Chapter 204: Reversal of the situation

Chapter 204: Situation Reversal
Entering the year 3260 of the Morning Glory Calendar, the situation in the Grant Kingdom became dazzling.

First, the news of Marshal Brenner being poisoned to death by the Voda family was spread, followed by King Charlie’s palace coup, killing the Queen, Lady Duran, his son, Prince Chris, and even his daughter-in-law, Lady Jonathan, were not spared in the palace coup.

Marshal Brenner is the pillar of the Grant Kingdom, even the top of the Orc Empire, the old marshal is very scrupulous, not willing to break out into a full-scale war with the Grant Kingdom, every year just harassment of the nature of the southward looting.

Not waiting for the crowd to get over the news from Count Warda’s murder of Duke Brenner, King Charlie even launched a palace coup, but also made a bloody, took the initiative to provoke a civil war in the Kingdom of Grant.

After ten days of time, almost all of the great nobles acted, and the five dukes, Jonathan, York, Roger, Duran, and Nolan, rose up to overthrow King Charles and elected Prince Roger to take over the throne.

The situation changes so quickly that it is soon beyond the control of the Venus family.

The Venus family secretly switched the water of life that Count Voda offered to Duke Brenner, and had intended to remove Brenner, cut off the arm of Grant’s royal family, and by the way, get rid of Count Voda in the south.

I did not expect Brenner’s death, King Charles was very decisive in launching a palace coup, the Grant family immediately broke out in civil war.

Seeing that the Rahl province was in a mess, the Gerda province was about to break out into a great war.

Gascoigne Province, however, as if it did not receive the news, stable as a mountain.

Charlemagne, Baron Harden, and Viscount Anthony, the three members of the Venus family, took the opportunity of organizing a dinner party to start a secret negotiation.

“The situation has exceeded our prediction, the war has broken out, but the enemy and us are vastly different in strength, according to our deduction, once the Duke of York leads his troops to attack Nolan, the royal forbidden army will immediately turn against us, and the Charles Kingdom can’t support it for too long.”

“What should we do now, should we put up the banner of the Venus family and capture a few provinces?”

“No, once we let Roger sit on the throne, there is a huge disparity between the enemy’s and our strength, we don’t have any chance of winning even if we cut off one side.”

Charlemagne knocked on the table and said, “There is also a very crucial point, if we openly play the flag of the Venus family, the Wild Lion Legion may not be willing to follow the Venus family in battle.

Although I have high prestige in the Wild Lion Army, I still can’t compare to the influence of the Grant family over the centuries. I’m afraid that the soldiers and officers of the Wild Lion Army may not be willing to follow us and fight against the Grant family. According to me, we should maintain the balance of power between the two sides, and join whichever side is weak. Only when the situation is in chaos, we can fish in troubled waters for the better.”

Viscount Anthony nodded, “Charlemagne is right, we need to openly mobilize in support of King Charles. The Wild Lion Legion, a coalition of Gascoigne Province nobles, will soon head south to bring troops to quell the rebellion.”

Several members of the Venus family had significant influence in the Gascoigne Province.

Once they made a decision, the Gascoigne Province immediately mobilized, and the Wild Lion Legion, with the Gascoigne Nobles’ Allied Army, came south together to support King Charles in battle.

King Charles was already burnt out and had already planned to run away, but he didn’t expect Gascoigne Province to send reinforcements.

Even the counts of the south began to mobilize, and the three counts of Warda, Cloverdale, and Mesrine joined forces with 30,000 troops to similarly reinforce the king’s capital.

The two counts of Cloverdale and Merrins’ collars are already secretly controlled by the Venus family, and although Count Woda is loyal to the Grant royal family, he can only join King Charles’ side because of the poisoning of Duke Brenner.

Now discerning people can see that King Charlie was suppressed by Duke Brenner for decades, hated Duke Brenner to the bone, only the requirements of the situation, King Charlie must respect the old Duke, only then can command the backbone of the royal guards.

The southern two lines have reinforcements, for a time Charlie Kingdom confidence increased, feel the chance of victory, he decided to personally speak to the forbidden army, inspire the morale of the forbidden army, stabilize the forbidden army military heart.

“It is rumored outside that I staged a military coup! This is undoubtedly a lie, a false accusation!

