Everyone knows that time is pressing, and everyone knows the importance of unity at this juncture, and the vanguard army of the kingdoms of Gombis and the Kingdom of Dordor is shrinking to the south-central border of the Sasan Empire, standing still, which can be called a spectacle of orc warfare.

Victor and King Dodor took considerable political risks in making this decision. The main reinforcements of the Kingdom of Gombis have been deployed, and the 50,000 elites of the Kingdom of Duoduo have gathered in the fortress of Whitewater, and every day the army is delayed, the supply pressure of the Duoduo people will be greater, and the vanguard reinforcements cannot quickly carry out the preliminary task of reconnoitring the enemy situation and clearing the entrenched forces of the orcs in the eastern defense line of Sassan, and the military risk borne by the main reinforcements has also increased.

In other words, whether or not Friedes came to the door on his own initiative, within twenty days, Victor and Roland must lead the vanguard army to the eastern defense line of the Sassanian Empire.

Victor believed in Patriarch Friedes' view of the big picture, believing that with his strong style, he would not sit idly by and watch the vanguard reinforcements of the two kingdoms hesitate, and judged that he could not tolerate any conspiracy and trickery planned by the four highnesses behind the back of the church.

Patriarch Friedus did come, but he did not behave as aggressively as Victor expected, and after some exchange, he vaguely pointed out the intentions of the two kingdoms of the south, and reached the most basic consensus with the four highnesses, thus grasping the initiative of the conversation.

Victor believes that he cannot be led by the nose by the Patriarch, and that he must have a predetermined rhythm of dialogue.

"When I discussed tenant system with Bishop Pero of the Centaur Hills, he first clarified a principle on behalf of the Cardinal of the Church. Victor said slowly, "Tenants are not the subjects of the lord, they have the right to leave the territory freely. ”

There is nothing wrong with this principle, which relies on the three major obligations of knightly protection, clerical salvation and popular consecration, and the denial of the principle of tenant freedom is tantamount to denying the legitimacy of the knightly aristocracy's right to rule. In practice, if the lord's army could not effectively protect the population, they would of course have to evacuate to a safe rear. Victor's tenant system emphasized that the populace was the wealth of the lord, and that only by maintaining a considerable population size could the war machine be kept running. Therefore, there is no conflict between the principle of tenant freedom and his assumptions.

As for whether the tenants are willing to stick to the war territory and return after the war, it depends on the personal charm and governance level of the lord.

Mercenaries did not accept the principle of tenant freedom, they took the lord's money, distributed the wealth of the territory in another form, and were bound to comply with the duty of protection and participate in the battle in the name of the lord.

Friedus' eyes lit up, he didn't expect Victor to discuss the basic principles of the tenant system with him, instead of making his demands.

"Yes. On this point, the Senate of the Holy See unanimously voted and I, Clement and Tamor signed our names on the tenant papers. The old patriarch nodded and said without hesitation.

Victor pondered for a moment, then said with a confused expression, "On our way through the Wharton Prairie, my tamed Dust Falcon spotted dozens of refugees, lacking supplies and weapons, and were being attacked by the prairie gnolls. We killed all the gnolls, and we originally wanted to escort the refugees to the nearest steppe holy city, but they rejected our kindness, claiming that they would be sent back to the territory of the Sassang Empire when they arrived in the steppe holy city...... As a last resort, we took them to a tribe of steppe nomads and settled them, so we got lost and strayed into Lord Fakhran. ”

Lost? Still strayed? Can you not mention getting lost...... You are lost, are we lost?

Duke Dietrich scolded in his heart, Roland was lost in the previous one, and Victor was in the back, one of them was the youngest golden female knight, and the other was a minor sun elf, and the combined age was not as old as him, as a golden knight in his 70s, he really shouldn't get lost, shouldn't stray.

Friedes nodded and said, "Well, the chaplain of the Vanguard Reinforcements of the Gombis has already passed on to me the experience of the two Highnesses who rescued the refugees and got lost and strayed into Lord Fakhran's domain. ”

This... This... This, these two guys are really lost...... The bald golden knight touched the back of his head, and he should have covered his face.

"Yes. When we crossed the savannah, we also found refugees trying to move south, but the military situation was urgent, so we didn't dare to delay. Duenkru, the guardian of the royal family of Dodor, also nodded, glanced at Duke Dietrich, and said lightly: "This time, Dietrich and I led the Knights of the Iron Wall to conduct a comprehensive inspection of the distribution of orc slaves on the eastern defense line and the edge of the hinterland of Sassan, and happened to meet the vanguard army of Gombis who strayed into Lord Fakhran's domain. ”

Duke Dietrich nodded calmly and gave a thumbs up to Duenkre.

