General Dreshuka experienced firsthand why the Regent had repeatedly tried to weaken the power of the feudal nobility.
Because it was just as the Regent feared.
In the face of war between nations, the nobles of the Roman Empire were just a bunch of trash without any sense of honor. That was all.
…
The time came to the next day, which was early in the morning of April 2nd.
As the rain and fog rose in the central region of the Roman Empire and the subsequent rainfall, General Dreshuka chose to immediately open the city gates after conquering the cities of the nobles he could capture, and sent out the well-rested light cavalry to the mountainous areas that separated the south and north of the central area.
He ordered part of the cavalry to lead the zombies towards the area occupied by the Isgardians, while the other part led the zombies towards the parish, the culprit of all this.
"On the one hand, this is to cause trouble for the Isgardians, and it would be best to force them to retreat. They don't have many people, and if they want to evacuate with the townspeople who are treated as slaves, they must abandon most of the occupied cities, which is bound to cause serious chaos in their logistics and management.
On the other hand, the parish has been on the sidelines for too long! They created this group of living dead, and they chose to watch the show!
We must drag the parish into the water and make it spit out its stored resources, otherwise we will have no hope of winning.
So go, go quickly! Use the fastest speed to lead the zombies away before they enter our control area, quickly! "
Following General Dreshuka's hasty orders, the cavalry in the military district was divided into two.
They rode on small horses that were not fast but were agile enough to maneuver across the mountains. They deliberately made harsh noises with whistles in the rain to attract the undead to follow them.
The cavalry controlled their speed to prevent the zombies from falling behind, and the noise caused by the zombies moving together in a certain direction guided the zombies to move in a specific direction.
Under their leadership, the group of undead soon split into two. In the afternoon of the same day, one group moved towards the area occupied by the Isgard colonial army, while the other group moved towards the parish where they were now working peacefully.
The Light Cavalry were not sure which of the three was the real culprit, the new church led by the Saint or the old church led by Patriarch Peter, but they knew that the diocese played an extremely ignominious role in this incident.
Therefore, the light cavalry planned to evenly distribute the living dead in every corner of the parish. Only in this way could the cruelty in their hearts be relieved.
However, no matter how fast the light cavalry were, they could only move forward slowly due to being dragged down by the zombies.
As they slowly moved forward, both the parish and Isgard noticed something strange in the distance...
The moment the Ishugardian scouts saw the "sea of corpses" rushing towards them, they abandoned all their field positions and cities.
Because they knew very well that their rifles had no large-scale lethality, not to mention the damn wave that looked like it was counting millions of densely packed people and was slowly approaching!
Rather than wasting bullets in a group of people who look extremely weird, it is better to abandon the city immediately and run as far as possible.
With this idea in mind, they took away all the supplies they could, and the residents in the occupied areas were overjoyed at first, thinking that the army had finally come to rescue them, forcing the Isgardians to evacuate.
As a result, when they climbed up the city wall and looked towards the gray rain fog in the distance, they were surprised to see...
The people who came were all from the same village, a group of dead “fellow villagers” who were being led over bit by bit by the light cavalry.
During the rain, the dense yellow dots among the dense mountains and seas of corpses even scared many people out of their wits, causing some residents with low mental endurance to faint on the spot, and also made more people realize the fact that they had been completely abandoned.
"Run! Let's run!"
Those who could pack up their belongings fled the city with their bags on their backs, while more people chose to just run away with two pieces of bread in their arms.
Those who fainted or were unable to escape the city were left in the town, waiting for destruction.
It would take the undead two to three days to reach the edge of the parish and the Ishgard-occupied area.
While the Isgardians were frantically shrinking their defenses and setting up roadblocks and shelters that could stop the advance of the undead hordes, on their backs, the Great Khan was making final preparations for the invasion to the south.
He announced that last night's shooting star was an auspicious sign, a blessing from the nomads' ancestors for their upcoming return to Rome.
He said that the people of the Khutot Khanate would have their own land in the Roman Empire in the future, and those Romans, after being defeated by them, would become the first line of defense against demons in the north.
