That evening, after a long day of fierce fighting, Prince Eugen returned to his makeshift fortress with a tired body and some minor injuries, ready to rest for a while.

The distant positions were still under heavy artillery fire, the armies of both sides fought intricately around a narrow passageway, the fierce slashing and slashing sound seemed to be heard even in the basement of the makeshift fortress, and the smell of blood was extremely strong.

Compared to the brutal fighting during the day, the fighting at night has been relatively calm. Despite this, the pace of the advance of Pera's breakout army was steadily developing, the gaps in the encirclement that had been broken through were constantly expanding, and the positions in the passage were becoming more and more solid. Although he mobilized his troops to fight back with all his strength many times, and also achieved some successes, the closed encirclement leaked everywhere, and it was not long before it was broken through again.

After several days of fierce fighting, his Shinra army has suffered heavy losses, and it seems that it is no longer able to launch a larger-scale counterattack, and the enemy's breakthrough will no longer be able to stop! The young prince has repeatedly asked the main force located in the front battlefield of Pera City to send reinforcements, but the main force has also suffered a heavy defeat in the battle a few days ago, and is currently in full reorganization, and the reinforcements sent are only a drop in the bucket and cannot affect the situation of the battle. As for the cowardly and incompetent Nicaeans, they are said to have lost a large number of their elite in the Byzantine War...... I don't know what they're doing this time!

On the contrary, Pera's army was able to receive a steady stream of support from the southern city-states, and its strength became stronger and stronger as they fought. It is estimated that if this continues, it will not be long before they will be able to break through with their entire army and join forces with reinforcements from the south. Regained a foothold at the Hot Springs Fortress.

Thinking of this, Eugen couldn't help but sigh. Exhausted, he unloaded the heavy magical armor that had been destroyed. Then he stood up and slowly walked over to the huge map hanging on the basement wall, frowning and observing.

The city of Pera on the map is located in the center of the Balkan continent, and the vast and rich territories of Macedonia and Thrace in the north have been occupied by the Holy Romans and Nicaeans, leaving only the desolate and barren Illyrian mountains. Still in the hands of the Pera, it is said that the enemy has been growing rapidly in the area for some time, but in any case it is only a mustard disease. After crossing Pera. It is the southern part of the Balkan continent. There are hundreds of small city-states of the Olympia Alliance, and although they are numerous, they are like a plate of scattered sand, without Pera as the leadership core. They are simply vulnerable!

The Thermopylae Fortress is located about a few hundred kilometers south of Pera, which is a strategic artery for the north-south communication of the Balkan continent, and at the same time a very steep mountainous area. The mountains are high and forested, and there is only a rugged mountain road that stretches for tens of kilometers to reach the bottom of the fortress. The last few hundred meters are a steep climb of almost 90 degrees for only three people side by side. It's simply an insurmountable natural hazard!

Eugen looked at the hot springs on the map and pondered for a long time, and finally had to sigh. Now the situation is becoming more and more unfavorable. It was inevitable that the Pera defenders would break through the encirclement, and they would definitely join up with reinforcements from the south to defend the Thermothermal Pass fortress.

However, Holy Rome could not make many choices, the first was to send additional reinforcements from the country to the south, gather the strength of the whole army to storm the Hot Springs, and try to take advantage of the enemy's unstable foothold to capture it in one go. Once the hot springs pass is lost, the southern gate of the entire Balkan continent will be opened. There is no more danger to be had. The HRE army drove the leader straight in and swept away the enemy with a sword-breaking force. At that time, those small city-states in the south will no longer dare to resist, so they can only open the door and surrender.

However, the Hot Springs Pass is so steep and strong, and it is guarded by a large army, it may be difficult to break through this place quickly. Once the two sides stalemate for a long time, HRE's finances will definitely not be able to support it for a long time. Fighting with all the strength of the whole country, and being blocked under the fortified city, it is inevitable to face extremely heavy losses, and the enemy countries of the Quartet and the ambitious princes in the country will also fall into the well when they see such a situation, and the HRE can only withdraw in a hurry in the end, but it is not easy to retreat on such a mountain road, and the worst case is probably the annihilation of the whole army!

The second option was to use Pera as a line and instead of pursuing the enemy south, to hold on to the areas already occupied. But there are also a lot of problems with this, first of all, the main enemy army is not far from the south, they are familiar with the terrain, and they can have the support of the people, and they can suddenly attack and retake Pera at any time. Secondly, the financial resources of the Holy Rome could not support a large army to be stationed here for a long time, so only a part of the troops could be left, and the rest of the main force was returned to China. However, in this way, it will be difficult to hold on to Pera, and within two years, the enemy will surely be able to capture it. He even took advantage of the situation to move northward and recapture Macedonia and Thrace! And the HRE sacrificed the lives of a large number of soldiers in vain, spent countless financial resources, and finally gained nothing!

The last option was to abandon Pera altogether and withdraw the whole army to the north, holding as far as possible the parts of Macedonia and Thrace that were close to the HRE border and where the terrain was favorable for defense. It's the safest option, and it won't cost you more, and it's rewarding. However, this means that large tracts of land that have been occupied must be unconditionally abandoned, which have been fought at the cost of countless soldiers' lives, and how can they be discarded lightly?

The more Eugen thought about it, the more annoyed he became, he frowned, he couldn't think of a way to get the best of both worlds, and he couldn't help but feel a little discouraged, could it be that the fate of the HRE was doomed to failure?!

At this time, Marshal Tilly, the general beside the prince, noticed his heavy mood, and opened his mouth to persuade: "Your Highness, the war has not yet reached the point where it is impossible to do, please don't worry too much. ”

Eugen sighed and did not speak. Marshal Tilly hesitated and said: "It is too dangerous for you to go to the front line to fight today, and I have seen with my own eyes that the enemy's main naval guns have exploded near you on several occasions! For the sake of the country, please do not take such risks tomorrow, if you are wounded by the enemy, it will be a great blow to the morale of our army." ”

(To be continued......)