Heart of the Castle

Chapter 455
The interception and killing arranged by the deceased followed one after another, but it was the first time that caused heavy losses to the Northern Allied Forces.After the slow-moving convoys and noble militias were completely lost, the remnants of the Northern Allied Forces were left with only the elite who had been baptized by the flames of war, and their combat effectiveness increased.Earl Ansair and Miss Frasier took turns leading the charge, and the team galloped all the way, even in the pouring rain, the speed was extremely fast.The undead creatures that were intercepted and killed in the front often appeared, and the formed array was suddenly pierced by the northern cavalry, and they could only send horrific howls and groans to see off the distant figure.

Now that the deceased had laid a heavy ambush on the marching route of the Northern Allied Forces, the Brooks Priory, which was originally used as a resting place, has naturally become a place where undead creatures are entrenched. Earl Ansair just glanced at this seat from a distance. The monastery in the dense forest ordered the whole army to stay away and continue to fight against the wind and rain and the difficult and dangerous road.

Fortunately, after leaving the Priory of Brooks, the Northern Allied Forces were not attacked by undead creatures again. It seems that the information obtained from the deceased has come to an end.In the afternoon, the rain gradually weakened, and the cold wind that had been blowing non-stop also subsided. Although the road was still muddy and difficult, for the northern coalition forces that had been struggling in the wind and rain for several days, it was simply easier There is nothing left.

Now the problem that plagued the northern coalition forces was no longer undead creatures, but what should they do after losing all their supplies.When preparing to camp in the evening, the weather finally cleared up. Tens of thousands of stars appeared in the dark blue sky, and the brilliance of Yinyue Maya sprinkled the earth. This made many people feel comforted. It's not so hard anymore.

Due to the loss of almost all their supplies, the soldiers of the Northern Allied Forces had to start from scratch. Some dragged their tired bodies to the woods to chop firewood. Rich pine trees, the bonfire was finally raised, driving away the chill from everyone.Then the simple tents were set up. Although they were barely built with branches, leaves and bedding on tree stumps, with the baking of the bonfire, they could be regarded as able to block the chill of winter nights.

After a whole day's long journey and hard work, many people fell into a deep sleep as soon as they lay down. Only the Earl of Ansair tossed and turned, unable to sleep peacefully.It wasn't that the poor camp made it difficult for him to fall asleep, and it wasn't that he didn't feel exhausted, but that remorse and anger were constantly gnawing at his heart, making it seem like a flame was burning in his chest. "Sue the dead, the devil. Devil, sue the dead!" These two names rolled endlessly in his mind, and the hatred formed by the little bits of gathering hit the dam of reason like a stormy sea.

The sword dancer even felt a shuddering pleasure when the sentinel sounded the siren, and he jumped to his feet, cursing, and the thorn sword was unsheathed.The knights of the Northern Allied Forces walked out of the camp one after another, the swords in their hands flickering coldly.They were already ready to fight to the death with the pursuers, but soon the sentries sent new news with their horns. It was a human cavalry squad, which made many people breathe a sigh of relief and hold their hands tightly The hand holding the hilt also relaxed.

However, Earl Ansair still did not relax his vigilance. The human cavalry did not mean that they would be safe. They might be the accomplices of the demon or the deceased.After all, the failure of the Thunder Knights involved the official forces of the four southern counties, although it is no longer possible to determine whether those corpses were manipulated by the accused, or the sad demon slaves who took refuge in the devil.

A knight covered in mud then broke into the camp, holding a banner of the king's army that was dripping continuously in his hand. Obviously this was the reason why the sentinels did not dare to stop him. The knight was also covered in mud and water, in a panic The unbearable cavalry, everyone staggered and panted.He first looked at the knights in the camp, and then set his sights on Earl Ansair.

"Lord Earl Ansair, I finally found you." The knight gasped.

"Who... are you?" Earl Ansair frowned and looked at the knight. The style of the armor made him feel familiar, but he couldn't remember which knight order he belonged to.

