It was May, and Estalya could already feel the heat.
The Twilight sisters were not very interested in leaving Brittany, and Laing's generals and bureaucrats did not approve of Devonshire risking his life to leave the country.
However, the Green Knight, who had always been strict, spoke up. As the embodiment of chivalry, a boy had to be tempered by the flames of war to grow into a man.
Frey Derick was only 19 years old, but he was already an outstanding general who had fought more than 20 battles.
Devonshire looked down from the back of the Forest Dragon.
He saw a dense crowd of people running north along the road. Carriages, oxcarts, barrows, and even trailers had completely blocked the road. The humans were jostling with each other, trying to get ahead.
How many people were there? Devonshire could not count, because the long road and the crowd seemed to have no end. Estalya, which was located on the plains, had more than one road to pass through. There were even more people on both sides of the road.
"So many humans. I can feel their fear. These people have lost their courage to face a strong enemy." Nestra looked at the panicking humans with pity. "They have to regain their faith."
"Otherwise, there is only death, or something worse than death," Alohan said.
"The plague is spreading here," Nestra added. Nestra added, "If we don't act now, the only outcome is destruction."
"Destruction is not bad. Then we can go all out." Alohan licked his lips.
"You must control yourself, Alohan!"
"You must control your compassion as well, Nestra!"
Devonshire had learned to ignore the sisters' habitual bickering, and the young baron focused all his attention on the situation below.
Through the monocular, he saw a group of young couples dragging their children and fleeing in panic. Perhaps all their belongings were in the carriage behind them. In this chaotic era, the husband had no choice but to take out his weapons — a rapier and a flintlock to drive away anyone who coveted the family's belongings. The mother sat in the carriage, looking at everyone with vigilant eyes.
Only the boy focused his gaze on the sky. He soon discovered something.
Groups of Falcon Knights, a team of Brittany Royal Pegasus Knights, and a Forest Dragon flew across the sky!
The Brittany are coming! We're saved!
Cheers echoed in the crowd. Seeing this scene, Duke Karson, who was in the air, couldn't help but wave his hand. He immediately received more cheers.
However, Devenhill could not bring himself to smile. He knew that they would not be able to do anything. Besides, the Twilight Sisters were only willing to come because of him and Laing.
As for Duke Karson, his team of Royal Pegasus Knights was indeed powerful, but this group of people … … didn't treat him as a ruler. They were only here to watch the fun. It could even be said that to some extent, they were here to inspect his new territory.
No matter how loyal Duke Karson is to his father and his family, he's still a noble knight … Devhill couldn't help but laugh bitterly in his heart.
Father, your prestige and strength are too high, too high, too high. Your personal prestige has completely suppressed the prestige of the kingdom. Everyone obeys you, worships you, and recognizes you. It's not the throne at all!
This group of airmen flew towards the actual capital of Estalia, Magritte.
Two more days passed, and the group finally arrived in Magritte.
At this time, the once great city was already in chaos. Lucio Sungazer, Duke of Magritte, and his heir, Baron Felipe Sungazer, had already run off to god knows where.
In Magritte's state guesthouse, the dragons landed. The Royal Pegasus Knights formed two rows, one of them welcoming Devenhill's arrival. A square table was placed in the middle of the guesthouse.
On the other side of the table sat Grand Tutor Enzo Moretti of the Knights of Magritte.
If anyone still remembered, Enzo Moretti had come into contact with Laing before. When Laing came to find Neptune's Trident, he had reached a truce with Laing and the others.
"My Baron, you've brought so few people to Magritte at this time. We really don't know whether we should be happy or what kind of expression we should use to welcome you." Enzo Moretti was slightly older than he had been ten years ago, but he was still very spirited. Behind him, a group of Magritte knights dressed in gorgeous armor were lined up in a large row. The Great Teacher spread out his hands. "As far as I know, the request for reinforcements has already been sent out."
"I'm here specifically to assess the situation." Devenhill interlocked his fingers. The Baron sat in his seat, looking very serious. "Listen to me, Grand Tutor Moretti. We've encountered this situation before in history. That was during the Flaming Red Expedition and the Arabi Holy War. We've also worked together to fight the enemy. The desert people of Arabi once forced Magritte into a desperate situation. It was terrible, but we still won in the end, didn't we?"
"But the situation is different this time, my Baron. Do you understand the situation?" Grand Tutor Enzo Moretti and the knights of Magritte behind him all looked at Devenhill, this Baron who was so young that he seemed very immature, with a strange expression.
