Chapter 43: The Struggle for Supremacy

  A crisp "crack" sound, the delicate ceramic wine cup was smashed to the floor with force, shattering into countless pieces, as if the owner's mood had also been shattered.

  "How the hell did this happen, that damned Midgard! Asleix! And that little wench Fina!" General Port Seth of the Red Fox army was furious in the military tent, while on the side, Fenrir's face didn't look any better. "Two thousand elves, with archers, clerics, mages, and whatnot Night Blade Leopard Cavalry, where did this bunch come from? Have those elves gone mad, running to the human kingdom to pick a fight!"

  After the raid on Yorkshire, General Red Fox changed his usual sharp style and took a more stable approach. He integrated 2,000 soldiers from the Joseph family, and the army of 10,000 people advanced steadily into the territory of the Asrecks family, removing all enemy strongholds along the way and leaving enough garrison to ensure the rear and supply lines.

  Occasionally, he also deliberately tried to please his future master Fenrir and would let this young master lead a few thousand troops to sweep around, without any mistakes.

  After a week of traveling, they finally arrived under the main city of Earl Asuleks. It can be said that it is extremely king-like and positive to use troops in this way, with no flaws to be attacked.

  However, just as General Red Fox was about to start the siege with great enthusiasm and confidence, several places reported that the occupying troops had been ambushed.

  A legion of spirits with combat power that can be called terrifying, with an average level above 15, has appeared. This army thoroughly defeated the Thousand-Man Unit of Akashi County, the Five-Hundred-Man Unit of Blue Water Village, and even the Blood Wolf Thousand-Man Unit, which was said to have the strongest attacking power and never retreated, split from the Joseph family, was completely annihilated, and it is said that not a single person escaped.

  Although the main force did not suffer any losses, any loss of a thousand-man squad was something that General Red Fox could not permit. Ten thousand men were just ten squads of a thousand men each; if they lost one today and another tomorrow, wouldn't they soon be thoroughly defeated?

  The current situation cannot be allowed to continue, and Mide can't be given any chance!

  The red fox general made a decision in secret. Just at this moment, the door curtain of the central army's big account was also lifted open.

  One of the two uninvited guests was Quinlan Joseph, the ambitious man who had risen to power by designing traps to kill his brothers and sisters after his father's serious illness, and his face also looked extremely ugly.

  Losing a thousand-man unit might be just a flesh wound for the Sess family, but for the Joseph family, with a total of only three thousand troops and bringing out only two thousand this time, it's a full half of their forces. Moreover, it's the Blood Wolf Unit, which Quin has poured his heart and soul into and is known as the number one attacking force!

  Quinine couldn't sit still, so he immediately ran to Fenrir's place seeking help.

  And another guest, however, remained calm and composed.

  "I heard that the young master of the Aslex family has found a fairy relief army and caused quite some trouble. The famous General Red Fox must be very troubled too? I wonder if there's anything I can help with?" said the newcomer.

  This guest was about forty years old, wearing a plain gray robe, holding an ancient and worn-out staff, tall in stature, with a calm expression, often squinting his eyes, looking like a gentle scholar, just like those court scholars who hide in the library and never come out.

  His identity outside is that of a wandering visiting scholar, now serving as an alchemy consultant to the Seth family, moving with the army.

  But General Red Fox knew that if he underestimated the person in front of him, he might not even realize when he himself was being sold out.

  This person's true identity is actually one of the executives of the Delos Empire Alchemist Association.

  "The Nightmare Before Christmas" Tim Burton

  Just as Middy had speculated, the Empire's dark hand had already infiltrated deep into the Principality of Bellmard, and it was such a terrible and ruthless "Nightmare Hand".

  When Weisman came uninvited, General Red Fox naturally also made a big effort. He smiled slightly, completely gone was the flustered look from earlier, instead revealing a composed and confident demeanor of a great general, calmly saying: "Thank you for your concern, Mr. Weisman, but this is just a minor situation. On the battlefield, things are constantly changing, there will always be some unpredictable accidents. Rather than say that, it's precisely because of these accidents that we can distinguish who is a famous general and who is mediocre."

  "So I'd like to ask the General, how do you plan to respond?" Weissman wouldn't be brushed off with just one sentence, and the Empire's investment in the Sess family also made him eligible to ask about the next military strategy.

  "It's simple, to deal with Midy's harassment, just one move is enough, gather the troops!" General Red Fox replied without hesitation. "We can occupy the resources later, first bring back all the thousand-man teams outside, and directly attack the Lord's castle guarded by only three thousand people with a large army of ten thousand people, hang Midy's father, that incompetent Earl Ingman, on the gallows! This way, this war will be over!"

  The red fox's answer, without any flaws.

