The door of the study was knocked, and a subordinate walked in, carefully placing a metal cylinder in front of Salvador.
"Sir, this is the secret letter I just received."
Salvador waved his hand solemnly, and after his subordinates walked out, he unscrewed the small metal cylinder.
Because this method of sending letters is delivered by trained wing eagles, too heavy and too large letters will affect the load of the wing eagles, so these secret letters are extremely brief.
After unfolding, there are some special numerical symbols on it. El Salvador picked up a copy of the "Empire Infantry Exercises" from the bookshelf at the back. the contents of the secret letter.
After closing the book, Salvador sneered at the corner of Salvador's mouth: "Hmph... should I say it's a coincidence? Or, luck is on our side... Odin, greedy Odin... However, this greed, But it happened to help us a lot.”
※※※
"Drink!"
With a loud shout, the horse's hooves flew, and it rushed into the camp. Wherever it passed, there was a gust of wind, and fine snow particles were caught in the wind. The burly warriors stood with their blades in awe, and cast a respectful look at the black shadow of the team of knights galloping past.
Hundreds of ten riders passed by like a black stream of iron, flowing into the camp.
The camp stretched for several miles, a typical mixed-arms regiment camp. The trenches in front of the camp were deep and wide, and the fence walls were dense and high. A small river passed by the left side of the camp, and turned another corner. It was morning, and many Odin warriors in leather jackets were breaking the ice by the river with hammers to get water.
In this far-flung northern country, even though it is almost March, it is still a piece of ice and snow. The wind blowing in the middle of the night makes the ice on the river thick and hard, even the majestic Odin. The soldier holds a hammer, and a hammer blow is just a white mark. This brought a lot of trouble to the warriors who fetched the water, but the Odins have long been accustomed to this kind of life. Their skilled teams of two or three knocked open the ice on the river, and threw pieces of ice into huge wooden buckets with Going back, and then, the cavalry that went out in the morning also ran back. The reindeer of the Odin warriors gathered by the river to drink water.
This cold weather makes people's teeth cold, but for the Odin people who live in the northern country all the year round, they are already used to it. There are even some particularly sturdy Odin men who stand by the river and take off their hands. He took off his leather armor and left his upper body naked, revealing a sturdy physique that had been beaten in the ice and snow of the northern country. The muscles on his body were like beasts, laughing and scolding each other in the cold wind. He wiped Bai Xuelai's body carelessly, until his body was flushed red, even after taking a shower.
The weapons such as the battle axe and hammer that were placed next to it had already been frozen with a layer of frost, and these Odin warriors did not care. They grabbed it and tapped it a few times, and the ice ridges fell off.
Such sturdiness, if viewed by the Byzantines in the south, it is simply like a barbarian in the wild.
The riverside was busy in the morning, but at this time, a deep and distant horn sounded from the military camp in the distance. Among the sound, there was still a sonorous drum beat. The Odin warriors cheered!
"Hasting is back! Hastings is back!!"
Odin is savage and rude by nature, and does not stick to etiquette. The distinction between the upper and lower ranks is not very strict, and even small soldiers can call the general's name directly, but it is forbidden, but it is extremely harsh. Everyone seemed to be used to this tradition, and didn't feel disrespectful to call the general's name.
For the sturdy and unrestrained Odins, respect only needs to be in the heart, and there is no need to be too humble in the mouth.
The group of black riders that rushed into the camp was filled with cheers everywhere they passed: "Hasting is back." Even the soldiers on the tall watchtowers took off their leather caps and shouted loudly.
The black cavalry went straight into the depths of the camp, and rushed straight to the innermost dense company camp. The leading cavalry suddenly whistled, the horses hooves flew, and the fore-hoofs stood up, neighing, and stopped immediately, and The riders behind this ride also came to a halt with their hooves, and the speed of the Benz stopped as soon as they stopped, and they were firmly nailed to the ground like nails!
A lot of Odin warriors in leather jackets surrounded them, and those riders threw all kinds of prey hanging from their saddles on the ground, and let the warriors pick them up and carry them back.
And the leading black knight got off his horse and gently pushed up the visor on his helmet, revealing his face, not that Odin, who is Hasting, the Valkyrie
Hasting's face was covered with hoarfrost. At first glance, the sweat that flowed out was frozen in the cold wind, and his eyebrows became gray. He laughed, wiped his face with his backhand, and put the saddle on the saddle. He grabbed the three-edged battle gun on the top, strode to the gate of a large camp, and when he stabbed it hard, he heard a bang, snow and dirt flew up, and one third of the three-edged battle gun was directly taken by him. plunged into the soil.
