Many officers and nobles gathered in the command center of the castle. Even a lifelike magic sand table has been set up, and the terrain and deployment situation of the nearby hundred miles can be clearly seen. Ophelia and Midianmaia were also present, standing in the middle of a large group of Praetorian Guards and nodding to Griffith.
Prince Commodus has a majestic appearance, his brilliant blond hair shines like the morning sun, his sapphire-like eyes are full of charm yet brave and gentle, his shoulders are broad and strong, and his chin is square and powerful, as noble and majestic as a lion.
He looked at the map and asked a question or two from time to time.
"Have Duke Meyer's food and weapons been delivered? Send someone to urge him."
"Is the deployment of the Clan Alliance's Rum front army confirmed? Project it."
Several wizards immediately activated the mirror-like projection. Strong warriors all over the mountains and plains appear in the picture endlessly. They are strong orcs carrying battle axes, troll spearmen armed with spears, ogres using tree trunks and rocks as weapons, and a large number of orcs.
"Your Highness, the total number of enemy troops is estimated to be more than 60,000, and they are gathering on the plain south of Rum Fortress. Their organization is..."
The reporting legions came to a sudden halt. A cleric came to the prince and whispered.
Griffith recognized the man immediately. He is Lord Colvaron, who once attended the Homonworth Occult Conference, the head of the executive branch of the Holy Light Church, and the leader of the Punishers.
Griffith subconsciously put his hand on his sword and stared at him with a large group of generals and officers.
The prince immediately noticed Krista's arrival, and came to Krista with the kind old man beside him, followed by the respectful Bishop Klein.
Lord Korvalen said to the girl like a kind elder: "Praise the Holy Light, you are safe and sound. I am extremely happy."
Krista asked gently: "This all depends on the protection of the Holy Light."
Prince Commodus smiled and waited for them to finish, but the leader of the punishers kept nagging him endlessly, and finally he couldn't bear it anymore.
"Saint of Anjou, on behalf of all the soldiers in the army, I welcome your arrival. During the time when you were in danger, our days were like years.
"I and my 40,000 comrades welcome you, and my brothers and sisters who come with you, we need to unite all brave and pious hearts in the coming war."
Griffith found that several generals and officers present did not think so, and some even shook their heads and hummed.
"My brothers and sisters will fight alongside His Highness," Krista said to the prince. "We fight the enemy in the name of the Holy Light. No matter how strong they are, we will definitely defeat them. Your Highness will achieve the greatest victory in history." A great victory. The prophecy has revealed that the enemy will be defeated."
…
The generals of each legion and the nobles discussed how to deploy the six regular legions and auxiliary legions, as well as the more than 20,000 Holy Light believers who had gathered. The army will launch an attack on the Clan Alliance's Rum Fortress early the day after tomorrow.
This will be a battle involving more than 120,000 people.
In the well-equipped bathroom of the castle, Griffith quickly washed his body, got rid of the dust and fatigue of the journey, and went to Sonia's suite, ready to start working.
He took out the echo crystal and listened to the signal casually. Before the fierce battle, the echo was very clear.
Among the many unencrypted messages he heard a beautiful and mysterious verse.
"The long cry of the violin in autumn breaks my heart with its monotonous and depressed breath."
This strange code word comes from the unknown echo hub. Some organizations are taking action again, but what are they planning?
Just as Griffith was lost in thought, a sound of gauze brushing the ground came from the door.
Sonia, who had just showered and changed, walked out lightly wearing a comfortable silk skirt and knocked lightly on the door. The two of them don't have to live in the big camp outside. They have rooms in a corner of the castle, very close to each other.
There was a thick wool blanket spread on the wide window sill. The girl did not sit at the desk, but sat down by the window. She curled up her legs and rested her head on her knees. Her long, silky hair was spread to the plush side. On wool blanket.
There was drizzle in the gray sky, and the distant mountains were shrouded in mist. Looking from the window, the vast grassland and wheat fields were deserted, so quiet that only the sound of rain could be heard.
"It's raining," Griffith said.
"Well, it's raining~" Sonia said, looking at the water drops on the glass, "It makes me feel relaxed."
"Actually, what I want to say is that rain will make the land muddy, and the movement of artillery and heavy equipment will be difficult." Griffith said, shaking his quill.
Sonia raised her head and looked at him with a pout, and found that the would-be knight was not laughing at her.
"That girl from Anjou is so beautiful. I want to draw her face, but I can't." The countess asked with some confusion, "Is her name Christa? It sounds nice. name."
Griffith nodded.
