Imperial Crown.

Chapter 358 Entering the City Alone
"Raven!?"

Count Frank stood up, causing the table to shake and the wine glasses on it to fall over.

Snapped.

A white and slender hand steadied the wine glass and placed it back on the table.

"Oh, don't get so excited, Count Frank."

Raven sat across from Frank leisurely, smiling:

"It's not like a noble to behave like this."

It’s really Raven!
Frank couldn't believe his eyes.

By now, every noble in the Principality of Eivor knew what Raven looked like.

It is said that Eivor VIII made a target with Raven's portrait and shot arrows at it every day to relieve his boredom.

Compared to the portrait, the real Raven was less sinister and vicious, more elegant and tolerant, and had a calmness and confidence that emanated from his bones.

That kind of temperament is heavy and does not match his young appearance.

"How dare you appear here?" Frank grasped the sword at his waist, and purple lightning burst out, making the dust on the ground float.

"I advise you to calm down." Raven said calmly:

"Sit down, let's have a drink and talk slowly."

"After all, I didn't come here to kill you."

Frank smiled coldly and was about to speak when he suddenly felt a chill on his neck and a sharp, slender nail rested on his throat.

And out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the person behind him: "William!? Is it you!?"

No wonder, William and Ernada disappeared together after that day.

It turned out that the two of them were spies sent by Raven.

"Even if you kill me now, you can't get away." Frank said with his neck stiff.

"I've said it before, Count Frank, I don't intend to kill you, but if you insist on dying, I can't stop you." Raven said:

"But, whether others can keep me as you expect... is hard to say."

Frank took a deep breath, slowly loosened his grip on the hilt, and his fighting spirit receded.

The fact that Raven was able to sneak in quietly says a lot.

What's more, Raven has a lot of Wind King troops.

Even if they were surrounded, King Feng risked his life to enter the city and escort Raven back.

But Raven was the commander of an army after all, and he actually took the risk to come to Bolan City...

The question came from Count Frank's mouth: "What exactly do you want to do?"

"Sit down, let's talk slowly." Raven pointed to Frank's original seat:

"After all, the night is still long."

The sharp nails were removed from Frank's neck. He took a deep breath and sat back in his seat, but he did not give up the idea of ​​attacking Raven. His eyes kept lingering on Raven's throat and heart.

And Raven seemed not to see it:
"I came here this time to discuss a deal with you."

"However, before that, we need to reach a consensus -

That is, sooner or later, Bolan City will be lost."

Frank's heart sank, but he still sneered:
"In that case, what are you doing here? When we can no longer hold on, why don't you just reap the fruits of victory?"

Raven was not angry and continued to talk: "Ignoring the facts is not a good habit."

"I have been stationed outside the city for more than a month and have intercepted three batches of logistical supplies. During this period, you didn't even have the courage to leave the city to test it."

"I know you are saving food, even at the cost of starving your own people to death, but even if you collect all the food in the city and feed only the army, how long can the food in the city last?"

"Four months? Five months? Or half a year?"

"I have to remind you that not every corpse can be found. After summer, as long as there is a contaminated corpse in the water source, it may bring plague."

"By then, how many people will be able to go up to the city and fight?"

"Oh, and not to mention the low morale caused by your blocking of the four gates."

With every word Raven spoke, Frank's face grew darker.

He knew that Raven was telling the truth.

Being in the city, he understood the dire plight of the city better than Raven, but he could only watch everything go corrupt as if he were trapped in a nightmare, unable to do anything.

"So what?" Frank stared into Raven's eyes. "At least, before that, we still have the courage to fight to the death."

"You have less than 2 troops under your command, so you may not be able to defeat our 13-man army!"

Raven smiled upon hearing this, not hiding his disdain:
"Just because you guys missed the Battle of Thorn Ridge?"

Frank looked like he was slapped in the face, his face turned ashen, and he opened his mouth several times but couldn't utter a word to refute.

The Battle of Thorn Ridge, with the death of Viscount Fowler and 2000 warriors, will surely become a classic battle spread across the continent.

It even transcends the Duchy of Eivor itself.

This is also the pain that Frank can never erase.

Because although he was in favor of the battle and asked to go and support Viscount Fowler, he even had the idea of ​​leading the army alone to fight a decisive battle with Raven.