The knight was stunned, then came to his senses, and lifted his face shield.Earl Ansair just glanced at his face, and couldn't help crying. "Sir Chebbe, why are you?"

"It's me." The Knight of the Iron Guard replied, his voice steadier. "Is there hot water? My people and I are exhausted and frozen."

Several soldiers rushed to bring hot water, and there was not much dried meat left. Sir Qibei thanked him repeatedly, but he just ate and drank a few mouthfuls and put it aside.Earl Ansair could see from his actions that King Arthur's iron guard knight was not full, but because what he wanted to say was burning his throat like a raging fire, he had no intention of filling his stomach at all.

"Lord Earl Ansair, I thought I would have to travel south for two or three days before I would meet you." Sir Chibe said impatiently, "I came from His Majesty the King to convey to you Your Majesty's order..." He was stunned for a moment, as if he really noticed the distressed situation of the Northern Allied Forces at this time, "My lord, please call all the northern lords and nobles to come here, this camp should be less than One in ten people?"

Sir Chibe's request was a matter of course. All the nobles and lords should come to listen to His Majesty's will, but this reasonable request drew a pale face on Earl Ansair's face, and made the knights in the camp look at each other. What to do.

After an embarrassing silence, the sword dancer stood up with a stern expression, his voice was like a collision of iron and stone, with a slight metallic tremolo. "We fell into the trap of the dead and the devil in the city of Queensland, and suffered a big defeat. Not long ago, we were ambushed by the dead, and all the baggage was lost. Now there are only 520 three elite cavalry and 44 knights. Sir Chebbe, all the remnants of the Northern Allied Forces are here."

"Cough! God of War Barud is on top!" Sir Qibei slapped his thigh hard, and the iron gloves and armor made a frantic collision sound. "The coalition forces in the northern border also suffered a disastrous defeat? This is terrible!"

The Iron Guard Knight's reaction was definitely not polite, which made Earl Ansair look a little embarrassed, but after all, he was the lord who held a lot of power, and he quickly suppressed his unhappiness in his heart.After Earl Ansair stabilized his mind, he immediately asked the question he was most concerned about.

"Sir Chibe, it is undeniable that I am mainly responsible for the disastrous defeat of the Northern Allied Forces. When the war is over, I will apologize to His Majesty the King. Please announce now, what is His Majesty the King's intention for the Northern Allied Forces?"

Sir Chebbe's face was already blue, but after hearing the sad news, it became even uglier. "His Majesty's order is very simple. The northern allied forces immediately abandon their current combat objectives and join the central army as quickly as possible!"

"What?" Several knights blurted out in surprise, "Meet the king in the middle?"

"That's right, that's what His Majesty ordered." Sir Chebbe nodded vigorously.

"After this disastrous defeat, the Northern Allied Forces must rest and replenish their troops, so that they can recover a certain amount of combat power as soon as possible." Earl Ansair thought to himself and said to the Iron Guard Knight, "Please report back to His Majesty Arthur XII, and say Ann Earl Sierre will definitely regroup the army within half a month and wash away the shame of defeat!"

"That's not important anymore, Lord Earl Ansair, the most important thing now is to carry out His Majesty's orders." Sir Chebbe replied in a stern tone.

"Your words scare me! Sir Chebbe!" Earl Ansair showed a shaken expression on his face, "Tell me, what happened to the king's army in the middle? Could it be that His Majesty the King and the Knights of Ashes are in command?" , have you still not been able to conquer Nardi County, where the demons are entrenched?"

"Taking Nardi? No, it's not just not taking it? We lost, shame, shame! A fiasco, a fiasco of fleeing without fighting!" Sir Chibe clenched his fists angrily, and then restrained himself Furious, he put his hands back on his waist. "Your Excellency Earl Ansair, time is running out. We will talk about the specific situation on the road. In any case, the Northern Alliance Army finally has nearly 600 troops. This is the largest assistance that can be found within three days. Please set off immediately. , Follow me to Saint White Stone Fort to join the Wang Jun in the middle!"

