If it weren't for the timely arrival of Sun Fei and his reinforcements today, Soroyev and most of the imperial nobles in the city would probably have abandoned the entire Twin Flag City and its 30,000 garrison troops and 100,000 civilians under the protection of their private armies and fled.
Now that the fighting has eased somewhat, the city has temporarily maintained a rare period of peace.
According to this garrison officer, the city can be roughly divided into several major forces, including the city lord and nobles, the garrison, reinforcements, civilians, the Holy Church, the merchant guild, mercenary groups, and the Mages' Union. Among them, the Holy Church is the only one that remains aloof; they don't need to worry about being caught in the crossfire after the Ajax people breach the city, because no one on the Azeroth Continent has dared to slaughter members of the Church during a war for over fifty years. The Mages' Guild is also a major aloof force; as long as they remain neutral in the war, they will not suffer from its devastation. However, the Mages' Union of Twin Flag City has firmly sided with the Zenit Empire this time, providing full support in the previous siege, and may become the target of the Ajax people's hatred.
In the end, Sun Fei and the garrison officer became increasingly engrossed in their conversation, regarding each other as kindred spirits. His Majesty the King and this somewhat dim-witted garrison officer completely abandoned their initial awkwardness, embracing each other intimately, arms around each other's shoulders, laughing heartily.
"So, that Soroyev guy is a complete bastard who deserves to be hanged or have his throat slit?" Sun Fei patted the garrison officer on the shoulder and summarized with a chuckle.
Čech had been following silently behind, frowned.
"Need I say more? He's a complete maggot, a fat bastard with his head full of semen and shit..." The garrison officer was indignant. "If we had followed Lord Ribery's initial advice, the Ajax people wouldn't have been able to control the situation within a hundred miles so quickly, and those two thousand-plus imperial civilians might still be alive... If this war is really going to kill a lot of people, then I hope that all these bloated nobles will die first!" As he spoke, he patted Sun Fei's shoulder hard with his Big Hand to express his indignation.
Čech frowned even more deeply when he saw the officer's actions.
"You're right, but some nobles in the empire are still quite good?" Sun Fei's smile froze slightly. He thought to himself, "I'm a noble of the empire now, so this is insulting me too."
"You're right. At least the imperial family and nobles have always treated commoners quite well. Among the major empires within a vast radius, the commoners of the Zenit Empire have the highest status. Since His Emperor Yassin ascended the throne, many of his policies have favored commoners. Otherwise, a warrior of such humble origins as Lord Ribery wouldn't have been able to become the commander of the garrison in Twin Flag City." The officer thought for a moment, then changed his tune, 'letting go' of some nobles, and added, "I've heard that His Majesty Alexander, the upcoming commander of the war zone, is also a nobleman who is very considerate of his subordinates, and is kind and fair. Although many of my brothers and I didn't go to the capital to watch the Martial Combat Competition, some bards, mercenaries, and merchants from the capital are praising His Majesty. I hope what they say is true. With such a person commanding the war in the Ajax war zone, perhaps Twin Flag City still has hope of holding on!"
"Hahaha, you really think so?" His King completely ignored the officer's first half of his sentence, extremely excited. He hadn't expected his brilliance to have spread to this border region. Resisting the urge to blurt out, "I am Alexander," his mischievous side kicked in again. He chuckled and deliberately retorted, "I don't think so. It's said that King of Chambord is very cruel Bloody, openly defying the Imperial Knights' Hall Judgment Knight."
The officer immediately rolled his eyes and retorted, "You're wrong about that. The gentlemen of the Knights' Hall aren't as benevolent and just as they claim. It's said that the reason they're at odds with King of Chambord is because the Tenth Golden Knight, Sutton, first provoked King of Chambord, and then shamelessly fought four against one..."
"Ha, brother, I have to admit, you're incredibly insightful and have great vision. To be honest, I think so too," Sun Fei laughed smugly. Seeing that they were almost at the front of the Barracks, he patted the tall officer and asked, "By the way, what's your name?"
" Heskey, hehe, Emile Heskey." The big man scratched the back of his head and answered with a chuckle.
" Heskey? Hmm, that's a great name, buddy. I guarantee you'll be rich within a day." Sun Fei said, patting the big, goofy officer heavily on the shoulder. After this conversation, Sun Fei had a very good impression of him.
"Huh? Really?" The big, clumsy legion leader paused, "Is this a good name? But they all call me Heskey the Fool."