The one who started the military coup was Chris, it was Melissa Duran, they were the ones who gave Duke Brenner poison, murdered our esteemed old Duke Brenner, and fabricated rumors about the Duke’s will.

Chris, the rebellious son, and Melissa, the lecherous woman, even tried to murder me, an honorable king.

I was forced to execute them, and the remnants of Chris, Melissa, went so far as to openly rebel.

We are the Royal Praetorian Guard, and it has been our tradition for 600 years to support the King in battle. You are the king’s strongest shield and sharpest longsword. In this rebellion, the victory must be ours.

We are the Royal Praetorian Guard, numbering over sixty thousand, the most powerful legion in the Kingdom of Grant. Besides, we are not alone in the king’s capital, the Grizzly Legion of the Lahar Province is fighting for us, the Wild Lion Legion is about to move south to support us, and there are also three counts in the south, who have dispatched an army of 30,000 men to cooperate with us in the battle.

I will open the treasury and bestow money on the members of the Praetorian Guard. After the war I will bestow the rebels’ territories, money, and women, and I will not be stingy in rewarding the knighthoods if they can perform military feats. The next baron, count, and duke will be chosen among you.”

King Charles’ mobilization still achieved some effect, and after giving the soldiers a sum of gold coins, the morale of the forbidden army recovered a bit.

After all, Charlie had been the king for thirty years, although there was a big mountain above his head, and he was often bullied and even beaten by Duke Brenner, but the accumulation of thirty years had also promoted quite a number of capable officials.

He had still gathered a group of supporters around him, and these people were also a huge interest group.

Relying on this interest group, coupled with King Charles’ propaganda, rewards and rewards, he was also able to hoodwink some soldiers into fighting for him.

The royal guards mobilized and began to stockpile food and weapons, built some city fortifications, and did pre-war mobilization.

Just as the Duke of York led the army and was about to approach Nolan, underneath Grizzly Castle, Roger’s middle army tent, commanding 40,000 allied troops, Roger frowned.

This period of time the wind and clouds change, a moment of good news, a moment of bad news, to the present Grant Kingdom bigwigs all set out their position.

As the situation developed, Roger gradually felt the pressure.

Duke York’s soldiers were getting closer and closer to the royal capital, once Duke York was allowed to take down Nolan, the situation of Grant Kingdom would change dramatically again.

Who would be the one to take over the throne at that time?
If Duke York squared off the forces from all sides, gained the support of the royal guards, and the recognition of the Grant Mage Association, he would be able to hold the dominant power of this country.

Now Duke York embraced Roger as the king because Roger’s inheritance was more forward and had a bit more influence in the royal guards.

But the situation has changed, will the Duke of York backtrack?
Whether he would let the soldiers below him stage a mutiny to support Duke York as king, this was also something that could not be said.

The generals of the Morning Glory Realm, as long as they were strong enough, would also stage an otherworldly version of the Chen Qiao Yi Mutiny.

For every lord, the most concerned, the most central right is the right to command the army.

If the situation really develops like this, Duke Roger will have to admit defeat by then, and will have to return to his territory to be his own hereditary earl.

That’s why he must show up in Nolan with his army as soon as possible.

But leaving Fort Grizzly alone, Fort Grizzly would cut off his food and supply lines.

Without supplies, Duke Roger had no choice but to plunder.

Duke Roger carefully analyzed the pros and cons, or decided to take a military risk, he commanded his soldiers to loot a batch of food near Fort Grizzly, gave up attacking Fort Grizzly, and immediately took his army south.

Seeing Roger leading the allied forces south, Waldo Jeff, the head of the Grizzly Legion, immediately decided to lead his troops to catch up.

As a result, he was ambushed and was raided by Roger’s command of the Magical Beast Cavalry Regiment, losing 1,300 soldiers.

The loss of a brigade’s combat power was not a serious injury to the Grizzly Bear Legion.

When fighting with the orcs, even if they suffered more than half of the casualties, the Grizzly Bear Legion’s combat power was still considerable.

But the current situation was not a battle with the orcs, but the civil war of the Grant family.

The soldiers of the main legion were not ignorant peasants, they were generally experienced and shrewd, and had a certain understanding of the political situation of the country.

