Lux's Farewell

Chapter 887 【0884】 Interlocking and tacit understanding

The Black Forest region lives up to its name.

Tall trees grow everywhere in this basin area called Tukgul.

Trees, mainly coniferous pine, are interconnected here, blocking out the sky and the sun.

The treetops block the sun and cover the ground with shadows. The dark brown bark and dark green needles are all dark in color, hence the name Black Forest.

The history of the Noxians' development of the Black Forest can be traced back hundreds of years - with the promulgation of the pioneering decree, Noxian citizens who do not want to stay in the Immortal Fortress can freely move to the Black Forest area to live in There they would enjoy tax benefits and exemptions from military service and hard labor.

Not all Noxians are war madmen, and not every Noxian is willing to gain meritorious service on the battlefield. Many people who are unwilling to serve in the war choose to go to the Black Forest area and use the form of pioneering. Do your part for the Noxian Empire.

That was the beginning of Black Forest development.

However, for hundreds of years, there has not been much progress in the development of the Black Forest area. Even today, there are only a few large-scale settlements here, and food still depends on imports. Those who have moved to the Black Forest area to pioneer Some moved away quickly, while others struggled to take root here but could not go any further.

The reasons for this situation are also very simple, mainly two: climate and vegetation.

Since the Dragon's Back Snow Mountain opens an opening in Tukgul, the Breath of Anivia can flow from Tukgul into the Black Forest unimpeded. Even if the large coniferous forest stops the cold wind, the real thing is Cooling is inevitable.

Therefore, winter in the Black Forest comes early and cold.

In addition, unlike pine trees elsewhere, the pine trees in the Black Forest are also quite special - these pine trees can stand covered in snow under the blowing breath of Anivia, relying on their roots that penetrate hundreds or even hundreds of feet into the earth.

The roots of the trees that stood side by side on the ground were simply entangled together. Underground in the entire Black Forest area, the intertwined pine roots almost completely formed a large network.

In this case, logging is easy, but clearing the roots is very difficult. Those Noxian residents who came to the Black Forest because of the pioneering laws may not be able to carve out much land for farming even if they live their entire lives.

The result is that after so many years, the industries in the Black Forest area are still mainly logging and hunting wild animals. Scattered farmland is distributed near large settlements and cannot support the needs of the local population at all.

With the plantation industry almost nonexistent and commercial exchanges infrequent, the population of the Black Forest region is quite limited. Even if there are people coming to Noxus with confidence because of the pioneering laws, it won't be long before they become frustrated. I found that this place seems to be only suitable for living a primitive life.

From a military perspective, this kind of environment with vast land, sparsely populated areas and dense shade trees is simply a "land where the fog of war will never dissipate" and a natural battlefield.

Even if there are local guides and aerial reconnaissance troops, it is difficult for the commander to judge his own situation and find hidden enemies.

This is the same for Demacians who are outsiders, and Noxians who are nominally natives.

For Lux, she knew that the Noxians would not be honest, so she was cautious at the beginning and moved along the river while maintaining the stability of the subsequent supply line.

Although many large and small rivers flowing in the Black Forest have relatively large drops, and there are rapids and carpets in many places, as long as you follow the water, the supplies of the Demacia Northern Expedition are well guaranteed.

Rapids and shoals cannot be easily passed by transport ships.

But as long as you arrange supply stations at key locations and use Enuk to pull the fiber, Enuk can drag you to the right place even if you go upstream along the shoal.

Moreover, Demacia's supplies were still somewhat difficult, and Lux ​​was once worried about how to maintain the diet of the overly large livestock - but what she never expected was that Ernuk seemed to like the pine needles of the local pine trees.

This kind of needle, which does not have a high oil content, is everywhere in the Black Forest area. For people, they are natural fungus culture media, but for Ernuk, it is a very delicious food.

Whether it is cattle, horses, sheep or even earth dragon lizards that are common in Noxus, they will have diarrhea after eating these pine needles, but Enuk's powerful digestive system is not afraid at all, and he will not feel any discomfort no matter how much he eats.