"By then, all the people of the steppe will have stable homes, countless wealth, and Romans as their slaves.
What we have to do is to use the latest weapons to break through the Roman border, occupy their cities, and then force the emperor to surrender to us!
People of the grassland! We are destined to be the victors of this war! So drink the milk wine in front of you, eat the pancakes and barbecue in front of you! Let us celebrate the victory of the war in advance, and let us prepare for entering the land of the Roman Empire in advance! "
After the heroic speech, Khutot Khan drank the milk wine in his hand. As he did so, the entire army of Khutot Khanate gathered under the tents shouted the Khan's name while filling their stomachs with wine and meat, turning into burning enthusiasm, waiting for the start of the southern expedition after eating and drinking.
At the same time, in the United Nations, the prismatic fortress built under the orders of Yang Hao and others has roughly taken shape.
Although the walls of the bastion are not high enough and are currently only about one meter high, the trenches, shooting slopes and barbed wire in front of the bastion have been almost completed.
The next thing to do is to continuously increase the overall height of the city wall. As long as it is more than two meters high, you can consider laying stones on the outside of the compacted soil to consolidate the hardness of the wall.
Although only two wire fences were laid, they were enough to stop the nomads from advancing at this stage...
"Two almost invisible wire fences hidden in the knee-high grass, without sunlight, even the reflection can't be seen... I can imagine the scene where the cavalry of the Khutot Khanate charged happily and hit the wire fence and became a target."
This is how Finn commented on Yang Hao's vicious trap, while Yang Hao thoughtfully asked Naruja to ambush some stone and earth golems behind the barbed wire.
"What are you doing? Are you planning to provide some cover for the brave warriors who have successfully broken through the barbed wire?"
"No, I want them to feel the 'love' from the Golems when they mistake it for a bunker."
"Golem's love for the barbarians is enough to slap them into a pulp?"
"Maybe there are guns in the hands of soldiers in the distance."
Although they were not officially engaged yet, after what happened that night, Yang Hao and Fen began to speak to each other less and less honorifics.
Fen began to call Yang Hao's name frequently, and Yang Hao no longer showed any courtesy to Fen in front of outsiders.
Both parties were very satisfied, and Theresa, the only one who felt weird about it, kept dwelling on Finn's first experience.
She seemed to be very curious about why she suffered so much at that time, while Fen could act as if nothing had happened - she even went to ask Yang Hao, but Yang Hao was embarrassed and didn't tell her the truth...
Let's not talk about this for now. In short, the relationship between Yang Hao and Fen is getting better and better. Naturally, when they look at the same problem, they tend to spend it in a chat and joke way.
While inspecting the current status of the bastion, Yang Hao also said that they might have to develop special "anti-aircraft weapons" specifically for air defense in the future.
"After all, Finn, we can't always let the elves ride on Hippogriffs to engage in dangerous melee combat with the enemy's air units." He explained, "If we can attack birds flying thousands of meters high from the ground, then in a sense our Hippogriff Knights can be used in more valuable places."
"But do weapons that can be thrown from the ground to an altitude of nearly a thousand meters really exist?" Finn frowned, looking at the positions reserved for installing fixed weapons at the nodes of the bastion wall: "My dear Mr. Yang Hao, "level shooting" at a target several kilometers away is different from [shooting at a target several kilometers directly above].
As long as magic is used, the elves can use longbows without any problem... But the latter not only requires arrows or ammunition that are light enough, but more importantly, it requires an extremely awkward posture to exert force. Even we can't maintain accuracy, let alone today's "bullets".
After all, I have figured out that how far a bullet can be fired is entirely related to the propellant.
If the "propellant" cannot provide enough power, do you really think that the bullet can still pose a threat to armored air units or even black dragons after flying thousands of meters in the air? "
Finn seemed to have mistakenly believed that Yang Hao was planning to attack Ishugard, so he made the black dragon his imaginary enemy.
But in fact, Yang Hao had no intention of going to war with Ishugard - only a fool would declare war on an ally that was currently in the honeymoon period, not to mention that this ally had the goods that Yang Hao needed.
