Lance stood on the gentle slope, watching his army in the middle fall into irreparable destruction in the distance. Chaos from the north is spreading around like a plague.
Two thousand soldiers lined up in a long line, heading for the battlefield along the road down the gentle slope. They were almost parallel to the bank of the Beit River a few hundred meters away and would soon encounter the first wave of rout troops coming from the center.
"Lord Lance, have the wizards and the others been defeated?" Venomtooth Holland and several leaders asked nervously, "We have to rush over at full speed."
"I saw it," Lance said with an indifferent expression. "The whole army accelerated, attacked and occupied Boulogne Ferry, and burned the ships there."
"Aren't you going to support the middle camp!?" All the leaders were shocked. "A lot of the brothers there were taken away by Lancenis, and they may not be able to resist. In this way, the officers and soldiers joined the nobles of the castle. "
"Then let them join together," Lancenis waved his hand in disgust, "I have decided to attack the ferry at Boulogne. I will intercept the retreat of these officers and soldiers, keep them all or drive them north. Go. Lancenis’ troops will capture these nobles for me.”
"Fang Huo Lan, lame Lu Ping, you lead a force of 500 to gather the defeated wizards' remnants, take the road to the west, and then block the army from the left wing, don't let them escape to the west. If they leave If Bet Castle flees north, you can take advantage of the situation and occupy it."
"Theseus, lead your legionnaires to attack Plachen Hill. You must capture it before the noble lackeys occupy it. The flat and open terrain there is the key to my capture of Boulogne Ferry.
"Our army will assemble at Plachen Hill and attack the ferry."
Lance issued orders one after another, calmly and methodically, like a veteran in the army.
He has assembled an army of 2,200 people, of which more than 400 are veterans of the Verona Legion who have defected to him and are accustomed to fighting. This powerful force cannot be resisted by the hastily assembled city defense armies from various places. It is also in the single digits. The noble guards cannot defeat them.
These veterans, commanded by a senior centurion named Theseus and a few sergeants, were as tough as steel.
There were originally more than this number of veterans who defected to the rebel army. A larger and more elite team of veterans has been handed over to Lancenis for command, and yesterday they completely defeated Earl Sindra's reinforcements.
Although there were not enough officers and the movement of troops was somewhat slow and sluggish, Lance was convinced that he would win.
As long as this army is thrown on the heads of the nobles, they will immediately collapse. The timid city defense army and militia were no match for the regular army. As for those arrogant knights, throwing a spear three times will make them a new man.
Therefore, the first goal is naturally to send the legionnaires to the appropriate location.
Although the floodwaters have receded, it is not always easy to access the floodplain. The village of Plachin and the low hills not far southwest of the Boulogne ferry are the intersection of roads and relatively dry, flat open spaces.
Lance thought about it again and felt that his judgment was correct.
His army had an absolute advantage in numbers and powerful legionnaires. The Beyelan nobles hiding in Bethe Castle were frightened. After being rescued by the reinforcements, they would immediately rush to Boulogne Ferry and then flee eastward.
The legionnaires had to cut off the nobles' escape route to the east bank of the Beit River. If he can capture these nobles, he will have amazing bargaining chips in the next battle. The two famous earls, Larmore and Chalon, will pay an astonishing price for the safety and reputation of their daughters.
If, by bad luck, some of the nobles escape, that's okay. As long as they press towards Boulogne Ferry, thousands of city defense troops cannot escape.
After destroying the count's reinforcements and this city defense force, there was no longer any armed force in this area that could compete with Lance's army. He can even attack Oldtown.
There, representatives of countless forces are waiting to decide the winner!
…
The rebel army's center collapsed. Some of them threw down their weapons and surrendered. Most of them broke up and ran past the formation and fled to the south. Some of them ran to unknown places.
The Fiona battle group stopped, and the city defense squadron did not pursue it. Mira led the militia to pursue the rebels and take in the prisoners, while other squadrons gathered here and there.
Griffith tried hard to recall his city defense troops, but after almost half an hour, less than half of them came back, and the rest were either lost or mixed with other squadrons.
There were noisy crowds everywhere, and everyone could already see the dark army slowly coming from the south. Northern rebels also concentrated near Beit Castle.
No more waiting!
Griffith handed Fiona over to the protection of Milo Squadron, who was in the best condition, and raised his halberd.
"All the troops, attack the rebels in the north!"
He was the first to rush forward, and other trainee knights also swarmed forward with their soldiers. There was no formation or order, and everyone howled and charged at the Beiying rebels.
