Chapter 404 Neutral Faction! Neutral Faction! (5000!!!)

Frost Moon Royal City has been through a lot.

In the history of the Frost Moon Kingdom, there have been several battles to defend the royal city.

Over the past thousand years, the Frost Moon Royal City has been repaired several times, but it has always stood firm.

A few collapsed city walls are nothing.

But now, everyone's eyes are focused on this collapsed section of the city wall.

This is the city gate section.

The wide moat, which was originally clear and fertile with fish and shrimp, has long been almost filled with corpses and sandbags.

Especially the section of the city gate road has been completely filled up.

The war, which is already quite intense, is about to enter a white-hot stage.

The ministers and nobles of the Royal City faction who were resting in their houses all got up and rushed to the city wall.

Now only a small section of the city wall has collapsed, so there is still room for rescue.

The nobles sent by the queen also mounted their horses. Now it was time to go to the battlefield in person, boost morale, and lead the army to charge.

Especially Zorn from the Hound family.

Before entering the church school, he was just an unappreciated second son in the family.

If the eldest son had not been quite old and was not dealing with family affairs, he would not have been eligible to study in the church school.

After graduation, he came to prominence in the family, and the position of heir was already his.

He would later become the Viscount Hound.

and!

If he could really serve as the commander of an army and follow the third prince into the royal city, then such merit and honor might be enough for the family to obtain another fiefdom, or even a legal merger.

The title of earl may not be completely hopeless.

The fire of ambition burned fiercely in Zorn's heart.

If only I could break through the walls of Frost Moon Royal City myself.

Maybe, maybe he would be able to fight against Count Rand, his teacher, his principal? Zorn knew that many nobles in the Queen's faction had surrendered to his principal, the famous Count Moon Phase.

Zorn understood them.

But if they could defeat the Wangcheng faction in one fell swoop and capture the eldest prince, then many things would be different.

It is already autumn.

Zorn's followers helped him put on his armor.

The innermost layer is the shirt, then the cotton armor, and then the chain mail.

Finally, there is plate armor.

The plate armor bears the heraldry of the Hound family.

Next comes the shield and the knight's sword.

If the knight needs to charge, he will be equipped with a lance.

However, as a commander, even if Zorn arrives at the front line, he will hardly have the opportunity to charge into battle himself.

As he mounted his horse, the weight of his armor seemed to merge with him. He sat upright on the tall warhorse, his cape fluttering in the wind like a blaze. The followers stepped back and stared at their master. The warhorse took slow steps, its iron hooves stomping on the hard ground, making a steady sound, as if announcing that a fateful duel was about to begin.

“Buzz——”

There was another horn sound.

The sound of horns rolled across the battlefield with the autumn wind.

"Charge," Zorn ordered.

Afterwards, some of the most elite knights, who served as trump cards, began to charge towards the royal city.

Since the royal city has collapsed for a while.

Then the road ahead is smooth, right? Let's charge forward.

The elite knights spurred their horses' hindquarters.

The warhorse neighed.

Run forward under the control of the reins.

The mages have returned to rest.

Passing by the charging knights.

There was another drizzle on the city wall.

It was a rain of arrows.

However, the weak arrows had little effect on the knight's multiple layers of plate armor and heavy horse clothes.

Only a few knights were shot through the gaps in their armor and fell to the ground.

The rest quickly rushed to the collapsed part of the city wall.

There were shouts, roars and screams all around.

The swords kept hitting the shields and piercing into the bodies.

The blood overflowed, spurted out, and flowed into a river of blood.

"For the family!"

"For glory!"

The knights on both sides shouted slogans and stabbed each other's bodies with their blades on the collapsed section of road.

When swords were no longer effective, war hammers were used, which made dents in the knights' armor.

Pieces of viscera spilled out of the knights' mouths.

If there are followers of the God of Struggle or the Cult of the Scourge here, they must be extremely excited.

Because here is full of struggle and death.

The knights and nobles sent by the queen rushed into the city walls.