As the uncle of King Friedrich, the last Grand Duke of the Kingdom of Dord, this cheek is simply thicker than the walls of the Whitewater Fortress.

Victor and Roland glanced at each other, raised their voices slightly, and asked in a somewhat questioning tone, "We are very strange, why didn't His Excellency the Patriarch organize the free people of Sassan to go to the Southern Kingdom to escape the war through the trade routes of the Steppe Holy City?"

Patriarch Friedes did not directly respond to Victor's question, turned his head and instructed the two twin ruling warriors not far away, "Open the war zone map to a few highnesses." ”

The ruling warrior on the left untied the long wooden cylinder on his back and took out a four-foot-long animal skin scroll from it, only to see his wrist shake, the scroll spread straight out, and the other side happened to be caught by the ruling warrior on the right. The two brothers cooperate tacitly, just like one person, and their simple movements have a special rhythmic beauty. However, any two knights can achieve this level of cooperation, but Roland's eyes lit up, and he stood up and applauded, and exclaimed, "Wow, that's great...... Norton, Noah's two masters are so handsome. ”

The Norton and Noah brothers were the guards of Patriarch Friedes, and their relationship was like that between Tournans and Clement, or Patriarch Canthvet and Tamor. These four high-ranking paladins are also fierce warriors who ignite the fire of the heart, among which Tournans has the highest achievement, Canthit has the first mastery of the touch of the heart, and the brothers Norton and Noah are the last, but they are famous in the small circle of the Golden Knight.

It is said that the twin brothers have a heart and mind, and they can sense each other's position and state even if they are far apart, and if they are close together, one person can read the letter and the other person will see it with their own eyes.

Well, it's very interesting, like juggling.

Roland had been staring at them for a long time, she had always behaved very well-behaved in Patriarch Friedes, and she had taken the initiative to explain to him that she was lost, and now she was touting the Norton brothers, of course, for the purpose of watching the show.

Sure enough, the eldest princess's eyes were as beautiful as Bihu, and her fingers were interlocked, and she asked in a coquettish voice: "I heard that two masters can read the letter with one person and read it with the other, is it true?"

Roland's expression is a mixture of innocence, sincerity, coquettishness, admiration, curiosity and longing, both beautiful and cute, and even Victor can't bear to refuse her request.

The twin brothers grabbed the map and said:

"We're not jugglers. ”

"So we don't perform. ”

Roland's delicate little face suddenly collapsed, and Victor also felt a pang of regret.

The Alchemist Warrior's talent for sharp intuition is capable of fighting tacitly, similar to the Norton Brothers' psychic connection, but not as magical as theirs. The soul fire of alchemy human beings comes from the same source, and no matter how close the souls of the twins are, it is impossible to reach this level. The Norton brothers apparently practiced some kind of special meditation method, and their psychic resonance surpassed the alchemist's talent for keen intuition.

If the Norton Brothers' rumors were true, Victor was even more interested in the meditation method pioneered by the Church.

Although the scope of application of Psychic Resonance is very narrow, after all, the ferocious twins are particularly rare, this kind of Psychic Bloodline Secret Method is very valuable to the No. 7 Alchemy Pagoda. Victor didn't expect the alchemy militia loaded with the relevant skills to achieve the magical effect of the Norton brothers, as long as he could copy half of the talent of keen intuition, he would be satisfied.

Patriarch Friedus coughed lightly, walked to the unfolded map, pointed to the location marked the frontier defense line, and said: "Emperor Frederick and Grand Master Testil originally drew the main army of the Sassan Empire from the eastern defense line, and formed a coalition army of 230,000 men with the 7 Templar Army, and stationed in the frontier defense line, mainly considering two aspects. ”

"First, deter the six Centaur tribes so that they do not dare to covet the human frontier and force them to consume each other in the territory of the former Blackhoof tribe. ”

"The human coalition was responsible for the initial construction of the territorial defense line, and with the continuous investment of the Imperial army, we successfully deterred the centaur bandits, and inspired the confidence of the lord and the people to expand the territory. In total, the Sassanian Empire relocated 550,000 freedmen to the Pioneer Territory, and nearly 800,000 people completed the construction of three new cities and more than 20 castles in three years, and achieved food self-sufficiency. ”

