The sky was grey, and before the sun had fully risen, the earth was shrouded in pale blue smoke.
Tari led three thousand knights through the wilderness of Legrand. In the blue mist, the armors on their bodies glowed with cold light, and there were dark red bloodstains left in the gaps of the armors, which were traces of their fighting all the way from Putao Port. Dutt, his squire, followed him on a brown horse.
"Legrand's bloody bitches."
The squire Dutt complained to Tari.
Tari glanced at his friend. There was still a scar on his face that had not healed, and the bone was deep. Looking at the wound, it looked like someone had bitten a piece of flesh from his face.
Tari knew how the wound came from. When they passed by a small town the day before yesterday, the garrison rested there for a night and replenished dry food. Dutt fell in love with a local blond shepherd, and while doing that, the blond girl bit him hard in the throat.
If Duna hadn't flashed fast enough, it wouldn't be a face injury now.
The blond shepherd with freckles on her face was like a madman, and she bit her hard on Duna's face, no matter how much he kicked her, she would not let go. The other knights who were watching the play saw something bad and gave her an arrow before she fell on the haystack, biting the torn piece of meat in her mouth.
Duna was cursing at the time, wanting to finish the work before the body was cold.
Tari stopped him, set the grass on fire with a fire, and issued a massacre order.
"The girls aren't possessed, are they?"
Duna took off his helmet while breathing in the cold air. The shepherd's bite was so hard that the helmet rubbed to the wound, and the blood continued to flow out.
Tari didn't answer.
In front of him, the last look of the blond shepherd who fell on the hay the day before yesterday kept appearing in front of him. Her face was actually very ordinary, and it was only a guy like Duna who didn't shy away from meat and vegetables that could have an evil heart. Most of the freckled young woman's face was stained red with blood, and her expression was twisted. It was neither despair nor fear, but an incomparable hatred and resentment, and a kind of incomprehensible thing.
And that thing hidden in his eyes, since he set foot on the land of Legrand, he seems to have seen it many times.
It was because of that expression that an inexplicable fear exploded in Ta Li's heart, so that he instinctively ordered the village to be burned, and the expression that made him fearful was burned in the fire.
It wasn't until the whole village was burning in flames that an old man rushed up and grabbed a stone to try to kill them, and Tari suddenly realized why he was afraid.
He watched the old man holding the stone being provoked by the knight's lance, and the stone held by the old hand would not let go, his eyes fixed on them.
The eyes of the old man and the shepherdess overlapped, and there was no fear or regret in those eyes, only intense hatred and anger, just like the eyes of a lion. He has seen so many eyes like this! Since the landing of the Eternal Knights, they have been fighting all the way, and he has seen such looks on Legrand too many times!
This time, the Eternal Knights, as the vanguard of the Holy Army of the Holy Land, did not carry too many supplies when advancing, and the small manors and towns they passed by were their natural supply points.
In the previous Holy Army movement, this "on-site supply" approach was time-saving and labor-saving for the Holy Army, and the effect was extraordinary. However, this time in Legrand, their "on-site supply" operation seemed to be much more laborious than before. In the past Holy Army movement, those villages and towns encountered in the face of the murderous knights, either fled early or paid the ransom in advance, and encountered very little resistance - how can civilians resist the well-equipped knights
Only this time, their progress at Legrand was thwarted.
Along the way, in the manor town they encountered, the Legrands would rather burn the food and grass by themselves than provide any necessary supplies for the Knights. They had to take the lead in attacking ordinary villages, and after slaughtering some adult men, they were able to rest there.
Tari couldn't understand, what inspired these people to raise their arms towards the prestigious Eternal Knights
They are just ordinary people! The best Self-Defense Forces are just wearing rough leather armor, holding simple swords, and the rest of the elderly, women and children are holding kitchen knives and wooden sticks - are they joking
Tari didn't understand.
He glanced back at the army he led. In fact, according to the original plan, he should have taken a larger team to just fight Jolin County. However, although the siege movement of the Eternal Knights is progressing quickly, after the city was captured, the citizens faced a formidable enemy who invaded their city and were more hostile than any nation they had ever encountered before.
The Eternal Knights had to leave more manpower to garrison the stronghold they had finally attacked.
The people of this country, the Legrands, from top to bottom, seem to have a kind of potency flowing in their veins, as if everyone is a lunatic.
Like lions roaring, like lions never surrender.
Tari had never encountered a country like this, a nation that seemed to be able to burn down their cities but not their backbones.
This made him feel an extreme fear in his heart.
Vaguely, Tari's confidence in the 200,000 Holy Army's rapid destruction of the country this time around was shaken.