But Prime Minister Gatugen's secret order restrained him.

The reasons were all very legitimate - the Principality could not afford another defeat, and it had to integrate these 13 troops into a fist in order to firmly fight against Raven.

However, when the dust settled on the Battle of Thorn Ridge, Frank realized what he had missed.

If he could participate in that battle, even if he failed and even if he couldn't save Viscount Fowler, Frank believed that Eivor's army would have a completely different look.

But there is no potion of regret in the world.

The fact is that they had an army of 13, but they watched helplessly as 2000 friendly troops who had held out for two months were annihilated.

It also made the nobles in the city develop a mentality of "broken jar, broken jar".

Even Frank himself was doubting - even if he went out of the city to fight Raven, could he really win?
The appearance of Raven made his thoughts even clearer.

As the commander-in-chief of an army, Raven dared to venture into the city of Bolan. What kind of army would a man with such courage and confidence lead?
Not to mention, before this, they had won battle after battle, and each battle was a classic war in which the outnumbered side defeated the larger force, which was enough to be used as a case study in military textbooks!

Although morale and momentum sound unrealistic, a look at the history of war shows that they are factors that cannot be ignored in war.

"It seems you understand too." Raven looked at the ·~·~·-shaped pattern on his finger:
"Then we have the premise and basis for trading."

"I remember that you were in charge of guarding the south gate of Bolan City."

"Five days later, that is, on January 5, 1200, I will launch an attack from the south gate of Bolan City. At that time, I hope that you, Count Frank, can act as an insider and open the gate."

Boom!
The table cracked open, and Frank's sword, wrapped in lightning, appeared at Raven's throat:

"You're insulting me!"

A hint of deep red blood burned on Raven's fingers, and he gently placed them on the blade.

The next moment, the lightning and fighting spirit wrapped around the sword's edge melted away.

When.

Raven flicked his finger, and the blade broke in half, shattering like a splinter of ice.

Frank froze.

Although this is just a sword, it is also an enchanted weapon!

What about that red light?

Fighting?

Practice fighting spirit and magic at the same time?
This is a plot that would not appear even in the worst third-rate novels!

Raven certainly wasn't going to explain to him kindly, he just shrugged:

“I don’t want it to happen again.”

Frank was sweating profusely. Before this, although he had been listening to Raven, he had always been in control psychologically - he was subdued by William only because he was not vigilant.

If he wanted, he could perish together with Raven at any time.

However, Raven's move shattered his fantasy.

Raven could really kill him!

How could there be such a monster in the world?

A genius in magic, yet so terrifying in close combat!
"...You are indeed very strong." Frank hissed:
"But I will never betray my country!"

"I said, this is just a deal." Raven said, "Since it is a deal, then both of us will benefit."

"What I want is the actual control of Bolan City and victory in the war. Killing or injuring a certain number of you is not my goal."

"And Earl Frank, since you are loyal to your country, you should think more about the Principality of Eivor."

Raven spoke slowly, as if discussing where to have afternoon tea, but what he said made Frank feel as if he was stuck in the mud.

"If we continue to confront each other, I believe that before the food runs out, you will reach a consensus and attack me."

"And I will definitely win!"

"That means I will also suffer considerable losses, but after the 13 troops are completely destroyed, how much strength will your Principality of Eivor have left?"

"Indeed, so far, this war is just my personal recklessness, and at most it has involved the Nord Province."

"But our king is not a mediocre ruler. He will definitely see my value and there will be no shortage of reinforcements. By then, will you still be able to stop us?"

Frank didn't want to listen to Raven's nonsense, but those words just got into his ears and his mind, forcing him to think.

"No, that's one thing that's wrong." Frank argued forcefully, "War is always full of surprises. We may not lose this battle!"

Raven was not angry at all, but nodded seriously: "If it was during the Battle of Iron Birch, and you Eivor had such a force, then this is indeed true."

"But it's different now."

Frank asked, "Why do you say that?"

Raven smiled slightly, and the ring on his hand shone slightly. Letters fell to the ground like snowflakes, piling up into a small mountain of parchment.

“That’s part of the rest of our deal.”

"There are 7 viscounts, 31 barons, and 107 knights in total."

“They are unwilling to go against me.”

Frank's brows twitched wildly.