"Second, the coalition had intended to wait for the centaur tribe to be exhausted before attacking from the Pioneer Territory, and doing everything in its power to inflict heavy damage on the centaur tribe and not give them a chance to balance. In this way, the orc tribes east of the centaurs will be ready to attack them. The drama of orcs fighting each other will be repeated over and over again. ”

Friedus was silent for a moment, shook his head and said, "The coalition forces did not take the initiative to attack, and it stands to reason that it is impossible for the centaur tribes to unite. They suddenly joined forces and launched an all-out raid on the Pioneer Territory, and we really can't think of a second possibility other than the factor of the Orc King. ”

"It now seems that we made the wrong decision. The old patriarch said frankly.

“...... Wait a minute. ”

Roland stepped forward, pointed to the three markers on the map, and asked, "Giant Wood City, Bright City, and Crystal City are three new cities, Crystal City and Giant Wood City are so close to each other, Bright City is so far away from them, and there is a large blank space in the middle, which is a huge hole for the entire Pioneer Territory Defense Line...... What did you think when you first chose the site to build the city?"

On the map, the development lead line built on the basis of the three new cities is in a north-south direction, the crystal city in the north and the bright city in the middle are closer, the defense system is tighter, and they can support each other, and the crystal city is located at the southernmost end of the defense line, close to the boulder mountain range, which is basically a lonely city. Even if Crystal City moved to the middle, the gap in the defensive line would not be so big.

In other words, it was enough to open up the territorial defense line with three new cities, but now it was necessary to build another city to fill the hole in the defensive line.

Friedes explained, "The Giant Tree, the Light City, and the Crystal City are all remnants of the Iron Mountain Empire, and they were originally located in the rear of the Iron Mountain Empire, and they were not defensive fortresses at all, but resource towns. Jumu City is close to the primeval forest, there are iron mines around Guangming City, and Crystal City is currently the largest white crystal mining area...... The Iron Mountain Empire collapsed, and the three cities fell into the hands of the Wild Orcs and finally fell into the hands of the Blackhoof Centaurs, and their walls were destroyed by the Orcs, but the base of the walls was still intact, and the church circle in the center of the town could be repaired. We have built the Giant Tree, the Bright City, and the Crystal City on the ruins of these three ruined cities, otherwise we would not have been able to build three new cities in three years. ”

Roland nodded, pointed to the empty space between Crystal City and Bright City, and said, "The Sidon centaur army is assembled in this place, and they can break through the territory of the Sassang Empire at any time. ”

"What?!" Duke Dietrich of the Kingdom of Dordor stepped forward and asked in a deep voice, "The centaurs can't hold on, why don't they retreat?

Roland turned his head, bared out his shiny little tiger teeth, and said with a smile: "Uncle Bald, the retreat of the Sidon centaur army is really self-destruction." ”

Victor immediately understood what Roland meant.

An army of 400,000 centaurs gathered to carve out a defensive line and contain the main force of the human alliance. They must have run out of food supplies first, and it stands to reason that they should retreat to their tribal territory in search of food. However, they have a large number of goblin slaves in the rear of the Human Empire, and if they are withdrawn like this, many centaurs will still starve to death, not to mention that the main force of the Human Alliance will also take advantage of the situation to pursue.

If they all retreat, they will be destroyed, and the centaurs can only divide their troops into two ways, the main force will retreat to the tribal territory to rest and recuperate, and the other way will break into the rear of the human empire to attract the main force of the human alliance so that they cannot pursue the retreating kindred.

The centaurs may want to collect the goblin slaves and catch up with their retreating kinds, but can the Knights of Radiance and the main forces of the Sassan Empire allow them to run back to their lair with the slaves?

They can't get out, so in what direction will they run away?

As long as they are in the territory of the Sassan Empire, they will be wiped out, but what will happen if they run into the Wharton Prairie?

Escape and grow, severing the Southern Kingdom from the Sassan Empire and directly threatening the security of the Kingdom of Dordor.

Centaurs don't know the way to the Wharton Prairie, but they are bound to strike at places where orc slaves are abundant. The ogre wanderers of Lord Fakhran have proven that unarmed humans attract orcs to stalk and hunt. Suppose that Patriarch Friedes sent the refugees south from the Bronze Halberd City, through the Wharton Prairie, and into the Southern Kingdom for refuge. Then, the more than one million orc slaves in the eastern defense line will tilt in the direction of the most densely populated Copper Halberd City, and form orc tribes large and small, pointing out the direction of escape for the centaur raiders.

