Griffith was quickly attracted by the article on the front page and read it carefully.
“…Prevention work is also very important. Eradication of snails, management of manure accumulation and egg elimination, protection of water safety and personal prevention of infection must be comprehensively planned, comprehensive measures must be taken, and carried out in a planned and step-by-step manner.
"In the past few years, Qiming County has carried out vigorous campaigns to fill old ditches, open new ditches, eliminate snails, and treat patients. 517 old ditches have been filled in for the purpose of killing snails, with a total length of more than 310,000 meters. More than 2 million cubic meters of soil were collected, 119 new ditches were opened with a total length of 156,000 meters, and more than 1 million cubic meters of soil were excavated.
"The whole county used various methods such as shoveling grass and fertilizer to eliminate snails in house foundations, wall bases, tree stems, and stone bridge gaps. After two years of hard work, the people of Qiming Town took the lead in eliminating snails, the cause of schistosomiasis. Soon after, The whole county achieved decisive victory in the battle against snails.
“This is a real war that combines public health campaigns with mass movements. While preventing and controlling blood-sucking worms, new water conservancy projects were built, killing two birds with one stone.
“We can also see from this the power of the masses. If we mobilize the masses, we can be invincible!
"Mr. Carter suffered from schistosomiasis and his belly was as big as a drum. His family had prepared a thin coffin for him, but he was saved and became the town secretary and a model worker.
"Beilun Village was originally a large village with more than 50 households and more than 500 people. However, due to schistosomiasis, only 4 children and 48 widows were left. It was called the 'Widow Village', and Ms. Emma was one of the widows. . Among the four remaining children in the village, two are her children, but she herself is in the late stage of schistosomiasis. Now, not only has she cured the disease, but she has also watched her children get married and start a business, and the family has regenerated into one. Big family of 12 people.
"Build water conservancy projects, fill up ravines, and eradicate the breeding grounds of schistosomiasis. Doctors sent by the People's Committee to diagnose diseases for citizens, and Knight Roland personally came here to direct the battle. The snails were eliminated, and a criss-crossing water conservancy and irrigation system was established to expand The cultivated area is 1,500 acres, and the irrigation area has been improved to more than 3,000 acres; thousands of sick people have been treated and restored to health. Those who used to "want to rest as soon as they picked up the hoe" have now become "work all day long, The more you work, the more energetic you become.'
"Under the guidance of Knight Roland and the People's Committee, Qiming County has become a large granary of fertile fields. Food-deficient areas have become food-surplus areas, and poor households have become wealthy households..."
Griffith tapped the newspaper. There is something familiar about this situation.
During Raven's battle, he had thought of mobilizing grassroots militiamen, landlords, innkeepers, businessmen, housewives and children to conduct investigations and uncover cultists who might be hiding in the neighborhoods.
The job was far beyond his capabilities and evolved into using rumors to intimidate citizens, rallying them to stop the spread of the infection. Letting those illiterate, poor and timid civilians act for a common goal makes Griffith dizzy just thinking about it.
Judging from the results, the infection in Raven's Lower City was indeed under control. This was also the basis for Griffith to rely on the materials and manpower there to attack the cult's lair and make the final decision. Even though deception was used, if it were Lordes or Erza, they probably wouldn't be as good as Griffith.
He was actually very proud of this result. Until now...
Roland's work in Qiming Town was carried out openly. He mobilized the residents in the territory and used the simplest landfill and water conservancy projects to accomplish things that batches of extraordinary people had not been able to accomplish. Those Beyelan wizards who knew the inside story must not be able to accept this reality in their hearts, so that schistosomiasis has been eradicated in Qiming County, and they are not willing to say a few good words in newspapers and journals.
Illiterate poor people accomplished things that powerful men with extraordinary power could not do.
Griffith had an inexplicable impulse. The cause of this desolate border touched his heartstrings, causing inexplicable passion and heroism to surge out.
He vaguely felt that he was also a participant and witness in this war to eliminate vampires, and that he was a member of a brave and unstoppable group.
He even had a wonderful hallucination from his heart, a door that had been sealed for a long time was cracking open.
