In June of that year, the 3,000 Imperial troops of the South-Central Region led by Sebastian trekked 300 kilometers through mountains and rivers, and finally joined up with the 20,000 soldiers and horses of the Grand Duchy of Aldenburg, which was directly under the emperor's direct control, and they were stationed in the tourist city of Brudenz, southwest of the Grand Duchy and close to the mountains, to rest. It is a ski resort in winter.

In the makeshift marching chamber, Sebastian and Count von Ryderhoff were discussing the strategy of attack. The present situation is very critical, the so-called seven states under the Mars Confederation are concentrating their forces to attack St. Gallen, the only important town in the mountains that is loyal to the royal Rockenhausen family, they have two regiments in each state, and the total strength of the fourteen regiments has reached more than 42,000 men, although there are only a few well-trained soldiers, but the number is indeed huge, and the defenders of St. Gallen itself are only 5,000 men, if there is no foreign aid, the fall will be a matter of time. According to von Redhoff's vision, they joined forces to attack Chur, the core city of the eastern Mars Confederacy, and rescued St. Gallen by encircling Wei and rescuing Zhao. Along the way, you can also burn all the villages in your path, and let the soldiers freely take and plunder. This scheme may seem unthinkable today, but at the time it was a common practice for mercenaries to fight.

As we all know, Sebastian had already taken advantage of his return home from Auguste to meet with Thomas Dyer, with whom he had discussed a plan to use St. Gallen for reinforcements, so he refused to agree to the current plan. And Sebastian, like Salian, was eager to remove Count von Ryderhof from the Emperor, who was one of the biggest stumbling blocks to their ascension.

As a result, Sebastian basically agreed with Count von Ryderhoff's plan, and proposed that he could lead the army of the South Central District as a surprise soldier and raid the supply lines behind the Confederate army.

The plan was set, and the army set off after resting for two days and paying the salaries of three months earlier. Sebastian led 3,000 men from the South Central District to the north, and Count von Reedhof divided his team into two, with 10,000 men each taking the central and southern routes into the Mars Mountains. Count von Rederhoff's heavily armed army was slow to move because of the difficult roads, while Sebastian's lightly armed troops reached the northern shore of Lake Saint-Gallen on 12 June, which had penetrated deep into the heart of the Mars mountains.

Sebastian ordered Heinrich von Dauphenberg to temporarily command the army, and he himself went to the vicinity of St. Gallen to reconnoiter the military situation, and the strength of the "Soul Reager" won the admiration of his subordinates, and naturally no one objected.

Then, in the Mars camp outside St. Gallen, a visiting wandering knight appeared in the Mars military camp, who reported the name of Von Locle, and was immediately introduced to Thomas Dyer, the leader of the Mars Confederation. When the Viscount arrives at the rebels' tent, he finds the Holy Sword in a corner of the room, while the Brave is carefully looking at a military map of the southern part of the Empire. When he noticed the guests coming in, the brave man immediately greeted him with a smile. The down-and-out knight has also shed his disguise and revealed his original appearance, his real identity is the Count of Sebastian von Riddlelingen, the owner of the magic sword and the holy sword have met again, and their plot will change the future of the empire.

"Dear Imperial Count, long time no see! Thank you for your suggestion to lay siege to the city of St. Gallen, which is expected to fall in a week's time, and when the whole Mars Mountains will fall into our hands, and we will only need to guard a few passes on the border with Schwartenn, Aldenburg, and the South-Central District. ”

"Hehe, your goal will soon be achieved, and now you only need to defeat Count von Riderhoff's 20,000 men, and a compromise of the royal family can be met. Now that the peasant movement is raging in the south of the Empire, in order to suppress the rebellion in the main agricultural areas, the Rokenhausens will certainly give up their occupation of the low-cost Mars Mountains, and you will be completely independent after a final treaty has been concluded. ”

"Thanks to you, our long-cherished wish is about to come true, but last time I asked you to find the murderer of my sister's family for me, I wonder if there is any news?" asked the brave man eagerly.

"I'm here to tell you this, I've already investigated, it's Count von Ryderhof who assigned those killers, you just have to do as I say, and it's easy to take his life. ”

"Well, that's it!" said Retreat in a murderous tone.