Therefore, Yang Hao just explained to Fen that the reason he thought so was because he took into account the point that [this is not only an air defense weapon, but also a multifunctional weapon that can fire horizontally at the ground]. The more important reason is that the current United Nations does not have special anti-aircraft weapons to use, let alone naval weapons that may have to be vigorously developed in the future.
Especially considering that the Great Khan's army has a small but well-organized harpy unit as the air force, if Yang Hao still intends to let the Hippogriff Knights take on the main anti-aircraft force, not only will he fail to bring out the Hippogriff Knights' best reconnaissance advantage, but it may also cause them to suffer losses in the air.
Being injured in the air is completely different from being injured on land. If you are injured on land, you can still use magic to rescue, but if you fall from the air, you can only pray that you are lucky enough to hang on a pile of wheat without grass.
"So we must have the ability to threaten air units from the ground no matter what... Although not now, we still have to conduct research in the future - and I plan to put this research into the university subject that I will soon establish."
"But there are no suitable students and teachers in the university right now?"
"That's why this research topic can be put in - whoever can solve this research topic will prove that person has talent and ability... Then our needs can be met directly instead of waiting for a while, isn't that great?"
"You are right... Alas. I'd better leave this matter to you, Mr. Yang Hao. After all, I am not good at these reforms."
The petite elf shrugged, and as the elf snuggled in his arms, Yang Hao shook his head and said that this was exactly the responsibility he had to bear in the United Kingdom.
Today, Theresa is responsible for managing Bayerjans, Finn is responsible for managing Caparia, and I am responsible for the changes and development of the entire country.
It's hard to say whether this is healthy or not... but at least it's in line with the national conditions of the United Nations.
He touched Fen's golden hair. And just then, they saw the faint appearance of waves in the distance and the sound of horses' hooves approaching slowly.
"They are coming." Yang Hao watched as the garrison officer rang the alarm bell beside him, telling the soldiers working in the front to return quickly. "Faster than we thought."
"Yeah, we're ready."
"If this is considered complete preparation, then Theresa's prayers and insults to the Light every night will be perfect... Forget it, Finn, take me back - I have to mobilize."
"I can't leave you in such a dangerous place. But wait until Naruga comes."
They looked solemnly at the mighty army on the grassland in the distance.
Knowing that a conflict with the Great Khan, at least the first round of conflict, would inevitably unfold.
In the Great Khan's army, everyone looked at the small bunker that suddenly appeared on the grassland in the distance and the tall building behind the bunker with a confused look on their faces.
They were very confused by these buildings and thought they might be hallucinations after drinking milk wine.
"Have we reached the Roman border yet?"
"Impossible! We have to rush all the way to the Roman border at least until midnight to see that small city - but what is going on? Did the Romans build a new city without us knowing?"
"Idiot! How could such a magnificent building that can be seen here be built in less than seven years?! If the situation changes, we will set up camp in front and I will go back immediately to inform the Great Khan of the situation here. Remember not to act rashly!"
The Khan's army stopped about ten kilometers away from the bastion of the United Nations.
They looked at the brightly lit bunkers and the city in the distance with confusion and anxiety. They instinctively wanted to break into the city directly, but the discipline taught by the Khan forced them to stay calm when facing unknown opponents.
Soon, the messenger delivered the news from the front to the main force where the Khan was in the rear.
The Khan listened to the messenger's words in bewilderment, and then thought angrily: These Romans actually dug up the city of the survivors who bravely fought against the demons underground, and then took over the city? !
What a bunch of shameless bastards!
He was so angry that his eyes were wide open, but it was true that they still had to be careful when facing the Romans who had an entire city as a cover.
Chapter 3: The Pioneer of Polan is gone! 8K
On April 3, the army of the Khutot Khanate stopped and set up camp about ten kilometers away from the prismatic castle.
The barbarians and the castle garrison just stared at each other across the vast grassland. Neither side wanted to be the first to stand out, and because of this, they could only remain deadlocked here.
