Your war hammer is too fake

Dustan didn't care about the infighting among the border princes. He sent all the laborers who came to his door to Sanhe Prefecture to mine according to the instructions of the mage, and he could also take the opportunity to collect a "labor agency fee" from An Jiyue. This was also a good thing for the refugees. An Jiyue's treatment of the miners was much better than their original living conditions.

At least they could finally have enough food to eat, and they could get treatment if they were sick or injured. Even if they lost their ability to work for some reason, An Jiyue would feed them with two whole grain cakes a day.

As for the mayor's suggestion to investigate this unknown force, Dustan thought about it and agreed. All three elves attach great importance to intelligence work, even the most autistic Asrai is no exception. Among the many types of "sword sellers" in the old world, there is a group of wood elf mercenaries called "Skarlock Archers". They are considered to be the best archers that can be hired with gold in the entire old world, without a doubt.

However, the Wood Elves do not actually care about the gold paid by their employers. Their real reward is to be able to observe their employers' armies and send intelligence back to the Forest of Athel Loren.

Although he didn't think that a great white shark would emerge from the broken fish pond of the Border Prince Territory, the willing-to-follow Dustan still sent a team of Arion plunderers to the central area of ​​the Border Prince Territory to investigate the situation. As soon as he signed the transfer order, the mage put the matter behind him and turned his attention to what he was going to do next.

An Jiyue needed him to go back to Ulthuan in person and set up intelligence stations in Lothern and the White Tower. If possible, it would be best to try to infiltrate the Phoenix Court to obtain first-hand information from the power center of the high elves. Of course, considering the terrible reputation of leading mages in the toilet circle, the latter is quite difficult, so it is not forced.

According to the plan, Dustan would hire a dwarf steamship at the Sea Gate to go to Miragliano, and then transfer to a high elf merchant ship to Lothern. The whole journey was expected to take half a month. In addition to the necessary servants, the entourage also included two newly recruited magic swordsmen and a noble, as well as the team of Hoeth swordsmen brought back from the Castle of Kork.

In order to knock on the door of the Phoenix Royal Court, Dustan specially prepared a batch of goods, including a ton of star iron that Barrel deployed remotely in Akendorf, and a number of Shu brocade and spirit stones sponsored by An Jiyue. Given the importance that the current Phoenix King Finubar attaches to diplomatic work, these goods are likely to allow him to meet Dustan in person.

Of course, even if they didn't see each other, it wouldn't be a big deal. Dustan wouldn't stay in Ulthuan for long, maybe he'd go there and come back the same day, after all, being a "monkey lover" or something...

On the same day that Dustan set out from Akendorf with his entourage and goods, An Jiyue also led his army from Xuanshui, but the former went south while the latter went north. The governor did not know how many troops Prince Hertwig could provide, so she prepared an army of more than 10,000 people, including 14 infantry units, two cavalry units, one military cavalry unit, three artillery units, and various support units, in accordance with the standard of the Anxi Army independently conquering Modheim.

Including the 20,000 troops currently deployed along the Xueshui River under the command of Yin Siran, as well as the garrisons in various places in Sanhe Prefecture and the troops in Kexiang Fort, the total strength of the Anxi Army has exceeded 40,000. An Jiyue actually has no real feeling about this. The equipment and supplies needed by these troops are basically supplied by the War Canon. The only military expenditure that really goes out of Sanhe Prefecture's account is the salaries of these people, so that the Jiedushi almost has an illusion that "it doesn't seem to cost much to support the army."

Yeah, almost. Whenever she felt that she had a cognitive bias, An Jiyue would flip through the details of the research funding expenditures of the Arsenal, which could be as many as ten pages or as few as three or five pages, and the illusion would disappear without a trace.

Judging from the time, when the army led by An Jiyue personally reached Ostermark, Prince Hertwig would have returned to Beckhaven. If a small probability event occurred and the prince refused the help of the Aurora people, the Jiedushi would still lead his troops to retake Modheim and stay there.

