There is a small town called Suances in the north of Suero, which is the only way to get from Suero to the Blackwood Pass in the north. This town is a day's journey from Blackwood Pass and is very important strategically. It is the place where supplies are provided to Blackwood Pass. Usually, the supplies shipped from the capital and Suero will be stored here. Once every half a month, Count Orgas, the guard of Blackwood Pass, will send a transport team to the town to collect supplies.
Occupying this position is equivalent to strangling the neck of Heimu Pass. In less than a month, Heimu Pass will collapse without a fight. Therefore, a force of more than 500 people was stationed in the town.
A week ago, when Wang Jiyuan led a large group of troops to Suero, an independent battalion led by Huang Zheng headed straight north and raided the small town.
Huang Zheng chose to approach the town at night, and arrived at the camp where Wang **'s team was stationed outside the town at midnight.
The independent battalion had no heavy weapons, only twenty-four mortars, but in order to achieve the maximum attack effect, Huang Zheng chose fire element shells.
The night attack was launched at 2 a.m. When the soldiers were most sleepy, the sudden bombardment completely stunned the entire enemy camp.
Although not many enemies were killed directly by the artillery fire, the fire elemental bombs caused a fire in the barracks, which not only burned the supplies in the camp, but also caused many soldiers to be swallowed by the flames in their sleep, and then caused a large-scale riot in the camp.
The high-ranking knight Noracio, who led the team, tried to gather the team, but was attacked by the dark elf ranger Evelyn and the mage Ban who had been lying in ambush, and was eventually killed by the dark elves' arrows.
Several groups of remnants who tried to break out of the camp ran head-on into the infantry company blocking the door, and were completely wiped out by the volleys of air rifle fire.
By the early morning, when Huang Zheng led his troops into the camp to clean up the mess, there were only more than a hundred soldiers left alive waiting to surrender.
In the next three or four days, Huang Zheng used guns and gold coins to completely control Suances. The civilians of this era did not have much concept of the country. When he threw out the golden axe, he quickly hired enough people to transform the town and build fortifications suitable for air rifle infantry.
On the fifth day, Xiao Chen followed Shi Hao's Second Regiment to the town, accompanied by Roger, Zhang Hong and others. Their mission was to merge with Huang Zheng's team and then head north to capture Heimu Pass.
When he arrived outside the town, Xiao Chen discovered that this town was completely different from the marginal town described in the report. High walls had been erected, trenches had been dug, and watchtowers had been built, giving it the appearance of a fortress.
Shi Hao said: "Huang Zheng is really quick."
"Look there." Shi Hao looked in the direction Xiao Chen pointed. Two wizards were flying in the air, building a wall with magic. As they waved their wands, the sand and soil piled on the side would fly towards a half-built wall under their control, pile up on the edge of the wall, and then be solidified into solid stone with magic.
Shi Hao said, "The mage class that Huang Zheng brought out specially selected mages who are good at earth magic. This time it will come in handy." Shi Hao said, "This step-by-step approach is actually very beneficial. If we are at a disadvantage in the battle, each of these towns can delay the enemy's rhythm."
"You are all crow mouths, stop saying unlucky things." Zhang Hong said. Most of the high-level mages received combat missions this time. Although Zhang Hong, who had just been promoted to high-level, was unwilling in his heart, he had to go with the army as a magic consultant.
"I hope the fight won't be so brutal." Xiao Chen said.
Shi Hao's mission was very time-sensitive, so they arrived at the town at noon and held a combat meeting immediately in the afternoon.
Huang Zheng reported the basic situation to Shi Hao and the others: "According to the information fed back to us by the Intelligence Department, the garrison commander of Heimu Pass, Count Olgas, has a total of about 2,000 men under his command. He now knows that Suances is under our control, but he has not taken any measures against us until now."
"What do you think is the reason?" Shi Hao asked.
"I think there are two reasons. The first is that the Empire's army has begun to gather at Blackwood Pass. Earl Olgas's army is very limited because the Kingdom has not provided him with any new troops since the King's death. As far as we know, the Empire plans to deploy at least 30,000 troops here. Although Blackwood Pass is a natural barrier, he probably wouldn't dare to be complacent in the face of an enemy that is 15 times his size."
"Fifteen times? Such a huge gap? With such a gap in troop strength, is it possible for him to hold the Black Pass?" Xiao Chen asked.
"I dare not say how long he can hold out. But as long as the military rations are sufficient, I think it should be no problem to hold out for a month or two." Huang Zheng picked up a pen and paper and drew the shape of a checkpoint with a few strokes. "The location of Heimu Pass is very good. There are high mountains on both sides, and the mountain pass in the middle is actually very narrow. In other words, the defense area on this checkpoint is actually very small. It is said that more than 200 people can defend the entire city wall each time.
Moreover, this level is extremely high, almost as high as a twenty-story building. It is very difficult for ordinary soldiers to climb up. In addition, there is no shortage of magic suppression formations on the city gate, and the enemy's masters can only use a few methods. "
"No wonder there were only so few people deployed here at the beginning." Xiao Chen said.
"Second, Count Orgas doesn't know our attitude. Our attack on Suances was very sudden. His intelligence capabilities are limited, and he may not know exactly what we want to do. But I estimate that if we wait a few more days, he will at least send someone to contact us, because the time to collect supplies has come. According to convention, the food in Blackwood Pass will only be enough for him to support him for another month, and he can't afford to delay."
Shi Hao said: "We can't afford to delay either. I would rather attack the checkpoint with hesitant Kingdom people standing on it than face a group of ferocious Empire people occupying the checkpoint."
Xiao Chen said: "This time I specially brought an old friend of Orgas, Viscount Yosa of Suero City. They have a very good personal relationship. If necessary, Viscount Yosa can go to Heimuguan on our behalf and talk to our old friend about the current situation. Please persuade him to give up resistance and join us."
"It would be best if we could negotiate." Huang Zheng agreed, "Although we have artillery, a forced attack would damage the Black Wood Pass itself. It would be best if we could end it without bloodshed.
After discussion, the general plan has been decided. Let Viscount Yosa contact the other party first. If it fails, then use force to break through. "