"Not bad. Listen to me. My army was already deployed on the shore of the lake not far from here, and I would first launch a surprise attack, which burned the grain, grass and baggage of the besieging Mars Confederate army, and although it could not be directly relieved, it greatly damaged the morale of the rebels. Count von Rederhoff, who heard the news, will surely speed forward to snatch the fruits of victory. Unfortunately, the emperor's favored retainers did not expect that the Mars Confederation army happened to send a heavy army to ambush his 10,000 horses, and although the earl resisted bravely, he finally died at the hands of Thomas Meier, the first master of Mars. And His Majesty the Emperor, after losing this general, is not willing to continue to invest more energy in the mountains. At the same time, the Mars Confederation also expressed its desire for peace, and a peace agreement was finally reached under the mediation of the Imperial Count von Ridlingen. ”

"What a wonderful script, Your Excellency the Imperial Count, so that we can both take what we need. That's it!"

Sebastian, who returned to his hideout, used the information he had obtained to make a surprise arrangement for the whole army, with the protective terror knight Heinrich von Daupenberg as the vanguard officer, and led 2,000 men and horses to the outside of St. Gallen that night, waiting for an opportunity to attack and attract the attention of the besieging army. Sebastian himself attacked the enemy's granary with the remaining 1,000 men.

The Mars Confederation army, which had been besieging the city for more than three months and had more than 40,000 troops, thought it would be a matter of time before the city was captured. So when the Imperial Count von Dauphenberg arrived outside the city with his troops, he found that the soldiers of the opposing side were sleeping in groups in tents around the tall fences built for the siege, and even the torches were left unguarded.

"Warriors of the Empire, follow me!"

Awakened by the noise, the Confederate soldiers were horrified to find a giant dragon-headed axe armed with no armor but a conical helmet roaring towards them. Although this man did not ride a horse, the impact was terrible, and he was invincible, and he had no one under him. The Mars were also horrified to find that none of the swords, halberds, swords, and spears posed any danger to him, while this man's battle axe could split a halberd in two.

This leader is none other than Heinrich von Dauphenberg, the Imperial Count, who is not only highly skilled in martial arts, but also not a reckless man who can only fight and kill, which is why Sebastian took him with him as a lieutenant general.

After tearing down a few sections of the fence and opening a breach, Heinrich sent a nimble lad into the city with the news that reinforcements had arrived, and then he quickly retreated before the Confederates could regroup. Heinrich did not just leave, but hid in the darkness in search of another weakly defended area, repeating the process. Heinrich, as an Imperial Count, guarded the Emperor's Thermal Palace for generations before the Ruger family appeared, no different from Salian or Sebastian, who were also Imperial Counts. In addition to their heritage as a protective Terror Knight, their family is also recognized as masters of tactics. In all major battles, their family can be seen in the emperor's array. The current situation is just a small test.

At the same time, Sebastian's 1,000-strong men and horses sneaked past the defense, which had been deserted by Heinrich's battle, to the rear of the Mars Confederate camp, where they hid in a grove of buildings that were dark under the moonlight in the distance, where the Confederate army had stored its grain and supplies.

He raised his hand and motioned for all the soldiers behind him to disperse, allowing them to slowly move towards their target with him. It's really strange that no matter how weak the guards are, they shouldn't leave no one in such an important place. But that's how strange it is. The warehouse was empty.

Despite their doubts, the soldiers complied with Sebastian's orders to place the igniter on as many supplies as possible, and then retreated to the grove. The Imperial Count himself lit the fuse before leaving, and in the midst of a great fire, they retreated.

Seeing the beautiful fireworks rising in the distance, Heinrich knew that this was done, and he happily led his two thousand men and horses back undamaged, and finally joined Sebastian in victory.

The panicked Confederate forces had no time to care about anything else, allowing the Imperial Army in the South Central to slip away easily. As soon as Sebastian's 3,000 men had retreated to safety, he wrote a letter and sent scouts to inform Count von Reidhof of of the situation. so that the Lord may hasten his progress.

And Sebastian himself left the team alone again. He ordered Heinrich to control his army carefully and not to go into battle. The cautious general had many doubts about the Confederate army's performance last night and wanted to probe.

"I think so, too, there must be some conspiracy among the Mars. But, dear Sebastian, it may be too dangerous for you to act alone. ”

"Hahaha, although it is not good for me to say it myself, but I am already a knight of the King of Horrors, and with the help of the magic sword 'Iltrosa', anyone who wants to keep me will have to weigh it carefully, dear old friend Heinrich. ”

Heinrich, who cared about his friend, thought about it carefully and felt that what Sebastian said made sense.

"It's true that it's easier for a person to get out of a crisis with all his body in a moment of crisis, but please be careful!"

"Oh, thank you very much, take a good look at our brethren. There will be many great things waiting for them in the future!"