Fortunately, this did not happen. When An Jiyue led his army to Butcher's Castle, a handwritten letter from Prince Hertwig finally arrived at Xuanshui after many twists and turns. In the letter, the prince first thanked the Aurora people for their kindness in a cautious manner, and then tactfully stated that the time to attack Modheim was not ripe, but he was still willing to meet with An Jiyue to discuss the matter more carefully. If the plan is indeed feasible, he is willing to form an alliance with the Aurora people.

"Our army will set up camp on the border first," said An Jiyue, who had read the letter from a distance, "and then send the Eagle Guard to Baker Harbor to deliver a letter to Prince Hertwig, saying that our army hopes to obtain entry permission."

Leading an envoy to someone else's house is one thing, but rushing in with an entire army is another. An Jiyue believes that as a Chinese, one must be polite and must not go into someone else's house and talk to himself like a Bretonnian.

The Eagle Guards who delivered the letter went there in the morning and returned in the evening of the same day, bringing with them an older imperial officer. The latter claimed to be Prince Hertwig's military advisor and came to discuss the entry of foreign troops - although he said so, in fact everyone knew that this person came to observe the situation of the Aurora Army.

It was obvious that the officer was quite surprised by the sudden appearance of tens of thousands of troops on his border. He repeatedly asked how the people of Zhendan got here. When he learned that the dwarves actually allowed the people of Zhendan to use their underground tunnels, the officer immediately showed an expression of severe shock to his worldview.

Under An Jiyue's instruction, except for the female officers' residences (Note 1) and a few important places, the imperial officer was allowed to walk around the Zhendan military camp at will, to see whatever he wanted, and to talk without restrictions. The imperial officer wandered around the camp for almost a whole day, and after collecting enough information, he said goodbye to the Zhendan people. The Eagle Guard sent him back to Baker Harbor and brought back a letter from Prince Hertwig.

The prince agreed to join forces with the Chinese to form an alliance to retake Modheim.

……

Note 1: Unlike the official Aurora, Anshi Aurora, at least the regular soldiers, do not have female soldiers, but there are female officers. I personally think that although the supernatural power has eliminated the physical gap between men and women, women are not suitable for fighting not only because of their physical disadvantages, but also because most women are psychologically unable to withstand the huge pressure of fighting or even war. Therefore, there are female officers, but not many.

Chapter 183 Prince Hertwig

In An Jiyue's opinion, Prince Wolfram Hertwig is an interesting person.

This prince was very famous in the Empire, but not in a good way. In the year 2485 of the Imperial Calendar, a large greenskin army invaded Ostermark. Prince Hertwig, who had just inherited the title of Elector, took to the battlefield and commanded the Ostermark army to fight against this WAAAGH!! Since the prince was less than years old at that time and had never commanded a battle before, Kessler, the Grand Master of the Knights of the Eternal Light, proposed that he take over the command of the entire army.

Feeling slighted, the prince refused the request and insisted on commanding the battle himself. In response to the prince's stubbornness, Kessler led the Knights of the Everlight away from the battlefield, leaving the prince and his army alone to face the greenskin frenzy. In the end, the Ostermark army won a bitter victory, winning the battle with difficulty without the support of heavy cavalry, but at the same time they paid a heavy price for it and have never recovered from this Pyrrhic victory.

Since then, "Hertwig's Folly" has become a famous joke in the empire. Although he once became a laughing stock, Prince Hertwig, who suffered a huge blow, did not fall into despair. Instead, he fully learned from the lesson and became an excellent commander with a steady style. In the recent election meeting, Prince Hertwig voted for Boris in the first round of voting because he believed that the empire needed a mature and reliable leader, not a playboy who was a few years younger than him.

If An Jiyue hadn't messed things up, Karl Franz would have met with Hertwig privately before the second round of voting - in addition, Karl met many people - and successfully persuaded the prince to vote for him, and was eventually elected as the new emperor of the empire with eight votes. In this timeline that was messed up by various people, after Boris announced that he would withdraw from the election "out of principle", Boris himself and Big Yurik abstained from voting in the second round of voting, and Karl got all the remaining twelve votes.

After the coronation, Karl first announced as the emperor that the Electorate status of the Konigwald family would be officially abolished, and Vanmier von Laukoff was appointed as the new Elector of Ostland. The second thing the new emperor did was to announce that he would personally lead the Reikland army north to support the Nordland that was being plundered by the Norse pirates.

