What's wrong with building a steel torrent in a dungeon?

My people haven’t got a clue.”

Duke Habsburg was right.

The Feruman Empire has at least 50,000 troops. The food, drink, and defecation of so many people require a huge amount of supplies, which is impossible to hide. Margaret is not a fool. She will not sit idly by and watch the Feruman Empire hide its troops and let herself go up to deliver them.

"Could it be that Emperor Arthas disbanded it?" Fran said, "After all, the Northern Orthodox Church is closely connected with the army. He cleaned up the Northern Orthodox Church, so of course he would be afraid that the remaining members of the Northern Orthodox Church would overthrow him again through the army."

Grand Duke Habsburg shook his head and said, "If that's the case, Arthas would have been overthrown by the Northern Orthodox Church before he started to clean up."

"Then I really can't figure out where these troops went." Fran said, "There are rumors that Arthas has an unclear relationship with the Demon Realm, but I also asked my colleagues in the Demon Realm to investigate, but they told me that the entrance to the Demon Realm has been peaceful recently."

"There are too many suspicious points about Emperor Arthas." Duke Habsburg said, "No one knows why he did those things before! And I heard from my spies that Emperor Arthas seems to be very keen on collecting corpses."

"Collecting corpses? What a weird hobby."

"After every war, the Ferumen would undertake the battlefield cleanup work. They would pack up all the corpses and take them away." Duke Habsburg said, "Some people think that the Ferumen are crazy because of poverty and want to strip the corpses of valuables and sell them for money. But there were several times when the elves' troops were about to launch a general attack, they would fight to the death.

Carry the bodies out of the battlefield. Even if you are poor, you won’t risk your life. "

"Where are the bodies?" Fran asked curiously.

They were all buried in a safe place." Duke Habsburg said: "There is nothing suspicious about the burial site. I have also sent people to investigate. But such behavior always makes people feel a little abnormal."

"Maybe they just care more about their fallen comrades? Can't bear to see their bodies exposed in the wilderness?

"I hope that's all." Duke Habsburg said, "But they not only took in Feruman and our soldiers, but also the elves' soldiers... and even some civilians who were affected. Even if they are caring for them, they are too caring. And we didn't see them when we fought with the Feruman Empire before.

There is such a move.”

"What is this for?" Fran also fell into deep thought.

"In short, Lord City Lord, you must be careful of Arthas, and don't be too aggressive. You must leave a way out." Duke Habsburg said, "When necessary, you two might as well give up the Feruman Empire and fight in the territory of our motherland. At least, our people will never stab you in the back."

Chapter 152: Feruman Empire! Here I come!

Later, Fran's army, led by Duke Habsburg, crossed the Principality. Grand Duke Habsburg fulfilled his promise, handed over the camps and warehouses along the way to Fran, and ordered others not to interfere with Fran's troops.

When passing by the military camp, Fran went in to take a look with great interest. There, Fran finally understood why the army of the Principality of Habsburg was so powerful.

The training that the instructors give to the soldiers can only be described as harsh.

The formation drills and combat postures were all extremely demanding. If any soldier was distracted or made the slightest mistake during training, he would be severely whipped. Corporal punishment was commonplace here.

It is precisely because of this harsh military order that the soldiers of the Habsburg Principality obey the orders of their superiors and regard military orders as heavy as mountains.

Fran also saw their firearms training at some training grounds. Although the Habsburg Principality did not have much political communication with the outside world, it did not mean that it was closed off from the outside world. In fact, the Habsburg Principality was very proactive in collecting external information.

So when Fran auctioned firearms for the first time, Duke Habsburg spent a lot of money to buy them and started to imitate them immediately. After that, he actively collected intelligence on every battle involving firearms, interviewed veterans, hired instructors, and used various methods to learn the tactics and strategies of firearms.

Duke Habsburg and Fran were highly consistent in their opinions on firearms training. They both believed that the emergence of firearms would place higher demands on soldiers' discipline and officers' command.

The marching speed, the completeness of the formation, and the calmness of the soldiers on both sides when engaging in battle, which were originally not given much attention, would determine the situation on the battlefield in the era of firearms.

And these are precisely the strengths of the Habsburg Principality.

