When Brando first set foot on the land of the Grey Mountains, he had a very real feeling in his heart: 'Wionmervas Lit', the mountains were like fangs piercing into the sky. The mountain people used their language to describe the mountains in the north, and it was undoubtedly the most exquisite rhetoric for the steep and sharp peaks with gray limestone cliffs. The curved and undulating mountain ridges made the distant horizon look equally twisted. Above them was the light gray sky, and below them was the vast and endless valley. The sun poured down on the cliffs on the other side of the valley, and similarly carved the shadow of the mountain they were on. Far away in the mountain stream, some unknown bird of prey was circling, occasionally letting out a sharp howl that echoed between the mountains.
The young prince whispered to them that it was a gray falcon, a bird of prey that only lived in the Grey Mountains. Only then did Brando remember that this place was very close to Haruz's hometown.
If one could look past the vast mountains, one would be able to see the lowlands where the people of Beale had lived for generations, and the vast plains to the north. On the plains, there were scattered hills and black pine forests, and there was also a huge capital. He asked the young prince if he had chosen this path when he escaped, and the young prince said yes. But at that time, they left in a carriage under the cover of night. Entering the Grey Mountains in the dark of night, he felt uneasy. The pitch-black mountains were like sleeping beasts, and it left a deep impression on him. But now that he was with his teacher, he naturally did not have to be afraid anymore.
The young prince's words made everyone laugh. In addition to Brando and the Roman, there was also Magadal, Dilferi, and Maynild. The Nun Princess and the Countess were the original owners of this carriage, while the merchant lady and the young prince squeezed in. It was not that the young lady did not have her own carriage, but Dilferi's carriage had a special charcoal brazier, so the sneaky young lady thought of this from the beginning and tried to coax the soft-hearted Countess to invite them into the carriage.
Fortunately, the Countess did not mind at all. She was more than happy to have a few more people to chat with. The young Roman chattered and had endless stories, most of which were made up, which was to Dilferi's liking. Thus, the two of them became good friends in no time. Only Princess Magadal stood by the side and listened with a slight smile, as if she had no intention of getting involved in the conversation. She only spoke occasionally when asked, but every word she said was meaningful, showing the demeanor of the Nun Princess of the Holy Cathedral of Fire.
The carriage rolled on for a while, and there was a knock on the carriage door. Brando opened the door, and a gust of cold wind blew in from the outside, causing the temperature in the carriage to drop by a few degrees. Of course, Maynild was an exception. The female Knight sat beside Haruz with her hands on the brass hilt of her sword, her long eyelashes drooping as she counted the tassels on the carriage's curtain.
Jutta's weathered face appeared outside the carriage door. The former female mercenary leader and current captain of the White Lion Guards was sitting on horseback, parallel to the carriage. When she saw Brando open the door, she bowed slightly and said to him, "My Lord, Fort Tisco is in front."
So we've already arrived.
Brando asked the carriage to slow down, then jumped off and closed the door. As soon as he set foot on the land of the Grey Mountain, he suddenly felt a sense of reality. This was the first time since he came to this world that he had crossed Ampere Seale and come to the land of the North. He seemed to remember the scene of running and fighting with everyone on this land. He couldn't help but subconsciously look back at the carriage, but through the foggy window, he couldn't see the expression on the face behind the window. At this time, the female mercenary leader had already brought him a warhorse from behind. He silently took the reins from Jutta's hand, flipped onto the horse, and then asked casually, "How is it? Are you used to the land of the North?"
Jutta was a little surprised by the way her Lord spoke like a master. She wiped the frost on her eyebrows, shook her head, and said with a somewhat amused tone, "My Lord, I'm more familiar with this land than you are."
Brando was slightly stunned, and looked back at his subordinate, as if he just remembered that he had never asked about their origins.
"You're from the Grey Mountain?"
"You can say that … … Before my sister's accident, we lived in Corvado for a period of time. Sigh, that experience made me hate the nobles to the core. Sometimes I think that if only I woke up earlier … … But forget it, I don't want to talk about these things anymore … …" Jutta suddenly sighed, looking at the undulating mountains with waning interest.
Brando nodded and did not ask any more questions.
Jutta was the leader of his guards, but she was not the best choice. The most suitable person was actually Kodan, but the old man was determined not to interfere in Tónigel's affairs anymore. After Count Randner was imprisoned, he bought a piece of land near Menta, as if he was determined to be a carefree manor owner or an old farmer. However, Kodan still recommended Jutta to him. Out of the five mercenary leaders under him, Retto deliberately distanced himself from the core of power in Abies, and only wanted the refugees from Fortress Riedon to live a better life. Carglise and the others privately called him the leader of the refugees, and the Red Beard Batom was infatuated with local law and order, as if he was satisfied with just being a magistrate. He once admitted that he did not have any great ambitions, and his current life was already his goal.