An Odin warrior with a majestic figure like a black bear walked in front of him and helped him take off the leather cloak behind him with both hands. Hasting laughed: "I'm lucky today, I got a snow leopard! That thing runs fast, it hurts It took me ten more miles to catch up, if I hadn't been greedy for its fur, I would have been back for breakfast long ago!"
Sure enough, with Hasting's shout, the two cavalrymen ran out, reasonably carrying a net in their hands. Inside was a leopard covered in snow-white fur, bound all over, but still grinning and roaring.
"Brave Hastings! Brave Hastings!!"
The cheers around him started again, Hasting laughed and said to the majestic Odin warrior: "Let my horse down, feed it, and wash it carefully, this damn weather, running in the middle of the night, Don't freeze it with so much sweat."
After speaking, he walked into the huge tent amid cheers.
This tent is as big as a big house. Thirty-six thick wooden stakes are nailed into the corners. The thick tent is made of leather, made of deerskin, cowhide and other leather , impervious to rain and snow.
In the tent, the ground is covered with dozens of thick furs, which are soft and warm when you step on it, and there is no coldness at all. On both sides of the tent, in the six braziers, are filled with high-quality deer oil, all prepared with spices. Yes, the fire was cooking oil, the fire was bright, but there was no black smoke.
As soon as I entered the tent, it became a lot warmer. Two naked Odins with a majestic figure but a bald head came up, bent over to serve Hasting, took off his armor, and put on a black one for him. His robes, and he served him to let his hair down, and someone held a golden bowl filled with a bowl of hot deer blood. Hasting also drank it. The dryness and warmth rose up in the abdomen, and there was no coldness at all.
After a while, more than a dozen generals in various armors walked in from outside the tent. After entering, the bald-headed servants bumped into the cushions, and everyone sat on the ground at will, sitting around the tent, quietly one by one. Looking at Hastings, waiting for the leader to give orders.
Hasting stood there, with his hair disheveled, his leather robe half-open, revealing his strong chest, and looking at the dozen or so Odin generals in front of him - Odins are generally tall and majestic, in contrast, Hasting's Going up is much thinner, but there are so many majestic men like beasts, but they all look at him with reverence and surrender - Hasting can't help but feel a faint pride in his heart.
This is my army! !
"It's been fixed for a month, can you rest?" Hastings sneered.
The generals below immediately began to drink and shout.
"Enough rest! Enough can't be enough!"
"Yeah, in a month, everyone's bones are frozen, and if you don't move a few times, I'm afraid they will freeze!"
"These days of eating and drinking are so suffocating! Hastings, take us to fight!"
"Yeah! Our Black Flag Army, if we don't fight, our body will be itchy for three days! Hahahaha!"
"If this goes on like this, the boys will be all fat! What else will it be like!!"
Seeing the excitement below, Hasting smiled contentedly, then raised his hand and waved, like a knife, cutting off the shouting in the tent, everyone closed their mouths and stared at them closely. the commander-in-chief.
"Okay! Now that we've had enough rest, it's time to make a move!" Hasting's eyes gradually revealed a blade-like edge, and the corner of his mouth sneered: "This icy and snowy day, everyone really has no taste, you, dare to Don't dare to go hunting with me!"
hunt
Everyone was dumbfounded.
"Hasting, where are we going to hunt? Are we going to hunt those savages in the northern tundra? Or are we going to the west to hunt those recalcitrant savages?"
"Neither." Hasting snorted, his eyes forced everyone to shut their mouths again: "From the north to the west, it's all icy and snowy, and the snow is so thick that our knees can't run, and our deer can't run! The cold wind blows The skin of the person is about to crack! The roasted meat is frozen into stone in just one breath... What kind of shit tastes like in that kind of place!"
The eyes of everyone below suddenly lit up.
"South!!" Hastings shouted the answer: "The south is warm, the land is soft, our deer can run, those Byzantines are weak and incompetent, they are the prey of our Odins! Do you dare to follow me? Go hunting!"
South? ! Byzantium? !
The generals of Odin in the tent were immediately stunned.
Head south to fight Byzantium? It's a tempting idea, but... it's no small matter of stalking!
The structure of the Odin Empire is loose. Although it is called an empire, in fact, there are still many areas in the interior that exist in the form of tribes. Even in remote places, there are some barbarians who refuse to accept the rule of the emperor. Therefore, in the Odin Empire, some troops occasionally Going out for private hunting and looting is also an act tacitly approved by His Majesty the God Emperor of all dynasties.
