Led by the Nugus family, all the nobles of Dabiang's southern faction responded and launched a counterattack against the lord of Panda in the Duchy of Lane, thus completely recovering all the territory of the former kingdom of Dabiang, including the Panda lord, and forcing the Marquis of Tonis back to her fortress.

This is Hela. The strategy developed by Nugus.

A few months ago, everything was playing out according to Hela's script.

The situation is clear.

But all this suddenly became confusing half a month ago.

On July 19, 1713, Baron Panda, Sean. Connally abandoned the Territory of Panda, and the 3,000 soldiers of the original garrison of Banner also retreated to the Panda Territory, and laid fortifications in the Rift Valley of the Gorge, forming horns with the current steel base of the former Panda Town.

On October 16, 1713, Baron Panda, Sean. The Thunder Lion of Connery's First Legion raided the So'an Territory and fought fiercely with the Mountain Lion Legion belonging to the Howard family, and the main force of the Mountain Lion Legion was wiped out.

On November 3, 1713, the Legion of Mountain Lions lurking in So'an's territory was wiped out, and the Thunder Lion was lost.

Today, it's November 20, 1713.

Hela's face was not as ruddy as it was four months ago, and she looked a little haggard, but her eyes were surprisingly bright, and there was an awe-inspiring aura all over her body, obviously not affected by the destruction of the strategic layout by Sean this time. In other words, it was because of Sean's sudden breakthrough that Hela understood the reason for her failure more clearly.

"I underestimated the Boulder family's determination." Hela murmured, "Now, Sigley, what do you think you're going to do next?" ”

"To the royal family...... Report? Sigley asked, a little uneasy.

After all, she is only good at intelligence gathering, and as for her analytical skills, she is only involved because it is linked to intelligence gathering. But it's not great after all. As for coping skills, this is not her area of expertise, so it is normal for Higrid to be a little apprehensive when asked by Hela at this moment. If a person can perform extremely well in the three fields of intelligence gathering, analysis, and response, then he can definitely rank among the top 100 outstanding generals on the mainland.

A person like Sigley can only be mixed up with the position of a staff officer at most.

"The debriefing is yes." Seeing Higridi's uneasiness, Hela let out a chuckle, in fact, according to her character, someone like Sigrid who had framed her would definitely not stay, but Sigride's natural ability in intelligence made her really excited, so she didn't kill Higrid in the first place when dealing with Geson's matter. "But even so, we still can't do anything about the tequila collar. …… It seems that this time, I didn't do well enough, leaving such a big flaw, I should have taken action myself at that time. But forget it, although the current losses are somewhat large. But at least it's still tolerable, and it's sped up a bit. Overall, we still have a little advantage. It's just that this advantage is not very big. ”

"What do you ......mean, sir?"

The corners of Hela's mouth lifted slightly, and her laughter was a little more hearty, but Higrid's face was even more unnatural.

Because she knew very well that once Hela laughed, it meant that she was already in a state of euphoria, and it also meant that her shots would become more ruthless.

"Didn't Theon want fifteen thousand men of the Fourth Legion of Dabion? Give it to him. Hela smiled heartily and relaxedly, "Let's see if he can make good use of these fifteen thousand men, and if he can successfully kill Sean, we can save a lot of trouble." If it doesn't work. That means that he only has this ability. …… Actually, I don't hate people like Sain, after all, it was the Nugus family who was sorry for him first, but I don't like people to play tricks behind my back, since he decided to surprise us, then we might as well give him a good one. ”

Just then, there was a sudden knock on the door.

At Hela's signal, Sigrid immediately turned from her desk and walked over to open the door.

Standing outside the door were two people.

The current head of the Nugus family, Ashan. Nugus, as well as the current head of the Howard family, Yeen. Howard.

"Didn't you say there would be no accidents!?" As soon as he entered the door, Jenn immediately roared.

His eyes were red and his face was haggard, apparently caused by the annihilation of the Mountain Lion Legion. After all, for the Howard family, their biggest reliance is on the powerful legion of the Mountain Lion Legion, but now that the Mountain Lion Legion has been completely wiped out, this is equivalent to announcing that the military strength of the Howard family has been weakened by at least half, and in the current situation, the Howard family is even inferior to the Nugus family.

And as we all know, the military strength of the Nugus family is the weakest among the five dukes of the kingdom.

"According to my plan, there really won't be any accidents." Hela said calmly.

"So what is the mountain lion legion, and the army will be wiped out! Am I following your plan? ”

Hela glanced at Jen. Howard, with a bit of contempt on his face, made the look of exasperation on Duke Yeen's face even greater. At this moment, he already regretted his cooperation with the Nugus family, because if it wasn't for this, how could his mountain lion army be wiped out? It's just that now, no matter how much he regrets it and how angry he is, he doesn't dare to turn his face with the Nugus family.

As the head of a family, especially if this family is still a duke family, he has too many things to consider, so there are many things to weigh and judge. Under all kinds of constraints, of course, he can't do things and make decisions based solely on his own preferences, especially at this juncture, if he and the Nugus family turn against each other, then I am afraid that he will soon be swallowed up by the Nugus family.

