I, the yellow-haired noble, hypnotize the beautiful wife from another world

So although Duke Shilkov's decision sounds hasty, it is a correct decision with internal logic.

There is still a glimmer of hope if we attack head-on, but if we defend ourselves, we will just be waiting for death.

"In that case, good."

Hadaway also acted decisively. The coalition forces had 150,000 elite troops under their command and had the advantage of geographical location. Although the Crusaders were elite, they might not be our opponents!

If we win this battle, the alliance against the Crusaders and the Griffin rebels will surely rise again, and we, the orthodox loyal subjects of the Golden Eagle Empire, will surely recreate the world!

As soon as the words fell, all the rebel generals present stood up and shouted in unison: "Rebuild the world!"

The military meeting was thus decided.

Despite the arguments, despite their own thoughts, despite the countless entanglements and fears in their hearts, when the final decision was made, the rebel generals present still focused all their attention on the war that was about to begin.

Because they all knew that the commander of the Crusaders, who was also the trusted commander-in-chief of the Golden Eagle Empire, was not a kind person. In other words, his kindness was reserved for civilians, poor people, and innocent people in the general public.

Towards traitors, heretics, and aliens, he was always as ruthless as a blizzard in the North, harsh and merciless.

If you try to take chances during the battle with him, you can imagine what the final outcome will be.

Aslan would slaughter them all without mercy.

They are now not only fighting for their own wealth and glory, but also for their own lives.

It was also because of this that when the vanguard of the Crusaders approached Rock City, they encountered extremely fierce resistance.

The small fortress guarding the outermost part of the fortress in Rock City, blocking the intersection, did not choose to surrender or retreat after two rounds of artillery fire. Instead, it collapsed after a wave of attacks by the Spider Maids of the Crusaders.

Hundreds of elite mercenaries, fed with silver, fought in this small-scale skirmish against a large group of spider puppet battle maids who were extremely suitable for mountain warfare and more adaptable to mountain terrain than dwarves, until they were completely wiped out.

Yes, after confirming that the battlefield was in mountainous terrain, the Crusaders transformed a large number of puppet maids from bipedal to spider-type to enhance their combat effectiveness in the mountains.

Although the final casualty ratio was four to one, the death of four elite mercenaries was needed to destroy a spider-shaped puppet maid.

It was just destroyed, most of the damage, and the loss of mobility, but it can return to the battlefield again by simply updating some parts, and become stronger with more experience.

Even if the rebels carried out beheading, severing limbs, cutting in half or other similar tortures, as long as the inner magic core was not destroyed, the puppet maid would not be considered truly dead in battle.

This is why the Crusaders could accept several times or even ten times more casualties than ordinary armies and recover at a faster rate.

……

From the rebels' perspective, this outpost battle was definitely a failure. Nearly 500 of the most elite mercenaries, who were considered the best in the entire human world, were all annihilated in a single battle. The Crusaders only lost a group of strange spider-shaped puppets.

It has to be said that the plan to take the initiative and boost morale has completely failed.

But that was not the case at all in Aslan's opinion.

He had expected that after two rounds of bombardment had destroyed almost all of the enemy's defenses, the enemy would have retreated. The loss of more than a hundred combat puppet maids, the damage to the magic cores of twelve combat puppets, and the complete destruction of two combat puppets could have been completely avoided.

This proved that the rebels were more morale-conscious and stubborn than they had expected.

The war surrounding Shanshi City was more difficult than expected.

Chapter 50: A Brutal Battle

Over the next dozen days, the Crusaders, with the air force and the spider-type puppet maids on the ground as the core, carried out round after round of cleanup operations on the rebels' outer defense lines in an orderly but extremely fast manner.

Not every outer fortress was guarded by the most elite mercenaries like the first one. Some of them had average combat effectiveness and would surrender directly before the second round of artillery bombardment.

In general, the Crusaders still have the upper hand, and it can even be said that they have an absolute upper hand. However, not all the news here is good news.

