Macho Wars

As of mid-July, all 54,000 people from the 3rd Division and 1st Brigade of the Imperial Expeditionary Force had assembled in District 11, and there were 12,000 people from the Tarrance Salvation Army. The army’s heavy weapons totaled 200 tanks and 1 One hundred and fifty artillery.

The navy dispatched two fleets. The battleships consisted of six battleships and eight heavy cruisers, 23 light cruisers and destroyers, and 55 transport ships of various types and large supply (coal) ships.

This large expeditionary fleet gathered in the bay of the Zhibo Dan Islands at this time, once again refreshing the poor worldview of the local islanders.

Among this group of large and small ships, the Lexington, which belongs to the Marine Corps, looks very inconspicuous, because she is not like a battleship, with huge turrets and towering bridges.Looking far from the shore, it is difficult to make a deep impression on this flat strange ship.

Only the maidens of the Ryugu Shrine were very excited, because they saw the aircraft carrier and the new plane, and their era has finally arrived!

The current Lexington is equipped with a total of eight Petrel-type carrier-based fighters, six of which are basic single-seater and two are two-seater for full-time reconnaissance.

In view of the limited level of the aviation school students, this expedition, Dragon's representative army invited to Ryugu Shrine, hoping to recruit some war maidens with rich flight experience, at least ten or more.

Yunlong volunteered and became the squadron leader of this flying squadron.Although the military has not granted formal military ranks to these pilots for the time being, they have at least recognized their status as high-tech arms. All members of the military can enjoy the treatment of middle and lower-level officers.

Counting those flying students who accompanied them to observe, there were only eight aircraft carriers in total, and they took more than forty pilots on board.

While the Expeditionary Force was on standby, the military's intelligence agency never stopped working and passed a lot of information about the Far East to the Expeditionary Force Command.

In the past three months, the army of the Principality has successively sent about 80,000 more troops to Tarrance, bringing the total strength of the occupied area to 200,000, and conscripting a large number of civilians to further strengthen the coastal defense.It's a pity that they don't know the exact landing location of the Imperial Expeditionary Force, so the deployment of troops is still very scattered.

It is worth mentioning that just last month, Sapphire suddenly announced to the public that they had found an orphan of the Tarrance royal family, the illegitimate child of the late king.

The Sapphire King accepted the five-year-old boy as a righteous son out of "compassion," and then canonized him as the Grand Duke of Tarrans.Tarrance was officially restored, but was reduced to a vassal duchy of the Sapphire Kingdom.The local nobles can retain the title as long as they pledge allegiance to the new grand prince.

So under this operation, the Tarrans nobles, who were originally hesitant, fell to this puppet regime in order to retain their title.

For this reason, the government-in-exile also quickly spoke out, condemning these rebellious nobles as grotesques and Tarans.

In order to boost the morale of the National Salvation Army, Princess Karen also accompanies the army to go with the army on the advice of her staff.They want to recapture the capital and then crown the queen in the palace of the Tarrance royal family.

When Karen arrived at Dragon Palace Island, Dragon also accompanied a group of senior imperial army generals to the dock to greet him.

With the arrival of the last batch of personnel and materials, the expeditionary force jointly formed by the two countries finally reached the day to start the expedition.

In order to boost the morale of the officers and soldiers, the commander-in-chief Henry decided to hold a meeting of oaths before departure. The location was chosen on the open space outside the newly built wharf east of Ozuki Island.

A total of 66,000 soldiers from the coalition forces of the two countries lined up in a neat line to receive a joint review from Commander Henry and Princess Karen.

The old general Henry wore a stiff general uniform, while Karen wore a gorgeous silver-white knight plate armor.When Dragoon saw her outfit, a word flashed in his mind-Knight Ji!

In fact, many countries, including empires, have similar traditions. During a major war, the monarch will wear armor and pray to the ancestors for blessing.

Karen knew that he was unable to fight the enemy, so he could only do his best to boost the morale of the soldiers.

In front of tens of thousands of people, Karen came to the military flag with the emblem of the Tarrance royal family erected in front of the hillside, then drew out the saber and stroked it across her palm without hesitation.The red blood was immediately left along the palm of her hand, dripping into a crystal clear glass.

It wasn't until the blood in the cup was almost overflowing that Karen removed her palm, and then raised the cup of blood high and splashed it on the flag.

The Tarrans call this the "Blood Flag Sacrifice", which means the determination to fight the enemy to the end.

Afterwards, Karen personally carried the blood flag and solemnly handed it over to Major General Levstow before stepping aside and letting the deceased help bandage the wound.

Seeing this scene, most of the soldiers in the empire were not touched, but the Tarrans clenched their crowns one by one, and even tears across their faces.

