The epic story of green monsters

Chapter 1145 Take action
"His Majesty!!"

Facing August's inquiry, the gray dwarf demigod Gulet paused and then answered in a deep voice: "In my opinion, the kingdom's army is in chaos and morale is low. It is not a suitable time for a counterattack."

"At least until reinforcements arrive from the surrounding areas of the kingdom, supplies arrive, and the military organization is fully reorganized, maintaining the current situation is the most correct option."

"Although the performance on the front line is important, the defense line of the capital cannot be lost. As a symbol of the kingdom's survival, Molten Steel City must not be captured by the elven army. Therefore, the Royal Guard Corps must be withdrawn from the front line and used as the core force to re-deploy the last line of defense on the west line a hundred miles away from the capital to prevent the worst outcome on the front line."

As soon as Guret finished speaking, King August hadn't spoken yet, and Riobot, who was a little anxious, spoke first: "You are afraid of fighting, Guret!!"

"The heroic sons of the earth should take back everything we have lost and find back the lost glory from those androgynous guys!!"

Although seemingly impatient, Riobot actually has his own plans. He knows very well that he is the biggest culprit for the failure of this war. Although the king cannot punish him too harshly because he has the strong support of the Dragon Blood Dwarves, it makes him lose face after all, and his family is also disgraced. Riobot urgently needs to use military exploits to make up for and restore the glory of his family.

Not to mention that his own branch of the Dragon Blood family has too many interests in the lost land in the north. The output of several huge mineral veins that have been developed accounts for a quarter of the income of the Riobot family. Other families in the branch also own no less than a hundred mines of all sizes on this land. Even if his family can bear the loss, other families in the branch may not be willing to give up these mines. By that time, if everyone makes a fuss, his position as the chief in the Dragon Blood lineage may not be stable.

"Your Majesty, I support Riobot's opinion!!"

A bronze-skinned, square-faced and serious dwarf followed Riobot's words and expressed his attitude. He was Angus, the current chief of the Bronze Dwarves, another powerful branch of the dwarves, and also the Minister of the Kingdom's Military.

"The main force of the elven army traveled a long distance, and in order to not give me any buffer time, they aggressively attacked along the way. In addition, they divided their forces to capture important fortresses and cities along the way. In fact, their strength on the front line has been reduced to only one million."

"And the troops we have stationed on the banks of the Tielan River are almost as many as their main force. If we can transfer the one million soldiers gathered near the capital to the front and join forces with our comrades on the front, their strength will far exceed the main force of the elves."

"We can't give the elves more time to gain a foothold in the lost land in the north. Otherwise, tens of millions of dwarf compatriots living on that fertile land will be slaughtered by the elves, and all the lives on the land will be destroyed!!"

After hearing these words, not only did King August's face become serious, but even the other civil officials did not dare to open their mouths to refute easily.

After all, the Snowy Highlands are vast and rich in minerals, so the number of dwarves living here is also huge. The sudden attack by the elves before caused the army on the northern front to collapse too quickly. Many dwarf towns did not even have time to evacuate to the east before they fell into the hands of the elves. Or although the elves did not have time to deal with these towns, the evacuation routes of the dwarves in the occupied areas were also blocked.

The elves only wanted to attack the Dwarf Capital as quickly as possible, so they did not send troops to clean up the towns in the breakthrough area that had not yet been occupied. However, if they judged that the war had reached a stalemate, they would definitely change their strategy to gain complete control over the occupied areas and completely wipe out the Dwarf towns that were still resisting.

Although the fertility of dwarves is much higher than that of elves, their life span is much shorter than that of elves due to their long-term dealings with forging and ore. It also forms their silent, stubborn and somewhat paranoid personalities, resulting in the actual population of the Dwarf Kingdom being less than twice that of the Elves.

Even in a powerful civilization like the Dwarf Kingdom, tens of millions of dwarves are an important factor that can definitely affect the stability of the kingdom. If the people see that the kingdom ignores the lives and safety of the people in the occupied areas, then the kingdom, whose power structure is a combination of centralization and support from chiefs, may be exposed to serious hidden dangers and shake the foundation of the kingdom.

