When Karl-franz arrived at Huff Wind Root, he did not have much time to organize the defense and build new fortifications. The scouts told him that the army of Chaos would arrive the next morning.
The Emperor raised his head and found that it was already afternoon. The walls of Huff Wind Root were not sturdy. The walls were only as tall as two or three people and were damaged in many places. The Ostermark people had all fled a few months ago. The Emperor decided to set up the command center here, but the army could not fight in the city. They would be stationed outside the city.
The Emperor wisely chose to set up his main front line in front of a swamp. This would greatly limit the speed of the Chaos Army's charge. The Chaos Knights would be blasted the moment they got close to the Empire's front line.
The next morning, heavy rain fell from the sky. The sky was gray, and the ground stretched toward the iron-gray horizon. The puddles of water glistened on the soft black soil. Some of the trees that had been blown up curled up, and the deep sky was set off by the darkness.
The left wing, which was also the west wing, was under the command of Marius Leitdorf. This crazy count led four elite troops from Ivy.
The Knights of the Golden Fleece.
The Knights of the Black Bear.
The Knights of the Bull.
The Griffin Duke, Ivan, had two brigades of half of the Griffin Knights. This was close to two-thirds of the Griffin Knights.
Other than that, Marius also had eighteen full imperial legions under his command, made up of the Nords, Middens, and Austers. These soldiers were brave, fierce, and fearless. Most of them had a death feud with Chaos. Their discipline might not be up to standard, but their attack power and commandos were definitely not a problem.
The commander of the right wing, which was also the east wing, was not Volten. As the champion of Charlemagne's Chosen, Volten's commanding ability was outstanding, but he still lacked experience. As Volten's mentor, Luthhus's commanding ability was not up to par. Therefore, the commander of the west wing was General of Tarabek, Count Driau-Meck. This was a military noble with a noble bloodline and a glorious tradition. After the disappearance of Helmut Felbach, Meck had always hoped to inherit the position of Elector. He had repeatedly expressed his loyalty and ability to Karl-franz in private.
The Emperor was well aware of Earl Meco's abilities. He thought that if they could win this battle, it would be fine.
There were also quite a number of elites in the right wing, but most of them were made up of soldiers from different provinces. Most of them only had simple swords, shields, spears, and breastplates. They also lacked cannons. There were a total of 30 Empire legions under Earl Meco's command.
If there was anyone in the right wing who could decide the outcome, it would undoubtedly be Volten and his Charlemagne Army. This army was made up of a shocking number of dervishes and fanatics. There were as many as two to three thousand of them and they were a terrifying force. They could also bring about a huge disaster to the entire battle. The dervishes' brainless charge could very well achieve unexpected results, but it could also break the defensive line. The Empire could only rely on their sturdy spear and shield formations to deal with the tide of destruction.
What was even more shocking was that the morale of the Empire's army was unprecedentedly high. Everyone knew what would happen if they lost this battle. Emperor Karl-franz was proud of the fact that his army was still able to maintain their amazing fighting strength.
In fact, the Emperor could have appointed Helberg or someone else to command the Battle of Huff Wind Roots, but Karl-franz was very serious. He believed that this responsibility belonged to him. He was the Emperor of the Empire, and he knew that because of Volten's performance, more and more soldiers were discussing the possibility of Volten leading the army. This would undoubtedly lead to the division of the Empire. Karl-franz would not allow this to happen. There was no better way to restore his position than to achieve a great victory in battle.
The Middle Army was the Emperor's main force. It was also the key to this battle. The armies of Brunswick, Duke, Nur, and Weisseng formed the backbone of the Middle Army. Most of the elites were here, and a simple count would reveal their illustrious reputation.
There were six regiments of Duke's Guards (300 men).
Duke's Guards Inner Circle Knights (20 men).
Brunswick's Honor Guard.
Franz's Guards Legion.
Griffin's Greatsword Regiment.
Nur's Meritorious Legion.
Duke's Longbarreled Musket Regiment.
Three Empire's Greatsword Regiments. A total of 600 Great Swordsmen lined up in a row.
Five Brunswick's Guards Legion.
The Empire had mobilized all of its elites for this battle. Apart from these elites, there were also 30 standard Empire regiments at the front. Behind hundreds of shields, there were thousands of swords and halberds. Musketeers and crossbowmen were looking for their positions, and cannoneers were doing their final checks.
Karl-franz stood on the high platform. The Emperor looked at the scenery of Huff Wind Roots and revealed a standard eight-toothed smile. "If we can't defeat the enemy here, then I can at least die here."
"Don't say such discouraging words, Your Majesty." The Emperor's flag bearer, Ludwig Schwarzhammer, grumbled. The saint was nearly a hundred years old, and his white beard almost touched the ground. The flag bearer was worried about this battle. "You should retreat. Leave this to me."
"At this time, the soldiers need me. I should stay with the soldiers more than ever, Ludwig." Karl-franz looked into the distance. The war drums of Chaos could be heard. In an hour or two, the army of Chaos would appear.
The Golden Fortress had fallen. The Emperor thought that even if the Empire did not give up, the Golden Fortress would only last for a few more months because Galt was gone.
Why did you run away, Galt? Karl-franz smiled bitterly in his heart. If you had told me the truth, I would have protected you. Why did you run away?
I need your magic. The Empire needs your magic, Galt!
The Emperor knew that Galt had no choice, but he really missed Galt's power. The great alchemist had relied on his unreasonable piety to turn the tide of battle many times.