Having personally experienced the shame of subjugation, there are relatives and friends in the country who are eagerly waiting for them to go back and save, and now they are finally taking the first step in the counterattack. You can imagine how excited they are.

So out of sympathy and respect, Henry let the soldiers of the Tarrance National Salvation Army board the first batch of ships and set off after the Oath of War, and then the Imperial Army.

Dragon took a battalion under him aboard the Lexington. In addition to them on the carrier, there were Henry's legion command, as well as Tarrance's generals and senior personnel.

As people continued to board the ship, the huge expeditionary fleet also began to pull anchors and set sail, heading toward the west mightily.

Dragon stood on the deck, watching their direction.Thousands of kilometers away is a foreign land, waiting for their arrival...

Chapter 265 Uncle and Nephew

The midsummer at the end of July should have been the most comfortable and pleasant season of the year for the Far Eastern countries in the high latitudes of the Old World.But the Tarans who endured the repressive rule of the occupying forces could hardly feel the slightest warmth.

In the face of invaders who claim to be rulers, even the country no longer exists, they can only be bullied and squeezed by others like livestock in captivity.

A few people could not bear such a humiliating life, and secretly joined resistance organizations to fight the enemy.However, more civilians did not have the courage to resist, and lowered their heads to the enemy just to linger.

Among these obedient people who are increasingly desperate for the future but can only pass by, Xiaomi Sha is both unfortunate and lucky.This thirteen-year-old boy, like many Tarrance's children, lost his parents because of this war of extermination.

But fortunately, Misha has an uncle who is a hunter willing to take him in. The two uncles and nephews now depend on each other and live in the seaside town of Orphee.Although the life is difficult, it can be sustained.

In the past month, Xiaomi has always had the same dream.In his dream, he returned to the day of his fifth birthday eight years ago.His father, who was a soldier abroad, returned home and brought him a box of sweets, said to be imported from abroad, as a birthday gift.

However, just like most beautiful dreams, the dream is always awakened at the most critical moment, and the candy that exudes a charming fragrance disappears from Misha's lips time and time again.

When he wakes up, he will be melancholy, trying to awaken the "sweet" memory in his mind.

It’s been a long time since Xiaomi has eaten sweets.

As usual, Misha got up early and went out with Uncle Hank.

Since the Principality’s army occupied here, it has issued a new decree prohibiting any Talans from possessing weapons such as guns and crossbows. Misha’s uncle Hank had to keep his old shot in order to protect himself. His front-loaded shotguns and ammunition were handed in, and he made a living by collecting firewood and picking herbs.

But privately, Hank did not completely give up his old line of business.Without a shotgun in his hand, he set up traps to hunt.The prey caught, both my uncle and nephew secretly ate directly in the woods and then returned to the town, lest the prey would be snatched by the unreasonable principality army.

The two of them went out with empty firewood baskets on their backs and walked towards the woods east of the town.When passing the intersection outside the town, Misha noticed that there were many more people hanging up on the wooden shelves on both sides of the road. He even knew one of them.

The man was their neighbor. Misha had seen him and his uncle chatting secretly in the alley behind the house several times, always thinking they were friends.

"Uncle, that's not..."

"To shut up!"

Before Misha could finish speaking, Uncle Hank interrupted him and gave him a fierce look.

Misha suddenly realized that he was almost in trouble, and hurriedly closed his mouth, then carefully glanced at the Principality Army soldiers standing guard at the intersection.Seeing that they were investigating passing pedestrians fiercely and didn't seem to notice themselves, this was a secret relief.

Because they didn't have any valuables on them, they were too lazy to waste time with their poor soldiers, and soon let the pair of uncles and nephews pass.

The two of them didn't go far east, and then dived into the woods.Misha felt a lot more relaxed at once. There were no fierce occupation soldiers in the forest, and the atmosphere was not as depressing as in a small town.

While collecting firewood, the two uncles and nephews searched for the traps they laid yesterday according to the marks left.

The simple traps Hank made are not big, they can only catch some small animals, but the advantage is that it is hidden, and it is difficult for ordinary people to find it. You may step on it without knowing that it is a trap with a rabbit head.

But what makes Misha feel very pity is that their luck today is not good at all. A dozen traps along the way only caught a thin squirrel, and it was still sick. eat.

Uncle Hank's brows frowned for this. He was worried that it was not a matter of luck, but that there were fewer and fewer animals in the forest. This was not a good sign for the two of them.

The two of them walked like this, unknowingly they reached the middle of the forest, and Misha's stomach suddenly made a "gurgling" sound.

Seeing her uncle turned to look at herself, Misha scratched her head in embarrassment.The two of them didn't have breakfast in the morning, and they were hungry now.