VII

May 24, 1666 MDay+53 Julok Northern Frontier Stillburg

Operations staff officer Namen Soleton stood on the drawbridge, clutching a stack of official documents with a list of troops who had rushed back from outside the fortress. One lieutenant after another and sergeant major ran over to salute and report, and every time a unit was confirmed to have returned, he wrote a new number on the official paper.

The troops had already taken off their old blue army coats and changed into summer clothes from the Fort Stillburg warehouse. The four-color cross flag still flies at the head of the city of Stillburg, reflected in the waters of the Oss River on which it stands. Routine, boring, repetitive day after day. The huge steel diamond stood out in the summer sun, and he had to lower his head to avoid its reflection.

"That's the end of it. Naimon wrote down the last number and turned to the herald beside him, "Inform General Eugen that all the regiments on the north bank of the Republic Division have arrived, and the supplies are complete and you can set off." ”

No one expected that there would be such a dramatic reversal in the combat effectiveness of both sides. Today, the Fourth Army of the Empire on the opposite side can no longer be called an army. At the beginning, it only took half the strength to defeat the iron army of the 12th Division, and now only a few pathetic troops are left to defend the field. With ammunition and grain piled up like a hill in warehouses on the north bank, but no ships in the harbor to transport them, the desperate logisticians could only look at the river and sigh. The blackened ships sank in the harbor, the wreckage and the iridescent magical light remaining on the surface of the river recalling that day's miraculous victory.

That battle was about half a month ago. On the orders of the Emperor, Count Tyre, a lieutenant general of the Fourth Imperial Army, broke through the Free Army sentry on the banks of the Oss River and crossed the Oss River. The Count's judgment was confused by the low combat effectiveness of these sentinels, and he led his army directly into Fort Still, where he encountered the 1st Division of the Free Army, commanded by General Egar Eugen himself.

The scales of victory and defeat were immediately reversed. The Count retreated to the Oss River with the remnants of his army, where he was confronted by the militia he had thought were no longer there. It was not Eugen or the operational staff who commanded this force, but a Southern politician despised by the aristocracy. On the orders of Colonel Pluto Luthor, the militia and the two newly reorganized regiments left the reserve positions and attacked the crossing across the river. The Count was so concerned about the defense there that he left three whole battalions there—but he could not estimate what kind of monster Luthor was, let alone what kind of genius he was.

A monster who overthrows an old organization, a genius who builds a new one. The decisive battle may only take a few hours, but preparing for it will take countless people's lives.

Luthor placed the church in the army, and his temporary pastors spread magic and tactics among the army, spreading fearlessness and fanaticism. What it took hundreds of years for the saints to rebel against the Elven Empire to succeed, Pluto Luthor did it in a month with divine magic, emblems, and various magical items. His army was almost as effective as the 1st Division, as they would not retreat.

The town on the shore was burned to the ground. The magicians of the Fourth Army of the Empire built a pontoon bridge, but the pontoon bridge was blown to ashes by the Bishop himself. The soldiers rallied around the remaining casters, trying to swim across the river on the rushing water, but Luther's soldiers were prepared, shooting haphazardly into the river with their Ice Staffs, creating a large number of deadly ice edges. Seventy percent of the forcible ferrymen floated down the river to Ambera City, where the Imperial soldiers gathered the stiffened corpses. In deep black despair, the Count of Tyre led his knights as a rearguard force, and these men shouted slogans and rushed head-on to Eugen's first regiment—

According to the regulations of the Imperial Army, the deputy commander of the Fourth Army, who was far away in Newcastle, automatically took over the remaining one-third of the troops. From then on, the reconnaissance units of the Free Army were free to roam the north bank of the Oss River. They intercepted dozens of letters asking for help, and specimens of various emissaries could fill a room. Everything seems to be getting back on track......

"It's just that there are some minor problems. Naimon muttered to himself. The situation they faced was no different from that of the enemy half a month ago.

On the same day that they achieved that miraculous victory, the Emperor stood under the city of Lenni. This event makes all victories insignificant.

"Sir, the big boss urges you to go back. Jacques Pierre's voice came. Naimon turned around and gave a military salute in return.

