Warlords of the witcher world

Chapter 176 Prelude to the War
On the way of Anglin, the Nilfgaardians are advancing.

The black-clothed troops lined up neatly and advanced in an orderly manner under the orders and horns. The commanders of the divisions and brigades worked hard to maintain the formation of troops, and various shouts continued to sound.

There are many recruits in the ranks of the black army, and their performance is very poor. These people need to be under the watchful eye of the whip and the officer to maintain their morale.

The cavalry wandered back and forth in the queue from time to time, passing messages back and forth.

The proud imperial heavy cavalry rode ahead of everyone on their tall horses, and their equipment was undoubtedly worthy of their pride.

Most of these people came from the noble families of the empire and the provinces, and most of them were the younger generation. These people were proud and warlike.

In the previous wars, a lot of the essence of the empire was buried in the north, and now these young people are needed to carry the banner of their fathers.

In their view, participating in the war is like participating in an outing. These young people's impression of the war still remains in poetry.

On both sides of the queue, there are many skirmishers scattered. They are mercenaries from various provinces of the empire, and they stand there for only one purpose, which is to serve as human shields for the army when necessary.

The most eye-catching thing in the queue is Nilfgaard's artillery. The muzzles of these artillery are carved to look like lion's mouths, and their caliber is no less than that of the northerners.

However, what the Nilfgaardians carry the most is the small cannon that can be carried by a single person and can be fired when placed on the ground.

This kind of small cannon played a great role in Nilfgaard's internal suppression. They fired shotguns and could be a very effective blow to the rebellious people who lacked armor.

Coupled with the simplicity of manufacturing, it has been wildly sought after by the imperial army, and some generals even plan to equip each battalion under their command with three to four such small cannons.

Under the banner of the sun, the black army was invincible, and looked so majestic, even in such a bad environment as Anglin, it was difficult to conceal this.

However, there are people waiting for them in the forest, and they are about to let the Nilfgaardians experience the "beauty" of this wetland forest.

"Fire!"

With a burst of crackling gunshots, many Nilfgaardian fell to the ground, and many arrows and javelins fell into the Nilfgaardian queue, and many people also fell.

A large number of shooters appeared in the forests and wetlands that were originally determined to be unoccupied, and the Nilfgaardians who were attacked by them were completely thrown off their feet.

The cannon fodder was knocked down a lot at the first time, but their reactions were also very sharp. They either got down and hid behind the corpses immediately, or jumped directly into the bushes and pools around them. Obviously, this was not the first time they had experienced such a thing.

And the shortcomings of the Nilfgaardian army full of recruits are reflected here. Many Nilfgaardian soldiers are extremely at a loss when facing the shooting, and they are directly stupid when facing the shooting. They can't even raise their shields at the first time. were killed.

However, the men in black reacted very quickly, and a large number of cavalry came quickly. They held spring guns and bows and arrows in their hands, and kept shooting at the enemy.

Behind them came a number of shooters, who mounted their weapons once they were within range, and began to shoot.

The men in black were obviously attacked frequently, and had formed a plan.

Facing the reaction of the man in black, there were some screams in the forest, and then some people fell down, while other northerners retreated one after another. Their goal had been achieved, and there was no need to continue fighting.

As if they had been given a shot of blood, dozens of nobles thought it was finally time for them to show off, and rushed into the forest to chase down the escaping shooters.

"Damn it, come back, come back quickly! You fools! Have you forgotten the order above? You must not enter the forest on both sides rashly!"

Captain Dylan yelled - yes, he was promoted and now has ten soldiers under his command.

It's just that in the previous shooting, all the people under his command were like headless chickens, several of them were knocked down, and his troops were reduced by one-third before encountering the enemy.

After the Second Northern War, Dylan had planned to retire. He had had enough of the war, but he got a notice about the extension of the service time, which really made him a little nervous.

But what if you can't hold back?It's not just about gritting your teeth and serving.

The only thing that comforted him was that at least he barely became an officer, and his salary increased a lot.

Moreover, in the battle to suppress the two northern provinces, he grabbed a lot of spoils and was able to distribute a sum of money. Now he hopes to survive the third northern war in peace and stability, and then go home with the money to live.

But the old soldier laughed at him for being so stupid, as a soldier who dies at God knows when, money should be spent immediately, on women and wine, just like him.

Otherwise, it would be too sad to have money in hand but die without using it.

But Dylan doesn't think so. In his opinion, he will eventually retire one day, and he has to plan for that day early.

Now he was yelling at the noble cavalry who were chasing into the forest. In his opinion, these people were rushing into the forest to die. The higher-ups had already emphasized how many people must not pursue the enemy.

These are lessons learned with blood.

"Okay, Dylan, stop yelling."

