Alien Knights

After that first snowy night, Todd's speech made the entire Muxi Town run at full speed in order to deal with the upcoming battle.

A notice written by the Head of Mission was posted on the square at the entrance of the church, and the catechumens loudly explained to the people what was about to happen.

In the notice, Todd first elaborated on the huge crisis facing Muxi Town in the spring of next year; then, while emphasizing that he and the Muxi Knights will be stationed until the last moment, he allowed the people to bring their property and evacuate, and Muxi Town will arrange evacuation routes and safe points; finally, for those townspeople who are willing to stay and fight together, the Knights will issue weapons to them and train them to join the battle as militiamen.

After understanding what the notice said, after a short period of confusion, the residents chose different paths.

Some wealthy new immigrants packed up all their valuable belongings and fled Muxi Town in a carriage that night.

Some cowardly residents knew that they could not go far in this snowy season, so they gathered at the church door, hoping that the Knights would arrange for them to evacuate to a safe place.

But more people choose to stay. Including the artisans and fishermen who first joined Muxi Town, the farmers who fled here from the nobles, and those alien refugees who sought asylum...

These residents who vowed to live and die with Muxi Town, the men went to the recruiting point of the Knights, took up weapons, and joined the militia; the women tore down the curtains at home, tore the sackcloth on the bed, made cloth armor, and donated it to the church.

At the recruiting point, such a scene can be seen every day. The silver-haired old man and the underage boy stood in front of the recruiter, asking loudly why they were not allowed to join the army.

The time came to mid-December.

At noon, the sun rose into the sky, and the snow was shining brightly, reflecting a dazzling white light. On the streets of Muxi Town, there are no bustling people, nor can you hear the noisy voices of the past. Men are on the drill ground, receiving weapon guidance and formation training from the sergeants; women and children are at home, making arrows, herbs, bandages and other war preparations.

Todd is in the chapel of the church, presiding over the second pre-battle meeting of the Muxi Knights.

Except Cumberland, Mary, Huggins, Alfonso and others who attended the meeting last time. After the cement was successfully developed, Brother Joe, who immediately left for the monastery, had just returned to the town with more than 30 monks a few days ago to catch up with this conference.

This monk in his thirties with a "Mediterranean hairstyle" was full of energy and outspoken. Before everyone was officially seated, he stood up and introduced himself: "My lord, if you agree, I am willing to go to Silver Ring City to persuade the enemy to give up attacking us."

Todd pursed his lips and smiled wryly. He had to explain the situation in Muxi Town to this passionate monk again. Seeing that the other party finally gave up and sat down, he nodded towards Huggins.

The latter stood up, looked at the paper in his hand, and said in a deep voice: "Currently there are 1,075 residents in the town, and 829 of them are willing to stay."

Todd heard this, and asked again: "Except for those old and weak women and children, how many people can be organized into a militia?"

Huggins raised his head: "290 people."

Todd frowned, motioned for Hudgens to sit down, and asked Cumberland, "How about Silver Ring City?"

The old knight replied: "According to the message brought by my old acquaintance, there is good news and bad news. The good news is that the commander of the Southern Legion, Earl Emerson, was placed under house arrest last month. It seems that he rejected the request of the nobles. The bad news is that the Silver Ring Army attacking Muxi Town not only includes the Southern Legion and noble private soldiers, but also a temporary deployment of the Northern Legion. The total strength may exceed 1,200."

Hearing this, Alfonso asked suspiciously: "The Northern Legion? Why did they join this battle? Isn't Silver Ring City worried that the northern barbarians will take the opportunity..."

When the knight said this, he suddenly stopped talking and opened his eyes. stayed there.

Cumberland sighed: "The biggest possibility is that the Silver Ring Kingdom and the barbarians have reached an alliance."

Alfonso roared in disbelief: "Are they crazy? Haven't they thought about the consequences of doing so? Silver Ring City will become the common enemy of all parish kingdoms!"

The knight Dion in white formal attire said at this time: "I guess, when the Silver Ring Kingdom made the decision to attack Muxi Town, it had already made up its mind to conclude an alliance with the northern barbarians."