As a result of the assassination of General Pickett, Jacques, who was originally a major, was stripped of his epaulettes and sent to the National Division as an assault soldier. Half a month ago, this hot-blooded man took the lead in burning down the Imperial fleet on the north shore, showing his outstanding ability as a battle mage, and earning himself back the second lieutenant epaulettes. Jacques was now the de facto number two in the Operational Staff, after all, he had served as the chief operational staff officer of the Twelfth Division, and was more accustomed to staff work than Namen, a halfway lieutenant.

"Have those two finally made up their minds?"

"No, they haven't decided yet. Recently, the letters from all sides have been very warm. Jacques shrugged, "There are too many opinions, and those who can make decisions don't take a stand, so the war continues." ”

"It's troublesome, I still have a reply, which arrived with the convoy half an hour ago. The young chief operations staff officer rummaged through the official documents in his hand, "Let's go." ”

When they walked to the door of the room with the "General Staff of the Fort Still" hanging on it, Naimon suddenly realized that the situation had changed a lot. Now the problem is not that there is no such thing as not taking a stand, but that there are too many of them.

"Now that Lenny is at stake, we cannot use our precious forces to capture some empty cities that have lost their strategic significance, Your Excellency the Speaker of the Chamber of Parliament of Kengrad. ”

"Your Excellency General Lennie, I think your battle plan is too aggressive. Fort Stille is not Fortyburg, and the first holy city, Taranto, is not Lenny. ”

"Do you know how many Imperial troops will be waiting for us in Kengele, the only politician in history, Mr. Bishop?"

"I don't know. But I know that not only are our forces not enough to fight Deran, they are not enough at all, double agent chief. ”

This dialogue is full of-for-tat, which even the political deaf can hear. Soleton and Pierre stopped outside the door and exchanged glances in surprise. Instead of such a provocative discussion in private, as usual, the two top commanders of this army openly broke in front of everyone in the staff!

"Could it be that it's because all the troops are here, so there's a showdown?" Naimon shrugged.

"I think that's what happened. We're going to leave tomorrow, but the bosses haven't decided which plan to take in the end. ”

"It's a question of going north or south...... "The lieutenant walked into the staff with a bitter face. The staff officers huddled in the corner of the room and whispered, vaguely divided into two camps. He quickly ducked among them, observing the situation.

Eugen stood in front of the map of the Great War Zone, a cigarette in his mouth, pointing to a document nailed to the map and shouting: "General Vena Betsy's letter clearly mentions that he wants us to go north. When we threaten Teresa, the Emperor will have to divide his forces to come to the rescue, right?"

Luther sat ungracefully on the edge of the table so that his eyes could be level with Eugen. He magically manipulated a marker pen that was charting its own route on the map. "If we can threaten Deland. Teresa was able to pull out more than 100,000 militiamen, and the nobles and nobles along the way also had their own private soldiers. No, we can't. General Clad López wrote that he would propose to the headquarters and try to get us south. ”

"It's not a problem, we can threaten the holy city of Taranto, which is close to a lot. Eugen sneered, grabbed the pen, and drew another route to march, "As long as you have permission from headquarters, you will accept the plan to go north, Colonel Luther?"

"What if there is......"

"If anything. ”

Hearing Eugen repeat this, the bishop grimaced, "Do you really have it?"

Eugen snuffed out his cigarette and stood up. "Chief Operations Officer, that letter should have arrived, right?"

Soleton coughed, "Hmm...... There is indeed such a letter. ”

"Take it. Eugen had already smiled triumphantly and snatched the letter away. His fingers brushed over the magical seal, disarming the protective spontaneous combustion spell and pulling out the order.

His smile froze. This time Luthor attacked: "What does it say?"

"The marshal said let's launch an offensive as the situation requires, anywhere. I've clearly dissected the stakes, what is the old fox thinking......"

Eugen rubbed a new cigarette roll and cursed Marshal Fawkes, who was far away in Lennie. Hearing the description of the "old fox", the people around him wanted to laugh but didn't dare to laugh, only Luthor laughed. "Since we can't reach a consensus, let's divide our forces. One part goes north, the other goes south. ”

Everyone held their breath at the same time: finally someone had come up with the plan. This outcome was expected from the moment the two Supreme Commanders began to quarrel openly. From a historical point of view, most of the solutions to contradictions within the armed forces have been splits or bloodbaths, and they are rarely resolved peacefully.

