Sinach's latest order is to let Faust and Semir quietly go to the city of Enlil in the Duke Plain, while he himself remains in the occupied city-state of the Baron Kingdom, the latest frontier of the Assyrian Kingdom, enjoying The achievements and pleasures of conquerors. At this time, the Kingdom of Baron had already surrendered to Sinach, the fighting in the territory subsided, and the second stage of the melee among the nations was roughly over.
The biggest loser in this melee is of course the Kingdom of Baron, but the biggest gainer is a god—Enlil!
The main god believed by Assyria and Hatti is Enlil. They opened up new territories, built temples there, and carried out new rule in the name of gods, which also represented the expansion of the power of priests, nobles and temples. Enlil's domain of gods is getting wider and wider, while Marduk is retreating steadily. This is not a direct confrontation between the two great gods, but the result of a war on earth.
In a sense, the Kingdom of Assyria is the most important pawn in Enlil's hands. Sinach's ambitions and Faust's strategic planning are more or less guided by this god. Many thoughts and wishes are even directly related to Enlil's oracle. For example, when Sinach just took the throne, Enlil issued an oracle, saying that he would become a great king on the mainland, and hinted at what he should do.
When the fierce fighting in the Kingdom of Barron gradually subsided, the melee among the nations entered the third stage. Sinach's ambition was ignited, and his goal was directed to the Duke Plain. Enlil City, a strategic base, had already been established. The next step was to break through Salem City and block the trade routes of the Blackfyre Swamp.
Sinach's conservative plan is to share this piece of fertile land equally with Hatti Kingdom from north to south, and the best plan is to completely occupy the entire Duk Plain. If this goal is achieved, the strength of the Assyrian kingdom will reach its peak on the mainland, and Sinah will become the greatest king in history.
Sinach sent Faust and Semir to the city of Enlil quietly, but he was actually hinted by Enlil. Based on the development of the battle situation and the balance of forces of all parties, this great god predicted the future situation of the Duke Plain, and his own guidance became part of this prediction.
At the beginning, Aesop didn't know that his opponent had changed. It was no longer a Philistine warrior who held the military and political power in Enlil City, but Faust, who was strategizing. Faust did not reveal his strategic intentions at the beginning, nor did he show up in public. Instead, he secretly strengthened the power of Enlil City, and on the surface even deliberately showed weakness in several frictions and conflicts.
Through the war against the Kingdom of Baron, the Kingdom of Assyria captured a large number of people and became slaves. Faust took the opportunity to solve the most difficult logistical problem. He gave these slaves a way of life or hope, as long as they can transport enough production and strategic materials across the Assyrian Plateau to Enlil City, they will be free to become city-state residents. Acquire a piece of land.
The trail across the Assyrian plateau was cold and steep, and the loss of personnel and supplies in the logistics supply was huge, but with such a policy, the captive slaves could actively work with their lives. The giant army has been assembled, and a larger reserve army appeared in Enlil City as civilians, hoarding supplies and building weapons.
The news of King Sinach's campaign against Baron had reached the city of Enlil. Many of the fighters who participated in that battle became the kingdom's new nobles, owning large tracts of land and a large number of slaves. This also makes the soldiers in Enlil City who have not achieved results so far envy and look forward to it. They are eagerly looking forward to breaking through Salem City and becoming the upstarts on the Duk Plain.
The Kingdom of Baron expressed its surrender to the Kingdom of Assyria. Except that it did not build temples for Enlil in various city-states across the country, other aspects were very similar to the situation when the Kingdom of Hatti surrendered to the Eju Empire. Sinach then called himself the Great King of Assyria .
Aesop and the others more or less discovered that the situation in Enlil City was not right, but at this time there was another more important thing that attracted everyone's attention, that is, the relationship between the Assyrian Empire, the Kingdom of Baron, and the Kingdom of Hatti. the latest changes in the situation. While Faust was planning secretly in the city of Enlil, the war in the Kingdom of Baron completely subsided, and the Assyrian Emperor Sinah sent envoys to the capital of King Hatti to discuss an alliance with King Asher.