Sir Chibe's words made the knights of the Northern Allied Forces unable to believe their ears, and even the archbishop of the Temple of Storms, Bovavar, was shocked. They asked repeatedly, but the answer they got was sure.Sir Qibei's exhaustion and anxiety didn't seem to be joking, and he urged the Northern Allied Forces to set off immediately.Earl Ansair immediately understood the urgency of the situation and immediately gave an order. "Let's talk about it on the way if there is a problem, blow the horn immediately, and the whole army mounts and sets off!"

The northern allied forces were ready to go in less than 10 minutes. This was thanks to the fact that the convoy of supplies had been completely lost, and there was no luggage to pack.The Earl of Ansair arranged the forward and rear guards, and organized patrolling horses to swim and guard on the two wings of the team. Then he gave an order, and the troops hurriedly embarked on the journey. The sound of horseshoes smashed the silent night.

At the beginning, no one was in the mood to speak. It was not until they galloped on the road for a while that Sir Chebbe, who followed closely behind Earl Ansair's horse, spoke. His voice was hoarse as if his throat had been scorched by fire. "The king's army in the middle route suffered a terrible defeat. Since the founding of the Kingdom of Arthur, there has never been such a miserable and shameful defeat! Whether it is the defeat of the King of Mercy in Fermeyer, or the defeat of the Deposed King in Northern County, and Compared with this time, it is nothing!"

"It's unbelievable!" Earl Ansair told him, the sword dancer's tone became less polite due to intertwined doubts and anxiety in his heart, "How could His Majesty Arthur XII have such a big meal?" What about the defeat? If he can use half of his ability to lead the army to govern the country, he will be an unprecedented emperor. Sir Qibei, you don’t think that a setback is a big rout, do you?”

Sir Chebbe muttered something that seemed to be a very unkind curse on fate, and then replied, "I hope I am mistaken, and I would be willing to have my head chopped off by His Majesty because of it. But a rout is a rout, Now His Majesty the King is leading the remnants of the royal army to retreat to the Holy White Stone Fort. The number of troops around them is frighteningly thin. Except for our small team sent out to ask for help, there are only less than [-] soldiers left, and many of them cannot continue to fight. Seriously wounded."

"800 people?" Earl Ansair could hardly contain his astonishment, his mustache kept trembling, "there are only 800 people left in the king's army in the middle? The Knights of Ashes and the Knights of Death alone are more than [-] people." That number, and the jailers of the Dreadfort? And the thousands of noblemen? Where are they all?"

Sir Chebbe didn't answer for a long time, but Earl Ansair could tell that the iron guard knight was not dumbfounded by the question, but anger and shame blocked his throat, making him unable to make a sound.There was silence for a while, except for the sound of horses' hooves trampling in the mud and the whimpering of the cold wind, Earl Ansair and the other knights of the north held their breath, hoping to hear anything less bad from Sir Chebbe. News, even if it is pure speculation.However, after a few minutes, when Sir Chebbe let out a long sigh, they all felt a burst of despair from the bottom of their hearts.

This sigh could be called bitter and unspeakable, like a sudden gust of wind and bitter rain in the dark night, blowing out the flame of hope in everyone's heart.

"Recalling the situation on that day, for me, a knight of the iron guard who values ​​honor more than anything else, it was as painful as a red-hot knife piercing my chest. If it weren't for the fire of revenge to support me, I would rather be with you Sir Musey died in battle together, and he was unwilling to live in the world with the shame of defeat! But since all your lords want to know, I have to tell you what happened that day!" Sir Chebbe's eyes were like The flames flickered like burning coals, and every word was accompanied by the creaking sound of teeth rubbing against each other.

"Sir Chibe, please speak carefully, we are all ears." Earl Ansair said, "The power in our hands is extremely limited now, and we cannot tolerate any mistakes. If we can draw lessons from your narrative, we may We can avoid repeating the same mistakes.”