"Situation? What's the situation?" Devenhill read something different from Grand Tutor Enzo Moretti's expression.
Enzo Moretti hesitated for a moment, as if weighing something, but then he laughed self-deprecatingly and told Devenhill the news. "Alright, alright. Actually, it can't be hidden for long. Let me tell you, my Baron. In fact, His Excellency Duke Lucio Sungazer and his successor, His Excellency Felipe Sungazer, have both died in battle!"
"What?!!!" Devenhill's eyes widened.
Yes, the ruler of Estalia's most important city, Magritte, the Sunstrider … cough cough, the Sungazer family's main bloodline must have been cut off.
It was mentioned previously that after learning that the "strange Orcs" had destroyed Tobalor, Duke Lucio Sungazer of Magritte and his two sons decided to send all of Magritte's troops to support them. Unfortunately, the city had already fallen halfway and was ambushed by the Skaven Ratmen.
In the chaos, the knights of Magritte, the Eagle Knights, and the Spear of Justice Knights fought a bloody battle to protect the Duke's family. However, they were outnumbered. In the chaos, Lucio and Felipe were both killed by the Skaven warlords. The difference was that Lucio was struck by lightning by a Skaven Ratman warlock engineer, and his whole body was charred black, while Felipe was cut into several pieces by a "hamster-wheel-like cutter".
The arrogant Duke Lucio wanted to rely on "conquering the Orcs" to build up his prestige and achievements, but he failed. Instead, he died in battle with his two sons.
To prevent the resistance from completely collapsing, Grand Tutor Enzo Moretti of Magritte's Knights had to order the news of his death to be kept secret.
Until now, the Southern Kingdom still believed that they were attacked by the "special Orcs".
Of course, in this battle, due to the knights' desperate resistance and the deaths of the Duke's private guards, the Skaven Ratmen also suffered huge losses. They temporarily stopped to rest and reorganize (and also held a few large-scale human meat banquets).
"Very good." After a short hesitation, the Baron regained his composure. He muttered to himself for a minute. "Isn't this just right, my Grand Tutor? You have already taken over the entire city, the finances, the army, and the order. Am I right?"
"Yes, for now. It won't be hidden for long." Enzo nodded.
"Then after such a long time, tell us. Tell us, the Brittany, how do you and the Magritte knights plan to counterattack?" Devonshire said softly. "I need to hear the plan."
"Plan? There is no plan. "The Grand Tutor spread out his hands and tilted his head.
"No plan?!" Devonshire stretched his head forward. The Baron opened his mouth and laughed. "Ha, my God, don't tell me that the Knight brothers who experienced the Araby Holy War have degenerated to this extent?"
"Listen, our country is now facing a huge threat. Thousands of Northland Longships are constantly attacking our North Coast. Within our borders, Orcs and Green Dwarfs are frequently appearing. Even in the palace, everyone is debating whether to send reinforcements. The virtue of the Knight's path binds us, but without a doubt, the virtue of protecting our country is above the spirit of chivalry. If we can't even protect our own home, how can we help you?" Devonshire seemed to be in a difficult position. He had an expression that said, "I'm doing this for your own good." His words were filled with righteousness, but in reality, they were baseless.
Nestra, who was standing behind Devonshire, almost laughed out loud. This man, when he said such things, he was exactly like his mother, Queen Suria.
Alohan, on the other hand, had a cold expression. She had a headache whenever she thought of her strict mentor, the Green Knight.
"Listen, my Baron. We want to retaliate. Of course, we don't want to lose our city and our country. However, our previous failure has caused us to lose our capital. Out of 20000 soldiers, only 8000 survived. In the end, less than 2000 soldiers returned to Magritte and were willing to defend it!" Enzo closed his eyes in anger. "Every sword in the city has been taken away. How are we going to defend it? Are we going to rely on the 1000 swords, pikes, and shields in the warehouse? Are we going to rely on the grand-grade cannons on the city walls that have been around for hundreds of years? Or are we going to rely on the militia? I checked the barracks, and there aren't even 200 sets of breastplates! "
Devonshire was stunned.
Only Duke Karson nodded slightly. He knew about Estalia's situation. Simply put, Estalia had been peaceful for far too long. Ever since the Arabi Holy War, this place had never experienced the flames of war.
In Estalia, the army was more like a guard of honor. The martial spirit of the people was extremely weak. Even the popular fencing and swordsmanship was more of a 'performance' or 'competition' rather than actual combat training.
