As the Second (Field) Corps, which was the first to complete its replenishment and preparations, continued to march toward the southeast; the last province in the southeast adjacent to the Principality of Savoin, the Lower Alps Province/Frontier Region, including the provincial capital Nice Most of the areas have also fallen under the control of their own army.
But when they entered Auron, the last county in the Alpine Province, and the adjacent Fortress of Ilasso, something unexpected happened. The Alemannic Mountain Regiment, one of the local special garrison regiments, attacked a small team that went to negotiate and hung all their corpses on trees;
This Basin Alps/Frontier garrison, which refused to surrender and fought to the end, was stationed at the mountain pass fortress near the mountains. And secretly asked for reinforcements from the Principality of Savoy on the other side of the mountain; the reason was that the Free Army was liquidating the Royalists/White Legion.
Lieutenant Yossel, the leader of the militia, was the illegitimate son of Count Angkian who was forced to commit suicide. In order to take revenge and fight against the Free Legion, he even purged the compromisers and vacillating members of the mountain regiment, and detained other people's relatives and families in the city as hostages.
Then, they robbed and plundered Oulong City, and transported a large amount of food supplies to the Yilasuo Fortress located on the side of the mountain ridge. Relying on the condescending, dangerous and narrow terrain, they repeatedly repelled the Second Corps that tried to attack from behind in Oulong City along the winding mountain road, causing two to three hundred casualties.
This is mainly because the road that climbs the Alps is so narrow and dangerous that only half a company of troops can be sent up each time to form an attack surface; and it is difficult for cannons and other firearms to be pushed up and form a firing angle of sufficient elevation. boundary; instead it becomes a blockage on the road.
At the same time, the second, fourth, and fifth companies of the Alemannic Mountain Regiment gathered in the fortress; together with the remnants of the royalists who fled to seek refuge, and other places suppressed and wiped out by the Free Army The armed remnants almost amounted to a guard strength of more than a thousand people;
And after they withdrew from the small town of Oulong, they also took at least the same number of strong men with them to serve as their laborers and helpers. Fortunately, not everyone was determined to fight to the end. People from the 1st and 3rd companies who had their company commander killed and disarmed continued to escape.
It also brought the situation and basic layout of the relevant fortresses to the Free Army. This is a semi-circular city fortress that was renovated and expanded from the old mountain camp site left behind during the classical Roman conquest of Gaul. Therefore, it has not been in disrepair at all despite its age. Instead, it is built with stones and is very solid.
There are usually more than two companies of guards stationed there; but under the coercion of Lieutenant Yossel, the commander of the militia, the city is now filled with at least 3,000 people, and there are enough supplies for everyone to use for more than half a year; and The ramp at the top level is jam-packed with obstacles.
Therefore, when Jiang Tian looked at the city fort, which was almost integrated with the black mountain top and only had a small protruding part; Duval, the deputy captain of the cavalry regiment, who was standing next to him and was fully dressed like an iron can, but He scratched his head with a troubled expression and muttered:
"Is this the target you need us to attack? To be honest, it is still a bit difficult to attack forcefully. Because there is no cover on the mountain road, our plate armor can resist most of the arrows, but it does not No stones or logs from the mountains;"
"Once we launch a forceful attack, we can only charge upward with all our strength, regardless of casualties; especially the top section is sparse with trees and full of obstacles. If we let our bloodline power explode with all our strength, we may be able to use shields to cover some people and rush to the fortress. Down."
"But next, if we don't have enough attack equipment, it will be difficult for us to open the fortress gate that is blocked from the inside. Instead, we will be trapped in the blind corner under the city wall by thrown stones and wood; then... "
"Actually, it doesn't matter." After listening to him ramble on for a long time, Jiang Tian slowly said: "I will never give you a desperate mission that you can't complete; let alone waste the valuable inheritance knights. On this meaningless sacrifice..."
Bidige
After all, in order to raise these captured heritage knights and restore them to the point where they are useful, a lot of expensive ingredients, medicines, and special ointments are consumed; and in order to raise these heritage knights, they can be used to inspire future generations. A special material inherited from the Chinese bloodline.
The Toulon Navy, which has just restored some of its operational capabilities, has already pulled anchor and headed to the edge of the Mediterranean Sea to try to hunt some large marine creatures. Although only the brain and internal organs need to be extracted, the remaining by-products such as skin, flesh, oil, and bones are also of great use.
For example, the daily food intake of a heritage knight who has awakened his bloodline is several times that of a normal human being; and once the ability is used, the amount of food consumed increases dramatically. The most efficient foods to supplement energy and nutrition are whale meat and whale oil.
On the other hand, in order to maximize the probability of bloodline inheritance and the number of heirs, these inheritance knights often have multiple lovers, or simply do not marry; instead, they seize every opportunity to give birth to their own offspring; and then conduct tests before they are close. , bringing potential children back to the family.
Not to mention one or several sets of tailor-made armors and a variety of weapons; horses specially selected to match their belly; several or a dozen knights as vassals. Therefore, a large amount of income and input are also needed to ensure these daily expenses.
Therefore, after awakening, these inherited knights will become vassals of some wealthy high-ranking nobles through the introduction and recommendation of their connections, in order to sponsor subsequent training and cultivation. However, the kingdom continued to be in turmoil, which further caused the family lineage to gradually decline and disappear;
Therefore, as their provider, the Free Army, in addition to a salary of 80-100 ECU per person per month and a wartime allowance based on the number of sorties, also consumes food and medicine of the same value, which is not included in the amount given to them. The cost of re-equipping the steed and crafting armor and weapons.