Had it not been for Sinach's sudden attack on Baron from the northeast, the Kingdom of Hatti would not have won a major victory in the Western Front War, and Asher was also a direct beneficiary. The two kings had previously sent envoys to congratulate each other on the victory. Now that Assyria and Hatti have gained something, in order to consolidate the results of the battle, Sinach made another suggestion.
He first proposed to form an alliance between the two countries, strengthen cooperation in commerce and trade, and repatriate fugitive slaves to each other. In addition, Sinach also specifically mentioned the issue of the ownership of the Duk Plain. He suggested that the north-south demarcation divide the Duk Plain equally, making this piece of fertile land a new border between the two countries.
According to Sinach’s proposal, the city of Enlil in the northernmost part of the plain and the city of Salem in the north-central part of the plain belonged to the Assyrian Kingdom, while the cities of Messo and Budamia in the south were of course the territory of the Kingdom of Hatti , and it also includes large areas that have not yet been cultivated, which are much larger than the existing territories controlled by the two countries. Judging from the current actual situation, this proposal is beneficial to both parties.
However, there is a problem that Sinach deliberately did not mention. He included the sphere of influence controlled by the city of Salem into the territory of the Assyrian Kingdom, just to test the attitude of the Hatti Kingdom. On the surface, King Asher of Hatti did not want to turn against the powerful Assyrian Empire, so the letter sent by the envoy was very interesting.
He expressed to Sinach that he hoped that the two countries would form a friendly alliance, and at the same time he praised Sinach as the Great Assyrian. But he also mentioned in his letter of credence that he has canonized Amon as the Prince of Salem. The 200-mile radius around the city of Salem is the territory of the Prince of Salem, which belongs to the God Amon! If the will of God Amon ordered the city of Salem to submit to the Assyrian Empire, Hattie would not stop it.
On the surface, Hatti Kingdom did not object to the northern and southern painting circles, but it also stated that the ownership of Salem City is not decided by the two countries, but depends on the choice of the people of Salem City.
The Kingdom of Hatti has just occupied the city of Budamia and the west bank of the Eudi River, and the newly established city-state of Messo is also waiting for prosperity. It is a wise choice to gain a foothold in the southern part of the Duk Plain and then expand. Confront the kingdom of Assyria. But Asher and Sinach probably knew in their hearts that in the future, conflicts between the two countries on the Duk Plain would be very likely, depending on who had greater ambition and stronger national power.
At present, the city of Salem is both a barrier and a nail, inserted between the spheres of influence controlled by the two countries. King Asher was also very happy to see the city of Salem and the Assyrian Empire collapsing. He wanted to consolidate his business in the south of the Duk Plain, so he adopted a wait-and-see attitude and did not directly support them militarily. As for private commerce and supplies Replenishment doesn't stop either.
The outbreak of a larger-scale war between Salem City and Enlil City was initiated by Salem City, because George finally realized the seriousness of the situation. No matter how covertly Faust accumulates strength in secret, it is impossible that there are no clues. George Feitian discovered two abnormal situations during investigation.
First, the number of people crossing the Assyrian plateau has increased significantly. In the past, they were regular logistics and military supplies teams. Now there are more and more ordinary immigrants in groups. Many people froze to death or even fell to death on the small trails on the plateau. Many people managed to reach the city of Enlil. The second is that Enlil City has opened many new iron mines at the foot of the plateau. Most of these newcomers are smelting refined iron.
From this point of view, Salem City has been developing rapidly in the past two years, but the strength of Enlil City is not as conservative as imagined. If Sinakh frees up his hands to attack the Duk Plain after the conquest of the Baron Kingdom, the city of Salem will be very passive. It's time for a real decisive battle. As long as the city of Enlil is completely defeated and the trails on the Assyrian plateau are blocked, the city of Salem's position will be completely consolidated.
George also encountered a dangerous situation during his flying investigation. He was suddenly attacked by several flying shuttles over the Assyrian Plateau. When they arrived in Enlil City, the situation was very bad.
