Warhammer

After Augustine took on the responsibility to restore the morale and combat effectiveness of the troops, he did not dare to rush for success and launch a counterattack against the greenskins before the troops were reorganized. If he failed again, the future of the Chief of the War would be nothing but disgrace and disgrace. Although the emperor is unlikely to kill a general for the fault of defeat when there is no other crime except "incompetence", it is hard to say given the treacherous political situation in the empire.

At least it is certain that Augustine is "dead".

Just think about it and you will know how much negative impact his consecutive failures had on the empire, which had been comfortable and free from the worries of foreign wars since Emperor Justinian. The border strategy promoted by the emperor who was bent on expanding the territory and building his career suffered a major setback due to Augustine's failure. From the imperial court to the Senate, no one would speak for Augustine.

Although he now thinks about defeating the greenskins and washing away the shame in order to make up for his mistakes every time he walks, eats, and dreams, the more he understands this, the more anxious Augustine cannot be, lest he loses by a single wrong move. It doesn't matter if the greenskins lose. Anyway, these cancers of the world who live on war don't care about winning or losing, and losing has no "meaning" to them.

But Augustine can't afford to lose at all.

So at this time he needs to be more stable.

The Chief of the Expedition is now constantly gathering the defeated soldiers everywhere and sending out riders to search for the scattered soldiers. The troops at his disposal are increasing little by little. Although it is impossible to restore to the grand scale when the Eastern Expedition was launched, at least he must be able to fight against strong enemies. If he can't even protect himself, how can he make up for it in the future?

On the other hand, after hearing the sad news of the Imperial Legion's defeat, the Matoka people, who had just celebrated their survival from the fierce attack of a powerful enemy, had to take up arms again shortly after laying down their swords and guns to rebuild their homes. They also changed their original city reconstruction plan to strengthening the city's defenses in order to prepare for the possible war that might come again.

They were also afraid that the greenskins would attack Matoka again. After all, in the entire border territory, this was undoubtedly the only thorn in the greenskins' eyes.

After a not-so-long siege, the Matoka people achieved a "victory". Although it was after Al took the initiative to contact Gao Maoliang, the other side chose to retreat in order to preserve their strength and plan for the future; the defenders also suffered huge casualties.

At least 40,000 people were killed in battle or seriously injured and lost their combat effectiveness, and the number of those slightly injured was countless.

Even in the battle to defend the city, with the advantage of terrain and the presence of Celestine, a valiant God-chosen warrior, the untrained militiamen with insufficient fighting will still suffered heavy casualties. Nearly half of the 7,000 expeditionary forces that followed Celestine and Rhine to Matoka also suffered casualties, because those who actively responded to the call of the "chivalrous expedition" and enthusiastically joined the ranks of this vanguard of evil were all devout and ardent believers of the state religion.

Even though they may have opposed the status quo of the state religion in the past, present, and some point in the future, and may be dissatisfied with the current imperial society, no one can question their belief in Sigmar, their loyalty to the empire, and their dedication to fulfilling their mission.

Their beliefs and their choices destined them to be at the forefront when facing powerful enemies. Therefore, even though they are well-trained, have high morale, and are equipped with far more luxurious equipment than most of the enemy and our side, their sacrifices can hardly be said to be anything but tragic.

Even with the addition of 20,000 new troops, if Mao Liang makes a comeback, it is doubtful whether Matoka can be held, unless...

Al, who was "hanging up" quietly nearby, decided to enter.

The alliance's leader, the "Wise King", had an unclear attitude. He had previously suggested that since Matoka had been relieved and there was no need to worry about the massacre in the city, he would head west to join the domestic reinforcements for his eldest daughter.

Originally, the Matoka side was reluctant to see this powerful king with great military achievements and his army leave before their safety was completely guaranteed. Therefore, they sent various delegations to "consol" and "thank" the Alliance Eastern Expedition Army that came across the sea. They even went to talk to Rhine, hoping that the "temporary Matoka plenipotentiary garrison" could represent the empire in the name of the empire and leave the wise king's army. Rhine was disgusted enough. He really didn't want to deal with this "evil seed" who had a "close relationship" and "deep entanglement" with his cousin Celestine, but due to military intelligence, he had to take a group of people to "visit" the neighboring king again on official business.

