Chapter 36: The War of Carthage

  Luk was once caught by Mo Yan and was one of the fifty Sault warriors who were detained, and these fifty Saults had already been brainwashed by Mo Yan when they were still in the Thunder Cliff cave. Although Luk did not look up to Mo Yan like others, he still recognized Mo Yan.

  When I heard Mo Yan say that he wanted to establish a country where monsters and humans coexisted, I even had the urge to help him achieve his wish. However, the impulse was just an impulse after all. The fact that monsters eat people makes them unacceptable to humans. Maybe as long as Mo Yan is around, he can restrain those monsters, but what about once Mo Yan is gone?

  Those demonic creatures that were once suppressed by Mo Yan's overwhelming power will surely launch an immediate attack on the humans within the kingdom. The established kingdom will also be destroyed in an instant, and all efforts made so far will be for naught. Luke didn't want to get involved in a doomed endeavor, so he simply nodded casually and stopped responding.

  Mo Yan then told some jokes, and saw that Luk didn't agree with his ideas. Mo Yan didn't feel any disappointment. After all, this kind of thing needs to break through conventional thinking, and there are still many difficulties to overcome. Not wanting to participate is understandable. After chatting for a while and understanding the direction Kabinda plans to develop in the future, the dinner party came to an end, and Mo Yan and Jones returned to their room to rest.

  Meanwhile, a thousand miles away in the Luxembourg of Carthage, the princess of the kingdom was still dealing with the current affairs, dispatching troops to the defense zone to replace the exhausted legions. The handling of taxes in the south and the collection of war materials were all taken care of by Altoria now, after all, a twelve-year-old boy could not stabilize the situation here.

  On the way back from Elan to Carthage in the south, they encountered five or six assassination attempts. Serpo was slightly injured and Triste was still recovering from his serious injuries. As attendants of the princess, they had done enough, and neither the king nor their princess were harmed.

  For the assassination, Altoria did not deal with these things after arriving in Luxembourg. Because it is now the moment to resist foreign enemies, some internal contradictions can be dealt with slowly. Although some loyal royal nobles also proposed "quelling the internal before going outside", Altoria did not take such measures.

  He merely summoned all the nobles and issued a statement about the assassination. As long as no one commits treason in the upcoming defense, past grievances will be forgiven and sworn on the honor of the royal family. The effect was immediate, some people with ulterior motives calmed down and began to devote themselves to resisting the Malo Empire.

  But even so, the war was still a stalemate. Without internal resistance, Carthage, which should have counterattacked with all its might, restrained itself instead. The Roman Emperor Marcellus, who had been besieging the royal city, brought his army to the front line in southern Carthage.

  Caesar, the current emperor of the Marlo Empire, is considered one of the greatest emperors in history. He killed his incompetent and cruel father through a rebellion. Within just ten years, he trained the army, rectified internal affairs, and perfected imperial laws. He pulled the originally corrupt Marlo Empire back from the brink of destruction and developed it into a powerful nation.

  At this time, the king of Carthage, Arthur, clearly felt Caesar's expansionist ambitions. He decided to move his capital from the warm south to the north near Maro and build a massive fortress at an important location between Maro and Carthage, which would later be the site of Arthur's death, Machino Fort.

  But even so, Arthur still underestimated Caesar. When he learned that Macherino Caesar was being built, Marlo began secretly preparing strategic materials and having soldiers start training for war. And six months ago, he launched a surprise attack on Carthage. Upon hearing the news, Arthur rushed to the one-third completed Macherino Fortress, intending to defend it until the fortress was completed.

  Caesar, who knew that the fortification would be finished and he would fail, used a very adventurous tactic, using himself as bait to bypass the Maginot Line and advance into Carthage. At this time, the Maginot Line had been built halfway, and it only needed to hold out for a few more months to be completed.

  Caesar cut off Marcellus' supply lines, forcing Arthur to engage Caesar in a pitched battle on the plain. The aging Arthur lost to Caesar and was eventually besieged and killed at Marcellus. The 12-year-old prince of Carthage ascended to the throne, while the 20-year-old princess began to participate in politics.