The countess rested her head on her knees again: "But, how should I put it, I always feel that she is incompatible with this lovely name. In other words, the fact that she has her own name makes people feel strangely inconsistent.
"I mean, when I look at her, what I see is a walking light, a powerful force, a hazy beauty, a beacon of progress,
"Only, it doesn't feel like this is a girl..."
…
Legions and auxiliary corps were ordered to act. Except for a part of the garrison, the rest of the troops advanced towards the fortresses and defense lines of the clan alliance.
As soon as Griffith arrived at the military camp, Test Warrant Officer Sast of the 603rd Test Squadron dragged Senamon to his tent.
"Did you bring me anything new?"
"Yes, captain, we found that when using artillery, our own people gathered in front, either causing accidental damage or hindering the shooting. However, placing artillery on the front line can easily be destroyed by enemy cavalry charges, so the Ordnance Department devised a method It is a curved weapon that can, like a bow and arrow, pass the trajectory of the friendly troops in front and hit the enemy. We can test it in the next battle."
They took Griffith to the clearing, where a thick and long cannon was placed.
Sergeant Major Fenrir Gunter is leading people there to make trouble. Krista was actually here. She carefully distributed different gunpowder and shells, and it seemed that she was going to test-fire several times.
Sastra shouted at the top of his lungs: "Please see, we call this weapon 'the big snake'. The saint said yes after seeing it!"
Griffith first looked at Krista and found that she did not feel like she was surrounded by believers among this group of technicians. Everyone happily exchanged opinions with her without any restraint. After listening to the introduction by the people in the test squadron for a while, Griffith also roughly understood the idea of this weapon-it would pass over the heads of our troops and fall into the enemy's formation, killing and wounding the enemy's troops.
The concept is simple but not easy to operate. To be able to accurately hit the enemy's head with a howitzer requires superb artillery skills and precise ballistic calculations, unlike other artillery guns that can cut enemy soldiers to the ground by firing straight out.
At least the howitzer has one advantage. Because the elevation angle is raised, the range of the artillery shells is also increased; compared with the eagle cannon and snake cannon that can only be used within about 300 to 500 meters, this field gun has a A range of more than 1,500 meters.
This means that before the enemy and we come into contact, the howitzer can be used to secretly fire a few rounds to scare the enemy's cavalry off their horses, which can at least have a harassing effect. You can also launch fireballs into the city during a siege, creating chaos without having to break the walls.
"But is this thing of yours accurate?" Griffith turned over the calculation table and felt that they could not hit any enemy at this long range.
"We have a solution!" Krista joined the conversation.
She held a large, round cannonball with a rope stuck on it: "The lit fuse will detonate the cannonball and kill the enemy with fragments. As long as it does not explode in advance, the cannonball will cause a large-scale killing effect after it hits the ground." "
As long as it doesn't explode in advance... This premise made Griffith frightened when he heard it, and he determined to stay away from the artillery position tomorrow.
…
The 17th day of the Second Era. After dinner, the whole army set off from the military camp and began to assemble towards the battlefield, preparing to launch a fierce attack on the fortresses and positions of the clan alliance the next day.
That afternoon, Sonia thought of the autumn at Homemonworth, where there was no noise, only the hurried footsteps in the corridor and the melodious explanations at the front of the classroom. At that time, she was busy taking notes, and sometimes imagined what the ruins and distant countryside would look like.
At this moment, Sonia's ears were filled with the rhythmic sound of marching troops. The autumn wind and red leaves made her feel very relaxed. The hills and streams here were very similar to Homemon Watts.
She was in the middle of the team, surrounded by capable cavalry. They wore strong armor and carried lances and swords. The cavalry was preceded and followed by infantry. At the end of the team are the large carriages of auxiliary soldiers and logistics.
Strict infantry and cavalry spread out towards the wide battlefield. There were artillery and trebuchets on their wings and rear. Such a powerful army was used to capture the orcs' fortress.
It rained heavily for a while and didn't stop.
At night, Prince Commodus rode on horseback, patrolling the nearby mountains with Maximus in the fierce wind and rain, and saw the enemy's fire extending from the fortress of Rum to the plains and hills ahead, reflected in the On the horizon, he felt excitement and satisfaction in his heart; he reined in his horse, looked at the lightning, listened to the thunder, and stayed for a while.
With a powerful legion and the support of the Saint and the Order's armed forces, the prince and his teacher General Maximus directly commanded more than 60,000 combat troops, and more people continued to deliver supplies to them. .
When Griffiths led his squadron of stormtroopers to the assembly point, he passed by the hill where the temporary headquarters was located and heard the prince saying to everyone in an excited voice:
"Destined greatness and luck have arrived!"