Also heading north was a team of battle mages from the Sky Academy, as well as a Celestial Chariot. The Heavenly Mages assured the Emperor that with the help of this magical device, they would be able to predict the Yankees' movements and arrive at the point where the Norsemen were about to land in large numbers to ambush them.

Of course, none of the above had anything to do with Prince Hertwig. After the new emperor was crowned, the prince returned to Beck Harbor by ship, preparing to deal with a proposal made by a certain governor when he passed through Ostermark: to form an allied force to expedition to Modheim and purify the corruption that permeated there.

The territory of Ostermark can be roughly divided into three parts: north, center, and south. The north is the Griffin Forest (Note 1), the middle is a large area of ​​wilderness and hills, and the south is the Dead Forest with a terrible reputation. The southernmost part of the Dead Forest is Mordheim. The former capital of Ostermark is located on the banks of the Styr River, and across the river is Styr.

Since Mordheim was destroyed by a double-tailed comet, or a giant dimensional stone meteorite, in 1999 of the Imperial Era, the Dead Forest has become a forbidden place for mortals. The ubiquitous corruption means that once humans enter here, they must face the dual torture of body and mind, and eventually they will either become mentally ill or physically mutated, or both.

Chaos followers, beastman tribes, mutant gangs, and the indispensable rats have long been entrenched here. Until 2302 Imperial Calendar, Magnus the Pious led the Imperial Army northward through Ostermark. This legendary figure defeated the Chaos forces entrenched here and burned the ruins of Mordheim.

Of course, this was useless. Praag was less corrupted than Mordheim, but the cursed city was burned down and rebuilt several times, and various purification rituals were performed continuously, but they still could not cure the corruption rooted in the earth.

Regarding An Jiyue's proposal, the first thing that came to Hertwig's mind was the various news he had sent people to find out about Sanhe Prefecture, especially the steep mountain range that appeared out of thin air beside the Blood River. The prince couldn't imagine what kind of great power could create such a miracle. In his opinion, this was no longer a power that mortals could control.

The prince consulted all his advisors, wanting to know everything about the distant Kingdom of Cathay. The immortal dragon with a snake-like body that could transform into a human, the magnificent Changyuan that guarded the north, the jade pagodas in the city... All the stories about the East told of the prosperity and wealth of Cathay, but the military strength of the Orientals was rarely mentioned.

So Hertwig brought in the dwarves again. Although there had been some unpleasant pasts (Note 2), the relationship between the people of Ostermark and Butcherburg was generally good. Beckhaven was famous for its abundant timber and developed shipbuilding industry. The lumber mill and shipyard in the city were built with the help of dwarf engineers.

Prince Hertwig did not get more news about the Cathay Dynasty from the dwarves. Instead, he heard a lot of legendary stories about An Jiuyue and the current status of this young Cathay witch in the Kingdom of Mountains.

When the dwarves learned that An Jiyue claimed to have a way to purify the corruption of Mordheim, they immediately said that Little Moon's promise was as reliable as the oath of the dwarves. Except for Sigmar, the prince had never seen the dwarves so respectful of a human. Hertwig, who was not prepared to use troops rashly, suddenly thought that maybe he could give it a try.

At this time, an Eagle Guard who could speak Plastic Rexpert landed outside Baker Harbor with An Jiyue's letter. After a stumbling exchange, the steady Prince Hertwig decided to send a trustworthy person to see the Zhendan army with his own eyes.

"...The Zhendan army consists of 7,000 infantry, 1,000 light cavalry, 500 knights, and 50 cannons," said the imperial captain who had followed the prince for many years. "There are no militia or mercenaries in the camp, not even one. They are all well-trained professional soldiers. And they are very well equipped!"

The news brought back by the officer prompted the prince to make up his mind. On the one hand, An Jiyue did not ask for compensation, which made the prince a little worried that the other party's appetite was too big, and the poor Ostermark might not be able to pay the price of the Zhendan people; on the other hand, the old capital was an irresistible temptation for all Ostermark people, after all, Beck Harbor was too crowded.

