Battle of Fontas (2)

The Duke of Fontas has guarded the northern border of Chuone for generations. The northern edge of the Fontas territory is the Fishbone Mountain Range, named because the macroscopic shape of the peaks resembles fish bones. Like the Great Qiusha Mountain Range, it separates Zalambra and Chuone.

At the northernmost end of the Daqiusha Mountains, the westernmost end of the Yugu Mountains, and the eastern end of the Longji Mountains, there is a convergence point, a downward-sunken basin that connects three major mountain ranges and is interspersed with several deep and rugged rift valleys.

It was the only way to enter the other two empires, except for the water route. It was also the only way for international trade for many years. It did not belong to any country, but it was a place where caravans from various countries gathered. It was called Boyi.

By the time the newly born Saranqin Republic marched south, the place was already deserted.

It is a compulsory course for every businessman to have a keen sense of the situation. Of course, Qiu Niefang also needs to inform them in advance.

Originally a place of trade and circulation, movement was a common practice. Even if the merchants hesitated, it didn't take long before they quickly packed up their goods and luggage and went home without leaving a penny.

Saranqin's troops settled here.

On the Chune side, the Duke of the North adopted a conservative strategy, assembled troops, stationed the front line at the border town bordering Boyi at the westernmost end of the North, and immediately sent the news to the capital.

When Alex walked into the commander's tent, everyone looked at him.

Ola remained calm and went straight to the point: "We are beginning to discuss where to make a breakthrough."

Alex took a look around and found that in addition to the Emperor, the young Duke Noel Fontas, and his family knights, the Central Territory Guard Knights were also brought here. Their leader Aiden was there, as well as Marcia, the leader of the Rose Knights who had been making a lot of noise some time ago, and a group of senior officers from the Central Army Corps... He had seen them all during the war in his previous life, so they all looked familiar.

Among them he spotted a face he didn't recognize.

The woman was wearing a farmer's cloth covered with dirt and dust, and what seemed to be a pair of old carved snakeskin boots. Her long black hair was hastily tied up. She looked very sharp and foxy. She stood there with her hands folded and her eyebrows were wrinkled. Her posture gave people a sense of arrogance at first glance, which was very inconsistent with her simple clothes.

She seemed to notice Alex's lingering gaze, and turned her gray-brown eyes to her, saying coldly, "Meet His Majesty the Lord."

The clerk next to him ran up and whispered in his ear: "That's Bishop Leonardine."

Alex calmly suppressed the shock in his heart.

Yes, it was not until this moment that he remembered a fact that he had overlooked.

In his first life, the archbishops of the Archbishopric of the Goddess of Quene were Vito and Bisi, only these two.

Leonardine. Alex seemed to have heard of this name after he returned, but he just regarded it as an insignificant variable and ignored it, because this person seemed to be even more excessive than Archbishop Vito. She appeared and disappeared mysteriously and few people had ever seen her.

Ola put out several red general models: "Knights, the ones you need to pay the most attention to are the Knights of the North Wind, Saranbu... Oh, now it's Saranqin's new tyrant, Andrenon, an 8th-level paladin. I heard that he was seriously injured, but I don't know what means were used. Now he is said to be fully recovered. Of course, we must also prepare for the worst. Just fight him as if he is in his prime. Although Saranqin only has him as a paladin, he is much stronger than ordinary paladins. Then there is his nephew, Tels, and a group of knight captains. Although this knight group is not as good as the previous generations, there are still many strong people in it, and they are very disciplined and only listen to Andrenon."

She then put the wizard model aside and said, "The problem is, they have two eighth-level wizards there."

The wizard of Fontas, Wise, said, "Your Majesty, has Bishop Bisi really rebelled?"

Ola reminded himself in his heart that he was a wizard, and said, "That witch has brainwashed her in some way. She has now become her puppet."

This is what is said externally, and it is also what many people are willing to believe.

Wake Forest clenched his fists in pain and almost slammed them on the table, but was stopped by the Lenko Knight next to him.

Marcia, the leader of the Knights of the Rose, said, "It should be enough for our two regiments to stop the Knights of the North Wind."

She was talking about the Royal Order of the Central Territories and her Order of the Rose.

Aiden smiled bitterly but said nothing.

Ola held her chin and frowned.

Seeing Alex quietly fiddling with the model with his head down, the young Duke of Noel asked, "Does Your Highness have any ideas?"

Alex picked up the models of the two wizards and looked at them. The familiar chess and go games instantly popped up in his mind. He couldn't help but curl his lips. "If these two knight groups were to face the Northern Knight Group, they would definitely have no chance of survival. Your Majesty is aware of this, so he didn't answer."

Ola looked at him.

Alex knew that the current Knights of the Rose could be said to have grown up with her, and she knew the strength of the people within it best.

After ascending the throne, she often went to supervise the training of the Royal Knights.

This revealed two major problems.

The female knights in the Rose Knights are all very talented, but the group is small in number, and all training is done against each other. They are inadequately equipped and have little actual combat experience. The only ones who have experience are Marcia and others who have fought on the battlefield with Emperor Alan.

The Royal Knights were even worse. They were all young people, and there were many talented ones among them, but unfortunately there were more parasites. Some nobles sent their children in to fill the numbers. They received the highest salaries, but it was common for them to slack off in training. All they did all day was patrol everywhere and catch thieves in the capital.

