The firelight that emerged from the mountain forest was just a few dots at first, but gradually gathered into a winding dragon of light, meandering in the distant darkness. Fang Yu frowned slightly, put one hand on the side of the Seven Seas Traveler, and stared in the direction of the horizon. Between the hills, there were more and more fires emerging in the forest, and the flickering fires were , is the light of rosin torches, clusters of them, reflecting an army marching north along the mountains and forests——
The mercenary soldiers, who were wearing thick armor under the animal skins, carrying long bows, large shields and heavy swords, carried old-fashioned magic furnaces on their backs, sprayed thin mist from their mouths, and penetrated with one foot deep and the other shallow. Passing through the pine forest, there was silence, only the low sound of the collision of equipment.
There were an equal number of Gray Knights, with tall heads and big horses, wearing beautiful silver-gray armor, black and white tabards, and flying long swallow-tailed flags with a red crow on them. No one made a sound, only swords and halberds passed under the canopy of cedar trees.
Fang Yu silently watched the army and roughly guessed their origins. The direction this army is coming from is either Gray Owl Town - but the Redeemed One has an informant in Gray Owl Town, and no news has been sent back yet. Then they only have one possibility left: the Blood Eyes mercenary group from the direction of Charter City and the army of Death Guards.
That was another caretaker of the Crow's Claw Temple, who finally joined the war. He pursed his lips, which were dry and cracked in the wind and snow, but he was not too surprised. News of the fall of Gray Tree Ridge had already spread throughout the North, and it was impossible for the other guards to remain indifferent.
Dots of firelight gradually spread all over the mountains and plains in the darkness, forming several long queues, heading straight north. It was in the direction of Gray Tree Ridge. Tian Lan straightened up behind him. The horned lizard he was holding in his hand also broke away without noticing and fell to the ground, escaping without a trace. But she didn't seem to be there. Noticing this, he opened his mouth slightly and looked at the scene: "Is that Gray Tree Ridge?"
"Are they going to Gray Tree Ridge? Are they from the Crow's Claw Temple?" She slowly turned around and couldn't help but ask: "How many people are there and where did they come from? Big Cat Man Will they be fine, brother Ed?"
Fang Yu shook his head.
An experienced scout could roughly estimate the size of an army just by looking at it from a distance, but he didn't have this ability.
The army below was vast and endless, as if there were too many to count. Fortunately, he was also someone who had commanded a battle before, so he was not frightened. There are at least three to four thousand mercenary regiments stationed in the Crow's Claw Temple in the Charter City area. Add in the Death Guards and the Gray Knights gathered from various places, and there is no problem with five or six thousand people.
The Blood Eyes mercenary group is attached to one of the four guardians of the Crow's Claw Temple. His nickname is "Blood Eyes". His personal guard was originally named "The Accuser" or "The Executioner", but it was gradually rumored to be "Blood Eyes". Death Guard'.
In fact, this army has always been active south of the Altori region, close to this direction, so he has always kept an eye on it.
Fang Yu opened the community, previously opened a related discussion thread with an anonymous account, and asked about the situation in Charter City. At this moment, someone indeed mentioned that the Blood Eye Mercenary Group had indeed left the station earlier and headed north in a mighty manner.
Seeing this news, Fang Pultru confirmed 70% to 80% of his guess——
He fell silent.
The Jeffrit red team issued an ultimatum to them not long ago. Ruona's ultimatum was still verbal, but at this moment it became a reality that was close at hand.
The fleet of the descendants of Flor has just begun to mobilize, but the Blood Eye mercenary group has already left the station and is heading towards Gray Tree Ridge. This may be a coincidence. But at this time of year, how many people would believe it if it was a coincidence?
Although the other party kept claiming that it would not intervene in this war, Fang Yu knew very well that it was just a high-sounding excuse. The Spawn of Flor's actions were clearly designed to coordinate the attack on the Ravenclaw Temple - or vice versa.
The other side is putting pressure on him. If they choose to compromise, the army rushing towards Gray Tree Ridge may stop, but it may not. But no matter what, the descendants of Flor turned it into a bargaining chip and wanted to make them submit. This is an indisputable fact.
And the real threat comes from the north——
Fang Plover raised his head and stared in that direction with his dark eyes.
The shadows of the mountains are hidden behind the haze, without a trace of light. The forest extending to the north is like a dark shroud, and I don't know what kind of unknown lurks underneath.
Can they compromise? If the enemies of the Crow's Claw Temple are really dark forces, maybe they can't sit down and talk. Although both parties have conflicts of interest, in the final analysis, they still have a common enemy.
But the question now is, is the Crow's Claw Temple really as righteous as they appear? Their methods against the refugees, the truth they concealed in the Altori region, their plans, and every lie they told seemed to point to only one possibility.
"Brother Ed?"
Tian Lan asked again in a low voice.
The army below has not noticed them. The Seven Seas Traveler is still hidden in the clouds. Without careful observation or with the help of magical equipment, it is difficult to distinguish it from the night sky.
