Chapter 277: Close the door and beat the dog! (Two in one! Please subscribe!)
"Ouch——"
The soldiers of the Odin Empire cheered, as if they only needed one final push to easily take over the land in the eastern part of the empire.
Although Marshal Odin Portia Mariano stopped the dispute between Edson O'Sullivan and several other generals, he did not comment on the proposals of both sides.
He was clearly aware of what a bunch of fools these Odin generals around him were.
If you ask them to charge into battle, they will definitely be able to fight one against a hundred, but if you ask them to calm down and formulate tactics and think about plans, it is actually no different from watching a sow climb a tree.
As a member of the royal family, Edson O'Sullivan may not be very skilled in martial arts, but he is a smart guy after all, and can be considered a rare high-IQ general among the Odin people.
therefore……
Although Edson O'Sullivan's words did not attract the attention of most Odin generals, they moved the heart of the battle-hardened Odin Marshal Portia Mariano.
Of course, he was also aware of the prying eyes coming from hidden places, and was also wary of the hot air balloons floating in the sky.
In fact, compared with the radical war ideas of other generals, Edson O'Sullivan was obviously more favored by him.
However, the current situation does not allow the Odin army he leads to march slowly as Edson O'Sullivan suggested, and then think about countermeasures and investigate carefully bit by bit.
The most critical issue is time! Odin monarch Areo O'Sullivan gave a clear deadline for the end of the war: spring ploughing.
If the army of the Odin Empire cannot control the entire eastern territory of the empire and restore order on this land before the spring plowing season, then this legal territory that was finally seized from the Normans will become a heavy burden for the Odin people.
Because the continuation of the war will destroy food production in the eastern part of the empire, which will cause hundreds of thousands of people living in this land to lose their source of livelihood and create a large number of starving people.
By then, famine, riots and possible plagues may even spread to the Armanche Plain, affecting the original territory and people of the Odin Empire.
This would deal a heavy blow to the prestige of Odin Lord Areo O'Sullivan! It was also under the impetus of these factors that Portia Mariano, as Odin Marshal, had to rise to the challenge, even though he knew that the enemy not far away had an unknown trump card and even though he favored Edson O'Sullivan's proposal.
Besides... a skilled man is daring. In the eyes of the battle-hardened Marshal Portia Mariano, everything before him is still within the scope of his control.
According to his previous speculation, the Kingdom of Basel has always been the most likely enemy.
Therefore, as Marshal Odin, Portia collected a lot of information about the Kingdom of Basel in a few days, and conducted a comprehensive analysis of the Kingdom of Basel's military strength, and then... he smiled!
Compared with the Norman Empire, the military strength of the Kingdom of Basel, as a vassal state, is obviously much inferior.
Years of peace and comfort had already made the Basel army corrupt, corruption was rampant, and it was almost impossible to find a single useful general.
This is also an important reason why Marshal Portia dared to ignore the prying from the side and continued to move forward! Even your big brother, the Norman Empire, was defeated by the fierce attack of the Odin people. How can you, a little brother, jump out to show your presence?
Just do it!
"All troops on alert, full speed ahead!"
Looking at the vast and almost empty plain in the distance, Marshal Portia finally made a decision.
Even if someone was spying on them, what could they do? In this flat terrain where they had an advantage, Odin's cavalry was almost invincible! While driving his horse slowly forward, he was also closely watching the spherical object floating in the sky, thinking about how to solve it.
The enemies in the sky can spy on the changes in Odin’s formation and know their next move in advance, so...how can they get rid of the big ball floating in the sky?
"Portia, you're looking for me..."
Finally, a slightly suppressed voice came from behind Marshal Portia.
Turning back, a familiar figure came into view.
He wore a colorful crown made of bird and animal feathers on his head, and a torn robe made of monster fur. Under the robe was his naked bronze body, with patterns and tattoos with special meanings "engraved" on every corner of his body! With every step he took, the bells worn on his ankles and waist would make a slightly dull sound.
