The ice and snow melted.
The sun shines on the earth and on people's faces.
"Even if you give me a box of heavy gold coins now, I won't exchange it for this." The mercenaries who valued money as their lives said this, just closing their eyes and feeling the sunshine that lasted only a few days but seemed like an eternity. .
Not anything special.
It’s just that in the past, I saw sunshine every day.
This moment is so precious.
The scenery around the small town of Scotti is not beautiful, especially when there are dead bodies everywhere, it looks very disgusting, but almost no one cares about this.
The officers who always talk about discipline have also relaxed, but at this time, even the older generation of Padrosi soldiers who always call them the beat generation will mostly remain silent. Say this:
"This is human nature."
There are no fearless warriors in this world.
But all warriors can become fearless warriors under the right circumstances.
There is an ancient Laman saying that poor mountains and harsh waters bring out unruly people, and this has not changed to this day. Weak countries have strong soldiers, and brave warriors from both the east and west coasts mostly come from the Northland. It is precisely because of the vast territory and the lack of permafrost resources. The same is true for the ethnic minorities living in the Palohia Plateau and many other dangerous areas, but their Being brave is actually far from being fearless.
At least not the kind of fearlessness that most people understand.
Historical recorders always like to exaggerate the facts and add to the folklore, so that when people think of certain brave and fearless warriors, they always think that they were not afraid of anything and did not care about anything - that is, they did not have any fear.
but it is not the truth.
People who truly have no fear are lunatics who have lost their souls. Fear of death and loss is the real reason why many people can survive on the battlefield. And their courage actually comes from fear in the final analysis.
Yes, the things in front of me are scary, but what’s even more scary is that if I don’t muster up the courage to stand in front of them, all the beautiful things I care about, my family, and the place where I live will disappear. .
The fear of losing what they love most overcomes the threat. Because they have something they care about, they will not fall into the same trap as those madmen who are addicted to killing.
So this light is precious.
This long-lost sunshine symbolizes "normality". After the terrible battle in the dark, it means the hope that everything will return to normal and return to the way it used to be.
So no one will jump out to disrupt the situation at this time.
The personnel who cleaned the battlefield and guarded the battlefield chose to adopt a voluntary nature. The thousands of soldiers who survived the war experienced profound changes, as if they had been reborn. The contempt of the older generation of Padrosi soldiers is not to say groundless, but at least it is untenable. The immature young beat generation will eventually become upright men after being licked by the flames of war.
One day these soldiers will also become legends praised by people.
However, the crisis has not been completely resolved. The atmosphere of celebration stopped outside the mayor's mansion. As the core figure of this incident, Henry and all of them were silent. In the hall where other redundant chairs and cabinets were removed, a few tables were temporarily put together to create a combat conference table. The map placed in the middle was brought by Uncle Mario. After receiving financial support from the family, Margaret bought it from him. Got off it.
The map itself made an indispensable contribution to this city defense. It can even be said that Henry's layout would have been difficult to achieve without it. After all, no matter how capable he is, he is only one person. Without an accurate map of the surrounding area, everything can only be guessed and visually inspected. Once a real battle occurs, all the flaws and weaknesses will be exposed and all will be defeated.
Like many other victories, the success of this city defense battle was not determined by a single factor. The knight captain who acts decisively and has leadership talent; the noble lady who has connections and funds who can mobilize a large number of people and houses; the fat mayor who is reluctant but solves problems quickly; even a small number of people but strong combat power who can maintain Paladins and high-level mercenaries who live in the front line.
If even one of these conditions fails to meet the standards, no matter how experienced Henry is, all he can do is turn around and run away.
– But let’s get back to where we started.
Although the fat mayor himself also kept a map, it was limited to the small town of Scotti and the main roads leading to nearby big cities. It was very rare to be as detailed as the one Mario had, and at this moment This precious map was painted with a lot of arrows and symbols using cheap iron oxide paint, which made many people who knew its value secretly feel sad.
