"Mantas, it's such a beautiful city."

Philip looked at it from afar and couldn't help but praise it.

From the slopes of this relatively high oak forest, you can see the whole city of Mantas.

From here, the city of Mantas resembles a canopy of oak trees, while the surrounding villages form the trunks of the oak trees. And the inner city of Mantas, that is, the area where the palace castle towers, is the core of the army in the oak canopy, and it looks different from the air.

The red and blue bricks of the castle and the royal buildings are neat and beautiful, and they look very pleasing to the eye. The castles of the city, as well as the palaces built on slope roofs of different heights, stood tall above the other buildings, showing the power of the royal family, and taking into account the needs of defense. Even if it is the red and blue kingdoms of the tribe, there are few castles that can give people a visual pleasure like the one in front of them.

In particular, the magical aura that never falls in the castle, as well as the ancient oak trees that are more than fifty meters high and can be seen from a kilometer away, add some ancient and gorgeous atmosphere to the whole city.

The streets are neat, the houses are lined with traffic, and there are small buildings of two or three floors everywhere, even if it is on earth, it is definitely a tourist city. In the tribal world, villages are the main body, and cities are concentrated, and even knights like Meron and Philip have only been to some small cities, and have never seen such a scene. It is a masterpiece of continental architecture, designed and built by the most brilliant craftsmen and engineers of the continent during the reign of Sakturi the Great, the most powerful era of Subic, and in terms of design and planning, Mantas is not inferior to even the famous cities of the four empires.

In the past, it was a busy time of year for Mantas, both inside and outside the city, when people were busy with their work, whether it was peasants, workers, or the rich and noble. As soon as the snow melts, the land can be cultivated, the houses need to be repaired, the roads are clear, commerce is unimpeded, and the tax collectors of the nobility will also run around the countryside. This season can be described as a busy season.

But today, this kind of scene of people coming and going, hard work and busyness does not appear. The gates of the city were closed, the doors of the houses in the nearby villages were closed, the patrols were patrolling the roads with hounds, the garrisons were all on the watchtowers, the smoke had already risen, and the news had come from the few magical communication devices in the kingdom. The rebels had reached the outskirts of Mantas, less than five kilometers away, and could attack at any moment.

Reinforcements from all over the country were still on the way, half of the city's army had been sent to the north to quell the rebellion and had not yet returned, and Mantas's garrison was empty and in a very critical situation.

However, His Majesty clearly had no intention of abandoning the largest city in the kingdom, and convened a meeting in the palace to demand that all those who could fight stay behind and besiege the capital. The local aristocracy had enjoyed a life of luxury for hundreds of years, and the rebels would not take their lives, but it was more terrible for them to take it than to take their lives. So they supported the king at this point, and contributed their own private army, as well as the strong men of the family, for the royal family to deploy.

Nearby villagers were also forced to stay behind and join the garrison outside the city, led by local landlords and low-ranking nobles. The interior of the city also recruited troops in large numbers, and even persuaded some mercenaries to give up their mercenary union titles to join their army. In just a few days, Salondron has recruited more than 6,000 heavily armed veterans and rich and nobles who have served in the area of Mantas, as well as 30,000 militiamen who you are conscripting and patching together, although the equipment is relatively poor, but it is better than the large number of people, enough to block the nearby area, prevent people from escaping, and fill the void in the city walls. Everyone was nervous, and they knew that the big war was coming.

Philip admired the beauty of the city and admired the towering castle even more. But for him, it's not just the city's appearance and eye-catching.

From a military point of view, the city also has strong military value and defensive capabilities. As the capital city, the administrative center and economic center of the kingdom, this place was not chosen casually. Although they now stood on a high vantage point and could see the whole city, their troops could be seen from the watchtower on the towering castle and the high slope of similar height on the opposite side. Once out of here, you'll enter the first defensive network on the outskirts of Mantas, where you'll be bombarded from a distance by crossbowmen, magicians, and magic trebuchets.

Mantas is surrounded by a special magical enchantment that is only activated at critical moments due to heavy consumption. However, once activated, all air units except for a few elite units will be pressed to the ground, and the magic that passes through the barrier from the outside will be greatly reduced, and the effect on the undead will naturally be very good. However, one thing that Philip has always wondered about is that the air force in this world is not strong, but why there is such a magic enchantment specifically for flying units, the cost is high and it is difficult to come in handy, this is obviously a very loss-making business.

And the most powerful defense force is the city itself. The walls of Mantas were as tall as those of the White Oak Fortress, so high that they did not meet the construction standards of large cities. It took decades for the kingdom to build the wall, which I don't know when it would be ready for use, and the royal cannon couldn't do too much damage. The walls of the city are littered with towers of arrows and towers that defend large magic trebuchets that can blast enemy troops to slag from a distance of 500 meters.

As the besieging party, the forces of the Freedom Alliance can be said to be exposed to the reconnaissance range of the other party, and if they want to take the city, they must take the lead in taking many other defensive positions, and the casualties cannot be low. For this kind of city like an iron bucket, even the royal knight Philip can't come up with a very good way.

"It's a beautiful city, but it's hard to win."

Louis sat down on his horse and walked to Philip's side with a smile.

"The stakes of this battle are greater than all the previous battles, and the importance of this battle is greater than the sum of our previous battles. Your Majesty has taken so long to develop, and it is this moment that we have been waiting for, no matter what the price to pay, we must take Mantas and let Salondran step down from the king's position. ”

After Louis finished speaking, he patted the little dust that had just fallen on the golden armor.

"Get ready for battle, General."

"No problem, Your Highness."

Philip nodded, then raised a flag, and the coalition forces on the flanks immediately began to move forward, closing Mantas.