Gram and Franco were at the end of the group, and a little ahead of them was Count Duan, who had the blood of the royal griffin. This guy was a relatively marginal figure among the masters. He had never led troops to fight, and his combat ability was average. If it weren't for the treatment of the plague, the emperor would not have transferred him to the front line. Because of this, he didn't have a chance to play in this battle, but worked as a senior guard beside the emperor.
Further ahead, beside the emperor were Gandas and Edel. Although Gandas had summoned Saint Morales, which directly led to the retreat, he was still one of the emperor's most trusted advisers. Edel, who was born in the Black Guard, always followed the emperor closely.
Gram looked at the narrow canyon ahead and saw two torches lit on the cliff. The two torches were inconspicuous not far from the stronghold where torches were also lit, but they were artificially swaying there. This was a signal to him.
He opened his mouth to speak to Franco, but no sound came out. However, Franco saw the movement of his brother's lips in the light of the surrounding soldiers' fire, and naturally understood what he wanted to say.
Gram is saying, “They’re ready.”
Franco nodded and raised his hand. Following behind them were the Emperor's Black Guards and the elite warriors of each family. Seeing this action, the elite warriors of the Bright Lion Family were all ready for battle, placing their weapons within reach. Then they stared at Franco closely, ready to act at his signal at any time.
Emperor Alfred in front was still talking to Masters Edel and Gandas. The emperor was talking about the next plan: "This time when we go back, we have to copy the same weapons as the Chinese, whether it's air guns or pneumatic cannons. Without these, our soldiers will be at a great disadvantage in fighting the Chinese."
"Yes, Your Majesty. The samples we seized have been transported to the imperial capital. Yesterday, the alchemists at the Imperial Alchemy Academy obtained preliminary results. They analyzed the Chinese inflatable magic array and understood the basic principles. Next, as long as we can understand some details of the magic array, we can reproduce these arrays ourselves."
"Well, what about the manufacturing of the metal parts of cannons and guns?" Emperor Alfred asked.
"Well, this part will take some time. We have never seen the Chinese use metals like we have. Alchemists have used other alternative materials. It is no problem to make them into gun barrels, but the cost is too high." Gandas replied.
Emperor Alfred said: "We must speed up. The Chinese have occupied Heimu Pass and will definitely be eyeing our land. This battle that has not been concluded today will be fought again someday."
"Yes, your majesty," Gandasi replied.
"Edel, have the Chinese caught up with us since we set out?" asked the emperor.
Edel stretched out his hand to call over a black guard, asked a few questions, and then said to the emperor: "They sent a cavalry unit to follow us from behind, and other than that, there are no other people. However, we also have people at the rear of the team to guard against them."
The emperor asked, "Is there no magician secretly following us?"
"None found so far," Edel replied.
"This won't work. If their master launches a surprise attack, those of us at the end of the team will basically have no ability to resist." Emperor Alfred turned around and said to Gram, "Gram, you should take the elite of the family to the back to prevent the Chinese from chasing us."
Gram and Franco were both stunned and nervous. They both suspected that the emperor had discovered something. Franco said, "Your Majesty, in my opinion, nothing is more important than protecting your safety. If the Chinese front had not occupied the teleportation array, you should have returned to the imperial capital. Now that we are heading to Holy Sword City, you are in the most dangerous time. I think it is better to be careful. After all, with my arms injured, Gram is the most combat-capable bloodline master in existence."
Gram also said: "Your Majesty, those people in the rear are all insignificant beast soldiers. Our elite are in the front. Even if we are attacked, we have enough time to react. We have fewer masters than the enemy. If the six of us are separated, it will be easy for the enemy to use their numerical advantage to encircle and suppress us. On the contrary, as long as we gather together and bring the most elite guards with us, we will not give the enemy any chance."
Emperor Alfred yelled, "Fools, if I didn't want to maintain basic morale and save these soldiers, would I have to go with you? Most of these soldiers have received high-level blood from various families, and they still have considerable growth potential. In just one or two months, new low-level blood warriors will appear among them! Moreover, we copied the Chinese weapons later, don't we need someone to operate them? Who told you to think that the beast warriors are so cheap? We have already lost tens of thousands of warriors. If we don't preserve the forces at hand, how can we resist the Chinese attack?"
Gram glanced at Franco, who slowly shook his head. Gram could only say, "Yes, Your Majesty. I will lead the team to the back."
He waved to the elite members of the family in the team behind him, and they stepped out of the mixed team. Gram and Franco turned their horses around and walked back, but when he and Franco passed each other, he heard the other whisper, "Hold on, don't go too far, we'll be there soon."
Gram responded and slowly formed a team on the spot. The emperor and his men continued to move forward. Gram looked back at them. The light of the surrounding torches shone on his face. There was no expression on his well-defined face, but the hand that tightly grasped the reins showed his hidden surging anger.
When the emperor walked a little further away, Gram snorted and loosened the reins. The look in his eyes was as if he was looking at a pile of garbage. He waved his hand to gather the thirty or so knights around him and said, "That idiot gave us a chance. Originally, I asked you to act behind those black guards, and our forces were still scattered. Now we have found a reason to gather together. We will not move here. Now everyone should stimulate their blood and move forward slowly. In a while, as long as the emperor's team in front is attacked, we will run straight over. Don't care about anyone else on the road, just rush past the guards around the emperor. You have to create opportunities for me to twist off the emperor's head!" (To be continued)