The city of Pskov, only a few hundred kilometers from Novgorod, was originally garrisoned by a small number of Teutonic Knights, due to the request of the new Emperor Frederick II of the Holy Roman Empire, fifteen days ago, the Teutonic Knights had to abandon their original plan to march into Bohemia, leaving only a small number of people to guard the territory of the Knights. However, as the elite of the elite, the Bohemian rebellion was put down in only three days, and the rebellious Bohemian king and the representatives of the citizens of Prague were all killed by the Teutonic Knights with thunderous means under heavy guards, and the rebels immediately collapsed, which also made the Teutonic Knights prepare for a summer offensive against Novgorod with the power of victory.

And the city became a bridgehead for the war of the Teutonic Knights against Novgorod.

Once again, the Teutonic Knights made a comeback, and this time, they poured out, and the entire inhabitants of Pskov were forcibly deported to concentration camps, and the once prosperous city was suddenly transformed into a military fortress. From inside the city to outside the city, everything was filled with a metallic coldness, thick black smoke rose from the chimneys of the newly built factories, and the firelight stood out in the dark night, the city had been so sleepless since a few days ago, after the occupation of the original Pskov principality, the Teutonic Knights banished the original nobles, ruthlessly destroyed everything here, and the Rus' manors and mansions were turned into cold machine factories, the roar of the machines was non-stop, and they produced a large number of weapons in preparation for the coming of war.

The Teutonic Knights, originally an autonomous group of Crusader nobles of the Holy Roman Empire, grew in power, combined with the fall of Constantinople ten years earlier and the disagreements with the Holy See, forced the Order to the far north to fight against the heresy of the Orthodox Christians and Magyars. However, no one could have imagined that in this decade, the power of the Teutonic Knights had increased unprecedentedly, and unlike the decline of the Knights Hospitaller and the Knights Templar, it quickly became an independent secular state, recognized by the Holy Roman Empire and the Holy See. And all this is thanks to the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, Kniprod, under his leadership, the young Teutonic Knights reached their heyday, with the Electors of the Seven Emperors in the west, the Rus' in the east, and Poland and Bohemia in the south.

This attack on Novgorod will be an important part of the Crusaders' eastward movement, and only if Novgorod, an important link in the Northwest Rus' is captured, the rich Rus' homeland will be open to the Knights. The sword and fire of the Holy Church will plough the land for the Empire, and the cross will be planted in the vast realm of heresy.

The city, which was once the official residence of the Duke of Pskov, is now the temporary command post of the Teutonic Knights, and all the senior commanders of the Order are now attending the battle meeting, but their Grand Master Kniprod still does not appear. The chair of the long conference table was still unseated.

And at this moment, only the solemn salute was heard.

"Grand Master!"

I saw a middle-aged man walking in from the outside with a steady step, and the soldiers in charge of the guard saluted him one after another. He was the man who had led them to their present glory - Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, Kniprode.

"I'm sorry gentlemen, I'm late." The man smiled softly, putting away his original solemn aura, and in front of him was the main backbone of the Teutonic Knights, the district captains of the various knightly districts. "So now, the combat meeting of the summer offensive has officially begun, and you should have no opinion, right?"

"Yes!" The captains of each district were like cold iron men, there was not the slightest human touch in their voices, and their black robes were draped over their bodies, like ghosts. Although the Knights are a religious country, they are actually a military country, and ten years of conquest and battle have made each of them stained with blood, and each of them is not smiling. It's not that they're all impersonal, it's just that they've been nurturing it for years, but their Grand Master is surprisingly not like that.

"Heydrich, how are you going?" Kniprod asked, smiling.

"Report to the Chief Commander, one thousand and thirty-two auxiliary soldiers, sixteen main battle knights, and thirty-two auxiliary knights under my command are ready. We used the Fire Society as a supporting force to complete the blockade of Novgorod on both flanks. A burly man on one side immediately stood up and reported the situation in detail.

"Very well, what about you guys, Hilter?"

"The weapons and ammunition are completely ready, enough for the whole army." Hilter, the district captain in charge of logistics, got up to report.

"Maximilian, Wiggins, how's your troop ready? Your strength will be the main force in this battle. Kniprod said with a subtle look at the two district captains who had been keeping their heads down.

As soon as their names were mentioned, the two of them immediately stood up, "We will always be loyal to you and the Knights to wash away our shame." "The Teutonic Knights suffered great losses due to the loss of an ancient mech in both of them in their previous missions, and according to the practice of the ancient Roman legions, the defeated generals had to be the vanguard of the battle to wash away their shame with blood and exploits. Therefore, the task of attacking Novgorod naturally fell into the hands of the two.

"Good!" Kniprode nodded, he did not punish the two of them for their previous mistakes, on the contrary, the reproach of the Holy See was solved one by one, which is why this man's unique charm made such a capable person follow his command to fight in all directions. Of course, to be able to have such a huge "kingdom", this man also has a powerful and convincing power.

The man got up and walked to the map of Novgorod behind him, and said solemnly: "Novgorod is one of the most important cities of the Rus' people, and only by taking it will we be able to open the road to the heart of the Rus'. The most important defense of the city is the Neva River, and only by seizing the territory of Karelia and the Neva River in Novgorod can we complete the absolute encirclement network and completely cut off them from the outside world. And Alexander knows this better than we do, so in any case, he will inevitably set the place of the battle in this area! But there is only one crossing of the Neva River, and it is the only suitable place for large armies to fight, and Maximilian and Wiggins, your task is to fight it here, to hold off the Novgorod army at the Neva crossing, while the others concentrate on the superior mecha knights to force their way across the Neva River and encircle the Rus' army. This also means that Maximilian and Wiggins, your mechs are very limited in strength and will be very passive in the battle against Novgorod. "Although Novgorod's strength is far inferior to that of the Teutonic Knights, it is not something to be underestimated after the accumulation of the past few years, and the turbulent river of the Neva River is also a big threat to the mecha, so storming the riverbank area will be a fierce battle. (To be continued.) )