Immediately after the relatively heavy casualties, Waldo Jeff’s prestige fell a bit and his orders were met with a backlash.

Not only did the Wraith Cavalry clearly object, but the soldiers of the six infantry brigades were also unwilling to participate in the war.

Seeing the heart of the army like this, Waldo Jeff didn’t dare to force the soldiers to go south to participate in the war.

If he forced the soldiers to order them, it might cause the officers and soldiers to rebel. At that time, Waldo would also be torn apart by the angry officers and soldiers, and the Grizzly Bear Legion would join the side of Roger who had a better chance of winning.

As we entered February, the various armies had converged on Nolan.

At this moment, the court of the Kingdom of Grant was in a sad state.

The streets of Nolan have become very depressed, and the citizens of the royal capital do not dare to go out at all, hiding in their homes as if they were frightened quails. They hoped to rely on the blessing of the Goddess of the Morning Sun to escape this military turmoil.

Duke Brenner’s residence.

It has been a month since the old Duke’s death, and the funeral has not yet been completed.

Immediately after King Charles’ palace coup, the Duke of York returned to his domain and raised an army to rebel.

Those left behind in the mansion were all distant relatives of the Duke of Brenner.

Duke Brenner is now one hundred and sixty years old, his oldest son died of illness a hundred years ago, and his youngest daughter is only four or five years old. Because he lived for too long, the Duke’s descendants were very numerous, and the generations were somewhat confused.

Many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, Duke Brenner do not recognize, the kinship relationship also seems a little distant.

Recently this month, the king’s capital was in a mess, and Duke Brenner’s funeral was not organized.

His coffin was placed on the hearth, and the large ducal residence was already very cold.

The beautiful maids of honor have been carried away by the soldiers, the ducal residence has been robbed several times, and the servants have been scattered.

Late at night, a middle-aged man with a thin figure walked to the coffin of Duke Brenner.

Only to see his hands glow slightly, released a nine-ringed magic to lift the confinement, the coffin bloomed with a ghostly blue light, the coffin lid even opened automatically, and Duke Brenner even slowly sat up.

“Pansy, how is the situation?”

“It’s as bad as it can get, Charlie is really a waste, after being the king for thirty years, he can’t even control the situation. He is only proficient in political struggles and court intrigues, if there were no external enemies, he could barely hold his position.

But now we have a lot of external threats, the Orc Empire, the Rhine Kingdom, the cultists, and the secretly hidden members of the Venus family.

We need a lion to lead in order to survive in the jungle.

Charlie is not a lion, he can only be considered a wild dog, but has the mind of a fox, and will only fight for power, with little sense of the big picture.”

“But he is my son.”

“Uncle Brenner, the situation has developed to the point where it’s time to make up your mind. Back then, I agreed with you and supported Charlie’s succession to the throne, giving up the more capable Philip, Roger.

But Charlie is obviously a pile of stinking shit, and this time I will support Roger.

There’s also good news, Roger has been promoted to the ninth rank of Epic Knight. At his age, he has the potential to become a Legend. Uncle Brenner, it’s time to put aside your selfishness and plan for the Grant family, your descendants are not just Charlie, think about Little York, think about Isabel. They are likewise your children, you should also consider for them.”

Although Brenner was a powerful third-order Legendary Knight, his private life was rather chaotic, and he had once fornicated with the former queen, giving birth to his illegitimate son Charlie, which infuriated the former king.

Because it was a royal scandal, Charlie didn’t know anything about it at all.

The only ones who were really clear about it were Pansy and Philip, and Pansy had a very special position, holding the magic power of the Grant family, and being Brenner’s nephew. Philip, the great prince of that year, was forced by Brenner to enter the Morning Glory Church Monastery.

Hearing this good news, Duke Brenner sat up with difficulty, with some chagrin on his face: ”It’s my selfishness that is too heavy, at that time, if I supported Philippe to take over as the king, the Grant family won’t be as difficult as it is today?
Counting Roger our family already has four ninth rank professionals, after my death you guys can unite together and should be able to stabilize the situation. But beware of Duke Jonathan, he is the greatest threat to us.

