Over the course of the next week, there was a complete reversal of the form. Due to the loss of supplies in the previous battle, Marshal Betty had to suspend the march into the mountains of Illyria, and even retreated some distance and built a fortress at a more prominent point in the terrain, ready to hold on and wait for reinforcements. However, they were already in the depths of the mountains at this time, separated from the rear by a long distance, coupled with the heavy rain for several days and the treacherous roads, it was not easy for supplies and reinforcements to arrive in time.

On the contrary, the Illyrian defenders changed their previous attitude of avoiding battle and attacked on all fronts. Dividing their army into dozens of squads, they attacked day and night along the enemy's supply routes, destroying several important fortresses along the way. The Holy Roman army was exhausted, and instead of improving, material shortages became more severe, and morale plummeted.

At this time, in the command post of the fortress of the Holy Roman Barracks, several magicians were trying to dry several large boxes of damp and moldy texts, but the weather conditions greatly reduced the effectiveness of their spells. On the other side, Marshal Betty was sitting on a wicker chair, speaking disapprovingly to a communications crystal ball.

"Your Majesty, our situation is very bad now, the information we obtained before the battle is full of errors and omissions, and the enemy's combat effectiveness and the harsh environment here are beyond estimate. In particular, it was extremely difficult to replenish supplies, many of the mages in the army were already overdrawn by their magic, and the warriors were also extremely tired. If we continue like this, let alone defeat the enemy, it will be difficult to even withdraw safely!"

Inside the crystal ball is a vague figure of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick. Listened to the words of the marshal. He frowned, and after a moment of silence, he said, "Our operation this time is indeed a bit hasty, and we are not prepared enough. The current predicament of the director. I promise to do everything in my power to increase the level of support, including sending an additional 20,000 reinforcements and sufficient supplies! ”

Betty immediately shook her head and said, "Your Majesty, it's really not a secret, I don't think there's any point in continuing to hold on now, the enemy has already prepared." Even if an additional 20,000 reinforcements were sent, it would be difficult to open up the situation. The best way to deal with the difficulties is to temporarily withdraw from Illyria and reorganize the army with reinforcements. ”

Hearing this, Frederick could not help but be angry. He vetoed it in no uncertain terms: "This matter must not be allowed! Now that the preparations for the attack on the Thermosense Pass by the main forces of the coalition forces have been completed, and the million-strong army is ready to go, how can we be too concerned about other things at this time? The Thermosense Pass is the key to the entire Balkan War, and there is absolutely no room for failure. Your mission is to destroy the remnants of the Latin Kingdom that threaten the right side of the army. If you retreat at this time, if the enemy suddenly attacks our right rear while the battle of Hot Springspass is deadlocked, I am afraid that it will be difficult to deal ......with it."

Marshal Betty was disappointed, but helpless. When he set out to attack Illyria, he was also full of ambition, vowing to defeat the enemy in one fell swoop, and with this battle he overshadowed Marshal Valencia. Become the first general in the Holy Roman Army.

However, the reality is always very far from the ideal, because the intelligence work has not been done well. They underestimated the harsh environment in Illyria and the strength of the enemy. Although Marshal Betty put a great deal of effort into this battle, he still had to face the bitter results. He had already understood that he was just a pawn in this battle, and the key to the emperor was in the direction of Hot Springs, and it didn't matter if he could defeat Illyria, as long as he entangled the enemy for a period of time and didn't let the other party threaten the flank of the main army. Because of this, it is impossible for Frederick to pay too much attention to this place, let alone let Betty withdraw from the army, which will destroy his overall strategy.

After understanding this, Marshal Shinra had no choice but to continue to grit his teeth and hold on, but fortunately they still had the advantage in numbers and did not fall behind in the defensive battle.

Ten days later, the situation on the Battle Line of Hot Springs, the Holy Romans, Eastern Rome and several vassal states combined with nearly a million troops pressed on all fronts, and the vanguard had reached the outer positions of Hot Springs. Fierce fighting broke out between the two armies, and some strongholds were repeatedly contested, and the Olympian army hoped to wear down as many troops and morale as possible on the periphery, and drag on the war as long as possible. The anti-Olympian coalition hoped to clear these outlying strongholds as much as possible, so that when the main army arrived, they would not have to waste time here, and they could directly kill the city under Hot Springs.

At this time, news came that in order to ensure the safety of the flanks of the army, Frederick decided to send troops to support the Illyrian battlefield, and Attila, the eldest prince of the Golden Horde, took the initiative to ask for battle, and was willing to personally lead his troops and horses there to fully support Marshal Betty.

The HRE Emperor was overjoyed when he learned of this, and since the beginning of the war, the Golden Horde had been passively avoiding the enemy and fearing the enemy, and they had been largely responsible for their failure to annihilate the enemy's main force in the Battle of Pera. To tell the truth, if they were allowed to continue to carry the heavy burden in the battle of Thermopulae, Frederick would not be at ease in any way. Now it is rare for this barbarian prince to take the initiative to ask for war, and he went to the less important Illyrian battlefield, and the HRE Emperor agreed immediately without much thought, not only that, but also provided a lot of sophisticated equipment for the Golden Horde army.

A few days later, Prince Attila of the Golden Horde led more than 40,000 elite men into the mountains of Illyria, and soon marched along the area previously occupied by the Holy Roman army, joining Betty's army. As a result, the combined forces of the Holy Roman and Golden Horde were close to 100,000, while the Illyrian defenders were less than 5,000, a difference of twenty times.

After receiving a large number of troops and material reinforcements, the Holy Roman army was greatly boosted, and they changed their previous posture of stubbornly waiting for reinforcements and began to attack on the initiative again. But at this time, the enemy army in Illyria also seemed to have learned of the arrival of reinforcements from the Golden Horde, perhaps knowing that there was a huge disparity in strength, so they actually shrank on all fronts and retreated without a trace at once......

(To be continued......)