"Milord," the knight replied awkwardly, "The last news came from the scouts of the Southern Legion's 2nd Column who were resting at the north of Emden. We have a total of 50 light cavalrymen there. They had returned to Fort Menta to rest after completing their mission to scout the direction of Schafflund."
"Very well. Tell me what they found."
"The last news they sent back was that the army was moving towards Paris."
"Paris?" Duke Grinoelsen gasped. "They're going to attack Welland Ferry? What are they trying to do? What are they trying to do?! Are they trying to kill me?! "
He was so angry that his beard and hair stood on end, and he almost repeated this sentence several times. The poor knight could not help but tremble when he saw the blue veins on his usually elegant and calm lord's forehead clearly visible, as if he was about to swallow someone whole.
Duke Grinoires took a few deep breaths. The Ord River flowed through Fort Menta and turned south to flow into Schafflund's territory. Furthermore, Welland Ferry was located on the southern shore of the river near the East Mintae Forest. Trentheim's attack in that direction was obviously not to support Fort Mintae, nor to threaten Tegan which was further north. It was because they were going in the opposite direction.
The enemy clearly had only one goal, and that was to attack the main camp of the noble alliance between Paris and Menta. This was an audacious act that did not respect the Duke at all.
But after Duke Grinoires said this, he suddenly realized something. He stopped and asked, "You said this is the last message from the scouts?"
"Yes, because the Buga sorcerers saw from the sky that these poor scouts had been defeated, and in fact, not a single one of them escaped from that battle."
The poor young Knight could not help but look at the blood-stained helmet on the ground.
"Unless I'm crazy," the Duke of Grinoires repeated, "Unless I'm crazy, I won't believe it. But tell me what happened. If a wizard saw it all, then he must know what happened. Why did an entire squadron of light cavalry not make it out alive? Did Orta have an entire legion of Trentheim's troops stationed there before? Or did they have an archmage among them? By the way, you mentioned that damned blademaster to me. Are you going to tell me that he's a supreme blademaster? "
"My lord," the Knight replied in a trembling voice. "My lord, the wizard said that the poor scouts all committed suicide … He …"
"Enough, are you kidding me?"
"My lord, I'm telling the truth. The wizard was also terrified. He saw it with his own eyes, and … he wanted me to tell you that the blademaster was indeed a supreme blademaster. He seems to have mastered a domain that can make people hallucinate …"
"Well, that's why the Bugas called for their friends. My noble gentlemen are also afraid?" Duke Grinoires was so angry that he laughed. He could not help but swear. "A supreme blademaster who has mastered a domain related to illusions. There's no such person in Erouine. Alright, that's enough!"
He waved his hand. "Let me calm down. Get out of here. When I think about it, I'll tell you what to do. Now there's a damned madman here who wants to lead a group of outlaws to take my head. Let him come, I'll wait for him here. "
"My lord …"
"Get out!"
The Knight retreated from the tent in a panic.
After a while, rustling sounds could be heard from outside the tent. Duke Grinoires looked up and saw a man lift the curtain of the tent and walk in. He narrowed his eyes and saw that the man was the usurper from Yanbao.
Seeing this man, Duke Grinoires was reminded of his damned agreement with the Bugas. "This is the agreement between you and these damned Bugas?" He could not help but mock.
"Looks like you're very angry, my lord." The man laughed. "Is this my negligence that caused our allies to fall into such a situation?"
"Shut your stinking mouth, usurper. This mess is your plan? Now you're telling me that the Covardo royal family has a supreme blademaster who has mastered illusions. A supreme blademaster! "
Duke Grinoires said with a dark expression. "Even in the Holy War, the empires did not send out such a powerful person. Do you really understand what that means? Look at those damned Bugas, they're already pissing their pants in fear! "
Hearing the title of usurper, the man's face turned gloomy, but he still smiled. "They're just some apprentices. The real powerful wizard Sassard is not here. You have to believe in the strength of our allies."