While George, Aesop and the others were discussing countermeasures, something happened to the business road in the Blackfyre Swamp. A caravan was intercepted and a large amount of supplies were destroyed in the swamp. There are only two entrances to the business road in the Black Fire Swamp, which are in the hands of the city-state of Syria and the city of Salem. It is difficult for non-excellent experts to pass through the swamp and ambush in the business road. What is going on
The "Goddess of the Swamp" Yunmeng was ordered to investigate, and it turned out that this was done by Enlil City. Some people disguised themselves as caravans and brought combat supplies into the commercial road. The city of Salem currently needs combat supplies, so it also buys weapons from the outside world. The gates of the Syrian city-state are completely allowed. But after these people entered the Black Fire Swamp, they found a suitable place halfway, left the business road and hid.
They did not attack the official logistical materials transported by the Kingdom of Hatti, but instead attacked a private caravan trading with the city of Salem, and then sneaked into the depths of the swamp to hide. Yunmeng found these people in the swamp, captured and interrogated them all, and found out that they were the spies sent by Enlil City, whose purpose was to harass the logistics supply line of Salem City.
At present, the Kingdom of Hatti has occupied the city of Budamia and opened waterways on the north and south sides of the inland lake. The business roads in the Black Fire Swamp are not as important to the expeditionary army as they were at the beginning, but for the city of Salem, they are A channel that must be secured. So Yunmeng was ordered to garrison in the Black Fire Swamp, and strengthened the military strength of each post station on the commercial road.
The accident on the commercial road made Aesop realize that he could no longer wait passively, and there was no news about God Amon, so the city of Salem had to decide how to solve the predicament. At this time, another small-scale conflict broke out between the two city-states. John led the Rangers to defeat the small force of the Giant Legion who tried to provoke a dispute.
George took advantage of the situation to expand the scale of operations and led the army of Salem to launch an attack. Today's city of Salem is much stronger than it used to be. A reorganized army of 5,000 soldiers and dozens of priests has been formed. They are usually engaged in farming and performing in turns. Gather in battle to kill them all to the front.
George's strategy is simple and practical. The first step is to harass the farms outside Enlil before the onset of winter, so that the enemy cannot obtain food supplies in place; the second step is to bypass the fortified city and cut off Assyria. The path from the plateau to the Duke Plain cuts off the support of Enlil City; the third step is to outflank along the foot of the plateau, attack those mines, and pull out the outlying strongholds; the fourth step is to besiege the isolated city of Enlil. , not a strong attack, but a siege!
The trails on the Assyrian Plateau were cut off, and the farms and mines outside the city could not be cultivated and mined normally. There was no need for a big war, and Enlil City would surrender sooner or later. It would be very expensive for George to storm the city. The giant army has powerful offensive and defensive equipment. If the giant army can be lured out of the city to fight, it is also the result that George wants to see.
In the first wave of attack, the city of Salem won. The residents of Enlil who were farming outside the city fled into the city one after another when they saw the army of Salem attacking in large numbers. George himself set up a line of defense between the two fortresses to respond, and ordered John to lead the vanguard to go around the city to attack the passage at the foot of the Assyrian plateau, and Enlil finally met.
The giant legion sent the former commander Ju Fei to lead the chariot, and started a scuffle with John's cavalry at the foot of the plateau. John won, occupied the exit of the narrow path, and ordered someone to cut down a boulder to temporarily block the road. However, at this moment, Faust led the main force of the giant army out of the city to attack George's formation.
Faust didn't ask Ju Fei to win at all, and he didn't send many troops. The purpose was to temporarily contain John. As soon as John won the victory and blocked the road on the plateau, Faust sent his long-prepared main force to the frontal battlefield. George was already on guard, but the strength of Enlil City exceeded his expectations.
As soon as Faust set up the army formation, he launched a fierce attack. The leader of the Philistine army jumped off the chariot and rushed to the front with a giant sword. In the battle formation, a round of long-range bombardment was launched before the charge, and the Salem Legion could not resist it for a while.
