Heart of the Castle

Chapter 555 Arriving at the camp to reclaim the northern border.

It was cold and windy, and the snow was falling.

Although the footsteps of time have reached the early spring of 952 in the dawn calendar, the northern border of the kingdom, which is known for its bitter cold climate, still used a snowstorm to give a blow to the large group of refugees who had gone through hardships through the dusk forest.

Fortunately, although the trip through the Dusk Forest was hard work, it went smoothly on the whole, and during the three-day trip, there was no wild animal attack, which was considered auspicious in the hearts of many refugees The harbinger of life gave them a lot of courage and hope for their future life.

The large group of people marched on despite the wind and snow. The neighing of horses, the creaking of wheels, and the sound of horns blown by messengers mixed together into a cacophony, echoing endlessly over the sparsely populated and independent northern land.Accompanied by hoarse cries, the big crows carrying messages take off and land in the low clouds from time to time; the griffins serving as sentries in the sky flap their strong wings and fly across the air with a majestic posture that is not afraid of the wind and snow Every time, the children in the refugee team exclaimed and cheered.

These children are perhaps the most carefree group of people.

As the team continued to go further north, the hills in the distance became more and more steep and steep, and finally evolved into a gray giant standing on the horizon with white snow on its shoulders; a large area of ​​​​uncultivated forest became the most important scenery in the field of vision, and the surface was still frozen. Like a white ribbon entwining the Shiliang Valley, there are few people on Guangyao Avenue, and there are often no pedestrians or business travelers who walk for a whole day.

For people living in the northern border, this scene may not be surprising, but for people who have been living around the warm and affluent royal capital Fermeyer, the barren and harsh natural environment of the northern border They couldn't help but feel chills in their hearts, and it became more and more difficult to walk through the wind and snow.

At noon on the third day after passing through the Dusk Forest, the team arrived at the first refugee camp.This was originally a village called Zabotin, with a population of about [-], and it was considered a relatively large village in Viscount Ryan's territory.However, due to Viscount Ryan's strategic mistakes in dealing with the evil disaster, Zabotin Town was destroyed by the demons in the early days of the evil disaster. Only the scorched and broken walls stood silently, recording the cruel scene of the village and town being destroyed at the beginning.

However, in order to resettle the refugees, the place has been completely renovated, the ruins of the burned houses have been cleaned up, and the bones of both humans and animals have been buried separately.A log wall with a height of four meters protected the entire camp. A watch tower was set up at the four corners of the wall. Several guards wearing thick leather armor and holding crossbows stood behind the wooden baffle of the watch tower. Vigilant eyes glanced around from time to time.

Seeing a large group of people appearing on the road ahead, the guards on the sentry tower suddenly became tense.The alarm bell was sounded hastily, and the seemingly silent camp was boiling like a pan of boiling oil. Hundreds of militiamen with hunting bows and slings stepped onto the wall to prepare for battle.

The captain of the camp guard is an elderly quasi-knight. He wears a full set of lightweight knight armor, holds a square shield with a griffin coat of arms, climbs up to the watchtower, squints his eyes and looks towards the south.The huge size of the team made his face a little tense, but then the flying flag came into view, and the old knight's expression relaxed.

"It's His Excellency Leviston who is back, our Griffin Lord is back!"

His words not only cleared the alarm, but also aroused cheers in the camp, "Your Excellency Levi Ston is back, our Griffin Lord is back!" Such shouts were repeated over and over again, even The cold air seemed to be contaminated by this kind of joy, and it became much more lively.

With the creaking sound of the winch, a five-meter-wide opening was opened on the wooden wall, and more than [-] thick logs tightly tied together lay down slowly like a wall, just horizontally A simple bridge was formed on the ditch protecting the camp.

The entire camp is divided into nine standard parts by two straight roads horizontally and vertically. On both sides of the road are neatly arranged huts built with logs, stones and plaster.The number of these houses is enough to accommodate a thousand refugee families, and less than one-tenth of them are currently inhabited, and a few thin wisps of cooking smoke rise from the chimneys.

The middle part does not have huts for the villagers, but consists of a spacious meeting hall, a blacksmith shop with a bright fire, an open-air market composed of dozens of wooden stalls, and two temples with different architectural styles.One of them is a square building with a simple and heavy style, and the door is inlaid with the emblem of the god of the earth made of obsidian; the other is a white tower, with a golden lightning emblem of the god of the sky on top of a tall spire like a sharp sword. Generally pointing directly at the sky.

Seeing such a well-planned refugee camp, even the well-informed older nobles showed expressions of surprise.It's not that the buildings in the camp are so amazing. Whether it's the four southern counties known as the kingdom's granary or the surrounding area of ​​the rich king's capital, the houses of farmers' families are much more spacious and refined than those in the camp.However, what surprised them was that the neat and orderly style of the camp did not look like a village farmhouse, but an army garrison.

That's right, it is the station of the army, and it is not the general militia, but the station of well-trained regular troops.

