Chapter 402: The "hot" war, Rand's responsibility and ambition (there should be more to come in the evening!)

Just as expected.

At the turn of spring and summer.

The siege began.

Most of the troops from the Royal City faction retreated to the Royal City.

But there is a knight order and a mage order of similar size hiding outside the royal city.

The royal capital of the Frost Moon Kingdom is a cold steel-colored, majestic city.

The city walls were made of solid stone, had a wide moat, countless arrow towers and experienced soldiers.

This is an impenetrable city.

The Queen's party slowly laid siege to the city.

The generals of the Queen's faction were very worried.

Each of them knew very well the structure of Frost Moon Royal City.

They have many more soldiers, financial resources, and food.

However, it might take a year or even longer to capture this royal city.

This is when everything goes well.

If the attack fails for a long time, both sides will suffer losses.

…

The weather was already noticeably hot, especially for the knights and nobles who were wearing three layers of armor.

The Queen's general, Zorn, a third-term church school student, gazed at the majestic city.

He was a little excited.

He is only in his early twenties.

His family, the Hound family, is nothing more than a viscount family.

He, Zorn, is not yet the eldest son.

But now, he has led the legion and defeated a legion from the Royal City faction.

Use decapitation tactics.

There were several more battles afterwards. Although we did not win every time, we won most of them overall.

When you lose, the loss is not big.

Now his popularity among the Queen's party is very high.

And now, they are about to start attacking the city.

The royal city of the Frost Moon Kingdom. He had heard many legends about this city from his family nobles since he was a child.

The triumphal arch with only a few pillars left.

A stone pillar that stands like a backbone.

The walls of the royal city are filled with traces of time.

And now, actually... it was actually his turn to attack the city in his memory and in the story.

This made him feel like the blood flowing in his body was about to be ignited.

The fire of ambition, which had never been felt before, seemed to be burning fiercely.

Will this city bow down before him?

The sound of the horn was like the low roar of a giant elephant.

In the fields, on the King's Road, in the forests.

echo.

Catapults hurled huge rocks at the city walls.

A large number of conscripted soldiers were pushed onto the battlefield and used as consumables.

A dense rain of arrows fell from the arrow towers on the city walls.

Rolling logs and stones rolled down from the top of the city wall.

Pour boiling kerosene.

Then the mercenaries and knights headed to the battlefield.

And, the Mage...

The mages advanced under the cover of the knights.

The range of a mage's group spellcasting is far inferior to that of a catapult.

However, the power brought by cluster casting is stronger than that of a catapult.

Even for a city like Frost Moon Royal City, the city gates could not withstand several bombings from the mage corps.

It might even break with one strike.

In normal wars, mages would not be wasted like this.

Before letting the mage get so close to the city wall.

Face the rain of arrows and the catapults and crossbows on the city walls.

Yes, the Frost Moon Kingdom’s walls are so wide that catapults can even be placed directly on top of the city walls.

When facing siege equipment like boulders and ballistas, any cover is actually meaningless.

The current siege is just a consumption of energy.

In such a battlefield.

Even the most senior professionals may not be able to make much splash.

At least it won't be affected by the force of individual top professionals.

Then there was a dazzling blue light.

Due to the interference of the crossbow on the city wall, the spell was deviated.

The powerful magic ball formed by the cluster casting hit the junction of the gate and the city wall of the Frost Moon Kingdom.

Large sections of the city wall were damaged, and the city gates that were hit by the aftermath of the magic ball also had a lot of cracks.

If there is one more attack, the city gate will be completely destroyed.

However, it is not easy to get another chance to shoot a magic ball.

It costs a lot to force your way into the range and fire a magic ball.

For example, right now, many of the knights who were providing cover have fallen to the ground, twitching.

The warhorse lost its master and ran aimlessly on the battlefield.

The mage group also suffered heavy casualties.

Then, the gate of the Frost Moon Kingdom's capital opened.

Countless elite soldiers and knights rushed out of the city gates and engaged in a melee with the soldiers and knights attacking the city.

When defending a city, it is not a foolish thing to send troops out of the city gate, because it is an effective means of defending the city walls.

Soldiers rushing out of the city gate will be protected by the arrow towers on the city wall.

And in most cases, you can retreat back to the city at any time.

