A giant drum made of stretched yak hide, a fire lit on a rhinoceros skull.
Prince Arthur led a group of cronies dressed in black, led by two Ule warriors, to the golden tent on the grassland.
The personal guards of the generals lined up on both sides, all holding iron cavalry guns, expressionless and fierce. The Ule people are known for their bravery and toughness. They are almost a head taller and stronger than the people on the western mainland. Under the firelight, their bright copper-colored skin glows with a layer of brilliance. Compared with them, Prince Arthur and his group looked extremely thin, not to mention Arthur who was already a little taller and thinner than ordinary people.
His Royal Highness the Prince with blonde hair and blue eyes walked unhurriedly with a calm expression.
The group of people just stepped into the big tent and before they sat down, they saw a man with loose braids and blood stains struggling to get up from the ground.
"Go away!"
The man exploded with unprecedented strength in an instant, jumped up like a leopard, knocked away the warriors who were holding his shoulders, and rushed towards Prince Arthur who had just made money, trying to hijack them as hostages.
Adult Ule men living on the prairie did not use firearms to win hunting like the Roland and Roots, but retained the habit of close combat in the cold weapon era. The moment the Ule prisoner rushed over, the sound of the wind was mixed with the smell of blood. The muscles of Prince Arthur's entourage in black tensed instantly, and he subconsciously reached out to pull out the gun from his waist. He didn't remember that when he met Maharaja Ule and the generals, their weapons were temporarily loaded. handed in.
Boom—
The kneecaps hit the ground heavily, and the prisoners in the big tent were held down by the shoulders by two dark-skinned assassins who acted like ghosts.
An assassin with a longbow slung the bowstring around the prisoner's neck. Accompanied by the creaking sound of the bow string being tightened and rubbing against the muscles and bones, the prisoner's eyes bulged out like goldfish, and his face quickly turned into a terrible color.
The entourage following Prince Arthur realized what they had seen.
It was rumored that the Maharaja of Ule had a group of assassins under him. When a high-ranking general in Ule's military was unanimously considered by the elders to have committed the crime of collaborating with the enemy, the dark assassin would carry a bowstring and strangle him to death. Originally, this was a silent execution, but now it was deliberately arranged at the moment when Prince Arthur and his party arrived.
A bad showdown.
The prisoner's body slowly fell to the ground, and the lights of knives and fire in the big tent reflected each other, and all the people present were expressionless.
The atmosphere was tense like a string that was about to break, and someone applauded at this moment.
"Wonderful."
Prince Arthur smiled, and clapped his pale and slender hands unhurriedly, the ruby on his fingers gleamed in the firelight.
"The Maharaja's assassin is so good that it is enviable."
After he walked into the big tent, countless eyes had already fallen on him, observing any changes on his face. At this time, the back of the person who observed him felt like a poisonous snake had crawled over him, and a cold chill rose up. The prisoner who was executed was the general who had facilitated this cooperation before and was the most supportive of the alliance with Prince Arthur within Ure. The frightening thing is that from the beginning to the end, there was no trace of surprise on Prince Arthur's face, let alone surprise and fear.
The ruler of Xiul at the head of the golden tent, Maharaja Katur slowly raised the horn cup to him: "We all know the purpose of His Royal Highness's visit. Originally, we wanted to send General Suman to lead troops to cooperate with you. However, You've seen..."
The horn cup gestured towards the corpse on the ground.
"he died."
"It is indeed unfortunate news," said Prince Arthur without changing his smile. "Just as St. Telefus II reconvened the Knights of the Hospitaller, the red and white intertwined banners have been raised again, and they carry muskets and cannons. —I think you all realized their power again not long ago."
He stepped over the corpse on the ground, and sat down on the guest seat without the host's invitation.
Almost as soon as he sat down, all the Ule generals in the tent drew their swords at the same time, and the black-clothed attendants raised their hands, and all the sleeve arrows that somehow escaped the search were all aimed at the head of the Ule Maharaja.
The wine fell into the bronze cup, and the sound was like a cold stone.
Prince Arthur sat on his knees, elbows on his lap, pouring himself wine like a prairie man. The feminine appearance that made them subconsciously contempt, at this time reveals an extremely dangerous strangeness - the person who came here was not a knight who was stubbornly prepared, not a timid coward, but a lunatic who didn't know what was going on in his heart. He looked up with a smile and raised his glass to everyone:
"My dear allies, won't you take back your holy land?"
…………………
The Pope's fleet was assembled under the organization of the Knights Hospitaller, and at some point, a tense and weird atmosphere spread from the Sea of Heaven to the Red Sea. The eyes of the new pope, St. Trefus II, sometimes fall on the middle of the sea of heaven, sometimes on the side of the Red Sea, and occasionally cast their eyes on the farther pagan realm for a while.
As Emperor Orsis of Root said, the Pope's position is ambiguous.
He assembled the fleet without declaring which side he would join. This gave some hope to King John VI of Jager, whose spies and spies were more active than ever in the papacy.
Bel Ryde City.
"First attack target—"
The two young rulers made up their minds with the generals they each brought with them.
"Senglei Island."
This time they joined forces to fight against Yager, and Roland and Root chose to take the initiative to attack the Kingdom of Yager. Before joint operations, the most important thing is to finalize the first and most critical combat objective of the war. There are too many interests that the allies need to worry about in combat. The selection of the target took three days of fierce disputes before reaching a consensus.
Sengley Island.
It is the farthest colonial island and military base of the Yager Kingdom.