At this time, Roland knocked on the door and walked into the conference room. He saw Griffiths thoughtfully, then glanced at the "Sending the Plague" headline in the newspaper he was holding.
Griffith raised his head, and at that moment, their eyes met, and he seemed to see some familiar and exciting scene.
This brief illusion passed in a flash, and a man in a gray uniform came in following the knight. He raised his right hand, made a strange salute to Roland in his ear, and reported loudly: "Comrade Chairman of the People's Committee, the combat troops have been assembled. Please give your instructions."
"Move to the predetermined position and expand," Roland stood up and said to Griffith, "Come on."
"What?" Griffith stood up hurriedly.
"Pack your weapons, hurry up, if you hurry up, we can catch up with the opening of the Wall of Sighs."
Wall of Sighs? What's this? Griffith was attracted by this powerful name that exuded sadness and loneliness, and he felt like it was the embodiment of some kind of divine power in the world. There are incidents happening beside this wall of sighs. Is it related to some powerful mysterious force?
Fight, there must be a dangerous battle threatening here!
The general course on occult science has said that there are a large number of strange creatures living in the remote forests in the border areas. They may have been peaceful for thousands of years, but suddenly one day a mysterious existence will pollute the water sources and grasslands, leading the creatures living on the land to madness and mutation.
…
Griffith followed Knight Roland as he left the administrative center and headed northeast, arriving at an empty valley.
The location here is easy to identify. As long as you cross this valley, you will be on the south bank of the vast Tulan Marsh. There are ancient ruins and many relics hidden in the dark shrubs and forests. After repeated searches by the Elf Sentinels and Rangers, most of the threats have been driven away, leaving a large number of ruins, buildings and texts that need to be explored. It is an ideal mystery. Study place.
After arriving here, Griffith was basically able to confirm that Knight Roland was indeed helping him. If he had not been expelled from the elven colony, in the next few days, he and his companions would have joined the guides and hired workers at the nearby ferry to go to the Bellomon ruins to investigate.
Here stands a wall, as gray as the town. The huge rocks are stacked together and tightly glued with gray material. They are three meters high, one meter wide and more than one kilometer long.
The city wall stretches all the way to the eastern slopes, guarding farmland, mines and towns behind it. However, a significant gap remained unfinished near the swamp.
"We once built a complete wall, well, for a while," Knight Roland said with some regret. "Unfortunately, the foundation near the swamp was not stable, and the western end of the Wall of Sighs collapsed."
With such a powerful name as the Wall of Sighs, it still collapsed... Griffith cursed in his heart.
However, his mutterings were soon driven away by the sight in front of him.
A group of armed people without military uniforms came from a distance and gradually appeared in front of the two men. These men who looked like soldiers were lined up in neat lines, like a well-trained army. None of the people in the team had helmets. Half of them wore breastplates and carried three-meter long spears on their shoulders, while the other group carried dark pipes on their backs.
Judging from their expressions and queues, these black pipes should be some kind of iron weapons, at least judging from the iron content, they should not be weaker than spears.
There are more than 800 people in this team, and the big man leading the team, holding a flag with his fist pointing directly at the stars, is actually a subordinate of the Knight Roland next to him.
Griffith was a little surprised that a border knight could afford such a large force near such a barren swamp.
The militiamen were divided into four columns and advanced along their respective roads. In the gap between the queues, there were several small teams pushing a two-wheeled carriage that they had never seen before. There was a dark and deep iron pipe between the huge wheels of the carriage, which was somewhat similar to the iron bar carried on the shoulders of the militiamen, but the size was enlarged by more than a dozen. times.
Although their pace was not fast, their movements were very smooth. They walked smoothly through the rugged hills and ravines, without any hindrance between them. The seemingly heavy carriage moved smoothly through the flow of people. When it encountered a lowland or a pond, someone immediately laid out planks of wood and poured sand and gravel, and even followed the walking queue.
As the team approached, Griffith could already see the details. This army rolled in from the direction of the fields. They were dressed simply but very neatly. Although most of the marching militiamen looked nervous, no one made any noise. They were as quiet and coordinated as a precise clock.