After professional observation and confirmation that there would indeed be no side effects, Lacus received a piece of definite news - in the Black Forest region, the Northern Expeditionary Army did not need to worry about the fodder problem for the baggage animals.

As a result, the Northern Expeditionary Army's logistical pressure dropped sharply.

With confidence, Lux became more cautious in her actions when she was unable to judge the enemy's situation.

Since he knew that the Noxians would not be honest, but he could not take the initiative to betray them, he could only guard against thieves.

And caution is the best attitude.

Darius was not at all anxious about Lux's delay - his army had just finished gathering, and he wanted to go directly to the Black Forest to cooperate with his teammates to intercept the Northern Expedition. He was somewhat pressed for time.

Now the Demacians are scaring themselves here and walking slower than anyone else. This is simply giving Noxus an opportunity to gather its troops!

From Darius's point of view, the Demacians could have come a little slower. It was better to take their time and rush into the trap after he had prepared everything. After victory, he would definitely not mind giving Lux the award. A large medal to reward her for choosing to delay for herself in the end.

Everything seems to be going in the direction Darius expected.

On the other side, as the vanguard troops deepened, when the Northern Expeditionary Army was halfway through the Black Forest, Lux finally came to understand.

Especially when the Dragon Bird Knight sent back the news that the city of Focalodna was actively occupied by the Frost Guard tribe, although she still didn’t know where those who had previously occupied Focalodna went, nor did she know about Nok The Sarsians planned to break up with her somewhere, but she already understood Noxus' attitude and guessed that the Immortal Fortress should be preparing for war now, but she had no intention of speeding up the progress.

That's not necessary.

Now that we have reached this point, let's continue to move forward steadily. With the needles as a supplement, and the phased supplements from the Principality of Valoran, the supply pressure of the Northern Expedition has reached a tolerable range. .

Keep fighting steadily, now Demacia just wants a frontal and fair battle!

........................

When the vanguard of the Northern Expedition passed through the Black Forest and was about to set foot on the Freljord, the Noxians were finally fully prepared for battle.

Darius, who was in the Immortal Fortress, issued a statement condemning the Demacians for "killing civilians and destroying cities" and quickly made a final announcement, requiring the Northern Expedition to "withdraw from the Black Forest within three days." , leaving Tukgul”.

Of course, this was purely a face-saving project. Darius was just looking for a name for the next declaration of war. He didn't even bother to fabricate evidence. He issued a final announcement in the morning, and the "army" was gone from Immortality in the afternoon. Depart from the fortress and drive west toward the Black Forest.

And Lux, who received this announcement, also laughed, without any fluctuation in her heart, and even wanted to laugh.

It is indeed impossible for the Noxians to allow themselves to join forces with Avarosa!

Therefore, according to the planned plan, the vanguard troops of the Northern Expedition quickly stopped and built fortifications on the spot. Now that the logistics can keep up, let’s build a camp first, and after the main force of the Northern Expedition arrives, we can then pass through Turkgol and enter the Freljord together.

Anyway, there is no pass in the northern part of the Black Forest. If you want to stop me, just come over and confront me head-on!

Sure enough, the Noxians had played a trick on time.

The seven battle groups that "departed from the Immortal Fortress the day before" arrived at Tukgul on the second day after the announcement was issued.

Obviously, the actions of the Immortal Bastion were just a cover-up. The Noxian army had officially set off before that, in order to catch Demacia off guard.

But it is a pity that since Lux did not believe that the Noxians would honestly let her pass from the beginning, even if the seven Noxian war groups quickly arrived around the battlefield, the Demacian people did not gather. The slightest lag.

Lux even had the time to detach a small mobile force to conduct inspections along the shores of the supply line to deal with all possible omissions.

However, the Black Forest remained quiet, and it seemed that the Noxians had no intention of taking a back road.

Ok?

What's happening here?

When Lux was confused, two of the seven Noxian war groups that had just arrived on the battlefield took the initiative to launch a tentative charge towards the Northern Expedition's position.

Even though she was well prepared, Lux didn't even pay much attention, and the attack was foiled.

When she got the news afterwards, Lux wanted to laugh a little.