Then the mercenaries and levies followed.

The nobles in command kept their eyes on this place.

It's just that they no longer need command.

The Knights knew where they were going to attack.

The extra commands would now only distract the knights.

Charge forward.

Just charge.

After rushing into the city, you can head straight for the Column of Triumph and the palace.

The palace where the eldest prince resides.

The palace was located on a high ground. The eldest prince stood outside the palace gate, watching the bloody battle at the collapsed part of the city wall.

The great nobles around were persuading the eldest prince to flee with his guards.

But the eldest prince turned a deaf ear to their words.

turn a deaf ear.

Indeed, what they said made some sense. If he escaped and came back again, he would naturally have a chance. There were still many nobles supporting him, the prince.

But the eldest prince knew that didn't mean much.

He was delighted when Earl Lander and Duke Thorn came to the palace that day and told him that they would support him to become king.

But these two nobles, who only cared about their own interests, actually told him that the interests of the third prince must be guaranteed.

The eldest prince could understand it, after all, everyone should prioritize their own interests, right? But the eldest prince couldn't accept it! Therefore, the eldest prince decided to arrest the third prince, but unfortunately, his younger brother had been on guard against him.

The arrest failed.

The third prince fled the royal city with the queen.

So that the current situation.

The eldest prince knew very well that if he escaped from the royal city, the Grand Duke of Thorn who was far away in the territory of the Thorn family and the Earl of the Moon Phase who was far away in the Crescent Moon Territory would be killed.

They will definitely support the third prince decisively.

Help the third prince to clear himself.

Although these two selfish nobles were not on the battlefield, they must have countless spies on the battlefield.

Many nobles from the Royal City faction and the Queen's faction were passing messages to them, and some even surrendered secretly.

If he flees this city, he will have no chance.

There will definitely not be another chance.

The eldest prince was well aware of this.

So he would never run away.

The eldest prince returned to the palace.

With the help of the waiter, the eldest prince put on gorgeous magic armor, a sword at his waist, and a fluttering cloak.

The eldest prince walked out of the palace.

Golden hair, dark blue eyes, and a well-proportioned body.

As bright as the sun.

Judging from appearance alone, the eldest prince is indeed good.

The faces of the great nobles around them all changed.

This obviously does not mean to escape.

"Your Excellency the Crown Prince!" The nobles around him wanted to speak.

But he was interrupted by the eldest prince.

"Everyone, please follow me." The eldest prince drew the sword from his waist.

This sword is the king's sword and is mostly used for ceremonies, but it is also made of magical metal and can pierce ordinary iron armor.

The great nobles looked at each other.

They naturally don't want to fight to the death.

But abandon the eldest prince and flee now? This is obviously impossible.

It is understandable to escort the eldest prince away, but if he abandons his loyalists and runs away, then he may not even be qualified to surrender.

Will be despised by all nobles who value honor.

The eldest prince appeared on the battlefield.

His armor was extremely gorgeous and flamboyant, and the guards beside him were holding large flags. The flags fluttered in the autumn wind, and the sounds they made were like roars.

The knights of the royal city and the nobles commanding the front were the first to notice the arrival of the eldest prince.

Next came the mercenaries and levies.

Mercenaries and levies could not feel much glory, but the nobles and knights on the front lines were very excited.

The eldest prince had come to the battlefield, apparently intending to fight alongside them.

What an honor it is.

The morale of the soldiers on the front line of the Royal City Faction was boosted, and their original fatigue and hesitation seemed to be swept away in an instant.

The eldest prince also brought his guards! The guards were well-armed and energetic.

The loyal and brave royal guards fought alongside the knights.

The knights and soldiers sent by the Queen who had originally entered the city began to be slowly pushed out of the city walls.

They also noticed the eldest prince.

The eldest prince actually came to the battlefield in person, braving the arrows and stones.

Some knights picked up the broken spears on the ground and threw them at the eldest prince.

But the knights who stood in front of the great prince blocked it with their bodies.

The knights sent by the queen began to retreat step by step.

