Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales Conquering the Pobilic Mountains meant that the conquest of the Iberian Kingdom was complete. Loriste stood on the cliff behind Popilić Mountain, looking at the snow-covered plains and smiling in a carefree mood. The old fox, Duke Fisabulon, had finally been locked in a cage. From this moment on, the Fisabulon Family's path to supremacy had been severed. They would no longer be a threat to the Norton Family.
Perhaps the Hunter Corps would still be fighting with the Fisabulon Family's Ranger Corps at the border of the Muye Province. Perhaps the Fisabulon Family would collude with the Grassland Barbarian Cavalry to invade the southern province. Perhaps Duke Fisabulon would think of ways to launch a surprise attack on Pidro City. But the general situation was set. No matter what the Fisabulon Family did, they would not be able to make a comeback. Even if they obtained a few victories, it would only be an insignificant loss for the Norton Family. As long as they controlled the importation of goods and supplies, the Fisabulon Family might become a member of the Grassland Barbarian Tribes in the Northeastern Prairie in a few decades …
Now it all depended on whether the old fox, Duke Fisabulon, would be tactful or not … Loriste thought proudly. Beside him, Shiward could not stand the cold anymore. He tightened his cloak and said, "Your Highness, let's go back. What's there to see in this vast expanse of snow? The wind is so strong … "
The logistics camp was originally a mountain bandit stronghold. The head of logistics, Wally, had ordered the soldiers to build him a luxurious three-story stone house. But now, this warm house had become Loriste's spoils of war. The original owner, Wally, was squeezed into a stinky cowshed with the lowly soldiers he used to despise. Now, they were of equal status and had become the Norton Family's prisoners of war. In the end, on the first night, the poor head of logistics was beaten black and blue in the dark. It was too horrible to look at …
Shiward added a handful of pine charcoal to the fireplace to make the fire burn hotter. Then, he poured water into a copper kettle and hung it over the fireplace to boil. In the cold winter, holding a cup of boiling hot water and slowly savoring it was a feeling of contentment and warmth from the bottom of one's heart.
Ayer stomped his feet twice at the gate, rubbed the snow on his boots on the carpet, and strode up to the second floor: "Your Highness, I have brought that Seria."
Young Seria was no longer in high spirits. His face was pale as he was brought before Lollister. He did not say a single word. Everything that had happened in the past few days was simply a nightmare for him. First, House Norton's Monolith's army appeared in the back of Mount Pobilj like a divine army descending from the heavens. With lightning speed, they took over the defenseless logistics camp. Then, they surrounded the camps of the third and fourth Ranger divisions and locked down all the camps with long-range crossbows. No one was able to charge out of their barracks and launch a counterattack.
After two days of starvation, Bofinger threatened to burn down the barracks to force the commander of the third Ranger division, Galini Broput, to order his soldiers to lay down their weapons and surrender to Monolith. Then, everyone saw Broput commit suicide in front of everyone. Before he died, he shouted that he had failed Duke Fisablun's trust in him. He had failed to defend Mount Pobilj, failed to complete the Duke's trust, and was willing to die to atone for his sins …
No one was able to rescue him in time. Everything happened too suddenly. The young Seria watched as the commander of the army, Broopt, whom he respectfully addressed as uncle, fell head first onto the snowy ground, staining a large patch of pure white with blood spurting out from his throat. He was completely numb. They had failed just like that. There was no charging and breaking through enemy lines as he had imagined. There was no grand battle, no fierce attack and defense. There was nothing at all. Mount Pobilj had fallen, and the third Ranger division had surrendered to the enemy. Was this a crushing defeat? A crushing defeat where the entire army was wiped out. The commander shouldered the shameful responsibility of surrendering to the enemy and committed suicide in front of everyone to atone for his sins. What about him? What should he do?
As a captive, Seria had been like a walking corpse for the past two days. He didn't care about anything and just hid in a corner, not eating or drinking. That was until Aire found him today and brought him to Laurist.
"You are Fisablun Seria?" Laurist asked, looking curiously at the young knight in front of him.
Seria didn't seem to hear anything. Aire patted his shoulder heavily, "Hey, are you deaf? We are talking about you!"
Only then did Seria return to his senses, "Ah, what did you say?"
Lollister smiled and asked again.
"Yes, I am Fisablun Seria. I am a member of the Fisablun Family. Do whatever you want, I am not afraid …" Seria suddenly became agitated.