"Your Majesty, please retreat. Leave this to me." Marshal Rick Helberg came up and said. The old marshal had used up all his excess energy on a woman's belly last night. His long hair was messed up, or at least, it was not as perfect as it usually was. The continuous battle for several months had made the old marshal on the verge of collapse. He yelled at the Emperor nervously, "You shouldn't be here."
"I'm the Emperor, Kurt!" Karl-franz did not want to waste time talking nonsense with Helberg.
"Because you're the Emperor, we have to ensure your safety first," Helberg emphasized. Hailberg emphasized, "If we lose this battle, we can at least build a new line of defense in Herzig and Tara Beheim. But if you die here, everything will be over."
The incident happened so suddenly that the Empire was only half prepared. The defense at Huff Wind Root was complete, but the defense at the rear was not. If they lost, the Empire would collapse.
"Helberg is right." Schwarz Hammer was a man of few words, but this time, the Flag Bearer of the Emperor nodded in agreement.
"You are the Empire, Your Majesty," Marshal Rick said firmly.
"You are the Empire …" Karl-franz suddenly felt a stinging pain. It was as if the gray sky and raindrops were falling on his body, making him feel pain.
He stared blankly into the distance. The enemies were coming from the north. As usual, they would sweep through the swamp. The Orcs would use their sturdy hooves to tear the ground apart. Noska's War Hounds would charge forward with their bloody mouths wide open, followed by Noska and the Kurgan Horsemen with their blood-red eyes. Then, the armored Behemoths with their heads covered with sharp blades would charge forward with large strides. Their skulls reflected the bloody light of their armor.
Their formation was a mess. The only thing driving them forward was the desire to slaughter. The only advantage the mortals had was discipline. Just as it had always been for the past hundred generations, the Empire's orderly steel formation would welcome the primitive bestiality.
But could they really defeat the enemies?
Could they really win? Without the support of the Golden Fortress, could the Empire really win this battle?
"Everyone, do your job." Karl-franz wanted to say something, but at this juncture, the Emperor could not say anything. He signaled to Marshal Rick, who looked deeply at the family of Grand Prince Rick and the Emperor of the Empire. Helberg raised the Rune Tooth Resentment and saluted the Emperor. "For Charlemagne, for the Empire!"
"For the Empire!" The Emperor responded with the most standard military salute. He used to be a soldier, but now he was an Emperor, and Helberg had always been a soldier, a pure soldier. Whether it was internal affairs or diplomacy, Helberg had an amazing talent — he could always make everything worse. This made the Emperor very glad that Helberg had never been involved in politics. The battlefield was more suitable for the marshal.
"Today, Charlemagne will witness another great victory for the Empire." Helberg put on his winged helmet and rode his beloved mixed-blood elven horse to the frontline.
The Emperor looked at Helberg's back in silence. The rain hit his armor. Schwarz Hammer walked up behind him and picked up Karl-franz's Griffin Helmet.
The Emperor seemed to be in a trance. "Who am I, Ludwig?"
"You are our Emperor, Your Majesty," Ludwig said softly. The white-bearded old man's voice was very firm.
"Then do you trust your Emperor?" Karl-franz looked into the distance. The Chaos Octagonal Star flag was already vaguely visible.
"Your Majesty, all the soldiers and people of the Empire will follow you forever," Ludwig said quietly. "No matter the outcome."
"No matter the outcome?" Karl Franz looked at the hundreds of Chaos Flags on the horizon. He looked at the countless screams and roars. He looked at the more than thirty thousand Northka Marauders running and shouting. He looked at the thousand monsters and Chaos Demons … Maybe more were appearing one after another.
The Empire's army stood in the frontline timidly and bravely. The soldiers rushed to pray to Charlemagne, Yuric, or Tal. The sergeants roared and quickly clenched their halberds. They remembered their oath and would not step back. Otherwise, their bones would be crushed by Chaos.
Many people prayed that if they could not win, they would die quickly.
"Where is the gunpowder and steel of the Empire? Where is the glory and faith of the Empire? " The Emperor murmured to himself. "Everything is like the setting sun. Everything is burned. The countries are turned into a sea of fire. Chaos rules the future. Victory is always short. The last hope is fading. Tell me, Ludwig, why did it become like this? My Empire, why did it become like this? "
The flag bearer could feel the Emperor's sorrow. Ever since Karl-franz ascended the throne, the Emperor had spent most of his life fighting against the enemies of the Empire. However, the Empire was still forced into this desperate situation.
The Death Claw of the Gryphon suddenly roared. It smelled the scent of Chaos and wanted to tear the enemy apart. This beast did not have to wait any longer.
"The enemy has appeared, Your Majesty." Ludwig Schwarzhammer tightened his grip on his sword, Judge.
"Then, we will not rest until death." Karl-franz also took out his Rune Tooth, Dragon Tooth Sword.
"We will tell Chaos that we will never surrender!"
"Karl-franz!" The Emperor's name exploded in the frontline. All the soldiers of the Empire could not help but roar.
"For the Empire, for Karl-franz!"
This was the answer of Karl-franz, the Emperor of the Empire, the Elder Prince of the Kurfürst Region, the Grand Duke of Brunswick, the bearer of the Silver Seal, the holder of the Rune Tooth, and the inheritor of all the sacred heritage of Charlemagne from the sea to the Border Mountain.
The Empire would never surrender.
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