When he approached the front of the camp, he no longer needed the telescope to see the refugees clearly.
There were men and women of different ages. Their clothes were tattered, their steps were slow, and their bodies were weak. They looked even worse than ordinary militias, let alone the Judgement Army.
Nail was even more convinced of his judgment.
However, he also knew that the church had a kind of secret medicine that could instantly enhance their strength. Considering that the enemies might use Berserk Pills, he asked his teammates to set up the gun barrels within the suppressive range of the heavy machine guns. Then he stepped forward and shouted, "This is the border defense line of the Graycastle Kingdom. No one is allowed to break in! Stop right now and stay where you are. Otherwise, we will open fire! "
The group of people had obviously seen him as well, and their faces were filled with excitement. Not only did they not stop moving forward, but they also quickened their pace.
Nail fired two shots into the air and repeated the warning, but it was useless.
"Nailhead, come back!" The veteran shouted behind him. "They don't know what a gun is. They won't stop even if you shout yourself hoarse!"
Nail's heart skipped a beat and he hurriedly shot arrows instead of shooting. This time, the refugees finally responded. However, they only hesitated for a moment and then continued to march toward the position. This time, they even waved their hands to the First Army and shouted something while running.
The shouting was so noisy that he could only vaguely tell that they were asking for help.
"No, stop!" Nail made the last attempt until he was dragged back to the defense line by his teammates. When the refugees crossed the first row of stakes, the two blockhouses burst into flames almost at the same time. The bullets whistled over Nail's head and fell around the stakes, stirring up snow columns and completely drowning out their shouts.
A mist of blood suddenly rose in front of the crowd.
This time, they finally stopped moving forward.
Nail saw that in addition to the refugees who had been swept down, the rest of the people knelt down one after another and prostrated themselves in the snow. Despite the fear on their faces, they did not flee back, as if there were more terrible things waiting for them behind.
"Stop! Stop! Stop shooting! " Nail took off his coat and waved it in the direction of the blockhouses at the risk of being hit by stray bullets. It took him a lot of effort to make the machine gun squad release the trigger. Probably because they noticed his strange actions, another two squads left the blockhouse area and surrounded the frontline.
Passing through the smoke-filled position, a squad of five people followed Nail and slowly approached the strange guests, who were shivering all over. Even though it was freezing in the snow, they did not dare to move.
"Where did you all come from?"
No one responded.
"Didn't you hear the squad leader's question?" The veteran yelled, "If you don't answer, you'll all be hanged like spies!"
"Sir, sir, sir," said someone at last, "we, we are all from Hermes."
"So you are believers of the church?" Nail frowned.
"Yes... No, no, we are not." The man kowtowed again and again. "We were deceived by the Church in the past, but now we have realized our mistakes and turned over a new leaf! God doesn't protect the church at all. It's our fault. Please give us something to eat! "
This sentence immediately caused an uproar in the crowd. "Sir, please, just a mouthful of oatmeal will be enough. My child is dying!"
"The Army of the Church is chasing us. We have to throw away our luggage."
"Sir, I haven't eaten anything for three days."
So they would rather be shot by machine guns than run away? Looking at their haggard faces and more than a dozen corpses with hot blood flowing out of them, Nail felt sorry for them. After escaping from Holy City, going to Graycastle was probably their only way out. He took out the dry food from his waist pocket and was about to throw it to the group of people, but the veteran grabbed his wrist.
"What are you going to do?"
"Give them something to eat."
"Are you sure? These guys are from the Church. "The veteran lowered his voice and emphasized," They are our enemies. "
"But now they are not. Didn't you hear that? They admit that they have been deceived. "
"Tsk, deceived?" The veteran said disdainfully, "When they can't survive, they will even worship the devil as the true God. Compared with the Judgement Army, these guys are just fence-sitters."
"Chief, Uncle Sang is right. Maybe the weapons and armors used by the Army of the Church were made by them."
"God knows whether they have the blood of the First Army on their hands."