"Military affairs are the most important thing for a country. There has never been a war that can be won without preparation!!"

Sensing that the king's hesitant attitude was beginning to tilt due to the words of the Minister of Military Affairs, Guret quickly spoke up to stop him: "The people of the kingdom cannot be abandoned, but rashly sending the kingdom's brave warriors to the battlefield and letting them die innocently will also shake the foundation of the country!!"

"Don't forget, everyone. All the troops we can mobilize have already gathered or are on their way to Molten Steel City. If another major war breaks out and our army is defeated or routed again, we will be left with no troops available in a short period of time."

"Are you willing to give up the vast land in the south and withdraw the troops guarding the southern defense line?"

"Then how many Chinese people will be displaced and how many industries will collapse? Will it cause greater damage and impact?"

Every word of Guret was powerful and struck heavily on the hearts of all the dwarves in the hall. In fact, everyone understood the risks involved, but they were all on the edge of their seats. The chain reaction caused by the collapse of the northern defense line put the unprepared kingdom into a dilemma.

"So you're going to ignore the people of Snowy Highlands?"

"Aren't the elves still reorganizing their armaments and preparing to cross the river? That means the towns around the highlands are not in much danger for the time being. We can send elite scouts to convey your majesty's orders to the defenders of these towns, and have them gather the residents and resources of the surrounding villages and manors, and defend on the spot to hold out for a little longer."

"When the elves change direction and attack these towns, and we are fully prepared, we can just use that time to thin out the elves' forces on the front lines..."

"Shameless! You are..."

The court once again fell into a fierce quarrel, but with the support of the kingdom's Grand Marshal Guret, the conservative faction's opinions gained much more weight in the king's mind, which made the hawkish military personnel very dissatisfied.

However, the Dwarf King August also understood that continuing to let the court be involved in such disputes would not only be unhelpful but harmful to the situation. Therefore, after several heated debates and compromises in the court, he finally came up with a plan that all parties could barely accept.

Two hundred thousand Royal Guards were withdrawn from the front line to form the last line of defense for the capital with the 300,000 southern troops led by Guret. The troops from other parts of the kingdom were dispatched to the Tielan River front and joined the front army to reorganize and rebuild on the spot, rebuilding the front line while waiting for the arrival of follow-up supplies and waiting for the opportunity to launch a counterattack at any time.

Although Riobot and Angus were dissatisfied, the king had agreed to send most of the reinforcements to the front. With the addition of these manpower, the frontline army had expanded to nearly 200 million. As the commander of the northern front, Riobot had such a large force and great autonomy. Whether he launched a counterattack directly or followed the king's order to garrison on the spot, it was just a matter of his own accord. This was also a concession from His Majesty the King to himself and others.

As the complacent Riobot led the first batch of more than 40 soldiers westward to the front, Secretary of State for Military Affairs Angus began to raise various supplies for the front. When the huge violent organization began to operate actively, the royal palace finally had some free time.

In the quiet and empty hall, the Dwarf King August was already sitting on the high throne. Standing in the middle of the hall were two dwarves, Franks, the Thunder Dwarf legend who was of royal blood and was also the third Grand Marshal of the kingdom, and Guret, the Grand Marshal of the Southern War Zone.

"…What do you think the chance is that Riobot will disobey military orders and take reckless actions?"

August, sitting on the throne, had a dignified look on his face, with a hint of worry in his eyes.

"Return to your majesty!"

Franks, the Thunder Dwarf in golden heavy armor, gently stroked his gray hair and beard and replied in a deep voice, "Based on my understanding of Riobot's character, he will definitely launch a counterattack after he seizes the military power on the front line. It's just that the specific time of the attack is hard to predict."

