Our family is in decline

"That is the forbidden area hidden by our tribe. Only a few people know that the treasure of our tribe is hidden there.

There is a very strange plant growing in it. The substance it releases makes the surrounding fog extremely toxic. Moreover, because it is sheltered from wind, cold and heat, the fog has not dissipated for thousands of years and is more toxic.

When our ancestors discovered this place, they were attracted by its unique environment, developed it, planted many magical plants, and set up a seal.

Only after the protection of special rituals or drinking special antidotes can you enter the fog. As for the secrets in the depths, they can only be opened in special ways."

Lance could feel that the fog in the air was poisonous. No wonder Greendale's poison resistance was so high. The ability he got from sacrificing the witch was also natural purification. It should be that the shaman of the tribe wanted to enter and exit here without this talent.

While talking, Greendale took out the staff and mask and walked inside. Those weird plants made way for them as if to welcome them.

The two of them went deep into the forbidden area...

——

When Lance went to the mountains to hang out, the war between Hamlet and the Empire had actually begun. Although there had not been a large-scale collision, the mutual infiltration and the struggle in the dark had already begun.

Even if the Empire suffered a severe drought and then a chaotic war between rebels, it was still a legacy of hundreds and thousands of years, and the foundation would not be dried up all at once.

In addition, Hamlet was too terrifying, and he directly let the nobles put aside their conflicts and unite to face the outside world. In addition, with the order of the church, the efficiency of resource mobilization was much higher.

Those believers struggled to move forward in the mud, and the power of faith pushed the huge army towards Hamlet...

The sound of a bowstring jumping appeared without warning in the silent woods, and then a scream came from those places. The falcon on the branch next to it heard this and immediately spread its wings and swooped down, stretching out its claws to scratch the enemy.

The battle was about to break out, but it ended in a short time. The falcon flew back to its owner and saw the hidden Laura, of course, some scouts.

"Don't come over here!"

One man tried desperately to escape, but an arrow shot through his thigh. This was not a mistake, but they needed a tongue.

After a little time, they got the news-the first batch of troops had assembled and were now looking for boats everywhere, preparing to cross the river to attack Hamlet.

The closer the war was, the more frequent the battles between reconnaissances would be. However, most of the nobles could send out mercenaries who were paid to do things. Of course, there were some elites who were willing to take this risk. It was possible that a small soldier could sneak in and obtain important information, which could determine the victory of a battle, or even directly improve it.

The simplest example was Baron Lawrence of Bastia. He sneaked into the mountains to collect enough information to help the earl win. This also turned him from a knight without a fief into a baron with his own territory.

The emperor had promised that if Hamlet was taken down, a large number of new nobles would be enfeoffed. One was to divide the northern border of the empire, so that another earl of this size could not be born, and the other was to use interests to gain the support of new nobles.

To be honest, only the emperor has this claim now, at least on the surface, but this also laid the groundwork, after all, the great nobles cannot watch the emperor become stronger.

The scouts on Hamlet's side are all professionally trained, and they cooperate with each other in small teams. They have clear task assignments in the general environment and know what they are doing.

And they are also assisted by raptors and hounds. Some of them are elite barbarian warriors who have changed their jobs. The mountains have trained them and they all have excellent reconnaissance capabilities.

They do not have high commissions, nor the temptation of promotion to nobility and fiefdom. They only have complete guarantees and the determination to defend their homes.

News continues to gather in the commander's hands. The team representing the emperor of the empire and the team representing the great nobles attack in two directions, with a total of 10,000 people, that is, an army of 20,000 people.

Most of them are of course conscripted serfs, but in fact, both sides have fought on the battlefield, that is to say, most of them are veterans. No matter what the reason, it is not easy to survive the battlefield.

To maintain this army, the logistics must be no less than 50,000, or even not enough, and the supplies for these troops are probably looted along the way.

However, Totnes is another way. They are financially strong, have sufficient resources, and have rich population resources, so they can easily pull out an army.