The veteran who is also the tenth commander said that this veteran has finally been promoted, but he is not happy, he just feels that he has too much to do.

"These aristocratic boys are full of battlefield poetry and have no concept of real war. They won't turn back until they taste the blood."

The veteran said in a tone like someone who has been through it before,
"So, go take care of your people, let's get ready to go, don't worry about a bunch of dead people."

Yes, dead man, as the old soldier said, those noble cavalry who chased into the forest rushed into a reed sedge very close.

There are seemingly calm traps everywhere among the reeds. If you are not careful, the seemingly calm ground will swallow you up.

Here, these heavy cavalry were either stuck in the mud or were forced to slow down. The panicked cavalry tried desperately to get out of the predicament, but nothing could be done.

And the counterattack of the shooters who had been chased before also began.

Out of the reeds came Aedirn soldiers in light clothes and shorts, holding spears and maces in their hands.

They moved freely in the swamp, walked briskly to the side of the heavy cavalry trapped in the swamp, and smashed their heads with the weapons in their hands.

There are also people who directly use the weapons in their hands to hit a fixed target, and the only counterattack result of these heavy cavalry for the enemy is that several people pull out the spring wheel guns they bought with a lot of money and kill a person on the opposite side.

These young Nilfgaardian elites just died in the swamp. They had a brilliant future, but they all died here.

But this is the normal state of war.

Immediately the men of Aedirin began to collect the spoils, stripping away armor, weapons, and clothing, leaving naked bodies to be swallowed by the swamp.

"Well, let's move on."

At the same time, Gwama, the brigade commander of the Wind Tower Brigade, was not surprised to learn that some troops disobeyed orders and ran into the forest.

He just nodded, and then labeled these people as dead in his heart, and then ordered the troops to move on.

Gwama is no longer the stunned young man he was back then. His war experience has completely changed this young man. He is already a qualified Nilfgaardian general—even according to the standards of the usurper era, he is also in line.

As for this third northern war, Gwama was quite tired of it.

The north had left him with too many bad memories, and now that he returned to the north, those failed memories resurfaced.

But since the emperor had given the order, he could only choose to obey as a soldier.

Gwama looked around with disgusted eyes, it is not surprising that he really likes this forest, it is really disgusting to him.

He now hoped that the main force of the Aedianites would appear in front of him immediately so that he could have a good fight.

However, Marshal Hawat chose an extremely cautious advance strategy. Every time he occupied a part of the area, he had to consolidate the area and build a transfer station and a military depot before moving forward. It can be said that he moved forward step by step.

Although this made Nilfgaard's advance very stable, it also led to a slow advance.

Gwama is very dissatisfied with this, but he also knows that this is the most correct.

He had been fighting in Anglin for a long time, and he knew the situation of this land very well. Because of this, he still obeyed the order wholeheartedly.

But what Gwama never imagined was that the battle he expected would come soon...

.

"Another battalion lost more than half in the swamp? Didn't the Emperor have ordered them to obey the ban many times?"

Marshal Hawat said impatiently after hearing the news that the troops were attacked again.

Since the beginning of the march, all kinds of losses have been pouring in like a tidal wave.

The marshal also had a deep understanding of the horror of Anglin. Fighting here was like fighting in a quagmire.

Hawat currently has 15 men under his command, and they are advancing along the Anglin Road-the only road in this swampy jungle that can allow an army to march.

Hawat divided the army into three parts, two parts were responsible for pulling out the strongholds of Aedirn and Livia scattered in the Anglin swamp, while his headquarters-9 people-defended the northerners along the Anglin road. center forward.

Hawat didn't want to divide his troops either, but this was already the limit that his army could bear. Although he had to divide a lot of people, the people who divided also restrained many northerners.

According to intelligence investigation, the northerners in front of them now number 6 people, and the empire has the superiority in military strength as always.

But 9 people is also a very large number. One can imagine the difficulties ahead of such a large army advancing in such a bad environment.

Difficulties in organization, bad environment, attacks by monsters and enemies...these are all causing attrition to the Nilfgaardians all the time.

Even though the Nilfgaardians had struggled in this quagmire for a long time, it was very uncomfortable to face such a situation-in the Anglin war, the side that took the initiative to attack was the most uncomfortable.

The marshal is very uncomfortable about fighting in such a place. If there is a choice, who would like to fight in such a place.

The terrain and environmental restrictions are too great. In this place, even if there is a big victory, it is very difficult to expand the results. Both sides have a large number of strongholds and fortresses here, like layers of nets .

After first coming to Anglin, the marshal came to this conclusion after carefully researching the local situation in combination with documents.

In fact, if the emperor hadn't sent him a batch of things, he would have even planned to slowly work with the northerners here instead of marching in and fighting with the army.

