Marching south from the Broken Mountain Fortress - is this the Azorean long-eared finally going crazy, or are they auditory hallucinations?

This was the first thought of the counts of the Thirteenth Lords of Byrne when they heard the official announcement from Loren Turin at the Council of the Round Table.

The stunned atmosphere made the round table hall as dead silent as an ice cave for a while.

"Ahem, ahem... Dear Sir... And ladies, don't doubt it, you heard it right. Coughing lightly, Loren took the lead in breaking the dead silence: "The enemy has landed in Greywater Bay, with a total strength of no less than 40,000, and it is definitely the elite of the elite. ”

"Because their leader is the Eagle King of the Azores. ”

As soon as the words fell, solemn emotions immediately appeared on the faces of different complexions around the round table.

They had almost all learned a little about the Battle of Ebolden, Count Eckert of the Castle of Fury, and the strength of the Azorean elven warriors had already terrified the proud Knights of Byrne.

If you don't compare the mounted combat with the array battle, in the case of one-on-one or even ten-on-ten, you can win... It's a hard word to say.

How many troops does it take for such an army to overcome?

"The Battle of Ebolden has proven that we can only have the absolute initiative over the elven warriors if we have a sufficient number of cavalry. The black-haired wizard continued:

"It is for this reason that His Majesty Conod I wishes that Byrne and Boe will be able to send troops this time; The Archduchess of Boe has promised to send 10,000 troops, so the question now is how many troops Byrne should send to be more appropriate?"

"Why can't you attack with all the troops?"

Almost at the same time as Loren finished speaking, Bosival, the five-year-old Earl of Wangwangfeng, immediately stood up and asked very directly: "The enemy is only 40,000, and the Red Blood Castle has an army of 100,000 at the moment—as long as our whole army attacks, won't we win ironcladly?"

This one......

Everyone at the round table looked at each other with hesitant expressions.

"What's the matter?" said the young "little Count Bosival" a little upset: "I said something wrong, who can tell me?"

"No, you are absolutely right, Lord Bosival. ”

Grenwell, the smiling Earl of Stormcastle, quickly got up and glanced at the black-haired wizard before explaining:

"But the problem is that we can't get 100,000 troops to go to the Broken Mountain Fortress. ”

"Why?"

"The reasons are complex, and there are many reasons - for example, it is winter at the moment, it is difficult to supply such a large army in East Sacland, and logistics will seriously drag down the strength of the army, for example, the Boundary Mountain Fortress is not very large, and it is impossible to accommodate 100,000 troops;"

"What's more, the commander in chief of this war is Emperor Conod. The Earl of Grenwell said patiently: "If Byrne sends 100,000 troops, it will be tantamount to fighting against the guest and fighting with His Majesty the Emperor for the command of the war." ”

Little Bosival still didn't quite understand, and frowned slightly: "That... Then we just need to resolutely obey His Majesty's orders, won't we?"

"Of course you can, but what if Your Majesty wants the Duke to hold on to a fortress that is bound to fall, and then take Byrne's army to another battlefield?" Earl Grenwell asked rhetorically, "We, who have kept our oath of loyalty to the Duke, are we going to watch the Duke die?"

"If not, doesn't that mean that the duke's command is higher than that of the emperor?"

Little Count Bosival had a contradictory look on his face, a question of this magnitude beyond the scope of a five-year-old child's thinking.

Loren's face did not change, but his heartbeat was not as calm as it appeared.

His words seem to be explaining to Bocival the Younger, but they are actually speaking to himself - the knights of Byrne, who keep their oaths, will not watch the Duke die, and conversely, they all default to their loyalty to themselves above their loyalty to the Emperor.

This guy is "showing loyalty" to himself in this way.

Noticing the black-haired wizard's gaze, Count Grenwell of Stormcastle turned his head and smiled at Loren.

The rest of the counts fidgeted a little one by one—not as straightforward as Bosival the Younger, but they all thought the same way as he did.

The whole army struck north, letting Byrne's banner fly over the Broken Mountain Fortress, proving their glory and Byrne's rise with a victory led by themselves.

But it is clear that the Empire is well aware of this, and will never give them such a chance, for Byrne's rise is due to the weakening of East Sakland.