Roland stopped and quietly admired the army, his eyes filled with admiration and satisfaction. Then, he raised his riding crop and pointed at the gap in the gray wall in the distance, and asked Griffith:
"I heard that Sir Brandon retreated the rebels to the west and blocked the tide of corpses to the east. What do you think when you look at our team in Qiming Town today?"
Griffith didn't know how to answer for a moment. Although he had served in the eastern army, fought with the kingdom's border guards and noble private armies, and commanded the city defense troops and militia, the team in front of him had a temperament that he had never seen before.
They seemed to have no fighting experience, most of them were not fierce, and they were not tall and strong. Among the hundreds of people, there was almost no psychic aura of extraordinary beings, so they were naturally not comparable to the elite soldiers of humans, elves, and orcs.
However, it is obviously wrong to say that they are a mob. From the broken western plains to the mountaintops in the far east, no militia or city defense army could be as orderly and strict as the army in front of them. The silence seemed to contain immeasurable power.
"Just watching them march, you can feel the difference," Griffith replied.
"Yes, very discerning." Roland laughed and looked at the gap under the gray wall. The militia team of 800 people passed by the two of them and slowed down slowly in column.
At this time, smoke and dust were rising all over the valley in the distance, and a real murderous intent and ferocity invaded the bones. Griffith was startled and quickly looked up, only to see hundreds of huge figures gathering and roaring in the swamps and hills in the distance, heading towards the gray wall.
Beast tide? ! Why is there a beast tide?
"I forgot to tell you, there have been unexplained anomalies in the swamp recently, and many mutant beasts have emerged from the forest and are going to attack nearby towns," Roland said calmly, "We have to stop them under the Wall of Sighs. "
At this time, the Qiming Town militia had just arrived but had not yet formed their formation. The attack of the Warcraft was actually stuck at such a critical point! Griffith looked at Knight Roland in surprise and found that he didn't care at all.
However, in less than a quarter of an hour, the beast tide will run over the militiamen's heads! These more than 800 people did not set up positions or dig the most basic trench walls. How could they withstand it?
"Your Excellency Roland, the beast tide is approaching fiercely. Please shrink your troops and form a formation behind the Wall of Sighs." Griffith hesitated for a moment before seriously suggesting.
"Oh, it doesn't matter." Roland shook his head indifferently, "If you can't handle this, it will be in vain."
What? what are you saying? Griffith found himself once again unable to understand the other person's thoughts. However, just as he was gritting his teeth and preparing to step forward to control the time, a shocking scene happened.
The four columns advancing to the gap suddenly raised different flags, and bright drumbeats immediately sounded in the ranks. Immediately afterwards, the flag stopped like a bearing hub, the militiamen following it slowed down, and the militiamen in the center and end of the column began to accelerate at the same time.
The fragmented column that was divided in the ravine rotated freely to the left and right in the blink of an eye, like a deep-sea octopus extending its tentacles in all directions.
The tense-looking militiamen followed the rhythm of the drums and smoothly moved from column to horizontal formation. Among them, three rows of horizontal lines holding black iron rods spread out towards the front, while two rows of pikemen followed steadily behind them. In just five minutes, five neat rows of battle lines were formed standing in the gap in the gray wall.
Ah, this! Griffith was stunned by the militia's quick maneuvers and fluid turns.
Is this a militia?
The six carriages in the team moved towards both sides of the battle line and did not stop until they reached both ends of the queue. The driver and the auxiliary soldiers took out the cloth bags one by one, stuffed the black particles into the black tubes with thick wooden sticks, and then filled them with black balls one by one.
Some people with unique emblems in the team raised their signal flags and turned to look in Roland's direction.
The rapid drum beat suddenly stopped, and the gray army was once again placed in silence and silence, but there seemed to be some kind of heart-stopping whirlpool surging in the silent air.
The beast tide was already covered in astonishing smoke and dust, howling and approaching to a distance of 400 meters. Griffith could even vaguely see the flickering light on their terrifying red eyes and terrifying claws.
Roland rode forward, glanced at his subordinates, raised his whip and pointed straight ahead, "Reliable comrades, please speak!"