In his hand he tightly grasped a slightly dry ancient wooden scepter, and at the top of the scepter was a polished skull!
Shaman!
The Church of Light is the most influential religion in the Norman Empire, the Duchy of Sidon and the Kingdom of Basel, while in the Odin Empire north of the Armanches Plain, animism is the common belief of all Odin people.
Although animism, which is centered on shamans, cannot be said to have all the shortcomings of other schools of thought, it is indeed a bit too primitive, even in this era.
There is no concept of magicians in the Odin Empire.
In the eyes of the Odin people, anyone who can sense and drive magic is a "non-human" creature created by "heaven" and "earth". They merely live in human bodies and shoulder a mission that is completely different from that of others.
Shamans are not allowed to marry throughout their lives. They communicate with all things and nature, understand the will of their ancestors, preside over sacrifices, and offer offerings to the "gods in heaven."
However, hidden beneath this somewhat normal doctrine is the barbaric, bloody and backward side of animism.
For example...
The so-called sacrifices are all sacrifices of living people.
The skull hanging on the top of the dry staff came from the shaman's closest relative...
The shaman wizard who came to Marshal Portia's side was called Pramon Heiman, and he was the high priest of the Odin Empire! The necklace hanging around his neck was strung with nearly twenty teeth, and the number of teeth symbolized the number of times he presided over the sacrifice ceremony...
“High Priest…”
Even though he was a marshal and held a high position of power, Portia's eyes were still full of respect.
Because... Shamans have an extremely transcendent status in the Odin Empire! Even the Odin King, Areo O'Sullivan, has to be respectful.
Marshal Portia cleared his throat and said in a very cautious voice:
"Your Majesty, the Honorable High Priest, if the war begins, I hope you can shoot down those spheres floating in the sky..."
"In the sky..."
The shaman looked towards the sky not far away and saw a sphere floating in the sky, always following the footsteps of Odin's army.
"A mere ant actually wants to communicate with the Heaven! The actions of those enemies are a great blasphemy against the gods!"
When the shaman saw the hot air balloon floating in the sky, he became furious almost instantly and immediately wanted to cast a spell to destroy the hot air balloon in the sky.
Seeing this, Marshal Portia quickly asked:
"High Priest, please be patient for a moment and wait until our army engages the enemy before taking action..."
Hearing this, the shaman frowned slightly but nodded.
"Marshal! Marshal! Enemy traces found ahead!"
At this moment, the shout from the scout made almost everyone present's eyes light up.
Portia, accompanied by many generals, led Odin's cavalry and galloped forward.
actually,
At this moment, he was somewhat confused.
Because according to Marshal Portia's prediction, the Eider River located on the west side of the Dale Hills is the best battlefield to stop Odin's army.
The wide river and the difficulty of crossing the river were enough to pose a huge threat to Odin's army after crossing the river.
So when crossing the river, Odin's army was always cautious and alert, but... nothing happened. Their enemies seemed to be unaware and did not react at all.
Why? Unless his opponent did not anticipate the attack of Odin's army, but the problem was... the hot air balloon floating in the sky was almost telling him openly that the traces of Odin's army had long been exposed to the enemy's vision.
Everything that appeared before his eyes was completely inconsistent with the common sense of war, and Marshal Portia suddenly felt as if he was out of control.
Moreover, he really couldn't understand why he found the enemy's main force here! After crossing the river, there was an endless plain. Even if there were scattered hills, it would not affect the charge speed of Odin's cavalry.
So... when he heard that the vanguard had discovered the enemy troops not far away and had detected the traces of the enemy's main force, he was really a little confused.
What on earth does the enemy want to do? ...
"More than 13,000 people..."
Dale Hill, on top of a makeshift watchtower.
Army Commander Sam Layton was using a telescope to observe the Odin army not far away.
Due to the long distance, the Odin people could not observe the Idar army in the distance, but Sam Layton could easily observe the movements of the Odin army with the help of a military telescope made by the Idar Glass Workshop.