Naturally, Al made all kinds of excuses and didn't give an accurate answer.

When the news came that the Chief of the Expedition had been badly defeated and Mao Liang was showing signs of making a comeback, the Matoka people were even more afraid to leave. Both the former ruling class and the common people "spontaneously" organized various groups to petition the "friendly" garrison outside the city, in fact to seek help.

It is not even known where the Matoka people heard this vicious rumor from.

Ai'er, the king of the alliance, who was wise, brave, upright, and just short of being given the title of "the perfect man of all ages", "loved women, especially widowed women", "was born in the wilderness and raised by the tribe, so his preferences were different from those of ordinary people..."

I don't know how much effort they put into it.

Only then could they find eighteen beauties who were one in a million in appearance around Matoka, where half of the city was in ruins and half was covered with corpses after a great battle. They even convened an emergency meeting at Haimen Pass to call for an "emergency meeting for the city-state in danger" and asked the fugitives from Matoka to do their best to find:

Beautiful women;

Preferably plump;

To have the charm of a wife or a woman;

But preferably a virgin;

It doesn’t matter if you’ve been married, as long as your husband is dead;

It doesn't matter if my husband is not dead yet...

This kind of thing.

And then it was really "delivered" to Al.

This almost broke Al's defenses, and he thought that the Imperials had seen through his "evil intentions" and were using this method to discredit his reputation in the border prince's territory.

He was forced to "throw" all the things and women sent to him back to the city, and angrily scolded the Matoka people:

If there is no justice in the war, even if the enemy has all the beauty of the country and all the wealth of the enemy country, it will not move and will not take a penny;

If it is to help the weak and suppress the strong, and to uphold justice, I will go even if there are tens of thousands of people against me!

He stated publicly: If Gao Maoliang wants to besiege Matoka again, the entire alliance army will live and die with him and fight to the death with the brutal and barbaric enemy!

Chapter 246: Pursuit?

Of course, Al said this because he was confident.

It is true that Mao Liang has gained a great advantage over the Empire, but if he wants to "go back on his word" now, the previous secret agreement will be invalid. If he comes to fight Matoka again, he is not afraid at all.

After all, if he waited a little longer, his eldest daughter would be here soon.

If Mao Liang and he fight to the death in Matoka, with the empire in the northwest and the dwarves in the east, although it may seem powerful in the short term, it is still at a disadvantage of being attacked from all sides.

And by then, Al will not hold back anymore.

Rational greenskins may become helpers, but they may also become a scourge to the Old World. If Mao Liang turns against them right after their victory, then it is obvious that Ai'er's plan of returning to the Badlands and "going east and south" to establish a country and becoming a force in the fight against chaos in the future will be dashed.

Gao Maoliang is extremely ambitious, and his rationality is overestimated by Al, so he is very uncontrollable.

The only focus is elimination.

The empire had just been defeated and its power had been greatly reduced. This was a good time for the alliance to raise its flag, show off its power on the border, and "set up a stick" among the cities to establish its prestige.

So Ai'er will definitely not give in to the greenskins in Matoka.

On the contrary, he was very attentive. Upon learning that the main force of the empire was defeated, he immediately began to increase the number of camps and military forts outside the city. At the same time, he asked the dwarves for material assistance on the basis of Aiur - the Alliance now has at least a "respected" reputation in the dwarf country. Of course, it was not for free.

Although dwarves can be stingy at times, they are generous to their good allies when necessary.

But Ai'er would not use his personal connections to help others, let alone in a war that had a high probability of not being fought, so all his requests for the dwarves to deliver military supplies were from the perspective of "business as business". He refused the dwarves' free help and used the reputation of the Alliance as a guarantee. Haimenguan was unwilling to give the Matoka people credit, but was still willing to write an IOU to Ai'er, who had just helped the High King's army recapture Black Rock Castle without asking for any money.