Originally, the Khan planned to bypass the castle directly - but when the scouts and the harpies went to explore the way, he found that this strange fortress, which looked like a star when viewed from the air, was firmly stuck at the throat of the entire plain.
It is no exaggeration to say that if the Khutot Khan's army intended to bypass the fortress, they would face the possibility of their rear supply troops being harassed and killed.
Not to mention that the entire fortress seemed to be equipped with a large number of defensive equipment - although Hutot Khan could not see the range of those strange tubular weapons, combined with the "gaps" and "gentle slopes" deliberately created by the opponent, those weapons should be able to directly threaten the units on both sides.
It is not realistic to leave from both sides of the prismatic fortress, so what about taking a detour through the forest
Khutot Khan thought that if it was just a small force without cavalry, it would be feasible -
But the problem is that if we send a small force without cavalry to harass the territory of the Roman Empire instead of launching a major attack, what is the difference between this and a waste of resources
With no way to take a detour or pass through the forest, the Hutot Khan's army had no choice but to stay where they were, waiting for instructions from the Great Khan while resting and recuperating in preparation for the next battle.
"Is the flag composed of the double-headed eagle and the pointed-eared ancient tree the new flag of the Romans?"
Some warriors who had participated in the war with Roman were looking at the scene and talking to each other in low voices.
"Or have they formed an alliance with the elves? Why do I feel that... there seems to be something wrong with the fortress across the street? It is not something that the Romans I have seen before would build..."
"Don't you know? I heard that the Romans seized the city left behind by some survivors underground... But I don't know if this is true - after all, to put it bluntly, we can't get close at all!"
"That's right... After all, in this prairie, let alone them, we can't let the enemy enter our camp - if there really is a madman pretending to be a messenger and burning all our baggage... there is a high probability that the fire cannot be put out."
The Khan's soldiers doubted whether the fortress was a Roman fortress, and as for the surrenderers of Polan, they didn't care at all who they would attack or be attacked next.
This group of Polan people who had not received long-term training still held on to the old nomadic idea: no matter who it was, as long as we robbed the things, we would win! But if the current war could be won by robbing things, I guess Hutot Khan would not be so entangled...
He knew very well that the nomadic people needed the land in the south and needed to drive the Romans to the north to serve as a shield for the demons to move south. So he knew very well that if he couldn't get rid of this fortress, not only would he not be able to enter the city behind the fortress to pay homage or occupy it, he wouldn't even be able to get close to the Romans' native cities further behind.
We must find a way to bypass or capture this city - Hutot Khan was discussing tactics with the Qiexue with a serious face, and at this time, a message came into the Great Khan's tent.
That was the anomaly discovered by the scouts - the walls of the prismatic fortress were slowly rising with the help of the magicians, and it seemed that they deliberately created a strange slope when raising it, which not only prevented the soldiers from climbing, but also seemed to directly eliminate the possibility of the factory tower getting close.
"Father! The harpies saw that the city wall was not only tilted at an angle that only the bravest climbers could climb lightly, but most importantly, there was a trench in front of the wall that was too deep and too wide for us to accept!
The bottom of the trench seems to be filled with all kinds of weapons... We don't have the tools to pass through that trench!
Even if the trolls jump down, the best we can do is let people step on their shoulders and heads to move forward, but we are still useless against those city walls!"
"How thick is the city wall?" Hutot Khan asked calmly after taking a sip of milk wine.
"Our catapults may come in handy."
According to the Great Khan's experience, the walls of most castles are actually not that thick.
If we let the catapults concentrate their firepower to hurl huge stones at a section of the city wall and then knock it down, we can directly create a gap in the enemy's defense line...
But for some reason, Hutot Khan had a vague ominous premonition - and his messenger further confirmed this ominous premonition.
Because of the strange tilt of the castle, its walls are too thick.
"According to the harpies' investigation, the weakest section of the city wall is nearly six meters thick. Moreover, the wall is not hollow, but filled with compacted mud and sand... Our catapults are not capable of destroying the city wall. At least that's what the harpies judged."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the tent showed an expression of disbelief.