As the eastern border of the empire faced rebellion and suppression, Fairywood's army finally arrived in the north.
At the foot of the Crocodile Tooth Ridge, large groups of tents are connected together, dotted on the originally barren grassland, making this place look full of vitality and vigor.
These tents are distributed in different square military camps, and around the camps are flying fairywood flags. Airships arrive and take off in the sky from time to time, making it seem very busy.
In the central camp.
An airship that looked like a giant gray whale was parked here, and on the deck stairs lowered by the airship were people in white robes walking back and forth, passing on orders and directing various detachments, like the heart of this large camp.
The transparent windows separated the cold wind outside from the warm room. Several generals from the high-ranking committee were sitting in a small conference room to discuss the next steps.
"The envoy sent to Duke Raven some time ago has returned." A general sitting at the head told everyone about the latest situation.
"Oh, what's the result?" The others looked at the general.
"It's not ideal. We thought Duke Raven would consider it a bit, even bargain with us, but unfortunately he directly refused."
"The envoy returned and told us that negotiations were no longer feasible. The Duke of Raven, or rather the nobles of the North, believed that abandoning the family name, abandoning the oath to the Empire, and giving up the land that their ancestors had painstakingly conquered, was simply an insult."
"They take it for granted that they own these things and consider them sacred and legitimate. This idea is deeply rooted in their minds."
"Alas, it seems that we still have to go to war. How many soldiers will lose their families because of this?"
"But if you don't fight, it will only hurt more later."
"Our duty is to liberate the entire empire, and now is the final test."
"Let's start drawing up a battle plan."
"yes."
In the conference room, several generals and staff officers were constantly analyzing the distribution of the Northern Alliance forces, moving chess pieces on a simulated map, and describing the routes. They were so enthusiastic and focused that no one even noticed that the fire in the stove next to them was slowly going out.
The cold wind outside the window is getting stronger and stronger, and fine snowflakes are falling from the sky. It is autumn now, and winter will come in a few months.
The battle officially started half a month later. The scouts in snow suits first went deep into the northern border to gather various intelligence, while the army followed the roads on both sides of the Crocodile Fang Ridge into the cold land of the northern border.
Along the way, the Fairywood army relied on advanced artillery and sufficient supplies to capture the fortresses and castles along the way very smoothly. The only regret was that in the battle in the previous month, they did not encounter the main force of the Northern Alliance, and most of the battles were with scattered defenders.
In this way, the scene of victory continued until November, when the Fairywood army had penetrated deep into the northern land, and the battle scene changed from the wilderness and hills with excellent views to the thick coniferous forests with falling snow, as well as steep peaks and valleys.
The weather is getting colder. Although the cold disaster has passed, the severe weather in the north still poses a huge obstacle to the advance.
Most of the Fairywood soldiers came from the south and lacked experience in keeping warm. Non-combat casualties began to increase along the way, forcing the commander to have the Four Seasons Witches accompanying the army waste a lot of magic power to set up windproof and warm barriers so that they would not get frostbite on cold nights and could get a good night's sleep.
In December, the coldest time in the north slowly arrived. Walking on the snow-covered road, the soldiers carried their guns and walked in the wind and snow. Everything in their sight was mostly white, white ground, white forests, white distant mountains, etc. It was monotonous and boring, and they could only hear the sound of themselves stepping on the snow.
"Bang——"
Suddenly there was a loud noise from behind, and then the soldiers heard several explosions in succession, followed by the sound of musket fire.
When they received the order and were about to return to support, a fierce shouting and killing sound came from the front. After two rounds of volleys, a group of unfamiliar soldiers rushed down the hillside with axes raised high and crashed directly into the formation.
These warriors, dressed in tattered fur clothing, fought alongside soldiers armed with muskets. Their skilled axe-wielding skills easily broke through the defenses, knocking down the soldiers, and then continued to advance, causing even greater chaos.
"Formation, formation! Square formation!"
The officers shouted loudly, and then the soldiers formed into square formations in the snowy valley and became solid.
The battle continued. These unfamiliar soldiers continued to rush towards the array, but were pierced by the hedgehog-like spears outside and stopped. Then, the loaded musketeers took aim and fired behind the line, and these ragged soldiers fell down in rows.
It was more than an hour later when the gunfire on the battlefield gradually subsided.
"Count the number of people, report the number!"
"Yes, sir." Then a clear report was heard from the snow valley.
After this battle, the advancing team lost about 600 people, about one-tenth of the entire team, while the other side also paid a price of more than 800 people.
Similar snow ambushes began to occur in various places during the advance, and the logistics for transporting supplies began to be frequently attacked. Many things were lost along the way, which slowed down the army's pace due to the lack of supplies and materials.
“Damn it!”
In the camp, the officers looked at the stretchers covered with white cloth, cursed at first, then fell silent, saluted the fallen soldiers, and watched their bodies being carried away for cremation.
Orange flames ignited in the snow, with a little blue smoke, melting the snow on the ground, revealing green and yellow grass, and trickles of snow water slowly flowing.
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