Eugen was stunned for a moment, then slapped his palm on the military map. "No, I can't. We only have 30,000 men in all, and we are fighting our own death. What's more, we simply don't have enough supplies left for the two armies to move separately. Half a month ago, we destroyed 70% of our reserves, and what is left is simply not enough to attack two cities at the same time. ”

Luthor also stood up and walked over to the map. "Then don't you just don't attack the city? There are so many undefended villages in the rich Duchy of Soma and the South Kirman Plains, and a small but elite army can survive in them, and build up no less than the feat of conquering Lenny. Leave the siege equipment to our southbound detachment. ”

"It's a guerrilla warfare fan, you've read too much about the history of the War of Independence, haven't you?" Eugen laughed instead of being angry when he heard this proposal. "That's a light way to say. Do you know how many bases of equipment are needed for a long-term guerrilla force? If I want to carry out the strategy you have described, I must take the most elite 10,000 men from the Republic Division, and I must also take away all the food, grass, horses, light equipment, and magical items. All you have left is food and grass and siege weapons...... You're going to use this to rescue Kengal and challenge the Second Imperial Army there?!

Luthor suddenly clapped, loud applause echoing through the room. This strange action silenced everyone.

"Well, deal. You take what you want, and I'll take the rest. I swear in the name of the bishop. ”

"You only need 20,000 men, plus their food, grass and siege equipment, to deal with the Second Army? No one will want to follow you south. ”

"That's all I want. I have a blessed contract that God personally guarantees. Luthor turned to all the staff officers and declared, "You can volunteer to join either the North or the South. Do you want to go north for the merit or go south to defend your homeland? It's up to you. I'll be waiting for you tomorrow in the departure procession......"

"Hey, don't fool my officers with the politicians!" Eugen interrupted Luther's speech, "I always feel like you've fallen for you, Colonel...... Then everyone will make a decision within today, the northern detachment, the southern detachment or stay behind, and adjourn!"

"But the showdown was going too soon. What are you thinking about wanting to divide the troops? This violates all strategic norms. Naimon muttered to himself, just loud enough to be heard by Anne beside him.

Anne snorted softly, "Come with me, and explain again in a secluded place." ”

Fort Stillburg was a fortress with a capacity of 100,000 men, and even though the entire Fort Stillburg army was busy preparing for the expedition, there were many alleys that were uninhabited. Anne and Naimon walked aimlessly along the path where no one was.

"Where is it more likely to be more secluded? The tavern is not a no, it must be full of people now. Anne said, kicking a small stone in the road.

"Church, there should be no one right now. Naimon hesitated to ask where to start, "It's finally the last day." We sacrificed so many people to take this place, and now we have to leave again. Tomorrow the fortress will be empty. ”

With a flick of her fingers, Anne projected a map of the fortress on the gray wall to find the nearest church. "There will be two or three thousand troops left behind, and there will be no space. ”

"Are you really going to abandon Fort Stille and go south to rescue Lennie?"

Anne turned her face. "I think you've read the draft of Operation Morning Dew, Soleton. ”

"Yes. That plan looked perfect. It's essentially about putting the enemy in until their supply lines are so weak that it's impossible to retreat, and then mobilizing forces to annihilate them, right?"

"It's a sketch, but you're right. Anne nodded, "At least that's what Admiral López told us, his army should be preparing to attack right now." We have to go along with his offensive. ”

Namen hesitated for a moment, and finally said what was bothering him: "The problem is that our army is scattered, but the opponent's is concentrated. The Emperor can raise a considerable amount of supplies on the spot, and we have to concentrate our forces before we can compete with it. If the Emperor chooses to attack before we and Admiral López converge, we will most likely crash into the tip of his spear. Since even I can think of it, the emperor's general has no ideals. Rather than barely going south, it is better to go north to crush the Fourth Army of the Empire, which is already left with empty shelves, and enter the hinterland of the Empire to weaken their war potential. I...... Agreeing with General Eugen's idea, attacking north is just as coordinated. ”