Because, today's Howard family is no longer the Howard family that has the capital to compete with the Boulder family. Among the five duke families, the Howard family is now the real bottom family, after all, even in the face of Asuna's invasion, his mountain lion army was not completely wiped out, and even made Asuna suffer enough in the mountain and forest battles, forcing Asuna to change the route of the march.

It seems that the Howard family still has some value today. Hela looked contemptuous, but she didn't continue to provoke Jen. Howard, at least on face, still gave the other party the respect that a duke should have: "Uncle Yeen, you did make arrangements according to my plan, and the previous plan was indeed successful." But...... The Boulder family didn't follow our plan, and besides, the Boulder family's Tequila army was already near So'an Territory at that time, and if they rushed to the rescue immediately, the Mountain Lion Legion would not have been wiped out at all......"

"Hutchi, that old fox!" Now that some time has passed since the fall of the Mountain Lion Legion, a lot of information has been circulated. And a Grand Duke like Yeen certainly can't be inferior to others in terms of intelligence gathering, so of course he knows what the specifics are.

It's just that, of course, there are reasons for the Boulder family to let it go, but more importantly, they don't know enough about the Thunder Lion army. Even to put it more bluntly, they seriously underestimated Sean. Connery's strength. That's why it's the situation they have today, if they paid more attention to Sean from the beginning. Then maybe things will be better.

And because it's clear. So Yean. Howard couldn't say anything but vent his anger on the Boulder family.

This is the aristocracy.

Never look for the cause in itself, only shift the blame to someone else.

"Don't worry, Uncle Yeen, the Boulder family will definitely pay the price." Hela smiled.

"What do you mean?" Jenn and Ahsan looked at each other, and then Jenn said in a deep voice.

"Uncle Jean. I don't know if you're interested in tequila collar? Instead of answering directly, Hela asked.

Jen's pupils shrank suddenly, but out of the nobleman's caution, he didn't answer.

"The Boulder family only marched out with four thousand tequila troops and thirty thousand infantry. Isn't that a suspicious thing? Hela smiled, "The Tequila Territory has a total of one fortress-level manor, three large manors, one frontier-level fortress, two war-level fortresses, and five legion-level fortresses. …… Some of these fortifications were left over from the past, and some were built after the invasion of Tonis, but in any case, it is impossible for all twelve fortifications to be held with the military strength of the Boulder family. ”

Fortresses, castles, fortresses, manors, all belong to the fortifications on the continent.

According to the degree of defense, the number of troops that can be accommodated, the structure and so on, it can be roughly divided into five scales: corps level, war level, border defense level, fortress level, and empire level, and below the corps level is not in the rank, usually as a cantonment point or supply point, of course, there are no strategic value but simply have the nature of viewing and playing manors or castles. In these conventional scale divisions, fortresses must be built according to the fortress level, and only larger ones are allowed and smaller ones are not allowed in the construction requirements, so they are not evaluated by these five scale classifications.

For example, the Fortress of Tonys, the Fortress of St. Droence, and the Fortress of Garrod in the Kingdom of Dabiang will not be evaluated by the five-scale standard, but are collectively referred to as "War Fortresses". However, if you have to divide it by rating criteria, the scale of these fortresses is all at the level of the imperial level, of course, the standard of Tonis Fortress may be higher, after all, this is currently the only super fortress on the entire continent.

The Tequila Territory, to which the Boulder family belongs, has a total of eight rank-level forts and a fortress-level manor where the family is located, except for three large manors that are not ranked. This estate may not be as vast and extravagant as the White Grail Manor of the Nugus family, but it is known for its defensive capabilities and is the political center of the entire Boulder family.

"What do you want to say?"

"The garrison of the Tequila Territory is being mobilized on a large scale, but it is heading towards the location of the family, which is obviously gathering troops and shrinking the defensive line, what do you think is the real purpose of the Boulder family?" Hela asked again, "In this situation where it is clear that war cannot be avoided, the Boulder family has not shown the slightest sign of sending troops to the front, hehe......"

"You mean!" Ahsan and Jenn were shocked.

"If Uncle Yeen is interested, then prepare well." Hela smiled, "Duke Hatch is indeed a very smart man, he knows how to make some sacrifices, at least he knows that he can't hold such a big tequila domain. Therefore, according to my assessment, he will probably abandon the five legion-level fortresses and three large manors on the periphery, and the main force will all be concentrated in the Tequila Manor, and focus on the defense of the Tequila Fort, and then if there are any surplus troops, they will be stationed in the two war-level fortresses. …… In this way, he can control at least one-fifth of the tequila collar. ”

Jenn and Ahsan glanced at each other, apparently neither of them expecting the situation to change so quickly.

Of course, what I didn't expect was that the Boulder family would actually rebel!