This camp is just one of the many camps in Northern County that are preparing to accommodate refugees. For safety reasons, the large group of people stopped half a kilometer away from the camp. Only Li Wei led a few northern lords and knights to go. In the camp, some royal nobles also requested to accompany them. Li Wei did not refuse their request, but asked them to strictly keep silent.

On the other hand, the refugees have formed a division of labor during the long journey these days. Some people are responsible for setting up the tents. The strong men go to the surrounding woods to cut firewood and light the campfire, while the old people and women stay and work. Busy preparing lunch.The huge team turned into an equally huge camp in a few minutes. Hundreds of smoke rose from the campfire, sparks fluttered along with the crackling sound of firewood, and mixed with the fine snow in the sky, creating a magnificent scene. For the spectacular.

The captain of the camp guard led dozens of militiamen to wait in line in front of the gate. This elderly quasi-knight had a strong style of an orthodox old soldier. Even when he was welcoming the master of the territory, he still meticulously directed his militia A tight defensive formation guards the gate of the camp tightly.Many noble children of the royal capital who followed Li Wei couldn't help showing contemptuous expressions, but neither Li Wei nor the lords from the northern border felt anything strange.

The harsh natural environment in the northern border has sharpened the people there to have a strong character and advocating a practical style of doing things. Being prepared to deal with emergencies at any time is what everyone living in the northern border has been doing, so in this Under the influence of psychology, the actions of the captain of the camp guard could not be more correct.

It wasn't until Li Wei and others walked to the gate that the captain of the camp guard took a step forward, took off his helmet and hugged it in his arms, and then slammed the breastplate with a steel fist with the other hand. "Your Excellency the lord," he said in a loud voice, "The guard captain of the Zabotin camp, Krakow, the associate knight of the third division of the Griffin Knights, salute you!"

"Thank you, Captain Krakow." Li Wei nodded politely in return. In fact, the young Griffon Lord had just accepted his status as the guardian of the whole territory and the important minister of the kingdom, and almost raised his hand to knock on the breastplate . "How's the camp going?"

"Everything is normal, Your Excellency." Captain Krakow said confidently, "All kinds of materials are abundant, enough to meet the life of 5000 people for a full three months; all the tools and crop seeds for land reclamation are also ready, ready to go at any time Distributed to the hands of every family."

"You did a good job." Li Wei said in an approving tone, "Captain Kraco, if it's convenient now, please lead the way to the camp. These adults from the capital want to visit."

"Of order, my lord, please follow me." Captain Krakow said, turning his body sideways, and the militiamen lined up behind him immediately separated from the left and right in a well-trained manner, and at the same time raised the spears in their hands in unison, and pointed at them. Levi shouted his respects.

"Long live the Griffin Lord, long live the dawn of the North!"

The roar of dozens of militiamen with all their strength reverberated in front of the gate of the camp, and it sounded like a thunderous explosion to the ears of the nobles of the royal capital.It is conceivable that the nobles who came to visit the camp are not idiots. Seeing that even the lowest-level militiamen in the northern border have such a level of strength, and their loyalty to Li Wei is really considerable, the expression on their faces can't help being a little bit stiffen up.

They exchanged glances with each other behind Levi, which conveyed emotional messages including anxiety, vigilance and surprise.Although Princess Fleischer, the last bloodline owner of the royal family, announced the appointment of Levi as the guardian of the entire Kingdom of Arthur, the head of the important ministers, and the sheriff of the northern county after Li Wei woke up, but this appointment did not have much effect, because Against the unanimous opposition of the nobles of the royal capital, Princess Fleisher was not able to ascend the throne and become queen.

The reason why the nobles opposed Princess Fleischer's ascension to the throne was actually very simple and convincing, that is, the current situation in the Kingdom of Arthur was too bad.

Compared with the time when the Dragon King Yujia personally conquered, the loss of the kingdom's territory was not too great.It's just that the king's capital fell into the hands of the devil, and at the same time, the holy white stone fortress, which had no strategic significance, was abandoned.But in this way, the connection between Xifeng County in the west of the kingdom, the Great and Small Sairei County in the east, and Beijing County in the north was severed.

Princess Fleischer's desire for power itself is very indifferent. If it wasn't for the continuation of the orthodox blood of Arthur's royal family, she would never have thought of becoming a queen at all.After being unanimously persuaded by the nobles including the star teacher, she did not hesitate for a long time, and agreed to take back the golden throne that symbolizes royal power as a prerequisite for becoming king.

The golden throne was placed in the audience hall of the royal palace. Due to an accident where no witnesses survived (it seems that a huge stone statue with a respect of [-] tons fell from the sky?), the entire royal palace has become a ruin with only broken walls.Let alone whether the throne made of precious metals and gemstones can still be preserved intact, if you want to return there openly, in fact, there is no essential difference between taking back the king's capital Fermeyer that was occupied by demons .

Since Li Wei actually held the command of the coalition forces, if he offered support, at least half of the vacillating nobles in the royal capital would turn to support Princess Fleisher's ascension to the throne.However, on this matter, the young griffin lord was silent from beginning to end, so so far, the Kingdom of Arthur still has no supreme ruler, and a series of dazzling titles such as Levi's Guardian of the Realm are still It's just a false name to be confirmed.