"No one wants to do anything to you. Don't worry. Although the Fisablun Family is my enemy, we still adhere to the traditions of nobles and follow the rules of knights. Now that you are our captive, we have invited you here to ask some questions … "
"I will never betray my family. Don't even think about it!" Seria's face was resolute.
"Hehe …" Laurist laughed heartily, gesturing for Ward, who couldn't help but laugh, to pour Seria a cup of Max.
"No one wants you to betray your family. Furthermore, we are not interested in the Fisablun Family. It's very simple. You have already lost this war. The outcome has been decided, and there is no turning back. "
"You guys launched a sneak attack. I am not convinced …"
"Whether you are convinced or not is up to you. It has nothing to do with the big picture. The only goal of war is to win. Tactics and methods are not important. Didn't your Grand Duke teach you this simple truth? Don't tell me that your Grand Duke always openly sets up his chariot to fight one-on-one with the enemy? If that's the case, the Fisablun Family isn't even worth mentioning … "Laurist said calmly.
"…" Seria's face turned red. He knew that he had said the wrong thing. The reason why Grand Duke Fisablun was known as the God of War of the Grasslands was because he often fought the strong with the weak. He used his inferior forces to carry out sneak attacks, ambushes, and other tactics to defeat the grassland barbarian cavalry. In the end, he opened up territory for the former Christen Empire, allowing the Fisablun Family to become the largest and most powerful noble family in the northeast region.
"Have a cup of Max to warm yourself up first," Laurist said gently. Loriste said gently, "The reason I asked you to come this time is to complete the task your commander, Galini Bropt, entrusted to me before he committed suicide."
"Commander?" Seria asked doubtfully.
"Yes." Laurist nodded. "Before your commander ordered you to lay down your weapons and surrender, he made three requests to me. I agreed to two of them. However, I didn't expect him to be so unyielding. After we occupied the logistics camp, he knew that we had no chance of winning. In order to save your lives, he ordered you to lay down your weapons and surrender … "
"He, he made a request to you?" Seria asked in disbelief.
"He was a great knight, resolute and decisive. He shouldered the responsibility of failure by himself. He was not a coward, but a knight and military officer with a noble character who was obsessed with honor. I admire his courage in committing suicide to atone for his sins, and I also feel sorry for the loss of a valiant knight for the House of Fisablon." Loriste stood up and said with a solemn expression.
In the Galinthea Continent, suicide had always been regarded as an act of cowards and losers to avoid facing difficulties. No matter what god they believed in, no temple would encourage or allow believers to have suicidal behaviors and tendencies. Just like the knights and warriors who believed in the God of War, suicide was considered dishonorable. It was something only the weak and cowardly would do. Just like the Golden Knight under Duke Lujins of the Grand Duke of the Northern Region, Chevani, he was determined to die after his defeat and deliberately died under Laurist's sword in a duel for this reason. He could not commit suicide. After the believers of the God of War committed suicide, their souls would not be able to enter the God of War's kingdom …
"Thank you …" Seria finally lowered his head, his tears falling uncontrollably. He cried, cried until he lost his voice. The praise from the enemy, Laurist, finally opened his heart. He no longer felt conflicted and sad for his uncle Broput's suicide to atone for his sins. On the contrary, he felt a little proud.
After crying for a while, Seria finally stopped crying. Schwald sympathetically handed him a hot towel for him to wipe his face. After wiping his face, Seria straightened his body and gave a knight's salute to Laurist. "Your Highness Norton, may I ask what three requests our Legion Commander made of you?"
"Well, even if you don't ask, I'll tell you. Please sit down and drink some Max. I heard you haven't eaten for two days. I'm very worried about your body. If this continues, you won't be able to complete the mission your Legion Commander gave you. "Laurist pointed at the sofa and gestured for Seria to sit.
"Back then, your Legion Commander made three requests. The first was to inform your Grand Duke of the news of the surrender of the 3rd Border Ranger Corps. I agreed and appointed you as the messenger. This is the letter he wrote to your Grand Duke. However, the roads are blocked by snow, so he agreed to my condition of letting you return as soon as the rainy season is over. But now that he has committed suicide to atone for his sins, I admire his courage. So I've decided to escort his body back when you return. You can choose 12 soldiers to be your guards. We will provide mounts and all the equipment you need. At the same time, we will also collect your Legion Commander's body. When the time comes, we will even give you a carriage so that you can hurry on with your journey … "
Seria's tears flowed again.