We provide assistance to the coalition forces in Matoka at cost price, without even including shipping costs, and deliver the goods to their door free of charge.

This moved the Matoka people to tears. Coupled with the fact that Aiel had previously supported the dwarves "for the sake of morality and without asking for a penny", the Matoka people, who had been more or less critical of the newly emerging alliance because of the words of the exiles from the southern world, immediately began to regard their "cousins" in the south as their own second uncles who were worthy of trust and reliance!

The Empire is the "father" now, so the Alliance can only be second for the time being.

Although Al didn’t care about the respect that Matoka, a country with a bad reputation, showed him, on the other hand—

Even a piece of shit like Matoka!

When faced with a powerful enemy, the alliance took action immediately, and as the head of a country, they personally went to the battlefield and did their best to lend a helping hand.

It should be obvious whether the alliance’s diplomatic reputation and character are trustworthy or not, right?

He spent a fortune on horse bones. Even though he bought an inferior horse, it still showed an attitude.

At this critical moment, demonstrating strength and responsibility is the best way to win people's support.

While Ai'er made a big show of helping to defend Matoka, he also climbed up the city wall several times so that the local soldiers and civilians could see his presence. To some extent, his presence was more reassuring than that of Celestine, the Hammer Wielder and the Double Chosen One of Myrmidia, who led the expeditionary force to defend Matoka, held out for half a month under the fierce attack of the greenskins, and killed countless powerful enemies.

Because the empire's reinforcements are not coming for the time being.

But as long as Ai'er is still here, there are still 100,000 troops of the Alliance outside and on their way.

The kindness shown by El even made the Matoka people feel an unrealistic dream. You know, the price they paid to ask for reinforcements from the empire was to surrender their land, and it just so happened that the empire was now beginning to seek to expand its territory and transfer pressure.

Al doesn't want anything, but only wants to "eliminate violence and uphold justice", which is a great act of benevolence and righteousness.

There was also the idea of ​​picking beauties for Al - it was almost reported that a certain king of the alliance valued women over men and took risks for the sake of beauties. The guys who had been secretly noted in Al's little notebook were also overwhelmed by the joy of heaven, so that they had unrealistic ideas. They felt that the king of the alliance was so kind and righteous. Matoka had no wealth or expensive gifts to give, but he had to show his "respect" well. He simply instilled some righteousness of family and country into the "local beauties" they carefully selected, and asked them to go to Margarita to offer themselves to the Golden Palace in the name of "voluntarily", which also caused some troubles for the time being.

Six full days had passed since the Chief's defeat.

The whole city of Matoka is still shrouded in a tense atmosphere.

Scouts and rangers are sent out in dozens or even hundreds every day, for fear that the greenskins' horns and flags will appear on the horizon again as soon as they open their eyes in the morning or before they close their eyes in the middle of the night.

This was especially true after hearing that the Chief of the Expedition's army had fought miserably, was defeated and retreated, and had lost a large amount of equipment and heavy weapons to the greenskins.

It's not difficult to operate a cannon, but the difficult part is to shoot accurately.

But Matoka is a huge fixed target after all. There is no need to aim, and what is being smashed are all their own bottles and jars. If the greenskins push the cannons that were supposed to support the Matoka people and fire their own shells at them...

That would be a real tragedy.

At this time, a letter related to the war situation was finally delivered to the city of Matoka.

However, it was not to report military intelligence, but...

From the greenskin.

A secret letter was sent into Matoka by a spies disguised as a deserter, but it did not reach Rhine, Celestine and others, but entered the alliance's military camp and was presented to Al.

......

"what?"

Al looked at the signature on the letter and found it was crooked, as if a right-handed person was writing with his left hand for the first time and it was awkward.

"Mao Liang Feilong".

At least the letters written to him by the warlords were signed by the other party.

After Al finished reading it carefully, a strange expression appeared on his face. He raised the letter in his hand to Kael'thas, motioning him to take it.

The messenger was only responsible for delivering letters. He was a former pirate who had surrendered to the greenskins. If someone with this identity dared to appear in the southern world, mainly in the former Kingdom of Estalia, he would be hanged or crucified once discovered. But now, seeing that the two sides were temporarily "not enemies of each other", Al didn't pay much attention to him and just sent him away.