…
After being besieged for several days, Baron Bethe's castle finally saw the light of relief.
At dawn today, Sonia saw thousands of rebels gathering towards the castle. At first she thought the enemy was finally going to attack, but soon Fiona's vague voice came from the echo crystal.
The reinforcements coming from the ferry direction defeated the rebels besieging the castle in one turn. Then, the reinforcements turned around and charged towards the hesitant northern camp of the rebels near the castle.
The rebels surrounding them to the north and west were in disarray.
Sonia saw a familiar figure from a distance. He held a halberd and rushed to the front wearing a fine breastplate.
It's Griffith!
The rebels gathered near the castle were shaken. They all recognized the fearsome knight who killed Mosmok in one turn and stripped him of his armor.
"The knight is here!"
The rebels under the castle let out earth-shattering shouts. Some started to run away, while others shouted to stay and fight.
Griffith, Lassalle, and Gérard rushed into the rebel ranks one after another. The tangled squadron surged up behind them.
"attack!"
Murat and Nona jumped from the wall and joined the fight.
The rebels raised their shields, stood close together, and pointed their long and short spears at the outside like hedgehogs.
The Shutorals gathered together. They were all wearing heavy armor and holding halberds or swords and shields. They rushed towards the tight rebel formation before the city defense troops arrived.
"Break the formation!"
The Shutorals threw flying knives like raindrops, and the terrifying roars echoed intensively. The rebels facing them saw the swords and sword shadows like falling stars coming towards them.
"Ah——!" Amidst the screams one after another, the rebels fell like cabbages under hail. Many were struck in the face with daggers, and eyeballs and flying blood sprayed into the faces of others.
Before they could recover from the shock, Shutoral, who was dressed in razor-sharp armor, had already torn apart the human wall, causing a bloody storm among the flesh and blood.
Griffith rushed into the core of the rebels and killed several brave leaders. The remaining people collapsed completely and fled in all directions, screaming like the rebels in the middle.
…
The barony, which had been severely washed away by the flood, was in a mess, with fallen trees and rotted farmland everywhere. There must be no harvest this year.
Fortunately, the castle in the baron's manor did not collapse. Although the rebels invaded the manor after everyone refused to defend the castle, they have been troubled by attacks these days and are unable to launch a full-scale attack.
All the magic students and Shutoral survived, and even the injured Rana and Kulala were able to get out of bed and walk around, happily joining the reinforcements outside the manor.
"Rana!"
Griffith accidentally missed Fiona. When the girl saw that her Shutoral was alive with all its beard and tail, she jumped directly into his arms. Fortunately, Sonia reacted quickly and hugged her.
"Sonia, it's great to see you safe and sound," Griffith said, relieved to see Sonia safe with his own eyes.
"It's so nice to see you again." Sonia covered her mouth, almost crying with excitement. Similar dangerous things happened twice in a few months, and she almost doubted her life.
"You performed very well, Griffith." At this time, a young man wearing a mask walked up. He was wearing the uniform of Homemon Watts. His voice and body shape sounded like Isius's, but his temperament was completely different.
"Your Majesty, Viscount," Griffith bowed respectfully, "what happened?"
"Infection. I'm not acclimatized. I need to see a doctor after I return to Beyeland." Isius shook his head. "After such a big change, it's not surprising that you have grown a little~"
You call this growth? I feel that my temperament is older than that of almost thirty years old, and I feel like a completely different person. Griffith stared at the Viscount strangely and warily, feeling something strange that was unspeakable.
It's just that I don't have time to study this now. Lance's main force arrived soon, and everyone was not out of danger yet.
…
At 11:10 am on March 23, although the Fiona battle group had rescued the noble children, the situation was still critical.
The mage who commanded the center of the rebel army took some of his men and fled to the main rebel force in Reims. Their combined forces had arrived at the Plachen low hill south of the ferry. The number of them seemed to be very large.
The city defenders were left to their local officers to muster and organize. All Shutoral and Homemon Watts students gathered together to discuss the next plan.
"Our team is in complete chaos. Only the squadrons of Milhaud and Warren Haydon are in better condition," Lassalle said with some helplessness. His first squadron was in chaos during the charge, and now less than one-third of it has been restored. One, "Each squadron is mixed with people from other squadrons, making it difficult to execute complex orders. We also have no power to prevent the rebels from occupying nearby positions."