Todd, who was standing on the pulpit, frowned, and looked at Rachel.

The woman stood up and took out a piece of cloth the size of a palm from her bosom: "According to the information sent by Bei Dao, the tribe called "Coil Ya" attacked Muxi Town by sea this time. They used ten warships, 200 pirates, and can carry about 300 barbarian warriors."

"Are there 500 enemy troops at sea..." Todd suddenly thought of the berserk warrior who had "adrenal parasites" in his body when he was ambushing pirates in the past, and hurriedly asked: "Are there rumors that there are some berserkers with infinite power in this pirate tribe?"

Rachel shook her head: "Commander, you should be talking about Berserkers in the North Island. These people are extremely rare. I haven't heard of such people in the "Coil Fang Tribe"."

Todd was relieved, and after signaling Rachel to sit down, he began to calculate the strength comparison between the enemy and us.

On the Muxi Town side: Huggins and his "successor" knight squad composed of 12 subordinates, Alfonso and his three followers, Cumberland and his 180 sergeants and cavalry units, and 290 hastily trained militiamen.

On the enemy's side: 1,200 silver ring troops composed of the Southern Legion, Northern Legion, and noble private soldiers, plus 200 pirates and 300 barbarian warriors.

In terms of military strength, 500 people versus 1700 people, Muxi Town needed one person to deal with three enemies, and it was completely defeated.

In terms of arms, Muxi Town has 25 heavy cavalry, 15 light cavalry, 15 horse archers, and 180 sergeants, but the same arms on the enemy side, compared with this number, will only be more or less. The rest of our side are only some militiamen who have just entered the battlefield. If they face the enemy's pirates, soldiers and private soldiers, they will be beaten and scattered immediately.

The disadvantage of this battle is really too great...

Todd, who was standing on the podium, rubbed his eyebrows: "Everyone here, do you have anything to add?"

Contrary to his expectations, a person stood up hesitantly, and it turned out to be the honest and honest little Jerry.

This shy young man watched everyone focus on him, and whispered shyly: "...I know... fishermen...they..."

Todd opened his mouth slightly, turned his head sideways, and tried hard to distinguish the words spoken by the other party, but the other party's voice was too low to be heard clearly.

Edgar, who was sitting next to Jerry, couldn't listen anymore. He stood up on the chair, danced and said, "I'll help him! I'll help him! Jerry knows a few old fishermen, and some of them have even participated in battles with pirates. They have an old way to deal with those bastards who come by boat. Just dig a big hole in the bottom of the boat and wait for the boat to sink."

Listening to Edgar's words, Little Jerry suddenly bent down and whispered something in Edgar's ear.

Edgar nodded while listening, and then added: "Those old fishermen also said that the method of digging the bottom of the boat can only be done by those who are good at water, can hold their breath, and can grasp the bottom of the boat. Now only a few of the fishermen have this ability, and they all said that they are willing to give it a try for Lord Todd."

Listening to Edgar's introduction, Todd suddenly thought of something, and his eyes lit up.

"Edgar, later you bring those fishermen who voluntarily scuttled their boats to the church. I want to see them." After Todd said this, he motioned for Edgar and Jerry to sit down, looked at the people in the hall, and said, "So, can anyone tell me about the tactics of this battle?"

Huggins glanced at the people around him, and said first: "If you just stick to the town, I'm afraid the chances of winning this battle are not great."

Alfonso nodded: "I agree with this point of view, regarding the two enemies on land and sea. I suggest that you should concentrate your superior forces, defeat one army first, and then turn around and defeat the other army."

Knight Dion fiddled with the ponytail hanging slanted on his chest: "The key issue is the time difference. The Silver Ring army and the pirates will definitely calculate the marching distance in advance and agree on a time for a joint attack. If one of the troops can arrive earlier or later, it will give us enough time to defeat them individually."

The old knight Cumberland stroked the beard on his chin and made a proposal: "I think it is still possible to change the speed of the Silver Ring army. I am very familiar with the kingdom's military orders. As long as I forge a copy so that the enemy cannot see any flaws, the effect will be achieved."

