Standing under the "attraction" of the suspended corpse, the heart fluctuated for a while, and the research had been completed, and Rod and Roy returned to the carriage and got back on the road.

The final stretch of the route into the former Antelli hinterland was tightly controlled by the Imperial army, and the Resistance's stronghold, the Cavehall Forest, was hundreds of miles away, and the hundreds of soldiers in charge of the guards and the family guards led by Grom were of no use - they made it to the command post at Saltenburg.

The senior generals of the advance corps, under the leadership of the newly appointed Commander Haizm, gave the young commissioner a fairly formal welcome—no matter how dismissive or even contemptuous, this was the superior sent by the Emperor after all. They welcomed Rhodes into their headquarters in the city and began to report to him...... To the surprise of the young man, the Imperial army was in an awkward dilemma at Anteli.

......

After the surrender of Anteli's army, the Midland Empire's 50,000 advance legions quickly advanced the battle line and soon occupied half of the former's territory, including the capital. Everything went well ahead, but a large number of follow-up troops that were supposed to follow were sent in the direction of the Boundary Mountains by an urgent order from the Duke of Foster, which put the front-line army in a difficult situation - 50,000 men, wounded, killed, and missing after the battle...... With thousands of attritions and more than 40,000 left, as the most elite border army of the empire, the so-called fighting the country is easy to defend the country, it is easy for them to move forward, but after the forward trend stops, it is tantamount to a fool's dream to control such a large piece of land. Although the military headquarters continued to mobilize tens of thousands of troops from various places with weak combat effectiveness in a hurry to cross the border one after another to enrich the occupied areas, manpower was still overstretched.

What's more troublesome is that the opponent is not without resistance, the two major lords of Antelli who have not suffered much loss in territory and strength, Duke Tully and Duke Morey, are not on the surrender list ordered by Raven, and after Rhodes is found and safe, the "Guardian" no longer shows up to interfere in the war, so the two nobles who have breathed their breath have already entangled their armies, and with the support of the surrounding military allies who are forced not to send troops across the border, but provide a lot of material assistance, they have steadily launched a counterattack.

＊＊＊

"We have been forced to shrink our fronts, but the Resistance is moving too often in our rear, forcing us to deploy large numbers of troops to garrison towns and villages. We encircled and suppressed several times, but due to the Guardian Lady's order not to enter the Cavehall Forest, we did not achieve a crucial victory. ”

The new commander of the advance corps briefed Task Force Commander Rhodes and his sister Miss Foster on the map of the latest battlefield situation: "We have requested additional troops from the Empire, but Field Marshal Foster has ordered that all the living forces that the Empire can muster be transferred to the uninhabited area of the Central Mountains to the east...... I believe that something great may have happened there, but that our advance corps is not human! If the situation does not improve, we will either suffer a crushing defeat or be forced to continue to retreat, retreating the Line of Control south of the Cavehall Forest to avoid being attacked on our backs. But once this is done, Suldenberg, where we are now, will become an isolated city with a protruding defensive line, and I am afraid it will be difficult to hold on. ”

"Once the enemy capital is lost or forced to abandon the capital of the enemy country that it has occupied, it will be a great blow to the morale of the army. Another senior general complained, and although he did not name him, his tone was clearly dissatisfied with Rhodes's father's orders. "We are actually barely holding on to the myth of the invincibility of the Imperial army right now, but as the two dukes on the opposite side continue to receive blood transfusions from the surrounding kingdoms, the military continues to grow...... I am afraid that this myth will soon be shattered. ”

"The news that the Empire will not send more troops should not be known to everyone. Roy interjected.

Commander Haizm frowned: It was already outrageous enough to send a young man who obviously didn't know anything to the front with supreme authority, and now even a female streamer he brought with him dared to point fingers casually? Even the daughter of Duke Foster was too presumptuous.

"No, this is a secret reply, not a military order, only the people in this room know about it. ”

"Good, keep the news. Roy completely ignored the contemptuous or intoxicated looks of the generals in the room, and continued: "If there are no reinforcements, then we will create reinforcements, and my brother has brought hundreds of the most elite soldiers of the Emperor's Guards personally selected by His Majesty on this trip......

"No matter how elite it is, it's a drop in the bucket. ”

"Please don't interrupt me. Luo Yi frowned and said, "Half of these hundreds of emperor's personal guards, the generals also selected half of their personal soldiers, plus the reserves, and thousands of reinforcements will come out." And the two young officers here who have just participated in the counterinsurgency war against the Jiake people in the south are best at creating an instantaneous advantage in a specific place through clever maneuvers and long-distance attacks, and catch the opponent by surprise. Allowing them to lead the patchwork of 'reinforcements' to the front line will certainly greatly ease the tensions. ”

"But it's a thirst quenched. Commander Heizm quickly made a brief judgment on Roy's proposal and shook his head disapprovingly: "I have learned of this tactic of creating a temporary superiority in forces, which relies on the execution of the army and frequent rapid marches, and is difficult to use as a daily means when on the defensive. Let the generals contribute part of their own troops and use the reserve troops in advance...... Theoretically, it does reduce tensions, but it also makes us lose the ability to respond to the unexpected in the face of an upcoming large-scale engagement, and puts the personal safety of our generals at risk on the battlefield. Moreover, the temporary advantage formed by the thousands of troops squeezed out will soon be wiped out in the face of the two dukes who are openly supported by the surrounding kingdoms......"

"The analysis is very reasonable, so we will not fight the other side to the end, with Morgan and Sir Freud leading this strange army, the front-line soldiers fully cooperated, and quickly fought a few victories at any point in battle, creating the illusion that 'the Empire has begun to increase troops on the battlefield of Anteli', and put pressure on the other side. Roy confidently said: "Then we will negotiate with the other side." ”

"Negotiations?"

"That's right, and it's a negotiation with the Resistance, as well as the young Queen Antelli, the spiritual leader of the Resistance, and as long as she is done, it will be difficult for the remaining two dukes to openly disobey the orders of the titular ruler of Antelli. Have you caught any of the Resistance soldiers alive, brought them here, told them that we want to negotiate with their queen, and then sent them all back to deliver the message. ”

"Of course, there are prisoners, but if they are all put back, if they don't return, wouldn't it be an act of the enemy to let the tiger return to the mountain?" The commander looked at Rhodes with displeasure: "My lord, does what your sister said represent your meaning?"

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