It can be seen that Archduke Habsburg wanted to fully embrace firearms, so when the production capacity of muskets had not yet fully caught up, the soldiers had already begun training in advance, even if each of them could only hold a long wooden stick.

Although they were not equipped with real firearms, the formation of these soldiers was obviously similar to that of his own troops. If they were more elite troops, they might even have surpassed his own.

Fran could only say that it was worthy of having an army of the principality.

The soldiers of the Habsburg Empire are so terrifying.

After a few more days of marching, Fran finally crossed the Principality of Habsburg, and next they were about to enter the Feruman Empire.

Duke Habsburg stood at the border and watched Fran leave, but judging from the expressions of these knights, they were also very eager to go to the battlefield.

After entering the Feruman Empire, Fran's troops once again quickened their pace and headed towards the Soul-Guiding River.

However, they ran into Wallenstein's scouts after only a few days of marching. After exchanging intelligence, they found out that the station of Fran's army was very close to Wallenstein's place. It was not known whether this was Margaret's intentional arrangement.

"Lord Fran, we meet again."

At the military base, Fran met her long-lost friend Wallenstein.

"Duke Wallenstein, why are you here too?" Fran said.

"I heard that you were sent here, and I was afraid that you didn't understand the situation, so I came to express my condolences." Wallenstein gathered his long golden hair and said, "According to your majesty's plan, our armies will work together to defend this area, and we will have to support each other when the time comes."

"That's natural."

With the help of Wallenstein, Fran quickly set up camp. In the tent, Wallenstein gave Fran a new map.

"Your Majesty's task for us is to deploy defenses in this area." Wallenstein pointed to the map.

"This area?" Catherine was a little curious. "Although the water here flows slowly, it is not too narrow, so it is a good place to cross the river. But after crossing the river, we have to go around a hill full of dense forests. I don't think they will attack here by surprise."

"I guess Margaret's goal is not to defend, but to attack." Fran said with a smile: "There are no hills blocking us on the other side. Once we successfully cross the river, it will be a flat terrain! The army of the Northern Alliance is a coalition after all. There are grudges between them. We can defeat them everywhere at that time."

"The Lord Mayor is right!" Wallenstein nodded. "Although Her Majesty did not clearly lay out the strategy, her ideas do coincide with the Lord Mayor's. Offense is the best defense."

"Does Duke Wallenstein know the specific deployment of the Northern Alliance's forces and the generals?"

"We just sent spies to investigate a while ago." Wallenstein said, "The commander-in-chief of the elves' attack this time is an elf named Elendil, a sixth-level divine magician."

"Aarendil?" Upon hearing this name, Fran's face immediately showed a subtle expression.

"Why? The city lord knows her?"

"Yes." Fran said, "On the way to Wall City, we had an unpleasant conflict with each other."

"Oh, really?" Wallenstein asked with interest, "What is the Lord Mayor's impression of her?"

"He is headstrong and very arrogant," Fran said.

"This is similar to our intelligence." Wallenstein said, "El Arundil is the most gifted divine magician among the elves in the past twenty years. He was born into a noble family. His grandfather was the Elf King who guarded the southern part of the empire. As you know, there is a great enemy in the south of the Elf Empire, the Trolls, and the two sides have been fighting for hundreds of years.

The battle is over."

"I know that trolls also live in the forest. The elves want to completely wipe out the trolls and turn the entire elven continent into their own territory. But the trolls are not easy to mess with, and with the help of a powerful sanctuary master, they have persisted until now." Fran said.

"That's right! After El'Arundil graduated from the academy, he served as an officer in his grandfather's army. He led his troops to defeat the trolls several times and was even called the victorious general. Looking at the young people in the entire Elf Empire, he should be the most famous general."

"And the Elf Empire handed over such a large expeditionary force to such a young officer?" Fran was a little surprised.

"The elves haven't been at war for many years! The generals in the empire are generally older, and they are all "peace" generals. In terms of courage and achievements, it seems that Elendil is indeed the best choice." Wallenstein said, "And her grandfather also assigned her a large number of officers who have experienced actual combat."

"I heard there was another reason for sending her here!" An officer behind Wallenstein interrupted, "The supreme commanders of the Vienna Alliance are all young people of the new generation. The elves don't want to be called old-fashioned by other forces, so they also chose a young person to play against us."