This is the difference brought about by the level of technological development! "The guy with his face painted all over and a chicken feather stuck in his head should be the so-called shaman... Why isn't he twisting his butt to perform a ritual now..."
Even when facing an enemy with four times the number of his own troops, Sam Layton couldn't help but crack a joke.
"The Odin Empire's shamans are no weaker than our wizards!"
On the side, Sarah Coren couldn't help but feel a little worried.
The main reason why Bruno transferred Sarah Coren to the north to fight was to ensure Idar's absolute control over Mann Fortress.
Therefore, although he had become the Chief of Staff of Idar Territory under Bruno's promotion, Sarah Colen was still mainly responsible for logistical affairs and did not have a particularly good understanding of the true strength of the Idar army.
However, he was very clear about one thing, that is... except for a few apprentice mages, there was not even a formal mage in his team! You know, shamans are just like mages. Although their physical fitness in close combat is just dregs, they can pose a great threat to the hot air balloons of the Idar Air Force.
All it takes is a simple spell to make a hot air balloon with extremely fragile defenses crash onto the hard ground.
In addition, he had never experienced artillery bombardment personally, and only knew about the magic rifles of Lord Idar. Therefore, Sarah Colen was still a little worried.
"He's just a barbarian shaman. There's no need for the wizard advisors from Idar to take action!"
Unlike Sarah Coren's concerns, Sam Layton spoke confidently.
One battle will decide the outcome!
In order to prevent the Odin cavalry from bypassing their defenses with their strong mobility and numerical advantage and posing a threat to the rear, the Idar people planned that the first battle would be a decisive battle!
Don't think that the construction of concrete fortresses and watchtowers is only to provide soldiers with cover against cavalry, and don't think that the Idar people's tactics are just passive defense relying on these fortifications!
In fact, the Idar leadership, with Bruno at its core, had never considered relying on concrete fortifications for a long-term war.
From the beginning to the end, their goal was to take the initiative!
The watchtowers and fortresses that seem to be scattered but are actually closely connected are actually the pockets that the Idar people are trying hard to close, and are also the protection set up by the Idar people to avoid mistakes.
Why was the battle site chosen to be east of the Eider River? Instead of relying on the strategic location of the Eider River to defend?
Because... the Idar people need to establish their authority!
Taking advantage of the opportunity to launch an attack while crossing the river would indeed pose a great threat to the Odin people, but this was not in line with the core interests of the Idar Lords.
Once the Odinites see the weapons the Idar have, will they continue to attack?
Will they mobilize reinforcements? You know, the soldiers led by Sam Layton are almost the majority of the armed forces in Idar.
And it is impossible for these people to stay near the Eider River forever to guard against attacks from the Odin people, so... giving up the plan to attack when the Odin people cross the river is actually to achieve the strategic goal of "closing the door to fight the dog"!
That’s right!
The real purpose of the Idar people is to close the door and beat the dog! Once the war develops in the direction that the Idar people want, the wide Eider River will block the retreat of the Odin people.
The army led by Odin Marshal Portia Mariano, with a total number of more than 13,000 people, will be sandwiched between Idar's army and the Eider River!
What? You ask why the Odins can't risk their lives to cross the river and then flee north in a hurry? Because at this moment, the three-masted warship led by Mal Karen is slowly sailing into the wide and gentle Eider River! The Idar Army and the Idar Navy, one in the east and one in the west, are gradually closing the pocket they have prepared! Although this sounds a bit ridiculous, the Idar army, with a total of only about 3,000 soldiers, is indeed planning to take the initiative to attack and completely wipe out the enemy that is four times their number on this land! This plan is indeed very radical, but... in front of the Idar people who are full of martial virtues, everything is possible! What's more...
After drawing on the five thousand years of history of the Flower Planting Family, Bruno prepared more than one killing weapon for Odin's Iron Cavalry! Go! The fight will start tomorrow!
(End of this chapter)
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