Imperial Crown.

Chapter 498 Seven Sins Tomb
"The so-called double-wing crescent formation is actually a typical asymmetric military formation tactic!"

"The enemy has at least 20 orcs, while we only have soldiers. This is the concept of using small forces to defeat large ones, also known as 'asymmetric warfare'."

The big tent was packed with people, including the two veterans Eric and Link, as well as the two young second-generation extraordinary people, the "local faction headed by Thor" and the "foreign faction headed by Hoyaz", who were now in full swing; in addition, there was the leader of the Holy Knights, Savanna; and Hume, the son of Marquis Baldwin of Mantali Province; and the temporary captain Solingxi and others who were selected from the mercenary corps...

These people were all extraordinary beings with terrifying strength and awakened fighting spirit. In the outside world, they would all be well-known figures. But now, they were listening to Raven's speech seriously. Some were taking notes with pens in their hands, and some even had infatuated expressions... For example, Hume.

For men, information about war, especially the secret "military tactics", is as irresistible as an aphrodisiac.

Oh, no, that's also true for some women...like Savannah.

Those who have no tactics and only know how to charge forward in a swarm are fools and mediocre! And those who memorize a few simple tactics and don't know how to adapt can only be generals at best! Only those who are familiar with various military formations and tactics and can adapt to them flexibly are worthy of being called commanders!
But Raven was different. He was not only proficient in various military formations and tactics, but also flexible. However, these were not enough to support his titles of "tactical genius", "military genius", "young war god" and so on that resounded throughout the Middles Continent! He was most famous for his endless and unpredictable formations and tactics! These novel tactics not only confused the opponent's generals, but were often extremely powerful, which led to the victory of a small force over a large one. For others, it was a miracle, but for Raven, it was just the most basic operation!
There are many people in this world who are crazier than Raven, but why is it that only Raven has succeeded step by step and survived to this day? It is because behind Raven's seemingly "crazy" appearance, there are always endless tactical support and the ability to adapt to changes!

As for whether others recognized Raven's ability, it was unclear, but at least everyone present clearly recognized it! Especially Hume, the son of a noble family who was doted on by Baldwin and forbidden to read any books about war or learn any knowledge about war because he didn't want him to get involved in the war. At this moment, he raised his head slightly, pursed his lips, and showed an intoxicated expression on his face as he learned relevant knowledge for the first time.

Of course, it would be better if his slightly narrowed eyes were not staring at Savanna's beautiful black silk legs, but looking at the map!

"oi"

Raven coughed lightly and tapped the map with a thin wooden stick, motioning for everyone to look over. "The so-called tactics are not about arranging heavy cavalry in the front or archers in the back, or simply assigning the order of attack of different military types! Instead, under the common goal of winning the war, each military formation has its own clear and independent combat objectives!"

"Take the Double-Winged Crescent Formation for example. Unlike most military formations that use the center as the main force in the fight, it takes a different approach and uses the two wings as the main force in the fight!" Raven said, using a feather pen to draw a pattern similar to the five-tube pattern in mahjong on the blank space. "The Double-Winged Crescent Formation is an inward-concave crescent arc, which is somewhat similar to the iron barrel defense formation used by Hoyaz last time. It looks weak in the middle, but it actually contains elite troops to attract the enemy's main force! The two wings are led by heavy cavalry to form the main force of the charge. No matter which side tears open a gap in the enemy, it is enough to cause the enemy to collapse!"

Raven took a sip of wine. "So on the day of the decisive battle, I will personally command the central army, with light infantry as the first echelon, the mercenary phalanx as the second echelon, and the Thorblack Blade heavy armored infantry as the third echelon! On the right wing, the Holy Knights will be the front row, with all the heavy cavalry in between, and the light cavalry as the suffix! On the left wing, the crossbow team will be the vanguard, and the archers will be the back row!"

"Remember this! The combat goal of the center army is to trap as many enemy forces as possible like a swamp, focusing on defense! The goal of the right and left wings is to tear through the enemy's formation! Be flexible!"

After saying this, almost everyone's face showed a mixture of shock and confusion. They all couldn't wait to ask, but Raven obviously would not give them this opportunity. Instead, he waved his hand and asked everyone to leave.

"Father, I know you must have a more comprehensive consideration, but I think this formation is still too risky. I am worried about two things. The first is that you are in charge of the central army. I think it is totally unnecessary! The second is the arrangement of troops on the left wing. There are only crossbowmen and cavalry archers, which is almost equivalent to letting them fight in close combat, which is tantamount to suicide!"

