Four-Armed Divine Emperor

After receiving full support from the rear and the surrender of nomadic barbarians, the Alan army was roughly divided into three directions. A small part of the weak provincial army and self-recruited soldiers (soldiers who brought their own dry food and followed the army) were left on the land of the former Kingdom of Xerxes. Although this place was basically emptied, some of the original residents still stayed, and troops were needed to maintain daily occupation and public security.

In addition, leaving behind troops with weak combat effectiveness can also reduce the consumption of supplies for the expeditionary army and speed up the pace of the army.

Another part tried to travel light and head westward through the border areas adjacent to the western provinces of the former Kingdom of Xerxes, attempting to cross the mountains to attack the enemy. They were not the main attackers, but they just wanted to distract some of the Romans' attention. Moreover, facing a group of "barbarians", perhaps the Roman army was too weak to fight and was easily defeated by the empire?

In this way, this detachment could achieve remarkable success and enter the Roman homeland earlier than the main force.

There were still some indigenous people in Xerxes' land who were unwilling to submit to the Western conquerors. After the army of the big brother from the south arrived, they spontaneously surrendered and served as guides for the Alans. They supported the empire's westward expedition even at the cost of digging out their base and eliminating the threat of the Astra once and for all. After all, if this war had not completely destroyed Rome, the Alans would certainly not have been stationed in a barren land for a long time. The Romans might have attacked again at any time, and they would have to be liquidated.

The Alan people did not attach much importance to these local "rebel forces" because there was no need to. With or without them, could the Romans defeat the Northern Expedition Legion?

However, considering that they shared the same language and culture, the Northern Expedition Army still gave these people some preferential treatment, such as a temporary organization or official position, so that these people could become the vanguard of the "royal army" and serve the empire.

As a huge empire, there are many foreigners among the Alan people and many Zoroastrians outside. It is normal to encounter "family members" during the conquest. Generally speaking, as long as the Zoroastrians do not insist on standing on the side of their homeland at that time, the imperial army will still give them some preferential treatment when they meet them - for example, they will be gentler when looting and leave more food.

As for the last direction, it was naturally the main force led by Prince Ahmed himself, passing through the Jiku grassland previously occupied by nomadic barbarians, and began to march north and west.

This unit has the largest number of people, with a total of 240,000 people.

There is no doubt that they are aiming to destroy the country.

After all, they have nearly half of the main forces, standing army, and provincial elite soldiers, which are one of the three old elite forces... As mentioned before, this standard is more than enough to fight another Battle of the Yellow Sands. There are as many as 200 mages accompanying the army alone, and the total number of mages possessed by the Serso countries is only a dozen or so.

This is because the Demon-Poor Land is not very suitable for the mages, and some military mages chose to use illness as an excuse, resign, or use connections to shirk the responsibility. Otherwise, the number would be more than half.

Although there is no real example to prove that prolonged exposure to places like the Land of Poor Demons will affect the mage himself, after all, there are many mages in the original Serso countries who have stayed there for decades and basically given up on advancement. These people have not regressed or lost their ability to cast spells.

However, it is human nature to feel a certain disgust towards places that are "bad" to them, and they will choose not to approach them unless necessary. This is a kind of psychological instinctive "taboo".

But even with this current number, the gap in strength compared to Thurso is absolutely overwhelming.

What the prince wants to do is not just to conquer Rome, it would be best if he could solve the "trouble" of the remnants of Asta "once and for all".

So next, he will not restrain his troops. Based on the population ratio of Thurso, the original Xerxes only account for one-sixth or one-seventh, which is too small. This place is poor, so there may be fewer immigrants. It would be best if it is close to half and half.

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Running out.

Indulging the troops after victory and letting the soldiers make money and enjoy themselves is undoubtedly one of the most effective ways to gain "support".

Once he destroys the Ashtar nation, he can declare that he has inherited the will of the ancient prince, destroyed the thousand-year-old enemy that once humiliated the Zoroastrian Empire, gained great prestige for himself among the Zoroastrian people and the church, and reignited and protected the "Holy Fire of Vengeance".

All of these will serve as a guarantee for the prince's smooth succession to the throne in the future...and if the emperor wins his struggle, the prince can also "transfer" as much reputation as possible to the King of Kings. Doing the above things in the name of the emperor will also make the emperor like him more.

Led by the nomadic barbarians who had chosen to surrender and bow down to the might of the empire, the army had a very smooth journey. Only a very small number of small tribes who were still "stubbornly" standing on the side of the Romans were still trying to attack the supply lines of the Northern Expedition Army and carry out some harassment activities. The Alan people did not care and were too lazy to even solve the problem themselves. They just ordered the nomadic tribes that had surrendered to the empire to deal with these blind "mosquitoes".

