Lords go left, Emperors go right

The relationship between the princes was mostly just that of brothers. If they went to other people's territories, they would be hesitant, fearing that their brothers would plot against them, or that the information about their own territories would be exposed. Odyssey Fortress was directly under the control of the father, and was considered a neutral area, so it was relatively safe.

"Third brother, you are finally here. Are you bringing too few people?"

"Brother, my territory has not yet been completely integrated, so I don't have that many extra troops. These are just cobbled together. I really don't have more troops, please forgive me."

"Third brother, we are all brothers, it's good that you are here. The number of people is not the key, as long as you have the intention, you can bring as many people as you want."

In the Odyssey Fortress, Osta led an army of more than 178 people and met the eldest prince Osed here. The eldest prince Osed was CM tall, with pure golden hair. His hair was very long and fell to his shoulders. He looked like an artist and was a handsome man.

Among the many princes, Osed, as the eldest brother, was the tallest. His deep blue eyes were looking at Osta with an inquiring look. As the eldest brother, Osed didn't know much about his third brother. Osta was always with Queen Margaret III, and basically didn't interact much with the other brothers and princes. Only the seventh prince Osser and the ninth prince Osmo had some contact with him.

"Isn't Miss Meilan coming? Isn't she serving as a military advisor in your territory?"

"I've asked Meilan to take a vacation. It's okay if she doesn't participate in this operation."

"Third brother, you are not hiding a mistress in your golden house, Miss Meilan..."

"Brother, don't say anything careless. I have three fiancées that I haven't met yet. If this gets out, I'll have to explain myself three times."

Osed's tone seemed to be joking. As a big brother, this prince was still qualified. His concern for his brothers did not seem to be fake. Unfortunately, being born in an imperial family, the relationship between brothers was destined to be unable to be honest with each other. In an ordinary family, Osed would definitely be a good big brother.

Osta was wearing ordinary armor, and he was accompanied by three of his personal attendants, Chris, Yulia, and Sophia. They also wore women's armor instead of their usual Gothic maid outfits.

Osta had arranged this on purpose. He wanted to enjoy the visual benefits brought by the Gothic maids by himself, and he could not let other brothers see them. The more than 3,000 troops Osta brought were all elite female warriors of the Valkyrie tribe, including the matriarch "True Valkyrie" Savannah.

These female warriors also wore thick female armor sponsored by Osta, instead of the original Valkyrie armor. The reason was the same as Chris and the others. Osta didn't like the true faces of these beautiful warriors to be seen by the brothers, so as not to attract their prying eyes. Savannah and other female warriors wore helmets to hide their faces.

Osed took a look at the army brought by Osta and saw that their equipment was ordinary, so he didn't care much and stopped investigating, thinking that it was just a ragtag army that Osta had put together temporarily. The female warriors were generally over 170cm tall. If you didn't observe carefully, you couldn't tell at first glance that they were female warriors. Osed thought they were male soldiers at first. The difference between this batch of women's armor and men's armor cannot be seen from the outside, but the difference in the internal structure is that it is a basic style of ordinary armor, and the workmanship is not that fine.

Osder was wearing a set of golden armor with the emblem of the legitimate heir to the throne of the Obelisk Empire. This set of pure golden armor was made of pure gold. The symbolic meaning of this armor was far greater than its practical meaning. It was a ceremonial armor and was worn mainly to attend important events.

Generally, this type of armor is not worn on the battlefield. It is not impossible to wear this armor on the battlefield for military purposes, but the golden light is too eye-catching and it is easy to attract the enemy's attention and besieged. If the commander wears this armor, he is likely to be killed by the enemy's ranged troops at the beginning of the battle. The more fancy the armor is, the faster he will die.

"Brother Emperor, I don't know the other brothers well, so I won't go to meet them. Please tell them for me."

"Okay, Third Brother, I'll go and greet them for you."

Osta didn't want to meet all his brothers, so he could only ask his eldest brother Osed to say hello for him. Although it was a joint action, after the war, the princes still commanded their own armies and fought in their own way. The fact that the commanders did not meet before the war had little impact on this joint action. Osed acquiesced to Osta's request for this reason.