"Sir, we are almost there."
The leader in the team was a priest, who was wearing a wrinkled black robe, sat on a mare with a beer belly, and secretly rubbed his lower back with his hands. Obviously, this guy, who is more familiar with the type of wine than the holy book, was tortured enough by the rapid march along the way.
"Through that valley, the Kendi Plains are in front of you, and you will come across the plains."
He has been on the road since the day before yesterday, and Tari inevitably felt tired at this time. He looked in the direction pointed by the priest, and heaved a sigh of relief: "Speed up, and when you reach the plain, station and rest."
The reason why they rest during the day is because once they are stationed at night these days, Legrand's Self-Defense Force will attack at night. They fired lit wooden arrows at the tent from a distance, and at one point the entire camp nearly burned. The Eternal Knights were tortured enough, and since then, they had to choose to rest during the day.
Jolinshire was the last castle they had to conquer on their trip.
Once they occupied Jolin County, they could control the hub of the Doma River forward, and take care of the subsequent troops backward. It was the outpost that was the foothold. At the same time, Tari received news that the army organized by Legrand was also marching towards the middle. If they did not capture Yolin County before them and were surrounded by the army, this small Holy Army might not end up. would be wonderful.
The time is just right now. Legrand's huge army is moving slowly, and it will take at least five days to reach the vicinity of Jolin County.
By that time, they would have taken advantage of the backhands laid by the Chief of the Trial Bureau when they occupied Yolin County to capture this battleground.
"Full speed ahead!"
Tarry ordered.
The knights braced themselves for the exhaustion of marching all night. The horses neighed, and the cavalry with the Eternal Cross engraved on their armor marched towards the narrower valley.
The wind was blowing down from both sides of the valley, and Tari felt a little uncomfortable after wearing the helmet for so long. He also undid the shield attached to the chainmail under his helmet, ready to breathe.
As soon as it was untied, a piece of sawdust was carried by the wind and swept into the tower's face.
He took the sawdust off his face, and was about to throw it away when he suddenly thought of something, put it in front of him and looked at it - it wasn't natural peeling bark, it was fresh artificial logging debris.
Tari looked up immediately, and he looked around the valleys on the left and right sides. This terrain was too suitable for ambushes.
Before entering the valley, the reason why they relaxed their vigilance and did not send someone to reconnaissance was because they knew that Legrand's army could not arrive here at this time. But now this piece of fresh sawdust suddenly gave him an unexpected premonition—the logging was in autumn, and it was still midsummer, why didn't they cut it early or late, but when they passed through this valley, someone had cut it here. Wood
On the battlefield, giant trees are often used to…
Block the way!
Thinking of this, Tari's heartbeat suddenly skipped a beat. He stood up and raised his hand, shouting loudly, "Stop! Turn around! Exit!"
The knights looked at the tower in amazement, but before he could emphasize it again, a loud rumbling sound came from both sides of the valley.
"Oops."
Upon hearing this voice, Tari immediately turned around.
I saw sections of giant trees rolling down from both sides of the valley.
"We are ambushed! Your lord!"
The pastor who led the way was shaking like he was dancing at this time, his voice was shrill, and his fat face was completely white.
Duna slapped it with a backhand: "Shut up! I haven't asked you if you were deliberately ambush!"
Legrand's dark red battle flag was raised in the forest, followed by figures standing up from the bushes on both sides of the valley. They were condescending, and the other party had been waiting for a long time.
"Defense! Gather!"
Tari didn't bother to pursue these, he drew his sword and ordered sharply. At this time, the Eternal Knights continued to roll down huge trees in the front and back valleys, and the other party's intention was obvious, that they wanted to trap them in the valley.
Tari was taken aback by the sudden attack, but he quickly calmed down after a brief shock. Legrand's army can suddenly appear here, and the number of the other party cannot be much larger than them. As the elite of the Holy Court, the Eternal Knights, it is not the first time they have encountered this kind of encounter in the canyon.
As long as they survived the initial longbow suppression, they were able to launch a counterattack against the enemy on the valley.
Unexpectedly, however, Tari did not hear the neighing of the warhorse, nor the sound of the longbow firing.
Downwind, Legrand soldiers with handguns aimed their muzzles at the Eternal Knights trapped in the canyon. Gunpowder smoke and sparks rose from the muskets in their hands at the same time, and solid bullets made of iron and lead shot out with a huge roar.
The well-trained horses of the Eternal Knights all lost control, neighing and wanting to run wildly.
Because at this moment, the sound of artillery on both sides of the valley roared like thunder!