This is naturally commonplace for the Purple Tent nomads who are accustomed to attacking and annexing each other.

In the observation and judgment of the Alan people, the large nomadic tribe, which they simply called "Purple Tent Horse Slaves" because of their preference for using purple decorations, seemed to be using the power of the empire to seek personal gain for themselves, such as claiming that a certain tribe somewhere supported the Romans and harassing them, hoping to obtain the support of the empire to eliminate the other party.

Naturally, this little trick could not deceive the wise and far-sighted prince himself and his subordinates, but the Alan army from top to bottom regarded this as a wild land that they might never set foot on again in their lives. The fight between a group of "uncivilized barbarians" was even considered funny and ridiculous in the eyes of the Alan people.

So they acquiesced to the Purple Tent's self-serving maneuvers, not taking offense. This behavior deepened their "trust" in the Purple Tent nomads, assuming they were truly loyal to them, rather than being prepared to backstab the empire for some myriad reasons, such as the fact that the entire ruling class of the royal court was filled with descendants of their own...

In fact, all of this was under the surveillance and planning of the Romans.

Many of the tribes that were attacked and annexed by the Purple Tent were truly "annexed by taking advantage of the opportunity", but they were actually kept alive for the purpose of being useful in the future.

Most of the time, they simply performed a series of dramas for the Alan people, making them believe that nomads were pursuing profit, that they offered higher prices and had stronger fists, and that they would naturally sincerely join the Alan people and betray Rome.

156: The Grand Strategy of Showing Weakness to the Enemy

"Ah~~~"

Al yawned loudly, stretched himself, and turned over with difficulty.

With a "thud", he fell to the ground.

At this moment, he could use his psionic power to hold himself up, but Al didn't.

With his current physical condition, let alone a bed, even jumping off the highest tower in the forbidden city of Karlwik would be no problem.

Al's appearance was still young and a little immature, and he looked like a handsome young man from a foreign race...but beneath his appearance was a body that was already otherworldly.

As long as he wants, changing his appearance is not a difficult thing. He can be tall, short, fat, thin, black or white... But no matter when, Al likes and accepts his original appearance the most. Only in a few cases will he adjust his height or the size of certain parts to add fun.

"Where is Alan?"

The lazy father slowly got up from the ground, spread his hands, and stood naked on the silk-covered platform, not caring about his body.

He was not an exhibitionist, but he knew that the descendants on the steps were all kneeling on one knee, facing their genetic father. As for the others... he didn't care about the slaves' opinions.

The excellent maids who served El immediately surrounded him and put a toga made of extremely soft material on him, which was embroidered with a golden dragon totem and a bright red flame emblem.

This kind of service, which was once popular in El's large-scale COSplay activities, also had something similar in the El world. After being improved at El's request, it soon became the official dress of this "Roman Republic". People of status were keen to follow the "trend" created by sages and respected fathers, because the wide toga was not suitable for large-scale work and could show the special status.

Chapter 127: Ardabil (21)

Al likes it purely because it is convenient to wear and looks majestic.

His eldest daughter, Aisha Devangel, the firstborn child of Ansuna and Ai'er, knelt on one knee on the steps closest to Ai'er and answered her father's questions about all aspects of the upcoming war.

Just as the Romans expected, the arrogant Alans did not take the rising small frontier country in the Poor Demon Land seriously at all. In their eyes, dispatching more than 300,000 troops was already a situation of "a lion fighting a rabbit with all its strength."

They did not regard the Romans as opponents at all. The only thing that stood in their way and delayed their victory was the geographical distance.

Even when facing an enemy of the same size as them, such as the prosperous realm and the Kronos Empire in Tartarus' "Middle Earth", the Alan people would occasionally make mistakes of arrogance, let alone dealing with a group of insignificant "barbarians"

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?

After receiving strong logistical support from the five northern provinces, the Northern Expedition Army set out almost without stopping. Led by the Purple Tent nomads who had "surrendered" to the Alan people and "traitors" on the Roman side, they crossed the black grassland at full speed and rushed to the north-south passage from the grassland into Nesso.

It was very spacious there, and there was no threat of being blocked in the valley and attacked from both sides like when King Adwin went on his western expedition.

After Rome took over the legacy of the Threso nations, it built three fortresses at this crucial passage. In name, this was to prevent nomads from looting from the south, but in reality, it served more as a trade and material transit station. After all, the Purple Tent Khanate, which is now famous from the Black Steppe to the Eastern Altai region, is essentially a branch opened by Ai'er through his descendants on the grassland. At this time, the "rebellious" Purple Tent nomads are leading the unaware Alan people all the way to the burial place ambushed by Rome for them.