In the VIP room of the Odyssey Fortress, Osta met the gentleman, the seventh prince Osser. The relationship between Osser and Osta, in addition to brotherly love, was more like a relationship of friends. The two princes were gentlemen and belonged to the same line of thought. When Osser was in the Obelisk Empire of the Western Continent, he was a well-known playboy and had many romantic scandals in the capital of the empire.

Emperor Augustus VIII knew all about this, but he just didn't know how to deal with the seventh prince. The prince was lustful and did not violate the traditional royal etiquette. Unless he forcibly abducted a woman, the current imperial law would not be able to punish Prince Osser.

Osier was very smart. Whenever he hooked up with a beautiful girl, he used seduction as the main method, without using force, and cleverly avoided various punishment measures and regulations. He was able to come up with all kinds of gossips under the nose of his father. Osta sometimes admired this seventh brother very much. At least he was a fearless gentleman.

"Third brother, I am glad to see you at last. It is such a pity that our territories are not close to each other."

"What's there to be sorry about? This time, our father is testing our independence."

"What you said is correct, but, Third Brother, can you..."

"No, forget it, Old Seven. You have to find it yourself. I won't lend it to you."

"Brother, you are too... I haven't even finished my words yet..."

Osta knew the seventh brother, Osier, very well. Seeing him looking at Chris and the other three with malicious eyes, Osta knew what he was going to say next. This bastard must want to borrow a maid from him. This kind of thing is impossible without even thinking about it. Therefore, Osta did not give Osier a chance to finish his words and interrupted the conversation without mercy.

The frustrated seventh prince Aosier showed an awkward but polite smile on his face to cover up his embarrassment. The seventh prince was 171cm tall, slightly shorter than Aosta. Aosier had short silver hair, a standard scumbag white hair style, and a pair of red and blue heterochromatic pupils, with different pupil colors on both sides. He had a fair complexion and was obviously born into a wealthy family.

In terms of appearance, Osta had to admit that among the royal family members of the Obelix Empire, the seventh prince Oser was at the top and was definitely more handsome than himself. Of course, this was the only aspect that made him better than him, and he was not as good in other aspects.

Osser was wearing a set of silver armor, just for show. He was a half-baked warrior who knew a little bit of magic, just a little bit stronger than Osta. This set of equipment was not very useful. Anyway, Osser's fighting ability was very poor. He focused all his energy on beautiful girls and didn't practice at all.

However, it cannot be said that Osser has no skills. According to Osta's understanding, this seventh brother, with his good looks and sweet words, has not only deceived the daughters of noble families, but also many beautiful women with strong martial arts and magic. Being a gentleman can be considered a skill.

Among all the princes of the empire, Osta was most wary of his bad brother, the seventh prince Osel, fearing that this gentleman of the same kind would get his hands on the beautiful girls around him. Chris and the others were almost "bound" to Osta, and Osel couldn't snatch them away, but it was hard to say about other beautiful girls.

"Third brother, aren't we brothers? You don't have to be so defensive against me! I won't lay a hand on my brother's woman."

"Get lost, Lao Qi, can you wipe your saliva before you speak?"

Osel's insincere lie was exposed by Osta without mercy, without any mercy. There was no other way, facing such a shameless person like Osel, Osta could only deal with it like this. Osel was very thick-skinned, and he did not show any guilt after his lie was exposed in person. He wiped his saliva naturally, changed the subject as if nothing had happened, and discussed other things with Osta.

"Third brother, I will ask you to take care of me during this joint operation."

Aosta did not answer Osser's words in person. He did not want to make any promises easily. Forget about taking care of each other. Osser's army brought more than 20,000 people to participate in this joint operation, while Aosta only had more than 3,000 people. It was hard to say who would take care of whom at that time.

After a brief chat, Osta separated from Osel and took Chris and the others back to their own army. The joint operation was about to begin, so it was safest to stay with their own army. When they arrived at the army, Osta unexpectedly discovered that the imperial female envoy, Ms. Britney, was with his army, also wearing women's armor, and it seemed that she was participating in this joint operation.

"Your Highness Osta, please take care of the joint operation later. I will be with your troops."

"Britney, aren't you with Osder supervising the battle? Why are you running over to my side?"

"Your Highness Aosta, please don't ask me. I will explain the reasons after the operation is over. Don't worry, I won't cause any trouble for you."

Britney had an embarrassed expression on her face, and her face was slightly red, as if she recalled the ambiguous scene where she saw Osta and Meilan playing in the private swimming pool. She chose to follow Osta's army, and it was a decision she made alone after careful consideration.

