February 21, 1530 in the Padros calendar was the last day of the New Year festival in the Eastern Empire.
Under normal circumstances, people would have started to pack away the remaining cardboard shells of various fireworks and firecrackers. They are about to bid farewell to this happy and relaxing day of the year, and are ready to return to their original daily lives.
But this year is different.
A shadow fell over the center and south of the empire.
This is an urgent threat.
The country has not faced a similar threat in decades.
The national power is unparalleled in the world and the people live and work in peace and contentment. No country within the border area has the ability to match it. The people of Padrosi are proud and proud. Although the younger generation of soldiers are often criticized as being a loose and beaten generation, this leisure and leisure are also proof of their strength.
When a poor country sends out strong soldiers, it is shameful that the soldiers are lazy and not doing their job properly, but it is also due to the lack of turmoil because of the strong national power.
Looking at the entire east coast, except for the difficult dwarves in the southern mountains who still have a little ability, there is only sporadic resistance elsewhere. No human country with contiguous territories can rival it.
Only this time they were facing neither a country nor a human being.
A shadow shrouded one-fifth of the empire's territory, and the expanding cold wave began to be felt by the people in the Parnilla region. Frost began to form on the edges of the buckets that people placed outside their houses, and the daisies, the proud national flower on balconies and in the corners of alleys, began to fade because they had lost the brilliance of the sun.
Even ordinary civilians began to feel the ominous atmosphere.
This is different.
It was completely different from the cruel wars that existed on the other side of the ocean, where merchants and mercenaries who came and went started to brag about their deeds after getting drunk, and they only heard them as stories.
This is actually happening around them.
People suddenly had such a real feeling.
The sudden cold winter and the fact that the Lord of Parnilla purchased a large amount of supplies to transport to the south made many businessmen see business opportunities. The prices of basic survival supplies such as food, firewood, and warm clothes were rising day by day. Mercenaries and young people who wanted to stand out lined up to board the ship to participate in this event, trying to gain fame and become noble knights in the crisis.
They were not alone, it was not a war happening thousands of miles away, at least to people in the center and south. These details that are closely related to daily life make everyone feel that this crisis is really happening.
People were very nervous, and the worry caused rumors to fly all over the sky, and various criminals also took this opportunity to start sneaking around, causing the already exhausted City Lord's Mansion staff to completely lose their last rest time.
Then.
The Golden Tour has also been postponed.
Something unprecedented in history caused some religious personnel of the White Church to begin to preach that this was an ominous sign, and that Padrosi would destroy the country for this reason.
The whole country was in varying degrees of chaos as a result.
While everyone was still engaged in a bloody battle in front of the small town of Scotti, trouble broke out again behind the scenes.
Due to the rise in prices and the cancellation of New Year celebrations, dissatisfied people gathered and began to protest. The exhausted officials had no time and energy to appease them and therefore took drastic measures, which turned everything into armed conflicts.
With the joint efforts of all kinds of people who fish in troubled waters for fear of bringing chaos to the world.
Parnilla.
into chaos.
Unbeknownst to Henry and the others, due to the presence of witches on land and the closure of waterways for protection due to riots, Scotti had actually been cut off from supplies and became an isolated island.
Although the various supplies that have been shipped before are already abundant, considering that a large number of mercenaries and other follow-up troops and young people who want to make a difference have arrived at ports further south and are rushing here, if the situation evolves into a city defense situation , material supply will be a big problem.
Extremely ironic.
The reinforcements that were supposed to be the savior are now unable to keep up with the supply. Once they arrive, they will only make the situation worse.
But this issue will be considered, and the prerequisite is that they have to survive the current situation.
The sky started to get darker.
Although Constantine took over the army swiftly and resolutely, the sky was already not that bright when their group appeared - not only because of the influence of wind and snow, but also because the battle lasted for a long time.
This is a calculation question and a multiple choice question.
In about two quarters of an hour (thirty minutes), the sky will become very dark and the naked eye can only see clearly things within a distance of more than a hundred meters. In another quarter of an hour, it will be so dark that it is difficult to see clearly in about forty minutes. enemy.
If we want to withdraw all the troops with this number into the town of Scotti, we must start taking action now, but if we do this, it will be equivalent to those who are still alive on the middle battlefield and are trapped in the fight and cannot escape. After several hours of fighting, they have already Exhausted and scarred soldiers are abandoned and left behind.
Juliande and some of the officers had already retreated first for various reasons. They also understood that this was a hot potato, so they were naturally happy to be taken over by others.
They took away their personal guards, leaving behind only middle-class imperial officers and regular army reserves.
That's a good thing, because the last thing Constantine needs is someone else trying to tell him the wrong story.
He is thinking.
To be fair, as our sage judged, Constantine was not an emotional person. He accepted the truth that sacrifices must be made to achieve certain goals very early, and has continued to survive in this way to this day.
The idea that everyone must be saved and everyone must survive is just the wishful thinking of naive young people. If you try to save everyone, the result will be that even people who would not be sacrificed in the first place will take their own lives.
Regardless of being said to be cold-blooded and cruel, this kind of consciousness goes hand in hand with the general's honor.
So this man's decision to weigh whether to rescue those soldiers was not out of compassion or a sense of responsibility. He was just calculating the strength comparison between the enemy and ourselves, and calculating whether it would become a bigger trouble if these people were abandoned and turned into undead.
The answer, of course, is yes.
But if we send troops to rescue, the risk is too great.
There is less than an hour of sunshine left. Once the visibility is reduced and the bad terrain is combined, everyone sent out will become the prey of the undead.
