The Extra Wants To Live

The commander of the Laurel Alliance that initiated the invasion of Tumari was naturally Carl. Stay connected via m-v l|e'm,p| y- r

There is no doubt that Charles's position as Archduke was intended to provide command over the military power in the eastern part of the Empire, namely the Laurel League, in the event of war with Tumaria.

But in reality, the person who had the greatest influence, from large areas like strategy to small areas like the personal belongings of soldiers, was undoubtedly Marquis Govan of Davron.

"Once you step foot on the land of Tumari, no matter where you plan to attack, you must attack Jihan first."

Govan, pointing out the strategic map, insisted that the first attack target be Jihan.

"If we leave Jihan alone, no matter which direction we attack from, we will definitely be attacked from the rear. As long as Jihan, a strategic stronghold, is there, we cannot go anywhere."

Govan spoke eloquently, with passion and determination. Not only Govan, but all the older people who had experience in war on the land of Tumari nodded their heads.

Jihan was a fortress located due east of Davron. It was a fortress with the same status as Davron Castle of the Hardion Empire and had served as a gatekeeper protecting Tumaria in countless battles.

Of course, Jihan was terribly fortified, and it was very difficult to capture it using conventional methods.

Even if it rotted and was thrown away, the warehouse was filled to the brim with food, supplies for war were also full, there were many troops, and the terrain was such that there was no room to dig in because it was built on a rocky mountain.

If you fought a normal siege, you either had to suffer enormous losses by transferring troops, or you had to wait for about two years until supplies ran out.

But if they left them alone and let them pass, the best troops stationed at Jihan, the best fortress in Tumari, would pour out, cut off the supply lines, attack the rear of the army, and cause all kinds of trouble.

In other words, although the western part of Tumaria may look like a vast plain, it was actually a tightly clogged place that required passing through a gateway called Jihan.

"But, Lord Davron. We can't spend years in Jihan."

Even though Carl knew everything, he quietly gave Govan the opportunity.

Now was the time to save face for the old man Govan, and Govan, who had a lot of experience in the war against Tumari, was much better at persuading everyone than the young Carl.

"Jihan has excellent terrain for defense, but it is not easy to get out from inside."

Govan carefully unrolled a large piece of parchment on the command desk.

"This is the structure of Jihan."

"Oh…"

Everyone was amazed.

The parchment depicted the structure of the fortress in dizzying detail, with annotations attached to everything from the shape of the walls to the passageways.

It was written with all one's might, with a great deal of manpower poured into it when occupying Jihan in the past. It had been passed down through generations to the Marquis of Davron and had been updated every time Jihan was occupied.

"It's been 34 years since the last revision, so there must have been changes. But it's impossible to change the entire structure."

Govan pointed out a few passages that were relatively easy to recognize in a complex picture that would be difficult to understand without specialized knowledge.

"The only passages to the outside of Jihan are the western path built along the rocky mountain and the eastern gate."

Jihan was built on a rocky mountain and is located slightly to the southeast of the rocky mountain.

The north was completely blocked by rugged rocky mountains, and the west was a steep, winding road.

There were no gates at all on the south side, but instead numerous towers were built and numerous siege engines were deployed to bombard any enemies who tried to bypass the south.

The eastern gate was located down to the bottom of the rocky mountain, so at first glance it looked easy to conquer. This was because it was a supply gate.

But when you actually tried to conquer it, you felt as if you were hitting a mountain range.

This was because the madmen of Tumari had created four gates starting from the plains and climbing up the slopes of the rocky mountains.

Even the spacing and height of the gates were exquisitely adjusted, so while attacking the outer gate, you had to fight while being hit by arrows and rocks pouring from the rear gate.

Even if you broke through the gate, you would be attacked from both sides. Climb the rocky mountain and break through the four gates?

It was better to climb the path west of Mt. Bawi. Although this was an iron fortress, there were ways to conquer it.

"If we block the west and east, we can easily isolate Jihan."

Govan looked at the map as he recalled the past.

"The west is so narrow and steep that it's hard to deploy troops properly. You can just deploy a small number of elite troops to block it. The main battleground will be in front of the eastern gate of Jihan."