The worst part was that the Estalians had a habit.
They never wore armor!
The reason was simple. Fencing competitions emphasized speed, dexterity, agility, and lightness. Of course, they wouldn't wear armor!
Thus, very few Estalia's army wore armor, and the amount of armor in the warehouse was even smaller.
If not for the Magritte Knights, Eagle Knights, and Spear of Justice Knights having the habit of wearing armor, Estalia would have long been wiped out by the Skaven Ratmen!
Needless to say, the 500 new guns ordered from Nur were all lost in the previous battle. Enzo Moretti could only find 300 spare guns. Due to the lack of maintenance, about 30% of them could not be used. Magritte Knights had about 200 defensive cannons. Most of them were grand-grade cannons, and some had not been used for hundreds of years. The worst part was that Enzo checked the cannonball warehouse.
The warehouse was full of wooden boxes, but they were all filled with stones. Only the ten boxes at the door and in the corridor were filled with cannonballs.
Leaving the state guesthouse, Devonshire's face was ashen. "There's no need for us to stay here. Go back and tell everyone to prepare to snipe the Skaven Ratmen in Billy Barley and welcome the refugees of Estalia."
"Fortunately, we Brittany still have someone who can openly take over all of this."
The Bretons left as quickly as they came, and the Twilight sisters left their contribution behind. In a surprise attack from the sky, two teams of Kunos of the Falcon Knights fired at the Ratmen outside of their firing range, destroying the 17 Dimensional Stone Lightning Cannons that Ikart Sharp Claw had designed and created. After that, Devenhill immediately retreated.
At the same time, Enzo Moretti, the Grand Tutor of the Magritte Knights, officially gave the order to abandon Magritte.
Hundreds of thousands of refugees, under the protection and supervision of the knights, headed towards Brittany.
… I'm running away from the shameful and useless division line …
When the Estalians abandoned Magritte and began to flee towards the north.
Silver Mountain Range, Eternity Peak, Infinite Peak, Karaz-a-Karak, the capital of the Dwarves.
A meeting of the Dwarven Kings had just ended.
The Supreme King Solgrin the Grudge was very angry. He sat on the Dwarven throne in the throne room, unable to recover for a long time.
He was furious at the cowardice and evasion of the Dwarves.
In this meeting of the Dwarven Kings, a few Dwarven Kings actually proposed a plan to seal all the Dwarven Fortresses, close the doors, and no longer care about the affairs of the outside world.
Granny in heaven, how did we Dwarves become like this?
The Supreme King rejected this proposal in the most violent way possible. The Dwarves could not be isolated and fight for themselves.
However, when the Supreme King proposed a plan, which was to give up some unimportant Dwarven Fortresses and gather their forces at Eternity Peak to prepare for the final battle, all the Dwarven Kings unanimously opposed this plan.
Among them, Belega was the one who objected the most. The King of Eight Peak Mountain scolded Solgreen, saying that he wasn't a true Dwarf and that no Dwarf would abandon their home. If the Dwarves were really going to meet their last moments, then Belega would calmly accept it instead of giving up the Eight Peak Mountain Fort that he had painstakingly taken back just to drag out an ignoble existence.
From an emotional point of view, Solgrin could understand Belega's decision. However, from the perspective of the Dwarves' grand strategy, they were strong when united, and weak when divided. Belega's decision to be the first to oppose Solgrin's decision made the Dwarven Kings, who were unwilling to accept the order, oppose together. Among them, the Butcher King, the King of Sea Gate, and the King of Torrent Pass were the most violent.
This caused Solgrin's plan to fail. What was worse was that the Dwarven Kings were affected by this and left angrily.
"Running away is shameful, but it's useful. Running away is shameful, but it's useless." Solgrin sat on the throne. The Supreme King sighed softly. "It seems that our Eternity Peak can only rely on our own strength in the coming war."
"Let them come!" Chief Dwarf Engineer Bloxson was furious. "They will need Eternity Peak's help. When that time comes, they will regret their rudeness today!"
"Let's not talk about this." Solgrin sighed. "How's the situation with the colossi?"
"After many adjustments, they are ready for battle, but I hope to have a little more time to continue fine-tuning." Bloxson nodded.
"You will get that time." The Supreme King thought of the colossi and felt a little more confident.
Glanny, Grimnir, and Valaya above, thank you for leaving such a rich legacy for the Dwarves.
If these colossi could be used properly, perhaps … there would still be hope.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
