A thunder flashed across the sky, and a violent sound exploded in the thick clouds, then turned into a rolling roar that spread in a distant direction.
In this late autumn season, the weather is already cold, and a heavy downpour makes the nights in the mountains even more unbearable.
The heavy rain washed away the fallen leaves, and the water splashed among the stone grass, gathering into a stream and flowing down the mountain.
In the dark forest, a brazier is still burning, and the iron roof on it can effectively prevent rain from extinguishing the flames.
In the dark forest, these burning braziers are like small points of light, dotting the dark earth, forming a long and vague dragon, winding between the mountains and canyons, quiet and spectacular.
In the temporary tent, soldiers from the Dryas organization were maintaining their weapons and preparing dinner. Some soldiers were also patrolling at night wearing raincoats to prevent possible attacks.
After announcing the war against the Western Empire, the approximately 400,000 troops from the Southern Territory were divided into two groups and entered the Western Territory. One group supported the independent son of the gryphon Jerran, and this group advanced from the mountains further southwest into the hinterland of the Western Territory.
.
"General, the entire camp has been set up and an early warning line has been established around the perimeter."
A large tent was hidden in the thick forest. After opening the door curtain, bright yellow light spilled out.
In the tent, Guhuas was sitting at the top. There was a large square table with a map on it. There were several staff officers beside him. They were discussing the route of the march. There were several small tables next to it.
, the three secretaries were sorting out information and recording problems encountered during the march.
Compared to the past, Guhuas is now a little more solemn, wearing a solid suit of armor and corresponding epaulettes on his shoulders. Unfortunately, his waistline and thick arms, which are as wide as three people, make his overall image incompatible with others.
It has a rough and heroic atmosphere.
"Well done, give Mr. Sante three drumsticks." He patted his thigh and said to the guard behind him.
Then the guard took out the still hot food from the fresh-keeping metal box behind him and gave it to the officer who had not eaten dinner.
Although he became a general, Guhuas still retained many of his previous hobbies, such as eating and drinking, so there were dedicated chefs in the accompanying guards.
In his words, "These are the only hobbies I have. If I quit this, what flavor will life have?"
Although his military strategy may be far from that of the rising geniuses of his younger generation, this man is still the unshakable number one figure in the Dryas Army. Except for Lorraine Hill, almost no one can control him.
Fortunately, he is not the kind of blind and arrogant person. He rarely interferes in the designation of battle plans. He only fulfills the general's responsibility in leading troops and taking the lead.
After discussing the next actions with several staff members, today's affairs were basically settled. Guhuas leaned on the thick wooden chair, and the heavy armor and body pressed the wooden chair to make a creaking sound.
He kept tapping the handrail with his fingers and went through today's events. After feeling that nothing was wrong, the rough and arrogant general opened his eyes again.
"Pour me a beer." After he finished speaking, the guard next to him took out a large wooden cup, took out a full cup from the barrel behind the tent, and handed it to him.
After drinking a full glass of beer, the general made a sound of relief. He felt that the fatigue of today's march had dissipated in an instant, and he was ready to refill the beer.
"No need." A cold voice stopped the guard at the side.
"This..." The guard hesitated immediately.
Hearing the cold voice from the side, Guhuas waved his hand and asked the guard in trouble to step aside temporarily.
"Miss Perit Witch, don't be so harsh. I remember His Highness Jia Lan also said at the beginning that I can drink some beer, as long as it doesn't affect my work. Look, I've finished all the things for the day..." As he said that, he started to drink some beer.
He sat up straight on the wooden chair, turned around, and looked at the cold witch who had just entered the tent.
The black-based witch robe perfectly outlines Perit's figure. The silver frost patterns on the sleeves and collar indicate that she is a branch of the Frostleaf Witch from the "Witches of Four Seasons".
As an outstanding member of the "Witches of Four Seasons", Pelite was entrusted with an important task by Lorraine Hill, which was to supervise and assist the general Zuo Guhuas.
As an existence of Death Sequence 6, this witch always has a look of refusing to let strangers in wherever she goes. Although she has a good appearance, many people are still afraid of her. She usually has a strong will and action.
A strong existence, even if Guhuas is stronger than her, she doesn't dare to neglect her.
"His Royal Highness Jialan said that you can drink alcohol after finishing work on weekdays without being affected, but now we are in a war. General, please don't make the mistake." For an old man like Guhuas, Pelite has long been used to talking to him.