"Pa—" Camilo snapped his fingers. His mage face, which was already lacking in light, was even more pale due to the recent excessive consumption of magic power. However, the magic instructor could not stand firmly even with a cane. But it is bigger than anyone else.
"——In other words, even witches and so-called undead creatures still can't escape these conventions."
"Laws." He said this, and Horno, who was standing on the other side, brushed his side hair and nodded.
"Yes." The two mages from the elves and the humans said this as they stood in the center of the circle surrounded by everyone. This conversation had lasted for more than half an hour, and most of the people could hear the proper nouns they kept popping out of their mouths. In a daze - Horno went on to say: "Black magic is different from normal magic. The most fundamental point is..."
"It is..." Horno struggled to search for a suitable adjective in human language: "alive."
"The black bodily fluids flowing in the bodies of ghouls and low-level undead, as well as the black sky, black snow, and the black parts are all the magic power of the witch."
"Usually." Camilo continued to explain after her words: "The magic we think of is physics that needs to be induced by certain means."
"Phenomenon."
"Through the magicians' own understanding of the rules and the mobilization of magic power, they can simplify the guidance process of spells and spell casting. Excellent magicians can achieve stronger effects at a very small cost of magic power, in other words, efficiency ."
"Higher."
"But no matter which race you are, even if you are an elven magician." Horno said, snapping her fingers, and a small spark burst out from her fingertips: "You can't escape this process of casting spells."
"We can simplify it and make the casting time infinitely close to zero. This looks like an instant spell to you humans, but it still requires the act of casting."
"That's how magic usually goes with—"
"Um - can you speak human language?" Mira interrupted Horno. She rubbed her forehead and seemed to have a headache.
"..." The elf and the magic instructor looked at each other, and they looked around. Most of the people looked like they didn't understand - Horno sighed.
"To put it simply, a magician's magic cannot leave you too far away."
"There are two types of long-distance magic. One is the non-controllable type that condenses to create a physical phenomenon and then shoots it out, while the other is the controllable type that can move during flight under the control of the magician. type."
"But no matter which one, there is a distance limit, and it can only be produced by mobilizing the magic power of the magician's body."
"...In other words, magic cannot leave the magician's body?" Mira still frowned. She felt that she did not fully understand it, but this statement made many people in the room express their opinions. The sound of "Oh——" suddenly dawned on me.
"That's right -" Horno nodded: "This is why the witch's magic power is what keeps her alive."
"It works ex vivo."
"The body fluids of ghouls and undead are all witches' magic power. Ordinary people with low magic power will be quickly eroded once it enters their blood."
"As for things like black snow, which has a weak magic power content, it is not harmful to ordinary people. However, when it comes into contact with a magician's skin, the magic power in the magician's body will automatically start to compete, causing the magic power to flow away and cause weakness."
"Dark clouds, snow, as well as ghouls and undead, are essentially a large magic system composed of the witch's magic power, and we destroyed it——"
"Wait, what do you mean-" The person who spoke was Filippo. The young man had experienced a lot of things along the way, and he, who was not stupid to begin with, now had his thoughts straightened out.
"These things we have been fighting are all like witch's, that is, puppets?" "Ah!" This time people made louder noises than Mira did before, Horno and Camilo They looked at each other, but this time it was the magic instructor who rubbed his forehead and said with a headache:
"Yes, it is far more complicated than that and involves a series of magical concept issues, but yes, this is the way to say it."
"correct."
"Then it comes to the point of this time."
"I believe you have seen it." Horno turned her head and looked out the window: "Witch." She paused when she read the word: "The witch used her own magic power, like a puppet on the strings, to create This army."
"And the total amount of condensed magic power is large enough to affect the climate on a large scale."
"But it can't escape the law after all. After the ghouls and undead are killed in large numbers, just like all magicians should do."
"Witch." Horno turned his head, and his blue eyes calmly swept over everyone present, and finally stopped on Henry.
