When the morning sun rises from the east and the first ray of light breaks through the clouds and shines diagonally across the emperor's statue in Parnilla Square, directly into the blue sea full of floating objects, the sound of artillery fire in the city has stopped. An hour long.
The air was filled with a mixture of the strong smell of gunpowder, blood, and excrement and vomit. Near the city lord's palace, there was also a very strong smell of potions, the unique odor of patients, and the smell of erosion from rotting wounds.
This is the smell of death and war.
As our Luoan girl said before, determination has nothing to do with things like glory, beauty, and justice.
People on the east coast call the sight of half of the sky being bright before the sun rises, which is still dark, called night brightness. And the battle that started at midnight lasted until the moment this celestial phenomenon appeared.
In the traditional Padrosi concept, this is an ominous symbol.
Seeing blood at night means that the days to come will not be peaceful. If something like this happens at the beginning of the new year, the country and its people will have a bad fate in the next year.
This ancient concept, deeply rooted in the local culture, is ridiculed and scorned by many new generations of Lamanite scholars. However, if you understand the war that has been entangled in this country for more than a thousand years, and its unshakable history of standing above blood and fire, you will think that this statement does have its own meaning.
The battle that will last until this point in time is obviously arduous. If the country is strong and the army is strong and the people are prosperous, a one-sided battle will not last long.
Excellent opponents have emerged in endlessly throughout the ages, but many armies will surrender or even collapse after reducing their strength by more than 20%. And an opponent who can fight unyieldingly all night long will definitely become a terrible thorn in the side and a thorn in the flesh in the days to come.
This kind of experience was not uncommon in the early days of the establishment of the Laman Empire and during several civil strife. It was passed down by word of mouth among the old people who had experienced the war. Over time, it evolved into a folk belief and became an unknown taboo.
"..." The wind blew up, dissipating the aura of death that was so thick that it seemed to be substantial.
After joining up with the Parnilla garrison, everyone evacuated from the scarred City Lord's Mansion to Margaret's mansion through a secret passage.
The situation of the defenders was obviously more miserable than imagined. The City Lord's Palace in Parnilla only considered lighting issues and used a large number of floor-to-ceiling windows, resulting in insufficient protection. After the siege, all the expensive and gorgeous cabinets and tables around were moved and used to block the windows. They were filled with various bullet holes and were in tatters. The first floor of the City Lord's Mansion still had a severe burnt smell and had been burned by a fire. The traces were obviously the rebel mercenaries trying to use fire attacks to burn the defenders inside or force them out.
After entering the city lord's mansion through the secret passage, where there were wounded everywhere, Margaret's little face immediately turned pale. Although there had been bloodier scenes than this in the small town of Scotty, she was mainly busy with the dispatch of logistics supplies at that time and was not exposed to the bloody scene on the front line.
The strong smell of the potion made several mercenaries start to cough. The dirty bandages were soaked in the foul-smelling water. They planned to wash them and reuse them, but because they were too busy, they kept them soaked in until they became dry. Smelly.
If the injuries themselves weren't bad enough, because many of the hand cannon pellets used by the rebel mercenaries were made of lead that was easily smelted, those who failed to remove the bullets began to show signs of poisoning. Under the dual effects of toxins and lack of supplies, each of them looked like they were dying. Even when they saw reinforcements arriving, they were still lifeless. Few people even spoke or walked towards them.
"I'm afraid it's not just because of the pain." Everyone who walked out of the passageway was stunned and didn't know what to do. Henry said this in a steady tone, and Mira, Margaret and Filippo all turned their heads to look at him.
They more or less understood what the sage was referring to.
The arrogant Parnilla, the extremely prosperous Parnilla.
Tall floor-to-ceiling windows, the majestic city lord's palace, the majestic garrison guards, the towering emperor statue, and the dense black fleet. Everything is promoting the invincible and powerful image of the empire, and they proudly display it. Both citizens and soldiers believe that such a powerful country in this day and age is unshakable.
But in just a few months, all of this suddenly burst like a soap bubble in the sky.
The moment she met the lifeless eyes of the wounded soldiers of the Parnilla garrison, Margaret suddenly understood a lot of things.
Why southerners chose Parnilla as a target was clearly not just its wealth—it was also what it represented.
The friction between the Padrosi Empire and the southern countries has continued, but it is only on a small scale and overall it is tepid. Therefore, many people from the south will come here to seek jobs.
But what they encountered was discrimination and oppression from the superior citizens of the empire - this was one of the motives.
Parnilla exists far away from the front line. It is the brightest star on the entire east coast, a symbol of the empire's wealth, Padrosi's pride and confidence, and an unrivaled source of confidence.
The empire's prosperity will last forever, although history has repeatedly proven that this is a foolish idea. But the people living here believe so firmly.