As for what that thing is...

"Alberich, I want to ensure that those things can be set off at all times, and nothing can go wrong when it comes to war. Can you guarantee it?"

"Of course, Marshal."

The Nilfgaardian warlock said with a smile that since Vigo was captured, Albrecht has become the well-deserved leader of Nilfgaard's magic field.

And what he brought was the pinnacle of imperial magic and engineering.

With these, it is only a matter of time to break through the battle formation of the northerners.

.

"This piece of land is rare in Anglin."

Looking at the wilderness in front of him, Herme said in disbelief.

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, even he would have found it hard to believe that Anglin had such an open space for the army to fight.

And the numerous bare tree stumps in the clearing illustrate what this place once looked like.

However, this open space includes the product of the nearby shallow river. Of course, the water in Anglin cannot be clean, so the water is hazy and even a bit green.

But everyone is used to it. After staying in Anglin for a long time, all the hypocritical bad problems have been cured.

That is to say, when the time comes, many people will have to wade into the water, and the water will roughly reach the calf of the people.

Countless soldiers are busy here, Ardians, Kaedwenians, Livians, Leirians, Haklans, they all entered the position or built fortifications under the orders of different commanders.

Common voices with various accents are everywhere, like an exhibition of dialects from all over the north.

"This place was basically cut down, Lord Herme."

Wilm, who was accompanying the Lord Protector, explained.

The Prince of Livia supervised the construction of many fortresses and fortresses in the Anglin region, so he knew them very well.

Herme was not surprised by this answer. There are so many strongholds on this road, and the amount of wood consumed is astronomical. Naturally, they will be cut down in Anglin.

What's more, this place was originally famous for producing high-quality wood. Back then, the Nilfgaardians used the wood produced by Anglin to build their large fleet. German timber factory.

But that fleet was eventually wiped out by the pirates of Skelliger like a joke.

But now, four years have passed since the Second Northern War, but the two sides have started fighting here again, and it is still a big battle.

"If only after the war we could move people in large numbers."

Looking at the clearing that had been cut down, Herme knew that if the immigrants were not allowed to follow up quickly, the clearing in front of them would be filled with forests in ten years or so.

The Lord Protector is very keen on internal colonization. He hopes that those wildernesses will be turned into farmlands and villages. He likes prosperity because he knows that only in this way can the living space of monsters be continuously compressed and the living environment of human beings be improved. come better.

"That's after the end of the war. Lord Herme, do you think the battlefield chosen by mother is suitable?"

Wilm asked Herme's opinion, and the Lord Protector scanned the wilderness where countless soldiers and peasants were working, watched them dig their positions, familiarize themselves with the battle positions, and nodded,

"Very good. It's hard to find a better location than here. The stumps can effectively limit the impact of the Nilfgaardian cavalry. There are rivers and swamps on both sides. The Nilfgaardians can only attack us from the shallow river in front. There is simply no other option."

Hemei praised Mi Wei's choice, because this place is indeed perfect. According to their artillery advantage, this place will definitely become a slaughterhouse for the men in black.

The men in black are bound to attack here. If they want to move on, they must deal with the northerners here.
And if they forcibly ignore it, that's fine, and then they can directly cut off their retreat.

For the black army, if the logistics are cut off, it will be fatal.

"I plan to place the artillery here... here, there, and there. By the way, what about His Majesty Mi Wei?"

Herme pointed to several positions on this land, deployed his artillery, and then he asked where Queen Livia was.

"Mother didn't like to wait here any longer. The strategic arrangements had been made anyway, so he went to the front line to detect the movements of the men in black."

"The White Queen is as beautiful as she was back then."

Herme's words were half flattering and half sincere. Mi Wei's performance was not inferior to her demeanor back then. If Livia's national power was not too weak, in Herme's view, Mi Wei would have become It was only a matter of time before Vizmir became sovereign.

But Livia is a small country after all, and being able to get on the table depends entirely on Miwei's ability.

"Mother always does."

Pride came across Wilm's face, pride for his mother.

Looking at the prince in front of her, Herme sighed even more. The mother and son are both very capable and trust each other. Such a relationship is hard to find.

He also knew that Wilm rebelled against his mother back then, and just when everyone thought that Mi Wei would have to settle accounts with the prince, she did nothing, but gave power to the son who had been distrusted and looked down upon.

And it turns out that this is correct.

Wilm absorbed a lot of experience and ideas brought by Nilfgaard, which made Livia more prosperous, and the Livia army became stronger in his hands.

Thinking of this, Herme could only sigh, this is truly a legend, with such comrades in arms, and with so many advantages they have, the Protector firmly believes that the victory must belong to them.

(End of this chapter)