"What do you think?"

A piece of information was passed in the hands of everyone in turn, and everyone couldn't help frowning after reading it.

According to intelligence, after the mercenaries led by Depero arrived in Auston City, they immediately arrested the mayor of the town, Diric, on the grounds of fornicating with the enemy.

This is obviously not good news, aside from the personal relationship between the two cities of Alston and Headington, there is a huge Beddington, most of the food has to be supplied by the other party, and now that Alston has fallen into the hands of the enemy, even if they don't attack, just blockade for a month, it is enough for everyone to bear.

"It was thanks to Mayor Direk's selfless help that there had been no famine in Headington, and now he is implicated by us. Mayor Charlotte asked me to ask you to try to save him. Sean said worriedly.

"It's not a big problem, as long as you can defeat the enemy, Auston City will be fine. Rickett comforted him.

Rubens snorted: "That's a good idea, but it's a pity that this is exactly what we have to worry about, how to fight off those guys." ”

Raymond asked, "Is there any other movement on the other side?"

Freddie lifted the brim of his hat with his usual movements: "This is the news that has just arrived, the enemy seems to have left all the baggage in Auston, and left a team of about 500 men to control the whole town, and the rest are ready to rest and march here." ”

"I thought you didn't have any intelligence skills, but now it seems that you can still find out something. Rubens couldn't help but praise.

Freddie said casually, "Orson is the only guy I have found so far, who has some cultivation value. So although he was only in the mood to give it a try, if he couldn't even do such a trivial thing, then he would never come back. ”

It was the first time Rubens had seen Freddie's harshness, and judging by his expression, the strong man obviously couldn't figure out whether Freddie was praising his subordinates or simply mocking him.

Sean said happily: "So, there are only 1,500 enemy troops coming to attack? Great, there are almost 900 people on our side, and if we rely on the camp to defend, we may be able to defeat them." ”

Rubens, however, only sighed: "I doubt that. ”

"What's wrong?"

Rubens said: "Don't forget that even if we divide our troops, our number is only two-thirds of the opponent's. And the other party is a professional mercenary, which can't be compared to the gang of robbers you fought before. ”

"If you really want to count it, it's actually only 600 people in my mercenary group against 1,500 enemies. Rubens said sarcastically: "So, your optimism really makes me laugh." ”

At this moment, even the stunned Harlot sensed the contempt in Rubens's words: "What, do you mean that we are not useful at all?"

Rubens shrugged: "I didn't want to be too blunt, but if you have to say that..."

"Aha, I knew that. Harlot was so excited that he seemed to have discovered a new world, and pointed at Rubens and shouted, "You didn't really help us at all." ”

As he spoke, he turned to Raymond and said, "Boss, you finally understand, it's time for these guys to know who the leader is... Whew!"

Before he could finish speaking, Harlot let out a heart-rending scream, but it was Rubens who reached out and grabbed his index finger.

"I'm curious where you found this superb, but he's right. Rubens said slowly, and at the same time heard a chilling "clucking" sound coming from his giant palm.

"Woo woo, tap... My fingers—" Harlot's face twisted in pain, and he begged for mercy.

"In short, instead of taking care of a bunch of rookies, I think it's better for our 'Green Wolf Mercenary Group' to fight the enemy alone. You're in reserve, and it's not too late for us to go up when we're all dead, though I doubt there's any point in doing so. Rubens said, watching Raymond's reaction.

His repeated contemptuous remarks made Sean couldn't help but say angrily: "Your Excellency, Commander, if you are really..."

Raymond waved his hand to signal Sean to calm down, then nodded, "I agree with you." Besides, I don't think it's a good thing for us to divide our forces. ”

"Oh?" Rubens raised his eyebrows in surprise. Apparently surprised that Raymond was able to remain so calm after saying this.

Listen to Raymond said: "They occupy Auston, which is equivalent to having a stronghold to advance and retreat, even if we can get lucky to defeat the home team, the other party can calmly retreat to Auston to rest, and unite the rest of the people to launch a second attack, and at that time we will inevitably suffer heavy losses, I am afraid we will no longer be able to deal with it." ”

"Well, I didn't think of that. Rubens touched his chin.

"And, even if we survive this time, if the LaWitt Federation takes the opportunity to bring Auston under his control, it will be tantamount to laying a hungry wolf around us that will burst out at any moment and hurt people, and Heddington will never be at peace. Raymond continued: "Not to mention, our food supply will also be subject to human constraints. ”

After listening to his analysis, everyone understood how serious the occupation of Auston was. Rikitt stammered, "I thought I would just need to repel the enemy's attack, but the situation was much more troublesome than expected." ”

Raymond nodded: "That's right, so whether it's for the victory or defeat of this battle, or for the future of Headington, we can't let Auston fall into the hands of the enemy." ”

"Haha, good boy, I'm starting to like you a little. Rubens laughed and patted Raymond on the back, and then said heroically: "I'm just a mercenary captain, and I'm not very good at these brain-settling things, but I'll leave the battle to me." ”

"Tell me, what do you do?"