The magician riding the white dragon and the scout crows sent out brought more new news.

The enemy's formation was changing, from the initial layers of defense to the direction of concentrating forces.

In addition to leaving some troops to garrison the fortress group with Shanshi City as the core, at least 60,000 of the most elite troops were concentrated.

Lion Knights, Dwarf Artillery, elite Super Spear Mercenaries and Griffin Knights formed a powerful assault force.

This troop was deployed by Hadaway to the west side of Mountain Stone City. The purpose was self-evident.

"I want to counterattack."

Aslan thought thoughtfully.

Before this, the strategic posture of the Crusaders and the Griffin coalition was encirclement and attack, and therefore the 50,000 troops were divided into multiple routes. In addition to the 20,000 elite troops in the center, the other 30,000 troops were deployed in the east, northeast, and west wings.

The enemy's arrangement was to use 60,000 of its most elite main forces to attack its 10,000-strong detachment on the west.

If this tactic succeeded, then the Crusaders might reconsider their war with the rebels, and at the same time, they would be able to break the myth of the Crusaders' invincibility.

Perhaps in order to destroy or even just defeat these 10,000 Crusaders, they would have to lose 30,000 or even more troops. But in any case, it was a worthwhile attempt.

They did not expect to completely defeat the Crusaders, but only hoped to gain such a partial victory to inspire morale.

While Hardaway led about 60,000 elite main forces to attack, Shilkov would lead the remaining 50,000 to 60,000 troops to continue defending the Stone City.

At the beginning, the rebels had an army of 150,000, but after less than half a month of fighting, the number was reduced to 120,000.

Perhaps this is why they would risk everything to do this.

It's just a pity that any strategy, tactics, or brilliant plan will not have any effect if he is fully detected and known by the other party.

Whether it is an ambush or a surprise attack, it is a feint to the east and attack in the west to conceal the truth.

Once you give Pang Juan a reconnaissance drone, both the plan to reduce the number of cooking stoves and the ambush on Maling Road will become insignificant small Karamis.

Therefore, when Aslan's air force covered the sky of the battlefield, the mobilization of 60,000 troops could not be hidden from him at all. In this case, the Crusaders could calmly arrange and respond.

Although the Crusaders acted second and were maneuvering on the outside, theoretically their movement speed should be slower than that of the enemy, but in reality this was not the case.

Because of their stronger discipline and more modern organizational model, the Crusaders' mobility, both long-distance and short-distance, was much stronger than that of the rebels.

So in fact, when the 60,000 rebel troops gathered on the Western Front and launched an attack, the Crusaders had also gathered 20,000 elite reinforcements on the Western Front. Adding the original 10,000 elite troops on the Western Front, most of the military strength was concentrated here.

The comparison of the forces of both sides changed from 10,000 to 60,000 to 30,000 to 60,000. Although it seemed that the Crusaders were still at a disadvantage, considering the difference in technical weapons of both sides - accompanying magicians, dragons, artillery, and frost giants, their actual combat strength was roughly the same.

If we also take into account that the quality and tactics of the puppet battle maids' army are far superior to those of the enemy, then in fact, the combat power of Aslan's troops should be equivalent to 1.5 times that of the rebels.

What is more important is that Aslan is confident that his command skills are far superior to those of the old general Hardaway.

Although it may seem a bit arrogant to say this, after all, old General Hardaway is a veteran who has fought for decades. During the period before Aslan made his debut, he could almost be said to be the pinnacle of the Golden Eagle Empire commanders.

But Aslan still thinks he is better than Hardaway.

Although the technical advantages and the epoch-making gains of the professional staff department account for a large proportion of this excellence, but small cheats are not considered cheats, and small openings are not considered openings. This has been recognized.

So Aslan thinks that his abilities are better than General Hardaway's, which is understandable, right?

So, in the end, this battle, which is not particularly large in scale but represents the highest technological level in the world, will be launched on the west side of Shanshi City.

