ii

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6 August, 1666 (MDy+127)

Jena Outer Front

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"Conti Fox. ”

Sid Nasser, the twelfth Minister of Security of the Holy Koman Empire, had a grim face and silently recited the name.

"The current Commander-in-Chief of the Free Army, Marshal of the Republic, Chairman of the Council of Staff. ”

From his point of view, the terrain slowly became higher, and the huge camp of the other party stood high at the end of the undulating slope, clinging to the rushing King River. The lives of thousands of people are laid on this slope, forever stopped between the arrays of the two sides.

"Accumulated merits in the Third Freedom War and was promoted to the operational staff officer of the 9th 'Mountains' Division. In the Fourth Freedom War, as the commander of the 1st 'Republic' Division, he organized a defense with two divisions on the northern flank of Kengrad, defeated 80,000 reinforcements from three regiments of our army, and took over the post of supreme commander of the Free Army during the war. ”

He did not remember this man's resume with the empire's habitual "rebels" and "counterinsurgency wars", because it was a legend. Legends don't care what their opponents say.

"And that's his flag, the Flag of Freedom. ”

In the distance of sight was the Freedom Flag, a flag strewn with bullet holes and scars. There is a saying that the number of bullet holes in the flag of freedom is the same as the total number of autonomous states of the republics. Underneath the banner was Conti Fox and his army.

Sid took a step forward, his movements serious and respectful.

"You are a great general, you are the maker of the adversity of the moment, you are the challenge we will face. ”

He softly repeated the dogma of the first Minister of Royal Security: "We have been fighting in adversity since the establishment of the Royal Department of Security. We never shy away from adversity, because avoiding will never solve the problem. We always only believe in ourselves. ”

The Emperor's army was divided from it, revealing a path for their commander to advance. The soldiers of the Figota Brigade watched him and saluted.

He pointed to the flag with his index finger and ordered, "Magia, tell me the distance." ”

The green-haired ghost witch indifferently completed the calculation and threw out the answer: "Four hundred and fifty meters." Teleport magic six times. ”

"Four hundred and fifty meters," Sid's left index finger raised, "Okay, follow me." Well, for the first time, teleportation. ”

He took the first step, and this step crossed a long distance. Magia wrapped her disembodied arms around Sid's neck, calculating the speed, distance, and direction ahead of him.

There are still three hundred and seventy meters.

An invisible wind filled Sid's original location, revealing his body in a mass of corpses.

This was the front line of resistance of the Emperor's formation, and it was also the end of the shooting of the Free Army. The corpses of the soldiers of the two armies had begun to stiffen, and they were connected in several irregular lines. He could hear the groans of the seriously wounded.

"The second time, teleportation. ”

Take the second step, there are still two hundred and ninety meters.

Sid stood on top of the Vauban trench and watched as the stragglers in defeat crawled and struggled to flee to their positions.

Several improvised small battle groups tried to resist, fighting the Overseer Brigade's pursuing cavalry. Sid stared at the front of the ranks of the Free Army: there were some small movements, and it seemed that someone was beginning to notice the conspicuous intruder, but not much.

"The third time, teleportation. ”

There are still two hundred and twenty meters. This distance is the longest range of a musket shot, and only a few magically guarded guns will be able to accurately hit their opponents at this distance.

This time, he didn't let the wind naturally fill the vacuum left by his disappearance. The air pressure overlapped, and a huge roar sounded, like thunder and lightning sweeping through the low sky.

"It's for Victor von Gülic. Magia asked.

"Even so. The Minister of Security replied.

High mage Curic, who had just died on the Southern Front, discovered the existence of a vacuum and restored the "ancient" version of teleportation magic. Simply removing the exchange air from the spell to fill the part that was originally in place will turn the nearby air into a rapid turbulence. That's what Sid is using right now.

This time the officers of the enemy army could no longer ignore such obvious signs. In their minds, this would obviously be a precursor to a major attack.

The non-commissioned officers of each platoon roared, and the bagpipes and whistles in their ranks rang out: "All of them! Load, aim, but don't fire!"

Sid ignored them, and just continued to take that unshakable step. He didn't look like he was walking on a battlefield strewn with corpses, but rather in the courtyard of the Ministry of Security building. It's not a nice place, but it's a safe environment for the members of the security department to relax.

