Imperial Crown.

Chapter 369 Everyone is an Enemy
Many thanks to Qidian Dad [Jun Bujin] for the 2 rewards!

……

"Are you sure that Raven is seriously injured?"

There was a hint of excitement in Gatugen's tone.

"Yes, sir." The man below replied: "Our aerial scouts saw clearly that Raven seemed to have fought with someone, and a large part of the camp was destroyed."

"Although the tent was rebuilt not long after, the layout of their camp has changed drastically since Eric went in and out, and Raven has never left the tent again."

Gatugen waved his hand to let everyone leave, and sat back at his table. A rare smile appeared on his haggard face.

Eivor VIII has always been a man of few words. As early as the day when Raven was attacked, Gatugen knew that it was arranged by Eivor VIII.

To be honest, Gatugen does not agree with this approach.

But he had to admit that the effect was indeed very good.

Maybe, God has not given up on the Principality of Eivor!

Three days ago, Count Jonah led his Gaoling Legion away. Although it was a good thing, it did not make Gatugen relax.

Now that Raven is seriously injured and unable to take charge, this is the key to how the situation begins to change.

Thinking of this, Gatugen was stunned, then he sighed deeply:

"Has the Principality become so desperate?!"

Ever since Raven entered Eivor, Gatugen has been working day and night, not daring to relax for a moment. Even though Eivor VIII's attitude became increasingly tough, he suppressed his anger.

In this tense situation with foreign enemies at hand, Eivor VIII's prestige cannot suffer any unnecessary damage.

Now that he can take a breath and look back, Gatugen suddenly realizes that -

The one who almost pushed the Principality of Eivor into despair was a mere baron like Raven!
Funny, and somewhat sad.

Calming down his mood, Gatugen cheered himself up, took out a pen and paper and quickly drew up a plan. After checking it, he immediately drove out to the Posa Palace to meet Eivor VIII.

Gatugen went out in the morning with full of expectations.

When I got home in the afternoon, my face had started to turn gloomy again.

"Insects, a swarm of insects!!"

Gatugen broke two vases, and the old dog in the house wagged its tail, walked through the fragments to his side, and rubbed his head slowly against his trouser leg.

Looking at the old dog with sparse hair, Gatugen felt sad, as if he saw himself.

But this old dog can still bask in the sun all day, while he still has to work hard for this principality.

"Stay alive, old man."

I rubbed the old dog's head, not knowing whether I was talking to the dog or to myself.

After returning to the study and changing his clothes, Gatugen sighed softly.

Originally, his suggestion this time was to take advantage of Raven's serious injury to organize the army to attack out of the city, cripple the Eagle Army, or even destroy it!

But this proposal was met with unanimous opposition.

Grand Duke Aivor changed his previous aggressive attitude of urging a decisive battle and instead felt that he should calm down and observe first.

Quentin also chimed in, saying who knows if this might be another plan by Raven to lure them out of the city for a decisive battle?
Anyway, Raven can't afford to waste time, so they can just wait patiently.

Gatugen was almost laughing out of anger.

He knew what these two people were thinking.

Grand Duke Eivor naively believed that Raven was really finished. He did not want any noble to make achievements and steal his limelight and face, nor did he want to give any rewards.

And Quentin was simply frightened by Raven!

Gatugen repeatedly stressed that this was not an option and that one could not leave one's fate to others.

It is unclear when Raven will be able to recover and whether the Insa Empire can really put more pressure on Keynes on the front battlefield.

"Time is on our side"

In addition to Wanda who was caught off guard, didn't Tudor, Palmer, Faraday, and Quentin who failed twice in a row, all have the same idea?
But Raven wins every time!

Gatugen said this in the softest tone possible, which immediately caused Eivor VIII and Quentin to fall into silence.

In the end, it was Quentin who gave in first and told the truth: "Prime Minister, what you said makes sense, but now there are 32 troops in the city, but firstly, they have not been integrated yet, and secondly, who dares to really face the Eagle Army?"

Gatugen also remained silent.

In the end, both sides had to make concessions - Blue Castle was going to send troops, but their target was not Raven, but Earl Jonah who had left the team and walked away alone.

Of course, the plans after this will also be made by Gatugen.

"It's not so bad..." Gatugen comforted himself.

Count Jonah is not as difficult to deal with as Raven. Fighting with him can be considered as a training exercise.

