"Absurd! Ridiculous! Ridiculous!" With a square face, a goatee, bronze skin, and a height of 1.88 meters and a weight of more than 100 kilograms, the Avenella general slapped the table several times with wide eyes.
Light came in from a nearby window. The wooden table, which was obviously a temporary move, was placed on top of the carpet and filled with various small squares indicating what they represented in Avenela language.
"Click--" The general slapped it hard, causing several pieces of wood on the table to fall to the ground. The servants on the side quickly came over and picked them up again. Footsteps sounded, and Edward and his party walked in.
"Don't be so excited, Charles, what happened." The prince and the general were obviously old acquaintances, he said, and everyone in the room bowed deeply to Edward.
"We have different opinions, Your Highness." Charles said in a rich voice, and Edward glanced back at Henry, nodded, and then said to Charles.
"I'm a little late, could I trouble one of you to explain the situation." He said, and all the officers turned their attention to Henry and Mira behind them.
As a prince, Edward's understanding of the whole matter was no less than any of them. He spoke this sentence at this moment obviously to explain to the newly brought people - he had no intention of introducing these two people, so the officers understood each other. I didn't ask, but to be honest, few people took it seriously if a mercenary who looked very vulgar and had a slave Luoan girl with him had any opinions.
But they did need some breathing time, Charles nodded, and then began to narrate.
"One day ago, when our scouts were on routine patrol, they found smoke from cooking in the forest northeast of Wawasika. The scouts who thought it was an adventurer who wanted to go there to ask for hot soup accidentally discovered This is a large-scale Sivalier military camp." Charles pointed to the small wooden blocks marked on the simple sand table, and then continued.
"After sending personnel to rush back to Wawasika to report the news, we organized several small-scale covert reconnaissances. We can roughly estimate that the number of Wawasika's troops is between 20,000 and 23,000. ——And this is just heavy cavalry." He drew a circle on the sand table with his finger: "There are probably some coordinated troops lurking on the side of the Protasia Forest, but with Sivalier's strategic thinking, These infantrymen will not exceed 5,000, so there is nothing to worry about."
"Their target is obviously the city of Assinil, which is the economic center of Avenella, and from the information we know, it seems that they are also in the dark. Therefore, we dispatched several teams after that. A team disguised as traveling merchants tried to warn Ashenil. They brought the raven with them and stipulated that they would contact each other every few hours, but they have not received a reply all day today." Charles said: "We just It can be assumed that the Siwaliya cordoned off the area and massacred or arrested anyone who came near, which meant we were cut off from the outside world."
"The news brought by Sir Cleveland today further proves all this." Charles mentioned Bernie's name, but Henry looked around and didn't realize he was here.
"So the only one who can intercept the Sivaliya offensive is Vavasika." The strong general suddenly let out a long sigh, as if he had no strength: "And this is exactly the problem... "
"Wawasika's heavy infantry and heavy cavalry work in shifts during non-war times. This time they are rotating between His Royal Highness the Grand Prince's First Royal Guards Infantry Regiment and Duke Edwin's Golden Maple Leaf Legion." Charles glanced He turned to a silent knight next to him. The golden maple leaf logo painted on his robe was very conspicuous, but he just held his arms silently at this time.
"Because of the autumn harvest, many sergeants and knights have returned to their hometowns to help harvest grains, so the call-up order was not conveyed in a very timely manner. Without enough heavy cavalry, Wawasika's military strength can only barely protect itself." Charles said with a heavy look on his face. The expression is obvious: "How can a total of only 3,000 heavy cavalry resist Sivalier's 20,000 cavalry..."
Everyone fell into silence. Edward stepped forward and spoke at the right time: "Everyone knows how difficult the situation is, but it is at this time that we must unite as one."
"Ashenil can only count on us now." Edward looked back at Henry. The sage quietly thought about the newly obtained information. Others also followed the prince's eyes. To be honest, they were already at the end of the rope. He has a lot of brain power, so everyone is expecting him to say something useful.
