"Just call me Essien. Kardashian and Iscar speak highly of you."
Essien was usually mute, but today he was quite talkative. He greeted Roddy politely and turned to glance at Earl Moore, before extending his wings expressionlessly and taking to the skies …
Crystal Dragon?
Moore immediately sensed that something was amiss. Wasn't the royal family working with all the Dragons? Why would the Crystal Dragon appear in Roddy's tent at this time?
"Earl Moore, we finally meet."
Roddy felt an inexplicable emotion when he saw him. After all, Earl Moore was a capable military strategist, and most importantly, he wasn't a stubborn nobleman. When Roddy had absolute power, he could use such a person without worry. Roddy didn't think of himself as a 'grand strategist'. He had experience and insight that transcended the era. Earl Moore, on the other hand, was a classic military genius. Such a natural strategist could quickly master and achieve remarkable results.
Sodelor could only be described as an 'excellent' general. He was still young, and needed the experience of war to grow. Moore, on the other hand, was a proven commander. Roddy wouldn't stop at a small place like the Kingdom of Karen in the future. With such a talent available, he would definitely fight for it.
"Prime Minister."
Moore bowed respectfully. Roddy accepted his allegiance and attitude, and didn't put on airs and invited him into the tent.
Once inside, the plain furnishings made Moore sigh. Military camps didn't have living quarters and bedrooms, and the camp bed here was probably Roddy's' bedroom '. The sand table and stacks of documents beside it indicated that military meetings were held here as well.
From this point alone, he realized that Rody and the luxury-loving Charles II were people from two completely different worlds.
"I would like to invite you, Earl Moore, to be a member of my team of advisors. This war should be ending soon, but Efta's footsteps will definitely not stop here in the future. I hope that the path of conquest will be smoother with your help."
Rody did not hide his thoughts and straightforwardly expressed his thoughts. Moore was a little stunned. He was still thinking about how he should help Roddy conquer the Karen royal family, and now it was over with a simple 'the war is coming to an end'?
You're thinking of conquering more territories now? Wasn't that a little too much?
Of course, Rody had deliberately created such an effect. Without further explanation, he picked up a stack of documents from the table beside him and handed it over. "Earl Moore is an expert in military warfare. He is also well-versed in weaponry and equipment. These are the things that I will be using in the upcoming decisive battle. Take a look and give your opinion."
Earl Moore's body tensed slightly. He understood that this was a test of his abilities. Respectfully receiving the stack of papers, Moore read the contents carefully. But after going through the 'crystal cannons', 'reconnaissance planes', 'transport planes', 'trucks' and 'roads', he finally understood why Roddy was so confident.
He was still thinking about how to use his wisdom and strategy to 'teach' the young prime minister a lesson, but now he could only sigh. "Prime Minister, forgive me for being blunt, but under these circumstances … unless the Dragons are determined to join the war, I can't think of any possibility of defeat."
Moore's words sounded a little lonely. He had studied war for his entire life, but now he realized that he was far behind the times … The sudden feeling of emptiness hit him hard.
This was Roddy's real 'show of strength'. Exposing a few of his trump cards to intimidate Moore, and let him know that he was not 'indispensable'. Only then could he be more assured in using this old nobleman in the future.
While Roddy had never studied the mind of an emperor, his years of war and his high position had long since given him a better insight than the otaku he used to be. Compared to Eiffta's current bloated administrative structure, Elson's team was actually the core of his operation.
"The Dragons will eventually join the war, but we're not completely unprepared. What we need to do now is to wait patiently for the right time. "
As he spoke, he took out the image of the enemy that the Falcon had taken an hour ago. "In two days, three days at the latest."
Moore looked at the image taken from a bird's eye view. The long line of troops and the wooden chariots in the middle were clearly visible. Even the commander and personal guards in the middle of the troops were clearly visible. At any time, 'information asymmetry' would bring a huge advantage. And now he knew very well that Roddy's understanding of the war was no different from looking at a sand table …
At this moment, he was incomparably glad that he had chosen to surrender. If he were to command the royal army, Moore actually had a few countermeasures in mind. But now that he looked at it, he realized that his little tricks would not even last one round in the face of absolute superiority …
But … would the Dragons really sit back and do nothing?
*****
May 24th.
Two kilometers outside of Enrique City.