Not only them, but people in other parts of the East Coast also believe this.
If someone doesn't break this concept, let alone resist, there won't even be anyone who picks up the sword.
Those who take up the sword, those who break the rules, leave a deep mark on the history of the empire——ah——
Margaret suddenly called out, then raised her head and looked at the sage blankly.
"Flag." She said the word carelessly, but after a moment of confusion, everyone understood what the eldest lady was referring to.
Waving flag.
Since ancient times, it has been regarded as a milestone in the battle between two armies, and it can even be a symbol that can reverse the situation.
Although from a practical point of view, judging by extremely calm thinking, even if the defender's flag is erected in a high place such as the city gate, the strategic value is not great enough to reverse the entire battle.
However, historically excellent generals would often send out suicide squads to fight to the death to capture the flag, risking considerable sacrifices of their elite to plant their own battle flag.
just because.
The greatest potential contained in human beings does not come from reason, but from emotion.
For the defender, as long as the battle flag is placed in the most eye-catching place, people can still fight bloody battles as long as it does not fall.
And for the attacker.
On the battlefield in a foreign country, I was seriously injured, probably exhausted and about to give up hope, when I saw the one standing upright in the golden sunshine.
Hunting for the waving war flag.
A powerful force will spread from their hearts, like a miracle, filling their hands and feet with strength, roaring out the name of their country, and charging forward.
"...Da——" Margaret stumbled back with a pale face, not only because of the air, but also because of the fact behind the whole thing that she had just realized.
This attack on Parnilla.
It is a clear flag raised by the southern countries.
They left an indelible mark on this pearl of the empire and carved a deep mark on the hearts of the city's residents and defenders.
But more importantly, they set up battle flags and pointed out their goals to all those who were dissatisfied with the empire.
With a powerful army, Constantine was bound to regain Parnira.
But after this battle is over and everything has settled, as the news of the attack on Parnilla spreads, there will be such a voice:
"The Padrosi are not invincible, look at the scene in Parnilla! Look at what we have done! Look at how fragile the so-called civilization and prosperity of these high-minded guys are!"
Such news, composed of many accents and languages, will inevitably be passed between those ethnic minorities who hate the empire and the surrounding small countries.
Like a spark on the grassland, it ignites the hatred that has been accumulated for a long time but has been ignored by the imperial people.
"This... is just the beginning..." Margaret raised her head and looked at Henry, her eyes filled with the hope of getting a negative statement - if this man could say otherwise. , then everything will definitely——
But the sage just stretched out his hand and touched her head.
"..." The noble lady became taciturn. Ferruccio looked at her and sighed softly, and then seeing that no one had informed her for so long, he had no choice but to lead the mercenaries in person to join the nobles on the second floor.
The nobles and officers who were stationed in the city lord's palace had obviously heard the roar of artillery fire in the past two days, but even though they expected the arrival of reinforcements, they did not dare to evacuate because they did not know the distribution of reinforcements. Everyone who no longer wanted to stay in the shabby and poorly ventilated City Lord's Mansion hit it off and quickly began to evacuate people to Margaret's mansion, moving them to a better-ventilated mansion and waiting. Join forces under Constantine.
The long secret passage was dark and cold, and it took people a long time to reach the ground again, supporting each other.
The sky was gradually getting brighter at this time, and after the last roar of artillery was silent for an hour, the people at the door of the mansion began to see a large army slowly approaching in the distance.
[Honoring the name of God, I teach you to be afraid of those whose eyes are shining and who stand bathed in blood at night]
"..." Henry, Mira and Margaret stood together and looked towards the other side of the street.
[He stands in the light of God’s mercy and has a human face. Fools often think that even wise people come to guide the world, but you must know]
【These are all lies of the devil】
[Although he has a human face, he does not possess a human heart. It is a ferocious beast that harms the world. 】
Constantine, whose armor and sword were stained with blood, walked towards this side step by step.
[You must never approach this person]
[He is a disaster, a monster that devours life]
[Everywhere he goes, he stirs up a bloody storm] - "New Chapter of the White Holy Scripture", Volume 13, Chapter 21.
"Click -" The deformed shoe armor and the stone floor made a collision sound. Constantine, covered in blood and covered in scars on his armor, stood at the bottom of the street slope, looking at the sage from a distance of about two meters. .
His face was expressionless and he said nothing.
Two equally tall men stared at each other with eyes of the same color.
Among the identical gray-blue eyes, one only has calmness, while the other is burning with a blazing flame.
"The witch's disaster, and then whoever breaks the deadlock in the past, the storm is coming." A powerful voice sounded from the other side of the street.
"Do you miss it?" Constantine said to Henry.
"..." The sage said nothing.