Among all the princes' armies, only Aosta's army was composed entirely of female soldiers, which seemed to be more secure. This inexplicable choice was later proven to be extremely correct and far-sighted. Aosta's army of more than 3,000 people was the strongest among the armies brought by the princes, and it could indeed bring security.

"Britney, the rules cannot be broken. I will go and explain the situation to Brother Osed and ask him to reassign you..."

"Your Highness Osta, don't do this. Please, please don't tell Your Highness Osed. I...I will listen to your instructions. Just let me stay!"

Chapter 64: Membership of the Imperial United Army

The joint military action of the Obelisk Empire began under the leadership of the Grand Prince Osder. The nine imperial princes led the armies in their respective territories and set out from the gathering place, the Odyssey Fortress, to attack the bandits. The total strength of the joint army this time was about 300,000. It was the largest joint military action since the Obelisk Empire's expedition to the Central Continent, second only to the war when the Emperor Augustus VIII personally led more than 500,000 elite imperial troops to the expedition to the Central Continent.

The combined forces of the princes could not compare with the elite imperial army of Emperor Augustus VIII, and were only slightly stronger than a mob. Because they were each commanded by their own troops and fought independently, when it came to war, there were great problems with the coordination of actions during the actual combat stage.

This is a common problem among the lords of the human continent. The combat effectiveness of a single lord commanding his own army is often stronger than the ability of multiple lords to command their own territorial armies to fight together. The more lords who join forces, the lower the combat effectiveness. The more lords who participate in the battle, the lower the combat effectiveness. It is better to fight alone. Most lords do not fight in group battles at all and prefer to command battles alone.

There was nothing that could be done about it. When there were many lords, they would inevitably consider their own interests during the battle. They would not fight too hard and waste their own fighting power. The princes' coalition army was of a similar nature to the lords' coalition army, and neither of them could properly resolve the internal conflicts.

At this stage, this problem has little impact. The bandits we are fighting against are weak in the Central Continent and do not have much combat power. Bandits can sometimes not even beat peasants, so the internal contradictions of the coalition army will not be exposed too obviously. If the opponent is too weak, the shortcomings of our side will not be prominent.

The imperial princes who participated in the coalition army led armies of varying numbers. Among them, the eldest prince Osed had the largest army, with a total of 100,000 troops. They were equipped with all black iron armor, and from a distance they looked as dark as a dark cloud. This black iron armor was one of the standard equipment of the elite troops of the imperial army.

Osder was able to get a full set of armor, probably because the Emperor Augustus VIII secretly gave special care and assistance to the legitimate heir to the throne. The flag of Prince Osder's army is a black dragon, which is a symbol of the imperial power of the Obelisk Empire. Only the legitimate heir to the throne and the emperor have the right to use it. Other princes cannot use this symbol indiscriminately.

The trusted staff and think tanks of the eldest prince Osed advised him to make a bigger splash and establish prestige in front of the other princes, trying to make these brothers give up the idea of ​​coveting the throne and recognize Osed as the legitimate heir to the throne.

In order to achieve this goal, Osder concentrated all the elite troops he could mobilize in his territory to the Odyssey Fortress. This joint anti-bandit campaign was just a cover, more to show his strength to his brothers, deter their ambitions, and establish his own prestige.

The troops under Osder were heavy infantry, and their mobility was not strong. Their main lethality was that they could form a super strong infantry phalanx. If the number of heavy cavalry was insufficient, they would not dare to charge head-on into the heavy infantry in a phalanx. From the selection of troops, it can be seen that Osder was relatively moderate, preferring a conservative style of play, and the troops he selected were not very mobile.

The number of troops of the second prince Oster is second only to that of the eldest prince Oster, with a total force of more than 60,000. Oster is good at fighting and is a prince who has been tested on the battlefield for a long time. He is not on the same level as his eldest brother. The more than 60,000 troops brought by Oster are all cavalry, which is somewhat in conflict with his eldest brother's choice.

The cavalry under Oster were all heavily armed. They were equipped with thick full-body plate armor and a huge helmet with wings on both sides, which protected the entire head and left only a few gaps for observation. Their weapons included knight lances, knight swords, and knight shields. The armor worn by the cavalry was made of white iron, and it shone brightly under the light.