Under the gaze of everyone, Raymond got up and walked to the map, and pointed to the location of Auston City: "The only way is to divide the army against the enemy like the other party." ”

"What!?" said this, and the room burst into exclamations.

"Boy, are you crazy?" Rubens's eyes couldn't help but widen: "Our strength is inferior, we don't concentrate on meeting the enemy, but disperse our forces, this is not the art of war." ”

Sean also said: "Lord Raymond, please think about it again, so that we will have no chance of winning." ”

Raymond asked rhetorically, "So, what do you think we have now?"

"This—" Sean paused.

At this time, Lutz, who had not spoken, suddenly said, "Young Master, are you planning to raid Auston?"

Dark Dao is worthy of being the only person present who has been an army commander, Luz's vision is really much higher, Raymond nodded: "Yes, just defeating the enemy is not a victory, for the sake of the long run, we must take Auston back." ”

Seeing that he took it for granted, Rubens couldn't help but snort: "It's easy to say, so what are you going to do?"

Raymond said: "After the main force of the enemy army leaves Auston, your mercenary group will block them in that camp according to the original plan, and you must not let the other party attack the city of Headington." I led the rest of the men by sea to attack Auston at night and cut off the enemy's rear. ”

"After defeating the enemy in Alston, we will immediately return to the reinforcements, surprise the enemy's main force from behind, and then flank the front and rear to completely crush the opponent. ”

As soon as these words came out, Rubens was finally a little moved, and he frowned and thought for a moment: "Sounds good, but with your current combat strength, can you deal with the defenders of Auston?"

Raymond muttered, "If it's a surprise, it's not without a chance of winning. Moreover, the inhabitants of Auston are very unhappy with Diric's capture, and we may be able to seek their help. ”

"I'll tell Orson to try to contact Auston's garrison. At this point, Freddie said in a timely manner, "Although the chances are slim, it's worth a try." ”

"Okay, that's settled. Rubens slapped his face and said, "The main force of the enemy is handed over to me, you manage to take Auston, and then hit those bastards' asses, hahaha..."

After all, it was a matter of the safety of his hometown, and Sean said worriedly: "Is this too risky, isn't there a more secure strategy?"

Raymond said helplessly: "No way, if I can, I also want to use more orthodox combat, because taking risks means either winning or losing, and there is no room for maneuver." It's a pity that the gap in strength doesn't give us this opportunity, so we can only win by surprise and give it a go!"

At this point, Sean hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Understood, just do what you say." ”

Rubens stood up and walked towards the door: "Okay, I'll lead the team tomorrow and wait for those bastards to come to the door." ”

Raymond agreed, "That's fine, the enemy is expected to arrive the day after tomorrow, and you can use this time to make adequate preparations." ”

"When you're done, we'll head to Auston that night, and if all goes well, one night will be enough to settle each other, so you'll hold out until at least noon the next day. ”

Rubens waved his hand without looking back: "Before you do that, worry about yourselves, rookies. ”

At this time, as if he still remembered the humiliation he had just been given, Harlot added very cheaply: "But if you hang up first, don't blame us for being late." ”

Hearing this, Rubens, who had walked to the door, stopped and turned around.

"Boy, are you cursing me?"

Glared at by his fierce giant eyes, Harlot immediately softened in anger: "When... Of course not, just a reminder. ”

"Oh?" Rubens looked at him with interest, and suddenly smiled, "Since you are so kind, let's take some practical action." ”

Feeling a hint of something bad from the other party's smile, Harlot couldn't help but shrink back: "What... What do you mean?"

Rubens strode up and put his arm around Harlot: "You're very kind." ”

"You've won a prize..."

"Hey, I love this kid. Rubens said to Raymond abruptly, "How about lending him to me?" ”

"What!?" said Harlot, shocked.

Raymond didn't look surprised at all, he nodded very indifferently: "Okay, I don't have an opinion, just use it well." ”

"Huh, wait, I have an opinion. Boss, what do you mean by using it? How can you do that..."

"Hehe, don't worry. Before Harlot could finish speaking, Rubens grinned and grabbed him by the collar and dragged him out: "I will take good care of him." ”

"Woo whoa, boss, don't throw me to this guy, I want to live and die with you..."

