Half an hour ago.
Compared to the commotion in Graystone Town, the nearby hills were quiet. On the top of the hill where Erouine's delegation was, everyone was quietly waiting in the pine forest. Due to the fear of the harpies circling in the sky, no one dared to light a fire or do anything out of the ordinary. They even had to speak softly. Everyone was waiting for the sky to turn completely dark.
But before that, time became extraordinarily dull and long. Some people were whispering, some were eating dry food to maintain their strength. In the forest, four Knight of the inner court were discussing the matter of the North Mountain Sentry Post. Romaine was telling a story to the Grand Duke of Grinoires's daughter. The latter looked at Romaine with admiration. Romaine had a special ability to tell stories that had not happened yet. She was talking about her merchant group, the merchant ships with huge sails that looked like clouds crossing the shining sea, following the waterway to the bustling port and the wild areas. She talked about the giant beasts that lurked in the distant sea, the storms that brewed on the surface of the sea, the strange fish, and the wonders that were rarely seen in a mortal's life. Although she had never been to those places, she talked about them as if she had seen them with her own eyes. Soon, other people gathered around her. Brando saw Sugar Pot, Dilferi, and Hipamira, the three loyal Roman listeners. Then, Chiara and Princess Magadal joined in.
The Duke's daughter was counting the stars with Yinide. The strange starry sky of Wohnde always shone from the east to the west. The night sky was like a black cloth sprinkled with gemstone fragments, shining brightly. A long river of stars had faintly appeared, as if announcing the final arrival of the night. But when the light of the stars and the moon converged, the outside of the forest became brighter, and the silvery valley emitted a faint light under the night sky.
Before night fell, Brendel had been asking Cooper about the situation in Graystone Town. The latter also wanted to take advantage of the night to break out of the encirclement, but the defenses in Graystone Town were very tight. Not to mention other things, there was nothing he could do about the Harpies in the sky. He did not know much about the current situation in Graystone Town. When Brando asked, he could only vaguely answer a few questions. But as a local noble, he knew Graystone Town very well. He knew where the market was, where the open streets were, where the barracks and towers were, and where the Holy Cathedral was. He knew all about it and could even draw a simple map.
Brando's questions were very detailed, which made Cooper very puzzled. He could not help but ask, "Count, are you sure you can take Graystone Town?"
"It's hard to say. Everything will only be known after nightfall," Brando replied.
"Count, the Jorgendy Ridge troops stationed in Graystone Town are not weaker than us. They have the advantage of defense. The individual combat power of the harpies and cavemen is also stronger than our swordsmen and spearmen. Of course, they may not be as strong as your army, but according to my observation, you didn't bring many guards with you, right?" Cooper asked carefully.
In Aouine, especially in the south, the nobles' spearmen were at most equivalent to the first tier of soldiers, and their average standard was even lower than the infantry swordsmen and spearmen of the local legions. But in Kirrlutz, the nobles' private soldiers were slightly stronger, and could be compared to the swordsmen of the first and second tier legions in Aouine. They belonged to the second tier of soldiers like the Subterrane Dwellers, but there were differences in strength between the same tier of soldiers. The Subterrane Dwellers belonged to the upper middle tier of the second tier of soldiers, while the Kirrlutz nobles' spearmen and swordsmen could at most be considered as a second tier of soldiers. The human army was slightly better in terms of discipline, but in terms of individual combat power, the difference was too great. The advantage of discipline was often obvious in large legions, but in small scale battles and ambushes, individual strength could determine the outcome of a battle.
Not to mention, there were harpies and razor boars in Jorgendy Ridge, which were true rank 3 creatures. If there were one or two Nest Lords or Minotaurs in the town, it would be a disaster for the nobles' army.
The Shadel cavemen were not considered strong in the underground of Jorgendy Ridge, but at the same scale, they were comparable to the local army of Cruz. Like the lords that Brando was familiar with in history, such as Troch, 'King of the Blind' Shadek, or 'Beast Tamer' Silica, their armies could fight against the border army of the Kingdom of God. As for existences like Geralt and Medusa, if they went all out, even the frontline army of the Kingdom of God might not be able to deal with them alone.
"Knight, what do you think we should do?" Brando asked.
"I think we should think of a way to go around them … We have fewer people, and they might not be able to find us if we walk through the hills." Cooper thought for a moment and answered hesitantly, as if even he felt that his suggestion was not that reliable. Brando smiled and shook his head. It was impossible for one or two thousand people to march through the hills without being discovered. Not to mention one or two thousand people, even if one or two hundred people were to move, no matter how dense the trees were, they would not be able to hide. Unless everyone was in groups of a few and scattered into the hills, but that would require a lot of space and time. They did not have the time to do that now.
If we don't get rid of the garrison of Graystone Town, we won't be able to leave this place safely.
"Sigh," Cooper sighed and felt a little hopeless, "Do we have to fight? Is there no other way?"
Brando saw that he was scared out of his wits by the people of Jorgendy Ridge, so he could only comfort him, "Knight Cooper, Graystone Town is not as hard to conquer as you think."