These troops were Oster's private armed forces, belonging to his palace soldiers, and were much better equipped than the elite knights of the Obelisk Empire Army. They were all private armies that Oster had invested in. Even the war horses were uniform Hebrew war horses, which were high-level war horses and were very tall.

The warhorses were also equipped with a full set of warhorse armor, which seemed to have extremely strong defense. Ordinary bows and arrows could not penetrate these plates and break the defense. The cost of a set of armor and horse armor was very high, and each cavalryman was a very expensive soldier. Unless they encountered a crossbow, ordinary longbows could not break the defense of this heavy cavalry unit.

Prince Oster is a cavalry faction, good at commanding cavalry, using cavalry to launch surprise attacks, and giving full play to the cavalry's speed advantage and high mobility. This is in stark contrast to the infantry faction of the eldest prince Osder, and the tactics of both sides are incompatible.

The flag used by Prince Oster's army was a majestic black unicorn, which looked very domineering and was in no way inferior to the black dragon flag used by the eldest prince. Unfortunately, Meilan was taken away by Oster, and Oster lost a female brigadier general who was good at commanding surprise attacks. It had to be said that this was a great loss.

The army of the fourth prince Osk only had more than 17,000 soldiers, which was only slightly more than Ostado, and was the second to last among the nine princes. This was not Osk's fault, but mainly because the prince was born smart and had extraordinary talents. He showed political talents far beyond ordinary people at a very young age.

Emperor Augustus VIII wanted the eldest prince Osed to inherit the throne, and he was opposed to the fourth prince Osk, who was favored by the civil service group, and was worried that this genius prince would pay attention to the heir to the throne in the future. Therefore, when dividing the territory in the Central Continent, the smallest territory was given to Osk.

Osk's territory was not large enough, and no matter how smart he was, he could not recruit too many troops in a short period of time due to various practical conditions. These 17,000 people were close to the limit of the number of troops he could recruit at this stage, and no more would be possible.

The flag used by Prince Osk's army is a bald eagle, which symbolizes a wise hunter. His army is mainly composed of archers, equipped with leather armor. It seems that Osk also knows that he is not the main force, and he has chosen archers as auxiliary soldiers. This way, when fighting, he can save costs to the greatest extent. The cost-effectiveness of archers is far higher than that of knights and infantry. They are not very dependent on armor and equipment, and they are not fighting head-on. The most important thing is that this type of soldier is more economical in terms of equipment.

The third largest army in the coalition army was the Sixth Prince Osdu. This guy had talked with Ostami before and bluntly stated that he had ambitions for the throne of the empire. This time he brought an army of more than 40,000 people. Similar to the army of the Second Prince Oster, the troops were also cavalry. However, there was a clear difference between the two. Oster's troops were heavy cavalry, while Osdu's troops were light cavalry, equipped with light armor, and the war horses had no armor. The weapons were ordinary sabers, spears, and bows and arrows.

Strictly speaking, Osto's cavalry should be considered as horse archers, which belong to guerrilla forces. He has limited financial resources and no support from the imperial military. Unlike the second prince Oster, who has the secret support of the imperial military behind the scenes, he has the ability and financial resources to form a heavy cavalry unit.

The flag used by Prince Osd's army represents a two-headed dragon, a black two-headed dragon. It has one more dragon head than the black dragon flag of the first prince Osd. This choice has a targeted meaning, secretly indicating that he wants to surpass the first prince Osd.

The remaining princes were more in sync, as if they had discussed it beforehand, each of them brought more than 20,000 troops, no more, no less, everyone was the same. Only the third prince Aosta was a bit special, he only brought more than 3,000 people, it seemed like he was just perfunctory, bringing a few people over just to show his respect.

Of course, even if the princes looked down on him in their hearts, due to the power of Queen Margaret III, they did not dare to question in front of Aosta that the Third Prince brought a few soldiers here to gain merit.

The fifth prince Osra, the miserly prince, brought over 20,000 light infantrymen, all lightly armed. Their weapons, equipment, and armor were not comparable to the heavy infantrymen of the first prince Osder. They were not at the same level at all. Ten of them would probably not be able to defeat one of them. With Osra's financial resources, it would not be difficult to form a heavy infantry regiment, but he was a stingy person and did not want to spend so much money.