The bald uncle in Roland's mouth didn't care about the development of the ghost forest at this time, what tenant system was, touched the back of his head vigorously, sighed and said, "Crystal City...... Alas, Patriarch, you have a plan."

By building castles, forts, and sentry posts, a fortified new city can defend an area within a radius of 250 kilometers and monitor enemy movements within 350 kilometers in a timely manner. The two fortresses were separated by 450 kilometers, and the defensive line was solid. Crystal City is too far away from the City of Light, and there is a big gap in the middle, and the centaur army takes advantage of the night to break into the territory of the Sassang Empire, regardless of factors such as collecting slaves, collecting supplies, and detours, with their mobility ability, they can break through the defensive and empty eastern defense line in a maximum of 20 days, arrive at Copper Halberd City, and then enter the boundless Wharton Prairie.

Centaurs gallop in the prairie, how to clear them?

Even if the eastern defense line is replenished, the garrison must grasp the movement of the centaurs in time, so that they can deploy troops in advance and carry out the most powerful interception. Otherwise, the garrison of the defensive line alone would not be able to stop the centaur raiders with concentrated forces. There is a big loophole in the development of the lead line, the front line scouts can't monitor the centaur army in real time, and it is possible to be killed by the centaurs in time.

When the Radiant Knights built the Crystal City, even if they moved 200 kilometers north when the site was selected, it would not be as it is now.

However, it was no fool's dream to build a fortress new city in three years, and the Knights of Radiance abandoned the old site of the Crystal City and built a new city in the middle. By this time, half of their main force had been annihilated by the centaur army. From this point of view, the Knights of Radiance's construction of Crystal City is really the protection of the Lord of Radiance.

The two Highnesses of the Kingdom of Dordor now only hope that Patriarch Friedes and Grand Master Tystiel have the safest plan for the current hidden dangers.

Friedes nodded approvingly at Princess Roland Auguste, humanity had not been at war with orcs for more than 1,400 years. The leaders of the Transcendentals, including himself, have always had a stupid prejudice against orcs. It wasn't until the Centaur War broke out that he and Tystier began to think about all the possibilities. Roland glanced at the war zone map and immediately pointed out the worst-case scenario.

Dietrich and Turnkru both looked at each other more than once, after all, the Golden Knight was not slow to react...... Friedus thought secretly and teased, "I'm not surprised that the two Highnesses led the Knights of the Iron Wall to move south. ”

Dietrich made a knightly salute and replied unceremoniously: "I am surprised that you say so, Your Excellency. ”

The twin brothers glared at His Highness the bald head of Dord, but Friedes laughed, "Duke Baselius is now the commander of the Eastern Frontier Line, and I can't interfere with his operational deployment. ”

The Knights of the Iron Wall entered the eastern defense line of the Sassan Empire, not to mention accepting the command of Barcelius, but they were closer to Barcelius, who commanded the army. After all, the Sassanian royal family only had a few thousand garrisons in their hands, and there were no golden knights, so they could not form an equal military support with the main reinforcements of the Kingdom of Dord.

Turncroe grabbed Dietrich's arm, threw Victor an apologetic look, and said solemnly: "Your Excellency, our 45,000 cavalry in Whitewater Fortress will be drawn immediately, and another 15,000 infantry will be deployed to support the eastern defense line later. The southern section of the line of defense was left to us, and we only asked the Sassanian royal family to supply food supplies. ”

Friedes smiled and said, "No problem, even if the barley production of the entire Sassang Empire stops, and tens of millions of people remain in the empire, we still have four and a half years of grain reserves." ”

The Duoduo had to work hard, and Victor could understand that they had given up the benefits of cooperation, and he didn't care. Friedes clearly didn't want too much of an exodus, and Gambis couldn't swallow too much of it. The kingdom of Duoduo did not participate in the distribution of the population, and it was easier for Friedes to compromise with Gambis.

As for whether the Kingdom of Duoduo will regret and secretly intercept the population, Victor does not consider it.

Unless they don't even want a frontier point in the Wraith Forest.

The corner of Victor's eyes swept over the eldest princess with a bored expression, and his mind recalled Sylvia's evaluation of her:

Roland's swordsmanship is nowhere to be found.

With her sword, the Duoduo is out.