"Sounds reasonable. Anne laughed, "Actually, I agree with you. If you talk about the risk, it must be that the northern detachment is safer. ”

"No, I didn't mean that, I just wanted to know your judgment......" Nammon paused and added again, "I think it might be appropriate to talk to you about it." ”

"Actually, you think it's too abrupt to talk to Luthor about this, right?" Annie's rhetorical retort was only to the heart of the matter, and Naimon touched the back of her head in embarrassment. Before he could come up with a defense, Anne had stopped. "Let's go in and talk about it. ”

Naimon followed her into the church and sat down on the front bench. At this time, everyone was busy finishing their work, no one would come to church, and the pastors were all in the procession. Anne pulled out a thin map and spread it out on the pulpit. "Look at this. ”

The lines of various colors on the map are intersecting, which is dazzling. He quickly recognized it as a deductive record: time and scribbled annotations could be found near each arrow representing troop movements. There are two fonts on the annotations, the delicate blue italics and the bold black fonts. The Black Letter's master is mobilizing the Imperial Army, and he finds eight opportunities to counterattack near Kengrad, while the Blue Character tries to neutralize these threats through various efforts. He guessed the owner of both handwritings.

"Did the two of them deduce, then why did they break ......?"

"They can't convince each other. ”

"Seriously, this deduction shows that going to Kengrad is more dangerous than going into Imperial territory, right? I don't believe that Luthor and you are going to kill themselves. ”

"How so? You see, the empire is sprinkled on our land like a long snake, and Kengal is clearly the snake's vital point. Anne's eyes flinched, avoiding his gaze.

"The vital point of the snake is precisely the most heavily protected position, and the Imperial Army will never allow Kengrad to fall for the third time. Even I could see that the city was under too much pressure. Once Kengrad was lost, it would be impossible for the 60,000-strong army besieging Lenny to be resupplied. It was impossible to capture the city with 20,000 unsupplied troops. ”

"But what if that's the case?" Anne's hand covered all the Imperial troops west of Kengrad.

Naimon was slightly taken aback and hesitated: "This can also be done?"

"Hopeful...... Sorry, this is something I shouldn't have known in the first place, so I can't say more. ”

"If it can be done, the enemy's supply lines will definitely be cut off. But can we really do it? And even if we did, would the Emperor have no way to deal with it? I don't believe he would let his precious magical combat power be used to make food, water, and cannonballs...... Uh, sorry, wait a minute. ”

A somewhat ridiculous thought suddenly flashed into his mind. "One thing comes to mind. Will the Emperor use the navy to supply the Emperor in order to continue the war? You know, there must be places along the coast of Interre and Italy that are willing to supply the Emperor. ”

Anne burst out laughing. "Navy, the Imperial Navy that only dares to show off its might in the Land Heart Sea? They don't even dare to hang out their own flags, they all hang elven flags trying to escape the hunt of our fleet. That's unlikely, Soleton, isn't it?"

"I don't know much about the Navy. "But what if they hung the elven flag to meet somewhere? ”

Anne smiled, and considered the possibility with interest. "Well, that sounds like a lot of sense. I know someone who is familiar with the Elven Navy and is monitoring all the fleets in the southern seas. Maybe I should tell him about this possibility and let him pay attention to it, so that the big red fleet will have time to react. ”

She pulled out her notepad and tore off a piece of paper to jot it down. After tying it with a yellow ribbon with a spell on it, she sealed it with her own ring. Then, her magic summoned a cute wind elf and told it to take the note to someone who could teleport it away. After all this was done, Anne blinked and patted Namen's shoulder.

"Look, I said you might be able to refine our plans, right?" her index finger shook in front of Naimon's eyes, "I think you deserve some prize, but I can't give you recognition or honor." As long as I or the logistics department can provide it. Is there anything you want, Soleton?"

The word "prize" made Naimon swallow. What could he want? What would she give? A kiss or a valuable gift? He thought about it and picked out what he really wanted.