  Having lost the fortress of Machir, Caesar's army was able to advance and dispatched large contingents of troops to bypass the capital from the middle, cutting Carthage in two. Caesar stirred up discord among the southern nobles, preventing them from striking down the blocking forces in time to relieve the besieged capital. In the end, the capital fell, and the king and princess were forced to flee the city, retreating south through Elan to Carthage.

  After the princess returned to Carthage in the south, she announced that she would act as regent and handle state affairs on behalf of the king. The young princess performed satisfactorily, not only having a broad mind but also being familiar with politics. By using the means of appeasement, she quickly calmed down the undercurrents among the southern nobles, allowing Carthage to have the strength to resist Caesar.

  "So Caesar has given up on attacking the royal capital?" Altoria put down the report in her hand and asked the nobles in the hall who were also not resting: "If there was a force that could attack Caesar's rear at this time, it might even be possible to make him retreat back to Machino."

  "That's right." A noble with a goatee said, "But obviously there is no such power nearby. The kingdoms around Malo are too weak to launch such an attack. And we can't bypass Caesar's defense line and send troops to his rear."

  "We can march to Eland." A young noble said: "As long as a legion is dispatched to Caesar's rear, even if he cannot retreat, it will harass his logistics line and make his defense line appear loopholes. At that time we can concentrate our forces to break through and recover the occupied territory!"

  "Baron Pok, that won't do!" rebuked the goat-bearded noble: "Erlan's terrain is treacherous, and besides, the Salters won't permit a regular legion to pass through their domain. What's more, Erlan is crawling with demons; any legion dispatched there would be demon fodder before they even left Erlan, unless it was an elite force."

  "The Saulte people should be accommodating." The rebuked Baron Pok said, "Aren't we currently doing business with the Saulte? We've already made them a lot of money, so it shouldn't be difficult to let our legion pass through. As for the demon problem, isn't it easily solved by dispatching an elite legion as you said, Grand Duke Obas?"

  "Business is business." Duke Obas sighed and said: "We've been doing business with the Saults for a long time, but they wouldn't make that kind of choice. The kings of successive generations have an agreement with them, not to send any regular troops like Elan, otherwise it would be a declaration of war. How many soldiers retreated from the south? And how many came here through Elan? Not one in ten!"

  "Let's stop here for today." Altoria, who had been frowning and listening for half a day, said: "The proposal will be put on hold for the time being, and we'll talk about it when the time is ripe. For now, our top priority is to stabilize the front line, tap into the potential of the southern provinces to train troops, and manufacture weapons and equipment."

  "Obey your will." The nobles bowed and left the council hall in twos and threes. On their way out, disputes still broke out from time to time, with some agreeing with Pok's idea, while most thought it was too reckless and would provoke the resentment and opposition of the Sart people. In the hall, Altoria let out a sigh and rubbed her slightly aching temples.

  Started reading the reports sent from various cities in the south, the training situation of the legion and the consumption of supplies. Looking at the accounts that came in one after another, although it was a headache, I had to continue looking. At this critical juncture, a single mistake could lead to the destruction of the country. Altoria had to be extremely careful when handling matters.

  "Sister, aren't you sleeping yet?" Charlie, who had somehow appeared in the hall wearing his pajamas, asked Altria, who was looking at a scroll report in her hand: "It's already very late, if you don't get some good rest your body will collapse."

  "If the kingdom collapses, then my good health is of no use either." Altoria said coldly: "How was your homework today? Have you gained some insight into business management?"

  "I roughly understand now..." Charlie said in a slightly weak tone.

  "That's good, study well." Altoria bowed her head and continued to read the documents, saying: "I'll hand over an entire country to you, go to sleep."

  Charlie looked at his sister and ultimately didn't say anything, silently leaving the conference hall accompanied by the maid.

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  Collect and recommend

  Oh oh...... I feel like I'm back.

  It seems I have to listen to Beethoven's music while writing.