But looking at the few fire dragons passing by in the mountains and forests, and the countless armies all over the mountains and plains, they knew the destination of the other party, but they seemed to be of little help at the moment. This feeling still makes Tian Lan feel a little suffocated - can Gray Tree Ridge withstand so many enemies?
"Believe in Mr. Big Cat Man and the others." Fang Yu looked at her and replied.
This is all they can trust.
But in comparison, he was more worried about the threat from the north.
He picked up the communication crystal and sent a message to the big cat man and Mei, telling them that the Blood Eye Mercenary Group had passed through the Cold Forest area. However, the big cat man on the other side of the screen didn't show any surprise, and in turn comforted them, telling them not to worry too much about the situation in Gray Tree Ridge.
Relying on the knights of Mirela and Marlan, Gray Tree Ridge can still be supported for a while, but as for the situation in the north——
The big cat man held his pipe and thought for a moment. Of course he understood what Fang Plover was referring to. He blew out a smoke ring and replied: "You mentioned this to me before, Ed."
"...I think your worries are not unreasonable. The origin of the undead army in the north is a mystery. Although your people over there keep claiming that this army is the biggest threat to the north, the position held by the Crow's Claw Temple, at least At present, this possibility cannot be ruled out.”
"But if they really collude with the dark believers, or their shadow is behind this army, once the army goes south, it also means that the temple will reveal its true face. And before that, they will definitely complete it first That plan of theirs.”
After the big cat man finished speaking, he picked up the pipe, bit it in his mouth, and let some dark red sparks come out of the pipe. "Ed, you might as well check the ceremony between Gula and Elpaxin first. When will it be specific?" Finish."
Fang Plover has actually checked this problem before.
However, he still turned back to Luo Hao and said, "Help me verify it."
Luo Hao was arranging the cables on the deck. He nodded when he heard this, put down the work at hand, and opened the community. The system's gleaming light reflected on his face. He fiddled with it a few times, then quickly raised his head and replied: "The time rumored in the community is not certain, but it will be held within two or three days." It was around two o'clock in the afternoon, in the town square."
"In other words, this is the window of time left for us."
"We only have so much time, and there are so many people in the sky chasing us," Tianlan couldn't help but asked with a little worry, "Is it really too late?"
But whether it's late or not, you still have to give it a try. Fang Plover looked at the big cat man.
Rhett was also looking at them and nodded: "We can still hold on, let's go ahead and do it. The will of the two goddesses is not that simple, and Gray Tree Ridge cannot be captured so easily."
Fang Yu also nodded. The only thing that made him feel relieved now was that at least they had the support of the military behind them. I hope Su Changfeng and the others can really restrain the Descendants of Flor and even the current actions of the Super Competitive Alliance, then they will have a much easier time in the future.
…
"What did you say!?"
Su Changfeng was looking at the staff in front of him in surprise.
The staff of the United Nations Stargate Agency are not included in the garrison system. However, at home, the staff in the embassy area of Stargate Port must also achieve consistency in their actions, not to mention that the garrison does not have the power to directly communicate with the alliance. Communication requires conveying information through the other party.
To transfer the third division to a state of military control is obviously not something they can decide. At least it needs to go through internal discussions and obtain a resolution, and it must even be based on the premise of effective communication with several other major countries.
However, if it is only the northern border, or even just Gula Port and the surrounding areas, and only a few guilds are involved, it is not impossible for them to cut it off first and then play it easy. Of course, this will have serious consequences, and may even have a negative impact - but this depends on the emergency situation of the matter.
If what Fang Yu said is true, then obviously the severity of the situation in the north has risen to a certain level.
Especially when it comes to whether the domestic super competitive league and several large guilds are likely to be infiltrated by dark believers, then intervention becomes a feasible method. Whether it is true or false, nipping in the bud is the right thing to do. The most important choice.
What's more, he is not without any evidence at the moment. Although the information he has obtained may not really point to any one of them, it at least illustrates the potential danger. For Stargate and the Alliance, any potential danger is not allowed, so after discussing with the ambassador, they both decided to suspend the actions of the descendants of Flor first.
However, before the order was issued, an unexpected situation occurred.
Su Changfeng even felt a slight sting on his forehead, and a thin layer of sweat appeared on his forehead.
He served as a military attache in Stargate Port for more than ten years, and later joined the garrison and reached his current position. Although it is not said that he has mastered the art of concealing his emotions and anger, he still rarely has the skills to do so. When it's like this now.
He raised his head, looked at the other person, and asked again: "Tell me again, what happened?"
The staff member nodded: "Mr. Ambassador asked me to tell you that people from the El Pasin and Gula branches of the Super Sports League interrupted the call with us and refused to carry out our instructions."
Su Changfeng opened his mouth and suddenly realized something: "What else did they say?"
"They said that the Stargate Port garrison has no right to interfere with the decision of the Super Sports Alliance. This is a violation of the Stargate Agreement."