Fortunately, there were two battle fortresses to rely on. George commanded the army to retreat until they retreated to the rear of the two fortresses to form a triangular defensive posture. On the one hand, Faust consolidated the front line, and on the other hand, concentrated the siege troops to attack a fortress.
At this time, Raphael has been recruited by Hatti Kingdom to the Anu Legion, Link is still practicing in the Garden of Eden, and Yunmeng is sent to garrison the Black Flame Swamp. Guarding the two fortresses and presiding over the magic formation are Medanzo and Gabriel respectively. Seeing that the army formation in the plain is about to collapse, and the fortress' magic formation will not last long, George urgently ordered Gabriel to The breakout and Salem Legion converged to shrink their forces.
A fortress was finally captured, and the magic formation was also destroyed. The casualties of the two armies were not small, but the salem army suffered a greater loss. What's more terrible is that the connection between the vanguard led by John and the main force of the legion was cut off. When John realized this, he immediately led the cavalry back, trying to flank the giant army back and forth.
At this time, Faust changed his tactics again. He placed the siege troops behind the infantry formation, stabilized the defense line with catapults and crossbow formations, ordered all his strength to resist George's counterattack, and assembled the main force of the chariots to attack John back. An army is wiped out.
This battle was very miserable. John led the cavalry desperately trying to rush back but fell into heavy siege. He himself might be able to fly away at the beginning, but his duty was not to leave the troops behind. After the war started, he could no longer escape. George also launched a counter charge in an attempt to meet John to break through, but was resisted by the defensive formation of the giant army.
The battle has been disrupted in the end. George knew that the counter-attack to rescue John might not be worth the loss, but he had no way to give up. Later, the army was strangled together, and Themiphis led a cavalry to rush out a bloody road to the battlefield where John was surrounded. She didn't have to do this. It might be futile to kill the cavalry. She only hoped to attract the attention of the surrounding soldiers and create a chance for John to break through.
John watched Themiphis rushing over, her red war robe was like a cloud of fire, and then her horse was hit by an arrow, and Themiphis was surrounded by swords and all his comrades were killed. A shuttle gun pierced her chest. John uttered the last roar in his life, brandishing his great sword and rushing towards this side like crazy. Ju Fei, who pursued all the way and fought him again, was beheaded by the violent John, who finally fell less than ten feet away from Themiphis.
The truncated forward troops were completely annihilated, and the fighting power of the Giant Legion, which broke out after three years, far exceeded George's expectations. It is meaningless for George to continue to launch a counter-charge rescue response, but the two armies have formed a stalemate in strangling operations, and at this time they cannot withdraw if they want to withdraw.
After Faust wiped out John, he organized chariots to return to the battlefield and entered the battlefield from both sides of the formation. George even pushed the last reserve team onto the battlefield. Medanzuo, who was guarding another fortress, led the defenders to kill from the flank, smashing the outflanking of the left-wing chariots. The two sides fought until dark before gathering their troops. The Salem Legion suffered heavy casualties, and the battle was completely defeated.
It was only a short distance from the collapse of the entire line. If it got dark later, if Medanzuo hadn't given up the unbesieged fortress in time and led the last fresh force to reinforce from the flanks, the Salem Legion would have been buried here. After gathering the remnants, both sides had a short rest. One fort was destroyed, but the other was not lost. George still placed the battle here, and the whole army was shrouded in a tragic mood.
The fate-determining battle finally came. Goddess Mu Yun issued an oracle, Aesop led the people behind to hold a grand sacrifice ceremony, and the soldiers in front also prayed and called to God Amon on the battlefield. The majestic figure of God Amon appeared in the air shining with golden light, and the encouragement that the Salem Legion received from despair for a moment was indescribable!
But then everyone let out an exclamation, because the battle formation of the giant army spread out, and a stone platform appeared. In front of the stone platform stood Faust holding his staff high. In the center of the stone platform, a woman shot an earth-shattering shot. an arrow.
The black crossbow arrow was aimed at God Amon with invincible power. For a moment, there was only the whistling sound of the giant arrow piercing the sky, and no other sounds could be heard!