The transmission of information is not easy.
When a fire broke out in the Changfeng Fortress, the two dukes far away in the capital were still focusing on maintaining order in the capital. When the troops of the Duke of the East and Prince Edmund assembled to attack the border land of the Holy Spirit Plain However, the person in charge of Saint-Sunil City did not get the slightest news, until the Griffin messenger who broke out from the border of the plain flew into the capital, this great change related to the future of the kingdom was truly presented to the person in charge in Silver Castle However, until this time, they did not know that a great change was also taking place in the southern border, and this great change would even more affect the future of the kingdom.
But there is not the slightest connection between the distant southern border and the capital. Outside the Silver Fort, inside the city of Saint-Sunil, there is an eyeliner from Cecil dormant.
No. 4, Crown Street, in the Cecil family's official residence that has become the meeting place for the mage circle and scholar circle in Wangdu, a scholar wearing a soft wool hat stood up politely, saluted the mage apprentice in front of him, and then followed the attendant Guided by her to leave the room, the "witch" Jibril sighed slightly after watching the registered King's Mage get up and leave. She got up and moved her slightly stiff shoulders.
Sitting in such a spacious and bright room, wearing well-cut expensive dresses, meeting the scholars of the royal capital as the Duke's agent, such a decent job was something that "witch" Jibri never imagined, but until she really After sitting in this position, she realized that such a glamorous and decent job is not easy. It is a test in itself to deal with those well-informed and smart people in the capital. Collecting information as an operator and sending it out, the hardships during this period are not at all easier than when she relied on sweet words on the street to defraud money from passing adventurers.
The door opened, and "Fast Legs" Pierce, who was wearing a knight's uniform, walked in. After seeing that Jibri was the only one in the room, the young man nodded: "The last person who registered has left?"
"Yes, the last one today," Jibril said while thumping her shoulders, "There are a few more people than yesterday..."
"The situation in the royal capital is becoming tense. Soldiers and knights who came out of the castle are going door-to-door to check for suspicious elements. A few days ago, there was even a fire in the wealthy area, and people's hearts are floating," Pierce said looking for a place by the table. Sitting down, he talked about the recent changes in the city, "Thanks to this, our recruitment has become easier. Duke Cecil's employment certificate allows them to legally leave the city during this period."
"Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, we can make up a hundred people, and we can send another batch." Jibril looked at the registration book on the table, then raised her head to look at her companions, "In addition, orders from the mainland , let us stop all public recruitment activities after sending the last batch of people, and only keep in touch with the mage circle in the capital in the dark, collect information and wait for orders."
For a moment, Pierce was curious about how the lord in the far south knew about the changes in the capital, because this part of the information had not yet been sent out, but the training he received in the Military Intelligence Bureau made him not question the order, but nodded directly: "I Understood, tomorrow I will go to various associations to cancel the entrustment."
"It's time to stop public activities..." Jibri sighed softly, "The situation in the city is deteriorating, there are rebels hiding in the capital, and the people in Silver Castle may soon order the entire Saint-Sunil to be sealed off." , we rely on the duke's protection to move around freely all the time, but for a while, it's better not to continue to challenge the sensitive and fragile nerves of Silver Castle... "
"I don't know what will happen in the future," Pierce couldn't help sighing. He was born in a slum, and it was the first time he began to lament this kind of thing that should have had no intersection with his life. "This country is really getting more and more chaotic. …”
"The chaos in front of us is only temporary. The Duke will eventually bring prosperity and order to this country," Jibril raised her eyelids, looked at Pierce and said, "This kind of prosperity and order is a product of this era, but we are in Maybe you can see it in your lifetime.”
"This seems to be what Mr. Santis sighed," Pierce laughed. "Although it sounds too optimistic, I think it makes sense."
…
If what you see in Cecil is prosperity and order, then what you can see in the place where the noble army has ravaged is only decay and chaos.
In the southwest of Carroll Territory, in the Consco area, a small village was almost razed to the ground. On the edge of the ruins of the village, a small armed team was passing by.
The team was well-disciplined, and a black and red flag was flying above the team, with the emblem of the Cecil family printed on the flag. Half of the team were Cecil combatants in bright armor and combat backpacks, and the other half were non-combatants in light armor and smocks who didn't look much like soldiers. The latter's smock is printed with a red triangle logo, which has always been a mark of occupations such as doctors and pharmacists in the Ansu tradition.