Hearing this, Huggins guessed, "Lord Cumberland, are you planning to use fake military orders to delay the progress of the Silver Ring Army and deal with the pirates who landed first?"

What the old man said next surprised everyone: "No, I used the fake military order to speed up the progress of the Yinhuan army and defeat the kingdom's coalition forces first."

Seeing the surprised expressions of the others, Cumberland began to explain: "I know, you may be wondering why you put the weaker ones aside and attack the strongest enemies first. Let me, an old man, talk about the reasoning behind this: first, the cavalry is the most mobile and combative force in Muxi Town, but if you choose to attack the pirates and barbarians first, these buildings in the town will not only affect the deployment of the cavalry, but also become the best hiding place for the enemy; The Silver Ring Army has only one supreme commander. If the army of the main general can be defeated, it means that the army will lose its unified command and cause chaos more easily. The pirate barbarians are composed of multiple tribes, and even if one leader is killed, it will not have much impact on the overall battle situation. Third and most importantly, the Silver Ring Army has cavalry, while the pirates and barbarians are all infantry. If the enemy cavalry does not give priority to defeating, then they can adopt a combat method of keeping a distance, conduct guerrilla warfare with us, and even attack the evacuation of Muxi Town Residents, we are exhausted and out of combat power."

Seeing that everyone else showed a clear look, Todd nodded and returned the question to the beginning: "If there is no objection to the policy of attacking the Silver Ring Army first, then the last question remains, how to create a time difference between the two troops? Or, how to make a fake military order that allows the Silver Ring Army to speed up their march?"

Cumberland also showed a embarrassed look at this time: "This is indeed a big problem. As far as I know, the kingdom's emergency military order needs to be stamped with at least seven seals, each of which is different, and there are some details that ordinary people can't notice at all. Even the minister himself may not..."

At this time, a woman stood up suddenly, and everyone looked sideways at her aura like a flower in a high mountain.

"I can draw the pattern of all the seals."

Hearing Mary's words, Cumberland said with some uncertainty: "All the patterns? Those seals were all made by different master engravers, and some of the words on the seals have even been lost..."

Mary looked at Todd on the podium, and said softly: "I can guarantee that the seal pattern I drew is exactly the same as the original one."

Todd looked at this woman who was once the empress of a country, and remembered that since she came to Muxi Town, she had closed herself in the room, not talking to anyone, and what she did every day was only reading and drawing.

Mary crossed her fingers and placed them in front of her lower abdomen. Her back was slightly bent, and her tone was pleading: "Mr. Todd, please, I hope I can help you."

After a moment, Todd nodded slightly.

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At the end of the meeting, everyone returned to their respective posts, and worked hard to prepare everything for the upcoming battle.

Todd took Rachel to his small laboratory building.

Opening the locked door and walking to the door in the back room, Todd turned and looked into the nun's eyes: "Miss Rachel, you are my friend and my partner, and I trust you unconditionally. But I hope you will not tell anyone other than you and me what I will let you see and what I will let you know."

To his surprise, Rachel's face was calm. The woman took his right hand, placed it on her heart, and whispered: "Todd, I swear on my life and soul, my loyalty belongs only to you."

Todd withdrew his palm, took a deep look at her, turned and pushed open the door in the back room.

When the nun entered the room, the first thing she saw was a row of bundled cloth bags on the table.

Todd noticed the other party's gaze, picked up a 30cm-square strapping bag, and said to the woman: "This is called a 'dynamite bag', and its scientific name is called a group drug bag. The main material in it is nitroglycerin explosives made from castor oil plus charcoal, saltpeter powder, sulfur powder, etc. Unfortunately, I have too little saltpeter on hand, otherwise..."

Todd glanced at the confused Rachel, then put down the explosive bag in his hand, and walked into the depths of the room: "Never mind that, what I want you to see today is something else."

Todd walked to the corner of the back room and lifted the cloth cover that blocked it. Below were three metal cylindrical bottles, one older and two newer, with several conduits connected to the tanks. He turned to the woman and said, "This is called 'Volcanic Environment Simulation Culture Bottle', and it can produce something called 'Sutherland Potion'..."