Cooper only took it as consolation and nodded, glancing listlessly in the direction of the valley.
Haruz walked through the dark forest, as if attracted by the light outside. He held onto the pine trees with his hands and struggled to walk out. Finally, he saw Lysemeka at the edge of the forest. Medusa stood on the edge of the bushes, staring at the white rocks exposed under the moonlight. But the little prince saw that at the same level as the rocks were the shadows entrenched in the valley. That place was called Graystone Town, or so his teacher had told him. Geographically, it was the exit of the valley, but he knew that the town was occupied by some special enemies at the moment.
"Are those your compatriots, Sister Lysemeka?" He walked up behind Medusa and asked in a low voice.
"Compatriots? Not really," Lysemeka replied, having heard the little prince's voice.
Haruz looked at her, puzzled.
Lysemeka looked back at the little prince with a hint of gentleness in her amber eyes. "Little cutie, in the human language, Jorgendy Ridge is actually just a geographical term, not a country or territory. The real Jorgendy Ridge is actually divided into three layers, upper, middle, and lower. Each layer is different. The rulers of the shallowest layer are the dwarves, the middle layer is the Jorgendy Ridge you are familiar with, the bottom layer is the kingdom of the dark elves, and further down is the river flowing with magma and sulfur. In the dark underground world, there are thousands of different ethnic groups. They have never had any concept of a country. Even the most powerful lords often only rule a city and a territory. The smaller tribes are dependent on the lord. Since the beginning of history, everyone has been fighting for themselves and hostile to each other. "
She sighed as she spoke, and Haruz vaguely felt that he should not have mentioned these things, so he stopped asking.
After sending Cooper away, Brando returned to Maynild's side and looked at the scene at the edge of the woodland from a distance.
"What about that Medusa?" he asked, looking back.
"Her Royal Highness promised to shelter her. His Royal Highness seems to like her very much," Maynild replied, but she did not look over there, as if she did not care about it at all.
"No problem?"
"It's not a big problem. Don't forget that she came with the demon."
Brando nodded. In the middle and lower levels of Jorgendy Ridge, the natives were feuding with the demon, but there were also a small number of people who had to serve the demon. They were the demon's slaves. With this background, and the fact that she had personally sent the little prince back, it was not without reason that Gryphine trusted her so much.
There was a moment of silence between the two, looking silently in the direction of the valley. The wind blowing from the hills rubbed the entire pine forest over their heads and rustled.
"It's getting dark earlier and earlier," Maynild suddenly said.
"Because it's almost late winter."
Maynild glanced at him. "The meteor fell near the North Mountain Sentry Post."
"There are many witnesses, and most people's testimonies can prove this, but most of them don't believe it's true. They generally think it's a trick of Jorgendy Ridge."
"The cavemen are looking for it."
Brando nodded. Although most people thought that they were going for Earl Alcorn, he already had the answer in his heart.
Maynild looked at him quietly with eyes as quiet as an orchid. "Could it be that thing?"
"We'll know soon enough."
"So confident? That knight doubted that you could take this place. " Maynild thought of Cooper's face and could not help but curl her lips. Unfortunately, Brando did not notice. He smiled after hearing it. "Don't you know what's going on? Although there are many famous generals in this era, 'we' also have our own means."
"You want to say 'players'?"
Brando did not want to answer this question rashly. He had been thinking about all this for the past few days. Was history tending to happen or changing? If it was the latter, what was the opportunity?
The night was getting darker and darker.
It was obviously unrealistic to approach Graystone Town under the watchful eyes of the harpies before the sky turned completely dark. The eyesight of these monsters was comparable to their distant relatives on the surface. In fact, not to mention the valley, as long as one walked out of the dense canopy, there was a possibility that they would be targeted by them. As a reconnaissance unit among the flying units, the harpies were also ranked among the top in Wohnde. In terms of reconnaissance ability, even the gargoyles of Buga were slightly inferior to them. However, they were very fragile. They were used to jumping between underground rock formations, and their short wings were very weak in the air. This made them very weak in the air, which made them very weak in the air.
However, it was also wishful thinking to get close to Graystone Town after nightfall. Harpies were creatures of the dark. In fact, their eyesight at night was better than during the day. This was because they had slight light blindness, which made it difficult for them to adapt to the daylight of the surface world.
According to The Shire, the only way to quietly get close to Graystone Town was for everyone to learn Invisibility — if they could find so many wizards to cast spells for more than a thousand people hidden in the forest.
It seemed that the only way was to attack.
However, the players were especially good at this kind of small-scale unconventional battle, so Brando and Maynild's choice was usually not that troublesome.
When the hour hand on Sir Cooper's silver pocket watch passed the twelve mark, it seemed that there was a breeze in the forest. A small group of gargoyles was taking off from the forest at the top of the mountain. However, looking from above the forest, only the dark canopy could be seen shaking slightly, and the branches seemed to be slightly lowered by the descending airflow. A total of seven or eight invisible airwaves swept across the canopy and then disappeared.