Wright Aviken walked in the team. He was the only one in the team who was wearing full-body heavy armor but was a doctor. His doctor's mark was printed on the breastplate, and the eye-catching red triangle mark made him stand out in the team. Very conspicuous.
Of course, what was more conspicuous than the red logo was his figure, which was a head taller than a strong soldier.
At this moment, the strong and tall priest and field doctor looked at the ruins in front of him, and finally couldn't help letting out a sigh after being silent for a few seconds.
All the buildings in sight have been collapsed and destroyed. The grain warehouses in the village were looted and set on fire, the wells were also buried, and the cattle, sheep and livestock were slaughtered by the hungry noble soldiers. , Houses were burned, and in some places, Wright could still see some unpleasant dark red blood.
The village was destroyed, destroyed by the war, but it was not the Cecils who were the "enemies" who destroyed it, but the village's nominal patrons, the nominal masters, the knights of the Consco region, and He Kang A coalition of nobles allied with Viscount Cisco.
The coalition of nobles fleeing from the Stone Ridge front destroyed this place as much as they destroyed others along the way.
Nobility is synonymous with plunder, especially in war, but Wright would still be shocked by what he saw and heard. He didn't expect that the plunder and destruction of the noble coalition forces when they were defeated would be more shocking than the destruction they caused when they marched. It was so shocking that he couldn't help wondering whether those fleeing noble soldiers were human beings, or a group of skinned and boned termites.
Standing next to Wright was a Cecil veteran. This veteran who served as the squad commander in the team was used to the battlefield and understood the traditional aristocratic army. He shook his head and explained to Wright: "They There will be some order when marching. At least at that time, they still regarded themselves as the protectors of the land and the people. When they passed through villages and towns, they would collect a lot of food and property, but at least they would not destroy them. But once they fled, They became jackals... Unlike Cecil's army, those noble soldiers did not regard 'plundering' as a crime at all, nor would they be hung up and whipped for taking a few bread from the common people. They dare to do anything to fill their stomachs, and even to prevent food and houses from falling into the hands of the pursuers, they will burn down a place when they go... "
"Don't they even spare their own land?" Wright couldn't help interrupting the veteran's words, "Those fleeing nobles...will they really order the destruction of the villages on their territory?"
"Why not?" The veteran sighed, "Anyway, they were defeated. According to the rules of noble wars, the victors always have to plunder. They feel that even if they don't rob the village of food and burn down the houses , The chasing soldiers will do the same, instead of letting the enemy succeed, it is better to do it yourself, and in this way they can get back some food... They don’t think it’s a loss.”
"..."
Wright was silent. The darkness and evil in the war made him not know what to say. He came from the relatively wealthy and stable Holy Spirit Plain. This was the first time he had seen a real war. What the nobles did in the process of being defeated and fleeing far exceeded his expectations.
But he wasn't a naive man, and while many would say he was naive after learning of his behavior following the classical virtues of the Light, he knew he wasn't. He was shocked by the brutal darkness of the war, but he would not naively think that this war should not have happened, let alone that Cecil's victory had caused the tragedies before him.
He knows the greed of human beings, he knows the greed of nobles, after reading the comments and analysis in newspapers, he knows that this war is inevitable, no matter how the war wins or loses, those greedy and brutal nobles and their troops will do Much the same looting and destruction will always happen, the only difference is where it will happen.
And he also knows that Cecil's army has been trying to avoid these destructive spreading large forces and has been trying to drive the enemy to places like the wilderness. If it is really close to the town, it will try to prevent them from causing damage. Go after them and attack them to drive them away. After all, protecting those towns and villages is also protecting Cecil's future property.
But no matter how hard you try, the battlefield is always full of variables and uncontrollable.
So Wright could only watch in silence, then lowered his head, silently praying for those who had suffered disasters.
The Lord of the Light would not answer his prayers, but he did not expect anything to answer his prayers either.
The commander glanced at the field doctor who was a pastor, and instead of disturbing the latter's prayer, he began to assign tasks to the soldiers: "You two, go to the vicinity to find out if there are any other people who survived the disaster. People, find a way to find it. You, and the three of you, find out if there is a place to dump the corpses nearby, gather the corpses and burn them. The others come with me, and find out what else is available."