At the same time, the knights of the royal city, who had been hiding outside the city, rushed out from the dense forest nearby.

Rushing towards the siege equipment sent by the Queen.

The knights threw down torches and kerosene, and the siege equipment burned fiercely.

…

Rand, who was far away in the holiday villa, was looking at the battle report.

The numbers in the battle reports give us a glimpse of the cruelty on the battlefield.

Rand really wanted the war to end immediately, no matter whether the Royal City faction or the Queen's faction won.

After the war he could sell his fresh fish and high-quality green bricks and red bricks.

Unfortunately, judging by the known situation, the battle will not end so quickly.

Now Rand's desk is piled with letters.

Olenna and Ellie both came over to help with the letters.

The present Frost Moon Kingdom.

There are not just two factions.

In addition to the Royal City Faction and the Queen Faction, there is a third faction, the "Neutral Faction".

The power of the neutrals is not strong on paper.

There is Rand, the Earl of the Stag, the Marquisate of Black and Brown, and the Duke of Thorn.

In addition, there are some small and medium-sized nobles who have no strength and depend on great nobles like Rand for survival.

That's all.

If Rand and Grand Duke Thorn had come out to call for action at the beginning of the war, they could have won over many nobles.

In this way, the neutral faction can theoretically suppress the Royal City faction and the Queen faction.

But now, both sides have already made their preparations for fighting.

The strength of the neutral faction is not as good as either the Royal City faction or the Queen's faction.

Because many nobles who might have joined the neutral faction have been forced into the Royal City faction or the Queen's faction.

Of course, this is still just military strength and power on paper.

We really have to fight.

Rand's words as commander-in-chief.

Rand's reputation will also play a big role.

Both the Royal City faction and the Queen's faction sent letters to the Duke of Thorn and to Rand.

Hopefully the neutrals will help one of their sides.

At this time when the war situation is tense, the participation of neutral parties may completely determine the direction of the war.

Then there were some nobles from the Royal City faction and the Queen's faction, some of whom could not bear the war and wanted to join the neutral faction.

"What are you going to do?" Ellie sat next to Rand, her head resting on his shoulder, her body tilted, looking at the letter in her hand.

He had none of the demeanor of a prince or an administrator and seemed rather sloppy.

The warm spring sun shone on Ellie's fair and moist skin, and the shadow of the curtain swayed on Ellie's legs and dissipated.

Olenna sat demurely on the other side.

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Ellie didn't mind Olenna coming over as well, but Olenna was shy.

Rand rubbed his temple.

At the beginning, Rand's plan was to wait for the outcome of the war between the two factions and support whichever side won.

Aims to avoid national division.

And if the two sides are deadlocked, they will work with the Duke of Thorns to try to mediate.

Whether it is two kings ruling together or letting the great nobles form a council of elders to govern, it is a solution.

Although they are not very good.

But judging from the current battle reports, it seems that the war is heading in this direction.

And that is, as more and more letters piled up on Rand's desk.

Rand found that he seemed to be able to do more. The civil war in the Frost Moon Kingdom was a struggle for power.

So if Rand participates, can he also gain more power? For example, the position of Duke.

And, more say in politics.

If the voice is strong enough, politics can bring direct benefits.

For example, enacting some laws.

For example, a population bill to control population mobility might not be a bad idea. So how can we gain enough political voice?

Throne.

Rand himself has no royal blood and is not qualified to be king.

The royal blood of this world really has some kind of power, and it can be seen directly from the appearance.

For example, the royal family of the Frost Moon Kingdom has dark green eyes.

Rand has black hair and black eyes, which obviously doesn't match the criteria.

So which prince should Rand support to sit on the throne?

Obvious answer.

The Duke of Thorns.

The Duke of Thorn is the king's cousin.

He is very late in the line of succession to the throne.

Moreover, Grand Duke Thorn inherited the title of Duke of the Thorn family and could no longer inherit the throne.

Otherwise, the royal family will change from the Frost Moon Family to the Thorn Family.

But now, if the Royal City faction and the Queen's faction are really tied, and the neutral faction can gradually grow stronger...

Then it’s not impossible.

The only problem is that Lord Thorn isn't happy about it.

He found being a grand duke tiring, let alone managing an entire country.