"Are you saying we should isolate Jihan and launch a mobile war to capture other places one by one?"

"Yes, while the civil war in Tumari continues, shouldn't we occupy and profit from as much land as possible?"

As Carl gave a gentle push, Govan quickly caught on.

"Because the passage is narrow, the number of troops that can come out of Jihan at one time is limited. If we can deploy troops to block the passage and block enemies who are targeting the rear of the troops deployed to the east, we can successfully isolate Jihan."

"Umm…"

Easier said than done. It's not always easy. Everyone was silent and could not speak easily.

"This war must have been unexpected for the Hadad Church and the Tumari rebels. If they could seize the opportunity and defeat the reinforcements even just once, it would be enough to isolate Jihan."

Carl said on their behalf the things that everyone thought but found difficult to say out loud.

He pointed out that this war was being waged at the request of Tumari and that those they were dealing with were not 'Tumaria', but 'heresies' and 'rebels'.

Because of this, the Kuah Hadad Church and the Tumaria rebels were forced to fight a two-front war, and if the Laurel Alliance launched an attack, the Tumaria forces led by Yusuf would join them in attacking from the east.

"However, Your Majesty, how can we trust that Tumaris will attack at the right time?"

A nobleman spoke carefully.

You can't trust those vile Tumaris. If the central army of Tumaria led by Yusuf just sat and watched, Hardion would have to engage in a massive war of attrition to suck up the rebels' forces.

And Yusuf only had to move his forces to occupy the empty rebel camp when Hardion and the rebels were destroyed. Even though we held hands, I can't trust him.

"I have your confirmation on that."

Carl gestured to Harmon, who was waiting. Harmon quietly went out, then came back with an elderly man.

"Akhtal Ali Gabin Haddad, the senior priest of the Haddad Order."

At Carl's introduction, an old man with tanned skin and white hair bowed his head slowly, placing his hand on his chest.

By the way, his original name was so long that it would make your lips dry if you tried to say it all.

The name 'Akhtal Ali Gabin Haddad' was the shortest one. 'Akhtal' was the title of a high priest within the Hadad order, and 'Ali' was his name. 'Gabin Hadad' meant dedicated to Hadad.

That is, if you broke down the name, it became 'Akhtal, the high priest who offered himself to Hadad, Ali.'

"Please call me Akhtal or Ali."

Ali greeted them politely, but the mood in the command center was not good, to say the least. Because everyone was thinking the same thing, even though they couldn't say it out loud.

'The leader of the pagans.'

The eastern part of the empire was filled with radical Duren believers who called the Hadad cult heretics and demanded that they be destroyed.

This was not originally a hatred against the Hadad sect, but rather a hatred against Tumaria, which was ruled by a secular monarch.

But as time passed, it gradually changed and now it even hated the Hadad sect.

This was despite the fact that the Hadad community had no real involvement in the war and had even always opposed it. Because whenever the Tumaris guys attacked, they would always say things like, 'For Hadad!'

By the way, this was the same reason why Duren was hated in western Tumaria.

"Akhtal Ali is a messenger who has come to deliver the promise made by the Padishah Almighty Sultan Yusuf and the Hadad Order."

Carl spoke in a powerful voice. He acknowledged Ali's position and the mission he had been given, and he made it clear to everyone that he was protecting him with his own authority.

It may sound nice to be an envoy, but in reality, it's no different from a bait and switch.

The Akhtal, the high priest of the Hadad Order, was a being with only 16 members and even had the authority to independently interpret the doctrine of the Hadad Order and convene a council.

The Yusuf and Hadad sect promised to send Akhtal Ali as a hostage. If Yusuf and the sect did not keep their promise, Carl could cut off Ali's head at any time.

Even if you committed some cruel act against him, he will be acknowledged rather than condemned.

On the other hand, the Yusuf and Hadad sects will not be able to avoid blame for sending Akhtal as a hostage and breaking their promise to have him killed, and they will have to deal with enormous repercussions.

To be honest, if Yusuf breaks his promise, it wouldn't be a bad idea to just kill Ali and retreat.

Because it destroyed one of the major religious centers of the Hadad sect.