Zorn was outside the city, staring at the collapse.

He was ready to join the army in attacking the royal city and gain the glory and merit.

But just when he was about to reach the city.

Cheers broke out in the city, and then the elite knights sent by the Queen in front of him began to be pushed out of the city wall.

Zorn noticed the banner of the Great Prince.

Shouting to the knights, not allowing them to retreat.

But it didn't work.

Zorn could only yell a few words and then rein in his horse and retreat.

It seemed that this attack would not succeed.

The knights and mercenaries sent by the queen were all pushed out of the city walls.

Or be killed in the city.

The Royal City Faction also managed to keep their Royal City in this round of offensive.

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Many of the Queen's nobles, who were getting excited, could only return to the barracks with gloomy faces.

It's just that this offensive failed.

The Queen's faction will not stop the attack. It is impossible for the Queen's faction to give the Royal City faction any breathing space to repair the city wall.

What follows is still a non-stop onslaught.

At least that's what the great nobles ordered.

But the small and medium nobles could no longer bear it.

The nobles fought at their own expense.

He prepared food and fodder at his own expense and led the knights into battle.

From the end of spring plowing to now autumn.

The non-stop high-intensity attacks have turned many small and medium-sized nobles into rotting corpses.

Of those who were still alive, many had already lost a large portion of their knights.

You know, for the small and medium nobles, many knights are actually their relatives, some of whom are their brothers and even children.

To die bravely on the battlefield is indeed the glory of knights and nobles.

But the power of belief has its limits.

Now they were exhausted and had suffered heavy losses.

And that is, capturing the royal city is not the end.

In order to gain benefits, they need to continue attacking and capture the territories of the nobles who support the eldest prince.

It's definitely not easy.

Most of the nobles had castles that had been run by their families for generations, which stored enough food to feed hundreds of people for several years, as well as loyal family guards.

But not everyone can be like Count Land, who can take advantage of the wind and break through castle after castle at an incomprehensible speed in the blink of an eye.

If the third prince planned to conquer some surrendered nobles like the original king, the benefits would be even less.

The great nobles were not having an easy time either, as they had to bear a large amount of war expenses.

They are indeed prepared to fight for a few years.

But that doesn't mean they won't be fence-sitters.

Now, there seems to be another choice, doesn't it? ...

The Thorn Family.

Duke Thorn's desk was also filled with letters.

It's all about the neutrals.

The Duke of Thorn can't be lazy anymore.

Family decisions at this level still have to be handled personally by the Grand Duke himself.

Grand Duke of Thorn actually doesn't want to be called a neutral party, but now it is obvious that the nobles of the Frost Moon Kingdom, including his allies, think so.

He had already read the contents of the letter.

Most of them came to surrender, and some were persuaded to take over.

In short, it is believed that the strength of the neutral faction is strong enough, and many people think that the Duke of Thorn is very suitable to be the king.

To put it in Rand's hometown dialect, many people want to join the ranks of the dragon's followers.

Lord Thorn frowned.

He was not very willing to seize the throne from his cousin.

Naturally, he has been paying attention to the recent war.

The walls of the royal city were blasted into collapsed sections by magic, but the eldest prince and his men drove out the knights who had attacked the walls.

Now we are back to a stalemate.

Many nobles no longer want to fight.

There was the invasion of Lensa five years ago, followed by civil war, and now civil war again.

The wealth and manpower of the nobles took decades to accumulate, but could be consumed by just one war.

Now, many people are desperate for someone to come and end the war.

Otherwise, the war would continue until the outcome is determined.

This period of time may be several years.

Duke Thorn looked at the butler and asked, "Does Earl Rand have any letters?"

"Yes." The butler nodded, then picked out a letter from the letter rack nearby.

Lord Thorn opened the letter.

Read it carefully.

Then sneered.

The letters written by Count Lander were all nonsense, either about family matters or about trade and economy.

In short, there is nothing related to the current situation.

But both Grand Duke Thorn and Earl Lander knew very well that it was time to make a decision.