In order to raise as many troops as possible, Prince Hertwig decided to make the news public after repeated considerations. As he expected, the slogan of reclaiming Mordheim was shouted out, and the whole of Beck Harbor was boiling. Nobles joined the expedition with their family private armies, merchants generously donated money and provided loans at the lowest interest rate, and even groups of whippers poured out of the slums... In just a few days, the prince assembled an army of more than 10,000 people.

There was only one question left: which route to take?

If you travel by land from Bakeport to Mordheim, you first need to pass through the Griffin Forest, go south along the dotted towns, then cross the sparsely populated Desolate Wasteland, and finally arrive at Essen. This town is located on the boundary between the Desolate Wasteland and the Dead Forest, or it can be said that it guards the dangerous Dead Forest. Essen is also the last supply point for many explorers who go to Mordheim to search for treasure before entering the Dead Forest. Due to the widespread dimensional stone pollution, normal people cannot survive in the Dead Forest.

As local residents, the people of Ostermark would avoid entering the dead forest as much as possible. Those who entered the dead forest rarely came back alive, and the few survivors either went crazy or underwent terrible mutations. Sometimes, something difficult to describe would run out of the dead forest, and after wreaking havoc, it was killed and burned by the terrified residents. Many residents of Essen swore that they had heard screams coming from the dead forest more than once at night.

No matter from which aspect, crossing the dead forest is a very stupid idea. But if we don't take the land route, we will have to face some troubles other than military issues if we take the water route.

……

Note 1: Unlike in Total War, Griffin Forest is just an ordinary forest, and one of the few relatively safe forests in the Empire.

Note 2: It was about the incident where the dwarves were commissioned to help build a fortress, and afterwards the dwarves discovered that two copper coins of the construction payment were missing.

The author says:

Author's words: PS: Regarding how the system units view their own boss...

System units have cognitive filters for the Lords of the Holy Scriptures. For example, Dustan's subordinates are actually standard high elves, but they will automatically ignore the fact that Dustan is a "monkey lover". In addition, when the Lords of the Holy Scriptures chat, they often say words that only some time travelers can understand, and this information will also be obscured and distorted by the cognitive filter.

Chapter 184: Cordial Friendship Transaction

Theoretically, you can take a boat directly to Modheim from Port Beck.

Of course, theories are theories, but the impact of the double-tailed comet was all-encompassing: not only Mordheim and the Dead Forest, but also an area of ​​Stirling on the south bank of the Stirling River became a Jedi that no one should avoid. Although this doesn't seem to matter to Stirling, which is always the last in the Empire no matter what ranking method is used...

If you choose to go by water, the Ostermark army can take a fleet from Bakehaven, go downstream along the Talabek River, go all the way to Altdorf and then turn southeast. After turning into the Styr River at Koppebad, go upstream all the way to the end, make a giant fucking circle on the map, and you can reach Modheim.

From a military perspective, it is more advantageous to take the water route. Although once entering the dimensional stone contaminated area, the fleet will still face the ubiquitous corruption and attacks by mutated aquatic monsters, it is better than going through the dead forest head-on. However, taking the water route means facing many troubles other than military issues. Some troubles are relatively small, such as how other provinces along the way will view this Ostermark army running around in their own home; while some troubles are quite tricky.

The biggest problem was how to coordinate with the Cathay people. The Cathay army emerged from the World's Edge Mountains. Their planned marching route was to enter Ostermark from the east, resupply and reorganize after arriving in Essen, and then break through the Dead Forest in one go and reach the city of Mordheim. If the Ostermark people took the water route, then the two armies would not see each other at all before they arrived at their destination.

No matter who encountered an accident on the way, it was almost impossible for the other side to provide support, and they might not even get the news in time. The success of the entire operation was entirely based on the fact that the Cathay people claimed to have the ability to purify corruption, and the marching route of the Cathay people was not safe, with greenskins, trolls, rats and even worse things all along the way.