Isius pointed in the direction of Plachen Hill: "I saw a lot of rebels gathered there, and they looked well-trained. They will attack the ferry directly, right?"
Anyone with eyes can see clearly that the low hills and villages southwest of the ferry are very critical positions. By holding on there, Boulogne Ferry can safely withdraw everyone to the east coast.
However, Lance's main force arrived quickly, and a wave of figures had already appeared on the river bank. They took advantage of the opportunity for the Shutorals to relieve the siege of the castle and easily captured it, with their troops pointing directly at the only exit for escape.
If you are not careful, you will fall from a small encirclement into a large encirclement.
Lance's brigade made a rumbling roar and rolled towards this side. Just by looking directly at an enemy twice their size, the city defenders felt like they were fighting.
"Let's fight too, shall we?" Sonia said with some guilt. Using a large-scale attack spell to kill fellow human enemies would probably cause many people present to have a psychological breakdown, not to mention that casting spells on such a battlefield would most likely fail and backfire on the caster.
Many students looked at the flat-bottomed boats at the ferry, looking forward to it but keeping silent.
Just get on the boat and leave safely. However, how can one say such a thing as abandoning the army and running away.
The air became solid for a moment.
"It's not necessary," Griffith said slowly as his calm gaze swept over everyone, "We have completed the main task. Everyone except the professor is safe. We can leave these city defense troops and cross the river back. The flat-bottomed boat is enough Contain us.”
"No, how can this be done!" Sonia objected seriously, "We can't leave the soldiers who fight for us behind. They have families and are living people just like us!"
"They can run north along the river," Griffith made another nonsense suggestion. "If they continue to fight, Lance will cut off the ferry. At that time, everyone will face the risk of having no way to retreat."
"A small number of legionnaires and city defense troops cannot stop the rebel brigade, and the ferry will definitely be lost." Lasalle also agreed.
"Will we be defeated?" Everyone asked hesitantly.
"Defeat is not certain, but we are very likely to lose our retreat, and everyone will be in danger," Griffith replied. "I again recommend that everyone evacuate immediately. If you have any concerns, I can stay and fight alongside the city defense forces." , hold on until everyone leaves."
His tone was calm, as if he was talking about something insignificant.
"No, no!" Sonia was angry, "Griffith, just tell me what your plans are. You can't do this! I won't leave if you stay."
"Okay, okay, don't play this trick," Isius laughed, waving his hands to silence everyone, "Shu Toral, prepare to fight. We must fight.
"We are from Beyeland and will become the leaders of the family and the army in the future. If it is so easy to abandon the army and abscond, who will dare to fight with us when the day comes when we need to go into battle?
"So, everyone must participate in today's battle. Those who want to escape by boat can ask now, but I personally recommend not to do so. Compared with physical death, social death with ruined reputation is much more terrifying."
This reason convinced almost everyone, or in other words, calmed them down.
Berthier even thought about it seriously: "Then, should we burn the ship to show our determination to fight side by side with the city defense army? I see that many battles are arranged this way."
Nona on the side almost scolded him after hearing this.
Isius smiled slightly, and there was a cold light shining under the mysterious mask. He looked at Griffith:
"Griffith, you are such a considerate and good person. You prepared all the reasons for everyone to escape from the beginning.
"But, you are so calm. In my estimation, you have already been prepared, right? Do you not want us to restrict you or do you not want Miss de La Mole to take risks?"
Griffith kept a serious face and said nothing.
"Tsk, what a bad character," Isius laughed, "Just say what you want."
Griffith paused for a while and said calmly: "There is no need to burn the boat or the ferry. Whether it is a last-ditch battle or relying on Miss Xia Long's sealed artifact, it is difficult to maintain the morale of the city defense army for a long time. After all, they are not the same as us. They are not in the same region. , they are from other provinces, and we are from the royal territory. In front of the veterans of the legion, the city defense army cannot hold on for long.
"Also, we need to give Lance a target so he knows where the offense is most needed."
"I understand, I think everyone can accept this arrangement," Sonia thought seriously, "but how can we defeat the rebels?"
"Leave this task to us," Griffith said. "On behalf of all Shutoral, please stay behind the battle lines and wait for news of victory."
"real?"
"Don't you need us to provide large-scale magic strike support? Although I'm not sure whether it can be successful on such a battlefield."
Several classmates asked in unison.
"No need," Griffith replied affirmatively. "The rebels have longbowmen from the legion. There is no need to take risks with unarmored spellcasters."