"Oh, my lords in Northern County, it's not easy for you to make such a mistake." Sir Qibei twisted his face in pain a few times, obviously recalling this incident as he said, it was simply A form of torture. "It is undeniable that the king's army in the middle has the strongest military force among the three armies, not only the famous Ash Knights, Death Knights and Dreadfort jailers, but also thousands of noble knights and ten times more servants and auxiliary soldiers They carried countless baggage vehicles, which were not only food supplies, but also a lot of food and wine, velvet tents, gold and silver utensils and cage wall hangings. In addition, there were many dancers, clowns, bards and funny Fool. If I tell you all the extravagant banquets, singing and dancing, and entertainment held in the army, I am afraid that I will not be able to finish it until the Holy White Stone Fort. If you see the scene, you will definitely not believe that we are going to war. It's like a carnival masquerade parade for the March Festival of Lights!"

"He who is in charge of thunder, why don't you send down thunder and fire to destroy all the moths in those kingdoms!" Archbishop Bovava of the Temple of Storms cried out in a sad and angry voice, followed by more vicious curses, North The border knights frowned one by one, pressed their hands on the hilts of their swords, wishing to kill those luxurious and lustful nobles of the royal capital.

Sir Chebbe was also indignant, he was silent for a while, otherwise he must have cursed those noble lords from his mouth.After the agitation of the northern knights subsided a bit, he continued to speak heavily: "Those noble boys who don't know the heights of the sky and the depths of the earth are making noise one by one, as if as long as their horses charge forward, those demons will collapse. What they heard most was the nickname Dawn of the North, and the name Griffin Lord, but their tone became more frivolous and disdainful each time, and they all frowned at the jealous eyes of Lord Leviston's good luck. Hong, I feel that they can make the same contribution this time! Looking at their arrogant arrogance, listening to their unheard-of mutual flattery, those of us who have experienced war feel something is wrong, This is simply an ominous sign of defeat!"

Earl Ansair showed an unbelievably shocked expression on his face, "Sir Chibe, with all due respect, there are many generals in the middle royal army who are accustomed to fighting, such as Marquis Osiris the Green Lion, Gregor Clement the Black Death The Earl of Nong and the Marquis of Edwin Reeves the Terrible are all famous generals, how could they tolerate this situation?"

A trace of sadness flashed across Sir Chibe's face, "Neither Gregor nor Reeves spoke, because they knew what His Majesty meant, and Lord Osiris, who was the only one who spoke, did not insist after being reprimanded by His Majesty the King." My own opinion. From the beginning to the end, His Majesty the King did not take the noble militia seriously, and thought that it was enough to rely on the strength of the Knights of Ashes, Knights of Death and the jailers of the Dreadfort. Perhaps it was because of the Because the victory came too easily, this kind of thinking is not only your Majesty, but also exists in our hearts more or less."

Earl Ansair groaned, because he himself made the same mistake, so he did not adopt the correct opinion of Viscount Levi Stern. At least half of the disastrous defeat of the Northern Alliance Army was due to underestimating the enemy main idea.In fact, he should have been vigilant after the Viscount Mars, who commanded the scouting force, had left and never returned.

"Although the contempt of the demon by the commander-in-chief of the royal army is indeed one of the root causes of the defeat of the royal army in the middle lane, if we just underestimate the enemy, at least this battle will not fail so quickly. We fought two battles with the demon at the beginning, and we fought well. It is indeed beautiful. His Majesty took the lead and led the Knights of Ashes to the front line. The Knights of Death, the Jailers of the Dreadfort and the nobles also marched forward bravely. They took back the two towns at once and killed all kinds of demons. Two thousand. But then..." Sir Qibei suddenly paused when he said this, and he swallowed the following words.

"What happened afterwards?" Archbishop Bovavar of the Temple of Storms asked.

Sir Qibei shook his head in bewilderment, "I don't know how to describe what happened next, it's still unbelievable when I think about it now, our failure was so sudden, there was no warning at all!"

(End of this chapter)