Secondly, An Jiyue mentioned in a letter to Prince Hertwig that the people of Cathay had a way to resist the deadly radiation emitted by the dimensional stone, and they prepared a large number of amulets and other necessary equipment for this purpose, and even prepared the Imperials' share. If the two armies were to meet in Essen, the people of Cathay could just hand over the things to the Imperials in person. If they went by water, how would this batch of vital supplies be delivered to the people of Ostermark?

This is protective equipment prepared for tens of thousands of people. The Yingyang Guards cannot carry so many things.

After much deliberation, Prince Hertwig wrote another letter to An Jiuyue, expressing his hope to obtain some samples of protective equipment. He would send people to Essen and let the local garrison try to test them.

An Jiyue would naturally not refuse such a reasonable request. Ten peach wood amulets engraved with cinnabar talismans were sent to Baker Harbor by the Eagle Guards who were becoming more and more familiar with this route, and then sent to Essen by an imperial captain who had a Pegasus mount.

After receiving the order from the Elector, the commander of the Essen garrison discussed with the mayor, and then they selected eight serious criminals from the prison, and then spent a lot of money to recruit two soldiers who dared to earn this life-saving money. They let ten testers wear amulets, and then let the soldiers escort the prisoners into the Dead Forest. The commander and the mayor promised the prisoners that as long as they stayed in the Dead Forest for a full week, no matter what the result was, all their past crimes would be pardoned.

While the Aurora Expeditionary Force was still marching at a speed of sixty miles a day in the desolate wilderness, Prince Hertwig received the latest news from Essen. The amulet proved to be effective, although some devout believers complained about the use of such "pagan stuff". Although everyone was frightened by the horror legend of the dead forest and the frequent screams at night, they did not develop any abnormalities, did not go crazy or mutate.

In this case, there is nothing more to say. Under the personal leadership of Prince Hertwig, 10,000 Ostermark troops marched south from Beckhaven and headed for Essen along the land route.

……

In late August 2502, the two armies met in Essen.

Although the map showed that the Zhendan expeditionary force was farther away from Essen, and there were no decent towns along the marching route for supplies and rest, in the end it was the Zhendan people who arrived at the town first.

Prince Hertwig was curious about this. He could see that although the Aurora people were exhausted, they were not tired. That is to say, An Jiyue did not rely on continuous forced marches to achieve this. On the contrary, the Ostermark army he brought was generally not in good condition. In order to gather more troops, his army was filled with a large number of noble private soldiers, free militia companies and whippers. Although this mob was enthusiastic, it was not a qualified army.

Of the 10,000 imperial troops, provincial infantry, light cavalry, and imperial knights accounted for less than half, and the rest were basically some, well, guys who couldn't bear to be criticized too much. The most outrageous thing was that halfway through, a group of Ugor cavalrymen who brought their own weapons and dry food came to surrender. According to them, they originally lived in the southern state of Kislev and made a living by farming. When the news came that Prager had signed a military support agreement with the Heavenly Court, a certain boy immediately seized their land in the name of "investigating separatists", and the Ice and Snow Royal Court refused to do them justice.

The Ugors had no choice but to run away with their families to Ostermark, which was separated from the Southern Province by a river. When they learned that Prince Hertwig had announced that he would work with the allies of Cathay to recover Modheim, these desperate unfortunates quickly ran over with their remaining belongings and joined the prince's army. They did not need military pay, but only food. Their only request was that after meeting the Cathay people, they hoped that the prince would allow them to switch to the Cathay people.

Prince Hertwig agreed to this request. There have always been many Kislevites in Ostermark, all of whom have fled here for various reasons. These people have made the already poor security situation in Ostermark even worse, and Prince Hertwig was eager for someone to help take them in.

"General, should our army allow these barbarians to enter the camp?" asked a captain with his hands crossed who came to report.

"No, let them camp alone," An Jiyue touched her smooth white chin, "Also, send them some supplies. I guess they are running out of food... Give them 300 dan of food first. I remember there was a cart of bacon in the baggage. It got choked due to improper storage? Give it to them too. It's not like they can't eat it anyway."

After dealing with the Ugor people, An Jiyue hosted a banquet in her camp to entertain Prince Hertwig. This was not the first time they had met. The girl had met the prince once before in Altdorf. Of course, she was "Deedlit" at that time, and she even slashed the prince's hand with a sword...

