After the meeting, Kalad and Torras rested for a day. The next day, they began to gather the army.
Laing named the army the Brittany Northern Front Army, with Kalad as the commander, Torras as the vice commander, and Berliat as the chief political commissar as well as the commander of the Ugor Legion.
The Northern Front Army began to gradually concentrate its troops. The Dukes of Brittania sent their strongest elite infantry regiments to fight under Ryan's command. Most of these infantry regiments had 300-500 soldiers, which was relatively small compared to ordinary infantry regiments. However, almost all of them had participated in the Eight Peaks Mountain Expedition. At the same time, many of them were elites who had also participated in the Obien Great Expedition. They gathered in formation, were fully armed, and had a murderous aura, which made Kalad feel a lot more confident.
Of course, the cost of this army was not cheap. Fortunately, Laing was rich. Coupled with the fact that the army was not large, the dukes began to realize that although the Knight King's Kingdom was mainly composed of cavalry, an elite infantry was indispensable. Therefore, they were willing to pay for it.
The first to arrive was the Boar and Scoundrel Legion. This legion and Duke Theodoric hated each other. Why? Because of Duke Theodoric's misdeeds and his lack of concern for the lives of his people, the soldiers deeply hated him. However, in the end, Duke Theodoric saved the duchy by killing the vampire pirate commander and won back a little bit of prestige. In the end, Duke Theodoric reluctantly reached a compromise with the soldiers. The Duke would pay half of their military expenses and allow them to recruit new soldiers from the serfs and freemen. As for the Stupid Pigs and Rascals, they were free to leave the duchy to participate in the war or accept missions. They only needed to return when the duchy was in danger.
Next to arrive was the Palawon Rapid Infantry Regiment. This infantry regiment was known for their fast movement and accurate shooting in the mountains. They wore chain armor and were good at using muskets and bows. They were also very good at field and defensive battles.
After them were Bordero's Mannen Guards, Vanford's Unicorn Guards, and Bastogne's Red Dragon Guards. These troops were all experienced and experienced. They were elites who could deal with any difficulty with ease.
After gathering these troops, Kalad had to face a large group of Ranger Knights sent by the southern knight nobles.
The Brittany knights-errant had three characteristics. The first was that they were young and reckless, biting off more than they could chew. The second was that they were hot-blooded and did not listen to orders. The third was that they were not good at fighting head-on battles. If they could not charge, they would be in danger of losing morale.
Most of these knights-errant had only been knights for less than ten years. Their hearts had long been filled with the desire for the Holy Grail. Especially in recent years, the Brittany's martial virtues had been abundant, and they had won many battles. Therefore, the knights-errant's brains were also filled with passion.
Recently, it was the autumn harvest season. Everyone was busy with the autumn harvest. The knights-errant were strictly ordered not to affect the harvest. They had nothing to do all day, so they fought everywhere, organized all kinds of competitions, and sought the opportunity to meet the Knight King or the dukes for promotion. This annoyed the great nobles. Laing's suggestion was exactly what the dukes wanted. Almost everyone could not wait to tell the knights-errant to gather with Kalad.
The knights-errant from the south had gathered together. Including the squires, there were more than five thousand of them in a few days. When Kalad saw this scene, he had a headache. However, the Holy Grail could not do anything about it. He could only sift through a certain standard and spend a few days to filter out more than a thousand people. He then hurriedly set off, planning to go along the canal to the north.
It was September, the autumn harvest season. On the transport ship, Kalad, Torras, and Berliat stood on the deck, looking at the bustling ships and the dense villages, towns, and even castles along the banks of the canal. Torras looked at Kalad and exclaimed, "The Grand Canal of Landouin is only the first phase completed. It's a miracle! A miracle bestowed upon Brittany by the Lady! "
"Yes. Since the construction of the Grand Canal, the cost of transportation has been greatly reduced. The river that connects the north and the south irrigates and communicates the entire kingdom. Because of the influence of the canal, more than a dozen towns and hundreds of villages have already appeared along the Grand Canal. It's really the lifeline of the kingdom."
"Such a huge project can't be done without a certain amount of determination and ability," Torras said with a sigh. Torras sighed. This Holy Grail Knight looked at the clear autumn sky in the distance. There were few clouds in the clear autumn sky, and many wild geese were flying from the north to the south. "I really don't know how His Majesty came up with the idea of the Eight Peaks Mountain and the Great Canal."
"Great people are always different. His Majesty is the great savior bestowed upon Brittany by the Lady. No matter how strange his ideas are, it's not surprising. What we have to do is to fully understand his intentions and execute them." Berliat was wearing a Brittany military uniform, but he had the Kislöw Lieutenant General's medal on his chest. He looked a little out of place, but at the same time, he looked very imposing. At the same time, he also looked a little gloomy, which made Kalad and Torras uncomfortable. However, they soon noticed that behind Berliat was a slightly plump Kislöw officer who looked a little unnatural. "This is …?"
