Now, thousands of troops are gathering in the Castle of Lyonnais, united under the coat of arms of the Lyonnais family with the white shield of the lion. These twelve thousand troops are already what the Principality of Lyonnais can mobilize.
With all the troops available, Dalhaide knew very well that the serf levies were of little use in the war against the northern barbarians, so he decisively chose to bring only the most elite five thousand serf soldiers.
The remaining 7,000-strong army was composed entirely of knights, knight retinues, rangers, and sergeants. Duke Dalheide looked serious. He looked at the army gathering in the castle and said to the knights around him: "This battle,
It will determine whether Lyonnais can survive."
There were some damages on the armor and robe of Holy Grail Knight Eisen, but he did not say much: "My Duke, no matter what, I will be with you and fight in the name of a lady until death."
Another general also stood behind Dalheide. He was Count Wren and the Duke's lieutenant.
At the same time, Dalheide's legitimate son, Aldreeld, was also there. The young man learned that his hometown was invaded, so he rushed back to the Castle of Lyonnaise at starry night.
"My Duke, the morale of the army is not high and the situation is a bit sluggish. Is it unconscionable for us to attack rashly like this?" Earl Rennes looked at the map with some worry in his expression.
"The barbarians are eager to fight us. There is no doubt. What do these northern barbarians know? They only know how to burn, kill and loot. Other than that, they know nothing about many things." Dalhaide said with some disdain: "Obviously, the barbarians
The reason why people set up their positions on the Nanzi Plain is because it is a small plain full of mountains and woods. It is not conducive for knights to perform there, so the barbarians chose that place to challenge us. "
"Yes, that should be the reason." Holy Grail Knight Eisen nodded. He also wanted to raise this question. As a result, Dalhaide obviously already had a plan in mind. This Duke's leadership ability is not particularly outstanding among the Dukes, but the large and small
I have gone through a lot of wars.
He could see at a glance what the barbarians were thinking. This was obviously an open challenge.
"It is true that fighting the barbarians on the Nanzi Plain will have a certain impact on the charge of the knights, but this is also a rare opportunity for us." Dalhead focused his attention on the map.
On the map, the former glory and vast territory of the Principality of Lyonnais has been fragmented. Three black lines extend from the Claw Sea in the north to Landry Island, and then divide into two thick black lines, reaching
The hinterland of the Principality of Lyonnaise.
The Duke knew that he could not sit still and wait for death. The barbarians had reduced the entire northern part of the principality to ruins. If he continued to hide in the castle and defend, it would be a matter of time before the barbarians reached the city of Lyonnaise.
The barbarians are eager to fight the Brittanians, and why are the Brittanians not the same? If the barbarians break into pieces and wreak havoc in the principality, Dalheide is most worried about it, and now the barbarians are showing off
The appearance of a decisive battle with him was something Dalhaide couldn't ask for.
"Nanzi, Nanz... I have planned to lead a pure knight force to directly attack the rear of the barbarian army, and annihilate them in one fell swoop before their foothold is stable. However, the current storm is too strong and the Pegasus knights cannot fly.
, Jules’s reinforcements are still on the way.” Dalhaide said with some boredom: “Obviously, this plan will only go bankrupt in the end. We still follow the original plan, after joining forces with Jules, we will fight with the barbarians in Nantz.
Let’s have a decisive battle.”
"Yes!" Dalhaide ordered, and no one else had any more opinions.
"Take that out!" Duke Lyonnais saw that the morale of the army was a little sluggish. Dalheide was already prepared for this. With a wave of his hand, several family knights carried a large flag from the inside of the castle.
This is a long military flag with a white background, as white as snow. The flag exudes a faint aura and depicts a picture.
That is the figure of the founding knight King Arthur. He is standing on a mountain of green corpses and a sea of blood. His whole body is shrouded in sacred light. The golden and red tassels on the flag are floating in the sky. This flag is made of the hair of the elf princess.
It is a priceless treasure that has been passed down for thousands of years since the founding of Britannia.
"That's... the flag given by the lady!" The first knight who recognized the goods saw the big flag, and he said in disbelief: "This flag must have fought with His Majesty Arthur!"
"I know that this is the battle flag of Sirluff, the first Holy Grail Knight and the first Duke of Lyonnaise! Lord Sirluff fought side by side with this battle flag for more than two hundred years, until he died in Sannei
By the Si River!”
"Oh my God! Oh my God! We actually have the opportunity to fight side by side with this flag!"