In fact, this was also the original approach of Juliande and others. They would retreat inside during the day and use Scotti's city wall to guard them at night. The reason why the city wall was not utilized from the beginning was partly because engineers were still working hard to reinforce and build it, and many defensive weapons were not yet perfect for use now. On the other hand it is.
Comes from.
The arrogance of Padrosi people.
"It must be a top elite, and it must be led by a person who is good enough and good enough to make correct and decisive judgments in a tight time to avoid team destruction and achieve the goal."
"It's as difficult as climbing to heaven." Constantine once again quoted an ancient Lamantic proverb, and then whispered.
"Fortunately, I happen to know such a person."
"Come here, give me the order." The knight commander turned around and waved his hand.
"convene."
he said.
"All cavalry."
————
————
"No one hates the feeling of galloping," he said.
"Although in the beginner stage, many people will get skinned on the inner thighs and calves due to riding horses, and even have to walk in extremely funny postures for a period of time." "Hahahaha——" people laughed, but then It became quiet again, listening to this man's story.
"But when you really get used to riding on a horse and galloping freely."
"You'll fall in love with this feeling."
"The heart is free."
“Sit on a horse, hold the reins, and feel like you can go anywhere.”
"This is a free traveler, accompanying his horse in the peaceful countryside, walking under the blue sky and under the earth."
"But if it were during a war, on the battlefield, would this freedom be reduced by half?"
"No, I think not."
"When the infantry is pinned down by the enemy's infantry, when the troops on both sides are fighting in a stalemate and cannot escape, when the battle situation falls into a grueling war of attrition, when you are in this mud and blood but are unable to escape. hour."
"What everyone wants most is to hear their own soldiers shouting at the top of their lungs."
"Except 'Victory'."
"Only."
He spoke the word softly and everyone held their breath.
"The cavalry is here!"
The wind and snow were swaying, but everyone in this army stood tall, not afraid of the wind and snow, and just listened silently to the speech of the man in front.
Silent, but passionate.
"The horse is free. The knight who rides on the horse, wears heavy armor and holds a lance, is also free."
"Because they move forward inexorably, because they are able to use their charge to knock down anyone who dares to block them."
"For this reason, the charge of heavy cavalry is almost the most beautiful picture in the world among the art called war invented by mankind."
"It's like the impetuous drumbeat that suddenly sounds at the climax of the music, it's like the flash of thunder in the pouring rain - it only takes a moment, just a moment to sound, it is enough to steal all your attention."
"It makes you forget to breathe and forget anything you should do in your hands. You just widen your eyes and press your lips tightly, not wanting to miss even the slightest detail."
"Even though the word knight has been tainted by the atrocities committed by those who bear its name all the year round, people still praise it, and countless young people still go for this title and regard it as the supreme honor."
"It is precisely because no matter how dirty the reality is, this kind of military service, accompanied by galloping war horses, represents an indomitable spirit."
"It is the most human-like military branch."
"There is no powerful magic of the elves."
"No dwarven engineering skills."
"Without all the amazing ingenuity of a dwarf."
"They don't have the physical strength of the orcs."
"Some, it's just the never-ending enterprising spirit."
Looking at the waiting army and the man's speech, Constantine looked calm as if he had no expression.
This was a dangerous mission, he knew it, and dangerous missions called for the most elite warriors.
His warriors.
The charging heavy cavalry is like a spear. Although it is powerful, it will collapse if the tip of the spear breaks.
Therefore, what he serves as the tip of the spear is his own independent knighthood, which he has worked hard for many years.
What an irony - the knight commander thought as he looked at the group of Avenella's light cavalry led by Minna on the flanks of the knights.
The mission of this cavalry team is to cover the heavy cavalry. Although they are few in number, they do have good combat capabilities.
But what he didn't expect was that the opponents he had fought with in the past would now become teammates, and they seemed to know nothing about it.
"Is this such a thing as fate——"
He ruffled his hair, then took out a gray-blue badge from his arms, and looked forward, at the front of the entire team.
Henry's back.
This man is wearing his spare armor. Because it is spare armor, it does not use the knight commander's alchemy black color, but directly uses the silver steel color. Fully armed, he looked even better than himself.
"That's right, of course." Constantine suddenly smiled.
"Sir - sir -" The curtain on the side was suddenly opened, and a panting attendant ran out holding something.
"Give it to me--" Constantine took it and walked forward.
"So, charge."
Henry spoke word by word.
Although most people don't know who he is, they only know that this man fell from the sky and became the leader.
But they can all feel that something is boiling in their blood vessels.
Constantine crossed where Mira and Horno stood and walked towards Henry.
"Change out of that black one."
"Although it's only burgundy, it's not easy for me to find this at this juncture."
He handed it to the sage.
That's a cloak.
Something flashed in some people's minds, they realized something, and then suddenly they felt so excited that they couldn't control themselves.
"You are really insidious." Henry said quietly, but still took it.
"Huh -" He shook his cloak, and a ray of sunset penetrated the thick clouds and hit the front of the team as if by induction, making the cloak behind the sage as red as blood and as bright as flames.
"I'm waiting for you." Henry said every word, his voice was low but loud.
"Knight!!" He was responded to by the roars of all the men.
"That's a good answer -" A smile appeared on the corner of the sage's mouth. This feeling was very long-lost and very nostalgic.
He turned around, his armor gleaming silver under the fiery sunset light.
"All."
"Hold the gun!"
"Kakakakakaka—" A whole row of lances were taken from the hands of the attendants.
"So--"
"In the name of humanity."
"knight."
In unison, everyone was ready to go.
Henry said before covering his visor.
"charge."
"Dong dong dong dong dong——"
As he said, it was like the sound of thunder.