"I want to know Lord Luther's true intentions. Otherwise, I decided to go to the northern detachment, which would be safer. ”

Anne's breathing stopped. "How did you guess...... No, I can't tell you that. If you're interested, you can go back and check out Chapter 12 of the Magic Warfare Manual, Attack. Let's change it. ”

"Another one...... Do you have a bar on you? I know you should have today. Naimon smiled wryly.

“...... Open the wine. Anne unbuttoned her red summer dress and rummaged through the magic markings in her inner pocket. Naimon accidentally caught a glimpse of her underwear and hurriedly looked away.

"It's black, with hand-sewn lace......" he thought to himself.

"Ah, here. Take it back and drink it secretly, this ration should be sent tomorrow. Anne took out five bottles of red wine, placed them on the sacred pulpit, and turned to leave. For some reason, Naimon reached out and grabbed her wrist.

"I'm sorry, come for a few drinks, Anne. Just say goodbye, I'll go to the Northern Detachment. ”

"That's right. Are you going north?" Anne was stunned and silently picked up the bottle.

This time the magic was the barware, which was originally a silver clasp embedded in her cuff. She's a natural logistical expert, and no one can guess how much mystery she's carrying.

"Actually, I prefer beer, but red wine is also good. For some reason, all the extra rations on Kick Day were red wine. ”

"Haven't you heard?" Naimon lowered his head, staring at the crimson syrup in the glass. The silver goblet was bigger and deeper than he had imagined, and he saw his reflection cast on the black-red surface of the wine. "The red wine of the day of the opening represents blood. The soldiers believed that drinking a lot of red wine would increase their health and allow them to continue the fight with their wounds on, supporting them until the priests followed. That's what I heard about when I was in charge of logistics at Forteburg, and that time we drank up ten years of reserves there. ”

"This is a bit superstitious, isn't it? no matter how good the wine is, it can't turn into blood. ”

Naimon touched the glass in her hand with the rim of her silver glass, and drank it all in one gulp. "Actually, everybody knows that. Wine is just grape juice, not anyone's blood. ”

"There are many, many things that everyone knows, but no one says. Anne muttered to herself, too, draining the syrup in her hand. "Everybody knows that plan has a lot of holes. Everyone knows that each arrow represents a terrible sacrifice and a terrifying battle. Everyone knows that one cannot expect a plan without any mistakes. ”

"You're not drunk, are you?" asked Naimon, a little worried.

"How could it be. If you don't distill this kind of red wine, you want to get me drunk? Wait another two hundred years. Anne defiantly filled both of their cups, "Then again, a plan with a lot of holes is better than nothing. Whatever you do, the world can change because of it, but if you do nothing, nothing will change. ”

That's a good saying, but I think I've heard it somewhere? It's too unconvincing to say that at your age. After another drink, Naimon retorted, "Sometimes your tone is very similar to that of my teacher, Clad López...... But that's an uncle who has been wandering in the East for more than ten years. ”

"Who do you say looks like an uncle?" said Anne, her face flushed slightly, and she said angrily. She played with the silver cup with a slight spin of her index, middle and thumb, and diverted the conversation with an embarrassed smile on her face. "Anyway, I think we can win. ”

The young lieutenant sighed in disappointment. "But how long? I don't know how many more battles will be in front of us. To be honest, I have never missed the peaceful life of half a year ago as much as I do now. Perhaps in the near future, I will miss the peaceful life in Stillburg as well. ”

"Really? But neither in Kengler nor in Fort Still, you have never flinched in an emergency. In positive terms, you are brave and responsible, and in negative terms, you are reckless, greedy, and overconfident. You just like the very thing of 'missing a peaceful life', right? You never thought you might die? If it weren't for me and Pluto, you would have died last time in Kengrad. ”

Anne was sarcastic, but there was a hint of admiration in her tone, but Naimon didn't hear it. He looked down at his chest, which did not have a medal, shook his head and smiled bitterly: "I just think I won't die so simply, but you...... I know you're good at magic, but things aren't always going to be as lucky as last time. I've never had any luck...... I know, that's why I'm not going to the south with you this time. ”

"Thank you for your concern. The blonde girl licked her lips and picked up the bottle. The first bottle had already bottomed out, and with a flick of her fingers, the cork of the second bottle flew into the sky on its own and crashed into the statue of the god in the church. "However, I'm also a high-level mage, and I can judge what kind of occasion I can handle. You've made the right choice. ”