"Fourth, teleportation. ”

This time, the teleportation distance was much shorter, and there were still 180 meters.

It's still a vacuum, it's still thunderous noise.

No one knew who was the first to be frightened by the thunder and fired the first bullet in a panic, but as long as there was a first, there would be a second and a third.

In an instant, almost all of them ignored the officers' shouts and curses, and shot their muskets out of their hands.

The first wave of platoon guns rang out without an order!

- Naturally, nothing works. As the Minister of Security, Sid is familiar with the maximum range of the opponent's various guns, and this distance is naturally carefully estimated.

Magia duly provided new information: "At least two people who opened fire without permission on the Freire front were shot dead by officers. ”

Sid sighed, and after judging the somewhat pitiful level of training of this unit, he took the next step.

"The fifth, teleportation. ”

Sid adjusted the teleportation magic to the state of "Extended Range", and directly crossed the entire effective firing area.

After the roar, there are still seventy meters.

This is the center of the enemy array, all the magic is ready, all the bullets are loaded. He raised his right arm, and the tip of his magic wand erupted in flames, and the Free Army soldiers exclaimed, and the queue was a little chaotic.

"Sixth, teleportation. Seventh, teleportation. The eighth, teleportation. ”

There was a continuous roar, one shot after another. The three teleportation positions were all in the gaps in the opponent's array, and his presence immediately widened them.

The number of non-commissioned officers in this unit was clearly insufficient, they could not control the reflexive firing and confusion of the soldiers under their command, and too much ammunition and magic weapons were wasted in the roaring vacuum turbulence.

Sid's attack magic was useless, and he only used teleportation magic to disrupt the entire reserve team. If the great magician von Gurik knew about the spirit in the sky, he would also be very pleased: the ancient teleportation magic still has such a use!

The gap in the ranks of the Free Army was frighteningly large: any cavalry assault or infantry charge could now divide the force in two.

"One last time, teleportation. ”

Leave behind all volleys, volleys, and free fire, all magic, magic, and triggered magic, and all chaotic enemy forces and allies waiting to attack.

The Minister of Security takes the final step. He stopped like a real soldier, his swift stride, his heels striking against each other, and he stood in front of the flag of freedom.

Zero meters.

To his surprise, there was no headquarters under the Freedom Banner, but a very clean flat land, with few guards, and only a young commander with a dazzling badge standing in the middle of the flat with a battle flag.

The young officer was shouting orders to restore order around him, and even when he saw Sid's arrival, he didn't draw his weapon—though he had a seemingly decent black revolver at his waist, enough to hold back the collapse of the entire front. The officer had given all the orders and sent all the heralds out before turning his head and facing the opposing commander alone.

Sid nodded, a slight approving gesture. He did not do it immediately, but bowed politely to the lone standard-bearer.

Then he asked questions.

"Looks like His Excellency Conti Fox isn't here. Is this unit under your command?"

He didn't care if he could get an answer.

Hearing the question, Naimon Soleton took a deep breath and adjusted his mindset. As long as he is calm, he believes that he will not only have a chance to survive, but also a chance to delay a little longer.

During his tenure as an operational staff officer, he read all the materials accumulated by the General Staff. He knew who the man in front of him was, and he knew his fighting style. The people of the Royal Department of Security have always had a heroic tradition of never shiying away from taking all responsibility.

"I'm sorry, but Lord Fawkes is still behind. I'm in command of this force—but before that, you'll have to introduce yourself to be gentlemanly manners, aren't you? We're not savages. ”

Hearing this, Sid smiled: "The twelfth Minister of Security of the Holy Koman Empire, Sid Nasser. ”

The young man on the other side breathed slightly, but then returned to normal: "Sure enough, it's you." What advice do you have here?"

The captain's command was unusual, the array and tactics were nothing unusual, but the guts and style of speaking were interesting. The Minister of Security wanted to talk to the hostile young man more, so he crossed his arms in front of him, tapped the base of the metal staff with his remaining hand, and continued, "I really didn't expect the Free Army to raise the commander's banner under the guise of a name. This time, I will take it as my duty to carry out the military regulations for you. What's your name, Captain?"