The flag used by the army under Prince Osla is a golden dragon turtle, a magical beast that is auspicious and has the ability to gather wealth. In the other world, it is mostly worshipped by wealthy businessmen. As a prince, Osla used this as the flag of his territory's army, which was a clear indication of his greedy nature. He did not even try to hide it, not even pretending.

The gentleman from the seventh prince Osser brought a scout force of more than 20,000 people, and also had war horses. However, the armor of this cavalry unit was cloth armor, which was not even as good as the light cavalry of the sixth prince Osdu, let alone the heavy cavalry of the second prince Oster.

These scouts were mainly used for reconnaissance and gathering information. When Osel recruited his troops, he was said to have selected some thieves. Many of the scouts were originally thieves. This time he brought them to participate in the joint combat operation. I don’t know if it can be regarded as a fight among the same people. Both sides are bandits.

The flag used by Osser's army was a strangely shaped big eye, which was said to be the Eye of Truth. Osta had privately checked the relevant information, and it would be more accurate to call this eye the Gentleman's Eye. The legendary function was a mysterious magic that could see through everything and penetrate through cover.

There is nothing wrong with using this big eye symbol as the symbol of the scout army, but when thinking of Osser's character, Osta felt that this gentleman brother might use his scout troops more for some unspeakable evil things.

The eighth prince Osger led an army of more than 20,000 heavy infantrymen, whose equipment was no less superior to that of the first prince Osed's heavy infantrymen. They were equipped with silver-white black iron heavy armor, which was different in color from his eldest brother's black dragon infantry, making it easier to distinguish the affiliation of the army.

Prince Osger is a middle school idealist. The flag used by his army is a cross scale symbolizing justice. The weapons and equipment used by the heavy infantry under this prince are shields in both hands. They are mainly defensive shield warriors. It seems that this joint operation is also intended to fish in the rear and not fight on the front line.

Osta was a little curious and puzzled. He didn't know how Lao Ba had assembled this expensive infantry army. Not counting Osta's 3,000 Valkyries, the army brought by Osger was the second best equipped infantry army in the Imperial Alliance.

The ninth prince, Osmo, the gluttonous prince, led more than 20,000 light infantrymen, using spears as weapons. They should be called spearmen. Their equipment was barely adequate, and it felt like a local militia put together. The flag used by the army represented a ferocious-looking black wolf. This guy was also planning to slack off. The spearmen had no protective gear, and they were still able to deal with ordinary bandits, but they would not be able to deal with stronger opponents. The leather armor of all members was not very useful.

"Your Highness Aosta, are you serious about the flag logo of your territory's army? Would you like to consider changing it?"

"Britney, if you think the flag is not good, go to other princes. Their flags may suit your aesthetic taste. Isn't my flag very beautiful?"

"Your Highness Aosta, I'm sorry, I was just joking, please don't be angry and don't chase me away!"

Before departure, the imperial female envoy, Ms. Britney, could not help but complain about Osta's taste. The flag logo used by his army was actually a thorny, bright red thorn rose. Although it was cool and beautiful, it felt a bit strange that the territory army under the male lord used this logo for peacekeeping.

Osta did not give any detailed explanation. His original intention was just to be lazy. The thorn rose was the flower that his mother, Queen Margaret III, liked. He wanted to save trouble and used the flower that his mother liked as the flag of his territory. At that time, Osta had not thought that one day, this blood-red thorn rose flag would fly in the wind all over the Central Continent.

Chapter 65 Potential Dangers around Port Cities

The 300,000-strong Obelisk Empire coalition army set out in a mighty manner towards the gathering place of the bandits according to the route they had scouted in advance. This time, their destination was the Middleton area in the southeast of the Central Continent. The lord there, Baron Joseph, was from the Cronesian Empire in the Western Continent. Joseph himself was the crown prince of the Cronesian Empire and the first-order heir to the throne. His status was similar to that of the eldest prince Osed, and both were crown princes.

On the western continent of the human race, the Cronesian Empire and the Obelisk Empire are allies, and the royal families of the two empires have a traditional friendship of intermarriage for generations. This time is no exception. The political marriage of the eldest prince Osder, his fiancée is the eldest princess of the Cronesian Empire, Kronisil. Princess Kronisil is the sister of Prince Joseph, and this time she is also in the Middleton territory.