Doesn’t Duke Jonathan want to fight his way back to the Grand Duchy of Starnic, grant him his request. If the Jonathan family recaptures the lost throne, we will be able to reclaim half of the land in Duke Jonathan’s domain.”

“How are we going to stabilize the Northern Frontier Defense after losing the Jonathan family’s power?”

“Support the new nobles, I see that the Harland family, the Romen family, and the Raphael family in the northern border are all very capable. If they can stabilize their positions, promote them to become counts as soon as possible.”

Pansy Grant smiled and said, “The Harland family had a grudge against the Holland family and had to be involved in the war, the Rommen family, and the Raphael family were all very observant and didn’t get involved in this civil unrest.”

“What’s the opinion from Archbishop Sena’s side?”

“The Morning Glory Church usually doesn’t get involved in the struggles between the nobles, but the Venus family colluded with the Evil God Religionists back in the day, and this time the Venus family revealed a breach, and Archbishop Sena promised to give us a convenience.”

Having received the support of the Morning Glory Church, Duke Brenner was relieved.

The Morning Sun Church was very strong in the Grant Kingdom, with clerics, priests, and church knights from all over the world adding up to more than three thousand professionals, and if the church’s power was centralized, it was a little bit stronger than even Duke Jonathan’s territory.

It was only that the professionals of the Morning Sun Church were distributed in different areas of the Grant Kingdom, making it difficult to gather together.

But the influence of the Morning Sun Church in the lower and middle classes was undoubtedly far beyond the Grant family.

With the endorsement of the Church of the Morning Sun, this time, if they had the intention, the Venus family would have no chance of winning.

After Pansy awakened Duke Brenner, he immediately began to secretly gather the senior officers of the royal guards.

There were many members of the Grant family within the royal forbidden guards, and many of these people were descendants of Duke Brenner. Duke Brenner’s influence on the Royal Praetorian Guard far exceeded that of King Charles.

Even though King Charles hated Duke Brenner very much, he still had to play his signboard and utilize Duke Brenner to pull people together.

As Duke Brenner began to meet with the senior officers of the Praetorian Guard, the military’s heart immediately came to Duke Brenner’s side.

King Charles, on the other hand, was kept in the dark and became a pathetic victim.

On the ninth day of February, Duke Roger met with the Duke of York.

The two Dukes of the House of Grant, commanding more than 100,000 soldiers combined.

The range of a hundred thousand soldiers in battle is very large, and Duke Roger’s scouts, usually put out as far as two hundred miles.

Because Duke York’s army had arrived near Nolan the earliest, it occupied a favorable position, and the towns near Nolan were basically controlled in Duke York’s hands.

The terrain advantage was also grasped by the Duke of York.

The reinforcements from Gascoigne Province, wanting to lift the siege, needed to first break through the Duke of York’s defenses set up in the mountains to the north of Norland.

This defensive line was more than two hundred kilometers in length and tens of kilometers in width.

The four main mountain passes have established fortresses, which are stocked with several thousand soldiers, and there are also a large number of raw troops and food cantonment points in the rear.

After Duke York and Duke Roger conferred, it was decided that Duke York would deal with the Gascoigne Legion coming from the north, and Duke Roger would deal with the allied forces of the three counts in the south.

While the north side of Norland was protected by a mountain range, a natural line of defense, the southern region was flat.

This flat terrain was perfect for cavalry combat, and Roger was again a famous cavalry commander in Grant’s Kingdom.

The azure sky was clean and spotless in the early spring season.

The crystal clear clouds, faintly covering the sky with a layer of thin sand, the beautiful and clear Oram River was sparkling, and occasionally some merchant ships could be seen.

A few military ships, splitting the rapids of the river, like three flexible swimming fish in the tumbling white waves, approached the river recklessly.

There were quite a few swamps in the south of Grant Kingdom, and the nobles were good at water warfare.

The ships were equipped with strong bows and hard crossbows, Duke Roger naturally wouldn’t let the Wraith Cavalry shoot against the battleships, it would be asking for trouble for him.

The three counts in the south, who wanted to free Nolan, had to cross the Oram River and defeat this army of Duke Roger.

So naturally, Duke Roger would not take the initiative to fight the southern army at the river. By holding the key strongholds, he could wait for the allied army of the three earls to attack and fight a defensive battle.

(End of chapter)