"Naimon. Captain Namen Soleton. ”

Now every minute of delay gives the troops an extra minute to restore order - Naimon nervously considered the countermeasures, "I'm sorry, as a free country, we don't stick to the distinction of status like you do. You wouldn't think of the way we do things. ”

"No, no, I'm saying that I didn't expect your officer shortage to be so great that Conti Fawkes would agree to give the Marshal's flag to an officer of your low rank. Sid shook his head and pointed out the weakness of the Free Army, "Although the act of impersonating the marshal's flag may seem reckless at first glance, it is actually the most effective way to stabilize the position. If the flag were lowered now, the entire army would collapse. Do you still have enough veterans?"

Naimon, who was directly identified by the other party, took a step back in astonishment and opened his mouth, but he didn't know what to say.

"If it is your idea, you are not afraid of death, and if it is the idea of His Excellency the Marshal, you are unlucky. I can give you a chance to repent, if only you lower this flag. ”

Sid glanced at the enemy array: there was still a long way to go, and the gap was still so big. He was confident: no matter how much the young man struggled to regroup his troops, all his efforts would come to naught the moment the flag was lowered.

But he somewhat admired this kind of person who dared to take responsibility and was not afraid of death: Sid Nasser was also a man who rose from the bottom of society by hard work, and he was not even a nobleman. He seemed to see his own shadow in the young man in front of him, whose knees trembled slightly.

Naimon took a deep breath, he knew the time was coming. The two couldn't have been talking like this forever.

"Surrender, let me think about it. ”

The Minister of Security threw his right arm back, and began to prepare for the final blow to end the fight, "Give you one more minute to think about it." ”

"The Royal Department of Security seems to be an organization of people who never back down. Naimon let go of his grip on the flagpole and sneered and bargained, "I'm always dealing with enemies who are much stronger than me. If I surrender, will I ever get a higher rank?"

Hearing his procrastination bargain, Sid suddenly became interested: "We have always been fair. If you give us the waypoint from Jena to Lenny, I'll grant you terms. ”

Naimon gasped this time. As a combat staff officer, he did know that there were well-established small teleportation points leading from Jena to Rennene - but how did the other party know that he knew? The only explanation was that they had already learned about his resume when they heard him report his name "Namen Soleton...... What kind of intelligence and memory does the Royal Security Department have?

"I can try, but there are still a thousand elite soldiers here, and more than 10,000 defenders in the barracks-"

Sid sighed slightly: he understood the captain's thoughts. If "The Bell" was still around, he could have chosen to protect his soul, but now he can't.

The Minister of Security quietly raised his staff-encrusted arm, but also watched out for the officer's desperate counterattack. To be a captain at such a young age, he must be a magical officer.

He wasn't wrong. Almost as he was ready to fire, Naymen Soleton slammed his right foot on the ground, and a nicely covered pit appeared behind him.

So, you should know that this will not be your war alone. Never. ”

Before Sid could react, he lay down, and the whole person rolled into the pit, not forgetting to drop the last sentence.

"Good luck, Mr. Chancellor. ”

With a thrust of his right hand, he threw the magic bracelet in the air. The bracelet burst out with a dazzling yellow glow, accompanied by a brief and loud command—

"All fire, aim, fire!"

Sid's flame vertebrae shot out of his wand and swept through the air in front of him, turning the magical bracelet to ashes.

The fingers of Naimon's right hand were also affected by the flames, although it was only two fingers, but the pain of these two fingers still made him snort.

But he gritted his teeth and laughed: he had bought time.

If Sid had turned back now, he would have seen all twelve organ rows of guns hidden in the formation, and the four hundred and eighty barrels they had!

These bulky weapons had a large number of barrels densely packed together on huge shelves, with a total weight of more than a ton. Considering that it could only provide a fire advantage of no more than thirty seconds on the battlefield, it was completely impossible for firearms units to rely on this experimental weapon as their primary combat power - but a single organ platoon gun could outperform a company of infantry compared to the density of firepower.

The place where the two of them stood was the last of the entire phalanx, and Naimon gambled that the proud enemy general would not reconnoiter the area he had passed, nor would he have imagined that he would ambush so many powerful organ guns backwards.

