In the wilderness in early summer, it was a beautiful scene of green grass and flowers in full bloom; however, all this peace and tranquility was soon replaced by the hooves of horses running in groups of cavalry, and the marching horses carrying bags and weapons on their backs. Multiple columns of infantry were trampled into the dust and mud.
Jiang Tian was riding on the back of a tall maroon horse. As far as the eye could see, he saw a piece of blue cloth armor, a silver-white forged steel breastplate, and a large smiling Golden Sun flag held high in the air. The torrent is rolling; along the road in the wilderness, it winds like a long dragon into the distance.
That's right, as the last topic of the special committee, that is, how to respond and counterattack the malice from the northern puppet royal court; the final decision made by Jiang Tian was to use war as the most direct response. That is, a military strategy targeting the territory of the Duke of Burgundy family.
As one of the eight crowns directly under the kingdom, it is also the Upper and Lower Burgundy regions where the Burgundy family originated. Now it was granted to his half-brother Franche by the "bold" Charles in Seine City—— Prince Kongtai was thought to rule over the local nobility and guard the family territory.
In fact, before this, the two corps led by Madurand had already penetrated the provinces of Anson and Jura northward and began to besiege Franches, Besancon, the capital of the Prince of Conté/Grand Crown Territory; however, Everything was disrupted by a sudden change in the celestial sphere, and the success fell short.
Therefore, in this case, it is not a simple matter to launch another conquest; but now that Jiang Tian has reappeared, it is enough to make most of the tedious preparations relatively simple. Besides, this time only two regiments were assembled and dispatched.
There are eleven regiments and forty-three companies, with a total of 12,000 soldiers; as well as more than 30,000 pack horses, thousands of carriages, and more than 1,000 civilian men auxiliary companies. With the full operation of the special committee, it took only three days of gathering and preparation to embark on the journey.
Of course, this is just the main force led by Jiang Tian himself. In addition, in several provinces such as Rhone in the rear, there are also soldiers from various cities and towns who are continuing to recruit and organize. It is expected to form a hundred supplementary companies to fill the needs of the northern occupied area.
Therefore, the main combat task of overthrowing and destroying the Burgundian dynasty and its rule and military presence in the family's birthplace still fell on the main battle force in front of them. Just as the outpost cavalry was dispatched in turn, conflicts and encounters of various sizes also broke out sporadically.
However, in most cases, the enemies encountered are not local armed forces in the usual sense, or the remnants of the old aristocratic forces; instead, they are an endless stream of various alien spirits; they have even openly rampaged in groups. Travel on the road while hunting and hunting.
Just in front of an organized army and well-equipped guns, artillery and firearms; most of the aliens who became active because of the changes in the celestial sphere. Except for those weird and unpredictable sneak attack methods, the initial chaos caused was not more difficult than the human army, and was quickly wiped out.
Even if there are some incorporeal beings mixed in among them, or special existences that can transform and confuse normal perception. But under the radiation of various firearms, explosions, and burning objects, it is difficult to maintain the shape. Either the supporting objects are found and destroyed, or they are worn away.
In other words, it is just a large-scale gathering of strong soldiers, as well as some invisible superposition effect produced by their high morale and firm beliefs/beliefs; for these aliens born due to various negative emotions or special circumstances, they naturally have Suppressing, weakening and repelling effects.
Therefore, as a means of deterrence and warning, wherever the Free Army marched north, wooden poles with all kinds of alien heads interspersed were erected like sidewalk trees or road signs; and at some forked intersections, there would also be The corpses of aliens were piled up to form a hill.
In addition, the only thing that can really slow down and delay the progress of the Free Army is the poor condition of the roads that are in disrepair or have been vandalized. Those classical avenues that have been used since the ancient Roman era; the severely worn stone bases were exposed, and the drainage ditches were also demolished in pieces.
Along the way, Jiang Tian also calmed down and relived the sporadic information and indirect records about the last change in the celestial sphere collected from various aspects. However, due to the ban and destruction by the royal families of the past dynasties, only among the people. There are some jokes like dark fairy tales, ballads and proverbs left.
On the contrary, some of the experiences and rumors that have been preserved to some extent by the hunter organizations that have been active in the darkness in the past appear to be more real and comprehensive; especially in the underground secrets of the Rose Palace, the remains of the royal family from the late Rose Dynasty of the Kingdom of Zealand were found. After the special documentation below.
The previous time, and the first time the celestial sphere changed, was four hundred years ago. It was the heyday of the Rose Dynasty. The fourteen founding families of the kingdom, led by the red rose flag with a black background; under the leadership of King Amber, the seventh-generation leader of the dynasty at the time, defeated the conquering armies from the Eastern Empire several times.
It also saved the Western Empire, which was in danger due to internal and external troubles, and thus seized a large area of territory and rights including the Alps in the mountains. However, at that time, with the support of Eastern Great Xia, the Eastern Empire seemed to have a steady stream of manpower and material resources, and more crusade troops gathered in the Ravenna Province.