"However, Count Bosival is right—at least send a sufficient number of troops, and we must not be underestimated by the Empire!"

Guy Angget, Earl of Mountain Rock Castle, struck the table with the hilt of his sword: "Even Boy, who is seriously injured, has sent 10,000 hussars, and then Byrne can definitely only be more, not less!"

"War is fought about strategic deployment and intent, not simply comparing numbers. Count Eckert of Castle Fury scoffed at this attitude, and looked at the black-haired wizard calmly:

"Duke, we need to find out what His Majesty Connad's goal is first - whether it is to hold the Broken Mountain Fortress alone, or to fight the Eagle King of the Azorean Elves in the Glacial Wasteland?"

"If it's the former, I think that after having 10,000 hussars, Byrne only needs to mobilize about 2,000 elite knights as he did in the last battle of Ebolden;

"But if it's the latter, if the Emperor intends to use this war to boost the ......morale of the entire Empire," Count Eckert paused slightly, and said in a deep tone of firmness:

"I think it's better to mobilize as many troops as we can afford - if you want to be completely annihilated, you can't leave anything behind, and try to wipe out the enemy in the glacial wasteland, outside the fortress gates!"

"Fifty thousand elites... I think it would be a reasonable force. ”

When the words fell, the atmosphere around the round table was obviously uplifted!

The Earls of Fort Fury, who had always been calm, also supported the troops, especially the young and eager Counts, who had already received a lot of glory and praise from the last time Byrne had mobilized the elite for the Centaur War three years earlier.

And if you compare it with this "Azorean Elf War", the centaurs in the remote wasteland are not even worthy of carrying shoes!

"If this war were to be led by Byrne, I would also be in favor of organizing a battle in which the enemy would have a total superiority, but ......"

With a somewhat helpless smile, Loren shook his head: "Emperor Conod doesn't think so—the goal of this battle is to block the enemy's attack as much as possible in the Boundary Mountain Fortress; One can only hope that they will be wiped out by the glacial wasteland. ”

As the words fell, several young earls immediately showed disappointed expressions.

Compared with a war of attrition that is destined to be nothing to see and is similar to the "garbage time" in the game, it is really a vigorous decisive battle that is more in line with their appetite.

However, this time Conod's decision is not much different from Loren's speculation.

It's actually not a big deal - the enemy is coming from the sea, and in addition to Ebolden, the remaining Greywater Bay and Misty Moon Court are a barren land, a deserted forest, and it is very difficult to replenish.

The longer it drags on, the more obvious the logistical disadvantage of the Azorean elves becomes, and because of their large forces, this disadvantage will only be revealed more quickly.

In several battlefields of the Empire, the Broken Mountain Fortress is backed by East Sackland, the Ebolden blockade is supported by the rivers of the Gem River and the materials of the imperial capital, and even the Deep Forest Fort has mobilized the manpower and material resources of the whole of Lothair.

In such a situation, the Azorean elves must be the most eager for a quick victory, and the winner of a decisive battle must be the Azorean elves, and as a qualified commander, Conod will certainly not satisfy the enemy.

On a battlefield that does not meet the enemy's expected combat time and is not suitable for the enemy to play, an attack that is completely in line with one's own expectations is launched on an occasion that is most suitable for one's own advantage -- the so-called "you fight yours, I will fight mine" is probably the truth.

Hold them back, drag them down, drag them until they have to attack frantically, their morale collapses, and then concentrate their superior forces to annihilate them one by one.

This is probably the most idealized result of Conod's strategic deployment.

However, there is never an "ideal" outcome in this world, and the war situation will also be affected by the internal contradictions of all sides and will change; at this time, it will depend on who will be the first to sit still, go against the predetermined plans of the other side, and frequently make mistakes.

And Conod must also think from the perspective of the Heavenly Dome: the Battle of Ebolden, Brandon has gained popularity, Loren has gained prestige, and as the emperor, he must win a big victory as soon as possible, at least head-to-head with the enemy to win back his prestige, in order to stabilize the trust of the empire in him.