Hills, hillocks, rivers, and small patches of woodland cut the entire battlefield into pieces.

On such a fragmented battlefield, after a brief contact and test, 30,000 Crusaders and 60,000 rebels set up camp, and then remained cautious and vigilant. After a day of rest, they launched the world-renowned Battle of Rock City on June 3.

……

"It's finally begun." Riding on Lady Elizabeth, Aslan lowered his head, looked at the situation on the battlefield, and muttered to himself with a slight sigh.

Looking down from the sky, the situation on the battlefield was clear at a glance. The Crusaders' formation was more orderly, and more dispersed.

The Morris square formation is a wider formation with fewer rows, and is the ancestor of modern line tactics.

Because of this, even though the Crusaders had only half the number of soldiers as the enemy, their array width was still wider than the enemy's, so they would not suffer any loss.

The main forces of both sides were deployed on the main road in front. This was also the largest gentle slope leading to the Stone City. The Crusaders deployed more than 150 large Napoleon cannons, 8,000 infantry, and 2,000 cavalry here.

These cavalrymen were divided into two flags. One flag was the Imperial Knights, who were heavy lancers wearing full set of plate armor and their horses.

These warriors are incredibly powerful knights, many of whom can easily defeat a troll, ogre, or even a wyvern in single combat.

When this unparalleled, professional armored knight troop, which had never appeared in the world, appeared on the battlefield, everyone was shocked by their strength and excellence.

Those feudal knights of the past who were arrogant and conceited with their bravery and strength will understand what is the most powerful and excellent heavy cavalry unit in the world.

These Imperial Order Knights were already so perfect that they could be called the best shock cavalry. But compared to those Centaur-based combat puppet maids, the Imperial Order Knights were not so perfect and powerful.

These latest Durin's strange mechanical craftsmanship and magical attainments are a perfect combination, a unity of machinery and magic. They are taller than normal centaurs, with a strong lower body that is almost as strong as that of ogres, and stronger power than ogres or trolls.

The puppet maids' network and mechanical qualities make these combat puppet maids more disciplined and team-friendly than the knights who have undergone the strictest decrees.

Although those proud knights were reluctant, they had to admit one thing, that is, these centaur-like combat puppet maids were slightly stronger than them.

Although the personal advantage is only a little bit, 40% to 60%. But when it comes to the level of company battles, 100 knights against 100 knights, the advantage of the battle puppet maid will increase further.

And when they reach the level of battalion, flag squadron, and regiment, the Imperial Knights will definitely not be a match for the Centaur-style combat puppet maids.

Of course, at present, the old general Hardaway does not know this, but this does not prevent him from treating the 10,000 elite Crusaders in front of him as his biggest opponents in this battle.

The probability of a breakthrough in the middle is not very high, so Hardaway plans to focus on the two wings.

On the two wings, there were 12,000 and 8,000 coalition troops deployed respectively.

The left wing has more troops because the roads are wider and flatter, and although the terrain is more hilly, it can still deploy enough troops, so there are more troops. On the contrary, the right wing has fewer troops.

But on the other hand, of the 12,000 troops on the left wing, 8,000 were Doppelgangers under the Griffin, and only 4,000 were Crusaders. On the right wing, 8,000 troops included 6,000 Crusaders and 2,000 Doppelgangers.

If calculated this way, the left probably has more people, but is actually a little weaker.

As for the road to the right, it was actually a mountain path, too steep, and difficult for a single person to climb unless they were mountain dwellers, let alone the army. So the old general had no intention of using it as a breakthrough point.

……

"Then let's make the left wing the focus of the breakthrough." The old general thought to himself.

Because he was mostly in the mountains, the 60,000-man army was divided into more scattered groups. Except for the main road and the left wing, there were no large-scale rebel corps on the right wing and the mountain trail further to the right.