But... to the south... It's not as simple as a private hunt, but a national war!
"Are you afraid!" Hasting raised his eyebrows and looked at the crowd with a sneer: "If you are afraid, get out of my tent, and then pack your bags and go back to Odin City! In my Black Flag Army, no coward!"
As soon as these words came out, there was an uproar below, and the general Odin shouted: "What are you afraid of! We are not cowards! How can the Odin people be afraid of those Byzantine sheep!!"
"that is!"
"Hasting! Don't underestimate people!!"
"We are not cowards!"
In the end, someone shouted: "Hasting! We are not cowards! But if you go south, without His Majesty's order, you will start a war without authorization..."
Hastings laughed, turned around suddenly, walked over to a case, grabbed something from the table, turned his head and threw it on the ground.
The thing was thrown in front of everyone's eyes, and everyone's words stopped abruptly.
This is a gold medal, the size of a palm, with the appearance of a bear head full of fangs, and the gold medal glows in the firelight in the tent.
"Your Majesty's gold medal!?"
Hasting snorted and shouted loudly: "This is Your Majesty's gold medal! I received it yesterday! His Majesty ordered us... to go south!!"
Now, where do people still have any doubts? Suddenly, the tent erupted in cheers.
"South! South!! South!!"
Among the cheers, General Odin roared: "Kill those Byzantine sheep and rob their horse armor!!"
Seeing everyone cheering, Hasting suddenly raised his hand, slapped it on the case with a snap, and the tent suddenly became awe-inspiring.
"Three days!"
Hasting's face was stern: "I only give you three days!! At noon three days later, the deer must be fed, the armor must be prepared, and the weapons must be polished. We are going hunting this time! Take it, go light! When you get to the south and kill those Byzantine sheep, are you afraid that there will be no baggage! Three days later, at noon, the whole army will set off and head south! Whoever drags it back will cut off its head and hang it on the flagpole!"
All the generals in the tent stood up and stood in front of them. After waiting for Hastings to finish speaking, a dozen Odin generals suddenly shouted.
"southward!!"
※※※
Ke Kelan strode into the door, winked, and the two warriors immediately closed the door and hung a thick leather curtain.
This tall and handsome but somewhat feminine noble Odin, with a gloomy face at the moment, walked into his hall, sat heavily on the large chair, grabbed a small harp, and plucked it a few times. The strings were finally disturbed, and with a bang, a string broke at his fingertips.
Ke Kelan's face became even more ugly, and he looked up at another person in the room.
Via was already standing there, her full purple hair wrapped in a hood, a long bow on her back, a light leather robe, and her face still covered with half an iron face.
"You're leaving?!" Ke Kelan frowned.
"One hundred days have passed." Via's tone was still so cold, and the half-stunned face was expressionless: "My business has been done."
"I'm afraid not." Ke Kelan sneered: "Do you know what news I just got?"
Via didn't speak, and didn't even look at Ke Kelan.
Ke Kelan sighed and said in a low voice: "My great father has already sent my dear elder brother out of Odin City! If I guessed correctly, it should have gone to Hastings. ."
Via remained silent.
"Don't you understand what I mean?" Ke Kelan sneered: "My news is that my great father and emperor also sent someone a gold medal! If nothing happens, Hastings' army He'll be on the move right away... Guess where his front will be pointing at this time?"
Via finally spoke: "I remember that Odin's mission has only left for less than ten days, and it is still on the way. Are you Odins planning to make a surprise attack while negotiating peace?"
"I'm not worried about this." Ke Kelan gritted his teeth: "But this time I sent troops, I didn't get the slightest news! Do you understand? My great father didn't even meet me once, didn't say a word to me! My regiment is still being groomed to the east..."
With Via's still indifferent expression, Ke Kelan suddenly became annoyed: "Aren't you worried at all?"
"What are you worried about? Are you worried that the Emperor Odin will know about you? Are you worried that he will know that you have contacts with us?"
"Hmph..." Ke Kelan took a deep breath, he calmed down, but a smile appeared on his face: "I know my father better than anyone else, he is not an old-fashioned fool! Me and I My brothers, he is very clear about all of our actions. This is the tradition of our Odin, the strong are respected! In order to compete for the position of the strong, everyone will use their own means, and he will not blame me for this... But, this In the second Hastings... I don't want to see my eldest brother do anything! Don't you worry, you Byzantium will suffer a big defeat?"
