The attackers gathered near the trebuchet were still busy reloading their ammunition. Hot meteorites and skyfire fell from the sky, instantly engulfing the crowd. In the roar and smoke, the meteorites tore the trebuchets into pieces, and the rain of fire ignited the crowds and the forest, and not a single scream was heard.
The attack was completely disrupted.
Rana caught up with a fleeing rider, pulled him off his horse and knocked him unconscious, preparing to keep him for detailed interrogation. There were no markings on these people, and it was impossible to tell whether they were private soldiers of local nobles or bandits.
Rana's first thought was that bold local nobles had launched an attack.
The unknown enemy arranged five waves of attacks, from ambushes on the shore to riders in the distance, and even trebuchets hidden on the edge of the woodland. Although their combat effectiveness is very weak, there is almost no organization and coordination, and a lot of resources are used to fuel the war, there is no doubt that this is a careful attack arrangement. The attackers are very clear about the camping group's itinerary. The core area of Nada has strong mobilization capabilities.
Who else could the mastermind behind the scenes be than a local noble?
Thousands of years have passed since the establishment of Beyelan, and the lords of the Western Region have still not been fully integrated into the kingdom system. They were nominally loyal to the Duke of Verona and had a lot of autonomy. They borne some taxes for the kingdom, and also contributed local legions and auxiliary legions to the war, but it is difficult to say how much of the dividends from the Eastern War will be distributed.
According to Griffith, the new southern provinces will contribute a large amount of agricultural products and minerals, and the trade income of the Western lords will inevitably be affected. Under such circumstances, it would be unthinkable if there was no separatist trend.
There is a subtle and unspoken speculation circulating among the high-ranking noble students of Homemonworth that the war hypothesis of the staff trip is aimed at the local nobles. Once Verona was weakened by internal rebellion, Bayeran, who was ready to attack, would look for a pretext to invade.
However, bandits and rebels are not impossible. The Verona region becomes more barren the further west it enters the mountains, where many free people who fled from the noble territories gathered. Rebels and bandits formed with some highly skilled martial arts fanatics as the core hid in the mountains and forests to provide protection to the free people, and from time to time would go down the mountains to attack noble territories and manors. Recently, they have also been joined by some angry veterans, and their strength will undoubtedly increase rapidly.
The rebels may have reached some kind of agreement with the local nobles and conspired to attack the visiting Beyeland nobles.
Careful interrogation is required.
Lana nodded mentally. He naturally knew about Griffith's little hobby, and Ophelia, who was also proficient in it, also explained it to him several times. Fiona was unhappy about it for a few days.
The defeated attackers ran everywhere. Lana and Murat caught several guys who looked like leaders, tied them up and took them back to the ship.
Isius had already led people to put out the fire and reassembled the frightened sailors and city defense troops. He checked the situation of the sailboat and said to the two of them: "Good news, no one among the classmates was injured. The hull of the ship was damaged in the attack just now." The damage is minor."
"Then we should leave here as soon as possible." Murat said immediately.
"But, there is bad news," Isius shook his head. "We have lost the captain and a third of the sailors. The auxiliary sails, cables and rigging are seriously damaged. Although the ship can be driven, the speed will be much reduced. This group of people came here with the purpose of delaying us.”
Without further ado, everyone immediately urged the sailors to turn around, stop camping and retreat towards the old town.
The sloop, deprived of its captain and some of its rigging, became sluggish and clumsy, and even while turning, Lana felt an indescribable sense of disharmony that he had not experienced on previous voyages.
He briefly inspected the sailboat, then picked up a group of prisoners and walked to the inner cabin.
"Lana, what are you going to do?" Fiona asked, a little uneasy. "Are you going to interrogate? Let's come together."
"It's for interrogation, but you and Miss Larmour stay here," the hussar replied simply. "Griffith and Ophelia are better at this, but neither of them are here. As for me, I don't If you’re good at it, you’ll be rough.”
…
The freshmen at Homemonworth saw Lana leaving the tied prisoners outside the door, carrying one at a time into the cabin, slamming the wooden door shut, and then the heart-rending screams filled their ears.
The prisoners, who were injured and covered in blood, cursed together and insulted everyone with all kinds of swear words. Murat had to put a rag in each of their mouths.
Within five minutes, Rana walked out. His hands were covered in blood, but his face was clean. Gurgling blood had seeped out from the crack in the door. After the second prisoner was brought in, he didn't know what he saw. He immediately screamed and screamed, begging desperately for mercy.
After a while, Lana rushed out of the cabin with a red face. He was only wearing single clothes, and his whole body was steaming with heat as if he had been in a sauna. His eyes were red and fierce, like a vicious dog crawling out of hell to sweep over the captives who were kneeling on the ground. Strong hands like steel grabbed the third prisoner, pulled out the rag from his mouth and threw it into the cabin.