Although they have not experienced much fighting, their equipment is the best, and it seems that because they have heard about Hamlet's army, they have equipped their soldiers with muskets and artillery.

In fact, in terms of the development of this world, it should be Reims who copied them, but who cares?

In addition to equipment, because of business reasons, of course, they have mastered a large number of routes, clearly understand the terrain and surrounding towns, and of course, they are the first among these armies to be muled.

It's a pity that all of their more than 20 gunboats have disappeared, otherwise the land army will go north, and the fleet will bombard the coast and completely block them.

Although some ships have been temporarily modified now, they can maintain some face and dare not take them out to show off and be discovered, otherwise it will be troublesome.

Hamlet did not take any radical actions. Everything was carried out in an orderly manner, just like a running machine. Everyone was a screw and a gear contributing their own efforts.

At this time, Hamlet's commanders gathered together. This should be their last meeting. They will be responsible for different tasks and face different fronts in the future.

"Sure enough, just like Lord Lance's guess, even if these guys join forces, they will definitely be divided into factions."

"This gives us the opportunity to defeat them one by one."

"The focus is still in the south. If we win this, we will win the overall situation..."

Everyone is doing the final deduction on the map and the sand table.

After studying it, the tactics were very simple. If Hamlet wanted to be invincible, he had to wait for the enemy to tire himself out and defend and counterattack on the other side, and launch a fierce offensive to defeat the enemy in one fell swoop.

In the entire northern border facing the empire, Owendo's position is very critical, because it is on the river. If the army wants to enter the Hamlet area, it must cross the river and take it here first. It is no wonder that the emperor placed people to control this place.

Similarly, as long as they hold this place, they can block the army, defend the river, and specially select a group of river merchant ships to modify artillery, and the navy blocks the waterway.

Fortunately, the ice and snow have melted, and the river water flows again, otherwise there will be one less line of defense.

On the other side, they cleared the surrounding people, set up artillery on the city wall, stored supplies and defended the city, and exhausted the spirit of the coalition forces of the imperial nobles through two lines of defense.

However, in the south of Hamlet, that is, facing Totnes, this cannot be done, because there is no danger to defend. Although it is covered by wilderness, most of it is flat land, and the slight ups and downs are also hillsides, which is not a vital place.

What's more troublesome is that you must find the artillery camp in Totnes and then take it down. Then the rest of the noble coalition will probably run away like they did that year, but this time Barton is opposite them...

Barristan returned to Owendo City to prepare to hold on, while Reynald led the cavalry regiment and Barton's artillery to be responsible for the south, which must be taken in one battle.

Since the strategy of defensive counterattack has been set, then don't fire the first shot. Only when the enemy takes action first can Hamlet's counterattack be shown to be indisputably just.

First, the army of the emperor of the empire wanted to cross the river to launch an attack and sounded the horn of war.

Then they were hit head-on. The boats crossing the river were directly broken under the roar of artillery fire, and countless soldiers waiting for a plunder sank into the water together.

On the contrary, the temporary gunboats patrolling along the river on Hamlet's side kept firing and attacking along the way, forcing their large troops not to dare to approach the river at all.

Ambitions and then hit a head-on bump. After the emperor far away in the capital knew about it, he directly interfered with the battle on the front line through extraordinary power, and urged his teammates to attack and share the pressure.

But as mentioned before, the emperor said that he would enfeoff Hamlet to win the hearts of the people. Now the rebels have become the second route and don't cooperate with him at all, and even like to see him make a fool of himself.

These guys are also treacherous. They don't go to the front at all, but go to the downstream to bypass the defense line and then insert it. They just don't attack the city, but focus on the towns and villages around Owendo.

Their idea is very simple, that is, to occupy the land and let the soldiers burn, kill and loot. As long as they actually control those areas, what can the emperor get even if he wants to divide them?

It has to be said that they have a lot of ideas, but what they get is an empty village and manor, even the wooden door frame has been removed, and even a grain of wheat cannot be found, let alone stealing chickens.

