In the inner city of Firmrock Fortress, a team of Knight and soldiers in bright armor were walking through the wide streets of the town. Above the team, the flag of Count Pompeii of the Sacred Plains was fluttering in the air. The golden-red embroidery on the flag shone brightly in the sun, looking gorgeous and magnificent.
Sir Maryland stood on the wall of the inner city, looking down at the advancing army. After a long time, he said softly, "I'm afraid this is the last batch of help we can count on."
"It's better than nothing," Viscount Carroll, who was standing next to Sir Maryland, said in a low voice. "Count Pompeii knows what it means once this fortress is breached."
The team that entered the city was not the Knight brigade sent by the royal family, but Count Pompeii's private army. The appearance of this army meant that the count finally felt the urgency of the situation from the recent news and made a decision.
Firmrock Fortress was located on the edge of Count Pompeii's territory. Nominally, the land where the fortress was located belonged to the Pompeii family, but in fact, the fortress was directly controlled by the royal family, including the soldiers in the fortress who were directly loyal to the king. The fortress also had its own farms, mines, and mills. Count Pompeii had no obligation to support or support the fortress, but it was clear that the count knew that once the fortress was taken down by the Cecil family, his territory would be in danger.
The news that the ancestors did not follow the ancestral rules had long been spread by the southern nobles who took refuge in the fortress. Count Pompeii could not guarantee that Cecil's army would stop after taking down Firmrock Fortress, nor could he guarantee that Cecil's army would not plunder the surrounding areas to make up for the losses of the war. At first, he seemed to believe that Cecil's army could not take down Firmrock Fortress, so he was quite carefree. But after Sir Maryland's efforts, he finally sent his own army to support Firmrock Fortress, and this team was the only reinforcements that Sir Maryland could get.
"It's completely unknown how much combat power these soldiers, who live like princes in the Sacred Plains, can exert." Sir Maryland sighed. "But as you said, it's better than nothing. These people can at least operate the catapults or shoot arrows from behind the walls."
Viscount Carroll hesitated for a moment, and finally he could not help but ask, "Is there any news from the south recently?"
"I sent three groups of spies disguised as merchants and hunters, but only one group came back," Sir Maryland said with a gloomy face. "Now I can only confirm that Cecil's men are sending troops here, but I can't find out the situation further south."
"They really haven't given up …" Viscount Carroll's heart sank. "They will come sooner or later.
Sir Maryland could only sigh helplessly in his heart as he looked at Viscount Carroll, whose face was ashen and even had a trace of fear.
He had absolute confidence in the stronghold he was stationed in. Even though he had heard many terrifying stories about Cecil's army from the southern nobles, he was still confident in his stronghold. In his opinion, these southern nobles were truly scared out of their wits, to the extent that the fear of the enemy had been magnified in their hearts. Being a person who had experienced many battles, Sir Maryland had a good understanding of such people who were scared out of their wits. Therefore, after filtering out the exaggerations in the words of these nobles, he wasn't scared out of his wits by Cecil's army.
However, this did not mean that he would let his guard down against the threat that he was about to face.
Cecil's men were not as "god-like" as described by the southern nobles, but they were definitely not a force to be underestimated. In the face of the menacing Cecil's army, Rock Fortress was bound to experience a hard battle. According to Sir Maryland's deduction, Cecil's "Skyfire Explosion" should not be able to break through the magic barrier of the fortress in a short time, but the garrison of the fortress had no way to repel Cecil's men who could launch continuous magic attacks from a long distance.
This battle should turn into a protracted battle, or to put it in a more depressing way, Cecil's men would unilaterally bombard Rock Fortress for a long time, and the garrison of Rock Fortress would not be able to take the initiative to attack.
Sir Maryland wasn't afraid of a long and arduous battle. What he was truly worried about was Firmrock Stronghold's isolated and helpless situation, as well as the country's deteriorating situation.
As long as this deteriorating situation did not improve, no matter how long Rock Fortress could hold on, it would eventually collapse.
He patted Viscount Carroll on the shoulder and said, "Let's go back. We need to relax and drink a few glasses of wine to ease our nerves."
They left the city wall and came to the hall of the fortress.
As soon as Sir Maryland pushed open the door of the hall, he saw Viscount Marion Olen, who was wearing a loose nightgown, standing in the middle of the hall with a glass of wine in his hand. He was drunk and talking loudly with the maids in the hall. Not far from him was Viscount Consecco, who was pacing back and forth. The latter's face was full of anxiety, and judging from his expression, he had drunk a lot.