Of course, this is a burial place for some people, but for more people... perhaps, it will be the beginning of a new life.

After knowing that the enemy was indeed following the pre-planned arrangements and was about to undergo a shocking transformation in his arrogance, Al actually did not pay much attention to this war.

Through the descendants of the infiltrators in the north, the Romans have basically grasped the situation of the northern expeditionary army from top to bottom. His descendants may know the army they command better than most of the powerful generals of the Alan people.

Three hundred thousand people and two hundred mages.

The level of half a battalion.

The highest level is a six-ringed Shaping Archmage, and a six-ringed Enchantment Mage who has not yet passed the White Tower rating and promotion.

This ratio is extremely exaggerated. On average, there may be only one wizard providing support for every 1,500 soldiers. Although it is much better than the situation in the Serso countries before where there was only one spellcaster on both sides for every tens of thousands of people, it is still hard to imagine.

But this is also normal in the world of Il.

The secular nations regard the extraordinary military force provided by mages as "indispensable and indispensable", and mages who are willing to serve the country are the most important national treasures that can only be increased and not decreased.

However, for those who do not provide magic services to the mortal realm, it mainly depends on the mages' own ideas or the "talent recommendation" promised by the White Tower.

An ordinary wizard who has completed his studies and is officially recognized by the White Tower, even if he does not serve any person or force, has an extraordinary status and treatment in the secular world. They do not need to rely on serving the king or the army to gain anything.

Of course, providing magical services to the powerful and using fireballs or ground spikes to kill mortals is also an effective way for them to obtain a large amount of resources and better treatment.

There is one exception: War Mages.

In a narrow sense, it is actually a special term for those mages who specialize in energy-shaping spells and are good at destruction. In a broad sense, it naturally refers to all spellcasters who have signed employment contracts for the national army.

There is a saying: Those who join the army may not be war mages, but war mages will definitely join the army.

Because whether the Shaper mages who are good at destruction want to familiarize themselves with and improve their spells or obtain sufficient resources, using force is the best way and the most suitable for them. In some cases, such as when there are many mages in the Prosperity Realm and they cannot compete with their counterparts in other professions in many fields, it is the only way.

Therefore, most of the mages accompanying Alan's army, almost 70% to 80% of them are transmutation mages, some are even "war mages" specializing in transmutation. For mages, destruction is much easier than creation, and transmutation spells are relatively easy to learn. After learning, "employment" is guaranteed, and they can sign contracts wherever they go. It is a guaranteed job in the profession.

As for the enchantment mage, he is a type that is rarely seen in the special "field" of war mages and even in the entire field of extraordinary people, but his abilities are very powerful in some aspects.

As the name suggests, the main abilities of this series of spells are charm and control, which has something in common with El's bloodline talent.

This type of spell is very biased and belongs to an unpopular "discipline". Because the wizard's mental power is very strong, and the spells of control are generally judged based on the opponent's mental power and resistance, it does not have an advantage in competition with peers, but it is very effective against mortals.

It is said that the "quasi-sixth-ring" enchantment mage has an important job in the legion, which is to make a large amount of a potion called "Wonderful Dream", and then mix it into drinking water and supplies to supply the entire legion. The ingredients of this potion itself have the effects of charm and sleep. Assisted by the ability of the caster, even after being diluted many times, the user can still sleep soundly that night - at the same time, they can also enjoy an endlessly lingering dream.

It has basically no effect on mages, but may be more attractive to mortals than addictive drugs. After all, it has no side effects, or very mild side effects. It can help you sleep soundly and have a memorable dream. It is really a perfect tonic for a boring march.

Traveling during the day and venting energy in dreams at night, waking up with full energy and vitality except for washing underwear is an important guarantee of morale during long-distance marches.

It is said that the archmage who systematically integrated and truly pioneered the "Enchantment Control" spells was a "sage" whose body had become half-magical, a formally otherworldly being above the "seventh ring" in the White Tower rating.

Not those knock-offs from Rome.

But the effect of the magic potion he created was so strong that he ended up

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They were all caught up in a beautiful dream, unable to extricate themselves. After all, human imagination is already magnificent, let alone a profession like magic that has known the stars. In the end, this great wizard became addicted to using potions and casting magic on himself, to the point that he gave up pursuing magic. As his "tolerance" increased, he increasingly longed for more powerful "dreams". So he took a risk and opened a channel to the elemental sea, drawing the magic within. Before his consciousness and body were completely overwhelmed and assimilated by the magnificent magic, he unleashed an extremely powerful spell on himself, allowing his mind to transcend for a thousand years in an instant. At least in that moment, he experienced a magnificence that perhaps many wizards who explored the astral realm would never be able to experience until their death...