Poor Harlott struggled desperately, but where could he match the bear-like Rubens, he listened to the screams outside the house and faded away, until finally he was silent.

"Young master, don't you think Harlot is pitiful?" said Baste.

Raymond patted her on the head: "To be honest, this guy is greedy for life and afraid of death, and he is useless, but he is quite prestigious among his accomplices, and I really have a headache for him." It's not bad to take this opportunity to train Rubens, maybe it can make him useful. ”

"It turns out that the young master is for his good. Bath suddenly realized, and immediately threw her sympathy for Harlot out of the clouds.

"Let's also prepare, this battle is very important, and there is absolutely no room for failure!" Raymond finally clapped.

The next day, Rubens took the lead in leaving Headington with the "Green Wolf Mercenary Regiment" and stationed in the repaired camp outside the city.

Harlot, who was reluctant, was directly tied into a rice dumpling by him, thrown on an ox cart carrying weapons and supplies, and taken away. Its mournful appearance is deeply imprinted in the hearts of many Hedington residents.

After another day, the enemy's main force arrived as scheduled, and was immediately blocked outside the camp by the prepared green wolf mercenary group, and after a little hold between the two sides, a fierce battle immediately began.

Knowing that the battle outside the city had begun, Raymond's side also accelerated its progress. At dusk of the same day, Raymond gathered his men and a garrison of 300 people from Headington, boarded the "Cangyun" of Drea, and began to march by sea towards Auston.

They were joined by more than 100 horses, including the horses of the Wolf Mercenary Scouts, in addition to Hydington's own. Since this was a purely defensive mission, Rubens handed over the few horses of his mercenary group to Raymond.

After defeating Alston's defenders, Raymond had to rely on this cavalry unit to return to Rubens as quickly as possible.

In this way, the second battle to defend Hydington officially began.

It's night.

Taking advantage of the cover of night, the Sky Cloud hoisted all its sails and sailed towards Auston as fast as it could. Knowing the importance of this mission, all the soldiers on board obediently stayed in the cabin, and even the former robbers, who had always been unruly, were surprisingly quiet.

On the deck, Raymond, Lutz, Baste and others stood at the bow of the ship, waiting for the moment when they arrived at their destination.

Hardly anything could be seen on the pitch-black sea, except for the roar of the Cangyun breaking through the waves as it drove at high speed. The hull of the ship fell together in the waves, just like the mood of everyone on the ship at this moment, uneasy.

"Dreya, how long is it going to arrive?" Raymond asked, looking back.

Dreya on the side was checking the nautical charts with the help of the wind lantern, and replied: "We are very lucky, tonight is a tailwind, at this speed, we will be there in half an hour." ”

Raymond nodded, now glad he had hired Dreya in the first place. You must know that if you only rely on the broken fishing boats in Headington, their 300 men and more than 100 horses, I don't know what year and month they will be able to get to Alston.

The capacity and maneuverability brought by this ship alone will certainly play an even greater role in the future. In the long run, that money was really well spent.

Dreya did not disappoint Raymond, and half an hour later, with a light turn of the Cangyun, as the sails were lowered in turn, the huge merchant ship slowly slowed down, and under the cover of night, quietly slid into the waters outside Auston with this surprise team.

Alston, like Hydington, was incapable of building its own fleet, so there were few decent port facilities outside the city, and there was only a rudimentary jetty on the beach for small boats.

And the enemy obviously didn't expect anyone to dare to attack from the sea, and there was not a single guard here, which provided excellent convenience for Raymond and his party.

Under the skillful control of Drea, the Cangyun sailed into the shallow water, and then several small boats were lowered and began to send people ashore.

I have to say that Luz's training during this period of time was quite fruitful, and in this secret landing mission, the former robbers of the escort team behaved in an orderly manner, compared to the appearance of a plate of scattered sand when they first arrived in Haiding, it was really impressive.

Soon, everyone was on the shore. Subsequently, for the safety of the Cangyun, Dreya sailed the ship back to the deep water, which meant that Raymond and his party had no way out, and if tonight's operation failed, they would not even have a chance to escape back to the ship.

Although Raymond didn't know that there was an allusion called "Last Stand", doing so inadvertently strengthened everyone's determination.

"Lutz, you take everyone here and stand by, and Bathter and I go to contact Orson. After assembling the team, Raymond ordered.

Lutz nodded, and took all the soldiers to hide in a hidden spot on the beach, while Raymond and Catwoman quietly sneaked towards Auston City. Before attacking the enemy, they had to contact the spies sent by Freddie to find out what was going on in the city.

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