"This is General Meretskov, the acting Legion Commander of the Ugor Legion." Berliat introduced calmly, "I'm not a good commander, and I've never thought of myself as one. This Meretskov is an experienced commander. He was a General and Chief of Staff during the reign of his predecessor, Tsar Boris Bokhar. He was the one who came up with the military plan for the war that won Boris the title of Red Tsar after defeating the Orcs outside Prague City."
"Nice to meet you, General Meretskov." Kalad extended his hand, and the Ugor Legion Commander smiled cautiously. Then he took a step back and stood behind Berliat. "Greetings, Lord Kalad, Lord Torras. It's an honor to meet you."
Berliat smirked. That was the end of General Meretskov's glorious deeds.
After Red Tsar Boris died bravely in the Troll Nation, he fell out of favor. During the Winter War, Kislöw suffered heavy losses, and Meretskov, who participated in the strategic plan, was also implicated. He was arrested by Cheka and tortured in prison. One of his legs was broken, and he was forced to admit that he was influenced by Chaos and made an agreement with the Barbarians. He took the blame for the huge losses.
Fortunately, many things happened to Kislev after that. Coupled with the fact that he had always kept a low profile and didn't have a good reputation, everyone forgot about him. Kislev could only stay in prison for a few years. Until recently, Belial suddenly realized that he lacked talent in military command. As a former member of the Cheka, he thought of this outstanding commander who was still in prison. He took the initiative to report to Ryan and asked for help to get him out. Ryan agreed.
What happened after that was simple. All he had to do was bribe the higher-ups and bribe them with money. Coupled with his contact with Warden Bruna, Belial spent less than 500 crowns to create a fight in the prison and managed to get the general out of there.
After a few years in prison, General Meretskov learned to be cautious, obedient and approachable. Ever since he was rescued by Berliat, he thanked him profusely and would report to Berliat immediately if anything happened.
Kalad could also see the general's state of mind. After chatting with Meretskov for a while, Kalad immediately felt that Meretskov was unique in terms of tactical planning and strategic vision. Kalad was a little upset. He thought to himself that the Tsar really did not know how to use people! This was completely different from Laing. Such an outstanding general was actually tortured into being so cautious and didn't even dare to speak loudly. Where was the pride and elegance of a general?
The ship continued to move forward and took a week to arrive at the Grismori River in Muxilon. Kalad incorporated the Coldstream Guards of Muxilon and the Lyonneser Luff's Lofty Guards of Lyonneser who were ready to go.
At the same time, the chief engineer of Muxilon's second workshop, Urban, also came out to meet Berliat and the others. Muxilon's factory provided 24 cannons for the Northern Frontlines, including eight Glorious Sun Rockets, eight Dwarven Accordion Cannons, five heavy cannons and three special mortar cannons. Urban improved the mortar cannons to make their trajectory more accurate and less likely to harm allies. At the same time, the explosive damage and range of the shrapnel were increased.
At the same time, Urban also got 50 long-barreled dwarven runic muskets. After that, the former chief engineer of Kislöw saw Meretskov and laughed so hard that tears came out of his eyes. "Berliat, are you planning to move the entire Cheka prison to Brittany?"
"Then I think I'll have to do it in a few more steps and take it slowly." Berliat also joked with Urban. This great engineer now had a large platform where he could perfectly display his talents. It was not an exaggeration to say that he was like a fish in water. Urban definitely contributed a lot to the Muxilon's factory being able to quickly form a large-scale production capacity and continuously improve and upgrade the war machines.
At the same time, the Ugor soldier named Tupolev that Berliat had sent to Urban for a long time seemed to have been influenced by Urban. From a watcher, he had now become an apprentice who learned from him all day long. Berliat thought that he should quickly find someone to monitor Urban.
After that, the reorganized army, which had reached a scale of six thousand men, continued north.
On the way, Kalad and the others also encountered something interesting. When the army reached the north of Muxilon, which used to be the old territory of Lyonnesse, the army was stopped by a group of people with weapons.
The leader of the group was a burly man. He was wearing a breastplate made in the Empire, carrying a shield and a crossbow on his back, a longsword hanging from his waist, and a triangular iron helmet on his head. He blocked the way and said, "Master Holy Grail! Master Holy Grail! Wait. "
"You, which part are you from?" Kalad was riding on a pure-blooded elven warhorse. He frowned at the group of people and signaled for the army to stop. "What do you want?"
"We are all free people of Muxilon." Seeing that the Master Holy Grail was willing to listen to him, the big man could not help but show joy on his face. "Master Holy Grail, you are the legendary Count Kalad, the hero of tens of thousands, the warrior who recovered Muxilon, the unparalleled warrior who defeated and killed the mad duke, Merovin, right?"
