When Philip returned to his homeland with the Bretonnian coalition expedition to the Badlands, he saw the devastated port and town. Apparently, during their absence, the green-skinned orcs sacked the port city.
At this moment, what appeared in front of them was the Port of Emon, which was almost in ruins. The fire had devoured the city, leaving only the charred skeletons of houses. There were no merchant ships coming and going in the port, and there were no dock workers, small traders, or citizens.
Some are just patches of black ruins and rotting corpses. Under the reflection of the setting sun, they look like a dead city in hell.
"You are right, Leon. The greenskins will not give up. They entered Bretonnia directly."
With a sad look on his face, Philip turned to Leon and found that there was no trace of sadness or surprise on his nephew's face. On the contrary, Leon looked very calm, even a little cold, and there seemed to be something in his gray eyes.
What was burning? Is it hatred or reason? Philip couldn't see it.
"Uncle, I think the situation is worse than we expected."
Leon narrowed his eyes and looked around, then continued——
"This place was completely destroyed by the massacre, but there was no trace of resistance at all. The army defending the city must have been annihilated at the first opportunity, or escaped before the orcs attacked. Otherwise, the city should remain
There are no traces of battle. However, there are no traces. This shows that..."
Leon swallowed and said in a heavy voice——
"This shows that there are no reinforcements. The king has not organized reinforcements to support the border at all. Port Emon is isolated and helpless and is submerged by the green tide. It is foreseeable that other towns will be the same."
"The consequences are worse than we thought."
Philip let out a long sigh.
"The king does not have the ability to organize a new legion in a short period of time, so Bretonnia is actually at its most empty now. This green-skinned army will ravage the entire territory in just two months. Perhaps, we are the only ones
The Bretonnian legions can be saved."
"It's so ridiculous that the expeditionary force turned into the National Salvation Army."
Philip laughed at himself.
"We must know the movements of the greenskin army now to determine their next target and stop them before destruction comes."
Philip said worriedly.
Two days later, the dispatched scouts returned to the expeditionary camp with news——
"Lyon, the intelligence is almost completely consistent with our predictions. The green-skinned army marched directly into the hinterland of Bretonnia and headed north. Now, it has surrounded the central town of Bohemund."
"But there is still no news from the king."
"Maybe the herald didn't expect us to come back, and maybe the king didn't either."
"It should be said that no one in Bretonnia would have thought that we would turn back halfway."
Lyon added.
"Now, Bretonnia depends on us. Don't expect the king to do anything else. Just let him sit on the throne and watch us build achievements in this land. The Lady of the Lake will see what we do today.
for."
Philip's mood suddenly became high again, which was a kind of self-comfort. After all, they came against the king's order. It was equivalent to canceling the chivalrous expedition without permission.
"Uncle, I'm afraid Boemond can't wait for us to rush to help. The large army is marching too slowly. I plan to lead an army of knights to rush to Boemond as quickly as possible."
"Are you crazy? Leon, you have to know that this green-skinned army completely annihilated Duke Xion's army in Death Valley. Its combat effectiveness and scale are definitely the most threatening in decades."
Philip stared at his nephew with wide eyes. In recent years, Leon's actions and radical thoughts began to make him a little unsure.
"Uncle, being cautious is correct in most cases, but in some special cases, taking risks is the only solution. As you just said, this green-skinned army is the one that annihilated Duke Xion.
, slaughtering and plundering the city along the way. However, the king has been unable to organize reinforcements. At this moment, the residents and soldiers of Bormond will feel so desperate and fearful when faced with the green siege. What they want is not only real money.
They need military support, but they also need the confidence to withstand the darkness. What I want to bring them is this confidence."
Leon held his head high and spoke seriously and solemnly.
Philip didn't say anything anymore, but turned to look into the distance. Black smoke was rising from the horizon, which was the trace left after the destruction.
Looking back at his nephew, Philip felt mixed emotions in his heart. He knew that Leon's decision might be the right one, but it would be a far-fetched end and full of dangers. If he were not his closest relative, Philip might not be so hesitant.
Seeing his uncle's hesitation, young Leon directly pulled out the sharp sword in his hand, pointed it at the sky, and read loudly——
"I swear by the Lady of the Lake, punish evil and promote good, and save the weak. This is the knight's belief, and it is also my belief."
After saying that, he put the long sword into its sheath again. This move attracted the attention of the surrounding knights.
At this time, Philip had no choice but to pray to the Lady of the Lake to protect Lyon.
Seeing his uncle's acquiescence, Leon walked into the crowd and began his passionate pre-war mobilization——
"Brothers, when Bretonnia is once again in dire straits, the city of Bohemund is in danger. There are tens of thousands of Bretonnian people living there. In order to prevent the greenskins from invading Bohemund and massacring the city, we must rush
Reach Boemond before the defenders collapse."
"The legions are marching too slowly, so I will gather a few brave men and rush to Boemond as quickly as possible to stop the green-skinned orcs."
"Brothers, you and I are people who have sworn an oath. We swore allegiance to the goddess of the lake and allegiance to the king. Now is the time for you and me to fulfill our oaths. The chivalrous expedition has been cancelled. Now, we are the only ones who can save
The vitality of Bretonnia."
"In front of us are tens of thousands of green-skinned troops. If we go here, we may die on the way to charge, but the glory of you and me will last forever."
"For Bretonnia! Who wants to go with me!?"
Standing in the middle of the crowd, Leon Leo Cornish shouted loudly.
However, no one responded to him...
One second, two seconds, three seconds, time seemed to freeze. There was deathly silence all around, and even Leon himself widened his eyes. He never thought that the spirit of chivalry in Bretonnia had fallen to such an extent that the oath was no longer worth mentioning.
Is it? The spirit of sacrifice has become a thing of the past in Bretonnia? Then, what is the meaning of this kingdom’s existence?…
Just when he fell into despair, an old knight walked out of the crowd. The old knight did not say too many words, but directly pulled out his sword, thrust it into the soil hard, and read in a heavy and deep voice -
—
"I would like to go with you, Lyon."
Leon looked at the knight, with excitement and a hint of surprise in his eyes, because the knight who joined the team was not an ordinary knight, but a Holy Grail Knight, and in Bretonnia, his reputation was almost unknown to everyone——
Herrus once killed the devil and the troll by himself.
Herrus didn't say anything anymore, just gave Leon an approving look, and then silently took back the sword.
After the old knight announced to join, two more kingdom knights announced to join. They are followers and admirers of Herrus.
The fourth person to join the team is another Holy Grail Knight - Rahel Heimer. He is also Leon's playmate and comrade who grew up with him.
The joining of the two Holy Grail knights greatly boosted morale. It seemed that in an instant, a lost spiritual power was awakened among the Bretonnian knights. Even if they were killed in battle, even if they were sacrificed, there was no hesitation in the spirit of chivalry.
It seems that joining this team means glory and that one is a true Bretonnian knight. Those who do not join will be labeled as cowards and weaklings.
As a result, more and more knights announced to join this "death squad".
However, even so, Lyon still felt great pressure when counting the number of people. After gathering almost half of the knights in Uncle Philip's legion, the number was only a few hundred. And what they were about to face was a violent army.