The road in Eiffta had actually been built to this point a long time ago. The army that came later was still under the arrangement of the engineering company to set up a regular camp. Unlike the previous battle, this time, they even laid out a large trench on the battlefield.
'Trenches' were something that had never existed in the current era. In the past, armies would occasionally dig 'reverse trenches', with a trench in front and a trench at the back. The purpose was to prevent enemy cavalry from directly trampling over the camp. But the soldiers of Eiffta obviously did not have such a thing, because they did not even worry about the possibility of being charged by cavalry.
The area where the military camp was located was relatively high. From here to Enrique City, there was a gentle downhill slope, and 500 meters in front of Enrique City, it would become a gentle slope again. Moreover, the city had a moat, so it was definitely 'easy to defend and hard to attack'. But it had been three days since the military camp was built, and from the beginning until now, only the Dragon Spear Cavalry Regiment's scouts occasionally returned to the front of the city. The rest of the time, no one paid any attention to the trembling soldiers on the city walls.
Because at this time, the main force from the imperial city was still on the way, and there were only about a thousand soldiers in the city that could fight. Viscount Tarlais, who was guarding the city, had stayed on the city walls in fear for five days, but the enemy seemed to be completely too lazy to attack the city. They were just building the camp there unhurriedly, which made him a little puzzled …
After all, under normal circumstances, taking advantage of the fact that there were few defenders and morale was low, they should have taken down the city in one go. Why did the enemy give him time to wait for reinforcements?
Of course, he did not know that Sodelor had already chosen the battlefield.
Walking out of the command post, Sodelor rode his warhorse to inspect the camp as usual. At this moment, the soldiers were still digging the trenches, and in the combat area in front of the military camp, parked double-barreled crystal cannons were spread out horizontally in two rows, but at this time they were all covered by fishing nets with camouflage cloth. From a distance, they looked like messy rows of mounds.
And in front of the cannons were hundreds of catapults transported by trucks from the rear. These things could be called 'antiques' among Eiffta's war machines, but for this battle, Eiffta could be said to have thrown all their resources to the front line. Not to mention the catapults, just the spare armor and weapons alone were piled into a small mountain in the camp. The supply of food and water for the soldiers was almost as abundant as when they were training in Paer territory. The consumption of resources such as meat, bread, and eggs was calculated by trucks every day. Even if the soldiers did not have any combat missions, digging trenches all day was enough to exhaust their strength, so Sodelor did not treat them poorly in terms of food at all. Every day, there was enough meat for lunch. This group of soldiers ate until their faces were red, and they were completely different from the sallow and emaciated prisoners of war.
Walking around the cannons, the atmosphere before the battle made the soldiers very solemn, but having experienced actual combat, they had some calmness that they had not had before the battle. Sodelor was very satisfied with this. He looked to the north, where endless trucks were transporting resources and more soldiers to the camp, and in the sky, the Falcon reconnaissance aircraft were slowly flying over.
"Commander! New reconnaissance information! "
A soldier rushed over with a red envelope. Sodelor was a little surprised that there would be an urgent message at this time, so he immediately tore open the envelope and read it. After that, he directly returned to the central tent, gathered his advisors, and placed the information on the table. "The mobilization of the royal family and nobles' troops has suddenly sped up. The reconnaissance report and the intelligence bureau have provided evidence and analysis that a large number of mages are involved in the mobilization and logistics work."
"Commander, how can Charles II be so enlightened? He has never done such a thing before. "
"Desperate times call for desperate measures. At this time, he will definitely put all the power at hand into the battle."
The advisors first analyzed, and then immediately realized the intention behind this information. "Commander … This should be a sign that the battle is about to begin, right?"
Sodelor frowned slightly. "Their marching speed and coordination speed has suddenly increased by three or four times. I don't quite believe that Charles II can easily command so many mages and make them obediently serve the battle …"
"Commander, you mean … there are Dragons involved?"
"That can only be so, but this is also not bad news — because if the Dragons really want to intervene, they will probably stop here. They are responsible for giving ideas and commanding, but they will not personally participate in the battle. This is not a problem for us, after all, when we are fully prepared, no matter how good the enemy's mobilization is, or how exquisite their tactics are … The outcome is actually the same. "
Next to him, an advisor carefully measured the distance and speed of the enemy's movement with a scale he brought with him. After some calculations, he said in a low voice, "Commander, according to their current speed, the main force will gradually arrive at Enrique City tomorrow."
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