"The elves really care about their reputation." Fran said with a smile: "For this little bit of reputation, they actually treat the lives of more than 100,000 soldiers as a joke."

"But up to now, El'Arundil has fought pretty well." Wallenstein said with a wry smile: "The deployment of the elven army can be said to be very stable, and there have been no strategic mistakes. So far, they have not suffered a single defeat. On the contrary, we have been retreating step by step, and lost most of the Feruman Empire."

"The elves are so powerful, and they have so many ancient trees given by God, it's hard to lose." Fran said, "If it were me, I would win too. I won by hitting the face. How can I lose by hitting the face with an ancient tree?"

"Yes... Although many people sneer at Elendil's military accomplishments, if she doesn't win on the battlefield, it's like saying that the grapes are sour." Wallenstein said: "But your Majesty's point is that she has never experienced a defeat so far. This is her advantage and also her disadvantage.

"She is a person who has fought with the wind in her favor. Once the situation turns around, it depends on whether she can remain calm as usual."

Fran thought of the way Elendil was mad and babbling when she was speechless after his rebuttal. Just from this point of view, she should not be a calm person.

When people panic, they will make mistakes, and when they make mistakes, they have an opportunity.

But the premise of all this is that they have to defeat Elendil and make her feel disadvantaged. But it is not an easy task to make the powerful Elven Empire disadvantaged.

Chapter 153: Long Snake

After arriving at the destination, several legion commanders under Fran began to deploy urgently, and the supply line was also opened. At this time, the troops of the Northern Alliance also arrived at the battlefield one after another, and the two sides set up battle formations along the Soul-Guiding River. Of course, because of the Soul-Guiding River, the two sides only confronted each other and no real battle took place.

During the confrontation, Fran, Wallenstein and other generals were called to the front line by Margaret to hold a military meeting.

Several people traveled day and night, and Margaret led the scout team to greet them early.

"How are you, Lord City Lord, Lady Christina!" Margaret said to the two. Although Margaret was in power now and was no longer the same as when they formed an alliance, she did not neglect the two.

"Your Majesty is too polite!"

"Please come in. The generals from other places have also arrived."

Several people quickly came to Gondolin, the fortress on the west bank of the Soul River.

By the way, this city was built with the help of elves. Both the city defense facilities and the architectural style are full of elven characteristics.

The fortress was the center of the Feruman Empire's Soul-Guiding River defense line, and at this critical moment it was armed to the teeth. Margaret used it as a base and set up layers of defense around it. Along the way, Fran saw a large number of soldiers in training.

However, along the way, Fran discovered that most of these soldiers came from the Holy Roll Empire, and there were very few soldiers from the Feruman Empire.

It seems that as Duke Habsburg said, Emperor Arthas's army really seems to be "gone". He even handed over the entire Gondolin to Margaret, which is basically equivalent to handing over the safety of the capital of the Feruman Empire.

Isn't he afraid that Margaret will just stay here and not leave? By then, even if the elves are driven away, Arthas will become a puppet.

Several people entered the largest meeting hall in Gondolin. At this time, a huge map was hung on the wall of the hall, and more than a dozen generals were sitting below. There were not many people, but each of them was the backbone of Margaret. The five major legion commanders of the Holy Roel Empire were all present.

Margaret, Duke Tilly and Wallenstein are the three legion commanders. The other one is Duke Bieson, who was defeated by Fran at the beginning. However, when he saw Fran, Duke Bieson immediately put on a bad face. Who let Fran occupy the two ports in his fiefdom and make a lot of money?

The Duke of Bieson received not a penny.

In addition, the last legion commander was a girl from the same clan as Margaret. Although she was not very old, her eyes were full of calmness that did not belong to her age, which immediately reminded Fran of Gustave.

Sitting in the corner of the meeting room were Emperor Arthas and his subordinate Lilith.

Emperor Arthas looked very tall, but his face was extremely pale, as if he had kidney deficiency. Fran could not imagine that such a person would wipe out the Northern Orthodox Church like a thunderbolt, and then openly turn against the emperor of the most powerful nation, the elves.

As if he noticed the way Fran was looking at him, Arthas bowed slightly towards Fran as a greeting.

"Everyone, please take a seat."