"ah!!!"
The captive screamed in the cabin, as if he had seen a terrifying beast. His hands and feet were tied, but he was squirming crazily, crawling out like a caterpillar.
"No!" The crawling prisoner burst into tears, "I said..."
Lana smiled ferociously and kicked him into the cabin, closing the wooden door with a bang.
When it was the fourth prisoner's turn, Fiona finally couldn't bear it any longer. She stood up righteously and stood between Lana and the prisoner. The prisoners who had not yet been captured begged for mercy together.
"kindness?"
Lana was as ferocious as a giant black wolf. Not only Fiona, but even several people present seemed to see a solemn, unreal and dark aura that was embodied in fangs and a pair of terrifying eyes.
The aristocratic girl's mind went blank as she trembled and stood frozen in place. Her Shutoral grabbed the next prisoner and brought him into the cabin.
Each torture process lasted no more than five minutes, and Rana would soon come out and grab another one.
The screams in the cabin lasted for a full half hour.
Professor Witzleben came to see what was going on here once and left in a hurry without saying anything.
Soon, Lana returned to the upper lounge. Professors and classmates are gathering there to discuss routes and countermeasures.
Lana had already restrained his terrifying ferocious aura and wiped his hands and face clean. His breath was calm, and his resolute and majestic face even had a calm and relaxed smile. Dressed neatly again, his steps were steady and impressive.
Huh~ I kind of understand Griffith. Rana opened a small blood-stained notebook and reported to the people present:
"It has been identified that the people who attacked us came from a nearby rebel army led by Lance. They were originally fighting the coalition forces headed by Viscount Tretter, but the battle had subsided the day before, and Lance's troops passed through the coalition forces The defense zone is heading towards this area.
"Their number is no less than 3,000, and some horse thieves and retired legionnaires have joined their ranks. This rebel army is trying to block the retreat of several teams, including us, and local nobles to the old town.
"I don't know where they got their trebuchet. Lance sent someone to send this heavy weapon and specified the ambush location and time, but he didn't tell them the source of the intelligence."
"..."
This shocking news left everyone stunned. If they hadn't witnessed Rana's horrific torture, everyone would have doubted that he had been deceived.
No, there are still people who question it. Berthier frowned and asked: "Rana, are you beating too hard? Leading questions and torture will make the prisoner try to make up the answers you want to hear so that you can be freed as soon as possible."
"I didn't ask any questions, M. Berthier," Lannes replied calmly, "I only said one word to each of them, 'You say'."
Berthier was stunned for a while before he understood what Rana meant. He couldn't help but look at Fiona, who lowered her head and said nothing.
"Go on," said Professor Witzleben, as if it was no big deal, "did you notice that the ship was leaning five degrees?"
The second half of his sentence was not a question, it was just a statement of facts.
Sonia was shocked and hurriedly asked someone to go to the bottom cabin to check. Soon, the sailors replied that there was a lot of river water flowing in there, and the bottom of the boat may have been damaged, and they were trying to seal it.
"It should have happened during the battle. A group of people dived into the water and sabotaged the bottom of the ship. It seems that the ambush they arranged was more than five rounds." The professor's expression was calm and relaxed, as if he was not the one sitting on this broken ship. "If When the condition of the ship was unsustainable, we disembarked and walked to a nearby castle.”
…
Tributaries from the mountains to the west and north converge into the Vero River, which is hundreds of miles long, and then flows into the Sea of Tranquility in the east. The very fertile plain fed by this great river is called the Vero Plain and is the richest area of the land.
Baron Bate's estate is located on the banks of the Vero River. The contemporary baron is Jerry Bate, whose family has been here for countless generations. The Baron's ancient ancestors had resisted the conquests of Bjeland. After years of getting along, the baron, like other local nobles, has forgotten their hatred and has become a loyal good friend of the kingdom.
A river flows from north to south through the east side of the manor, then turns west, turns left near the south gate of the manor, and flows south again to join the Vero River. The creek was named after the lord's family and was called the Beit River. The abundant river water has brought about prosperous agriculture, and there are endless fields and farms as far as the eye can see. Excellent wheat is produced here, and the radish is crisp and delicious. Together with wheat porridge, it has become the staple food of the locals. Wine and rose essential oil are also famous and expensive commodities.
There were 7 or 8 shield-wielding spearmen guarding the entrance of the manor, and there was also a squad leader carrying a waist knife to lead the guard. The guards looked nervous and looked at the black mountains and forests to the north.
This morning, a messenger from afar reported that a terrifying rebel army had broken through the defenses of the viscount's army, looted the estates of the two barons they passed by, killed several feudal knights, and was rushing towards the territory of Baron Bethe. .
