"How's the situation in the west?"
As soon as Nail and Uncle Sang walked into the central tent, Eagle Face, the commander of the Northern Region Garrison, asked eagerly.
"The number of those people is still increasing." The veteran saluted and gave a brief account of the surveillance over the past week. "I was shocked. I didn't expect the Kingdom of Dawn to be able to gather so many soldiers."
"How many?" Eagle Face did not care at all and poured them a cup of tea. "8,000? Or 9,000? "
"I'm afraid there are more than ten thousand of them." Uncle Sang finished his tea in one gulp. "The tents alone extend for nearly a mile. There are at least twenty unknown flags. I don't know where they found these idiots."
"More than 10,000?" Eagle Face stopped writing.
"You can ask our squad leader if you don't believe me." He pointed to Nail beside him and said, "In order to estimate the number of people, we risked being discovered and approached the old Holy City to investigate. The outskirts of the city are filled with the troops of the nobles of the Kingdom of Dawn. They've blocked the road between Hermes and the Kingdom of Dawn. Most of the refugees have turned around and evacuated to the Kingdom of Wolfheart and the Kingdom of Everwinter. There must be more people in Coldwind Ridge. At least on my way back, I saw several teams of more than 100 people. "
"That's the truth." Nail nodded and added, "The Kingdom of Dawn is probably waiting for the reinforcements to arrive. Meanwhile, they've increased their vigilance in the surrounding area. I suggest that the follow-up investigation team stay away from the old Holy City in case they're discovered by the Patrolling Knight. "
Ever since the Northern Region Garrison had noticed the unusual situation in Hermes, they had begun to infiltrate the plateau with the help of Duke Kant, hoping to obtain more information and to prepare for the upcoming battle. However, His Majesty did not approve of Eagle Face's attack plan. He only asked them to remain vigilant and continue to investigate. The deputy battalion commander had no choice but to give up the idea of launching a large-scale attack. He picked suitable people from the garrison to disguise themselves as refugees and took turns to monitor the new and old Holy Cities. Meanwhile, he continued to send information to Neverwinter.
Of course, he had done something in the past few months. After confirming that the Holy City was not playing a trick, the Northern Region Garrison took back Coldwind Ridge.
As for the appearance of the army of the Kingdom of Dawn, it happened two or three weeks ago.
"Sir, are you worried that these people will harm His Majesty's plan?"
"Hahaha, how is that possible?" Eagle Face burst into laughter. "Even if they double in number, they're just a bunch of slow targets in front of the First Army. Even the God's Punishment Army can't break through the defense line blocked by machine guns. How can they get close to His Majesty? On the contrary, it was better to have more people. First, let them charge the walls of the Holy City and test out the strength of the Church. It would be best if both sides suffered heavy losses. If it really comes to that, His Majesty will definitely agree with my plan. "He paused for a moment." Thank you for your hard work in this round of investigation. Go and have a rest. "
"Yes, sir," Uncle Sang saluted.
Nail did not turn around and leave. Instead, he hesitated and said, "Can't we... defeat them in advance?"
Both of them were stunned. "What?"
"His Majesty doesn't allow us to attack Hermes, but it doesn't mean that he won't allow us to stop the army of the Kingdom of Dawn, right?" Nail bit his lip and said, "If we wait until they attack the Holy City, I'm afraid that the foot of Mount Hermes will be in ruins."
The veteran sighed.
"Did you see something?" Eagle Face frowned.
"Looting and slaughtering..." Nail covered his forehead with his hand and almost did not want to recall those bloody scenes. "They haven't entered the old Holy City yet. They just stationed on the periphery. They caught the surrounding residents and impaled them on sharp wooden sticks. Then, they used the sticks to block the barracks. As for the women, they suffered even worse... "
"Enough," Eagle Face interrupted him. "This is a common thing in war! Both the church and the Kingdom of Dawn are His Majesty's enemies. It's better to let the enemy exhaust the enemy than to exhaust ourselves! And don't forget that we're an army, a sharp sword in His Majesty's hand! It's also our duty to kill people. "
"But it's different!" Nail insisted. "We're fighting for His Majesty's goal, but they... they're just killing for the sake of killing. Those villagers are not believers, but in front of them, they're even worse than prey!"
"Sir, he's just a little irritated." Seeing the displeased look on Eagle Face, Uncle Sang hurriedly said, "You too. Do you know what you're talking about? As long as the church doesn't fall, we can't cross the Hermes Plateau under their watch. How can we stop those people from the Kingdom of Dawn?"
The New Holy City was like a huge fortress, connecting the plateau and the flat area into a whole. The four city gates on the periphery corresponded to four passages leading to different kingdoms. Although the new city was unguarded and refugees could freely enter and exit, it did not mean that the church would sit back and watch the First Army march into the territory of the Kingdom of Dawn.
Nail naturally knew this. He took a deep breath and said, "In fact, there's a small path."
"A small path?"
"When I came back, I talked to some of the refugees. One of them told me that there was a small path that could fit two people in the steep cliff on the outskirts of the plateau. In winter, the path will be blocked by snow and ice, but when the snow melts, we can cross the Hermes Plateau without entering the Holy City. "
Eagle Face stared at him for a while and then shook his head. "Forget about it."
Nail lowered his head and said no more.
"In fact, you also know that this is not a reliable... no, it's an impossible battle plan." Surprisingly, the Deputy Battalion Commander did not get angry. "Let's not talk about whether the small path really exists. Even if we can reach the old Holy City, we can't defeat tens of thousands of enemies. His Majesty made it very clear in the evening cram class that before an army takes action, the first thing to consider is logistics. It's difficult to transport supplies on a two-person wide mountain path, let alone machine guns and ammunition. In addition, there are only five hundred people in the entire Northern Garrison, and the ammunition allocated is not enough to support a protracted battle. Once the enemy is not defeated, we will become an isolated army without any support, and there is a possibility that the entire army will be wiped out! "
Eagle Face stood up and walked to Nail. "I want a war of annihilation more than you do, but that's just my personal opinion. His Majesty and Sir Iron Axe have entrusted this army to me, so the first thing I have to consider is the safety and interests of the army, whether it's the resettlement of the refugees or this decision. Do you understand? "
"... Yes, Your Excellency." Nail clenched his fists and finally made a military salute.
"You can leave now."
Just as the two were about to leave, a soldier lifted the curtain and came in. "Your Excellency, His Majesty's reply has arrived."
"Oh? Let me see it. "Eagle Face quickly took the secret letter and opened it. Before Nail and Uncle Sang walked out of the tent, he stopped them again." Wait! "
"Does His Majesty have any new instructions?" the veteran asked.
"Yes. The First Army has set off from King's City by ship and is heading for the Northern Region at full speed. It's estimated that they will arrive at Coldwind Ridge in 10 days."
"Ten days... it's too late," Nail thought sadly. The army of the Kingdom of Dawn could enter the old Holy City at any time. In one or two days, they could turn all the towns at the foot of Mount Hermes into hell. In a trance, he saw the woman in red struggling in the hail of bullets, as if she was accusing him of what he had done.
"Before that, His Majesty asked us to take action immediately to stop the army of the Kingdom of Dawn from entering the old Holy City. At least, we can't let them loot the monastery."
Nail suddenly raised his head.
"Can... can we do that?" Uncle Sang scratched his head.
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