The meeting was chaired by Margaret's first general, Tilly. He picked up a wooden stick and pointed to their location on the map, then explained the war situation to everyone.

At the same time, a military meeting was being held on the other side of the Soul-Guiding River. As the first commander, Elendil was deploying war plans for the generals below.

Elendil looked at the generals of the various forces of the Northern Alliance sitting upright and listening to her speech. She couldn't help but feel high-spirited. She raised her head high and said, "Now our Northern Alliance's army has been assembled, with a total of 180,000 troops."

This number can be said to be the largest military operation in the past decade, and the generals present were full of confidence.

"As you all know, our war went very smoothly before. We defeated the so-called Vienna Alliance with ease." Elendil said, "It was only because of this river that they were able to stop us. The foolish Ferumen seemed to think that they could stop us with just a stream.

This is clearly an overestimation of their own strength.”

As he spoke, Elendil drew a long line on the map with a stick, and then said: "In order to cross this river, we have formulated a set of tactics. With this place as the center, all the troops will be lined up along the Soul-Guiding River, forming a long snake formation! This long snake is like a copper wall, protecting the Soul-Guiding River.

Every ferry on the east side of the river. This formation is also our invincible battle formation when facing the trolls. "

The generals present nodded continuously.

Duke Tilly held up the map and said, "The best and only thing that Elendil is good at is the long snake formation. She used this formation to defeat the trolls many times. But in my opinion, this formation is stupid! They have divided too many troops to defend the ferry. Although it seems that there are defenses everywhere, in fact

Everywhere is weak.”

"Then why can they defeat the trolls so many times?" Fran asked.

"That's because there aren't many trolls to begin with, and there's no way to defeat them one by one. Plus, the Troll Kingdom has a long and narrow terrain, so there's no need to set up a long snake formation to sweep through them all the way." Duke Tilly said, "I didn't expect that Elendil was so inflexible that he actually dared to set up a long and winding Soul-Guiding River.

Put on this kind of formation. "

"The biggest advantage of this formation is that it can support each other. If you hit the head, the tail will follow. If you hit the tail, the head will follow. If you hit the middle, both the head and the tail will follow." Elendil said proudly. "Margaret likes to attack unexpectedly. However, in this formation, wherever she attacks, she will be surrounded on all sides.

land, thus trapping it completely to death."

"Then, how do we deploy our attack?" asked a veiled Baishajie general.

"This is also the second advantage of the long snake formation." Aarendil said: "The long snake formation covers a total of three ferry crossings. Our army can use these three ferry crossings to attack at the same time. With the current number of troops of the Vienna Alliance, it is already very difficult to defend our main attack direction. The other two ferry crossings must be

It is completely defenseless. Therefore, we will lead the attack here, and among the Northern Alliance’s troops, the Crazy Sand Empire will be responsible for the attack in the north, and the northern countries will be responsible for the attack in the south.”

Margaret said: "Aarendil can't command such a large army, so she will definitely let the elves launch the main attack, and the other two crossings will be launched by the Northern Alliance troops. With her command ability, it is obvious that she can only make such a deployment. Since she likes to set up a long snake formation, we might as well take the initiative to attack.

Grasp its head and tail firmly, and defeat it one by one! Then we'll see what she does!"

"The strength of the troops in this battle is 180,000 to 80,000. No matter what, the advantage is on me!" Aalendil said confidently.

"For this battle, we only have 80,000 people left. 80,000! I believe that with your extraordinary command abilities, we will definitely defeat the entire Northern Alliance!" Although Margaret's face was solemn, her eyes were full of fighting spirit.

Chapter 154: Pride is an original sin

Afterwards, Margaret made a more detailed deployment.

She personally led two legions to resist the attack of the main force of the elves. Of course, with the strength of two legions, it was impossible to resist the fierce attack of the elves. What she had to do was to delay as much as possible to buy time for the attacks of both sides.

In the north, Duke Tilly and Duke Bieson launched an attack together, while in the south, Fran and Wallenstein attacked together. They had to clamp the head and tail of the long snake formation like two iron pliers, making the entire formation unable to move, and then launch a pincer attack from the center. The more fierce their attack, the more manpower they would kill.

The more, the elves' attacks will become more hesitant.