He was just a low-ranking officer, possessing only brute strength but lacking in intelligence. He was used to being ordered around in the Barracks, feeding and grooming horses, and had no right to fight on the city walls. Therefore, he was unaware of what had happened outside the city that day and naturally didn't recognize Sun Fei. He only felt a sense of familiarity with the young man in the reinforcements' uniform, who lacked the haughty airs of the nobles. That's why he blurted out so much. Any officer with a modicum of sense wouldn't have so readily shared the city's situation, even their own assessment of the city lord, with a complete stranger without knowing the full extent of the situation.
Of course, he had no idea what Sun Fei's words meant.
Čech, on the other hand, clearly understood King Majesty's meaning—this big, simple-minded man, though foolish and naive, possessed a pure and honest nature that King Majesty favored most. It seemed this simple-minded officer was destined for promotion and Luffy, all thanks to His King's mere word.
That big oaf is really lucky.
Upon arriving at the Barracks gate, the vanguard commanders of the [ Wolf Fang Legion ] saw Sun Fei approaching and came out to greet him. Sun Fei smiled, patted Heskey on the shoulder, and said, " Emile, I have things to do now. See you later."
"Okay, I'm going to feed and groom the horses too," the big, simple-minded guy nodded, turned around and walked away, but after a few steps he turned back and asked, "By the way, little brother, what's your name? I'll come find you after I finish my work."
Little brother?
That's not a very elegant way to address someone, and Sun Fei almost spat it out. He waved his hand, half-laughing and half-crying, and said, "You'll find out soon enough. See you later."
After some negotiation, the vanguard set up camp in a fairly spacious and flat small square about a kilometer away from the garrison in Twin Flag City. The camp was filled with brand-new and high-quality tents and various equipment, which made the brother units in the distance almost drool.
Although Twin Flag City is known as the most important military stronghold on the northwestern border of the empire, it is actually still a relatively remote desert city. More than 20 years ago, the imperial family did pay attention to this border city, but as time went by, coupled with the increasing corruption of the imperial high-ranking nobles, and the dormancy of the Ajax Empire and the peace on the border for more than 20 years, this attention gradually faded.
Therefore, the garrison in Twin Flag City was not given much attention.
It was common for military pay and equipment to be withheld. The equipment was outdated because it could not be updated in time. Some soldiers' swords were even rusty. With such equipment, the army's combat effectiveness was naturally not high. Compared with the reinforcements of the [ Wolf Fang Legion ], the garrison was like a beggar on the roadside meeting an emperor in the palace.
"How's the contact with the garrison officers in Twin Flag City going?" Sun Fei asked Shevchenko and the others as he returned to the central command tent, washing his face with hot water and a towel handed to him by a guard.
"It's better than I expected." Shevchenko reported with a look of delight, "Commander, you swept through the Ajax camp today, completely winning over the garrison officers. Moreover, you've already revealed your identity on the battlefield, and the garrison knows you are the new First Commander of the Ajax theater. Coupled with the strong support of the previously seriously injured Supreme Commander Frank Ribery, the 30,000 garrison troops have clearly stated that they will obey your orders."
"Yes, humans are such strange creatures. In the face of danger, they easily band together. The word 'unity' becomes incredibly cheap at times like this." Sun Fei wiped his face with a hot towel, stretched, and laughed, "However, the garrison of Twin Flag City does have some guts. At least their first commander, General Frank Ribery, disregarded his own safety and single-handedly assassinated the enemy commander. Though defeated, he refused to surrender. His unyielding spirit is truly worthy of being a model soldier of the Empire."
Shevchenko deeply agrees; almost everyone witnessed Ribery's spectacular leap and kill today, and couldn't help but be captivated by it.
"Divide half of the vanguard's supplies into the garrison," Sun Fei said after a moment's thought. " The Ajax might launch a second attack; we need to find a way to improve their fighting strength as quickly as possible."
Shevchenko nodded to indicate that he understood.
"By the way, is there any news from the City Lord's Mansion?"
Recalling what had happened on the city wall that day, Sun Fei couldn't help but sneer. He already had a very bad impression of the city lord, Soroyev. If this idiot city lord dared to displease him again, Sun Fei was prepared to annihilate the city lord's mansion and the noble group in the city. Others might hesitate to act because of the background and power of these enemy nobles, but Sun Fei wouldn't care about that. Killing a few ignorant nobles would be as easy as strangling a few annoying rats.
"I haven't had time to send anyone to contact the city lord's mansion yet, but I've heard that a kilometer radius around the mansion has been under martial law for the past few days, and outsiders aren't allowed to enter. I wonder what Soroyev and the nobles are up to." Judging from her tone, Shevchenko was also quite dissatisfied with this city lord on the empire's frontier.
First update.