Those chaotic lines happened to be the best cover for his troops: the originally dense formation quietly dispersed, freeing up the line of fire for the organ platoon.

Bullets rained down like a torrent of bullets. The organ gun whistled, tearing through the atmosphere.

All the barrels of the guns fired together, and the barrage of fire immediately enveloped the entire open space where the flag was located!

But Sid Nasser didn't look back, only his hat was hit by the impact of buckshot and flew into the air.

The Minister of Security crouched down on one leg, unfurled his defensive shield behind his back, and pointed the staff on his right arm into the foxhole, the muscles of his upper arm pulled, and the magic on the staff continued to pour out!

It was only then that he was surprised to discover that the captain had prepared not a foxhole, but an entire trench covered by phantom magic. The speed with which the young officer fled made him staggered and secretly admired.

Almost with both hands and feet, Naimon crawled down the trench and escaped from Sid's range. In the face of the magic of a super-high-rank mage with at least the Adamantite Badge, he has only a 1 in 20 chance of surviving the first all-out attack spell.

Sid didn't say anything, but the female ghost beside him, Majiya, laughed out loud: "He wears a full set of rank and medal identifiers, it turns out that he is not afraid of death, but he has already prepared a full set of escape plans?"

"I'm not going to be fooled into chasing him. Sid replied, completely ignoring the unstoppable thrust behind him, "I just want the Freedom Flag." ”

The kinetic energy of the bullets shook his protective magic. From time to time, lead bullets broke through the shield and smashed on his uniform, but they still fell like hitting an iron plate, leaving only small pits.

The Minister of Security took a few steps forward with the thrust of his bow, reaching out his remaining hand to grasp the flagpole of the Freedom Flag.

Then, from the shadow cast by the banner, a ray of light came into his eyes.

Sid's first reaction was that it was sunlight falling from those artificial bullet holes in the Freedom Flag.

But the sun won't be that bright.

The new weapons of the Free Army are not only organ platoon guns, but also an organ called "Dragon Slaying Melody"! Something that claims to be able to slaughter even dragons and suppress even artillery positions is naturally easy to use to beat people.

From the moment the team was formed, the huge magic group was manipulated by the music, floating in the air like a bubble -

Now the beautiful rainbow soap bubble burst with the music of variations.

Sid wasn't unaware of how to deal with that terrible group of magic. He had been preparing a few mirror spells, ready to use them to buy time when he was locked by the music, but he didn't expect that the other party's magic was not aimed at him, but at the Freedom Flag itself!

"As soon as someone approaches the Liberty Flag at all costs, you let go of all your magic and pour it down on the Liberty Flag. ”

That's what Namen Soleton told Metie, who controls the organ. From the very beginning, he did not think about keeping the Freedom Flag. From the beginning, he asked for this thing just to get a suitable bait, one that wouldn't be suspected by the other party. While he wasn't a magical genius, he was a true genius when it came to summarizing all the resources at his disposal to set traps.

The Flag of Liberty burns, and all the beams that ignite it carry the melody of death.

The rainbow-colored beam of mana passed directly through the flag itself, smashing down the flagpole and slamming straight into Sid Nasser. All the protective magic on the security minister's body was concentrated behind him, and he was defenseless in front of him, and the induced mirroring technique was useless.

The notes hit like a wind. The magic of the organ trembled, vibrating with light and shadow.

No, it can't be said to be defenseless. Sid's face remained unchanged, he grabbed the flagpole with his left hand, pointed his right staff to the sky, and whispered the final incantation just in case: "Fmirre!"

The entire staff embedded in his right arm lit up with a dazzling blue light, and all the magic gems and circuits on it burst one by one, until even the staff itself shattered into ashes. The muscles in his right arm were torn apart again, and blood flowed down the severed arm.

Countless mirrored clones greeted the rainbow, each clash with a magical beam, annihilating each other. Each Sid's apparition could only hold one or two beams, but it bought him time for his next move. The mana exchange ratio was heart-wrenching: each of these mirrors should have been able to induce at least a dozen rainbow beams.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Sid chanted the flying technique as fast as he could, preparing to make one last effort on the even more broken flag.