Immune.
She sat down at the large square table, put down the cardboard and book pages in front of her, and by the bright yellow light, she quickly dealt with today's unfinished business and made plans for tomorrow.
Compared to the indulgent Guwars, Pellit is the one who arranges the general's daily schedule. From the speeches to boost morale, the topics of meetings, and the time allocation for inspections and training, she is basically the one who arranges it.
Do.
Without this talented military adjutant, Guhuas's military command ability would have been greatly reduced, which is why Lorraine Hill placed this witch in the army.
Looking at the adjutant who was still working hard, Gu Huas lost his temper at this time and could only wave his hand and asked if there was any late night snacks to warm up for the witch lady.
After Perit finished handling the matter at hand, a bowl of hot chicken soup and bread were brought over by the guard.
"Eat something. It's raining heavily today. Although you are an extraordinary person, you are still a girl. If you get sick, I won't be able to explain it to Master Jialan if she comes to hold you responsible." Gu Huas advised the witch lady.
.
Although there was a slight snort at the tip of his nose, Perit was not the kind of person who did not know what was good or bad. He did not ridicule or refuse, but just silently finished the midnight snack in front of him.
"Lord Guhuas, please go to bed early tonight." After eating, the witch lady stood up.
"According to the predictions of the fellow Windleaf Witches, this heavy rain will stop in the second half of the night. There will be a short period of clear air tomorrow morning, which is just right for traveling. In the afternoon, it may rain again."
The witches of the four seasons perform their own duties, among which the Windleaf Witch mainly focuses on predicting the weather and spreading knowledge and ideas.
"I understand." Guhuas nodded casually to express his understanding.
Seeing the general's unconcerned look, Perit seemed to feel slightly unhappy again. She shook her head to suppress it, and then explained the reason.
"Do you think I'm harsh? It's true." She admitted her shortcomings generously.
"But now we really need to be more focused and serious about it."
"This is our first time at Dryas to fight in a foreign land of the empire. It is completely different from the past. The soldiers only follow orders, but we have to consider more things."
"Victory is necessary, but future governance is also important. This is a rare war of liberation, rather than the previous war of aggression between nobles or countries."
"We are still very green in this area at the moment, but it is a very important matter, so we must pay special attention to it."
"So I will be a lot harsher, and I ask for your forgiveness, Sir Guhuas." After saying that, she bowed deeply to the general, and then slowly exited the tent.
Watching the young witch leave, Guwaras picked up the empty cup beside him and prepared to take a sip, but then looked at it and put it down with a sigh.
"Oh, these little girls are really awesome. I don't even want to drink anymore. That's all. If it weren't for Master Jialan, I would have died that night. I'd better bear with this little thing."
As a completely different system from the empire, the Drywood organization is not only different from the empire in structure, but also puts a lot of effort and energy into the propaganda and popularization of ideas, with the military being a top priority.
Therefore, we can often see those members who wear fairy wood badges on their chests and explain propaganda to their companions during the march.
It is precisely with these countless active members at the bottom that the army and the people are firmly in the organization, and the will and discipline to fight are greatly guaranteed.
This is also the reason why top leaders of organizations such as Lorraine Hill still maintain great confidence even when they are not as good as their enemies on paper.
Three days later, this 80,000-strong army marching westward broke into the hinterland of the Western Territory and began fighting with the local nobleman, Earl Derich.
On the city wall, a red and gray eagle-headed flag was hung, and local soldiers holding muskets fired condescendingly. The green smoke echoed in the valley along with the light and sound of the fire.
Below the city wall, the fairy wood soldiers with new rifles on their shoulders were crawling forward, using the trees in the valley to dodge and move forward, gradually approaching the castle.
"Damn it, those trees blocked the shooting." The noble officer on the city wall looked at the fairy wood soldiers approaching below, feeling shocked and angry.
"Burn them!" a bearded nobleman ordered angrily.
Then the few wizards in the castle began to cast spells, and the flaming meteors began to gather, and then streaked down the sky, hitting the densely wooded valley with their long flame tails.
"rise!"
Seeing the long-prepared bolide falling, the witches on the Drywood side who had been well prepared also cast spells to deal with it.
The thick air shield rose up and rotated at high speed, tearing apart the falling bolide and turning it into strands of fire, flinging it to the surrounding distance. Even if it fell, it would only cause a small fire, rather than suffocating the sweeping fire.
raging flames.