All the imperial princes who knew the destination, including Aosta, were speechless to the chief convener of this joint operation, the eldest prince Osed. It turned out that this eldest brother was ostensibly trying to prove his strength to his father, Emperor Augustus VIII, but in fact he was showing off his strength to his fiancée.

It's fine if they just show off, but Osder also brought a bunch of his brothers to watch them post dog food, just to serve as a foil. This is really a betrayal to the brothers, it's simply murderous, it's not appropriate to show off affection like this.

"Big brother is really mean. He dragged us brothers along to pick up girls. If I had known, I would not have come. There are beautiful girls in the territory."

"Your Highness Osta, please be careful. If this gets to Your Highness Osder's ears, it will affect your relationship. That...what is the light bulb?"

"Britney, that's something from legend. You won't understand even if I tell you."

Osta was more casual in his own army, and it didn't matter whether others would hear him. In response to Osta's words, Britney, the imperial female envoy, could only persuade him kindly. She was just a civilian and knew almost nothing about war.

As civil servants who were not of noble origin, most of them would be cautious in what they said and did when facing the prince. Britney was more frank, unlike most of her colleagues who would consider too much, and she expressed her opinions to Osta directly.

Osta did not blame Britney. After all, she was a beautiful girl with a nice voice. Moreover, he was not as irritable as some of his brothers. If it were other princes, Britney's straightforward style would easily make them suffer. On the march to the Middleton area, the armies of each prince were separated by a distance and marched in square formations. On the surface, it was a joint march, but in fact, the degree of unity was not high.

At the forefront of the coalition army was the 20,000-strong scout corps of the Seventh Prince Osser, followed by the 40,000-strong cavalry corps of the Sixth Prince Osdu and the 60,000-strong cavalry corps of the Second Prince Oster. The 100,000-strong heavily armored infantry corps of the First Prince Osder was in the middle of the coalition army, and the rear guard was the 20,000-strong heavily armored shield infantry corps of the Eighth Prince Osger and the 20,000-strong lightly armored spearmen corps of the Ninth Prince Osmo.

Aosta's army was in front of the eldest prince Osder, and nearby were the fifth prince Osla's 20,000 light infantry corps, and the fourth prince Osk's 17,000 archer corps. The princes had no objection to the order of deploying troops. The opponents were too weak, just bandits, who could be easily beaten without forming a battle array. It was too easy to deal with bandits, and there was no need to make any deployment in the battle array.

The Middleton region is one of the more affluent areas in the southeast of the Central Continent. When the Cronesian Empire launched an expedition to the Central Continent, it encountered a stubborn resistance from the primitive tribe of the Drax people living there. The Cronesian Empire expeditionary force suffered heavy losses and was almost driven back to the sea by the primitive tribe clan members of the Drax people.

Emperor Claudius Caesar II of the Cronesian Empire had no choice but to send envoys to ask for support from his allies, and he didn't care about the embarrassing things. With the support of the expeditionary forces of the two allied empires, the Obelisk Empire and the Visigothian Empire, the Drax offensive was barely suppressed. In the end, the Cronesian Empire reached a peace agreement with the local Drax primitive tribe, which brought a brief peace to the Middleton area.

This battle was deliberately ignored in the Western Continent. Not many people knew about it, and ordinary people were almost unaware of it. The coalition army composed of expeditionary forces sent by the three empires, the Obelisk Empire sent 300,000 troops, the Visigothian Empire sent 150,000 troops, plus the 150,000 Cronesian Empire expeditionary forces that arrived here first, more than 600,000 imperial coalition forces were fully deployed but failed to defeat the opponent. In the end, they truce and negotiate peace with the local Drax primitive tribe. This matter was too embarrassing. If it was spread out, the reputation of the three empires would be severely damaged, so it must be kept strictly confidential.

The reason why the Middleton region is so rich is that it is rich in various mineral resources that can be used to forge weapons and equipment. Although the mineral resources are not as rich as those in the Blomfield Territory of Aosta, and the quality is not as good as that in Aosta, the primitive tribes living in the Middleton region, the Drax people are good at iron smelting. Many Drax people are also iron smelting masters. Their weapon forging level can even challenge the master craftsmen of the dwarves.

The Drax people relied on this talent to fight against foreign enemies, which Osta could not match. The primitive tribes in his territory, the Lonosbils, the Nolantians and the Sarahanims, did not know how to smelt iron and forge it, so no matter how rich the underground mineral resources were, they could not effectively develop them.