"The magic is exhausted."
"..."
"That's why the weather has changed!"
"Wait, this means-"
"Yes -" Constantine stepped forward amidst the noisy discussion and pointed his finger at the end of the arrow line drawn with red paint.
"We should."
"Pursue victory."
The knight commander said this, and most of the people present nodded. The paladin minister Adolphus turned his head and looked at Henry. The sage was silent as usual, but at this moment people suddenly noticed what was happening outside. The cheers grew louder.
They didn't pay much attention at first, until they heard clearly the content of the cheers. Constantine and Henry's expressions suddenly changed, and then they quickly rushed out and opened the door to the terrace from the conference room.
"What the hell -" Within just a minute, Constantine understood what happened. He smashed the guardrail angrily, while Henry half-squinted his eyes and glanced at the main avenue of Scotti Town. A jubilant crowd in the center.
To be precise, it was the handsomely dressed man in the middle of the jubilant crowd who led a group of personal guards wearing gorgeous armor.
Duke Juliende.
"Politician." The sage said the word lightly.
————
"I——" said the high-spirited Juliande, picking at his fingernails: "I disagree."
"What do you mean, you don't agree? It's embarrassing for you to huddle behind with your gang of idiots in this battle -" "Be calm, Captain Stephen, be quiet." Even though he is a high-level mercenary, his character But he is still quite rough. As the leader of the elite mercenary group who contributed a lot of effort in the battle, this hunting mercenary man named Stephen is one of the few who fights alongside Henry and Constantine, so he is also the leader of the elite mercenary group. Know the truth behind this city defense victory.
the truth.
A strange word to use here, but very appropriate.
Even Henry, because the situation was so urgent, he finally missed this sum despite all the calculations.
The transfer of power between Constantine and Juliande was carried out under the coercion of force. The handover of the highest command was completed in less than ten minutes after the knight commander and the sage entered the camp together. After Duke Juliande retreated, they quickly threw themselves into various mobilization plans under the urgent situation. Officers and non-commissioned officers ran around to replace task arrangers, and there was no time to rest at all.
Even after the victory, they just continued with their plans and did not participate in the soldiers' celebration at all.
That is to say.
The only people who knew that the commander had changed were the senior officers, most of whom were members of the Independent Knights of Constantine, the senior mercenaries, and Juliande's nobles who were in the camp at the time.
Nobles are all small-minded guys who like to hold grudges.
Juliande may not have very good military attainments, but politically he is worthy of being a member of the upper-class nobility of Padrosi, the Millennium Empire.
The information asymmetry became a weapon that came back to bite Henry and the others at this moment. The soldiers all followed Juande and marched from the south. They knew nothing about the replacement of their commander. After gaining such a strong position, After the victory, Juliande, who had been staying to recuperate, seized the opportunity, put on the face of a victor, held a grand parade that you couldn't even think about not noticing, and expressed condolences to the soldiers.
In just an instant, his reputation rose to the fullest.
All the soldiers outside chanted the name of the Duke. They concluded that this was the commander who brought them victory and light. Many people had tears in their eyes and even knelt down on one knee, and Juliande also made timely gestures. It was enough to show off and use the achievements of others as a medal on his chest, which won the overwhelming support of the soldiers.
Treacherous, cunning, shameless. People who know the truth can use as many curses and curses as they want, but in the face of the overwhelming aristocratic power, they have no other choice but to curse.
After showing off in this way, the slow and proud Juliende walked into the mayor's mansion, tightly surrounded by the guards, climbed up the stairs and entered the conference room, and asked Constantine with a victor's attitude. After Ding explained the operation, he rejected it as expected.
His reasons were high-sounding: "The soldiers have just suffered such tragic losses. I can't imagine that anyone would let them leave the safe protection of the city walls and once again enter the terrible world out of the vain and childish idea of further pursuing victory." in the wilderness.”
In one sentence, plus the previous gesture.
Juliande successfully neutralized any counterattack by Constantine.