Under the canopy, the wizards in robes were watching the gargoyles that were enchanted with Invisibility take off. Beside them, there was a second group of gargoyles waiting to take off. These gargoyles were like statues in the forest when they were not activated, and their folded wings were almost taller than the treetops. These were the backups of the first group of gargoyles. If possible, everyone present sincerely hoped that they could succeed in one go and not use these backups.
Under the cover of the night, it seemed that Martha was on their side, and the plan went far more smoothly than expected.
Eight invisible gargoyles rose into the night sky and began to climb. They quickly flew into the clouds and arrived above the harpies in the sky above Graystone Town. The moonlight poured over the clouds, and looking down through the veil-like gaps of the clouds, one could clearly see four black dots that were flying in circles. The harpies did not have the slightest premonition of the approaching danger. They were circling in the air in pairs, using their sharp eyes to observe the vast land. In their vision, the mountains and hills gathered under the starlight and moonlight were like miniature sandboxes. The hills were shrouded in a silver mist, and it seemed quiet.
At this moment, the eight gargoyles had already locked on to their targets. After they climbed to the highest point, they began to make the final turn and then swooped down.
Gargoyles, like the Griffins, were heavy flying units, and their wingspans were far wider and stronger than the Griffins. This meant that they had the strongest climbing and diving ability among creatures of the same level. In the game, the gargoyles were the Tier 3 troop class closest to the Tier 4 troop class, the Griffins were the Tier 4 troop class, and the harpies were the Tier 4 troop class closest to the Tier 3 troop class. The balance of the three flying creatures was almost the same, but in terms of scouting ability, the gargoyles were no match for the harpies, and in terms of fighting, the Gargoyles were no match for the ferocious Griffins. However, in terms of climbing and diving speed, the Buga gargoyles deserved to be called number one.
Needless to say, the gargoyles that swooped down from the clouds were still invisible, and the four harpies did not know that disaster was coming from the sky. They only reacted in a panic when the sharp whistling sound reached their ears.
But it was a pity.
It was too late. The precision of the construct allowed the eight gargoyles to enter the attack range at the same time, and when they showed their intention to attack, the harpies did not have any reaction at all. They struggled futilely in mid-air, and then the cold claws pierced through their fragile sternum. The eight gargoyles were almost arranged in a sequence of attack, one in front and one behind, to prevent any fish from escaping, but it turned out that this was just an unnecessary move.
The gargoyles swept past, and a rain of feathers fell in mid-air.
It was a pity that they were too high above the ground, and the feathers fluttered in the air. By the time they landed, they had already drifted to god knows where.
In the dark night, no one noticed that the battle in the sky had ended before it even began.
The people waiting anxiously on the ground received the message from the gargoyles at the same time. Rogers could not help but excitedly high-five his companions, and the wizards in the forest also high-fived one after another to congratulate him. But at the same time, on the other side of the hill, groups of elves wearing feathered cloaks, wearing clothes that were different from humans, and holding long staffs walked out of the forest. Their faces were painted with various patterns, and they looked like barbarians in the mountains, but their pointed ears exposed their identity — Tree Elven Druids.
A small group of Tree Elves had already joined Brando's Mage Legion during the Autumn Twilight War in Erouine. After the war, more and more Tree Elves came out of the Black Forest and settled in his territory. This was originally part of the agreement between him and the Druids in the Loop of Trade Winds, and with the departure of the Mage Legion with Erouine's envoy, these Tree Elves also came to Cruz's land.
They faced the night wind and chanted ancient spells, and then one by one, they turned into birds or ravens and flew out of the forest in flocks, flying down the valley in the direction of Graystone Town.
Migratory birds often migrated in the areas near the sea of the Empire, and even in the inland areas, it was not rare to see a flock of ravens wandering on the hills. However, the Druids still chose to scatter and enter the town safely. After losing the eyes in the sky, the army of Jorgendy Ridge could not notice these scattered flocks of birds. The Druids flew into the city and landed in the dark places — dead ends, deep alleys, or secluded courtyards. Then, they turned back into human form in a cloud of green light. A few Druids in a group took out blue stones from their pockets and placed them on the ground according to a certain pattern, forming large and small magic circles.
Next, they began to infuse magic into these stones. Green beams of light extended between the stones like snakes. When each stone was connected together, the space above the magic circle began to vibrate. From the center of the circle, a shining silver line appeared. This silver line expanded to both sides like an open eye in the void, but this eye had no pupil. There was only a strange space shining with blue and white light inside.
At this moment, far away in the hills, more than a dozen light gates opened, appearing in front of the White Lion Guards and the Kirrlutz noble private soldiers who were ready to go. Everyone was stunned by the scene in front of them. "The Buga's teleportation circle!" Rogers exclaimed. He looked at Brando with a complicated expression. "The craftsmen wizards are supporting you."
Brendel smiled and said, "Sir Knight, if you speak any louder and Sir Cooper hears you, he might start to suspect your identities."
Rogers' expression changed, and he thought that it was more important for him to hide his identity as an internal Knight, so he carefully closed his mouth.
… …
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