"Who said I was overconfident just now?" "The corners of Naimon's mouth raised mockingly. Alcohol was such a wonderful thing, it released his true feelings, and he didn't care about anything anymore. "Death is never an option for anyone. It is a fate, like a natural disaster, which cannot be avoided, and we can only reduce its odds. ”

Anne frowned, and was about to continue the bickering, but accidentally noticed Naimon's eyes. There was not a hint of mocking smile in his eyes, but a thick indifference. It was the indifference that was suppressed under the usual training, banter and revelry, the indifference of a real veteran before he went into battle, the indifference to himself and the life of the enemy. The look overwhelmed her.

"In the last six months, I have witnessed too many ugly deaths, and none of them have been voluntary...... Remember the night of the Battle of Kengol, the night you told me that your goal was to make life better for those who were still alive. ”

"Of course. The blonde girl rubbed her eyes, "I won't forget them." It's my debt. ”

"Mine too. I can't promise a better life for the living, because even my own future is uncertain. But I can fight alongside those who are still alive. He took a deep breath and said what he had found, "I will do my best to let you and more people see the final victory coming." If the Grim Reaper really wants to meet me, I'll greet it with a smile and that's it. ”

"Greet him with a smile......" Anne was visibly a little drunk, "after you laugh...... Possible...... Probably ......"

"Handsome?" Under the influence of alcohol, Naimon was also a little funny.

“...... Maybe a little luckier. ”

Anne grabbed the second bottle she had just opened and stood up silently. The sunlight that shines through the stained glass windows at the top of the church is a warm crimson when it shines through the bottles. She stared at the bottle for a long time, and suddenly turned the bottle over without hesitation. The best wine poured out and poured it all over the body.

"That's a lot of ambition. Smile at death? ”

"Hey, what are you doing?!" the startled Naimon looked up and stared at Anne for some reason.

The blonde girl shook and said word by word: "Don't talk about death lightly, because you never know what will happen next." What can we ...... No, we're going to win. Wouldn't it be a loss if we didn't live to that day?......! Promise me. Even if you have to endure humiliation, you have to survive. ”

Even if he was as dull as Soleton, he could hear the good feeling in this passage.

"You've drunk too much, haven't you, Annie?"

He stood up, grabbed her shoulders and wrists, and snatched the bottle. He was almost the same height as her, and when they came face to face, their eyes and lips were inevitably extremely close together. Her wrist strength was far greater than he had expected, but she didn't resist hard. An instinctive urge welled up in his heart, and the boy kissed him.

Just as his lips felt the other's body temperature, the rusty doorshaft suddenly creaked. He and she looked away at the same time, took a step back, and looked panicked at the door.

"It looks like some people are restless before the troops leave. Are you two dating?"

The figure of the commander of the southern detachment, Provisional Colonel Pluto Luthor, suddenly appeared at the door of the church. Naimon hurriedly stood up and saluted, while Anne staggered back to the bench and beckoned to her "brother" with a slight dismay. Pluto frowned, walked over quickly, and looked at the bottle on the pulpit not knowing what to say.

"You've drunk three whole bottles, are you a barrel, do you know you're leaving tomorrow......?

The Colonel grumbled, and Anne ghostly approached him. She squeezed Bonnie's cheek sharply, and the glass in her hand approached her sister's mouth at a speed that was hard to catch with the naked eye, and poured it down. "Don't say that. It's the last day, isn't that a tradition of the Free Army?"

"Ahem...... Annie, you!" Pluto pushed his glass away from the choked glass, but the auto-counter magic on his body had already been activated. A circle of white light spread around his thin body, a force that pushed both Anne and Naimon away a few steps, and the pulpit and the chairs in the front row were also crushed by the force. The bottles all flew up, crashed into the stained glass, crackled and shattered, and the smile on Anne's face froze with the cracked bottle.

"It's all four or seven vintage red wines. There are only five bottles in the depths of the cellar!How are you going to pay me, Pluto!"