After he puts on this high hat, no matter how he explains it, Constantine will look like a selfish man who wants to take credit and be vain, so he forces the tired soldiers to continue fighting.
Horno watched these humans with cold eyes.
They fought bloody battles and finally repelled the terrible enemy. However, after the victory, the secret stumbling blocks set by the same people behind them made people even more uncomfortable.
Miscalculated.
Even Henry has things he cannot calculate.
Concentrating on the things in front of them, they ignored Juliande, and now that they had gained the upper hand, any opposition they could make was powerless.
He won the hearts and minds of the people, and although the credit did not belong to him, Juliand's manner won the trust and support of the soldiers.
Constantine and the others could go out and declare that the credit was not his, and even produce previous documents to prove it, but the vast majority of Juliande's nobles would definitely side with him and start claiming this. It's fake.
They can ask influential outsiders such as mercenaries and paladins to prove it, but the best outcome of this approach is just to divide the soldiers who believe in their side and the soldiers who believe in Juliande into two groups. .
The last thing they need now is fighting among themselves.
In addition, this kind of thing is labeled as a competition for credit.
It's almost as big as one's head.
The Duke, who was enjoying his success, bit back. If Henry and the others had paid attention, they only needed to announce it during the battle to make the soldiers realize who had brought victory. But now that the opponent has taken the initiative, they are trapped in a predicament with no suitable way to get out of it.
What Juliand did can indeed be exposed and reversed with time and hard work, but the problem is that they don't have time at the moment. The witch's magic power has become so weak that it can no longer affect the climate because a large number of undead and ghouls have been killed. Miss it. If they take this opportunity, they will only face greater casualties when she recovers again and is more fully prepared and stronger.
But the Duke didn't care about that.
Like all politicians, he only sees his own interests.
"I won't let them go out. The soldiers can only stay in the city and are not allowed to leave."
If you feel defeated, you must get your face back. The Lamanite nobles, who couldn't bear the loss, were beaming with pride at this moment.
Constantine looked at Henry, and the sage nodded.
"That's all."
"What?" Juliande frowned, and the person who answered him was the Paladin Minister Adolphus.
"If your Excellency does not allow the army to set off, you will not be able to control our Holy See's armed forces and mercenaries, right?" The Paladin said word for word. Although the wording was polite, his tone was quite cold: "Or do you want to interfere with the church's decision-making? Here you go, Your Excellency the Duke."
"...Tsk, it's up to you!" Juliande turned his head: "But please remember, even if you die outside, there will be no support -" he said , leading a group of nobles towards the stairs without looking back.
"What a fool!" The strong Captain Stephen smashed the wall in a circle. The strong wooden board seemed fragile under his huge force, and a dent suddenly appeared.
"...That's all."
"Your Excellency, Captain, choose your best person." Adolphus said and turned his head: "Go and get ready." His paladins nodded and walked out.
"We have to leave immediately, Lord Camilo -" "Yes, we will accompany you. This matter requires the help of every magician -"
"strength."
"I'll go and mobilize the supplies with the mayor." Margaret said and trotted towards the room on the other side, while Constantine's face was gloomy and silent for a long time, and he could only let out a long sigh.
"You stay-" "Don't do it."
Mira stared straight at the sage.
"..." Henry was speechless.
"You have already left me alone once, don't think about it a second time." She said, and the sage understood that this was referring to the previous charge. Apparently our Roan maiden isn't totally okay with this.
"She and the unicorn were of great help." Horno spoke up to support Mira.
"Yes, unicorns are far more sensitive to magic than humans."
"And the elves."
"..." Henry lowered his head and faced the little face again.
"What a disobedient disciple." He shook his head and sighed. The firm color in Mira's eyes was as shining as when she said she wanted to change her life and control her own destiny - when she showed this expression At that moment, the sage knew that nothing he could say could stop her.
"What a terrible adult." The Luoan girl rolled her eyes and counterattacked.