Via suddenly smiled.
When she smiled, even with half of her face, her beautiful face was like a blooming flower, but her eyes were still cold.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness, the order the teacher gave me seems to protect your safety - a hundred days. Now, my business is done, and before I came, the teacher said to me, anything else, let me ignore it , so, I will leave immediately." When Via said this, her tone gradually became cold: "What's more... why should I worry about Byzantium? Hmph... Byzantines, it would be better if they died."
※※※
"I just want to know, what exactly are you planning to do this time."
Standing in the old house of the Tulip family outside the city, Duke Minas looked gloomy: "I hope you better know what you are doing! Cavihill!"
Caviehir stood in the flowerbed, he did not answer Duke Minas' question, but leaned over and gently sniffed the flowers: "Your son is doing a good job, I heard that this flowerbed is from Luo Dee planted it, um, so it doesn't look so dilapidated. Oh, you don't regret giving this house to that kid, do you?"
Duke Minas' face was full of exhaustion. He looked like he was ten years older. He just stared at Cavie Hill coldly: "What do you want to say?"
"What I want to say is, Lord Duke, did you invite me here just to ask me a question? If that's the case, you can just send someone to send me a letter."
Caviehir said, touched the petal, then turned around and smiled: "Why not plant tulips? This place should have more tulips."
"Cavihill!" Duke Minas suddenly became furious: "You are a lunatic - I have always known this, you are a lunatic! You will always do those crazy things! You like to play the most dangerous games! But I want to remind you! This is an empire! An empire! It's not those toys, you can mess around with it!! This is an empire!!"
"I know very well." Caviehir looked flat: "Trust me, I know this empire better than you."
Speaking, Caviehir suddenly smiled: "Duke Minas, what do you think I have done? In fact, in the past few decades, all my actions and all my thoughts have actually been doing the same thing. Thing—well, yes, I've been doing one thing for decades."
"What?" Duke Minas took a breath.
"Let our Majesty understand a fact... Oh no, it should be said that he has already understood this fact, but he has been reluctant to face it, and what I did is to make him finally make up his mind and face this fact! "Cavihill's expression became less serious, and his tone was stern: "What's the 'fact' you want to ask?"
"..." Duke Minas was silent: "Don't, don't say it..."
"No." Caviehir shook his head: "The fact is: this empire should have perished a long time ago! No, it should be said that it has perished. Our choice is, let it end in a decent way, or do it vigorously. One game may reverse the fate of history! As for continuing to breathe... Regrettably, our Majesty no longer wants to continue to breathe, he wants a result, it's as simple as that."
Duke Minas' body shook, he shook, and barely stood still while holding a tree next to him.
"Oh, don't be like this, Minas, your appearance will make me nauseous." Caviehir's words were stern: "Are you surprised? No, you shouldn't be surprised, because you, like Your Majesty, have known for a long time. This fact, but you have been reluctant to face it! In fact, you have long understood that this catastrophe cannot be avoided... This day will always come. So, didn't you also make a decision? You Moved Roddy out of the capital, didn't you? Look, you know it, you know it! So you moved your only son away!"
Caviehir's words made Duke Minas completely speechless. He just stared at Caviehir closely, but the corners of his eyes kept shaking.
"You know it, and I know it too." Caviehir seemed to smile: "In fact, all this should have happened a long time ago... Decades ago, when the owner of this house was still there, we had the opportunity to end everything and let That result came! But that time, we didn't! Instead, we chose to continue to let the empire breathe... But now, this result will come! For decades, His Majesty Cantos has not succeeded. Facts have proved that, Our choice back then was wrong. Now, this result will still come... You, I, can't avoid all this from happening. So Lord Minas..."
Cavie Hill looked at this "old friend" for decades: "This is the last time I will meet you in this place. From today, I will not set foot here again... You better not! Because here Now it belongs to the master it should belong to!"
Watching Caviehir turn to leave, Duke Minas suddenly said in a trembling voice, "Wait, wait!"
"Is there any problem, old friend." Caviehir stopped, but didn't look back.
"How confident are you...?"
Caviehir still didn't look back, and his voice came coldly: "Certain? No, I don't have much confidence. But, anyway, we should have lost all of them decades ago! If we can drag it out until now, it's already a gain... Even if we lose, do we have a loss? Um... Your Majesty's original words are 'I can afford to lose!', Minas, His Majesty has read it, what else do you dislike?"