But Henry disappointed them as soon as he opened his mouth.
"What about the city defense army? Wavasika is a fortress. Even if mobile units such as heavy cavalry that actively attack can be rotated, the city defense army will always be full, right?" He said this, and several officers finally ignored this person. Was it brought by the prince that completely showed their distrust.
"Oh my god, listen to what this person is saying, why did they let this reckless man come here!" A knight of Avenella said in a harsh tone. Edward's eyes became a little unkind, but his face The smile on his face did not fade away.
"This is where we have a dispute, Your Highness." Charles helplessly looked at the knight officers behind him who started to howl like ghosts, and then continued.
"The city defense army is all archers recruited from the civilian population, and its long-range strike capability is very effective when it takes advantage of the terrain. However, the Sivalier army is mainly heavy cavalry, and the Ecasta plain is endless and there is no cover. Considering the ability of plate armor to withstand arrows, sending archers to intercept in such a situation is obviously suicidal." Charles said this, and the knight of the Golden Maple Leaf Legion crossed his arms and walked away at this time. Come over.
"The only way to deal with the heavy cavalry is another heavy cavalry. The knights of Sivalier are famous all over the world. Even if they have the same number of heavy cavalry from Avenella, they may not be able to defeat them." The Golden Maple Leaf Knight 1 He spoke with words that enhanced others' prestige, which made most people, including Charles and Edward, frown, and he continued: "What we can do is to make those heavy infantry and archers useless. it's here."
His finger pointed at a place marked with hills, which was exactly where Henry and his caravan were attacked. It was not far from Fort Ellen, but it was still a certain distance away.
"Let them attract the attention of the Sivalier people, and then the heavy cavalry as the real main force will go through the forest to harass Inznir and force them to return to defense." The Golden Maple Leaf Knight said confidently: "Sivali The combat effectiveness of the Ye Knights is very high, and it is impossible to win against us in a head-on confrontation. But Inznir is their important logistical support, and food for tens of thousands of troops is a huge problem. Sivalier dares to attack in addition to being alone. In addition to the most powerful heavy cavalry in the world, behind us is the Inznir Province, the kingdom's granary, so if we only need to attack there, they will definitely return to defend."
As he spoke, his seemingly well-founded analysis made several officers beside him nod. On the contrary, as the city defense commander, Charles held his forehead.
"This is where our opinions differ." The tall officer said with a headache: "I don't think that as long as they attack the Inznil Province, they will immediately return to defense, considering the delay in conveying information on the battlefield and the During the rush, if Sir Alva’s suggestion is followed, by the time the heavy cavalry begins to invade Inznil, Sivalier’s army may have already rushed to Asnil’s feet.”
"And in this case, after the Sivalier people learn the news of the attack, will they choose to return to defense or directly attack Ashenil according to the original strategy... I really don't think so." Charles said in a helpless but serious tone. : "I don't want to gamble with the fate of a city-state on the enemy's commander's choice."
He said this, and Edward nodded: "Yes, I don't agree with this plan either."
His Royal Highness the Prince spoke, and naturally the others no longer had any opinions. Except for Alva, the knight of the golden maple leaf, who glanced deeply at Edward, no one else made any statement. Charles waved behind him, and a servant came over with fine sand and sprinkled it on the wooden table.
The skillful servant dipped some water into the fine sand and made it into a lifelike terrain, restoring the sand table that had been scattered by Charles' slap. The first floor of the City Lord's Mansion fell into silence again.
Henry thought quietly, Mira stood next to him without making any sound.
If we only talk about the number of people, Avenella actually has the advantage.
This is also the reason why Bernie and the others decided to go to Wawasika, because it is a fortress city with many more troops stationed in it than in commercial cities like Bashnier - but Bernie also Unexpectedly, the main force that had been replaced due to a series of errors had not yet arrived.