"Is this really a coincidence?" he asked again, but Margaret, who had been silent all this time, spoke up for the sage: "Brother Constantine, please don't be like this. I hired you for a mission. Encountering this series of——" "——!" Cold gray-blue eyes glanced over, and Margaret was forced to turn her head, retreat and trot towards the house.
Mira looked at her back, not knowing what to do, so she just stood next to Henry.
"Which side will you be on this time?" he asked, but before Henry could answer, he immediately gave the answer himself: "No matter how you choose, there is no place for you here."
"You don't even want to stain your sword with blood?" Constantine swept the sage up and down: "Is this your style now? Is this why you fled to the other side of the ocean? The blood on your hands can no longer be washed away. Under such circumstances, if you choose to turn around and leave, everything will be wiped out?"
"The person that so many people have looked up to, the person that they have looked forward to with great hope, who can bring them a bright future."
"Even what I started could not end well. I held my head and hid in an unknown small country for fear of being recognized. I left everything in the past behind, as if this way I became an innocent and pure saint."
"This is nothing but hypocrisy."
"I was wrong to have expectations. You are really ridiculous."
"I won't make the same mistake." Constantine said word by word, the emotion contained in his gray-blue eyes was decisive and firm: "Don't stand in front of me." He said, and then With a whole murderous army escorting the prisoners towards the dungeon.
"Is he expressing his anger, or -" The Luoan girl looked at Constantine who was walking over, then glanced at the sage, but hesitated to speak.
"It will take a while, I will tell you after a while." Henry reached out his hand and deliberately messed up her hair.
"Hypocrisy..." The sage looked at his hands. "I don't think what he said is right." Mira held her head and said with her eyes, "Mr. Sage is such a terrible adult." She continued to say, "I can't explain clearly, but it's just not right."
"Is that so..." Henry chuckled and reached out his hand, but the Luoan girl slapped his palm away, and the sage shrugged.
"But no matter what." He looked around at the surrounding scene.
The rising sunlight in the morning gradually raises the temperature of the surrounding environment, and various pungent smells become more obvious as the temperature rises.
"He was right about one thing." Henry looked at these houses. Busy people were looking for usable supplies everywhere. The wounded soldiers finally started to make "ouch ouch" sounds again in the sun, although it seemed that A little weak, but better than lifeless.
"It's true that I can't find it." He looked here, but his eyes seemed to be looking through it all, to somewhere in the distance.
"Maybe even if we continue going north, we won't be able to see it anymore."
"A place where I can go back."
The howling wind blew from the distance again. Although his expression and tone were still calm, for some reason, Mira felt that her teacher looked a little lonely.
The dust has settled.
After paying a considerable price, most of the remaining rebel mercenaries chose to surrender in the face of overwhelming military superiority due to problems such as lack of gunpowder supplies and misfiring of weapons.
However, these people are just abandoned sons led by a few elites and led by people who are not determined enough, just like those originally set up outside and on the east city gate.
The real core personnel have never shown up, and after checking the treasury and mineral resources, it turns out that they had already fled Parnilla by boat with high-value rare magic materials and minerals such as mithril.
Constantine was always a step late. Although he had stopped his losses in time and captured a large number of artillery and rebel personnel, it could only be said to be a barely even tie at best.
He set up this plan and attacked Parnilla while they were busy dealing with the witches, and took away a large amount of property to bring the empire down from the altar and spread the message that "the Padrosi are not invincible" to the entire east coast. That opponent.
Always hidden in darkness.
The knight in black armor had a livid face and did not loosen his clenched fists all day long.
The sky above Parnilla is cloudless, but it is not the refreshing sunshine like last year.
The weather was a bit too hot for spring.
The old people who were lucky enough to escape and survive looked up at the sky and said that a coastal storm was coming, much earlier than in previous years.
Combined with all the changes that had occurred in the past few months, they began to chant words such as "the country's fate is not good" and "heaven will perish me Padrosi".
But even young people who don't really buy into these statements can still detect it to some extent.
Something is going to happen, or has already happened.
Something has completely changed.
The road has forked, and will there be a handover ahead? What will happen at the handover?
No one knows yet.
The small boat the rebels were riding on was floating on the calm sea of Mobigas, and it seemed to be a bit deep due to the various belongings. They turned their heads when the horn sounded, and a sailboat without any flag in the distance signaled this way.
On the palace of the city lord of Parnilla, the black flag of the Padrosi Empire that originally hung was damaged by the war and was replaced by Constantine's personal flag of lilies of the valley and daisies.
The fluttering flag drew a burst of cheers from the soldiers below, but Margaret, Ferruccio and others did not join the array. They just looked at it with complicated expressions.
The storm is coming.
Whether you like it or not, you are already in it.
No matter where you go, you can't escape the fate you must bear.
