"Hurry, hurry! Wipe the inscription of this stone cannon, the old man said that this kind of big guy must be wiped clean to be easy to use! ”

"Is the stone ready? The bridgehead is urging again, and the Earl's Court said that the outer wall of the bridgehead must be repaired today! ”

Beyond the North Harbour, the Dorne River.

On the Northport Bridge, the only bridge that crosses the north and south of the Dorne River, Castel is busy repairing the façade of the bridge under the guidance of a mage's apprentice.

Beigang Bridge.

As the only bridge over the Dorne to span both banks, its role is as important as the Castel Bridge, which connects the North Harbour with the mainland.

If the Castel Bridge, which connects the northern shore of the mainland with the North Port, is the last line of defense to protect the North Port, then the North Port Bridge, which connects the north and south of the Dorne River, is the only way to determine whether the rebels can continue to the north and completely cut off the back road of the North Port.

At this moment, on the north and south banks of the Beigang Bridge, the city walls have been renovated, and the craftsmen are busy preparing various fortifications.

There is only one goal, and that is to protect the bridge.

On the tower inside the Earl's Court.

Charlotte stood in front of the railing, looking at the busy North Harbor under the shroud of war, at the warships patrolling inside and outside the harbor, at the re-pushed stone-shooting cannons on the shore defense wall, and at the camps and tents on the north bank of the Donne, and her thoughts drifted to no wonder.

It wasn't until the familiar footsteps came that she withdrew her gaze, glanced at the person behind her, and chuckled:

"Did another nobleman surrender?"

Behind him, Viscount Lean-Castell hesitated for a moment and nodded:

"Yes, Lord Count, news has come from the south that the forces of Boulder Violet have taken the castle fortress closest to the North Harbor, and that by tomorrow at the latest, the enemy's vanguard will arrive on the banks of the Dorne."

"Oh? The last castle fortress also fell? Which family is it from? ”

Charlotte raised an eyebrow.

Viscount Leon Castel's expression was a little embarrassed:

"Lord Earl...... Be...... It's in our family. ”

Hearing this, Charlotte turned her head and gave him a strange look.

Facing her gaze that seemed to be able to see through everything, the old viscount suddenly felt numb in his scalp, and hurriedly said:

"Lord Earl, our faithful ...... of Leon Castel"

"Don't worry, I won't blame you."

Charlotte interrupted the old viscount.

She turned to look at the open plains, hills, and rivers and villages of Castel in the distance, and continued:

"The speed of the fall of the South was somewhat unexpected to me, but it was understandable."

"After all...... For aristocratic families, long-term survival is the most important thing. ”

"Eggs can't always be put in one basket, and no matter how broken the basket is, it's also a spare basket."

Hearing this, Viscount Leon Castel's expression was even more embarrassed.

He hesitated for a moment and said:

"Lord Earl, no matter what the rest of the family chooses, since I have chosen to stand here, I will definitely fight with you until the last moment."

Charlotte glanced at him and nodded:

"I understand that you can help me defend North Harbor, and I'm satisfied."

As she spoke, she chuckled again:

"To be honest, compared to those nobles who can only rely on the army under their direct jurisdiction to fight against the superior lord, I am already very lucky to be able to pull up an army of more than 10,000 people."

Listening to Charlotte's words, the old viscount was speechless for a while.

And Charlotte didn't continue to talk about this somewhat sensitive topic.

The South had indeed fallen faster than she had expected, and this could only be explained by the fact that many nobles did not actually resist to the death.

But Charlotte didn't have much indignation about this.

No matter how bad the reputation of the third prince is, in front of tens of thousands of troops, those front-line noble territories have no other choice.

The feudal lord's binding power on his subordinates was already limited, and it was more like the relationship between the boss and the employee of the company than the monarch and the minister of the Celestial Empire.

Being able to provide her with conscripts and taxes for the war, and even come to help in person, the nobles have already done their duty, and she can't force them to fight hard.

If the latter is to be achieved, it must be those monarchs who have succeeded in strengthening the centralization of power, who have a strong personality, and who are enthusiastically admired and loyal by the aristocracy.

And this was something that even Louis V could not do, and not even many people in Charlotte's known history of her previous life could do it.

"Anything else?"

Charlotte glanced at Viscount Leon Castel and asked.

The old viscount hesitated for a moment, and said:

"Lord Earl, about the Beigang Bridge...... Don't you really think about ruining it? ”

"With all due respect, the North Harbour Bridge connects the north and the south, and as long as we destroy it and control the Dorne, we will be invincible...... It can be consumed with the third prince. ”

Charlotte shook her head:

"If it is consumed, it can be consumed, but if the Beigang Bridge is destroyed, won't our army be able to go south?"

The old viscount was stunned, and then couldn't help but say:

"You...... Really planning a counteroffensive? But our army is too ...... to each other."

"Wait, are you talking about reinforcements true? Not to comfort the nobles of North Harbor?! ”

Charlotte laughed:

"When did I say the reinforcements were fake?"

"So, what exactly are the reinforcements you are talking about......"

……

The coalition army marched faster than the third prince had imagined.

Or, more accurately, the better-developed Castel roads were noticeably better than those of the impoverished Boulder and the forest-ridden Violet, so much so that the army moved much faster.

In the face of the overwhelming superiority of the coalition army, the nobles of the Northland were almost desperate along the way, except for some stubborn and self-defeating "clowns", the vast majority of areas could not stop the northward movement of the army at all.

Only ten days had passed, and the mighty army had arrived on the banks of the Dorne.

Philip, the third prince, rode on the back of a dragon-scale horse.

Looking at the North Harbour Bridge across the Dorne River in the distance, and the North Harbour beyond, which hangs far away and is connected to the North Shore by only one bridge, a trace of greed flashed in the depths of his eyes.

I saw the third prince turn his head, raise his hand and point to the bustling city in the distance, and then smiled left and right:

"From now on, this place will not be surnamed Castre."

"Tell me to go down, rest for a day, and attack tomorrow!"

……

And at the same time, the Duchy of Roman.

The Kingdom of the Falling Stars is located in the port of Millai, the largest port on the mainland.

Swift galleys loaded with catapults and soldiers are also ready to set sail at any time.

Count Jurst stood at the bow of the flagship, his eyes closed slightly, and it took a long time before he slowly opened them.

"The time is almost up, and the notice is given, and all the ships fly the Castel flag, raise their sails, and prepare to set sail."

He commanded the Bloodclan beside him.