In the middle, facing the 10,000 elite Crusaders, were the 25,000 elite rebels. Mercenary spearmen and musketeers, hired dwarf artillery, and more than 5,000 elite Griffin Knights and Lion Knights were deployed here.

The left wing also has the three mentioned above, and the number has reached as many as 25,000. It is hoped that the numerical advantage can defeat the left wing of the Crusaders and win the war.

He deployed 5,000 troops on the right wing for defense. In addition to the latest super-long spearmen, there were also many shield spearmen that were somewhat classical but also suitable for defense. The last 5,000 troops were deployed in the rear as the general reserve.

In addition, a group of mountain dwarf troops from the Bronze Dwarves were also deployed by the old general on the right wing, using these defensive troops to resist the attacks of the Crusaders.

——Although mountain dwarves are good at mountain warfare, their mobility is really a bit worrying. So the old general did not try to use the brass dwarf troops to steal the chicken.

But Aslan did.

The secret weapons deployed on mountain trails and roads that are difficult for monkeys to walk on will surely bring endless surprises to the rebels.

……

"On the left and right wings, the roads are narrow, but they still deployed heavy artillery? How did they do that?"

At this moment, the old general Hardaway was riding on a majestic and powerful griffin, looking at the opposite position with a monocular telescope.

In addition to the hundreds of Napoleon-style artillery deployed in a row on the front, which was terrifying to look at, Aslan also deployed varying numbers of heavy artillery on the left and right wings.

If it was a light artillery, it would be fine. But it was a heavy artillery...

With this in mind, the old general's evaluation of the Crusaders' magic proficiency and combat effectiveness once again raised to a higher level.

Although the Crusaders have not yet reached the power of the Magic Empire in its heyday, in the era of the combination of science and magic, the combat power that the Crusaders can exert is, to a large extent, not inferior to that of the Magic Empire - even more powerful than the artillery of the Napoleonic era.

After all, most of the artillery fired in the Napoleonic era were still solid shells, not exploding shrapnel shells.

But the Crusaders under Aslan were different. Although the artillery looked similar in appearance, they were actually completely different things.

The latter is half a magical product, not a purely mechanical product.

"This battle is going to be difficult."

He thought so in his heart, and then he turned around and landed in the army with the army to protect himself.

There was no way he could not turn around and land, because Aslan was riding the dragon and was already flying towards the flock of griffins in the sky.

The Griffin Knights from the Griffin family, the most noble and powerful warriors in the world, were extremely proud and heroic as they attacked an opponent who was much stronger than them and whom they could not defeat no matter what.

The white dragon slaves of the Crusaders were roaring and raging, like a cold cloud about to bring down frost and snow. Even in the height of summer, more than thirty huge beasts, catalyzed by magic and possessing combat power beyond that of ordinary white dragons, still made the land as cold as late autumn.

This was bound to be a one-sided massacre. Although the number of griffin knights was ten times that of white dragons, their fighting power was probably not even half of that of the white dragons, not to mention that there were two silver dragons among the white dragons, and Aslan himself could transform into an ancient golden dragon at any time, which scared the griffins to death.

What the Griffin Knights had to do was to delay the time so that the Crusaders' air force advantage could be brought into play later, thus creating conditions for the rebels' army to exert its power.

Yes, although strictly speaking, from the perspective of combat power, the rebels were at a disadvantage, but because Aslan had air superiority, Hadaway had to choose to take the initiative to attack. The victory of this battle before the Griffin Knights were slaughtered was -

Although in fact, when he confirmed that the number of enemies on the opposite side was not 10,000 but 30,000, he knew that this battle would be difficult to win.

Their strategic objectives have failed.

But even so, Hardaway still went ahead with the battle, because he knew that if he fought, he would have a 30% chance of winning. If he didn't fight, he would have nothing.

Chapter 51: Artillery is the God of War

When Aslan saw the rebel infantry and cavalry, under the protection of artillery fire and magicians, slowly advancing in the direction of the Crusaders in dense formations, he couldn't help but sigh secretly.