"My lady! I'm ready!"
The blood surged in the hearts of the knights, and the morale that had been depressed for days was rekindled by this flag. Many young knights-errant roared loudly, and the steady knights of the kingdom were also full of enthusiasm.
Dalhaide nodded with satisfaction when he saw this: "Let's go!"
…………
After two days of marching, the army of knights approached the Nantz Plain. The army of knights of the kingdom led by Jules and the army of Duke Leonace joined together. There were a total of less than 28,000 troops, of which there were more than 5,000 knights.
Jules and Dalhaide met, and they shook hands and greeted each other. The group came to the tent to discuss the battle plan.
In the knight's tent, the candles were lit, and the great nobles of Dalheide and Lyonnas gathered together. Jules and other Holy Grail knights were standing on the other side. They surrounded the big table in the tent and looked at it.
's map.
"Tomorrow, we will fight the barbarians in the Nanzi Plain." Dalheide pointed his finger at the small area of the Nanzi Plain: "Our plan is to first use a large group of knights to attack the barbarian military formation with force.
Charge, break up their formation,
Then Sir Essen on the left led a part of the knights to make a detour, and Lord Jules on the right was responsible for resisting the barbarian counterattack. Then I led the middle army to advance, defeated the main force of the barbarians in one fell swoop, and drove the chaotic scum of the Skarins tribe into the sea.
Feed the fish!”
"Suppressing a large number of knights from the beginning? Directly attacking the barbarian army?" Kalad asked: "My Duke, is this too reckless?"
"Heh, Lord Kalad, you can obviously see how the terrain of the Nanzi Plain is like." Dalhaide smiled disdainfully: "Don't you think I can't see it? The barbarians want to fight us here, so they will fight.
Knights cannot use their full capabilities
, the knights who want to lure me attack their carefully prepared military formations in batches, and then gradually eliminate them. I will not be so stupid and fall into the trap. Tomorrow, the knight army led by the Count of Rennes will charge directly head-on. The barbarian army must be defeated.
Crush it all in one fell swoop!”
Kalad remained silent upon seeing this, perhaps he thought that Dalheide's plan had some truth to it.
Jules nodded: "In that case, Your Excellency Duke, your knights will attack the barbarian army head-on. I will lead the kingdom's knight army to respond to your action from the side. We will give priority to defeating the barbarian central army, because there is Skarlin.
It is composed of the most elite warriors of the Skarins tribe. As long as it can force the king of Skarins, Egil, to retreat, those vassal tribes will no longer obey the command of the Skarins tribe!"
"We need to set aside a reserve force." Jules also had some objections to Dalheide's bold plan. He said to Duke Lyonnais: "We cannot rush to use all our troops without a reserve force."
"My son, Aldreeld, will lead two hundred knights and eight hundred knights' retinue, with a total of one thousand cavalry as a reserve." Dalhaide nodded.
"No infantry left?"
"Infantry is useless in this war, Jules. This is not the first time I have experienced a war with the northern barbarians." Dalhaide shook his head and said seriously: "The only ones who can defeat the barbarians are knights."
"..." Jules pondered for a moment and nodded heavily.
That's right, the northern barbarians believe in chaos. Compared with the infantry of Britannia, their combat effectiveness is no problem, let alone one against five or one against ten. The infantry will easily be defeated by the brave barbarians.
The soldiers were defeated, and only the knights who had undergone rigorous military training could unite under the banner of the lady to fight against the terrifying barbarians.
So the decisive battle strategy for the next day was decided, and everyone took the time to rest.
Jules and Dalhaide walked out of the camp. Dalhaide adjusted his plate armor and robe, and said to Jules: "Your Excellency Jules, please lead the army to support this time, Leona."
Cy is forever grateful to you.”
"This is Madam's order, this is my duty, you don't need to be grateful to me." Yules shook his head. On the contrary, his face was full of determination: "I'm just worried that the strength of the barbarians may exceed our estimation.
The lady gave me a dream, saying that this invasion is more powerful than ever before."
"...But do we have any other choice? We can only fight to the end." Dalhaide frowned, and he followed Jules' gaze and looked into the distance.
In the distance, it was pitch black. Tomorrow, the army would fight the barbarians not far ahead, and the barbarians had been waiting for them for a long time.
The night was like a black cloth, blocking out all the sunlight. Jules and Dalhaide looked at the sky in silence.
White things began to fall from the sky, and they fell on the knights' hair and armor.