Seeing the figure of Caviehir walking out the door, Duke Minas suddenly seemed to be drained of all his strength. He stood there slumped, muttering to himself in a low voice.
"I should have killed him! I should have killed him! I should have killed this lunatic decades ago!"
※※※
A simple carriage slowly passed over the bridge. When entering the Arc de Triomphe, the guards under the city gate did not dare to block in the slightest, but respectfully gave way to the road and let the carriage slowly pass by.
This carriage looks unremarkable, and even the horses that pull it are just ordinary horses, but the guards at the city gate know this carriage—in fact, there are not a few people who know this carriage in the imperial capital.
Because everyone knows that the owner of this carriage is the guy that no one dares to provoke in today's imperial capital—that Scorpio Lone Star, Cavie Hill!
Caviehir leaned lazily on the seat of the carriage, his lap still covered with a blanket, as if closing his eyes.
The groom who drove the cart was his old servant for many years, and the cart drove very steadily.
Just as the carriage entered the city and walked through a street that was not too wide, the carriage suddenly slowed down and then stopped slowly.
"What's wrong?" Sitting in the carriage, Cavie Hill opened his eyes.
"Master, the two carriages in front collided and the road is blocked. I'm afraid we need to detour back." The coachman replied outside.
A smile suddenly appeared in Caviehir's eyes, and then he shook his head: "Oh... it's really... it's really... "
At this moment, the street has been blocked, and the two carriages on the road ahead are twisted and entangled. The wheels and hubs are broken, and I am afraid that they will not be able to move for a while, and the drivers on both sides are scrambling and yelling. People also gathered on several floors.
At this moment, on the houses on both sides of the road, the windows facing the street on both sides opened, and several exquisite crossbows were exposed, aiming at the carriage of Cavie Hill in the middle of the road!
In the midst of the noise, the sound of the machine crossbow ejecting was covered up, and it shot on the carriage with a few bangs, but the seemingly ordinary wooden board was obviously much stronger than it looked!
Several crossbow arrows were bounced off immediately, and then the groom's face changed, and he shouted loudly: "There are assassins! Master!!"
The old groom suddenly jumped up, his old-looking body suddenly straightened, and with a flick of his wrist, the whip instantly stretched into a straight line! The two crossbow arrows that flew in the face immediately broke into several pieces after snapping twice! !
This old-looking groom has such strength!
"Master! Don't come out!" The old groom shouted, jumped onto the roof of the car, the whip in his hand turned into a circle, and he heard the sound of crackling, and he blocked several more crossbow arrows.
But at this moment, suddenly, a figure descended from the sky, a guy with a black holster on his head landed on the roof of the carriage, a bright long sword stabbed the old groom fiercely, and the old groom roared. , the long whip swung over and got entangled with this man. This guy with a leather cover on his head was very powerful in martial arts. A ray of light erupted from the blade of the sword, and the long whip was suddenly twisted into pieces! The old groom greeted him with a fist, and the two collided and rolled off the carriage at the same time.
At this time, I heard a bang, and a huge crossbow bolt came over. Listening to this movement, it was actually a sound that a military ballista could make!
With a bang, the crossbow arrow hit the carriage, smashing the carriage to pieces, and there was no room for Caviehir to hide in it!
At this time, a figure jumped onto the roof, and the man opened a longbow and aimed at Caviehir...
This man was still wearing a leather cover on his head, his long bow was instantly drawn into a full moon shape, and the arrow flashed with silver light!
call out!
When the sound of breaking the air sounded, the silver arrow light had already arrived in front of Caviehir and shot directly from his chest!
Take! ! !
A silver arrow shaft was stuck in Caviehir's chest, and the arrow shot directly through Caviehir's body, nailing the emperor's most trusted wise man to the wooden board of the carriage. ! !
Caviehir leaned there, his face pale, but raised his hand and held the arrow shaft in his chest, blood poured out frantically, but Caviehir's face had no taste of pain, he just He lowered his eyes and looked at the end of the arrow on his chest. Suddenly, he smiled.
"It's really... an uncreative assassination."
Immediately, he closed his eyes.
The emperor's most trusted confidant, who is also considered to be the actual prime minister of the empire, Caviehir, was assassinated on the streets of the imperial capital Osgilia!
This news, almost like a gust of wind, swept the entire continent in an instant!
※※※
Just when the whole continent was surging, a certain turtle was still nesting in the deep forest, holding an axe and firewood in his hand.
"Chop! Chop!" Merlin sneered aside: "If you can carve a chrysanthemum, I will believe you."