We do not seek a quick victory. As long as we can maintain a stalemate or even gain a slight advantage, we can inject some courage into the frightened army.

Taking out the latest report from the drawer, Gatugen muttered:

"Jonah... where are we?"

……

After 20 days.

West of the Eivor Plains, in Henting County, Gulang Town.

As a barony at the grain production center of the Principality of Eivor, the main business here is undoubtedly grain cultivation.

Now that spring has arrived, the trees on the low hills in the distance are sprouting new buds, and the birds are chirping happily.

Normally, this should be the busiest time in the fields.

The men would be busy in the fields, the children would help with odd jobs, and the women, in addition to helping out, would also have to worry about feeding the family.

But now, none of these scenes appeared.

A lot of weeds sprouted in the fields, and broken bodies were lying on them. The houses were burned down and even the wells were blocked, leaving only a pile of charred ruins.

The castle that originally belonged to the baron also became dilapidated, the gate was directly smashed, and the bloodstains on the ground had dried and seeped into the soil.

In the castle hall, the awkward music of Molinier was playing.

"Cheers to the Earl!"

"cheers!"

A group of Gaoling Army soldiers laughed loudly and raised their glasses to drink.

Sitting high on a high-backed stone chair, Jonah responded to the enthusiasm of his soldiers and poured the beer in the cup down his throat.

"what--"

Jonah let out a long breath and adjusted his posture. The trembling woman in his arms gently wiped the wine stains from the corner of his lips.

Patting the soft waist of the woman in his arms, Jonah felt more and more happy.

This is called war!
After splitting up his troops with Raven, he followed the previous plan and separated his soldiers and dispersed into the countryside of the Principality of Eivor, while he himself led 1000 elite heavy cavalry to act alone.

In this land, no one can be his opponent!
They burned down all the villages they saw, looted their food and wealth, killed any men who dared to resist, and then took possession of their women while they cried and struggled.

The women on the plains are much better than Molinier. Their skin is like milk, and even their insults sound soft and pleasant.

"The Eivor people don't deserve to own such a rich land." A drunk noble exclaimed loudly: "The land here is so fertile, it's like honey flowing!"

"If I can defeat Aiwoer, I would rather exchange my family's fiefdom for the fiefdom here, even if it means exchanging three acres for one acre!"

This statement immediately aroused a wave of approval.

Molinir Province is located on a plateau and is frozen for half of the year, so people can only grow crops for half of the year. Therefore, although the area is larger than Eivor, the population is less than half of Eivor.

The living environment is too bad.

"Thanks to the Earl, otherwise we would still be hiding under the Blue Castle and suffering from the Eagle Army's humiliation!" The nobleman said more and more excitedly:

"I thought Raven was so powerful, but the Eivor people are just like this? It's just that Raven went first and earned a good reputation. If we were closer and the Earl took action, Eivor would have been destroyed long ago!"

Count Jonah glanced at him and said, "Hey! Don't say that!"

Having said that, his expression seemed quite pleased.

In his opinion, all of Raven's previous reasons for opposing his actions were completely groundless!

What's wrong with harassing civilians in an enemy country?
Over the past thousands of years, hasn't every country's army done this when going to war? And we haven't seen them all lose.

Raven, he just wanted to protect his pitiful self-esteem and that ridiculous womanly kindness.

In fact, if it were just this, Jonah would have endured it.

The key lies in the deaths of Jinmangs and Korla.

Behind this, it reflects Raven's disrespect for him.

"I am the Count of the Empire!" Jonah gritted his teeth in his heart:
"If I give you one point of face, you have to give me three points in return.

Being under your command doesn't mean I have to obey you in everything!

Do you think you can control me with just the logistics and food? The men on the plateau are like wolves, they will find their own food!"

Just wait, Raven, wait until I achieve victory, wait until the refugees rush to the foot of Blue Castle, wait until they are forced to leave the city for a decisive battle!

When the time comes, I will lead my army back to rescue you.

Of course, a lesson must be taught!

The more Count Jonah thought of Raven crying and confessing in front of him, the more comfortable he felt.

Baron, don't even think about changing your fate. Just kneel down and lick my feet.

砰

call--

The door of the hall was thrown open, and the cold wind of early spring poured into the hall. A scout stumbled in and said, "My Lord Earl, it's bad. The Eivor army is coming!"

Jonah had just eaten a lot of greasy barbecue and drank a lot of beer. The cold wind made him feel a little nauseous, but he still said calmly:

"Why are you panicking? I've made it clear."