He then took out a prepared battle plan and circulated it to everyone:
"Since you have decided to fight, you can refer to my plan.
“According to the plan, the troops of La Salle, Milhaud, and Warren Haydon, as well as the engineers, held the front of the ferry, where Lana and Curara supported them.
"All other Shutoral and squadrons are with me as we proceed as planned."
Griffith's plan was very clear and precise.
After reading the report, Sonia was surprised to find that this combat plan should have been drawn up long ago, and the situation on the scene was completely within Griffith's expectations. The timing of the relief, the timing of the arrival of the main force of the Reims rebels, and the loss of the Plachin hump were all part of the plan.
Isius asked his Shutoral: "Mura, do you think you can win?"
"Yes, Viscount."
Isius asked Lasalle again: "What do you think?"
"Our army will definitely win."
Fiona thought for a while: "The rebels are much more numerous than us, right? Although I am very powerful, you can definitely win, right?"
Lana pulled off the bandages on his body, stretched his muscles, and grinned: "My sword is already thirsty."
The battle plan was approved without any hindrance.
All the Shutoral returned to their respective squadrons and prepared for battle.
…
"Griffith." Sonia nodded to her apprentice knight and asked him to find her in a quiet place.
There is actually no quiet corner here, so the two of them came to a ruined wall to whisper.
Sonia raised her head and asked him carefully: "Can we really win? The rebels' strength may be twice or even three times ours."
"Quantity does not determine victory in battle," Griffith shook his head, "wisdom and organization do."
This answer made Sonia not sure how to continue: "It was wrong for you to test me like that. We have a soul contract, and lying is not good."
Well, there are other people present, so I have to worry about what they think. Griffith thought absentmindedly and simply responded: "Yes."
Sonia thought for a while: "Promise me not to do anything that will lead to death, but to survive. If you lose the battle, you will run away and run to the west to join the aristocratic coalition there. Don't worry about me!"
"OK, I see."
The rallying call has been sounded. The city defense troops have completed their reorganization and are deploying along the south side of Boulogne Ferry.
Now it's time to say goodbye.
Griffith nodded to Sonia and prepared to rush to his squadron.
"Wait, wait, Griffith!" Sonia looked a little panicked. She had never seen such a large-scale battle before, and her knights were about to go to an unknown and dangerous battlefield to fight against terrifying enemies. This made her panic and didn't know what to do.
Lance was unimaginably powerful. He killed the professor, fought against the elemental lord and three or four Shutorals at the same time, and seriously injured many people.
"What? Is there anything you need me to do?" Sonia asked confused and hesitantly.
"No. No, there is!"
Griffith shook his head at first. Suddenly, his eyes lit up and he remembered something important.
I almost forgot again! How immature I am to forget such an important thing!
"what is it!"
As soon as Sonia finished speaking, she saw Griffith stretching his arms around her. The broad shoulders, solid breastplate, and strong arms enveloped her, reminding her of the irresistible fiery breath that night.
"No, this can't be done."
The irresistible force pressed forward, and Sonia only had time to scream slightly before she collapsed. She closed her eyes nervously and wanted to push Griffith away, but his body was as soft as if he was touching her breastplate.
"Yes, I heard from Fiona. She and Lana can do it, and so can we." Griffith said confidently.
Sonia was so shocked that she almost fainted.
Griffith gently pressed her shoulders, unlocked the clasp at the back, and tugged hard on the cloak embroidered with the Larmore family coat of arms.
He used too much force and did not undo all the locks. The strong pull and the tearing sound of the silk made Sonia terrified. The unprecedented stimulation made her mind go blank. She clenched her silver teeth and fell softly on Griffith's breastplate.
Griffith pulled off Sonya's cloak.
He felt quite decent about himself, and gestured with the somewhat torn cloak and the bloody halberd beside him.
On the pure white cloak, the iris blooms with rich blue-purple petals, like a halberd held high, giving people a sense of vitality. The three petals of the iris symbolize faith, wisdom and courage respectively. This is the coat of arms of the Larmore family and is an excellent military flag.
Simply awesome!
Griffith was so proud that he took half a step back, tied his cloak to his halberd, and beat his chest in greeting to Sonia, whose eyes were blurred and her cheeks were flushed:
"Sonia, I will wave the iris battle flag through the enemy's formation. Please wait in a safe place for news of our army's victory.
"Your knights will seize the rebel standard and hang it on the cloister of Larmor House,
"I have a guaranteed victory!"