"This Maoliang warlord 'invited' us to pursue his troops?"

Al rubbed his chin.

"Are you trying to give me some credit?"

"Or do you want to plot against me?"

"Chase?"

Chapter 247: Chase!

The person who wrote the letter was Gao Maoliang and the person who received it was Al.

Both of them are "heroes" of the time who have risen in recent years.

However, one of them was a notorious greenskin warlord. He first invaded the Southern Kingdom, causing war everywhere; then he besieged Haimen Pass, but failed on the verge of success; he broke into the border territory, acted recklessly, and captured countless cities without bloodshed, using the method of encircling and then not pardoning those who surrendered. He was a rare gem among the greenskins.

As for Al, there is no need to repeat his titles and achievements in detail.

These two people, one represents the camp of order and the other represents the camp of chaos and destruction. They are two hostile parties that cannot coexist anywhere. Normally, the communication between Mao Liang and Ai'er is limited to verbal attacks on the battlefield and the taunts between the victors and prisoners after the war.

Writing letters is, after all,... a bit too weird. It's not something that should happen between Mao Liang and Ai'er, nor is it something a green-skinned person should do.

Very strange and surprising.

And if the content of the letter were to be leaked, it would be enough to shock the world.

The warlord, who had just defeated an army of 100,000 led by the Chief of the Expedition, said in the letter that he had decided to retreat eastward through Haimen and return to the badlands, just as the two had agreed upon at the beginning of their communication.

"I think the cunning boy has ideas about this border area."

"Gao Ge Mao Ge once said: If someone throws me a piece of meat, I will also throw it a bone; you didn't come to interfere in the fight between me and the Empire, but I still did you a favor. You brought your bunch of beasts to me, so I deliberately gave it to you this time so that you can make a name for yourself."

"I hope you didn't lie about our cooperation. I'll wait here for a few days and then leave. If you don't dare to come, I'll leave too."

In the letter, the warlord Gao Maoliang first praised Ai'er for keeping his promise and not interfering in the war between it and the Empire. He then "sincerely invited" Ai'er to lead his troops to "pursue" it, and said that he would deliberately give in so that Ai'er could easily obtain the military merit of expelling the greenskins.

I have to say, this proposal is very tempting...but also very dangerous.

If Gao Maoliang was really like Al, and both of them decided to have "sincere cooperation" this time, and the warlord was willing to cooperate with Al at this stage when the greenskins seemed to be making a comeback, pretending to be defeated by him and retreating out of the border territory, then at this time when Gao Maoliang had just defeated the Imperial Legion, Al immediately received the great honor of "Border Savior".

The Imperials, who were addicted to human weakness, immediately gained a huge advantage in the battle for the border princely territories.

The empire's chief army of 100,000 was defeated in the eastward expedition;

The wise king of the alliance led 30,000 elite troops to attack and won a great victory!

Once compared, the difference is obvious.

Southerners can handle things in the South (south of the empire) themselves! They can make the decisions!

But there are risks too.

Is Mao Liang really so kind?

Al thought about it.

If this weird greenskin actually wants revenge on him, and has never considered future cooperation, the eastward expedition to establish a nation, etc., then it is obvious that the current one is the most likely to succeed.

The "three-party joint suppression" that Al used to persuade Mao Liang was not just a threat, but would really happen.

When he learned at Black Rock that the border war was not going well and said goodbye to the High King and decided to rush back, Aladdin really regarded Al as a "chivalrous" knight king. You see, he was more anxious when his neighbor's house was on fire than when his own house was on fire.

The lofty ambition of "pan-orderism" surged in my heart, and I decided with Al that the King of the Alliance would go first and act prudently. After I deal with the matter of Black Rock Castle, I will immediately select elite troops to go to the sea gate to deal with these brainless enemies who have run into the backyard of the dwarves' half-home.

No matter how petty the dwarves are, they will certainly not stand by and watch Mao Liang build a barbaric kingdom next to their territory, and sending troops to intervene is imperative.