But if he wants to start a war outside the fortress of Broken Mountain, the only battlefield that can support tens of thousands of troops to fight a decisive battle is the Valley of Blood, which means that he has to mobilize a huge amount of resources and be prepared to fight a long-awaited decisive battle in the ice and snow.

Victory, of course, is good, but if it fails, it means that the fortress of Broken Mountain will no longer have the strength to hold on, and the enemy in the north will be able to drive straight into the heart of the empire.

If at the same time, there are any more changes in the battlefield between Ebolden and Shenlimburg, the empire will not be able to provide more troops to support, and it may even be surrounded by the enemy's three-way army and waterways to surround the imperial capital!

So Loren can understand very well how difficult Conod is now.

"In that case, I think 5,000 to 10,000 troops would be a reasonable number. ”

After hearing the black-haired wizard's reply, Count Eckert of Fort Fury said in a deep voice, "In order to avoid the same accident as in the Battle of Ebolden, I think we should be prepared to gather enough troops on the border between Byrne and East Sackland as reinforcements if necessary. ”

"Of course. Loren bowed slightly, and agreed with Count Eckert's proposal, which he might not have been able to hold out for a month without the reinforcements promised by the dukes (except for Arles):

"The main infantry legions are on standby at the Red Blood Fortress, and the cavalry and light infantry are assembled on the border—and Lookout has sent a thousand elite hussars to act as messengers for communication between Broken Mountain and Byrne. ”

"Yes!"

Little Bosival's immature voice echoed in the Hall of the Round Table.

"Then let's arrange the strategic deployment. The black-haired wizard breathed a sigh of relief and looked around the round table: "This battle is very crucial, so please be mentally prepared, Byrne may have to go all out if necessary, so ......"

At this moment, an inexplicable tremor suddenly came, and almost all the counts around the round table raised their heads at the same time.

"It's... Was there an earthquake?"

Little Bosival looked around inexplicably, and his clear eyes were a little childlike frightened: "I encountered one when I was looking at the peak, and it is said that the strongest earthquake even ...... the castle."

"There has never been an earthquake in the history of the Red Blood Castle, and it shouldn't be. ”

The vigilant Charlotte immediately got up to stabilize everyone's emotions, but her eyes couldn't help but subconsciously look at the black-haired wizard, only to find that not only did she not see any tension on the other party's face, but even the opposite;

He... Still laughing?

The corners of his mouth unconsciously curled, and Loren's eyes lit up - that's right, this level of void power looked the same as the last time, it must be him......

"Boom ——————!!!!"

There was a loud bang that shook the entire Hall of Round Tables, and dust fell from the dome.

Smoke billowed and almost sealed the main entrance to the Hall of Round Tables

Almost at the same time, the counts' faces changed abruptly.

"It's the direction of the duke's quarters, the guards ——!" The Earl of Fort Fury, who was on the verge of a great enemy, was the first to react and shouted out the door:

"Seal down the palace of the Red Blood Castle, and you can't let go of any ......"

"Eckert!"

Loren, who slowly got up, stopped the Count of Fury Castle and shook his head: "There is no need for this. ”

"You said 'that man'... He's already here. ”

The shaking stopped, and all eyes around the round table looked out the door.

A thin, hair-heaped figure was coughing and coming out of the smoke, muttering endlessly.

In his arms, he was holding something that looked like a spear.

"Ahem, ahem... I'm sorry... Ahem... I... Ahem, I didn't expect... I didn't expect this thing to be so useless, I thought it was ......"

As soon as he looked up, he was stunned and looked at a group of eyes that were also looking at him:

"I'm sorry, I'm ... Am I late, is there any punishment for those who are late? I still tell a joke, I prefer the latter one, and I have recently learned a lot to make Lena happy, for example, two friends met a bear in the forest, the first one started to pray, and the second one started to tie his shoes, so the first asked the second ......"

"No, you're just in time. Looking at Isaac with an inexplicable face, the black-haired wizard curled the corners of his mouth: "We are about to go." ”

"Where are you going?"

Isaac's eyes lit up immediately, and the question just now was instantly forgotten.

"Go to a place that you are particularly familiar with. Loren's face also showed a nostalgic smile:

"Boundary Mountain. ”