The blonde girl's body emitted a rare momentum, and her slender palm slapped heavily on the pulpit, which cracked in response. The part of Naimon's sanity that wasn't paralyzed by alcohol immediately updated her previous estimate of her wrist strength - even an orc might not be able to crack this pulpit that was at least twenty years old with a single blow. There were probably only a handful of men in the world who could overwhelm her by force—he suddenly felt a little afraid. Obviously, Luthor thought the same way, and his momentum suddenly became discouraged.

"If it's such a precious wine, don't take it out and put it all together...... Forget it, what do you want me to do?"

"Instead of drinking alone, why don't you have a drink with us?" He knew that Colonel Luthor had no room for resistance.

So this little drinking will expand. As if nothing had happened, Anne pulled out ten more bottles of vintage wine.

Strangely, with the disappearance of the wine, the number of people in the church gradually began to increase. The security officers who came to Luthor on official business had the longest tentacles, but the rest of the staff and logistics department were no less instructive. The security officer got the news, and the arrival of General Eugen, chewing gum, was also logical. Many more came, some by instinct, like his patriotic adjutant, and some ...... There were some things he couldn't tell, like the organist sleeping on a bench, and Naimon didn't even know when she came.

By the time Naimon finally reacted and was ready to count the heads, the small church was crammed to brim more than it was praying. Bottles were thrown all over the floor, and he wondered if Anne's stock of liquor had been drained.

He had even forgotten how he had managed to get back to his dorm.

The hangover lasted until the next morning. Naimon, who endured the headache, sat up and suddenly found the "Magic Combat Manual" on the bedside. He remembered Anne's words and opened the book.

Attack, Chapter 12...... The rules of battle for dragon hunt......ing?

He suddenly understood, struggled out of the door, and ran to the assembly point of the troops. He approached the unit's logistics officer and patted her on the shoulder.

"I can't figure out why you're all so energetic?"

"Soleton, you should be in the North Detachment. ”

"No, I changed my mind. I still want the big ...... compared to the small credit that is easy to get," he lowered his voice, "count me in." ”

Anne laughed. "I knew you were coming. ”

"But I still have some questions...... Why are there so many carriages here?"

According to the agreement, the supply wagons belonged to the northern detachment, and they had eighty percent of all the supplies...... That's how it should be. As a combat staff officer, Naimon knew all about the supplies Anne gave him every day, and he knew how low magic items and ammunition were. But what is in front of his eyes?

There were thousands, nay, tens of thousands of wagons, mountains of grain, weapons, granular fire...... There is also a golden flag with a motif of a sapphire coat of arms on a black background. The merchants, craftsmen, vagabonds, mercenaries, and promiscuous women who followed the army, all of their wagons, large and small, were hung with that banner and filled with all kinds of supplies and equipment. The size of this baggage force was larger than the original one of the Stillburg Army.

"How did you do that?"

"I want to say that the current Stillburg army can win two local wars at the same time, really. Anne leaned close to his ear and whispered, "A well-meaning private capitalist donated it after selling the company." ”

Naimon also lowered his voice: "Could it be...... Ms. Ressa Helmont?!"

"Well, we sold the pure gold and half a blue diamond to raise money. Anne whispered in a relaxed tone, "Supplies are a bit expensive." ”

"You guys...... As for getting to the point where private property is used to subsidize military supplies?"

"Because now I firmly believe that there is value in this country to protect. I firmly believe that the ruins of victory are better than painful peace. Anne kissed him lightly on the earlobe, "It's a return gift." By the way, yesterday you kissed me on the bridge of the nose. ”

She turned sharply, jumped into the carriage, and shouted, "Supplies are complete!"

The soldiers sang. Their loud singing was repeated and repeated in the queue.

"The army of freedom marched to the battlefield to defend the homeland where we grew up, the road in front of us pointed into the distance, and the ground beneath our feet rumbled and reverberate......"

"Forget it, my head hurts. Naimon blushed and staggered to find his horse.

The rabble marched into battle, thorny roads pointing south, disappearing from view to Kengrad and his homeland. Only one thing is certain: when Kengrad was threatened, the greatest figures of the empire had to come to put out the fire.

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Welcome the majority of book friends to come and read, the latest, fastest, the hottest serialized works are all here!