Senglai Island has an extremely important strategic position, and almost everyone who trades on the sea route of the kingdom of heaven cannot ignore it. It is located in the most loyal area of the Sea of Heaven Strait, and originally belonged to the Roland Empire. After Roland lost the sea war more than ten years ago, he was taken away by the Yager Kingdom. "Whoever controls Sengley Island controls the sea of heaven." As early as two hundred years ago, the famous admiral Barbaredin left this famous saying.
During the war, Senglei Island can become the rear base camp of the Yager Expeditionary Fleet, and can defend the transportation and supplies of the Yager Fleet. In peacetime, the Yager fleet stationed on Senglei Island handles the largest and most complex slave trade and illegal transactions in the entire sea area of the Kingdom of Heaven. The fleet backed by the military castle on the island is also engaged in pirate activities, hunting Merchant ships on the vast sea.
If the Rose Strait is the throat connecting the Red Sea and the Sea of Heaven, then Senglai Island is the heart of the Sea of Heaven.
"Bless the gods."
After the order was signed by Queen Roland and Emperor Root, everyone in the room stood up.
When the generals chanted "Blessings of the Gods", they looked solemn and serious.
Being able to be led by two kings, the generals who participated in the strategic meeting would naturally not be fools. However, the more experienced admirals are, the more they understand the risks of naval battles, and the more they hope to be blessed by God's will.
The risks of naval warfare are far greater than those of land warfare.
Most of the time, in the confrontation between two hostile countries, the two sides are often looking for each other between the bays, hunting for the enemy's tracks like hounds, and raids and looting are the norm. Large-scale battles will be avoided by both sides as much as possible. There are too many factors that affect wars: changes in ocean currents, short combat seasons, and logistical accidents... Any small and slight disadvantage may turn the outcome upside down in an instant .
The slightest change in wind direction can overwhelm a fleet. [1]
Opposite to the unpredictability of the outcome of the war is the catastrophic impact once the war is defeated.
The most typical and recent example is the war between the Roland Empire and the Yager Kingdom more than ten years ago.
The annihilation of the fleet buried the glory of the Roland Empire ruling the two seas, and dragged Roland into the abyss of decline and civil war. And stepping on its flesh and blood, the Yager Kingdom became the new overlord of the Sea of Heaven, and could even force Edmund III to marry his daughter to him.
The two extremes have long weighed heavily, stacked upon all those involved in a large naval campaign.
—Pray to God! For our life, death and glory depend on His mercy!
"The gods bless us."
Queen Adele stood up straight and looked around at everyone.
Today her silver hair is not tied up in a bun or draped over her shoulders, but simply tied behind her head. The riding clothes that are not much different from those of men blurred her gender, revealing a neutral and compelling beauty.
This sentence is said by her, which is far more convincing than Orsis - the reputation of "God Save the Queen" is well known in the world, and the trial last August was recognized by Pope St. trace".
When she spoke, her voice was deep and powerful, like an oracle.
Even the dignified expressions of the generals of the Root Empire faded a bit among the people present.
The generals exited the conference room, preparing for the departure of the two monarchs from Belle Ride City and the ensuing combat missions.
When a general of the Root Empire left the meeting room and stood outside in the sunlight, he couldn't help wiping the cold sweat from his forehead with his hand. He looked back at the castle that was temporarily used as the palace of the two kings, with complicated emotions: "It's hard to believe."
Someone who knew him came up and patted him on the shoulder.
At the beginning of the meeting, the generals of the Root Empire were surprised and angry when they saw Queen Roland sitting in the conference room, and almost turned the table away—what a joke, war is not a field that women can touch. However, for three days, they had to go all out to deal with every possible hypothesis from Queen Roland, and concentrate on solving every harsh and sharp question she raised.
They simply can't devote their energy to the "sides and ends" of gender.
"After all, it is blessed by God."
Friends comfort him.
…………………
"Gods bless..." Orsis read it again, shook his head, and looked at Adele who was standing in front of the sand table, "Aren't you worried that you will die without a place to die?"
In this war, the call of Roland's army and the preparations for the war erupted with terrifying power at the Queen's call. The Root Empire fought against the Yager Kingdom out of interest, while Roland combined ambition and revenge. The difference in the will of the two countries to participate in the war made Root retreat a little when drawing up the battle plan.
After all, the Root Empire only wanted to balance the situation, but Roland was fighting to the death.
Orsis could see clearly that Roland's strength is actually not strong. If Adele didn't use her God-blessed "sacred relic" as a call to twist Roland's power together after decades, she would bet against her If they fight against each other, then Roland will have no future. Jager will not allow Roland to plot slowly and recover slowly, neither will the Pope, Uller, or Root.
The Roland Empire with Rose Strait is coveted by everyone.
It's a wolf with a scarred head, and it's either fighting or dying.
But if the last stand fails, Adele, who is now known as the "King of God's Blessing", will be thrown into hell immediately. She will lose her halo and glory. As much as the people of Roland love her now, they will hate her as much as they do then. At that time, even the guillotine will become an extravagant hope, and she will be doomed, and there will be no place to bury her.
If he were Roland's monarch, Orsis didn't know if he could take such risks and heavy responsibilities so calmly.
"Death without a place to die?"
The silver-haired queen looked at the mountains outside the window, as if the trial, the wings of the crows, and the expected crimes flashed before her eyes.
After a long time, she smiled lightly.
"I am Roland's Queen."
Outside the door, Dalton leaned against the wall, eyes downcast. His face was expressionless, as if cast into a silent statue by the shadows of the corridor.
Roland's...
Queen.