Amidst the scattered waves of fire and charred smoke, soldiers quickly approached the corner of the wall, and then a violent explosion sounded, and the city wall collapsed, leaving a gap.
The horn of charge sounded in the mountain forest, and then there was a roar, and many soldiers began to run wildly through the valley, pouring into the gap that exploded.
No matter how panic-stricken the defenders on the city wall were firing at this moment, they could not stop the wave of attack. Soon fierce street fighting began in the castle. Smoke and gunshots came from the towers and shooting holes from time to time, and a burst of noise began.
spread within the castle.
Soon after.
"Drink" Guhuas waved his giant ax, and a fierce slash was instantly made, breaking the shooting tower in front of him. The broken masonry collapsed everywhere, and countless enemy soldiers fled wailing.
With this unrivaled general charging forward, various solid fortresses were easily destroyed like sand, and various strongholds in the castle were captured at an extremely fast speed.
"Walk!"
Seeing that he could no longer hold on, Earl Derich, along with his two sons and guards, mounted the few griffons and flew into the sky, preparing to escape from the fallen castle.
"You can't escape."
A cold voice sounded from below behind him, and then Earl Derich felt his body stiffen, and he fell from the sky together with the gryphon. The ground, gray stone bricks and ruins in his field of vision continued to enlarge, making him scream in great horror.
Call.
"No"
He was about to be thrown into a ball of flesh, but as a witch in white robe stretched out his hand, the compressed air cushion rose instantly, buffering the impact, so that the earl did not die on the spot, but suffered broken bones all over his body from the fall.
Endless.
People present did not know whether he would die, but what they were sure of was that the earl would be tried and then given the punishment and treatment he deserved.
It is not enough to just kill the bodies of these nobles, but also to destroy them spiritually and completely eradicate the prestige and invincible image they have established among the common people.
Only in this way can the shackles be broken step by step, allowing these residents to liberate the old and outdated thinking constraints of the past.
Even if our ancestors had meritorious deeds in the past, it cannot change the fact that most nobles today are degenerate parasites.
They are neither holy, nor great, nor worthy of fear.
In the fierce fire, the red and gray eagle-headed flags were thrown into the fire and burned. Those pampered noble children who used to wear brocade clothes were escorted one by one by the soldiers to the center of the square where the bonfire was burning.
The nearby villagers and residents were called over, looking at the scene in front of them with worry and expectation.
In the light of the fire, these nobles no longer had the elegance and arrogance of the past. Their hair was messy, some were motionless, some could only cry, and some tried to struggle until they were hit by gun butts and knelt down, and then they stabilized.
Come down.
When everyone arrived, a cold and stern black-clad witch stepped through the ruins of fire and smoke and walked to the high platform.
She unfolded the scroll in her hand and began to read out the sins that the Derich family had committed and condoned over the years, as well as the various tragedies that had resulted. She also announced the familiar and unfamiliar faces that were found and imprisoned under the castle.
Some of these people are beautiful girls who have been kidnapped, some are people who have offended the Derich family, and some are civilians who have been captured by the Derich family and want to persecute them for their money and treasures.
After these evidences and charges were read out one by one, the nobles who had committed unforgivable crimes were led to kneel down in front of everyone.
Following the order, the cold and sharp blade slashed down in the firelight, and the heads fell down one by one, rolling on the charred ground, covered with blood and soil, and their former appearance could no longer be seen clearly.
The red blood was still spraying on the neck, the rich blood, and the rolling head. Everything in front of them was like a giant hammer hammering into the hearts of countless residents, giving people incomparable shock and impact.
They stared at this scene blankly, feeling both cold and hot all over.
How dare they? That, that is the noble master, such a noble person...
The flames were still burning, and the nose was filled with the strong smell of blood and gunpowder smoke. All the information received in the mind was like burning, making people tremble and the body tremble.
Nobles, lord, those powerful knights, actually, actually died like this.
In a trance, everything became blurry, as if someone was shouting and cheering, and the voice became clearer and clearer in the firelight.
Until it erupts in the chest and rushes out of the throat.
"For the sake of enlightenment and justice, the iron fire will never be extinguished!"
In front of the burning ruins of the castle, fists were raised high, and the sound of oaths resounded throughout the sky.