  A war between nobles can end in many ways, such as negotiation, subjugation, surrender, compensation, and so on. But the death of a lord is one of the most terrifying outcomes.

  Relying on the army of tens of thousands to surround the castle, and then capture the castle in a short period of time, capturing Earl Ingram and executing him. In this case, Midy would automatically inherit the title, but in order to maintain the identity of "lord" in name and in reality, it would be necessary to go through a series of complex ceremonies, which, without a doubt, the Seth family would not allow to continue.

  So, Midie can only be an empty-headed earl, and naturally, he won't get any territory. In the end, this war will come to an end, whether in reality, legally, or morally.

  To break cleverness with force is the most correct, logical and kingly way of doing things.

  But precisely because it was such a reasonable thing to do, Meddy of course had already made provisions for the hypothesis that "the enemy suddenly starts a strong attack" when he went to find reinforcements from the beginning.

  "Earl, the Red Flame Legion seems to be launching a general attack. Judging from their formation, the first wave of attacks will likely be extremely fierce." Chief Knight Bartland reported to Earl Ingrman while standing on the castle's tower.

  Looking out from the castle, the surrounding scenery is clear at a glance. The Red Flame Army is densely packed, and has already surrounded the entire castle, with no gaps in between. At this moment, they have divided into a thousand-man team heading towards the forest, apparently to cut down trees and manufacture large-scale siege engines.

  No consumption or exploration came first, and the siege engine was used directly for a strong attack, which is undoubtedly a very tough signal.

  However, with an army of 10,000 against a mere 3,000 defenders in the castle, the Scarlet Flame Legion was not overestimating itself.

  "It seems it's time to use that." Earl Ingman nodded, and Batrand understood, immediately going down to make arrangements.

  The next morning, when the first batch of siege engines of the Scarlet Crusade was completed, they suddenly found that the Ashkandi Lord's castle in front of them had changed beyond recognition.

  Innumerable green and sturdy vines sprouted from the mud, crawling up the towering city walls, covering the entire castle's periphery with a layer of emerald-green clothing.

  "Devil Realm Vine!" The Red Fox General recognized this plant at a glance.

  "Come on then, you pups of House Seybold!" Battrand shouted from the city walls, his voice dripping with disdain.

  Makai no Fuji is not just a summoning beast used by Alice to attack, but more often it's the best choice for castle defense battles.

  Its magical resistance is very high, making the large-scale magic effects that mages have worked hard to release less effective.

  Its trunk has extremely strong elasticity and toughness, wrapped outside the city wall, just like a layer of armor, making the catapults and siege engines also very ineffective.

  If one wants to climb up along the vines, the countless reverse thorns and the toxic liquid in the thorns will make the attacking soldiers suffer greatly.

  Even if it's a fire attack, it won't have much effect.

  Unless using targeted withering spells or employing alchemy to bring down large-scale acid rain, it is difficult to achieve any effective combat results during the growth period of the demonic vines. On the contrary, rushing for quick gains will only lead to massive casualties and low morale among the troops.

  This is undoubtedly an extremely potent plant.

  But of course, everything has its pros and cons.

  Nourishing the demonic vine requires a complete demonic pulse, at least 100 kilometers or more in length. Alternatively, it's like Elise, first concentrating a large amount of scattered demonic pulses, then integrating them together for magic transmission.

  Under the castle of the Aslex family, there was no magical pulse, otherwise this land would not be worth an earl's value but a duke's. However, an earl was still a wealthy household and although there was no magical pulse, they could maintain the growth of the Demon Vine by providing a large number of expensive magic crystals.

  With the current stockpile of magic crystals, Earl Ingman can support a full week, during which time the castle is almost invincible.

  "My son, it's all up to you now!" Count Ingmar stood atop the castle walls, gazing out at the distant western horizon, muttering softly to himself. Although this was a desperate last stand, and although the count himself had never set foot on a real battlefield in his life, there was no anxiety or unease in his eyes - only a father's pride in his son, and anticipation.

  The battlefield situation is changing rapidly, even for a reincarnator like Midy, it's impossible to make accurate predictions about things that didn't happen in the previous life. However, with his strategic vision, he can accurately arrange those situations that remain unchanged despite the changes, making the most accurate deployments.

  For example, arrange Batelan to use the Nether Vine to delay time in advance, while preserving the strength of the three thousand defenders on their side.

  For Midie now, that precious week of time can be used to launch the second phase of the blitzkrieg offensive after the flash strike, and it is also the most important link in the counterattack.

  "Finally entered the second phase." Midei took a deep breath and then walked out from behind the hidden hill.

  Behind him were two thousand spirited, majestic and valiant elf warriors.

  Before his eyes was a magnificent castle of exquisite construction.

  The castle of the lords of the House of Habsburg