"Until the internal worries are resolved, we will not be able to deal with the external troubles." Hela said with a smile. "Because if the Duke of Tequila is not settled, then the entire southern part of Dabion will fall. But if we concentrate our forces to deal with the Duke of Tequila, then Sean will definitely take the opportunity to attack, so no matter what the attitude of the royal family is, this national war is already inevitable. This time it is no longer a matter of our southern aristocratic faction, and the other two aristocratic factions will definitely intervene. ”

"What do you mean by ......?" Jenn is still more convinced of Hela. Hela's strength and talent are also very much recognized. Otherwise, he wouldn't have sent the Mountain Lion Legion out. And calling Hella a niece at this moment, in addition to apology and convincing, is more to bring the relationship between the two parties closer, because the Howard family and the Nugus family are now completely tied together.

"Tequila collar, we can only eat one-fifth." Hai stretched out a finger, "Although the Boulder family is a faction of our southern aristocracy. But if the interests are monopolized by us, then we will face more pressure. …… The demon at Tonis Fortress will not sit idly by this time, and according to my intelligence investigation, it seems that the Seventh Legion of the Duchy of Lane stationed in Tonis Fortress is preparing for war. ”

"The Seventh Legion of the Duchy of Lane?" Ahsan's eyebrows furrowed. "What can this waste army do?"

"Although we can't do anything, it is enough to cause us a lot of trouble in the early stage." Hela spoke, "And the actions of this legion are actually a signal that the ideas within the Duchy of Lane have been unified. …… The last time Asuna invaded us, Dabion did not occupy the territory, but this time the situation is different, once the war starts, if we win, we will only keep the territory intact, but if we fail, we will lose the country. ”

This time, Ahsan and Yeen finally realized the gravity of the situation.

They didn't expect that the rebellion of the Boulder family would trigger such a chain reaction, which was completely beyond their expectations.

Hela said in a deep voice, "So in the plan to advance against the tequila territory, although our side has an advantage, in fact, we can't get any benefits. …… Because if we want to invade a large-scale territory, the larger the forces that need to be used, then the fewer troops will be on Sean's side, and if we want to focus on Sean's side, we will not be able to obtain enough benefits in the Tequila Territory, which is why I say that it is good to occupy only one-fifth of the territory. ”

The Tequila Territory can be regarded as the largest territory of the Dabion Kingdom, and even if it only occupies one-fifth of it, it is almost equivalent to the size of a standard marquisate of one and a half days.

"Now that Sean has nearly 70,000 troops under his command, although many of them are mercenary groups, but it is enough to defend Pandaling, and his private soldiers can be used to fight us." Hela said calmly, "So now it's up to you to do it, Uncle Yeon." ”

"What else can I do?" Ye En smiled bitterly, his laughter was full of helplessness, "Now our two families are completely bound together, so in this regard, our Howard family will definitely fully cooperate with your Nugus family's actions." ”

"I know." Hela smiled sweetly, "With Uncle's words, I know what to do." ”

With that, Hela nodded to Sigley, who quickly left to deal with Hela's previous instructions. And soon, Yashan and Yeen also left one after another, because only they know about the Boulder family's rebellion at present, so the sooner they prepare now, the easier it will be to deal with it at that time, at least it will not be too rushed, and there will be enough time to use in the battle with Sean.

Watching everyone leave, Hela poured herself a glass of red wine, but the smile on her face did not decrease but increased: "If I'm not mistaken, Hatch. Boulder's old fox should be making contact with the demon in Tonis Fortress right now. ”

……

In fact, at this very moment, far away in that small town in Modeg, Hatch. Boulder did arrive secretly with only a few retinues.

It's just that it's not Asuna who approaches Hatch, it's Elizabeth.

At this time, Elizabeth changed her slightly debauched style in the past, but wore a set of officer uniforms of the Duchy of Lane, and this leather military uniform showed Elizabeth's figure more perfectly, but despite this, what emanated from Elizabeth's body was an atmosphere of indifference and solemnity. And under the backdrop of this atmosphere, no one has the leisure to admire Elizabeth's figure and face.

"I'm really sorry, but my Marquis hasn't returned yet, so I can only receive the Duke for the time being." Elizabeth said in a deep voice, she has never slackened in dealing with this kind of business, "Regarding all the requests made by the Duke, our family has already said it, and the Duchy will fully accept it, and you will become one of the first dukes in the Kingdom of Lane." ”

Hearing this, Hatch. Boulder didn't have the slightest smile, just a kind of helplessness.

If it weren't for Nugus and Howard pressing so hard, he wouldn't have wanted to mutiny. It's just that some things can't be as simple as he imagined in the end, so for the sake of the entire Boulder family, he can only choose to mutiny.

"I will definitely do what the Kingdom of Lane commands, please rest assured." Hatch said in a deep voice.

"I'll pass that on to the Marquis." Elizabeth nodded, "In addition, the Marquis has a personal matter that I would like to ask the Duke for your help. ”

"Please." Facing the female mage in front of him, Hatch didn't dare to have any contempt. (To be continued......)