In fact, vanity is enough.

After the death of Earl Ansair, governor of the Northern County, due to the firm support of the northern lords headed by Lord Cedric the White Wolf, Li Weiston had already grasped the highest power in the Northern County.In the current fragmented state of the kingdom, the supreme power of Northern County and the supreme power of the Kingdom of Arthur can already be equated.The Guardian of the Northern Territory is the title granted to Li Wei by the Dragon King, and even the nobles of the royal capital who are most familiar with the relevant laws cannot raise any objections.

Of course, no one dared to raise objections.These royal nobles who are familiar with the rules of the game of power are very clear that the various objections they raised did not touch the actual change of power, but just let Li Wei feel their existence in this form.The game of power is not a short game, and many nobles in the royal capital who are still sober-minded are even prepared to spend a long time playing this game.

As for the final result, whether it is the establishment of the new kingdom or the revival of Arthur's kingdom, it is not worth their concern at all. As long as they can participate in the structure of power, these people can be satisfied.

No noble in the royal capital would be interested in the houses used to house ordinary refugees, and even the various supplies prepared in the camp could not arouse their interest.They just took a general look at the grain, cloth and furs piled up in the warehouse, and some people proposed to go to the conference hall of the camp to communicate with the village representatives of the camp, and some people proposed to visit Take a look at the two newly built temples.

These requests were quickly agreed by Li Wei, and then everyone was divided into two groups. The court chief Bamili Yang and most of the nobles of the royal capital followed the Griffin Lord to the meeting hall. A young scholar prepares to visit the temple.

Captain Krakow originally wanted to arrange for a militiaman to guide them, but the young scholar politely refused. "Captain Krakow, my instructor and I just want to take a look around, and it's very safe here, so there's no need to send someone with us, right?"

Hearing what the young scholar said, Captain Krakow thought for a moment, then nodded seriously, "Well, if you have something to do, please call at any time." After speaking, the old soldier put on his helmet, and then He walked towards the chamber with vigorous steps.

Seeing the back of Captain Krakow going away, the muscles on the face of Star Mentor Sacienhell twitched slightly, and the short white beard that had just grown on his chin also moved, revealing a smile of unknown meaning. "Qihe, help me, let's go to the Temple of Storms first."

The young scholar Qihe took the hand of the star mentor and led him slowly into the Temple of Storms, which was shaped like a white tower.Although Satsunhell is old, his body and spirit have always been good, and he is even more vigorous than some people in their 50s.However, when he was evacuating the capital, the authority of prophecy who could listen to the language of heaven did not predict the existence of a small stone, so that he tripped over it and smashed his right hip bone.

As an important minister and scholar master of the Kingdom of Satsenhell, he can certainly enjoy the treatment of medical magic, but the storm priest who healed him is obviously not very smart, and he did not consider the age of the old scholar, so in Some unfortunate little accidents happened while the bone was healing.

These little accidents didn't make Satzenher lose his ability to stand up and walk, but at least they made his mobility inconvenient.As soon as the Archbishop Bovais of the Temple of Storms got the news, he immediately came to treat Instructor Star with a full face of apology, but after he checked the old man's injuries in detail, he could only shrug his shoulders and express that he was powerless.

Aside from some dislocations, Satzenher's hip healed very successfully, even according to Archbishop Bovais - stronger than it was before the break.But such a strong hip bone could not help the old man to walk flexibly, instead he had to drag a lame all the time.

If you want to solve the problem of dislocation of the hip bones, you can only smash the hip bones again, and the cracks must be exactly the same as the last time. This is probably a problem that even the Marquis Osiris, the sky knight, cannot do. Although Ci Enheer was very unwilling, he had to accept this helpless result.

At the same time, let him write this account on the Griffin Lord.

The Temple of Storms in the camp is small in scale. The person in charge of the temple is a low-level storm priest who cannot use healing spells yet, and has several trainee priests as his assistants in preaching and presiding over the daily affairs of the temple.Seeing the stellar mentor and the young scholar Qi He enter the temple, the low-ranking priest rushed to greet him and bowed with the solemn appearance unique to priests.

"Praise be to my lord Tomica, the humble servant of the god of the sky greets you, what is your business?"

"Praise him forever." Qihe replied, and at the same time took out a few gold coins from the wallet at his waist, "My lord pastor, my teacher and I would like to donate some gold coins to the God of the Sky, and at the same time hope to be able to gain the power to control the thunderbolt." the blessing of the

The trainee pastor was very happy to receive such a gift, "May the blessings of the god of the sky be with you forever." He said with a smile on his face, and took the few gold coins with both hands.

Satzenhell didn't care about the priest's gratitude, and his attention was never on people. The master scholar carefully looked at the temple, and then showed a disappointed expression.

"Qihe, it seems that there is nothing here, let's go to the Temple of the Earth."

(End of this chapter)