industrial lord

Chapter 738 A powerful enemy attacks
The early winter wind was fiercer than in previous years, carrying fine snowflakes that lashed against the vast but desolate military camp of the Rhine Alliance outside Flensburg.

After a prolonged siege, the city's outer fortifications were completely annihilated and captured. Enraged, Rudolf launched a series of attacks, with the battle lasting from morning until noon the next day.

The Flensburg defenders suffered heavy casualties, with Julmand wounded in a combined attack by Becher and Palatinate.

Preben's sneak attack on Rudolf was thwarted by Hegel, but a frightened Rudolf ordered a retreat, resulting in a failed operation and a waste of logistical resources, especially magic crystals, bullets, shells, and medicine.

The atmosphere inside the king's tent was even colder than outside.

Despite being wrapped in a thick bearskin cloak, Rudolf still felt a bone-chilling cold, a chill that came more from the depths of his heart.

He looked at the list of supplies presented by Count Pistor and said irritably, "Pistor, is this your answer to me?"

"Our food supplies are only enough to last for a little over ten days, and our magic crystals are almost gone. How can you expect my army to take Flensburg?!"

Pistor's face was ashen, sweat beaded on his forehead, and he bowed his head, saying, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger! I...I have done my utmost!"

"The road to Hongshuiche Village has been repeatedly attacked, and the transport convoys have suffered heavy losses... The nearby villages and towns... have also been completely looted..."

The harassment was a pretense; the reality was quite different.

Pistor recalled Sir Wright, whose army had captured the large village in the southeast. A few days earlier, the main camp had forcibly requisitioned most of his barley, sausages, cheese, beer, and other supplies. The angry but speechless face of the soldiers when the supplies were delivered was quite representative of the lower and middle nobility.

It's said to be "most of" but in reality, it's pitifully little. Nobody wants to give back what they've already taken; hiding supplies is their specialty.

Pistor dared not admit that his support came from these minor nobles, and that offending them would ruin his political future.

He also harbored a glimmer of hope. Two days ago, the Weisen Army in Guangang urgently sent a batch of supplies. It was still a problem for the soldiers to have enough to eat on days when they were not attacking the city, and their morale was extremely low.

Just then, Count Shu Yun Stiga lifted the heavy curtain and strode in, exuding a chill, his face more stern than ever before.

He didn't even bother with the formalities, his voice low and urgent: "Your Majesty, urgent military intelligence!"

Rudolf's heart tightened, but he feigned composure and said, "Speak!"

Shu Yun Stiga said urgently, "The command headquarters has sent definite news: King Casimir of Piast has personally led his most elite 50,000 Winged Cavalry on a march, with Flensburg as their target! They intend to annihilate us and repeat the Battle of the Elbe!"

“Fifty thousand winged cavalry?!” Pisto gasped, exclaiming in shock.

Rudolf's pupils also contracted sharply, but he quickly regained his composure, traced a long arc on the map with his finger, and said in a deep voice, "Piast... is nearly four hundred kilometers from here."

"While the Winged Hussars are fast, such a large army must be hampered by supply wagons. Now that it's starting to snow, they definitely won't get here in less than a month."

He grasped at a straw, analyzing rapidly, as if trying to convince himself.

"We still have time, half a month! Shu Yun Stiga, I order you to immediately reorganize the army and gather all remaining supplies!"

"In two weeks, launch a final all-out offensive against Flensburg! We must take it at all costs!"

"Once we capture the castle, we can rely on its strong defenses. No matter how strong Kazimir's cavalry is, they will have a hard time breaking through the fortified city!"

“If…” he paused, his voice lowering, “if the city is not captured within half a month, the entire army shall immediately and orderly retreat, relying on the Redwaterwheel Village fortress and the Bain army for defense, while the Weisen and Mainz armies encircle the city from both sides!”

Shu Yun, Stiga, Pistor, and the others thought Rudolf's plan sounded feasible. Although it had a gambler's mentality, things on the battlefield were unpredictable. They had the advantage now, so what if they won the gamble?

However, they severely underestimated the Winged Hussars' determination to redeem themselves, their mobility, and the fact that no one knew their opponents were not limited to the Kingdom of Piast.

Kazimir was accustomed to speed in warfare, and this operation adopted extreme measures: the army was lightly armed, carrying only a small amount of rations, and each person was equipped with three or even four horses. Horses were changed but riders were not, and warhorses were forbidden from carrying anything to save energy.

Meanwhile, the Kingdom of Sverrières had already set up multiple supply points in ports and villages along the route to Flensburg, stockpiling hay, beans, and even replacement horses.

The massive cavalry legion rolled forward at an astonishing speed.

As the weather worsened, Weisen's aerial reconnaissance had to cease, resulting in the loss of further intelligence.

Just twelve days later, under the gloomy early winter sky, the horizon southeast of Flensburg began to tremble.

What began as a faint rumble of thunder quickly coalesced into a terrifying roar that swept across the land. Smoke and dust billowed into the sky, blotting out the sun. Beneath the smoke and dust were countless rapidly moving black dots, like black flames spreading across the plains, swiftly engulfing the land that had just been covered by snow.

Kazimir and his 50,000 winged cavalry descended like a divine army, and Birudolf was expected to arrive at the edge of the battlefield nearly twenty days earlier than anticipated.

"Break down into smaller groups. The vanguard will split into two teams of 100 men each and sweep through all the villages and outposts occupied by the Rhine Alliance around Flensburg. Disperse them, and remember, drive the fleeing soldiers towards the Rhine Alliance camp!"