"But you didn't tell them it was an emergency?"
"Mr. Ambassador said that, but they did not recognize what we considered an 'emergency'."
"Are they crazy?"
The staff member shook his head: "It seems that the alliance really wanted to go its own way, and after that, it unilaterally cut off communications with us."
He looked at Su Changfeng's expression that alternated between red and white, and he probably knew what the other person was thinking - in fact, when things happened, he didn't necessarily behave much better than the other person.
But Su Changfeng suddenly calmed down.
Although he had a vague illusion that he had fallen into some magical world line, he still said that he was actually dreaming.
But after being in a trance, he immediately realized that the worst case scenario might be happening, and what the boy said seemed to be becoming reality.
"Ambassador Liao asked you to go and take a look first," the staff looked at him and whispered again: "This matter may require mobilizing your people. We are currently communicating with other countries."
"Wait a minute," Su Changfeng suddenly interrupted him: "Where are the descendants of Flor?"
"We can't contact you at the moment," the staff member still shook his head: "Communications to the big guilds are always relayed by the Super Competitive Alliance. According to regulations, we do not have the power to directly issue orders to any guilds affiliated to the alliance. At the moment, they have put this layer Communication protocols have also been suspended."
"Don't we still have emergency communications?"
The staff member glanced at him: "Star Gate..."
Su Changfeng was startled, and suddenly realized that there were some things that he had not told Fang Yuming before due to confidentiality reasons. In fact, the operation of the Star Gate has been intermittent in the past few months. Of course, most of the reasons are due to the Area C plan.
However, a small part of the reason is because the coordinates of Aitaria are constantly changing.
All in all, Stargate had a lot of problems before. Before it returned to normal, almost all of the originally designed communication channels only had the 'commercial' communication protocol.
That communication channel was originally the least important communication channel from the Star Gate side to the Etalia side, which was the 'alien communication' that Fang Pulwart had criticized for a long time. , all countries reached an agreement that this communication channel has long been handed over to the Super Sports Alliance for management.
But at this moment, this most inconspicuous communication channel established by humans has become the only communication channel between the two sides of the star gate.
He picked up his personal terminal and immediately tried to contact Fang Plover over there, but as expected there was silence. This means that those people not only cut off the communication with them, but also cut off the communication between the entire third division and the Star Gate side.
There was a vague feeling in his heart, although since the Dragon Fire Guild, Blood Oath and even the Rain Listener series of incidents, the military has definitely not doubted the Super Competitive Alliance. But what he never expected was that the other party would have a showdown with them at this time——
Although Fang Piao conveyed the message to them at the last moment, he did not expect that it was still a step too late.
Su Changfeng has almost decided who is behind this. After all, the invasion of the world by dark believers does not happen in a day or two. Ordinary people may not know these details, but they cannot hide it from him. He couldn't help gritting his teeth and punched his desk, causing the small objects on it to clatter to the floor.
But the other party chose to reveal his identity at this time, and even did not hesitate to expose the iceberg hidden under the water. Unless it was for a larger plot, his motives could not be explained anyway.
He immediately thought of the Nanhai Brigade and his group at the center of the whirlpool.
"They have to be reminded."
A thought flashed through Su Changfeng's mind.
He vaguely felt that this was the source of a series of incidents since the Dragon Fire Guild, but this source had surfaced, and the only person who could intervene in it at the moment might be the young man he was quite optimistic about.
But this is the problem they are facing now. How can Stargate Port contact each other now?
Su Changfeng immediately turned around:
"Where are their people on the ground?"
The staff member understood what he was talking about and immediately replied: "We have sent back the news here. All personnel in the three branches of the domestic alliance and the headquarters have been controlled, but the information has not been made public yet. However, I'm afraid not all of these people are involved in this matter. It will take a lot of time to screen out the suspects..."
He didn't say the next words, but Su Changfeng understood. If he hoped to work in this direction, he might not be able to count on it in a short time.
He frowned again:
"What about the community? Can we contact the descendants of Flor through the community?"
But Su Changfeng raised his head and saw the staff looking at him strangely, and then he felt a little enlightened. He slapped his forehead and became confused when he realized that he was somewhat concerned. Although not long ago, the Super Competitive Alliance had transferred the jurisdiction of the community to the military due to the Southern Border Incident.
But that was just a transfer under an administrative order——
The other party has already lost his face, so he will definitely not worry about this anymore. Sure enough, the staff member shook his head and said: "We can no longer get the management rights of the community."
To be honest, whether it is community or business communications, they are the least important. From one side of the star gate to the other, the most important communication method is the communication method given by the system. Unfortunately, that thing cannot be used when there is a problem with the star gate. The glow substance seems to be locked.
Su Changfeng was silent when he suddenly saw his personal terminal light up. He quickly opened it, and what appeared on it was Liao Tianhua's face.
As soon as the ambassador saw him, he immediately said:
"Old Su, we are in trouble."
…