"They deserve it. Who asked them to go against His Majesty? I don't want to give them food. "
Nail took a deep breath and gestured to his teammates to be quiet. "Listen to me. Before His Majesty came to Border Town, you should know what the situation was like in Border Town. At that time, everyone was more or less deceived by the Church. But His Majesty didn't give up on us, nor did he regard us as fence-sitters. Should we spurn them now? Of course, I'm not saying that we should let those who have committed crimes go. Giving them food first and then taking them back for interrogation is the right thing to do. "
"Uh, this..."
"And His Majesty once said in the book that the Kingdom of Graycastle is a whole. As long as they are innocent and are willing to submit to Graycastle, they should be regarded as the king's subjects instead of being persecuted and ostracized." Nail said in one breath, "If there are innocent people among them and we don't help them, won't we go against His Majesty's will?"
After a moment of silence, the veteran grinned and said, "Nailhead, I finally know why Sir Blair elected you as the captain. Those who have been educated are indeed different. In the past, you were the one who couldn't even speak smoothly at critical moments. If Ironhead knew about this, he would definitely applaud you."
Obviously, he did not agree with the statement that "all those who submit to Graycastle are subjects". However, all the soldiers in the First Army respected His Majesty Roland Wimbledon and naturally did not want to oppose Nail's decision. "But we can't throw food to them directly. That will only cause a fight. Pick out a few who can't stand it anymore and ask them to line up for food."
...
As more and more soldiers surrounded them, "Eagle Face", the deputy battalion commander in charge of the garrison in the Northern Region, also arrived at the front line. This tall man with round eyes and a pointy mouth resembled a gray eagle from the Western Region. Like Iron Axe, he was also one of the first outstanding hunters to join the Militia. "Who can explain to me what's going on?"
Nail stepped forward and gave a military salute, briefly telling him what had happened.
"Escaped from the Holy City?" Eagle Face revealed a thoughtful look after hearing this, and then asked his men to bring a refugee to him. "What happened in Hermes? If you can tell me everything in detail, I can let you fill your stomachs. "
"Sir, sir..." The refugee swallowed and said, "The Cathedral of the New Holy City... collapsed..."
"What?" Nail was stunned. Even he had heard that the Cathedral of Hermes was the immortal symbol of the church. Before His Majesty's "Miracle Building" was completed, the Tower of Babel had been the tallest building built by human beings. At the beginning of the battle in Coldwind Ridge, he had fantasized about following His Majesty into the Hermes Plateau and occupying this legendary tower that could reach the sky. But this magnificent building … actually no longer existed?
"I heard that there was a big pit under the church and the whole tower had sunk in..." The refugee said intermittently, "The Judgement Army blocked the scene, but such a big building disappeared without a trace. Coupled with the earth-shattering noise, everyone knew what had happened. The Church is going to be finished, my lord. God no longer cares about the Church. The residents in the periphery have begun to secretly escape. We were a little late, and as a result, we were chased by the Judgement Army. Out of hundreds of people, only we escaped … "
"So, the Holy City is in chaos?"
"Chaos, chaos..." The man nodded and said, "Not only the west gate, but also the south gate and the east gate are open. Obviously, the guards guarding the gate have all run away. I heard that the situation in the old Holy City is worse than that in the New Holy City. I haven't seen a caravan enter the city for a long time. "
"I see. You can go now."
After his subordinates took the man away, Eagle Face looked excited. "This is unexpected good news. Maybe we can take down Hermes before the arrival of the army."
Nail naturally knew why the deputy battalion commander was happy. If he could become the first commander of the First Army to enter the Holy City, he would undoubtedly add a great achievement to his resume. But at this moment, he did not care whether he could gain more military exploits. What he cared about was the refugees suffering from hunger and cold.
After expressing his concern, Eagle Face took a deep look at him and pondered for a moment before replying, "The camp can't take in these outsiders. Give them some tents and food, and let them camp in a place where the heavy machine guns can see."
"Is it on this barren plain?" Nail's heart sank. "If the weather changes, such as heavy snow or a storm, I'm afraid they can't survive one night."
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