"Ten thousand men on the left wing will go directly to Hongshuiche Village to contain the Bain Army and prevent them from sending reinforcements!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Kazimir immediately issued the order.

As for the Weisen Army and the Mainz Army, that's the task of the other two allies.

The order was carried out swiftly, and countless fierce winged hussars rushed toward the villages on the outskirts of Flensburg that had been occupied by the minor nobles of the Rhine Alliance.

These villages could only defend against bandits and robbers; they were no match for professional soldiers.

In the large village southeast of Flensburg, conquered by Sir Wright, the conqueror sat in the best house in the village, venting his discontent with the sausages and beer he had stolen.

No one expected Rudolf to forcibly requisition grain a second time. This time, the Royal Knights and the Royal Mage Order robbed the grain together, and all the hidden treasures were unearthed.

Wright's two hundred soldiers were scattered throughout the village. Already seething with resentment over their food being stolen, many vented their anger by beating and humiliating the local villagers. Coupled with the cold weather, their vigilance was at its lowest point. "Damn Pistol, damn Shuyun Stiga! Most of the food we fought tooth and nail to capture has been fed to those pampered soldiers, while we're left to starve and freeze..."

Sir Wright gulped down a mouthful of cheap beer and cursed angrily.

Before he finished speaking, a sharp horn blast and the terrifying sound of horses' hooves suddenly rang out from outside the village. The sound did not come from one direction, but from all directions!

"Enemy attack!!!"

"Cavalry! Winged Hussars!"

The piercing alarm was instantly drowned out by the roar of iron hooves. A squad of about a hundred Piast winged cavalrymen smashed through the makeshift barriers at the village entrance like a whirlwind and stormed into the village.

Their front-line soldiers wielded sabers suitable for use in the village, while the rear-line soldiers used multi-barreled lances; the impact of their high-speed charge was unstoppable.

Wright's soldiers were caught off guard and instantly descended into chaos.

Many people had just run out of their warm houses, and before they could even put their trousers on properly, they were cut down or stabbed by the galloping cavalry.

Flames erupted throughout the village, and screams filled the air.

Wright was horrified, and his drunkenness vanished completely.

He grabbed his sword and hunting rifle, and with the desperate protection of several guards, he frantically broke through the back door, stole several unclaimed horses, and fled for his life towards the camp without looking back.

Wright felt protected by the God of Light, and the pursuing Winged Hussars could never catch up with him.

Looking back, the entire village was engulfed in flames and slaughter. Of the two hundred soldiers he had brought with him, only five managed to escape.

Similar scenes were playing out simultaneously in several locations around Flensburg.

Countless winged hussar squads swept through with lightning speed, creating immense chaos and panic.

The defeated nobles and soldiers, like a flock of sheep being driven, cried out and fled in disarray towards the large, seemingly safe main camp outside Flensburg.

As the first wave of routed soldiers, their faces contorted with terror, incoherently shouting "Winged Hussars! Winged Hussars everywhere!" stormed into the Rhine camp, Rudolf was discussing the final details of the siege with Ranke, Shuyun Stiga, Pistor, and others.

"impossible!"

Rudolf abruptly stood up, his face instantly turning deathly pale. He exclaimed in disbelief, "Only twelve days! How could they possibly have appeared? Could their wings really have allowed them to fly here?!"

He refused to believe it; this completely overturned all his plans and understanding.

However, the successive stream of urgent military reports, all from different directions and with identical content, shattered his last shred of hope like cold iron hammers.

As more and more soldiers fled, panic spread like a plague through the camp.

Rudolf stood frozen in place, his body swaying slightly, his mind blank.

Kazimir's 50,000 winged cavalry were already at the city gates, like a cold, sharp knife pressed against his throat.

His meticulously planned all-out attack, which he risked offending the minor nobles, turned into a huge joke.

Fear, like an icy tide, instantly overwhelmed him, making it almost impossible for him to breathe, and leaving him clueless as to how to cope with this catastrophic disaster.

Count Rank was ashen-faced, his lips trembling, unable to utter a single word.

Count Pistor slumped in his chair, trembling all over.

Only Earl Shu Yun Stiga remained composed, his face ashen, as he roared, "High alert! Prepare for battle! All cavalry, mount your horses! Infantry, form ranks behind the walls! Quickly!"

However, the deadly blows were far from over.

Just as the camp was thrown into utter chaos and panic by the appearance of the Winged Hussars, a knight from the direction of the port practically crawled into the tent, bringing even more desperate news:

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty! The port! The Kingdom of Suomi... King Snellman... has personally led a large army... to land! Warships... countless warships! Soldiers... are landing!"

Another knight from the north rushed in, covered in blood, his voice trembling with sobs:

"Your Majesty! In the north! King Kausdorf of Sverrières has mobilized his entire main force, and his vanguard cavalry has gathered within a day's journey of us!"

The main force of the Rhine Alliance army, along with their king, is now firmly pinned down on the cold land beneath Flensburg by three powerful enemy forces.

A massive, deadly encirclement is rapidly tightening.

The frigid early winter air seemed to have solidified into the very essence of despair.

Rudolf's vision went black, and he staggered a step, only managing to stay upright thanks to Rank's strong support.

He opened his mouth, but could only make hoarse, unintelligible sounds.

Flensburg, the prey he was determined to capture and the target he intended to use to build his image, gradually became his enormous grave.

(End of this chapter)