The Sivaliers may have chosen this time to launch the attack because of this intelligence.
Avenella has not encountered foreign enemies for many years because of its friendship with Silvalier, the strongest country on the west coast, and its own complexity. This is both a good thing and a bad thing, because the paralyzed thoughts brought about by peace have led to the knights as the main force. Both the soldier and the sergeant seemed relaxed. And a large part of them are pro-Sivalier, thinking that the Sivalriers are invincible - Henry glanced at Sir Alva who was once again standing alone with his hands folded.
In contrast, Sivalier's reputation as the strongest west coast was not gained through peace. In addition to Avenella, it borders two other kingdoms, and there have been constant battles with them for many years. endlessly.
Sivalier's name as a knight came from charging. It is not an exaggeration to say that the combat effectiveness of such a long-lasting division is difficult to match by the same number of cavalry from other countries.
But is there really nothing we can do now?
Henry took a step forward.
Not really.
The silence only lasted for a moment. At this moment, the officers and nobles in the conference room were noisy again. Almost everyone had their own ideas, many of which conflicted with other people's plans - but they all reached an agreement. consensus.
That is, Sivalier's army cannot fight head-on with its current strength.
The feasible plans proposed by the nobles were either to attack Inznil and force the opponent to return to defense, or to support Asnil in his efforts to defend the city and wait for the arrival of Ravenella's reinforcements.
No one thought they could defeat Sivalier's army head-on. And even if it is such a "roundabout" plan, they don't think it will succeed.
But no one could come up with any new methods.
Henry took another step forward.
Except for this man who bears the name of a sage.
"here."
Henry pointed at the hillock, an empty undulation without much cover. On the left is a plain, and on the other side, if the sand table is big enough, it will tell you that it is the endless Morbigas inland sea.
"What are you talking about? You, a country bumpkin who doesn't understand anything, want to--" the Knight of Avenella who spoke before said again, but the second half of his words was forced to be swallowed by Edward's cold eyes. , and then retreated angrily to the corner behind him.
"Sir, please speak." The prince's respectful words made everyone else, including Charles and Alva, stunned for a moment. They looked at Henry's expression and became cautious - the eldest prince of Avenella is among the nobles of the kingdom. The circle is recognized as an excellent heir, and Edward has shown such an attitude. This person may not be as simple as he seems.
"Avenella's army has two advantages in this war." Henry raised a finger: "The first is the geographical location. The Sivalliers are outsiders, and they are not familiar with the terrain. The combat effectiveness here will be reduced to a considerable extent."
As he said this, everyone around him nodded in response. Only the knight in the back corner muttered: "Nonsense."
No one paid attention to him, and Henry then raised a second finger: "And the second advantage is the advantage in military strength."
His words caused several nobles to immediately start a commotion again. Several people, led by the Knight of Alva, even wanted to ridicule and refute Henry on the spot, but the sage's next words stopped them again.
"Avenella has a total of thirty-nine thousand archers, five thousand hoplites, and three thousand heavy cavalry," he said.
"This number does not give the Westvaliers an absolute advantage simply by looking at it, but when it is combined with the first advantage, we have a solid chance to win." Henry said, while behind him The Knight of Avenella, who seemed to be addicted to finding trouble, used his nostrils to make a sound again.
"Huh? What can we use to ensure victory? A longbow that cannot penetrate plate armor?" His harsh tone made several people look dissatisfied, but what the knight said was indeed reasonable.
But this didn't trouble Henry. The black-haired sage smiled slightly and then said.
"Our goal is not the Cavaliers themselves."
The implicit meaning in the simple and clear words made everyone who understood it brighten their eyes. Both Edward and Charles looked at Henry, and at this time, the sage reached out and touched the hill again.
"And like I said before, we have the advantage of a good location."
"The Sivalier people protected by the Inznil Strait."
"I don't know anything about the wind in Ecasta."
