nomads, and the brave and warlike hussars were also good at herding and running merchants, and when they responded to the duke's call, they were also a whole nomadic herd, and it was naturally impossible to completely ignore their families when they went out on the expedition.

The Archduke of Scimitar, who was already from the steppe of the Great Boi Territory, was naturally even more accustomed to this kind of thing, and it was impossible for her to intervene - even she herself was doing this, so that the Jonah's tribe would earn the most money.

So this brave but undisciplined hussar regiment, in addition to the baggage, also brought a large number of "leather goods" and "home-brewed" from Boi, and set up a market in the camp outside the fortress of Broken Mountain.

Relying on home-brewed milk wine and a small amount of Byrne's wine, these fierce "scimitar warriors" quickly opened up sales among the defenders of the Broken Mountain Fortress; for a while, the "Night Patrol" mission became a beautiful difference in the Broken Mountain Fortress, and this group of big-headed soldiers who stayed in the barracks and fortress all year round and had nothing to "entertain" at all, and their "spending power" amazed the horseback people of Boi.

With the help of alcoholic beverages, which everyone likes to see, the two sides who were not on good terms quickly established a friendship - a considerable number of the legions stationed at the fortress of Broken Mountain had accompanied Brandon on his expedition to Boe, so they naturally became "middlemen" between the two sides.

Three days later, the deputy commander of the fortress accidentally grabbed a legionnaire who had run to the Poi camp to "patrol", immediately dismissed him from his post and sent him to prison after finding out what had happened, and then ordered all soldiers who went out with a black face that they were not allowed to carry their belongings.

It's hard to say how effective such a punishment is, because the soldier also found a lot of white slips on his body—the business of these people is already big enough to keep accounts!

As the deputy commander of the Broken Mountain Fortress, he certainly couldn't give orders to the Boi, so he could only "advise" Archduke Salica Jonah to take control of her army and not "go too far".

Naturally, the result could not have been too good, and the Archduchess of the Scimitar, accustomed to such things, could not restrain herself in such a trivial matter, and the legionnaires, who had obtained the Boi leather goods, were unwilling to hand over their warm and comfortable fur coats.

One can imagine how angry Drexis was at the point of slackness, but apart from these "insignificant" trifles, he could not find anything to blame for his legions.

After all, the legions that can be sent to garrison the Broken Mountain Fortress are all absolute elites, and there is no army in the whole empire that can do a better job than the "Black City Wall" in preparing for this kind of thing before the war.

The trenches and traps outside the fortress were "maintained" once a day, the projectile weapons and improvised small defenses inside the city walls were already in place, and the amount of "alchemical weapons" such as ignition agents and alchemical bombs inside the fortress was enough to support ten battles.

Armor, weapons, food, medicine...... The baggage that could be prepared was long enough to last for a year, the soldiers were always in the best condition of their daily training, and the patrols were not stopped for a day, and it was impossible for any enemy who came close to the fortress to escape the detection of the Rangers.

The empire is preparing for this "showdown" battle between the Azores and the ruler of the empire with the "specifications" of preparing to resist the invasion of monsters.

But why......

Why is it that the more prepared you are, the more you have the fear of "what you still lack" and "forgot" something?

What exactly... What else did you forget and not notice?

Result......

"Is there a messenger coming back from the Valley of Blood?"

The familiar sound of words interrupted Drexis's thoughts, and he instinctively turned around and bowed to Conrad de Salion, who suddenly appeared behind him.

"Not yet, but the first batch of baggage teams sent has successfully arrived at their destination!"

The deputy commander of the fortress said loudly and respectfully, without the panic of being suddenly asked.

Conod stood behind the battlements of the city wall, silently watching the glacial wasteland in the distance, without saying a word.

"Do you want to send someone to urge?" asked Terethes tentatively, "Duke Byrne has been stationed in the Valley of Bloodbones for nearly a week, and not a single messenger has been sent, which is really ......"

Before he could finish speaking, he was stopped by Conod raising his hand.

"If Loren Turin thinks that he is in a situation where he should not contact me, then it turns out that he should not contact me. Conod said in a deep voice:

"He's not Salika Jonah, he's not Brandon... This man was very cautious, sometimes to the point of excess, and he must have done things for a reason, and as his emperor, I trusted his judgment. ”

Drexis lowered his head, not daring to say anything more.

"But you have a point, send a messenger and ask. Conod suddenly changed his words: "Don't ask him - inform him that the civil war in East Sacland is almost over, and that I will soon enlist Brandon to lead the native legions of East Sacland into battle." ”

After thinking about it for a while, Drexis understood the meaning of this "notice"; to inform the other side of the next combat steps, that is, to implicitly ask the other side to give a report on the current level of operation.

"Does he understand?"

"He'll get it. ”

Conod had no doubt about it.

Without much delay, Drexis immediately sent his guards to summon the messenger and order him to take His Majesty's message to the Valley of the Blood, even if he really didn't understand why Conod trusted a wizard so much and "colluded" with His Highness Brandon.

"Although there is no new news from Duke Loren's side, our rangers have spotted the enemy's march on the west side of the Fault Mountain. ”

After arranging the messenger, Drexis continued in a deep voice: "It is now almost certain that the main army of the Azorean elves is still in the west of the Broken Boundary Mountain, and the only elite who appeared in the Valley of Blood Bones across the mountains are only a small force, and it is likely that they have already retreated. ”

"At their current pace, the enemy will arrive at the Broken Mountain Fortress and start a siege in five days at the latest, tomorrow at the earliest. Drexis looked at Conod:

"Judging by our past experience and the way the enemy is attacking, the only option for the enemy to take down the fortress of Broken Mountain is to storm at any cost, but we are fully prepared and will never give them such a chance!"

