Under Carlos' short hair, his steel teeth were clenching, showing his inner determination. He knew very well that he could never be replaced. This was not only related to his status and selfish desires, but also related to the safety of the Black Earth Fortress. In the past twenty years, he has grown from a small captain to the deputy commander of the Iron-Blooded Legion, devoting his entire life to this land. His knowledge of the Black Earth Fortress is unparalleled, and his military exploits are so great that he is known as the "Border Fortress Blood Lion". "My Lord Marquis, I have a request." After Carlos said these words, he took a deep breath. The deputy commander, who had killed many enemies, was hesitant. "Say." Marquis Mark responded succinctly. He had already guessed that the request Carlos was going to make might be related to promotion to a higher rank. However, Carlos's answer was beyond his expectation: "The war on the black soil plain requires more troops." Marquis Mark touched the beard on his chin and felt a little surprised: "Oh? How much do you need?" "At least two hundred thousand." Carlos clenched his fists and said firmly.
He was ready to take back the fortress at any cost, even at the expense of human life. In his eyes, this is his duty and his commitment to the land. "Impossible. Other defense lines of the empire also need troops, up to 50,000." It's not that Marquis Mark doesn't want to send troops, but he can't. Of his 300,000 troops, 200,000 have already gone to support the Hill Canyon, which is the sphere of influence of Duke Edward Hewlett. According to common sense, Marquis Mark should not send soldiers to the Hill Grand Canyon. The black soil plain is about to be penetrated. How can he still have the time to support others? Marquis Mark was also helpless. The status of the Duke and the Marquis were not on the same level, and he did not dare to refute the Duke's order. Moreover, there were many interests and his leverage involved, so he had to compromise. Therefore, Marquis Mark only had about 100,000 troops at his disposal. They wanted to take back the Black Earth Fortress with about 50,000 troops. Not to mention Carlos, even the surrounding officials of Marquis Mark felt it was outrageous. The Black Earth Fortress itself is a huge meat grinder. If it is filled with human lives, it cannot be attacked without hundreds of thousands of human lives. Giving only 50,000 troops now is tantamount to asking them to die. Although Marquis Mark understood that what Carlos said was true, he also had to consider his own political needs and stance. If he agreed to Carlos's request, the Duke's mission might not be completed, which could have serious political consequences for him. Therefore, Marquis Mark would rather suffer for his subordinates. They are all a bunch of idiots anyway. No matter how many people die, Marquis Mark will not feel bad. At most, he can just ask his nephew to go to the border to catch a group of people over time. Hearing Marquis Mark's words, Carlos raised his head with a cry, and the armor on his body collided. Marquis Mark was shocked by his momentum and felt a chill in his heart. "Carlos, what do you want to do!" Marquis Mark roared with anger and anger, and hundreds of soldiers beside him drew out the long swords at their waists and surrounded Carlos. "My Lord Marquis, don't you still have 300,000 troops under your rule? If you don't have enough soldiers, I..."