The first half of the banquet was basically just some boring pleasantries. It was not until the imperial people and the accompanying Aurora officers drank a lot of rice wine and became closer to each other under the influence of alcohol that the topic began to deepen.

"What does the Heavenly Court want from us?" Prince Hertwig raised his wine glass, his cheeks flushed. "What can the people of Ostermark offer? Let's be more honest with each other, Baroness."

"I think I must correct one thing," An Jiyue said with a smile, holding her teacup, "I am not a duchess, my title is a duke (Note 1)."

"It seems that you have a father who loves you very much, and you definitely don't have any other legitimate brothers and sisters," the prince said based on the common understanding of the people in the Old World, "How can I repay all this? At least let me be mentally prepared."

"The Heavenly Court doesn't ask for much," the Jiedushi put down his wine glass, "a promise, that's all."

"What promise?"

"When Westerland returns to the Empire," the alchemist girl paused, "Ostermark needs to stand on the side of the victor and support the new owner of Marienburg to become the Elector."

"Duke," Hertwig swirled his glass, even though it was filled with Chinese yellow wine instead of wine, "The people of the Empire will not accept an elector swearing allegiance to the Dragon Emperor at the same time."

"Your worries are unnecessary. The elector can only pledge allegiance to the emperor of the empire."

"Then... it's a pleasure to work with you."

……

Note 1: The titles of nobility in Europe are divided by gender, and each has its own proper noun. For example, a duke is Duke, and a duchess is Duchess, which are two different titles. Simply put, female titles are incomplete nobles, and the holders of female titles must get married and then exercise power together with their husbands. A similar example is Queen, who is an incomplete royal power, and must marry to fully exercise the power of a king. Generally speaking, if a female noble has a title, it is basically a baroness, but this is not absolute. For example, King Gustav II of Sweden, who created the world's first modern army, the "Provincial Legion", his daughter Christina was King, not Queen, so even if Christina never got married, she could still rule Sweden.

Chapter 185 Why didn't you say so earlier?

After discussing the price, we can talk about the details.

"The trouble with this operation is not how to capture Modheim, but how to defend it," An Jiyue said to the group of imperial people led by Prince Hertwig, "You must know how it became the horrible state it is now, right?"

A group of Ostermark people nodded with complicated expressions.

In 1999 of the Imperial Calendar, a double-tailed comet appeared in the sky. Astronomers calculated its trajectory and concluded that it would fall in Mordheim. Theologians claimed that this was a sign of Sigmar's imminent return, and countless people from all corners of the Empire flocked to the city of Mordheim.

According to Imperial records, due to the influx of too many outsiders, Mordheim's municipal functions were soon paralyzed. People in the city lived an extremely indulgent, unrestrained anarchic life, and the game became bigger and bigger. There were rumors that demons even appeared in the city streets at that time. Finally, a double-tailed comet fell from the sky, killing everyone in and outside the city equally.

Although there was no evidence, the governor suspected that the paralysis of municipal functions was not that simple. Either the officials of the Electorate were also corrupted and ran to the streets to have fun, or someone managed to make the city hall unable to function normally. In any case, the original Electorate family of Ostermark and the ruling center of the province were all wiped out in this disaster. Ostermark, which was almost disintegrated, was reorganized into a federal system and a new Electorate was elected.

Due to the dimensional stone everywhere, the ruins of Modheim are filled with mutants, mutants, Chaos followers, and the indispensable Skaven. After all, wherever there is dimensional stone, these rodent creatures will inevitably breed.

To the coalition forces that came from afar, these messy things were only superficial troubles, while the real trouble was the culprit of the destruction of Mordheim, the last of the four evil gods of Chaos, the Dark Prince Slaanesh.

"...Once all the arrangements are completed, I will begin the ceremony. Before I complete the ceremony, I will not be able to support you. You and my army can only rely on yourself to face the inevitable Slaanesh army," An Jiyue briefly introduced the main enemy of this battle. "The problem in Mordheim is much more difficult than that in Praag. Even here, I can smell the disgusting smell of indulgence and obscenity in the south."