Noxus' war group organization is not too large, so if you want to pose any substantial threat to Lux, I am afraid that it will require the cooperation of multiple war groups and the mobilization of mages.

However, the Noxians did not do this. Judging from their posture, they seemed to want to try their hand and understand Demacia's combat effectiveness, and then use this as a basis for subsequent adjustments.

But it's a pity that this kind of temptation that is folded in as soon as they meet has no meaning at all.

Until the two sides ended the "discussions", Noxus did not get even a single advantage. None of the several breakthrough points they prepared received the feedback that "this trip was profitable."

However, just as the Demacians were happily feasting on food, Draven, who had been waiting for many days, finally received a signal from his brother in the glacier fissure in the Dragon's Back Mountains.

"It's time to come out and kick Demacian ass!"

Having been hiding in the glacier crevices for more than half a month, Draven's supplies at this time can be said to be very scarce - and in order to avoid those pesky eagles, even if the Frostguard tribe wants to provide some support, that support is still needed Sending it in secretly through the glacier crevice in the middle of the night is horribly ineffective.

Hungry and full, the soldier's physical condition was obviously not good enough.

However, considering their location, Demacians would never expect that the morale of this team is very high.

They now have a chance to prove themselves - the main force of Noxus led by Darius is still cautiously conducting small-scale battles, trying to paralyze Lux's judgment. This force led by Draven, It has quietly advanced eastward and circled to the south of the main force of the Northern Expeditionary Army, and made direct contact with Xiongdu.

well.

The actors are already in place, and it’s time to watch Delevingne perform!

........................

As a naturally big-hearted person, Delevingne felt excitement instead of worry when he was in danger.

Although he didn't have the ability to think things through and didn't have enough information to make a correct judgment, he naturally believed in his brother and his success rate in sneak attacks hidden in the dark.

Those cunning Demacians would not have thought that an army would arrive at the most obscure moment of Demacia in the form of divine soldiers descending from the sky.

As for the warbands on the Immortal Bastion side, their main mission is now bluffing.

Facts have proved that their actions were very successful.

When Draven's troops walked out of the glacier crevice, there were very few Demacia enemies in his direction, let alone the dragon bird knights patrolling in the sky.

Under the cover of the dense black forest, these dragon and bird knights can only patrol along the large continent to find out whether there are large groups of people.

Delevingne's troops who came out from behind did not take the main road, and were not within the normal patrol range. After arriving near the Northern Expeditionary Army's vanguard headquarters, they were discovered by at most two dragon bird knights, but these two dragons The Bird Rider was caught and killed on the spot before he could return or release the homing pigeon he had brought with him.

As a result, a possible team appeared in an impossible position.

This should be regarded as a successful divine weapon descending from heaven.

However, what they never expected was that on the Demacia side, when they heard a large group of Noxians appearing behind them, at least several battle groups at a glance, the Northern Expeditionary Army Although Pioneer was surprised, there was not much fluctuation.

Running away will not happen to this team.

And...who said being attacked from both sides is a disadvantage?

At this moment, if you erase the dense black forest near the incident site and look down from a high altitude, you will find that Draven's troops came from the west and came out of the glacier crevice, and the troops from the east. Darius's troops, which had long been prepared for battle, now looked like two huge, open crab claws.

The less elite teams were used to increase the thickness of the formation, and the real elites were brought out as the vanguard to attack and destroy the enemy's defenses. These two huge crab claws had been fully opened, and they were clamping one to the left and one to the right. The Demacia Northern Expeditionary Army's salient seemed a bit scattered due to the small-scale battle between Texas troops.

If these two crab claws are caught, Demacia's formation will inevitably be completely divided and cut off.

Once Draven and Darius successfully join forces and completely separate the battlefield, Demacia will be completely helpless in the subsequent battle.

Unfortunately, facing such an obvious pincer offensive, the Demacians who were about to be surrounded did not panic at all. Their commander Lux confirmed Draven's flag, the identity and whereabouts of this team. , and even smiled with relief.

That's it?

　My neck feels so uncomfortable...

　　(End of this chapter)