"In accordance with the conclusion of the battle of Ebolden, the enemy had little recourse against a cavalry raid, so Archduke Salica Jonah organized an elite cavalry to attack the flank of the siege army if necessary, and to ...... if it was possible to destroy the enemy's baggage forces by taking advantage of the opportunity."

"Past experience?"

Conod interrupted him abruptly.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty......" The deputy commander of the fortress was just about to say something, but Conod had already turned his head to look at him.

"Drexis, I ask you. Conod couldn't help but say, "If I give you an army of 40,000 men to attack from the north of the Broken Mountain Fortress and seize the fortress... What would you do?"

"I ......" Drexis frowned slightly, not understanding what the emperor was asking for: "I will use a small number of troops to test the garrison and strength of the fortress, and then organize as many attacks as possible in the shortest possible time, and gradually break through the fortress's defenses." ”

Connad continued, "In other words, when the fortress is taken, your army is already incapacitated, right?"

Drexis nodded, he didn't deny it, and he didn't feel anything to be ashamed of.

No, he even felt a hint of pride - because this was the northern gate of the empire, the iron wall he had built for many years, absolutely impregnable, and any enemy who wanted to attack it would have to be prepared to "fight until a single soldier is killed" or return with a crushing defeat.

"So... The enemy should also be well aware of this, so they will never attack us in this way. Conod gave him a blank look:

"Past experience, battles, and even the intelligence we already know when confronted with this army, perhaps... It's not as meaningful as we think. ”

"In other words, just as we won't fight the way they intended, the Azorean elves will never follow our example and attack the Broken Mountain fortress in a way that is bound to fail. ”

"Yes......" Sinking his head, Drexis whispered with some bitterness.

"Don't get me wrong, Drexis, I didn't mean to accuse you. Conod shook his head: "Before we really engage the enemy, we don't know what they are like, what tactics and characteristics they have, and their weaknesses, we don't know anything about them. ”

"So, we are afraid, after all, for the total unknown, everybody, including me, is afraid of the unknown, and that's normal and reasonable, because without fear there is no courage. ”

"But we can't be controlled by fear, and we can't let that make us feel like we're at a loss and don't know what to do, because that's really dangerous. Conod stared at Drexis, who had his head bowed and his face full of shame:

"If Salika Jonah fears, I will have to lose a good cavalry commander, but I can't do it, because I have such a person;"

"If Loren Turin is afraid, I know that I can let the Knights of Oath take his place and lead the army of the fortress north to defend the Valley of Blood, and that's fine;"

"If all my generals are terrified in front of the elves, that's okay—I just have to make them fear me more than the elves;"

"If I'm scared too... I knew that I had my most trusted Dresis Ernst who could take command and replace me when it mattered. ”

"So... Drexis. Conod sighed and patted him on the shoulder:

"If you're scared and overwhelmed... What are you going to do with me? Who else can you count on the experience to carry the plan forward in the face of the fear of an unknown battle?"

"Your Majesty——!!!!"

Without half a moment's hesitation, Drexis knelt down on one knee with a "bang".

As the de facto ruler and imperial nobleman of the Broken Mountain Fortress for many years, he was not unaware of the flattery and "appreciation" from the royal family, which he had long been immune to as an imperial nobleman.

But when this praise came out of Conod's mouth, the meaning was completely different, and he understood that the emperor was purely out of recognition of his many years of service, and his trust and affirmation of ability.

Conod shook his head helplessly.

Whenever things changed, he would be amazed by the wisdom of his father, Eckhart II, who had defeated the monster invasion under the Broken Mountain Fortress, and his young father, who had defeated the monster invasion under the Broken Mountain Fortress, and left his most trusted Drexis in the Broken Mountain Fortress, gradually supporting him to become the commander of the fortress instead of bringing him back to the imperial capital as a close confidant, which was simply the wisest decision.

Because the general was so innocent that he almost wrote his likes and dislikes on his face, of course, if it were all that, the superior had the right not to consider the feelings of those below, but Dresis was also an extremely susceptible to the words of others.

With just a few words, he could instantly recover his nervousness and regain his calm and decisive backbone, and in this respect he was no different from the ordinary soldiers under his command.

But it is precisely because of this that a commander like him can be trusted by the soldiers-because they all know that the "general" is an elder who is no different from himself, and will never cheat himself.

Loyal but upright generals, capable but ill-intentioned clergymen, capable but unambitious royals, ambitious but equally skilled and capable thorns...... My father always made the best use of people and put them all in the most suitable positions.

And all willingly.

"Woo————————!!!!"

With the horn resounding throughout the fortress, one beacon after another was lit, illuminating the bleak Boundary Mountain.

"It's the watchtower in the west direction, the Azorean elves, they're coming!" Drexis stared in horror in the direction from which the trumpet sounded:

"But... They should have at least one day to go......"

"If war had been to be expected and expected, we would not have had to go to such great lengths to build such an impregnable fortress, Drexis. ”

Retracting his gaze coldly, Conod pressed his shoulder hard: "Get ready for battle, my general." ”

"The war has begun!"