"Mordheim's corruption has reached its bone marrow. It will take a more powerful force to remove it. The key is that the purification ritual will temporarily weaken the veil between the material world and the realm of Chaos, allowing the army of Slaanesh to descend upon the mortal world," the governor said. "Bishop Sigmar, please sit down and listen to me first. The entire ritual will take 12 hours, during which time my army will fight with you against the army of demons until the ritual is completed."

"As soon as the ceremony is over, the veil will be restored to its original state, the demon army that has lost its source of power will be exiled, and Mordheim will return to the control of the people of Ostermark."

A Sigma bishop waited until An Jiyue finished speaking, then immediately asked, "Is this the power of your gods?"

"It seems that the residents of the Old World really don't understand us very well, otherwise they wouldn't ask such questions," An Jiyue took a sip of the hot tea handed to her by Jin Zhishi, "The people of Zhendan don't believe in gods, we only worship our ancestors."

"It seems that you must have a lot in common with the dwarves." The bishop muttered softly.

"Personally, that's true." The girl didn't want to argue about theology with the Imperials. As long as the Imperials talked about theology, they would not be objective and neutral. "I noticed that there are some dwarves in your team. How did they appear here? I am very sure that what I saw were the Citadel dwarves, definitely not the Imperial dwarves."

"When they learned that the famous Lady Young Moon would visit Ostermark and work with the Imperials to retake the lost city," Prince Hertwig answered the question, "all the dwarves in Beckhaven were eager to take their axes and join the expedition."

What the hell is Miss Youyue... The governor gave the deputy commander a subtle look, and the latter quietly withdrew. The governor continued, "It seems to be the dwarves from the Butcher's Fort. As far as I know, you have a good relationship with the Butcher's Fort."

"For this day and age," Hertwig smiled, "it's true."

"As for what we are about to do, my plan is to send some people, mainly cavalry, to clean up the area around Mordheim first," the girl decided to ask the dwarf what was going on later, "and the infantry and artillery will take the opportunity to reach Mordheim without interference and take it down as quickly as possible."

"After clearing out all resistance in the city, we will occupy the north and south districts of the city with the Styr River as the boundary, and then deploy defenses. I will hold a ceremony on the central bridge. Considering that the walls of Modheim are severely damaged, I suggest abandoning them and directly setting up multiple lines of defense in the city, relying on barricades for tiered resistance."

If it were an ordinary ruin, An Jiyue would definitely try to repair the city wall with earthbending. However, Mordheim was special. The serious contamination of the dimensional stone and the corruption of Slaanesh hidden under the dimensional stone caused every piece of this place to be soaked in supernatural power. The Five Elements Earthbending Technique can only be used on ordinary substances, even if it is only stained with a trace of supernatural power.

As for the division of defense zones and separate deployment, it was because the people of Zhendan and the people of the Empire were not familiar with each other, and even because of the huge differences in cultural customs, there was a subtle sense of alienation between the two armies. Forcing the two sides together would not only prevent effective cooperation, but might also cause some unnecessary chaos.

"A wise plan," Prince Hertwig agreed, "but what about drinking water? The Styr River that flows near Mordheim is also polluted, and the amount of drinking water and light beer we can carry is limited."

"We have equipment called 'Ganlu Cars' that can provide clean water," An Jiyue had been prepared for this. "I brought 40 of them this time, which is enough to meet the drinking water needs of 20,000 people."

The nectar cart is actually a vehicle-mounted version of the nectar tower. A set of miniaturized water vapor collection equipment is placed on a four-wheeled flatbed cart, pulled by two wooden oxen and flowing horses. One cart can supply drinking water for 500 people. As a piece of equipment that only exists in the background setting, the nectar cart cannot be recruited through the war canon. The nectar carts and the matching wooden oxen and flowing horses brought by An Jiyue were all made by the Xuanshui Arsenal when they were producing the nectar tower components needed for the Pingshan defense line.

When the officers of the empire heard that the water supply had to be completely provided by the people of Zhendan, they began to whisper to each other. Prince Hertwig turned his head and glanced at his men, and the muttering sound suddenly disappeared.