The Lord Of Blood Hill

On the fifth day of the siege, Jonathan personally leads the main army and arrives outside Cellarwine City.

The armies of several other dukes also arrive one after another. Jonathan is furious that the defenders allowed Viscount Cronin into the city.

But with Cronin's side present, Jonathan doesn't dare reprimand the legion commanders to their faces.

Jonathan immediately convenes a military meeting and asks about the current situation in Cellarwine City.

The garrison legion commander previously responsible for the attack steps forward to report. "According to our intelligence, Arius suddenly seized Cellarwine City with the support of the Peace Haven rebels."

"He used the embedded agents Peace Haven planted in the city long ago to take control of the entire city's situation."

"But they are short on troops, so they can only spend heavily to recruit mercenary guards in the city."

"In addition, Arius has officially declared himself king."

"In the name of the king, he has pardoned the serfs in the city and conscripted a group of serf soldiers..."

Jonathan raises his hand and interrupts him, correcting him sternly. "Arius is a false king. Watch your wording."

With that, he sweeps his gaze over everyone present.

The dukes don't respond. They only lower their heads and think about their own matters.

Jonathan is deeply displeased by everyone's reaction, but he can only suppress his anger and ask the garrison legion commander from earlier in an unfriendly tone.

"You mean the ones defending the city right now are newly recruited mercenary guards?"

"Your Majesty, that is correct, but Cellarwine City has been renovated."

"It also has a large amount of city-defense equipment. We don't have heavy siege equipment, so..."

Jonathan's voice turns cold. "So Vorry's regular army can't defeat a group of temporarily recruited mercenaries?"

"Your Majesty, this... this isn't that simple. We have already found weak points in the city defense. It isn't as if we gained nothing."

Jonathan snorts coldly. "Pass down my order. Remove Daniel, commander of the Kingdom's Eleventh Garrison Legion, from his post, reduce him from viscount to baron, and..."

Duke Marcus, who is beside him, suddenly coughs. "Ahem... Your Highness, I think Legion Commander Daniel's words aren't without reason."

"Without medium and heavy siege equipment, taking a well-defended city isn't an easy matter."

"Now that the various legions have all arrived and the siege equipment has also been delivered, I think you should give Legion Commander Daniel a chance."

"If he fails again, punishing him then would be perfectly reasonable."

Jonathan is silent for a moment, then looks at Daniel. "If not for the Duke of the Eastern Regions pleading for you, I would never let you off lightly."

"Next, you will redeem your failure through service. Tomorrow, you will attack the city. I will equip you with heavy siege equipment, and within one day, you must climb onto the wall."

With that, Jonathan no longer pays attention to Legion Commander Daniel's bitter expression. Instead, he smiles and looks at Duke Marcus.

"Your Grace, are you satisfied with this decision?"

"However, next I would like to ask which legion Your Grace intends to send to assist in the siege."

"In addition, there is something I must remind Your Grace of."

"I am already the king. Continuing to call me Your Highness is no longer appropriate."

"You should change the form of address. For example, you could call me Your Majesty."

Marcus says calmly, "Your Highness, I have addressed you correctly. You have not yet completed the coronation ceremony."

"In addition, you can't be considered to have formally ascended the throne yet. As long as Arius lives, this throne of yours can't be held."

"This is a struggle for the throne within your royal family. We external ministers should avoid suspicion."

"So I won't send troops to assist. If you want to ascend the throne, and if you want me to call you Your Majesty, you will have to rely on your own efforts."

Jonathan frowns. "In that case, why did Your Grace travel all this way here? Did you come here to watch the show?"

Marcus says, "Not quite a show, but we won't participate in a struggle for royal power, nor do we want to kill a legitimate member of the royal family."

Jonathan's expression twists. "I have already produced evidence. Arius isn't of the royal bloodline at all. He isn't Father's son."

Marcus chuckles. "Whether he is of the royal bloodline isn't something you decide."

"Then tell me, Your Grace. Who decides?"

"Once Arius is dead, you decide. After all, by then Arius will no longer be able to refute you."

With that, Marcus spreads his hands. "See? The problem has returned to where it began. Your Highness still has to solve this trouble yourself."

The others calmly drink their tea. They clearly agree with Marcus.

Jonathan's chest rises and falls, but he has no way to deal with these old powers.

In fact, Jonathan is in a hard position right now. He appears to control a lot of military force, but not much of it can truly be used by him.

During the ten years of recuperation, Vorry Kingdom reorganized its army.

The original thirty-seven regular legions were reduced to twenty-five.

The number of garrison legions increased from fourteen to twenty-one.

Among the twenty-five regular legions, five are directly subordinate to the royal family: the First, Second, and Third Legions, as well as the later reorganized Seventeenth and Twentieth Legions.

In addition, the royal family also controls the First and Second Guard Legions, the Steel Lion Legion, and the Fearless Sword Legion.

The kingdom formed eight cavalry legions, though of course their numbers aren't as exaggerated as Peace Haven's.

Each cavalry legion has a full strength of seven thousand men, and some have fewer than five thousand.

Among the cavalry legions, the First, Second, and Fourth Legions are directly controlled by the royal family.

The rest, like the regular legions, are scattered among the various powers in the kingdom.

And among the many legions controlled by the royal family, Jonathan has only won over half. The portion he can truly command is only a third.

Most of them are still watching the situation and have not joined this operation.

He also has to split off forces to block the Iron Wall forces in the Western Regions, as well as the army from Yosui City.

The armies he can bring near Cellarwine City aren't numerous enough to completely dominate the situation.

Right now, what Jonathan can command consists only of the Fearless Sword Legion, the First Guard Legion, the Seventeenth and Twentieth Regular Legions, and lastly the Fourth Cavalry Legion.

Among them, the Fearless Sword Legion has made it clear that it will only block the road and won't participate in the battle.

The Fourth Cavalry Legion is useless in a siege, and the Seventeenth Regular Legion won't participate in combat either. It is only responsible for maintaining the blockade.

In the end, the main assault forces available for the siege are only the First Guard Legion and the Twentieth Regular Legion.

Of course, the two nearest garrison legions, as well as some noble private soldiers who have defected to his side, also count as a force that can't be ignored.

Daniel's garrison legion only recently defected to Jonathan and wanted to offer a pledge of loyalty. In the end, it failed to handle the matter properly and nearly became the warning example for everyone else.

Fortunately, although the armies from the other sides won't participate in the battle, they will provide some tactical support.

For example, logistical preparations and the construction of war machines.

Jonathan is angry, but he still feels that the power in his hands is sufficient.

Two elite legions, plus two garrison legions, plus more than ten thousand noble private soldiers. No matter what, they should be able to gnaw through Cellarwine City.

After a few more days, the Third Regular Legion and the Steel Lion Legion will also arrive on the battlefield.

Starting the siege at that time would originally be the safest plan.

But one terrible piece of news forces Jonathan to speed up the attack.