"Where did the other party come from? How many people are there? Under whose banner are they?"

"It's the Royal Guards of the Principality of Aivor!" the scout said in panic:
"The number of people... the number of people is too numerous to count!!"

These words immediately quieted the originally bustling hall. Everyone looked at each other, and then burst into laughter.

"Did you fuck that bitch last night and blow your brains out? You can't count the number of people? Just those Eivor pigs?"

"Okay, I know you're tired, come in and have a drink together!"

"My Lord Earl, this kid is trying every possible way to ask for a reward!"

Only Jonah retained a trace of rationality. He stood up and said, "Okay, everyone, be serious."

Then he turned to the scout and said, "Which direction do you mean? Take me there!"

The scout nodded quickly.

Jonah followed him out of the hall and climbed to the top of the tower that originally belonged to the Church of Light.

The cold wind blowing from high above made his pupils shrink!
The scout hadn't lied to him!
As far as the eye can see, a layer of blue waves has risen on the horizon——

That is the battle robe of the Eivor people, and the Night Owl flag flying in the sky is indeed the flag of the Eivor Guard!
East, west, south, north, there are armies approaching from every direction!

How many people are there in total?
2, 3… or more?
"Pass my order, everyone put on armor, mount your horses, and prepare to break out!!!"

The scout took the order and retreated at a running pace.

This encirclement is large, but has loopholes, and 1000 heavy cavalry are enough to break through it.

but……

Although he led 1000 heavy cavalry, in order to better execute tactics and make his soldiers rich, he dispersed most of the soldiers to the surrounding villages. At the moment, there were only 300 people around him!

Jonah's drunkenness trickled down his forehead in a cold sweat.

How could this be?
I have so many scouts under my command, and they are all cavalry, how come we only got the news now?
Suddenly, Jonah remembered Raven's words:
“…Serfs are also human beings. They will get angry, they will resist, and they will stab you at the critical moment!

...How long can this plan last in such a harsh environment where everyone is an enemy?"

"Everyone is my enemy..." Jonah muttered this sentence, and suddenly his face changed.

He felt nauseous again, and his body was chilling, which was very similar to the feeling of being drunk.

But Jonah is a 4th level extraordinary person, and he normally drinks a lot. How could he have such a reaction after drinking only a little today?!

Could it be...

Poisoning?

"Wow!"

Jonah held onto the spire of the tower and began to vomit violently!!

Almost vomited out my internal organs!
After vomiting out everything in his stomach, Count Jonah touched the corner of his mouth and felt out a small ball of undigested bright red fiber.

Jonah remembered.

This was something that was seized from the castle warehouse.

It looks like sorghum stalks, but like sugarcane in the south, you can eat it after peeling the skin. It is very sweet, as sweet as honey water. Just spit out the residue. Even if you don't spit it out, it's okay as long as you don't eat too much.

The captured woman especially recommended the red-heart kind, saying it was a tribute to be sent to the capital of Eivor.

Their food and wine are under the charge of dedicated personnel, so there is no possibility of tampering with them.

Could it be that thing that caused it?

With his mind finally fully clear, Jonah turned and rushed down the tower.

There were less than 200 people gathered in the square outside the castle. Most of them had sallow and pale faces. Many of them were holding their stomachs with saliva hanging from the corners of their mouths.

The number of war horses has also decreased by nearly 1/3!

"My lord, it's bad. The horses in the stable...all started to have soft stools all of a sudden. The horses can't even stand up!"

Jonah's head buzzed.

It's that kind of sorghum stalks!
In order to replenish the energy of the warhorse, Jonah specifically ordered people to give the warhorse a snack!
That damn woman!

Jonah was so angry that he almost went mad.

But now is not the time to worry about it, as tens of thousands of troops are surrounding us.

He has only 300 men under his command - and now there are only more than 200 capable of fighting.

Not to mention whether he could defend the castle with such a hundred-fold difference in military strength, even if he could, the food in the castle would not be enough to support him.

In order to make as many refugees as possible flow towards Blue Castle, Jonah always walked and burned along the way, leaving only enough food for his army to eat for a few days.

Regret, anger, and a hint of panic, all these emotions surged in Jonah's heart, but were suppressed one by one.

Mounting his horse, Count Jonah shouted:
"Everyone who can move, get on your horses and break through with me!!"

……

(End of this chapter)