"Needless to say, up to 80,000, that's it." At this tense moment, a knight in silver armor rushed over quickly. He was agile and jumped down before the horse stopped. His movements were clean and neat. The arrival of the knight instantly broke the stalemate atmosphere. The knight in shining armor looked around for a week, and finally his eyes fell on Marquis Mark. He read out the order in a loud voice: "Lord Viscount Mark, Your Majesty has an order. In view of the emergency on the front in the black soil plain and the fact that the Viscount has not been deeply involved in military and political affairs for many years, we have decided to During the Black Earth Plains War, all armies The political affairs are under the full control of Carlos' Legion. His Highness has sent 300,000 elite troops to reinforce the Black Earth Plains front to ensure the stability of the war situation. This is His Highness's personal order." The knight in shining armor took out a dagger studded with precious stones from his arms. This dagger is obviously a token of the royal family, symbolizing the supremacy of imperial power. When everyone around them saw this, they knelt down on the ground with a crash, expressing their highest respect to this dagger and to His Majesty the Emperor who was far away in Holy Dragon City. "What...did you just call me?" Marquis Mark swallowed hard, as if he wanted to confirm whether he heard correctly. "Lord Viscount Mark." The knight in shining armor repeated clearly, and every word hit Mark's heart like a heavy hammer. These words seemed to take away all the strength of Marquis Mark, and he fell directly from the horse and fell into the dust on the ground. The surrounding soldiers and soldiers looked at this scene in shock, and no one dared to step forward to help him. The knight in shining armor continued: "Also, Lord Viscount, His Highness has personally sent people to investigate the renovation of the Black Iron Fortress 14 years ago..." However, Viscount Mark could no longer listen to any words. His ears were buzzing and his heart was filled with panic and despair. For hereditary marquises, demotion is an extremely rare punishment. Usually only serious crimes, such as embezzling military expenditures, will be punished. And now, he is facing the fate of being demoted because of his greed for renovation costs of the Black Earth Fortress. When Viscount Mark came to light, his title was demoted by two levels, from the prestigious Marquis to Viscount. This severe punishment was rare in the history of the empire. Normally, a marquis would only be reduced to an earl, but because Marquis Mark did such an unkind thing this time, the dean of the Holy Dragon Academy couldn't stand it anymore, and even used his influence to reduce Mark's title by one level, completely excluding him from the core circle of the nobility. You should know that the gap between a marquis and a viscount is as big as heaven and earth. The first three of the five major titles of duke, marquis, earl, viscount and baron are hereditary titles, but the latter two can basically be obtained as long as there are enough contributions. Marquis Mark, who was once high and mighty, is now only Viscount Mark. His status and reputation collapsed overnight. What's more serious is that the relevant departments will conduct an in-depth investigation into his past actions. I'm afraid that his status as a viscount alone will not be enough to protect him from legal sanctions. At the same time, the fate of Blood Lion Carlos is completely opposite. He was directly promoted from deputy legion commander to legion commander. This leap not only made his status rise sharply, but also gave him real military power. In the official system of the empire, the position of the commander of the Iron Blood Legion is higher than that of the earl. Carlos's power and status are no longer comparable to the past. "When will the 300,000 soldiers arrive?" Carlos took a deep breath and tried to calm his excitement. This sudden change caught him off guard, but his years of military career allowed him to quickly adjust his state. "At most one day, they are elite troops drawn from the Hill Grand Canyon." The messenger replied. "Very good." Carlos nodded. This batch of reinforcements will greatly enhance their combat effectiveness and greatly increase the hope of retaking the Black Earth Fortress. "Your Majesty has another oral order," the messenger continued, "Because Viscount Mark is old and dim, he mistakenly brought Lin Yi, the young apprentice of the dean of the Holy Dragon Academy, into the army. His Majesty ordered Commander Carlos to send him back within three days."
After listening to the messenger's words, Carlos suddenly realized why Marquis Mark's fate was so tragic this time. It turned out that he had not only offended the emperor, but also the dean of the Holy Dragon Academy. This was really a case of one's own fault. The silver-armored knight bowed to Carlos, indicating that the order had been read out, and then rode on a tall horse to the capital, Holy Dragon King City. Carlos pulled the adjutant next to him and whispered a few words. After hearing this, the adjutant said hesitantly: "Commander, isn't this too hasty? Reinforcements will be arriving soon. Shouldn't we wait for them to arrive before taking action?" Carlos shook his head and said firmly: "Don't wait for reinforcements. If those tribal bastards are stationed in the fortress, it will be a good thing. What I am most worried about is that they will destroy the fortress from the inside. Don't forget, their goal is to invade us, and they will not give up the fortress easily." Carlos sighed. Although attacking the fortress would cause an astonishing number of casualties, and his order would result in hundreds of thousands of lives being killed on the battlefield, the war has developed to this point, and it is no longer a matter of casualties. As the saying goes, a merciful man cannot command an army. Carlos is ruthless enough, otherwise he would not be able to climb to this position.