And the thing is, the relationship between the Duke of Thorn and the dead king was really good.

He probably really doesn't want to usurp the country.

"Do you think the Great Guild of Thorns is willing to try to become king?" Rand asked Olenna, who was sitting upright, and Ellie, who was leaning on him.

Olenna said in a gentle voice: "I think Lord Thorn may not be very willing."

Olenna handled most of the correspondence between Rand and Lord Thorn, so she knew some of the Lord Thorn's thoughts.

The Duke of Thorn could not accept becoming the king himself.

Ellie rolled her eyes mischievously.

Ellie is no longer the seventeen-year-old girl she was when she first met Rand, but her personality has not changed much.

"It's not that there is no solution at all," said Ellie.

Rand and Olenna both looked at Ellie, but because Ellie was leaning against Rand, Rand could only see the back of Ellie's head.

Ellie's hair color was originally brown, but as she grew older, it gradually became a mixture of golden and brown, which looked quite brilliant.

"We can let the Duke of Thorn change his surname, let him pass the title of Duke to his eldest son, and then change his surname to Frost Moon, and he can inherit the throne." Ellie talked eloquently with an expression that showed she understood quite well.

Rand was a little surprised. He could only say that he was worthy of being from a royal family. He understood this aspect.

Doing so is undoubtedly somewhat shameful. After all, changing one's surname is certainly not considered a good thing among the nobility.

Duke Thorn was unwilling to seek the throne, let alone change his surname.

Now is not the time to act.

The situation is still unclear. Although more and more nobles want to communicate with the neutral faction secretly, they are not surrendering directly.

Rand couldn't reveal his thoughts too early.

"Then let's make some plans for now." Rand stretched, and Ellie lay on Rand's legs.

Rand rubbed Ellie's forehead.

He has a lot of work to do today, and he will have to meet some neutral small and medium-sized nobles later.

And, I have a class at the church school today.

It is indeed a bit hard.

…

City of the Dead.

The City of the Dead stands in a dark place where the sun never shines. The fog is like a gray veil, wrapping around the dilapidated streets and ruins.

The Scourge Cult has now become a force to be reckoned with.

In the center of the city, a huge obsidian tower rises into the sky. The top of the tower burns with eternal green flames, and the shadows of the flames dance on the ground, like countless struggling souls. Below the tower is a square with dark red symbols inlaid on the stone slabs. Those symbols flash from time to time, as if communicating with some existence.

In the Obsidian Tower.

The black-robed Scourge cultists and the skeleton councilors were discussing matters.

Now that the City of the Dead has been successfully built, it stands to reason that it is time for them to sweep the world.

However, they are still somewhat hesitant.

The Scourge followers are actually quite well-informed.

They heard that the New Holy City had suffered a severe blow.

It seems to be something done by the faction led by the Holy Maiden of the Torch Church.

This made them even more hesitant.

Karin, the Crimson King, that terrifying name.

Many people said she died in the Old Holy City.

But the Scourge believers are still afraid, especially since the Novice Torch Church can still organize an operation of this scale.

Does that mean that their backbone, Karin Eldridge, is fine?

So if they really provoke that saint, will the City of the Dead be burned down?

Logically speaking, they shouldn't be so afraid now that the City of the Dead has been established, but Karin's cleansing and massacre in the Frostmoon Kingdom still made the Scourge believers feel uneasy.

"Has the scouts who went to the Frost Moon Kingdom brought back any news?" asked a Scourge Bishop.

A skeleton answered him: "No news, Mr. Speaker."

No news is the worst news.

This meant that all the scouts were caught, or destroyed.

After thinking for a moment, Bishop Scourge said, "I think we should continue to expand our victory in the Southern Kingdom."

The implication is that you should not provoke the Frost Moon Kingdom.

I heard that the political situation in the Frost Moon Kingdom is tense right now, so theoretically it won't be very united.

But it seems to have gradually become the base camp of the Torch Church's Novice Faction.

Therefore, the Bishop of Scourge still plans to spread the gospel of death to other countries first.

I hope the Novice Faction of the Torch Church in the Frost Moon Kingdom will not meddle in other people's business.

It will be a little late at night, so don’t wait, it’s possible that I can write until the early morning.

But fighting is inevitable!!!

(End of this chapter)