industrial lord

Chapter 741 Allies Gather
"Waaah~~~ Besides... besides... besides!"

The steam from the steam whistles condensed into white mist in the cold air, scattering the falling snowflakes. An unprecedented train convoy set off from the banks of the Danube, heading north towards Hammam.

A convoy sped out from the mountain pass of the Snowy Mountains, with soldiers from all over the country already mobilized guarding the route to ensure that the road to the Duchy of Wesen remained unobstructed.

Deep in the mountains, the workers put down their tools for laying steel rails, covered the rails with thick waterproof cloths, lined up to receive their weapons, and silently and quickly walked out of the valley.

Frederick was surprised by the fact that the main force of the Kingdom of Suomi entered the battlefield and that the fleet of the Kingdom of Anglo provided maritime transport.

Since that's the case, he immediately started calling for reinforcements.

This is not just a military contest, but also a political one.

The response was swift and effective.

On the Osmarca Empire's side, Mary's new army had just returned to Vynn to receive an award when Empress Anna received Frederick's plea for help and immediately ordered them to take a train to Hamma.

Upon receiving the news, the Kingdom of Sardinia dispatched a capable force, led by an acquaintance of Frederick, to travel north by carriage.

The Helvetia Federation acted even faster, with former mountain mercenaries who had returned to their hometowns to rebuild their communities taking up arms and returning to their old ways.

Thanks to Frederick's years of investment in transportation infrastructure, the railway system was operating at full capacity, and personnel, weapons, ammunition, and supplies were being transported to the northern front at an unprecedented speed.

To circumvent complex international relations, these reinforcements joined the battlefield under the name of "mercenary soldiers of the Principality of Wessen".

However, coordinating powerful reinforcements from three countries with vastly different styles requires a figure of sufficient stature.

Frederick himself had more important missions behind enemy lines, and although Franz Jr. was highly capable, his international prestige was still insufficient, so this task fell to Maria.

The fleet sailed away from Lukang Wharf in the wind and snow, cutting through the waves and heading at full speed towards Guankang.

Maria stood at the bow of the ship, with dark clouds looming ahead.

After inspecting Guankang, she went to Lukang to inspect the construction work. Upon receiving a telegram, she immediately rushed to the front line.

The Rhine Alliance's half-mages, who were originally building a coastal fortress in the Kingdom of Gaul, boarded a ship nearby to gather at Lukang and followed behind.

Maria returned to Stork Harbor and immediately went to the military command post, where little Franz was eating two fist-sized pieces of cream cake with a large bottle of soda.

Commanding a large army is very energy-consuming, so the command post is never short of high-calorie snacks.

Beside the sand table, Mary, who had flown in ahead of the main force on a fire dragon, was chewing on a few sugar cubes; Count Behrami of the Helvetii Federation was gulping down sweet tea that had almost turned into saturated sugar water; and Baron Gunnar of the Sardinian Kingdom was drinking refreshing tea non-stop.

Maria, radiating a chill, entered the command post, took off her heavy snow bear fur cloak, and went to the sand table.

Mary smiled and greeted them, "The landlady is here."

Maria smiled radiantly and said to her, "Thank you for coming all this way to help. You've worked so hard."

Everyone in the command post breathed a sigh of relief. Marie was one of Frederick's most politically significant lovers, and Maria was Frederick's fiancée. If the two of them had any conflict, it would have been a big problem.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with everyone, Maria got down to business and asked, "What's the latest situation in the battle?"

She felt a little nervous at the moment. She had never commanded a military operation before, and at most she had only played war games with her best friends.

But now that Frederick has personally appointed her to lead the allied forces, she has no choice but to bite the bullet and go for it.

She was very clear about the limits of her abilities and thought about what she should and shouldn't do along the way.

Maria saw that little Franz was about to put down his half-eaten food and said, "It's alright, we can talk while we eat."

As she spoke, she went to the tea stove next door and poured herself a cup of hot tea.

With a cake in one hand and a baton in the other, little Franz pointed to the location of Redwaterwheel Village on the sand table and said, "An urgent report came from Redwaterwheel Village Fortress yesterday: On the Flensburg battlefield, the army suddenly broke out in disarray, encountered an ambush on the way, and suffered a complete defeat!"

"It is reported that a large number of minor nobles were killed in action, and only a few survivors escaped into the Redwaterwheel Village fortress under the leadership of Rudolf and some generals."

"Currently, the combined forces of Sverrière, Piast, and Suomi are fully engaged in the siege of the fortress. They have not yet divided their forces to attack Hawthorn Village and Stork Harbor, but have deployed guard troops on the perimeter."