Brando did not intend to force these two mercenary leaders to follow him since the beginning. Besides, he knew that Batom's abilities were limited, and being a magistrate was already the best he could do.
The other three mercenary leaders who joined later were even more ambitious. Cornelius became Amandina's subordinate and was responsible for the logistics of the territory's army. Raban had already made a name for himself in the White Lion Guards, and his military experience in the Karsuk Highlands made him the most comfortable in Brando's army. After the Autumn Twilight War, he became another important assistant to Carglise. Carglise intended to let him command a cavalry unit, but the unit had not been formed yet.
Only Jutta's vision seemed to be limited by her experience as a mercenary leader. She was considered outstanding when she was a mercenary leader, but after joining the White Lion Guards, her performance was very ordinary. Amandina appreciated the experience and loyalty of these mercenary leaders, and wanted to give them a better position. Raban and Cornelius were able to accept it, but Jutta's position was awkward. She did not want to rely on her relationship with Amandina to climb up the ranks, so she was only a small infantry leader in the White Lion Guards.
When he received the mission and wanted to find a commander who was capable of commanding a small group, Jana immediately entered his sights. Kodan had also suggested that Jana's experience would be extremely useful in commanding a mercenary group that was made up of multiple professions and different types of soldiers.
Of course, he actually had a better choice, and that was Freya. However, it was a waste of talent to let Freya be the leader of the diplomatic group. More importantly, she had just gained some reputation in the kingdom, and now she needed to stay and strengthen her position in the southern army. On the other hand, he and Maynild were going to the Empire, and the princess needed a loyal general by her side. Freya stayed in Erouine to partner with Amandina, Carglise, and Cohen, who was far away in Silman, so he could be more assured of the situation in the south. Even if the old nobles wanted to use this opportunity to stir up trouble, the princess and Tónigel would not be in immediate danger. Furthermore, he left behind the Tree Elves and the White Lion Guards, so that Freya would have enough military power to use.
Because of this consideration, he finally chose Jutta, and was very satisfied with her performance. In this diplomatic group, he brought along Metisha, The Shire, Hipamira, the Nightsong Tiger's mercenary group, the White Lion Guards that belonged to Mars, a few hundred Steel Golems, a few flying gargoyles, a few witches, four valkyries, and a lady who could not be seen in public. She used her experience to arrange these different people, different soldiers, and different war machines well.
In addition to the White Lion Guards and the Nightsong Tiger's mercenary group, Brando hoped that the Steel Golems and Gargoyles provided by the Buga people could be hidden, and of course, the witches and valkyries should not be seen in public. Jutta divided the troops into two groups and specially designed a marching route for them. She was very experienced in how to travel in the mountains and not get lost. Many of the routes she designed were used by Brando in the game in his previous life, and Brando was full of praise for them.
After more than a week of travel, Brando could completely confirm that it was a waste of talent to let this lady be an infantry leader. Some people were born to be mercenary leaders, elite division commanders, and Jutta was no doubt such a talent.
Then Brando looked up at the long line of people on the narrow mountain road. It was mainly made up of five carriages. The first carriage in front carried the envoys of Count Eke and Count Janilasu, the second carriage carried the meatball son of Duke Karsuk, the third carriage carried the daughter of Duke Viero and the seven or eight year old little girl of the Grinoires family, and the fourth carriage was the carriage of a certain merchant lady. These carriages were all accompanied by several attendants, and the White Lion Guards, which made the originally narrow mountain road very congested.
This was because Brando had wisely placed the hundreds of envoys at the back of the convoy, leaving only a small group of cavalry in front to open the road. Otherwise, they would have blocked the mountain road and would not be able to move.
In front of this bloated group, the shadow of a wall had appeared. This wall stretched across the mountain road, and one side of the dark tower was close to the steep mountain wall, and the other side seemed to be hanging over a deep cliff. From afar, it was awe-inspiring. This was Fort Tisco, the most important pass from Seifer to Corvado. Brando had been here a few times in the game in his previous life, but because of the presence of players, the atmosphere of the fort in the game was not as solemn as it was in the game. It was much livelier, and he remembered that there was a spontaneous market formed by players on this mountain road.