As everyone left one after another, the tent suddenly became quiet. Only Eric, Link, Thor and Hoyaz remained in the tent.

Hoyaz spoke first.

"War is a life-and-death struggle. There is no such thing as perfection!" Raven said calmly, "As for my commanding the central army, there is no need to mention it. I have my own thoughts on this matter."

Thor was slightly moved, "The master wants to use himself as bait to attract Silver Mane and other main forces?!"

Raven nodded approvingly while leaning on his cane. "That's right!" He then turned to Eric and said, "Tomorrow Link will stay by my side to protect me. Eric, your opponent is the Level 5 Broken Tooth."

"Yes, Master!" Eric shouted in a loud voice.

"What about Silvermane? He's at least level 5!" Thor asked with concern. His father was only level 4, but he had to fight Brokenfang, who was level 5. This made Thor a little nervous, but the head of the family and his father didn't say much, so as a junior, he couldn't say anything.

"Isn't there still the dragon Zorsaarn?" Link said.

Thor nodded, "From this point of view, there is indeed no problem! But can we trust that dragon?" Recalling the scene he saw when he just came back a few days ago, if it weren't for his father's boasting, Thor still couldn't believe it. That bloodstone wall, which was so solid and thick, could only withstand three dragon breaths! If such a terrifying dragon turned against them in the battle, it would be a disaster for everyone!
"Unless she doesn't care about the lives of those four dragon cubs!" Lei Wen said confidently.

After discussing some details, Raven took out a ring and handed it to Hojaz. "Go, give it to Savannah, and supervise the progress and details of their arrangement of the Divine Kingdom Radiance Array."

"Yes, father." Hoyaz took the ring.

The others also said goodbye and left.

……

"ho ho"

A slight groaning sound was heard from the dark castle basement. Zorsarn had captured tens of thousands of werewolves, and Thor had sent about 2000 eaglemen, so the construction of Bloodstone Castle was very fast, almost changing every day. Although the main structure was not yet completed, the underground area had already taken shape.

Taking the orc captives into consideration, the underground prison in Bloodstone Castle alone is as large as two squares and is divided into three floors, which is quite spectacular.

The place where the noise came from at this time was in the underground prison on the third floor.

Jiujiulinga woke up from his coma. The sharp pain from the tip of his head made him feel worse than death. His memory was in chaos and he couldn't remember anything for a while. But when Raven's withered and falcon-like face appeared in his pupils, he almost instinctively shrank back and shouted in a sharp voice: "Devil! You are a real devil!" The moonlight stone emitted a faint light in the dungeon, making Raven's body almost half hidden in the darkness. Only his wrinkled cheeks appeared half bright and half dark under the light of the moonlight stone. "Jiujiulinga, you are not honest. You didn't tell me the truth, right?" Raven said hoarsely.

This startled Jiujiu Linga sobered up a lot. Hearing this, his eyes flickered and he stammered, "I don't know what Earl Raven is talking about! You said that as long as I hand over the magic crystal I hid, you will let me go."

Raven rubbed his index finger on the crutch, and his nails slid up and down, making a "crunching" sound. Although the sound was faint, it was extremely clear in the silent underground three-story prison, making people inexplicably irritated. The long silence made Jiujiu Linga a little unbearable. From time to time, he observed Raven with his peripheral vision, fearing that he would once again raise the crutch in his hand without martial ethics.

"Jiujiulinga, I thought you were a smart man," Raven suddenly said, "but your performance disappointed me! I'm sorry I have to be so blunt and clear, you have no cards in your hand, no bargaining chips with me! According to the principle that the human race and the orcs are irreconcilable in the thousand-year blood feud, I should have beheaded you to boost morale, but I didn't do that, right? What did I get in return for my kindness and sincerity?" Raven's tone suddenly became gloomy, "In return for your exhausting rhetoric? Tell me the secret in your heart, and I can let you live a decent life, isn't that good?"

"Mercy? You?" Jiujiu Linga seemed to have been hit in a sore spot, and sneered with a bit of defenselessness.

"Am I not kind enough?" Raven asked in surprise, so much so that he had to lean forward slightly to expose his face to the light of the moonstone.

