According to the legendary wind mage, the "Son of the Wind" Caniggia, if viewed from above, the southern continent looks like a spotted tiger reaching into the ocean, with its tail on the Dawn Mountains, lying on its front paws, roaring at the blue sea.

For thousands of years, the world has changed, and the magic empire that spanned the north and south of the continent has long since disappeared. Now occupies the head and neck part of the free country Thorm Federation, and on its front legs is the territory of the lowland elves, the beautiful Moon Song Forest.

To the east of these two neutral forces, the entire torso of the tiger was divided among the countries of the "Holy Alliance". Among them, the Buyada Empire is the southernmost and sits on the belly of the tiger. This country with a long coastline, a warm and humid climate, evergreen vegetation, fertile fields, and a dense network of rivers, is among the top in the continent in terms of agriculture and handicrafts.

Further east of Buyada was the San Setestian Empire, the largest of the southern states. It is a country with great regional differences, and the arid wilderness and desert of the interior are often uninhabited for hundreds of miles. In the narrow strip around the inland sea, more than 70% of the country's population is gathered, and cities and harbors are dotted like a string of bright pearls.

To the west of Setstian and north of Buyada, the Holy Duchy of Ian on the back of a tiger is a country with the most dangerous position, but there is no danger to defend. The contour of the territory of the Duchy of Ian is generally an inverted triangle, long from east to west and short from north to south, and does not have enough strategic depth. In addition, there are many plains and gentle hills in the territory, and few high mountains and steep mountains, once the front is lost, the enemy can drive straight in, and the battle situation will become out of control.

To this end, the Holy See of Light has specially formulated a military strategy of "zoning and coordination, and replacing defense with cities", and has continuously improved it over the past thousand years.

Since there is no depth, then create depth. The Holy See divided the Duchy of Ian into three major defense zones. The Northeast Theater of Operations, located between the Necro Wilderness and the Aygons Mountains, with the city of Tirapest as its capital. The Northwest Theater of Operations was centered on Severa, the capital of the Principality, to guard against enemies in the direction of Torm and Anlan. The Southern Theater of Operations, with the "Holy City" Rankine as the central city, is the core area of the Principality of Ian, surrounded by the land of the "Holy Alliance". It's safe.

On this basis, the Holy See of Light mobilized its followers and built a large number of cities and fortresses. Needless to say, the three central cities have strong walls and solid defenses. Even all the county towns in the war zone are equipped with a solid wall fifteen meters high as standard, and on the inside of it, a magic array is engraved to strengthen the wall. Long back thousands of years ago, this divine power city wall. has experienced the test of the Violet War, and spells below the high level cannot cause structural damage to it at all.

If there is no mountain to defend, then the city will be made a mountain. With the capital of the war zone as the core, the county town as the backbone, and the town as the main body, plus the guard towers and stone forts of the villagers scattered in various places. The castle of the nobility, the Holy See of Light has built a well-layered steel defense line. A year ago. If it weren't for Silves, who took the initiative to let go of the defenses of the Northeast Theater, how could the "Council of Bones" and the Demon Legion attack under Ranken City so lightly.

There is no second Silves, and if Snowton wants to conquer the Duchy of Ian, he will have to break through this barrier head-on.

July 1. King Nacini arrives at the front.

The next day, he convened his last pre-war meeting, followed by a swearing-in ceremony, and the 300,000-strong army was ready to go.

On July 3, Snowton's southern expeditionary army was divided into three routes. Officially invading the territory of the Duchy of Ian, this military operation, known as the "Midsummer Offensive", marked the full-scale outbreak of the "War of Kings".

The Eastern Route Army, which is mainly composed of "black flags" and "blue long shots", is a pure cavalry unit. After their departure, they turned eastward, not attacking any city, but guarding against any of the Papal forces that might come to their aid. Although there is intelligence that Tirapes has long been an empty city, after the defeat of Silves, the Holy See of Light sent troops to regain the lost territory, and with Ljajci City as the core, the Northeast Theater was formed again, so it had to be guarded.

The other two southern expeditionary armies, under the personal command of King Nacini, marched separately to Severa, the capital of the Northwest Theater and the capital of the principality. The purpose of their southern expedition was not to destroy, but to occupy, so the speed of the army's advance was not fast, and it could reach a hundred miles a day, which was already considered the limit.

Three days, three hundred miles, three routes to the south, did not meet any resistance.

A thousand years ago, when the Holy See of Light flourished, the followers of other gods were gradually driven out of their original sphere of influence. The southern foothills of the Cast Iron Mountains were the refuge that these pagans finally chose. According to the difference of beliefs, more than a dozen countries, large and small, have arisen here, and the Principality of Anlan is one of them. When the "Holy Alliance" was formed and the pattern of the southern continent was basically determined, the Holy See of Light shifted its attention here, and in the following few hundred years, most of these small states were annexed by the Duchy of Ian, and their borders were also advanced hundreds of miles north.

But after all, the time is still shallow, the foundation is unstable, and the construction of the defense line is also very imperfect, so Innedir does not think that there is any value in garrisoning here. At the same time as Snowton's army moved south, he ordered the border guards to escort the believers back to evacuate. As for the houses in the towns, and the baggage that was inconvenient to carry, they were all burned down.

One blow of strength, then decline, three and exhaustion. Inedil did not intend to go toe-to-toe with the high-spirited Snowton army. He hoped that this artificially created wilderness would stretch Snowdon's supply lines, exhaust their soldiers and horses, and, most importantly, drain their unstoppable spirit.

In this way, the Northwest Theater, which has strong walls and clear fields, should be able to delay for a little longer.

Above the White Tower, Innedil thought. The original garrison in the theater of operations, plus the withdrawn border guards, has reached 100,000 people, and if this happens, it will not last long, then it is better to surrender.

"But......" The white-robed blonde archbishop decided to add another insurance policy after a long consideration. He shook the silver bell, summoned the priest on standby, and ordered, "Pass my order, the Second Army of the Bright New Army will rush to the aid of the Northwest Theater on the same day......

The Bright New Army has a total of seven legions, and only one of them will be dispatched, and its combat effectiveness will not be greatly affected. Innedir also considered that the local garrison and border guards were not subordinate troops of the Holy See, so he sent a section of the Bright New Army to supervise it in the name of support.

"Besides," he added, after a moment's thought, "you sue Sù Todd to 'escort' the entire family of Archduke Ian back to the city of Severa, in order to stabilize the morale of the army." (To be continued......)

PS: (First update.) ）