He led Jutta forward through the crowd until they came to the bottom of the wall. Metisha and The Shire were already waiting for them, and there was also the meatball son of Duke Karsuk, who looked like he was rolling on the ground. After so many days, Brando had figured out how to pronounce this guy's awkward name — Avram, or Auguste. When Avram saw Brando, he could not help but complain loudly to him, saying that this remote place was full of ignorant country bumpkins who insisted on seeing the count in person, and that they did not give him any face at all.
Brando had long been immune to this level of complaint, but he still had some doubts in his heart. Generally speaking, these soldiers would not easily offend nobles. After all, in this era, there were not many who dared to pretend to be nobles. According to Avram, either someone was deliberately making things difficult for them, or something had happened in the fort.
He cast a questioning look at Metisha and The Shire. The little elven princess frowned and replied softly, "Judging from their tone, it seems like there's a thief in the fort."
[There are not only soldiers and officers in this fortress, but there are also their families and villagers living nearby. It's not like this place is too big or too small. It's not like there are only soldiers and officers in this fortress. There are also their families and villagers living nearby. It's not like this place is too big or too small. If there's a burglar, then this place has to be guarded for 365 days in a year, and 24 hours a day.]
However, The Shire was obviously more familiar with the ways of the world. He hurriedly explained with a smile, "My lord, I've asked. I'm afraid that Mr. Avram has misunderstood something. I heard that the thief stole something from the owner of this place. That's why the situation is like this."
Brando finally understood. A nobleman, especially a military one, was actually patronized by a thief in his own territory. Anyone would be furious if they were in his place. Although in many of Erouine's village stories, stories about the Thief of God and the Nightingale were exaggerated to the extreme, and these incarnations of justice seemed to be specifically targeting the nobles. They were chivalrous, and they robbed the rich to help the poor. But in fact, those who really understood this business would understand that most of these grey areas that made a living in a certain place were actually inextricably linked to the nobles. This was not to say that the nobles secretly supported these people's work, but it was precisely to protect the nobles' rights and interests from being infringed upon. Most of the time, the nobles were well aware of how many thieves there were in the area, and what the identity of these thieves were. Other than that, the nobles basically minded their own business.
Therefore, the person who committed this crime was definitely an outsider. But Brando was curious, and he wondered who was so daring.
Soon, the guards verified their identities, lowered the drawbridge, and opened the gate, allowing them to enter the fortress. Brando stared at the slowly rising gate, and he knew that the so-called identity verification was just a pretense. Most of the time before this was just to report to the viscount. The guards below were unwilling to bear the responsibility, so they asked the viscount to personally let them pass.
But what Brando did not know was that the daring bandit he muttered was really a local, and not an outsider.
Inside Castle Tisco, two carriages were parked under the shade of a tree. Although the so-called shade was only left with a few lonely withered leaves, they still hadn't fallen to the ground. Outside the carriages, there were many servants. At first glance, these servants didn't look like those who came from the countryside. Although they looked bright and clean, they looked lazy at first glance, as if they still had the habit of idling around before they became nobles' servants. These servants were well-trained. Their masters did not open the door to get down from the carriage, so they stood in two rows in front of the carriages. They did not say a word and looked straight ahead, like two rows of puppets that were about to take root on the ground.
As for the two carriages, the emblem on one had been removed, and the coat of arms on the other was a black wolf. In fact, the wolf emblem alone was enough to stop anyone in Castle Tisk, because it was the emblem of the Gray Mountain Family.
Two young people were sitting in the carriage.
To be exact, two young ladies.
One was a seventeen or eighteen years old noble lady, and the other was a young girl with curly hair under a huge scholar's hat and thick glasses, like an old pedant. However, she was very short, like a dwarf, and even her breasts had not started to develop. At first glance, it was obvious that she was a real loli, and judging from her age, she seemed to be no more than eleven or twelve years old.
The two were obviously talking, but what was surprising was that the one who led the conversation was the little girl who looked like she had not even changed her teeth yet.
She said, "So slow, so slow, I hate people who are not punctual."
The noble lady was obviously worried, and asked carefully, "Chiara, they seem to have found something missing."
"Of course they will find it," the loli replied matter-of-factly, "That viscount is not an idiot."
"But won't we get into trouble?"
"Troublesome? Of course not." Chiyara spun a card-like object in her hand and looked at it with interest. "I'm just a little interested in this thing. Would he dare to disobey me if I asked him to give it to me? I just don't want to owe him a favor, so I had to do it myself. Besides, things like mistakes and whatnot have not appeared in my dictionary. "
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