In fact, due to the loss of most of their mounts, most of them are still in the status of mounted infantry using pack horses. Therefore, as the appointed team leader and representative, Duval also attaches great importance to this first performance opportunity, which may determine their treatment and prospects.
He licked his lips and took the initiative to speak: "Actually, sir, I think we can give it a try. We just change the battle to a relatively dark night. Even if there is a lack of lighting, our eyesight is still better than most people. Farther away; it can also minimize some losses."
"No need, I have my own arrangements." Jiang Tian shook his head with a smile and said: "You should have a good rest first, prepare your equipment and maintain your condition; wait for my orders. The merchant alliance in Marseille Port has already sent what you need. For most of the materials and medicines, let’s wait for the opportunity.”
Then the next day, Duvall understood what it meant to bide his time. Because he couldn't sleep all night, he got up early to exercise, but he heard the roar of sporadic cannon test firings; then it became intensive and continuous, as if he had encountered a real battle.
Soon after, the heritage knights who got up to prepare for battle and looked at the mountain were stunned to see a strange scene; the winding mountain road that had been cleared of trees and had no obstructions suddenly became smooth at the turning point, and there were many Take out the artillery forts piled up with earth bags and rattan baskets.
Amidst the roaring sounds, some heavy projectiles fired by the nearby artillery forts were getting closer and closer to the edge of the city. They also made their men and horses run around and shout, neighing and shouting, and began to drop large and small stones. and truncated tree stumps, however, deviated and failed.
Because the obstacles previously placed on the mountain road have become the culprits that affect the direction of the fall. Only a handful of smaller rocks rolled and accidentally hit the fort; but they were not able to knock down or overturn the fort made of earth bags and rattan baskets; they only shocked the gunners behind them.
Seeing that the artillery hits were becoming more and more concentrated, Duval, who was watching the battle, also heard the continuous sound of bugles. His face changed involuntarily, and his muscles all tensed up. He suddenly turned around and shouted: "Pick up your shields and weapons. Check the armor, it's our turn to go into battle...".
A moment later, a ball fired at an elevated angle was seen hitting a corner of the stone fortress; a gap opened up between the splashing earth and rocks, and at the same time, an obvious human body fell down. This seemed to be some kind of signal, and the plate-armored knights gathered on the gentle mountainside also moved.
For a moment, hundreds of knights in blue robes and silver plate armor rushed upstream like scattered mercury pouring down the ground. They were in small groups holding shields to protect each other, and quickly crossed the winding mountain road; the sound of tsunami roared in the mountains again. , showing great power and clearing the obstacles in the last section of the road.
Encouraged by them, the Free Army soldiers who followed were like blue waves and currents, quickly filling every corner of the winding mountain road; holding their flags high, they gradually crossed every corner. The artillery base that stopped firing rushed towards the mountain fortress.
At this time, the city fortress that was disrupted by the bombardment was able to react and hurriedly began to throw rocks and fire arrows; but there was no way to stop their advancing momentum. In the blink of an eye, these heritage knights rushed under the fortress and began to fight on their own.
Some people clung to the wall, shooting with their crossbows, and exposed the defenders; some stepped on and clung to the concave and convex corners of the wall, and began to try to climb up; others rushed to the gate of the fortress. Inside; dig out a shallow pit three times, five times and two times, and put down a wooden barrel.
Then in the slight smoke after the fuse was lit, he held his head and ears and stepped aside; after waiting for a moment, he suddenly heard a loud noise, and a large amount of earth, rocks and wooden board fragments splashed out from the gate of the city; it was also shaken. More than ten people who leaned out of the city fell down.
Then, where the gate originally stood, only the upper half of the remaining door panel and the bottom of the shattered gate were exposed, which exposed the defenders lying on the ground and groaning; at this moment, they were no longer there. The ability blocked the follow-up attacks of these knights.
So; after the clamor that lasted for most of the day in the city, all the buildings and commanding heights also raised the Smiling Golden Sun flag of the Free Army one after another; and there were only a few inheritance knights, so their bloodline abilities were activated , and the number of injured is very few in single digits.
In the end, Duval, whose whole body was stained with plasma and minced meat, proudly carried a prisoner, Lieutenant Yossel, the leader of the resisters this time. He hid in the last tower and resisted, but was punched several times by Duval. One of them killed his subordinates and captured them alive himself.
Then, he tried hard to turn his neck and look around for something, but he never saw the person he was looking for. At this time, the alarm sounded again from behind the newly captured fort; but it was the foreign aid brought in by the fort defenders, and the flag of the Principality of Savoy appeared on the horizon.
However, Duval and others, who were well prepared, waited and waited on the wall behind, but did not see the flag of the Principality of Savoy continue to approach; instead, they heard several roars that were suspected of landslides. Then the principality flags gathered at the mountain pass disappeared in the swirling smoke and dust.
After a while, Jiang Tian, who had not appeared on the battlefield to inspect and accept the results of the battle, appeared on the mountain road in the distance and walked back slowly alone; and everything inside and outside the city became silent; then it turned into a scene of people kneeling one after another. Falling to the ground, the sound of armor and weapons clashing.
