Iron Axe entered the hall and gave a standard military salute.

"Tiffeco's troops are expected to reach the Redwater River fork in four days, so the First Army will depart this afternoon," Roland ordered directly. "The troops stationed at Border Town will meet you at the engagement point, and I will get there as soon as possible."

"Isn't the town going to be defended?"

"The enemy's every move is under the surveillance of Lightning and Maggie, and it is unnecessary to divide the troops for defense. We only need to combine them in one place and defeat them head-on." The prince paused. "Moreover, Longsong Stronghold needs to leave one hundred people to watch over those nobles."

"Stay...here?" Iron Axe was slightly taken aback.

Roland briefly described the orders he had issued to the Five Great Families, "The reason I gathered them together is for the convenience of guarding them. After learning that Tiffeco is attacking the Western Region, some people may have other ideas. The Second Army's weapons are old and their combat experience is insufficient. They may not be able to react in time when encountering unexpected situations, but adding ten teams of First Army soldiers can ensure that they don't cause trouble. I don't want any chaos behind me when fighting at the Redwater River fork."

"Understood, Your Highness," he replied.

"Are you going too?" After Iron Axe left, Nightingale appeared from behind the main seat.

"Of course," Roland spread his hands. "If I don't go, who else can use Lotus's ability well? I may not be good at commanding battles, but bunker blocking and tank smacking are my specialties."

"I understand the bunker, but what is a tank?" Nightingale looked puzzled.

"Um...it's a carriage dragging a cannon," the prince coughed twice. "But we don't have enough horses, so the cannon needs to be transported by the Little Town, so it can't be called a tank."

"So you chose Honey?" She blinked her eyes. "As far as I know, she can tame tigers and leopards to be as docile as horses. But can cannons pulled by beasts be called tanks?"

"Of course," Roland couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth. "They can also be directly called Tiger and Panther tanks."

Just then, Carter walked in holding a White-tailed Kite. "Your Highness, there's news from Border Town."

Roland clapped his hands, and the White-tailed Kite spread its wings as if it had a mind of its own, broke free from the knight's embrace and soared into the air, gliding for a distance before landing steadily on his shoulder. He took out a piece of jerky from his pocket and let the bird swallow it. The latter even consciously raised a claw to make it easier for him to untie the cloth strip tied to it.

This kite hawk was not transformed by Maggie, but was one of the aerial messengers trained by Honey. They can remember five to six different-looking people, as well as hundreds of flight routes. As long as they are brought to an unfamiliar place, they can establish contact with the return nest. This time, Roland brought a total of four messengers to the stronghold. They can travel back and forth between the two places within an hour, and fly non-stop for an entire day. In the absence of radio, this is already the fastest way to communicate.

Roland unfolded the letter wrapped in the cloth strip and quickly scanned it.

The sender was Wendy. She had carried Lotus, Sylvie, Leaf, Hummingbird, and Nana Wawa to the Redwater River fork according to his request. Also departing by ship were some artillery team members and cannons - this was also the maximum number of cannons that the Little Town's deck could accommodate after being lightweighted.

The prince estimated in his mind that when Wendy propelled the sails at full speed, the cement boat would need a day to reach its destination. Although Sylvie was acting as a navigator, the ship could travel at night, but Wendy's magic was far less abundant than Anna's, and she could not continuously use her ability. So resting at night and transporting during the day, four days would only be enough for two round trips, at most transporting sixteen field guns to the river fork.

Although the number was not as large as the last battle, considering the surprise attack and the fact that the opponent could not quickly launch a counterattack on the ship, the artillery fire was barely enough. Roland took the pen and paper from Nightingale and wrote new instructions - ordering the garrison troops to carry weapons and ammunition and depart immediately to join Iron Axe's main force at the river fork.

In just half an hour, the White-tailed Kite could deliver the letter to Scroll, who would then hand it over to Captain Brian.

…

Roland arrived at the predetermined location the next morning.

The shimmering river water was divided into two at this point, one flowing to Longsong Stronghold and the other connecting to Redwater City.

Since the latter river surface was wider, people were used to regarding it as the main channel of the Redwater River, while the one leading to the stronghold was called the Little Redwater River.

After getting off the boat, the witches who had been waiting by the river came forward to greet him.

"Where's Wendy?" Roland asked, looking around.

"She returned on the Little Town at dawn," Leaf said. "She said there was another batch of cannons to transport."

"I heard that you are going to deal with Tiffeco Wimbledon, the false king who searches for witches in the city every day?" Lotus asked impatiently. "What do you want us to do?"

Although Iron Axe and the main force of the First Army had not yet arrived, the initial preparations could be made in advance - as long as there were witches.

"I need to establish a defense line on both sides of the main river channel," he squatted down and drew a simple diagram with stones. "If this line represents the enemy's advance route, my troops will be distributed on both banks, launching a surprise attack in a pincer formation. In order to achieve a surprise effect, they must first hide. Therefore, you need to raise two earthen houses in the shape of a V-shaped angle on the shore. The houses should be long and narrow, the walls must be thick, divided into compartments, and only a small window should be left facing the Redwater River."

"Your Highness, I don't quite understand..." Lotus said in confusion. "Hiding the soldiers in the earthen houses can indeed conceal their whereabouts, but they can't attack the ships on the river. What if the false king's fleet doesn't stop and doesn't come ashore, and just sails past?"

"No, they won't be able to pass," Roland smiled. "You will know then."

Then he looked at Leaf, "You are responsible for concealing these fortifications, weeds and vines are fine, just make them look more natural."

"Yes," Leaf replied.

In this way, when the cannons are pushed into the disguised fortifications, these two earthen houses that seem useless in Lotus's eyes will instantly be transformed into unsinkable "ships of the line." At that time, as long as the shutters on the windows are opened, each compartment can spew out deadly flames. The sixteen field guns will not lose their accuracy due to the bumps. In fact, shooting at such a close range, you can almost hit the sailing ships in the middle of the river with your eyes closed - even if you can't sink them, it's enough to turn their decks into slaughterhouses.

Moreover, from the beginning, the enemy was in a T-disadvantageous state. Roland thought triumphantly, tell me, how can you lose with a T-advantage? (。)