"Yes, that's me." Kalad nodded. "What's the matter? Is there a situation that requires our help, or is there something you want to report to me? "
"Ah, it's Lord Kalad, it's really Lord Kalad!" The free people burst into cheers. Only then did Kalad notice that there were more than a hundred of them, and all of them were armed. Seeing this, Berliat could not help but frown. "Lord Kalad, the march is more important. Let's not waste any more time here."
"It's fine." Kalad waved his hand. Seeing this, Berliat could not say anything. Laing had made it clear that he was assisting Kalad, not supervising the army.
"Master Kalad, are you going to war? Bring us along! "The big man in the lead said with a smile." We also want to contribute to the kingdom! We also want to fight! We did not participate in the last Obien's Great Expedition. I heard that the old man's son made great contributions in the Obien's Great Expedition and was directly promoted from free people to honorable free people. He even joined the Coldstream Guards! "
"Yes! We also want to fight. Master Holy Grail, bring us along! "
"We also want to join the Coldstream Guards!"
"If I make great contributions, I should have a chance to join the Old Guard!"
"Be confident, get rid of the should!"
"We also want to make a fortune and become masters! Lord Kalad, please do us a favor and take us in! "
The fanaticism of war filled the entire group of free people. They all looked at Kalad with longing and expectation, waiting for the sacred to give the order and immediately join the army.
Kalad did not know whether to laugh or cry when he saw this. He suddenly realized that the situation had now been reversed. Before Laing came, the serfs and free people were doing everything possible to avoid war and conscription. Now, it was the complete opposite. After Laing opened the way for promotion and guaranteed a fair share of the spoils of war, any serfs and free people who were interested in changing the status quo now rushed to join the army. This was because only through this method could they have the rare opportunity to cross the class gap and obtain a lot of wealth.
And Laing did give Kalad five knighthoods, which meant that he could at most confer five knighthoods in this military operation.
"No, we are not here to recruit soldiers this time. We have a mission," Kalad said loudly. "You'd better mind your own business and ensure the autumn harvest. This is your greatest contribution to the kingdom."
"But we've already finished our autumn harvest. The people who came today are all people whose crops matured early and finished their autumn harvest early. As soon as we heard that there was an army passing by, we immediately came!" The freedmen shouted. "If there's going to be a battle, count us in!"
"No, no! We have a mission! "Kalad quickly waved his hand." This is an order! Okay, now get out of the way. "
The free people had no choice but to get out of the way unwillingly. The burly man in the lead was flustered and exasperated. He said sarcastically, "Oh, really, why don't you give us a chance? Master Holy Grail? Shield of the kingdom? Protect the country? Devout lady believers? You have to let us join too! Sir Kalad, I wish you all the best in the next three days. Thank you very much! "
The knights-errant glared at the free people's sarcastic words. If it weren't for the huge price they had to pay to kill a free person (200 to 500 crowns in fines and at least ten years in the Araby Expedition), the knights would've charged up to kill them long ago. The young knights-errant started cursing.
The free people didn't dare to argue with the knights. They only continued to speak sarcastically. "Disperse, disperse. Make way for the knights. I wish them a safe journey. It's best if they don't see anyone. Come back quickly!"
The army continued to advance.
Just as Laing's Northern Frontline Army was preparing to set up defenses along the northern coast of Brittany …
North of the Old World, Norska Mountains, Lone Dragon City.
The alarm rang throughout the Giant Mountains. The Norska dwarves were making use of the time to slaughter their livestock, store food, and close the city to prepare for defense.
The Norska Dwarven Supreme Monarch (short for Great Monarch), Tolgarde, and his queen, Sfernator, had received a large number of urgent reports from the frontlines!
An army of Chaos numbering at least 150 thousand was gathering from the northern wastelands. They were marching south at an extremely fast speed, their target heading straight for Lone Dragon City and the mountain pass of the Mourning Mountains!
Togarde Crimson was shocked by this news. Great Monarch Noska immediately ordered all the Noska dwarves to enter combat readiness mode and prepare to defend for a long period of time. At the same time, he immediately sent out dwarven messengers to inform Kislev's garrison at the mountain pass!
"Quick! Move quickly! "
A small boat brought the Norska dwarves' messengers along the underground river of the Norska Mountains. They followed the dark river channel that the Norska dwarves had spent hundreds of years digging and sent news of the appearance of a huge Chaos army to Örengrád.
However, Mrs. Kiesler didn't think much of it. "Dwarves are slow to react! We have long known that Primal Chaos is gathering an army. When did you receive the news? Only now has it arrived. "
"They're going to deal with the dark elves. What does it have to do with us? Dwarves are slow! "
"Disperse, disperse!"
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