But Rand didn't give any advice.

He looks like he doesn't want to be involved in any responsibility.

But Lord Thorn didn't care, because he was sure that Rand was also anxious! Lord Thorn was very sure of this.

Although he did not arrange spies to investigate the Earldom of Moon Phase.

But he believed that Earl Lander must be preparing for war and had even started recruiting troops, ready to set off at any time.

Now the critical moment has arrived. Allowing the Royal City faction and the Queen's faction to continue fighting will be completely against the interests of Rand and Grand Duke of Thorns.

At first, the neutrals did not take action because the contradictions could not be suppressed.

Even if the situation can be suppressed in the short term with power and strength, there will be open and covert fighting in the country. If the anger of both sides continues to accumulate, a more violent civil war may even break out.

Rand and the Duke of Thorn agreed to let the war go at the beginning.

It's different now.

Many nobles were tired of fighting, or were hurt by the beatings.

The nobles from both the Royal City faction and the Queen's faction did not want to be the loser.

Then, there is still a force in the Frost Moon Kingdom that has not yet expressed its position.

Naturally, ideas will come.

Seemingly the weakest neutral party on paper.

Even though the two sides have been fighting until now and have consumed huge resources, the neutral faction is still weaker on paper than either the Royal City faction or the Queen's faction.

The only unclear thing now is not when to send troops, but what to do after sending them.

Duke Thorn swept away all the letters on the desk.

Only Rand's letter remained.

Duke Thorn crossed his legs and tapped the table with his knuckles in a rhythmical manner.

The housekeeper helplessly picked up all the letters scattered on the ground.

The Duke of Thorn was thinking about what Rand meant.

The letter Rand sent was a lot of nonsense.

Then the meaning is actually very obvious.

Rand also hoped that the person who would sit on the throne in the end would not be the eldest prince, the third prince, or even the queen.

Lord Thorn sighed and told the butler not to rush to pick up the letters on the ground: "Call the vassals, we can send troops."

…

Rand also sat on the warhorse.

To be precise.

Flying bull right now.

The flying bull-horse has sharp teeth, scaly skin, and huge wings.

The horse Rand was riding was particularly strong and looked very powerful.

Elsa asked, "Will the Duke of Thorn really understand what you mean?"

"I think so," Rand said calmly.

"What if Duke Thorn really doesn't understand?" Elsa said helplessly.

"Of course I'm prepared," Rand said.

The first letter was written by Rand specifically to satisfy his desire to interpret the mood of the ancient books in his previous life.

It would be best if Lord Thorn could understand.

It can be included in the biography later.

If Lord Thorn doesn't understand, or pretends not to understand.

Naturally, Rand would not miss the opportunity to fight because of such a thing.

Immediately following that puzzling letter, Rand wrote a serious, confidential letter discussing the current situation.

This secret letter will arrive right after the mysterious letter.

The above content is about when to send troops and where to meet.

Also, regarding the issue of the throne, he said that they would discuss it after they met and that the war should be ended first.

Rand felt very distressed about the continuous consumption of the population, food and wealth of the Frost Moon Kingdom.

What the eldest prince thought was right.

Rand and the Duke of Thorn will definitely consider their own interests first.

But now, the interests of Rand and Grand Duke of Thorn are actually largely bound to the Frostmoon Kingdom.

Therefore, it may not be wrong to say that Rand and Grand Duke of Thorn are concerned about the country and the people?

After saying that, Rand moved closer to Elsa.

Elsa blushed a little and closed her eyes.

Seeing this, Rand kissed Elsa and whispered in her ear: "You must keep it a secret for me."

Elsa nodded slightly.

The top brass in the hideout, as well as the two generals Tanr and Fenris, were all well aware that Rand liked to do some strange ritualistic things.

In a sense, this is a Rand feature?

Rand retracted his stretched neck, rode his horse to the hideout camp, and inspected his troops.

"The whole army is moving!" Rand ordered.

(End of this chapter)