"Ever since Riobot and Angus pressured His Majesty to appoint him as the commander of the northern defense line, the power of the Dragonblood and Bronze Dwarves in several northern provinces has increased dramatically. Not only have they seized a large number of mines, farms and other lands from other native ethnic groups, they have also embezzled most of the military supplies."

"According to the data collected by the spies in the Intelligence Department below, more than 60% of the mineral resources in the five northern provinces are controlled by the major families of the Dragon Blood and Bronze descents."

“So, for these lucrative benefits, even if Riobot and his team want to play it safe, the major families under their control may not necessarily do as they wish.”

"Worms!!! Damn you!!!"

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Even though August had already learned of this information, when Franks revealed it to him again, the king's anger was still ignited uncontrollably.

The four major civilizations have been passed down for tens of thousands of years, and the corruption of the top rulers has actually become very serious. It is because human countries are divided into large and small countries that cooperate and compete with each other that their atmosphere is stronger than the other three civilizations. This is also an important reason why their overall strength can surpass the other three civilizations.

In a kingdom like the Dwarf Kingdom, a powerful branch clan often means that there is a Dwarf god as its backer. Unless a crime against heaven is committed, the position of the legitimate family of each clan in the kingdom will be unshakable.

This makes these families act recklessly and arrogantly, and they often disobey even the orders of the king of the kingdom. For example, in the case of Leobot, even if he is responsible for the defeat on the battlefield, the king cannot easily deprive him of power for the sake of the overall situation.

"What we can do now is to seize the limited time and quickly act according to our plan. Otherwise, once the battle on the front line starts, with millions of soldiers fighting, the situation will be extremely difficult to control and anything could happen."

Guret nodded in agreement with Franks' judgment, and reminded the king in front of him: "The fate of the kingdom depends on the outcome of this battle. We have no way out!!"

"If we win this battle, I hope that His Majesty will abide by the contract between us and allow me, a descendant of the gray dwarf, to live autonomously."

"Of course!!"

Hearing Guret mention the contract again, King August responded with a serious expression.

……

After the secret discussion in the royal hall ended, intensive operations were quickly launched around the royal capital. Various large and complicated fortifications were formed bit by bit under the hard work of the dwarf laborers who were skilled in construction and forging. A complete defense line was taking shape in the undulating hilly area.

In order to buy time for the rear defense, King August delayed sending troops and supplies to the front, and at the same time sent special envoys to Riobot. In name, it was to reward and comfort him and to get first-hand information about the situation on the front line, but in reality, it was to put a few reins on the stubborn dwarf marshal.

Although August and the others knew that these effects were not significant.

A month and a half passed quickly. With the continuous arrival of personnel and supplies at the Tielan River, the once quiet and peaceful banks of the river were now bustling with people. More than four million warriors, laborers and livestock from the two major civilizations were stationed within a hundred miles. A murderous atmosphere naturally spread outward, scaring those alert natural creatures to flee this land, as if they also knew that this place would soon become a purgatory.

Phew~~~~~~
The howling river breeze swept across the broad Tielan River. In the pitch-black night, ripples appeared on the river surface caused by the wind. The ripples gradually changed and silently turned into waves, hitting the stone pillars and wooden stakes that were filled with chains blocking the river.

Thick white fog rose from the surface of the river and spread in all directions, soon covering the surrounding military camps and the layers of warships on the river, making it difficult to see their outlines.

Under the protection of this natural climate, a series of silent black shadows as silent as mountains were slowly boarding the warships leaning against the river bank. Except for the creaking sound of their armor and the faint sound of their breathing, no one made any sound.

The waterline of the huge warship gradually sank into the river. After reaching the critical point, the oars were extended into the water, stirring up ripples that merged with the rising and falling waves on the water and drifted away. The huge hull also began to glide silently under the force of the oars, heading towards the opposite bank, which was actually less than a kilometer away but now invisible.

Wow~~~
The sound of water rolling was melodiously floating in the air, and an oppressive atmosphere gradually condensed in the water. Just before this ordinary dawn, a great battle was about to break out.