"Oh! Sir! And my friend, Viscount Carroll, "Marion Olen saw the people who pushed the door open and immediately raised his glass and said loudly," I salute you. You should really try this. "
"Olen, you've drunk too much." Carroll frowned slightly and looked at the man who had been behaving more and more improperly in the past few days. His tone was somewhat helpless. "And why are you wearing a nightgown in the hall?"
"This is the castle. You can wear a nightgown anywhere in the castle …" Marion Olen laughed. "Don't worry, I'm very sober …"
Viscount Consecco walked over and went straight around Marion Olen, who was already a little delirious. His eyes were full of worry and bloodshot due to excessive drinking for many days. "Sir, there's news from the south …"
Sir Maryland did not wait for him to finish and waved his hand. "There's no good news."
Viscount Carroll looked at his two friends in front of him in disappointment. One was unrestrained and the other was depressed. The calmness and dignity of nobles had almost disappeared from them.
It was not just these two friends. The other nobles who had fled from the south to the fortress were not any better.
These viscounts and barons were either gathered in the banquet hall or in the bars and brothels in the city. They were squandering what little money they had left and expending their worthless energy. They were indulging in a life of luxury, and there was not the slightest sign of hope in their hearts.
Thinking of this, Viscount Carroll could not help but raise his head and look for someone in the hall. Soon, the slightly thin figure of Countess Luo Peini Gilen appeared in his sight.
The countess just sat quietly in a corner and whispered something to one of her Knights. Although there was a faint anxiety on her face, her calm appearance was very different from others.
Over the past few days, this situation had been observed by Sir Maryland. This high-grade knight looked at the situation of the other nobles in the hall and couldn't help but shake his head and mutter in a low voice, "Not even as good as a widow …"
Viscount Carroll heard the murmur but did not hear it clearly. But just as he was about to ask, he saw the door of the hall was pushed open again.
A knight in armor hurriedly ran into the hall. The sound of his steel boots hitting the ground echoed in the hall. The people nearby all quieted down and looked at the knight who suddenly ran in with bewilderment.
"General! General! " The Knight shouted as he ran to Sir Maryland. "A small group of refugees outside the city. They say they are from the Gilen area!"
Gilen area?
The southern nobles in the hall immediately looked at Countess Luo Peini Gilen who was sitting in the corner. In their sight, the countess also looked up at the Knight standing in front of Sir Maryland with a shocked expression.
Sir Maryland saw this scene and then turned to the Knight who reported the news. "Where are they?"
"In the barracks under the outer wall," the Knight replied. "We didn't let them in. And a group of soldiers is watching."
Sir Maryland nodded almost imperceptibly: it was a necessary precaution.
The Cecil had clearly sealed off the southern region. At the very least, the buffer zone between the Firmrock Stronghold and the southern border was filled with Cecil blockade lines. Even the experienced scouts sent out by the Firmrock Stronghold were unable to break through the blockade lines. For someone to be able to escape from the southern region at such a time … no matter how one looked at it, it was extremely suspicious.
"Take them to the main hall." Sir Maryland quickly made a decision and looked back at the southern nobles who were gradually gathering in the hall. "Ladies and gentlemen, I invite everyone. Maybe we can finally get a clear message from the south."
Shortly after, Sir Maryland and the Southern nobles arrived at the main hall of the castle area. Not long after they entered the hall and took their seats on the high platform, a small group of soldiers led a few ragged and scarred people into the hall.
These people had obviously gone through a lot. Their clothes were ragged, dirty, and bruised. Their sorry state reminded the southern nobles of themselves not long ago. Sir Maryland sighed secretly and then asked, "Who are you? Are you from Gilen? "
Most of the ragged people were frightened and nervous. Only one person stood in the middle and remained calm. It was a tall, middle-aged man. He turned his head as if he did not hear Sir Maryland's words. He seemed to be looking for someone in the hall. Finally, his eyes fell on Countess Luo Peini Gilen. The middle-aged man immediately bowed to the countess and said with a choked voice, "Madam, I finally see you!"
Luo Peini Gilen also recognized the man in front of her. She stood up from her seat and said in an incredulous tone, "This is my butler!"
"Madam, are you sure?" Sir Maryland looked suspiciously at the middle-aged man in ragged clothes with a dirty face. "Is he really your butler?"
"Of course I'm sure," Luo Peini Gilen replied immediately. She glanced at everyone present. "I didn't drink a sip of wine!"
"Well, I understand." Sir Maryland nodded and looked at the middle-aged man standing at the bottom of the steps. "Mr. Butler, have you brought news from the south?"
"They're coming! Madam, and ladies and gentlemen, Cecil's men are coming! " The butler said with a pained look and fear in his voice. "They have taken over Gilen Castle, Conseco, and Calore. They're coming here!"
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