The next morning, the scouts who had gone to the camp returned, saying that the camp was empty, and that it seemed that the bandits had been wiped out in the previous day's battle.

After the scouts had gone, Ensign Gavin entered Dalí's tent, his eyes were red and swollen, and he looked very tired, and said worriedly:

"Hi Dali, I interrogated the captives last night, and I saw that you were asleep, so I didn't disturb you."

Seeing Jiawen's gloomy face, Dali asked suspiciously, "Friend, what's wrong?" Could it be that there are bigger gangs nearby? ”

"No, just like the results of the investigation the day before yesterday, according to their confession, there are only three bandit camps in this valley, they all obey the same leader, and all three camps belong to the same bandit, if the battle of the other two armies goes well, the bandit trouble in the valley should have been solved."

"That's good, why do you still seem so worried, are you worried about Dean Simon and Her Majesty the Princess?"

"No, I'm not worried, they're sure they'll be able to level the other two camps easily, but...... Something else, some bad news for our principality.

After interrogation, the captives confessed their identities as deserters, both from the principality and the noble alliance, and these people were afraid of being executed and did not dare to go home, so they became bandits in the mountains, and these were not the point.

Dalí, there is a deserter with a peculiar origin. ”

"Huh? How special? ”

"He is not a Valsta, but a Flannia from the eastern part of the peninsula, from the Papal States of Flandia, who escaped from the Papal States army, and his unit was routed by our Duchy in an encounter."

"Oh my God! Do you say ......"

"Hey! Yes, this is very bad news, according to this person, the League of Nobles has opened the pass, opened the gates of the fortress of Gronal, and invited these foreign troops into the peninsula to unite against our Duchy of Valstad. ”

"These guys...... These bastards...... How can they ...... that this war is our own business and how can foreigners get involved? Aren't they afraid of becoming national sinners? ”

"These people have done whatever it takes to keep their territory, they have secretly formed alliances with external forces, and there is more than one country!

According to the captive, the League of Nobles had made secret agreements with three great powers on the continent: the Papal States of Flandia and the Knights of Cruzed from the central part of the continent, and the Sylvinian Empire in the south.

As for the specific content of this secret agreement, the captive, as a soldier of civilian origin, naturally had no way of knowing, only that he was involved in a secret operation.

The troops of the Papal States of Flandia, in which he was serving, had been stationed on the border when he was suddenly ordered to make a beeline through the undefended fortress of Gronal to the Valsta Peninsula.

They were asked to change into the uniforms of the League of Nobles and join the League as an advance party, and the captive himself had been a deserter during the previous two weeks of fighting, and had been left to join the bandits, and that was all he had to say. ”

Hearing this astonishing news, Dalí walked uneasily in a circle around the tent, when he suddenly stood still, and said:

"We need to get back to the assembly site as soon as possible and tell Lord Simon about this."

A day later, all three units of the New Army training camp had returned to Nanshan Town.

At noon on the same day, more than 40 captured bandits were hanged by the local judge in the town square, and they were immediately executed.

For more than half a year, the people of this valley were bullied by bandits, their property was looted, their houses were burned, and their daughters were taken captive.

The atrocities committed by the bandits eroded the sympathy of the townspeople, and when it was time to hang, the masked executioner put ropes around the bandits' necks, and soon more than forty lives were lost, but not one of them showed even the slightest sympathy for the prisoners.

People were venting their grievances for half a year, shouting frantically, throwing rotten eggs and rotten leaves at the corpses, celebrating the end of this threatening day, and cheering and saluting the army that saved them.

At night, the gallows in the town square are dismantled and the bodies are buried outside the town, and this eerie place is about to become a place of joy.

The townspeople are in a revelry craze, the smell of sausages and ales wafts through the air, every family offers cellars to entertain the soldiers who are considered benefactors, the mayor himself plays the bagpipes of Valstad, and more than a dozen townspeople in traditional costumes perform a local dance to a cheerful tune.

A soldier put his military hat on the girl's head and began to kneel down to propose to the girl in a chorus of blessings, the girl blushed and nodded, and the onlookers and townsfolk cheered.

In the military tent, just a few hundred meters away from the party, it was a different scene.

The battalion commander, Simon Gallieni, paced back and forth in the tent with his hands behind his back, and the young officers beside him were all his students, each with a grim face and a bowed head.

Except for one person, the princess remained calm, sitting upright in her chair, attacking the dessert on the table with graceful demeanor, and glancing up at the teacher's state from time to time.

In the recent battle, Lieutenant Colonel Simon personally led three companies to complete the most difficult task, taking the largest bandit camp in one fell swoop, and also capturing a light cannon.

Her Majesty's performance was a testament to her ability to be the first in the school, as Major Salantos Midknight led her company of hussars in a ferocious and wild charge, and the bandit camp in the valley was almost instantly flattened, and the princess returned to town with her unscathed team.

Captain Dalí returned late, and his light infantry company encountered an emergency, but he coped well, saving the village with vigorous action, increasing the prestige of the army, and obtaining important information through the interrogation of prisoners.