It's snow, it's starting to snow in the sky!
"Have a good rest, Jules." Dalhaide patted Jules on the shoulder. The Duke himself knew that tomorrow would be a fierce battle: "I'm going to rest first."
"Yes." The Knight Commander of the Holy Grail nodded silently. He stood alone in front of the tent, silent.
The snow began to gradually become heavier, and it seemed unusual to see snow in April. However, the influence of the wind of chaos was like this. When the wind of chaos blew on the earth, any weird thing might happen in the mortal world.
"Kalad? Come out, I know you are there." Jules took off his cross helmet with a golden unicorn statue, revealing his resolute face.
On top of the helmet, several candles are burning.
Wearing a red and blue burqa, with a sword hanging on his waist, Calard, Count of Garamente of Bastogne, walked up from behind. He still had some worry on his face: "Jules, I'm still a little worried, Dar.
Lord Hyde's plan is indeed detailed, but it is really a big gamble to have too many knights at the beginning."
"How can there be a war without gambling? There is never a 100% chance of winning in a war." Jules's expression did not change much. Ever since he became a Holy Grail Knight, his emotions seemed to have been hidden. The usual Holy Grail Knight looked much bigger.
He wears a helmet most of the time. Only those who are close to him like Anala have the opportunity to see what he looks like without a helmet: "At the beginning, there will be a large number of knights charging.
Forcing the barbarians to use all their strength to fight us head-on is exactly what we want. Kalad, the kingdom cannot afford to delay, and neither can Lyonnaissance! You know that our army of 28,000 people will take a day.
How much food did you eat? Do you know how many refugees and villages there are in the entire Principality of Lyonnais waiting for our support? The defense of Kurona is empty. If we fight outside for a while, the situation will become more variable."
"That's true." Kalad was speechless.
Both Jules and Dalheide knew that after the serf rebellion and a series of events, and then the Chaos invasion, Britannia needed time to recuperate, so it is not surprising that Dalheide was eager to decide the winner.
, only by completely defeating the main force of the barbarians in the war can he retain some vitality for his principality and begin the long work of recovery and reconstruction.
Kalad had great admiration and respect for Jules, who was also his mentor, friend, brother and father, and technically his brother-in-law. The two of them had fought side by side many times, and it was precisely because of this.
, he dared to ask Jules, otherwise in Britannia, the words of the Holy Grail Knight are the truth and cannot be questioned or blasphemed.
"Such heavy snow." Jules cast his gaze on the dark night sky: "Go to rest early, Kalad. Tomorrow, we will fight on the battlefield in the name of ladies. There is no chance of luck in this war."
"Yes!" Kalad bowed deeply and left somewhere else.
Jules touched his brown beard and stood there, looking at the heavy snow in the sky.
"Madam, please give us the strength and courage to continue fighting. Your loyal believer Jules hereby swears that we will fight in your name until the end until the end."
…………
The next day, the knight army finally marched to the Nanzi Plain. At this time, the sky and the earth were covered with snow, and the barbarian army had been waiting here for a long time.
Thousands of gathered barbarian warriors and beasts were densely distributed on one side of the Nanzi Plain. They could not see the border like dark clouds. The plain exuded a stench, and the horns from the Skarins tribe
Sound, drum noise spreads over the number
Kilometers and endless miles, the dark eight-pointed banner of Chaos, the eight-column emblem of Khorne, the sailing flag of the Skarins tribe and the battle flags of countless small tribes stand in great numbers. Shrines of evil gods are everywhere, and skulls decorate the shrines.
, they are desecrating the land of the goddess.
The army of Brittanian knights slowly entered the battlefield. The tips of lances and the blades of swords gleamed in the white snow. The gorgeous armor and neat queues were simply a wonderful giant landscape painting.
Jules is proud of the knights of Britannia. Under the guidance of the goddess, the knights will not retreat no matter how powerful the enemy they face.
"Doooo~" The melodious and majestic horn sounded in the army of knights. The knights gathered under the banner of Sirluff, the first Duke of Lyonnais, and the horn sound never stopped.
The barbarian army also blew the horns, and then there were countless shouts and curses and the sound of axes hitting shields.
"So, this has begun." Jules' eyes contained firmness and determination, and the five Holy Grail knights followed him.
"Get ready to fight! Knights, fight for the land of the goddess! For the lady! For Britannia!!!" Dalhay pulled the reins of the horse, he raised the lance in his hand, the Duke shouted loudly, he