"The second request is that your Legion Commander asked me to agree to let your Grand Duke ransom the Fisablen Family's knights and relatives that we captured. I admit that I was careless for a moment and fell for your Legion Commander's trick. I thought he was referring to the Family Knights of the 3rd Border Ranger Corps and the relatives of the Fisablen Family. I didn't expect that after I agreed to this request, he would explain that this request included all the members of the 3rd Border Ranger Corps that we captured. I'm very angry, but as a noble and a knight, I will still abide by my promise. As long as the Fisablen Family can provide sufficient value for the captives, I will grant freedom to the captives and the relatives of your family. "
Hearing this, Seria raised his head proudly, as though he was extremely proud that Legion Commander Broput had tricked Laurist.
Still a child … Laurist smiled. What's the point of keeping the Fisablen Family knights? As a knight, he couldn't betray his family unless the family had given up on him. Otherwise, no one would think highly of him if he betrayed his family. Laurist wouldn't have recruited these traitorous knights either. No one would believe that he wouldn't betray his family again after betraying once. Anyway, the Fisablen Family owned both large and small gold rivers. Exchanging these captive knights for a large amount of gold was a pretty good deal.
"I rejected the third request. Your Legion Commander hoped that I would agree to let the Fisablen Family ransom all the soldiers of the 3rd Border Ranger Corps. That's impossible. I won't allow your Grand Duke to ransom them back and rearm them to form an army to pose a threat to our soldiers. Although he tried to convince me with the fact that these soldiers are the main force of the Fisablen Family suppressing the grass-barbarian tribes and the warm excuse that he hoped that I could let these soldiers return to their families, I still couldn't agree to this request. However, I promised him that only when the Fisablen Family is no longer our enemy will we release the soldiers of the 3rd Border Ranger Corps and let them return home to reunite with their families. "
Laurist looked at Seria and said, "I called you here to tell you this. You can go back now and choose the 12 soldiers who will return with you. You don't need to stay in the prison camp anymore. I've already arranged a barracks for you. Your food and treatment will be the same as the soldiers of our family. If you have any other requests, you can let me know. I'll do my best to fulfill them."
Seria stood up and said, "I only have one request. I hope that we don't have to wait until the rainy season is over before we set off. The snow will stop in February next year, and we can set off then."
Laurist carefully looked at the determination on Seria's face and nodded, "As you wish."
It basically stopped snowing in February every year, but that was when the snow and ice melted and the roads were muddy. It was easy for people and horses to slip and fall. However, since Seria insisted, Laurist didn't have to be the bad guy and refuse. After all, he wouldn't be the one suffering.
After Seria left, Bofinger and Malek came to visit. Laurist invited them to sit down and pointed at the map of the southern province hanging on the wall. "The Bobili Mountains have been recovered. You now know the mission of the Monolith Corps, which is to guard the border of the southern province and the eastern barren province and defend against the attacks of the Fisablen Family's armed forces and barbarian cavalry. This is a long-term mission that might take a few years. The Monolith Corps is the number one corps of the Norton Family. Other than you, no other corps can take on this responsibility. "
Bofinger and Malek stood at attention. "Your Highness, please don't worry. With the Monolith Corps, we definitely won't let the Fisablen Family's armed forces cross our line of defense."
Laurist waved his hand and asked them to sit down. "Now that we have recovered Mount Pobili, the southern province's border defense line will have a strategic support. Our family will be able to transfer the Flying Tiger Army back, and our military forces won't have to stay here. At the same time, the Kenz Family's heavy armor corps and the Şahin Family's light cavalry and light infantry corps can also go back. This border line of defense will be handed over to the Monolith Corps. Of course, Count Phelim's Pegasus Corps will fully support you and be under your command during the battle.
"In addition, I will add two Thunderbolt Catapult Battalions to the Monolith Corps this time. To deal with the enemy's wooden shield carriages, you can learn from the experience of the 23rd Imperial Guard Battalion that guarded Pitro City. Use oil cans and crossbows to burn these shield carriages, or use catapults to smash them. I won't say anything more. I'll leave everything to you.
In a few days, I'll be heading back to the northern lands. There are still many things to do there. After you take over the southern province's border line, you have to strictly follow the plan and build all the defensive facilities. There can't be the slightest mistake, understand? " “
Bofinger and Malek stood at attention again. "Your Highness, we won't let you down."
…
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