In this clean-up operation, the training battalion of the new army won three battles and three victories, killing countless enemies, and the bandits in the valley have become history.

Simon was proud of his students, who were supposed to join the townsfolk revelry with the soldiers, but the ruthless bad news extinguished the flames of joy.

Not only the results of the interrogation of the captives, but also the Duke himself, who received reliable information, wrote to Simon about the crisis, asking him to return to Fort Midknight as soon as possible to discuss countermeasures.

The League of Nobles brought in foreign troops to help in the war, and the last thing the Duke wanted to see happened.

The names of the Papal States of Flandia, the Knights of Cruced, and the Sylvinian Empire are like three heavy hammers that strike at Simon's heartstrings at the same time.

The three powers, no matter which one is strong enough to fight the principality, they do not want the Valstadians to be reunited, they do not want to see the revival of the Valstad Empire, and they want to beat a giant to death in infancy.

Therefore, they chose to sign a secret agreement with the noble alliance, and in exchange for reimbursement of military expenses, the countries sent troops together against the Duchy of Valstad, claiming to be a coalition army.

In the letter, the Duke mentions that just a few days ago, the latest group of the main forces of the coalition army, totaling 80,000 men, passed through the fortress of Gronal and entered the interior of the Valsta Peninsula.

They would take a break in the territory of the Noble Alliance, and unlike the sneaky advance forces of the Coalition, they already knew that the secret agreement was about to be revealed, so they simply tore off their disguises, put on their own military uniforms, and marched with the flag of their own country, pointing to the front line of the confrontation between the Duchy and the Noble Alliance.

Simon had a myriad of countermeasures in his head, and he was sure that the Duchy could sustain this round of offensive, but what about after that? Coalition forces will flood into the peninsula, putting the principality's finances to the test, followed by manpower and logistical constraints, followed by a total collapse.

In the end, the Duke will sign a humiliating treaty, the reparation for the cession of land is the lightest price, the great cause of unifying the peninsula will be in vain, and what is even more terrible is that the duchy may be divided into multiple small countries, and will no longer be able to resist foreign invasion, at that time, the Valstad nation will become a lamb to the slaughter, and the fertile land of the peninsula will be divided among the great powers on the mainland.

There are many enemies, there is little hope, the road ahead is bleak, and the more I think about it, the more terrible I feel, Simon closes his eyes and taps his forehead, thinking:

(Oh my God, wake up, you useless old man, what the hell are you thinking about?) How can you be so worried that the real battle has not yet begun? A soldier can be defeated, but he should never be intimidated by difficulties, and the feeling of this slight tremor in his legs is...... Fear? God, what am I doing? Don't let negative emotions distract my students! ）

The cheerful Second Lieutenant Powani tried to break the tension in the tent: "Don't worry, everyone, join the revelry in town!" Now that it has happened, we will face it together in the future, so there is no need to sigh here! ”

Second Lieutenant Gavin glared at him angrily: "Hey, Poigny, dare to laugh on such an occasion?" Do you know how serious this crisis is? When I first found out, I was so anxious that I stayed up all night. You'd better be quiet! Don't disturb Lord Simon's thoughts! Otherwise, I'll let your kid have a long memory! ”

In the midst of the argument, Simon stopped abruptly, he opened his eyes, and tried to cheer himself up, as a soldier, as a mentor to these young people, he must not let them know that he was timid.

"Gavin, don't be so rude to your classmates, I hope my students have a good relationship, Povani is right, I'll talk about it later, our boot training camp has done a great job, what's the reason not to celebrate? I'm sorry, I'm too worried, let's go to the town and move around freely! ”

Having said that, out of caution, the young men remained where they were, and none of them moved.

After the princess finished her dessert, she stood up and said, "You all heard what Lieutenant Colonel Simon said, take it easy, classmates, for us, the main force of the coalition is still far away, and when these miscellaneous troops come, I will personally clean them up and use this." ”

As she spoke, she patted the hilt of her sword, a chilling heavy cavalry straight-edged saber, longer and heavier than the standard model.

If the soldiers of the hussar company were right, the specially made saber had already claimed the lives of at least ten vicious bandits, and although she was tall and athletic, she was a woman who was able to handle the heavy saber as easily as a dagger to the amazement of the onlookers on the training ground. Others only know that she is talented and diligent in exercising. Only Captain Dalí saw the other signs—her unusual physical strength was beyond the reach of any human being.

She continued: "Students, as your deputy battalion commander, I order you, as Major Salentos, to go to the town and have a carnival! Drink more and have a good time! ”

With that, the princess in uniform walked out of the tent.

Seeing Her Majesty's Princess's expression, Simon Gallieni felt much more relaxed, and he smiled at the crowd and said:

"When we get back to Fort Midknight, there's another celebration and graduation dinner waiting for you, so warm up this time, we deserve their rewards for fighting to the death for these townspeople.

Let's go, my good students, let's go to the town square together, and I'd like to have a couple of drinks too. ”