The first round of shots in the back was over, and the huge momentum suddenly disappeared. Sid didn't hesitate to move all of his magic shields in front of him, using them to block the rainbow beam in front of him.

And what Naimon has been calculating is the moment when all the opponent's magic has been used.

"Do it, Anne II!"

He fled through the pit with his head in his hands as he gave the order.

The demon incarnated in response, and she had been squatting in the pit for a long time to unleash all her abilities.

The slender nails turned into demonic claws, sharp weapons protruding from the index, middle, and ring fingers of her hands, like six thin swords.

A pair of beautiful legs burst out with a jumping ability that would never belong to a human, making this graceful figure soar into the air. Six black wings spread out behind their backs and broke through the uniform, flying all the way to a higher altitude than Sid, who had been blessed with flying magic—and stayed exactly behind his back.

This time Sid turned back. He looked at the woman in front of him, and his pupils flashed with "surprise" and "puzzlement".

The demon summoned by Anne didn't give him time to react, nor did he say any nonsense, just crossed and slashed with the pair of claws that belonged to the incarnate demon without hesitation.

All the clones vanished like bubbles under the multiple slashes.

Sid Nasser was sent sideways by the blow, his body weightless under the effects of flying magic. The venerable body of the Minister of Security spun and fell, leaving deep marks on the ground before rolling into the final trench at the foot of the outer parapet of the camp.

More rainbow beams chased down the body, and the avatar demon didn't hesitate to follow and rush towards the trench.

This scene silenced everyone.

In the position of the emperor*, this silence is full of indescribable oppression.

The scheduled wave of attacks was ready, but no one advanced. They were given the order to "attack when the Liberty Flag fell" -

But the terrifying Minister of Security was beaten to the point of unknown life and death in front of such a small army, and the torn flag of freedom was still proudly hanging there!

They didn't even notice that the commander of the Free Army's strong operation was crawling out of the trench in disgrace.

"Although it is not known whether Sid died or fled...... But we succeeded?"

Captain Soleton pinched himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming. Not really.

The next command, he had already prepared in his head several times when he was conceiving the plan—he didn't expect to actually get a chance to say it.

"Guys, we've defeated Sid Nasser!

He was answered by a sea of cheers.

That scene was seen by every soldier, and they had no doubts. The fact that the Minister of Security did not immediately climb out of the trench again is enough to tell.

"What are you waiting for? Strong operation, forward, shoot, move forward, shoot again!"

The other side is in a crumble, and the Freedom Army, which has the advantage of strength, has begun to regroup. Naimon roughly estimated that he should have at least 3,500 to 4,000 reorganized troops in addition to the strong operation, and these people were not capable of attacking the well-organized Overseer Brigade in the phalanx, but it was more than enough to break through the line of the ragtag troops of the Seventh Brigade.

In front of Naimon, only the Overseer brigade, which had been temporarily leaderless, remained. The Seventh Brigade, which had been completely dispersed, was not a serious problem, and the flag of the unit was not on the identification table, but it did not look like there would be more than a thousand troops.

"The rebuilt battalions keep up and cover the general attack!"

As long as the victory here is achieved, the main forces of the northern front will be able to return to the reinforcements. With this exploit, he felt that he no longer had to lead his troops on such a dangerous mission, and that he should be able to wait for the end of the war as a general reserve, and then receive a large bonus and be discharged.

"In the face of this merit, no matter how much I want to pay for the military, I should be able to get it, right? It would be better if I could catch a commander......

He looked at the command flag on the opposite side, recalling the information. The official banners were the Seventh Imperial Brigade and the Overseer Brigade, and the one he didn't recognize bore the coat of arms of the Elector Figotha family proved that there should be at least one person surnamed Figotha in the enemy camp, who was likely to be the second in line to the Emperor*. He must be a close confidant of the Emperor's minister, Naimon thought. He wasn't confident that he would be able to catch the Minister of Security, either dead or alive, but it shouldn't be so difficult to catch a nobleman, right?

"The target is the left flank of the central Figota Brigade and the Overseer Brigade!

He decided the direction in which the troops were going. The captain began to look forward to himself carrying at least one of the enemy's brigade flags and receiving the cheers of the whole army in the sunset.