Jiujiu Linga looked at Raven's face, his long eyelashes cutting the light of the moon fluorite, and his pair of dark eyes were like poisonous snake gall, devouring everything around him! He really couldn't see through this man, because he could hardly see any useful information on Raven's face, even a little bit! But what he got in return was always the capricious beating and that damn ghostly smile. This man is really like a devil that devours the abyss! Even for Silver Mane, the grumpy big cat, Jiujiu Linga has never been so tired to serve! "Is the Earl referring to those magic crystal mines?" Jiujiu Linga really couldn't figure out what Raven wanted, so he could only speculate.

"nonono"

Raven shook his finger. "Those things are not enough. Besides, it takes more than ten years to mine the magic crystal mine. Now Silver Mane is pressing on, and the territory of Bloody Roar Province is all in his hands. It's useless for you to tell me this information."

"Then I don't know what the Earl wants." Jiujiulinga slumped over on the stone bed and said with a desperate attitude.

"Well," Raven shook his head, "it seems like we are destined not to be friends. What a pity."

Raven turned around and prepared to leave. However, when he reached the door, the frustrated voice of Chichi Linga sounded again, "Ruins! Zorzaan found me because she wanted me to help her dig through a ruin. This is my last secret!"

Raven's mouth curled up slightly, but he didn't turn around. "What ruins?"

"The Tomb of the Seven Sins!" Jiujiulinga said, "It's right at the junction of Bloody Roar Province and the Miracle Mountains! The obsidian that Zorzaen found before was moved from that ruins, but it is completely inaccessible from the front. She wants us to dig a tunnel large enough to accommodate her body!"

"What's in there?" Raven asked in a flat voice without turning around.

"I don't know." Jiujiu Linga stood up and knelt on the stone bed. "I really don't know, but there should be something about 'laws'. You also know that Zorzaen is at the fifth level. If he wants to break through to the sixth level, he must devour enough law origins!"

Raven nodded, walked back, and took out a piece of parchment from his ring. "Take a look at it. If you have no problem, sign it."

Jiujiu Linga picked up the parchment suspiciously, and soon, his face turned shocked, "You, you really want to do this?" Jiujiu Linga looked at Raven in disbelief! Because the content of the two copies of parchment was very simple, that is, Jiujiu Linga would use the excavated magic crystals to trade with Raven, and all the income from the sale of magic crystals would be divided into "73 points".

Of course, Raven undoubtedly accounted for 70%, but Jiujiu Linga also accounted for 30%!
Magic crystals are such precious resources. For example, a fifth-level magic crystal is worth between 3900 and gold coins. In other words, for a fifth-level magic crystal, Jiu Jiu Linga gets at least gold coins!
Previously, the Jiujiulinga could be sold, but it could only be sold secretly, in small quantities, or even at a low price, otherwise it would all have to be handed over to Silver Mane, Broken Tooth, Igni and others. There was no way to keep the wealth!

But now, if he follows Raven, Raven will provide security and sales, and he only needs to be responsible for mining!

For Jiujiu Linga, this is like pie falling from the sky!
"I am the Earl of the Empire. How can this be false?" Raven handed over a feather pen. "Now let me ask you, am I merciful?"

"Mercy!" the Jiujiulinga shouted loudly, "Great mercy!"

swish
Jiujiu Linga hurriedly signed his name, fearing that Raven would go back on his word. This parchment was not an enchanted item, but simply a piece of parchment, so it had no binding effect on the parties to the contract. It was a bet on one's character! Even for Raven, wasn't it a gamble? !
After signing, an ugly smile appeared on Jiujiulinga's emerald green cheeks, "But what about Silver Mane? He will definitely destroy our business, right?!"

In just a short while, Jiujiulinga's body and mind had completely begun to consider "us", and he himself seemed to be completely unaware of this imperceptible change in himself.

Raven raised the corner of his mouth and patted the shoulder of Jiujiu Linga who was kneeling on the stone bed in front of him, "Don't worry, my friend!" Raven said softly, "He will agree, because I will give him an offer he can't refuse!" His voice was full of charming confidence.

"That big cat Silver Mane is very difficult to deal with."

Jiujiulinga shook his head like a rattle, obviously not believing what Raven said.

Raven smiled and didn't say much. Instead, he changed the subject and said, "You bad guy, have you dug through the passage to the ruins a long time ago, but kept it a secret, and used this to keep Zorzaan here?!"

"Uh, this one."

After signing the contract and being sure that he could survive, Jiujiu Linga was obviously much more relaxed. He said with a sly smile, "It is indeed connected, but you also know, My Lord Earl, this thing is like a woman. It was a little small and tight the first time. It was not suitable for Zorsaan to enter." Jiujiu Linga joked without hesitation.

……

(End of this chapter)