"I believe in your strength, but that doesn't mean I'll be kept in the dark." Duke Grinoires said angrily. He pulled out his sword and placed it on the man's neck. "If you intend to use my men as cannon fodder, I'll make you regret it."
A cold light flashed in the man's eyes, but he did not show any fear. He only reached out and pushed the sword away. "Looks like you're scared out of your wits. My lord Duke, he's just a supreme blademaster. If he wants to die here, then let him."
"Just a supreme blademaster?" Duke Grinoires looked at the man in front of him strangely. "Are you all crazy? Just one Mephisto is enough to make the Cruz Empire suffer. He was only a quasi-supreme blademaster when he became famous. The Holy Cathedral of Fire only has a few supreme blademasters like him."
"The Great Saint of the Holy Cathedral of Fire is already a Sage," the man replied. "Besides, it's not like Erouine didn't have such a powerful person, but that was decades ago."
He looked into Duke Grinoires' eyes. "Alright, I'll find a way to win your trust, my lord. Trust is earned through action, and that's understandable. How about you let my army deal with this supreme blademaster? "
Duke Grinoires looked at the man suspiciously. If possible, he did not want to believe a single word that came out of the man's mouth.
But the situation was obviously not up to him.
"Although I think you're courting death, that's your choice. I won't stop you. If you're in trouble, you'd better not come to me." He replied, "Also, I think you'd better find a way to make the Bugas move faster. I'd rather trust them than you."
"Of course I'll need the help of the wizards, but if it's just to stop those arrogant people, it won't be so troublesome." Count Yanbao sneered. "My lord, you just have to wait here for my good news."
"I hope it's not your head that's sent back."
Of course, Grand Duke Grinoires would never say such a thing out loud. He just silently looked at the blood-stained helmet on the ground and thought to himself.
… …
Matthew sat firmly in the saddle, fully clothed. His shining breastplate was adorned with the Candlelight Medal he had won during the First War of the Black Roses. His spear was hanging from the saddle, and his hand was holding the family's ancestral sword, the Tooth of Taran. His body was as straight as a javelin. The north wind on the battlefield could not disorient this rider in the slightest. Instead, it lifted up his scarlet cloak like a beautiful flag.
"Forward, forward, maintain the formation!" Matthew tried to control his soldiers to keep the formation intact as they crossed the river bank. It was a difficult challenge in this weather. People were constantly freezing and falling, and were immediately washed away by the bone-chilling river.
But no one cared about the fallen men because they could not stand up again. The Knight in charge of the supervision held a long whip and kept driving the noble's private soldiers forward.
The knights at the front had already crossed the beach. They dismounted from their saddles and immediately wiped their mounts with dry cloth. The warhorses of the Southern Army were Grinoires horses with the blood of magical beasts. These horses were born in the highlands and were extremely resistant to cold. However, they could not stand the terrible weather in this world of ice and snow.
Further away, the Knight was regrouping. The horses' hooves stepped on the snow, kicking up fine snow as they moved forward.
Matthew's vanguard was attacking seven or eight manors, fortresses, and villages in the forest east of Menta. For both sides, the attack and defense of a fortress was not limited to the fortress itself. Although the defense system of Menta Fortress was simple, it still included a series of acropolises around it. In addition to the main road leading from Orta to Abies, the manors and villages in the forest also blocked the army's way to Schafflund.
The Tónigel garrison was distributed in the forest. For Matthew, the commander in charge of commanding these local garrison troops was quite a clever opponent. The opponent's forces were limited, but they resisted in an orderly manner. At least so far, there were no signs of collapse.
Matthew understood that the duke was not satisfied with the progress in this direction, but his men were a mess, and not everyone obeyed his command. For example, on both sides of the river bank, there were seven to eight noble knights and feudal lords. Altogether, there were about seven to eight hundred people. However, there were different orders, which seriously slowed down the speed of their march.
What was more serious was that the noble Knight was not only undisciplined and disobedient, but they also wanted to preserve their strength. No one was a fool in this war. The nobles would not work for others. It seemed that these nobles were hoping that the attack in the direction of Menta Fortress would make progress, so that they could win without a fight.
… …
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