Pirates with weapons lined up on the roadside. They were not Sealand troops, but surrender troops from Uppland. A moment ago, they were all tied up and cursing Ella and Alfred, but now they all looked at Ella and Alfred walking between them with hearty smiles.
Ella became more and more surprised as she watched, and couldn't help but ask Alfred: "What on earth did you say to them?"
"Although these pirates of the northern tribes are brave, they are definitely not loyal. They are more taboo about surrender and escape than we are. If someone insults their character and reputation, they will fight to the death in a real sense - but in order and confrontation Their concept of obedience to their lords is very weak. Grasping this, respecting their honor, and grasping the issues at stake that are most important to them can persuade them to turn against Ragnar. That's all I have It’s just a small amount of control over people’s hearts.”
"What is the issue of greatest concern?"
"To most of the common soldiers, it was land. I promised them a piece of land in England for them and their people to live in. I saw from Halfdan's settlement in Scotland that the nation had no nostalgia for them. The barren homeland is seeking to establish a foothold in a richer land. They cannot resist such a temptation."
"You gave them land?"
"As long as Beihai can be pacified, what's wrong with it? Besides, I didn't lose my land. This warlike nation settled on my land and became my subjects. On the contrary, it can provide me with excellent sources of troops."
Ella looked like she was about to faint: "I seem to understand, but I also don't seem to understand. It feels as difficult as learning magic!"
But Amy, who was following behind, listened very enthusiastically: "King of Knights! Can you say it again? Let me take a note!"
In desperation, Alfred had no choice but to say it again. But Amy's recorded hand speed couldn't keep up, so he had to say it a third or fourth time. And Amy often made requests for him to be more specific. By the time Amy closed the parchment with satisfaction, Alfred's voice was almost speechless.
Several decapitated bodies lay on the ground. Those are people who are unwilling to cooperate with Alfred. But that was not Alfred's order, but a spontaneous operation by Upland's surrender troops - they were already thinking about killing the hero king who had returned from a disastrous defeat, establishing a great cause, and then settling in the wealthy England. .
"In short, as long as the situation remains unchanged, these people can be trusted." Alfred ended the topic. He was eager to take the next step. Although the current situation was excellent, he still believed that he should not waste time and complete the preparations as soon as possible.
"Purple Robe, your two thousand men have a higher land combat capability than my navy, so it's best for you to ambush outside the city. How about I stay in Upland and carry out the plan to murder Ragnar?" "
Ella shook her head: "No, Alfred, it's just street fighting. If it's outside the city, I don't have confidence in my ability to form troops, so it's better for you to ambush..."
Before Ella could finish her words, Mellie shouted from the side: "King! She wants to occupy Upland on your behalf! Don't believe the lies of this scheming woman!"
However, the second half of Ella's sentence was: "...As for Upland, we should not arrange too many of our manpower. I am very worried about this group of people under my command, so I give these people to you, and you can command them." !”
Ella's words were not without reason. As for Sealand's group of pirates, if they stay in the city, who knows if they will see Ragnar coming from a distance and just pass by with a throwing axe. Moreover, their relationship with the pirates of Upland does not seem to be very good. If there is a conflict, things will become very troublesome.
But what she said clearly surprised Alfred: "You want to hand over your troops to my command?"
"...You shouldn't be able to command these few troops, right?"
"No...that's not the problem."
Alfred took out his handkerchief and wiped his sweat, then whispered: "Purple robe...I probably understand why you were snatched here by pirates."
"Huh? What did you just say?"
"No, I didn't say anything... But since you want to hand over your troops to my command, then I will also hand over part of my troops to you. There are many excellent archers among them, and they should be able to use them. Nice effect.”
Ragnar is the supreme lord of Scandinavia. It is said that his strength and wisdom are far superior to Bjorn, Sigurd, Halfdan and Ivar, and he is even called "The Undefeated". Ella almost suffered a big loss from Ivar. This time she had to face Ragnar, so she was extremely cautious when making plans.
After some discussions with Alfred and Amy, the final battle plan is as follows:
When Ragnar was defeated and fled to Upland, he and his remnants were collected first, and then he assassinated Ragnar at the banquet. If the assassination fails, set fire to Upland, take advantage of the chaos to attack Ragnar and his troops, and leave a gate open for Ragnar to escape. As soon as the troops outside the city saw Upland on fire, they were ready to ambush Ragnar.
In addition, there is a preliminary plan: if the assassination of Ragnar and the fire attack fail, it will be blamed on the rebellion of some troops and let them withdraw from the city first, inducing Ragnar to send troops to pursue. If Ragnar personally leads the troops to chase him out, he will be ambushed by Alfred. And if Ragnar sends people to chase him out and he still stays in Upland, the remaining men in Upland will take advantage of Ragnar to relax and assassinate Ragnar again.
For the sake of combat strength, Mellie was left in Upland to ensure that Ragnar could be subdued.
After making this arrangement, Alfred took Ella's men and went out of the city to make preparations.
Ella stood on the city wall and watched Alfred leading the troops out of the city. Beside her stood Alfred's archers, and a knight who Alfred had left behind to assist Ella in commanding them. Until the time comes, these people will remain hidden on the city walls until the order is given, and they will shoot arrows from the high walls into the unprotected city of Upland, killing Ragnar's remnants.
"Such a plan should be foolproof."
Ella is confident.
Unexpectedly, the next moment, Amy rushed up to the city wall in panic: "Your Majesty! It's not good! Mellie ran out of the city to chase Alfred! I wanted to stop him, but she still had her in my hand. Take a bite!”
——Upland City instantly lost a combat force capable of suppressing Ragna.
"Gu? It shouldn't be a big problem. It's just Ragnar. By the way, isn't there an elf-level figure in Upland City?"
The man named Rurik came to Ella with a smile while carrying his sledgehammer.
"Shield Girl, right? I've heard of you! When are we going to kill Ragnar? He is the strongest man in the world! My sledgehammer is already thirsty! As long as I kill him, I will become famous all over the world!"
"It's at the banquet, after Ragnar gets drunk..."
"Drinking? Great, I like drinking the most! Okay, let's have a good drink first, and then go kill Ragna!"
"No...let Ragna drink it, we won't drink it."
"Why!"
Ella felt a little headache and turned to ask Amy for her opinion: "Amy...should we poison the wine instead?"
Rurik's eyes widened: "Poison? Absolutely not! The only thing that can determine a soldier's life or death is an upright battle! If the Shield Girl wants to do such a disgusting thing, ask me for my hammer first!"
Ella covered her face and slowly squatted on the ground:
"I should switch places with Alfred..."