The two six-ring and quasi-six-ring mages are the strongest combat force among the extraordinary people of the Alan people's northern expedition army.

But for Al, whose number of offspring is approaching five figures, this is really...uninteresting.

When he was unifying Thurso, he rarely showed up in person. He was no longer the lone man who had to take risks to fight Grace and take her down in order to ensure victory.

If it is not for the grand strategic purpose of "showing weakness to the enemy":

After all, the barbarians who, taking advantage of the greed and carelessness of a powerful enemy, defeated an imperial legion with the help of ambushes and many calculations;

The impact on the world and the attention it arouses are certainly much smaller than that of a "suspicious country" that suddenly emerged from a land of poor demons and has a large number of mages in the three or four digits serving it.

With so many "spellcasters", if someone is interested, such as an official exchange group sent by the Alan Empire, or curious city-states from the prosperous realm come to visit, they might find that most of them have no formal "establishment" in the White Tower and are "unknown wizards" with blank qualifications.

The shock caused can be imagined.

In Xerxes' territory, the Alamite army's northern expedition was facing the threat of destruction.

Chapter 157: Addiction, Prince, Caesar

Under normal circumstances, at this time, as the weaker party, they should rely on the geographical advantages of mountains and rivers to hold on and drag it out. After all, the Alans are going on a long expedition, and the Romans are fighting on their own territory.

Consume the enemy until they feel they have lost, and then for a relatively acceptable ceasefire negotiation condition, it will be a great victory for the small country that is on the weaker side!

The current White Pagoda era is no longer as good as the ancient times.

The White Tower order created by the great wizards regulates order, but also restricts the possibilities of mortals.

All supernatural powers belong to the floating city. The larger the country, the more resources it has, and the more spellcasters it can attract to join. This has become a rule for the operation of the world.

It is no longer like before. The two generations of rulers of the Ashtar Empire can rely on the support of several wise and powerful wizards to integrate the power of the entire Aegean cities and launch a great expedition. With everyone working together, they can defeat the still powerful but fragmented Zoroastrian Empire like a snake swallowing an elephant.

After the great wizards opened up the "Astral Plane", a channel to higher dimensions, for spellcasters above the seventh ring, spellcasters who reached the semi-magical realm of the physical body and above rarely set foot in the mortal world.

With the general departure of high-end forces, any seventh-ring mage who appears in places other than the Imperial War and faces mages below the seventh ring is bullying the little ones. Mortals have a judgment on this:

A war in which both sides have seven-ringed archmages participating is called a "Battle of Crown of Glory". If there are more than one, it is called an "Epic Battle" or "XX Decisive Battle".

The process and results will be sung across half the continent and have a far-reaching impact.

Especially since Rome was a poor and evil place.

If Thurso was not such a magical wasteland, then even if only half or one-third of the mages of the Northern Legion served in the army, it would be really possible for the Romans to defeat the Northern Expedition Army by relying on the brilliant command of their generals and the mages' abandonment of the pampered superiority of the upper class and lack of discipline, just like the lost empires of ancient times, and using the extraordinary people as an army rather than a group of extraordinary mercenaries who acted independently.

However, as a place poor in demons, Serso has not had any clear record of spellcasters being enrolled in the floating city for thousands of years.

This is destined to create an irreparable huge gap between the two.

Chapter 127: Ardabil (22)

It is also destined that the Romans will pay a huge and painful price in this war. They will be defeated, their wealth will belong to us, their women will be at our mercy, they themselves will exist as our slaves, and their land will be a mineral resource for Zoroastrians from generation to generation... This is the consensus of every Alan in the northern expedition army.

..........

Compared to the soldiers, whose morale was high due to their desire for victory and various means, such as sweet dreams every night, the prince's mood was not so positive most of the time.

After entering Thurso, the prince was not able to adapt to the environment of the Poor Demon Land.

In addition to being unable to use many of his expensive, magical items to experience and deepen his happiness, such as the potion that can make him stay erect for a whole day, the prince's own body also felt a sense of emptiness due to the lack of magic in Thurso.

It is a bit like people from low altitudes experiencing oxygen deprivation when they go to high altitudes, and vice versa when people from high altitudes go to low altitudes experiencing oxygen intoxication.

The terrain of Thurso is generally higher than that of Alan. Although the world of Il does have similar rules to the earth, the main reason that troubles the prince is actually another one - he

Chapter 206