The Middleton area became rich because of the mineral export business, but it also brought great hidden dangers. More and more overseas merchants came here to do business, and robbers who were eyeing the merchants' property also came one after another. Merchants were constantly robbed and caravans were attacked. The lord Baron Joseph was very troubled by this. As the heir to the throne, his territory was harassed by robbers, which had a great impact on his reputation.

Baron Joseph tried to solve the problem himself by sending out his own territorial army to fight the bandits, but the effect was not obvious because there were too many bandits. Moreover, these bandits seemed to have received secret support from the local primitive tribes, the Drax people, and sometimes their equipment was even better than that of Baron Joseph's army and the mercenaries he hired.

After several failed operations and the loss of many troops, Baron Joseph could only ask for external assistance, and asked his future "brother-in-law" Prince Osd to send troops for support. The strength and combat effectiveness of the Cronesian Empire's army were indeed inferior to those of the Obelisk Empire. When the two sides were compared, their combat effectiveness seemed to be poor. Asking for external assistance was a helpless move. Baron Joseph had no other choice but to ask for help nearby.

According to intelligence, the bandit group is in the main base of Middleton, the Maryswell Plains area. There has been a long-term gathering of bandits with a scale of more than 100,000 people in the area. Even if it is a mob, it is very troublesome when the number reaches a certain level. Moreover, the local Drax primitive tribe, the Marryon part, has always been dissatisfied with the rule of Lord Joseph.

The Marryon tribe was one of the tribes that resisted peace and refused to sign the peace agreement. There are signs that they have a cooperative relationship with the bandits. The total population of the Marryon tribe is about 100,000. If all enemy units are counted, the total number of enemies that the Obelisk Empire coalition forces have to deal with this time is about 200,000.

The military plan designated by Prince Osed was to lead troops to attack the Mariswell Plain area directly and attack the bandit base directly. If the Marryen tribe colluded with the bandits, then this primitive tribe would be attacked as well. Of course, not all the troops could be deployed to attack the bandits, and some troops needed to be left behind to help Prince Joseph defend the city of Mister.

Mister City is the ruling center of the Middleton Territory. This port city is quite wealthy and has long attracted the attention of land bandits and pirates. It is constantly under attack from the road and the sea, and the defense pressure is very high. The troops under the Lord Baron Joseph have suffered a lot of losses after several failed expeditions to suppress bandits, and are currently somewhat insufficient. In this support operation, two-thirds of the supplies for the Obelisk Empire Army were undertaken by Baron Joseph, and one-third were brought by the various princes' legions. The supplies were mainly stored in Mister City, which is equivalent to the rear area and needs to be focused on defense.

Aosta's partners, the pirate queens Lianna and Belus, have already brought their fleets to the sea near the port of Mist to assemble and wait for orders. This time, all the troops have been dispatched, with a total force of about two people. The two pirate queens originally had only about 15,000 pirates under their command. After receiving sponsorship from Aosta, they have expanded their forces to more than 20,000 during this period.

Osta had just received a pigeon legend from Lianna and Belus, saying that the fleet of other pirate kings had been discovered in the nearby waters. The waters near Middleton belonged to the sphere of influence of other pirate kings, not the jurisdiction of Lianna and Belus. This time they were considered to have invaded the territory of other pirate kings.

According to the information provided by the two pirate queens, the pirate king who controls the sea area near Middleton is "Sea Dragon" Mordrel, one of the ten pirate kings. Mordrel has more than 30,000 pirates and more than 300 warships under his command.

This pirate king was very ambitious, and many of his plundering actions had obvious political purposes. Moreover, he was not particular about details, and unlike other pirate kings who looked down on pirates, he secretly colluded with the pirates, and the two sides were in cahoots with each other. Many pirate kings privately despised the behavior of "Sea Dragon" Mordrel, but they just didn't say it on the surface.

The leader of the pirates who cooperated with "Sea Dragon" Modrel was also the famous "Black Shark" Belit. This guy was fierce and good at fighting. It was said that he was born as a land bandit. Later, because of the great competition pressure, he changed his job to become a pirate and developed sea and land business. "Black Shark" Belit had more than 20,000 pirates and nearly 200 warships under his command, which was also a very difficult existence.