Aura had reorganized them twice, but the results were not satisfactory. The ranks and positions did not match, and discipline could not be cultivated in a few days. Although she had trained them rigorously for several months, these knights with only talent did not show the demeanor of warriors. Many of them did not have a good mentality.

It is easy to imagine what would happen if such a team met the well-trained Knights of the North Wind.

Marcia listened to him and did not refute him.

Aiden sighed.

They are all leaders of knight groups, so they know the problems of their own teams best.

Seeing this, Noel tried to suggest, "What if we notify Duke Mond to go north to support us?"

Ola shook his head. "Now in Levitra, Mackay Olin himself hasn't moved. Although the Great Autumn Sands are dangerous, they are not impossible to cross. We can't take the risk."

Boyi was also the gateway for Liweir to Saran and Chunie. One reason was that Liweir was too busy with the war in the southwest of Chunie to pay attention to it. They may have also acquiesced to Saran's invasion of Chunie.

It would be harmful rather than beneficial for them to go to war with Saranqin at this time. It would be better for them to attack Chune together with Saranqin and win, and then compete with Saranqin for Chune.

Mond's knights and legions are a strong backup support for Chune. They can move north, south, or west, and cannot be moved easily unless in an emergency to avoid losing their retreat.

Ola looked at Alex's calm expression as he put the model back, frowned and asked, "Do you have a solution?"

Alex chuckled. "Yes, but I still need something to be transported over there. There is no teleportation stone there, so I might need a train."

Ola crossed her arms and said, "Tell me about it."

Alex grabbed many knight and wizard models, pushed them into a pile, and said, "We have little chance of winning if we fight at a high level. It's not a wise move. We need to know where Saranqin's current weakness is and find ways to attack it."

Ola thought for a moment and said, "Their military strength? But under Anlenong's policy of compulsory conscription...ah..."

She stopped herself in the middle of her speech, and several cavalry officers also showed a look of realization.

Alex's smile deepened as he continued, "They have the same problems we have, and they are more serious."

Saranqin has not yet grown fresh branches from the rotten system. Ninety percent of their population is made up of poor peasant slaves and citizens who were once poor but are now in a slightly better situation.

How could they have a good physique after struggling for food and shelter for a long time? They are not like the Levi people, who are all soldiers. Even if they are forced to conscript, most of the people they recruit are just adults with weaker physiques. Although the number is large, the quality is poor. Maybe they can rely on military merits and rewards to inspire morale, but physical fitness cannot be shaped by a few months of training.

Alex tapped the sword at his waist with his fingers. "In our country, many of the knights' swords are mixed with magic stones, right? The forging technology and quality are also top-notch in the world. The soldiers' weapons are also second only to the arsenal in Liweier, and we also use weapons made of insulative stone."

An officer couldn't help but say, "Look at Saranqin's weapons..."

Marcia nodded and said, "This country's productivity has been dragged down for more than a decade. Even if the mines and arsenals are fully operational now, they cannot quickly produce high-quality weapons... Your Highness means to attack the lower end, which is a good direction."

At this time, Aiden, the leader of the Royal Knights, also had a glimmer of hope in his eyes: "No matter how powerful the Knights of the North Wind are, facing a hundred or a thousand times more people..."

Ola pointed out the key point and looked at Alex: "But the gap between the soldiers' physique and weapons is not that obvious. What did you say just now? Did you have any tricks?"

Alex smiled and said, "Yes, there is a way to disarm them without bloodshed."

A few days later, their "solution" arrived by train.

Ola, along with a group of officers and knights, saw cages of creatures covered in thick red mud being unloaded from the train. They looked at each other with subtle expressions on their faces.

Ola smiled and shook her head, then turned to Alex and said, "You are the only one who can think of such a solution."

The wise man next to Noel couldn't help but ask: "Can these little things really work?"

Alex smiled and didn't answer, but his expression showed that he was confident.

He and Inger had once passed by the Red Soil Town on the edge of the Neka Territory, where there lived a cute earth-caged monster called Tutu.

It is not very aggressive towards humans and usually lives under red mud.

They do not have long tongues like anteaters, but they have hard, fine teeth.

They love to eat metals, especially iron.

While he was investigating there, he overheard some miners complaining that there were monsters coming out at night and eating the iron ore unearthed from the ground.

Some even went to weapon shops to buy swords and other weapons.

They like to eat metals with soil, which seems to make them easier to digest, and their excrement will turn into the red soil they like.

They eat iron very quickly. They are small and agile, have long claws and hard scales. They are good at drilling and digging in the ground, and have a very keen sense of smell for metal. Therefore, the people in that place have to be on guard against them if they have any metal products or minerals.

He once bought a Tuo Tuo and secretly ate a small piece of Inger's magic stone at night. He was able to bite it off, but he didn't like it very much and didn't eat much.

Of course, he didn't tell Inger about this.

Along with the train came Koko, a white cat who can talk to animals.

She was very happy that her abilities could be put to good use. With her persuasion, the Tuo Tuo people believed that there were many delicious foods on the other side.

One night, the little cat Koko stood beside the Tutu, raised his paw, and commanded like a general:

*"Remember, go over there, there are a lot of forged iron tools, find iron, steal it back to the field and eat it, don't wake up the humans, you can eat as much as you want before daylight, run back at dawn, otherwise you will die anyway, no one cares."

The Tu Tuos were already veterans in this field and did not need her to remind them.

Humans were rarely generous, and they gladly accepted this gift, burrowing into the land and moving forward.

The first battle of Fontas took place in the night, with the monsters being their vanguard.