At this time, a sudden change in the sky interrupted everything. The huge sphere in the sky could be seen in the Western Continent for a whole month; then there were frequent collective disappearances and loss of contact, and an endless stream of aliens hurting and cannibalizing people; leading to varying degrees of collapse and chaos in the rule of the kingdoms on the continent.
As many aliens appeared out of thin air and ran rampant, blocking road traffic, many monasteries, villages, and towns in remote areas once again turned into isolated islands in disguise, or even ruins occupied by aliens. It was an era when even noble lords could only huddle in their castles to protect themselves.
Even some lords and knight fiefs with smaller power, limited scale, and relatively remote geographical locations were even quietly exterminated and their heirs exterminated. The sea and continental roads for communication between the East and the West were cut off for a period of time before being re-opened by organized armies.
In the end, the highly centralized Dongluo Empire and the Eastern Dynasty were the first to recover from the chaos. Then there are the countries of the Western Continent that were reshuffled in the chaos and became fragmented and fragmented; this is also the root of the rise of Orientalism/Serlis style.
However, the Eastern Empire had lost the best opportunity to unify the Western Empire, and the Rose Dynasty, which was at its peak, fell to the ground as a result. It was even said that it was punished by God and was replaced by princes from other places. Everyone is struggling to cope with this era of chaos.
But the price was equally tragic. Not only was the Rose Dynasty cut off, but even the fourteenth founding family of the Sealand Kingdom almost lost more than half of its heirs. The nomadic khanates in the east and the barbarian Norman kingdoms in the north were frequently replaced by bloody and cruel killings.
As a result, the church, which has a sacred title and the inheritance of mysterious knowledge, has become popular. Because in this time and space that has been severely transformed by demons, devout faith is not an illusory existence; rather, it has the potential effect of calming people's hearts and repelling and hiding aliens.
As a traditional power in the Western Continent and one of the only remaining beacons of human civilization, the Holy United Kingdom of Britannia has many predecessors of military orders and knights, and the tradition of knightly conquest it pursues also originated from This was an era of great upheaval that lasted for several generations.
Eventually, as these alien beings ebb and disappear in broad daylight. The folk legends of aliens causing chaos lasted for hundreds of years before gradually disappearing from people's oral traditions; only some far-fetched dark ballads and absurd folk proverbs remained.
According to the conjecture passed down by the hunter organization through the ages. Some aliens who were unwilling to become extinct hid underground to sleep and hibernate in specific environments; eventually they became energy-depleted remains. There are also some that have been integrated into the bloodline of local humans and become inheritances with a small probability of awakening from generation to generation;
But there are also some humans with special physiques or by chance who have been affected by changes in the celestial sphere and have extraordinary powers. Then from there, we can make great contributions and flourish. It became the origin of some ancient families and even the inheritance of the so-called knight bloodline.
In addition, the various abnormal creatures and materials of alien origin that appeared in this world with the changes in the celestial sphere have also become one of the legacies that have enabled those ancient associations and secret organizations to become active and arise; for this reason, many parties have even promoted Next, a special being called a hunter was born.
Therefore, as Jiang Tian continued to march towards the north, he once again received good news, bad news, and another unknown news. The good news is that many knights/intervention armies from the Holy Kingdom of Britannia have withdrawn their troops from various western provinces.
Their retreat was so hasty and hasty that even the baggage and supplies that could not be taken away, as well as the camp, were burned to the ground. The subsequent redemption negotiations with the Free Army were suddenly interrupted. It seems that the middle and lower class soldiers, sergeants, and knights have been completely abandoned.
The bad news is that following Paulina's Western Front/Overseas Legion, the vanguard troops entering the Western Province found that the place was left with only a desolate, desolate, sparsely populated, and dilapidated scene where bandits and aliens were rampant. Because the northern royal court repeatedly forcibly requisitioned food and young men, foreign intervention forces also plundered all the local supplies.
Therefore, most of the villages and towns on both sides of the road have either been abandoned or burned down; or have become the dens of bandits or aliens; or there are only a group of old and weak women and children left who are dying or crying for food. . Some places have even started selling meat of questionable origin.
Therefore, according to the calculation team of the Eastern Front Army, if the Free Army wants to enter the western provinces and gain a firm foothold, it will need to provide at least 60 million pounds of additional grain or similar wheat and soy products; as this will continue until next year a reserve of war supplies in the spring, and a means of relief in case of famine.
The unknown news, good or bad, came from the capital region, Senior Rafaro, whom he had lost contact with for a long time. Because, as the royal ceremonial officer and assistant to the minister of seal, as the minister of seal in charge of confidential documents fell out of favor, he was temporarily cast aside like a fish in a pond.
At the Royal Council, the new royal advisor was replaced by a senior priest named Lafontaine, who was said to be a reclusive ascetic from the Saint-Raphael Monastery. During the royal safari half a year ago, he gained the favor and appointment of King Charles; therefore, he was able to concurrently assume the role of spymaster.
While Jiang Tian was thinking slowly, the outline of a large fortress in the distance came into view.