"The Red Waterwheel Village fortress is surrounded by water on one side, with insufficient space. The enemy's numerical advantage cannot be fully utilized, and they can only launch attacks in shifts at present." "Latest intelligence: 10,000 Winged Cavalry have crossed the river elsewhere and are defending against reinforcements on the other side."

The sand table was filled with colorful flags representing all parties, and even Maria, a "cloud conductor," could see the tense situation.

Her gaze lingered on the location of Hongshuiche Village on the map, her delicate brows furrowing slightly; the situation was worse than she had anticipated.

Maria recalled a painful experience from playing a strategy game in the past and asked, "Could the enemy be luring us to our rescue, only to ambush us halfway there?"

Mary and the others looked at her with some surprise, not expecting her to be so knowledgeable, as she had been discussing this matter just moments before.

After pointing to two spots with his baton, Franz Jr. said, "The enemy uses a shipboard telegraph system and doesn't like to use codes. We've learned from surveillance that there are two ambush zones to the west and southwest, one targeting us and the other targeting the Mainz troops in Hawthorn Village."

Maria nodded and asked, "How can we get out of this predicament?"

The key to an ambush is that the enemy doesn't know it. Once the concealment is gone, it's no different from a sausage in a pot, so she's not worried.

Franz Jr. pointed to the Redwaterwheel Village Fortress and said, "My plan is to use the Redwaterwheel Village Fortress as a magnet to firmly attract the enemy's main force, while we concentrate our strength to launch a decisive offensive from the outside, attacking from both inside and outside, and crushing the siege in one fell swoop!"

The general direction has been set, but the specific implementation is still under discussion.

Count Behrami put down his teacup and spoke with the pragmatism characteristic of a mercenary leader: "We are mainly composed of elite mountain infantry, skilled in fighting in complex terrain, but lack mobility."

"The fortress is under siege and needs a strong defensive force."

"I propose that my troops reinforce the fortress, strengthen its defenses, hold back the enemy's main force, and buy time for a counterattack on the outer lines."

Baron Gunnar then spoke, his tone carrying the confidence characteristic of a young man: "Among our reinforcements, one hundred are from the Duchy of Milan, about one hundred and fifty are from various places, two hundred are from the Royal Knights, and more than one hundred are paladins from the Church of Light, all of them elite warriors, led by His Excellency Riva."

"They are well-suited to be organized into small teams, acting as fire brigades on the defensive line to plug the loopholes."

"Our troops are willing to reinforce the fortress together with our allies in Helvetti. This will not only strengthen the defending forces but also greatly boost the morale of the trapped defenders!"

Franz Jr. nodded in agreement and added, "The Mainz army in Hawthorn Village has only fought a few sporadic battles with the enemy, and Theodore is considering sending the entire army to reinforce the fortress."

Maria asked with some concern, "Won't this cause a shortage of supplies inside the fortress?"

Franz Jr. said, "We plan to advance by land and water, with reinforcements crossing the river to cover the transport ships as they arrive at Red Waterwheel Village."

Maria nodded, seemingly confident of victory. After taking a sip of hot tea, she said, "I will enter the fortress with the reinforcements."

Franz was so frightened his heart nearly jumped out of his chest. The original plan was just to have Maria coordinate the various parties via radio in Storkport, but now she was going to the center of the conflict. If something went wrong, they would be doomed.

Putting aside personal feelings, Frederick and Maria's marriage had a strong political background, and if something happened to Maria, Franz Jr. dared not imagine what the future would hold.

Maria continued, "There are many things that need to be coordinated after the reinforcements enter the fortress. If we are not careful, it will have a negative impact. It will be much easier if I am there."

Franz Jr. had no rebuttal.

Maria is the goddaughter of the Archduke of Mainz and the adopted sister of Theodore, so the Mainz soldiers who entered the fortress with her will certainly give her face.

Reiner, who commands the Byrne army, is related to Theodore by marriage, and Reiner's daughter-in-law is Maria's best friend, so he will naturally give her face.

Not to mention that Maria's identity is "mercenary commander of the Duchy of Wesen," and the Duchy of Wesen is behind her.

Her words might carry more weight than Rudolf's in the fortress.

Maria concluded by saying, "Tony and the others will come with me too."

Franz Jr. breathed a sigh of relief. With the guard regiment following him and Richard Nar also in the fortress, breaking out would be no problem even in the worst-case scenario.

“Okay,” he nodded. “We expect to begin the operation in three days.”

Frederick calculated the timing of his allies' mobilization, which was roughly the perfect time to either mop up the remaining enemy forces or launch a counterattack.

However, he did not anticipate Rudolf's actions, and the Rhine Alliance army's main force held out for an unexpectedly short time.

(End of this chapter)