As one of the current powerful men in Bolan City, he knew the composition of the army very well.

There are a total of 11 viscounts, 53 barons, and 219 knights in the team.

Those who were secretly colluding with Raven actually occupied more than half of the army!

Indeed, writing a letter to Raven does not mean selling out the interests of the principality.

But such people cannot face any pressure, and will become the black sheep when encountering a brutal and fierce battle!

"So, think about it." Raven said:

"You, open the gate and let me in, and I will give you all these letters."

"In this way, I will win the war, and you can lead most of the troops to withdraw, then get rid of these scumbags in the team, form a fist, and prepare for the next more brutal war."

Frank was persuaded by Raven. He sat back in his chair and said in a low voice:

"But there is a question. What good will this do for you?"

"If our country completes the integration of the military, you will face greater trouble. If I were you, I would definitely consume as many of our soldiers as possible in this battle."

Raven spread his hands and said honestly, "Like I said before, our king is not a mediocre ruler. He will definitely send troops to support us."

"And the leader must be a certain earl. I am just a small baron."

"By then, I will no longer be the leader on the battlefield, and correspondingly, I will no longer be your main opponent."

"It's a bone that I don't need to gnaw on, so what's the harm if it's a little harder?"

Frank nodded slowly.

This is a very appropriate reason.

The interests of the country are not equal to the interests of the aristocracy.

The reinforcements from the Keynes Empire that arrive later will definitely try their best to pick the best and push Raven to the edge of the battlefield.

Raven wanted to take over Bolan City before then to maximize his profits, which was indeed a choice a qualified noble would make.

"...I understand." Frank took a deep breath: "I can agree to your request, but I also have requirements."

"Since it's a deal, we have to allow people to bargain." Raven said generously: "What do you want?"

"Give me these letters now," Frank said.

"My Lord Earl, you are joking. If I give them to you now and you break your promise, wouldn't I be a fool?" Raven smiled and said, "How about this, let's each make a concession."

"As for me, I will give you 10 names first. They are all nobles under your command. When I really take over Bolan City, I will give you all the remaining letters."

Frank's mouth twitched: "...Okay, it's a deal."

"Then I wish us a pleasant cooperation." Raven stood up and snapped his fingers. A whirlwind blew past, and the letters on the ground were rolled up and sucked into the space ring.

Raven picked up a quill and wrote down ten names on the coffee table next to him.

"Goodbye, Count Frank."

As he spoke, William walked to Raven's side. With a barely perceptible halo of magic, the two of them disappeared from Frank's sight.

Then two rows of footprints appeared on the carpet, extending all the way to the door.

The door opened and closed, and the footprints disappeared.

After waiting for more than ten minutes and making sure that Raven had left, Frank picked up the parchment on the coffee table, took in all the contents on it, then brought it to the edge of the candlestick and burned it.

After 5 days.

June 1200, 1 in the Guangming calendar.

The sound of drums and horns cut through the cold morning light. Raven's troops spread out in a line and slowly advanced towards the city wall.

Siege vehicles, crossbows, ladders, catapults and other siege equipment are all available.

From a distance, it looked like a swarm of emotionless insects, ready to devour everything in front of them.

Count Frank appeared in the city wall as promised, and not far from him was the capstan that controlled the city gate.

The Eagle Army was getting closer and closer, and the crossbows shot from the top of the city could not stop them at all.

The crossbows on both sides fired at each other, but in the end the enchanted crossbow was superior. At the cost of losing one of its own, it destroyed four crossbows on the city wall.

Gradually, the Eagle Army had advanced to within 100 meters of the city wall.

Frank's chief guard came over and whispered:
"Sir, those traitors have been controlled."

"The Sanwang Army has 5700 soldiers and can go out of the city to fight at any time!"

Frank nodded solemnly:
"I leave this to you. Open the city gate in one minute."

As he spoke, Count Frank put on his helmet, turned around and walked towards the city wall.

He was indeed prepared to open the city gates as agreed.

but.

But he was not prepared to betray the Principality of Eivor.

Instead, he will personally lead his own Shanwang Army to give a full-scale attack to the lax Eagle Army!
Arriving in front of his legion, Count Frank mounted his warhorse.

Amidst the creaking sounds.

The gate slowly descended, then suddenly

Stuck in the middle!
……

(End of this chapter)