To be honest, only Hamlet has the courage to give up these directly, even spring plowing does not care, and has the ability to dispatch and settle the residents without chaos. This kind of control of grassroots terror should be feared by people with eyes.

And how could their invasion be hidden from Hamlet, so the counterattack followed. Lance was able to come here in a day by carriage because the road was unimpeded, but now those noble armies seem to be stuck in a quagmire.

Traps, hidden arrows, hidden guns and even explosions... They appeared and disappeared from all kinds of places. I don't know how many secret passages were not discovered. This is the advantage of fighting at home.

The continuous harassment for several consecutive days made the noble army, which could not get replenishment and venting, dissatisfied, and even fell into despair.

They thought that the army came here to steal chickens and dogs and bully men and women like on the road, but they didn't expect to be played like dogs.

Finally, when they couldn't stand it anymore, a night attack in the dark night with prepared bombs made their sensitive nerves jump. The camp was blown up and more than 2,000 people were left. The rest fled in panic.

This time, they went back to face the army that had not yet broken through the river bank defense line. Everyone stared at each other, and the first wave of spirit was severely hit.

On the other side, Patton was too familiar with the habits of the Totnes artillery. He also received news that the general on the opposite side was his teacher this time. It can be said that they were all acquaintances, but it didn't mean that he would let them go. On the contrary, Patton had been waiting for this day for a long time, and he needed to prove that he was not the one who took the blame.

They all have heavy artillery with long range and great power, and they have a constant supply of gunpowder backed by Totnes, but they also have a disadvantage, which is that they are too heavy, while Hamlet's side mainly has light field artillery such as six-pounders.

Another advantage is that the wilderness is covered. Because Hamlet's decline has led to many places being naturally spread, there are only small roads for caravans to pass through. It is very difficult for a large army with heavy artillery to move in such an environment.

"It's such a conservative formation, the route has been carefully selected, and the place chosen for the camp is even more prudent. It's actually not separated from the noble troops."

Barton did not want to start a war in Hamlet like Owendo. He wanted to seek opportunities, but the commander on the opposite side was not as eager for success as the other two groups, but went north very steadily.

Moreover, their target is not Hamlet, but Ovendo. If these heavy artillery are transported up, it will be difficult to defend by relying on the old city wall.

Moreover, you must know that the river is connected to Totnes. Now that other people's modified warships are also going up the river, a solution must be found as soon as possible.

Both are competing for patience, and the hunter and the prey may be reversed in an instant.

Finally, a moderate spring rain gave Barton an opportunity. In early spring like this, the unpaved paths became muddy due to the thaw of the permafrost, and it was not surprising that the heavy artillery fell directly into the mud.

What's even more troublesome is that the humid air makes many flintlock guns poorly activated, and even artillery has difficulty loading in the rain.

"Why do we have to fight with them?"

Both Leonard and Patton have this idea. In war, they should use their own strengths and attack the enemy's weaknesses.

At this time, an attack occurred, and a group of cavalry came out of the forest in the rain.

The enemy actually started to set up camp for defense when it rained, but orders are one thing and execution is another. Camping in the rain is already difficult, not to mention having to rescue ammunition and logistical supplies first. No one would think that it is also a firearms army. Hamlet will attack and inevitably relax.

And they probably didn't expect that Barton would dare to abandon his guns and lead his troops into battle lightly, marching forcefully in the rain. And what about the noble knights corresponding to Totnes?

They were eating and drinking in the tent, being cared for by servants, cursing the weather and Hamlet.

Then the war broke out without warning. First, hundreds of cavalry broke up the formation, and then soldiers armed with bayonets and rifles came up to kill them. Although musket training was the main thing, bayonet training was not left behind.

What's more important is the organization. They work in teams of twos and threes and look after each other. The musketeers on the opposite side probably haven't had much training in close combat. When the muskets failed, they didn't even know what to do when they were holding "fire sticks" and were penetrated by bayonets. Body.

They were awakened by the roars and screams coming from outside. With the help of their servants, they put on their knight armor and went out. There was already a chaos outside. Their first reaction was to run away... (End of this chapter)