The attack on October 5th caused tragic casualties. The white walls of Odessa were smeared with black carrion and blood stains, and the screams did not completely dissipate until dawn the next day.
The troops in Odessa were mobilized and began searching house by house and street by street.
Beyeland has not been idle either. Some officers and nobles could not stay any longer, so they followed General Maximus and led the Twelfth Army towards the Neck. Because there were so many troops and accompanying carts that it was easy to block the road to Teutoburg, the Ninth Army and its auxiliary troops set off from Odessa later.
The Beyeland Auxiliary Corps to which Griffith belongs must cooperate with the actions of the Ninth Corps. While waiting for departure, he came to the nearby Mage Tower, requested a data room as an officer, and took the time before departure to get to work.
He first finished writing a letter to Galadia, reporting on his life and work, and then began to learn about local maps, historical records and official documents.
According to the map, leaving Odessa and heading north, ideally the army could reach the valley of the Neck by marching quickly for seven days. The actual march time was about ten days. The road goes north along the Bay River, through densely populated plains and towns. Halfway through, turn right and cross the Tierne River to the east to reach the Sevastro region. Turn northwest to reach the vast plain grain-producing area and the northern border.
The girls of Anjou are active in Anjou County on the northwest border, six hundred miles away from Odessa. There is the territory of Odessa, which is intertwined with the fiefdoms of the marquis and counts directly under King Beyelan. The mountains and rivers are used to build a defense line to block the northern orcs.
The border territory of the Larmore family is not too far away. It is said to be a large piece of rich and beautiful land with many residents, responsible for the defense of the border. There is the reward that the ancestors of the Larmore family received for fighting under the banner of King Beyelan long ago, and it is also the nail that the kingdom is embedded in Odessa.
The Earl's family may not go there even once a year. When Griffith first arrived in Bayerland, he heard the count joking at the dinner party that the harvest there could be poor on good days.
The housekeeper and the agent may be squandering the property~ Should I send someone to check it out and catch a few mice... Hey, forget it~ It's not my property, the count doesn't care, why should I care about this matter.
In the dry library, after drinking his second cup of low-purity ale, Griffith quickly read through several large cowhide-bound books to learn about local power, geography and history, and then reached out and took out a stack of books. Reports submitted by local extraordinary people and officials.
The top report was stained with blood. It said that a mixed army of orcs, orcs and trolls were rampaging on the border, attacking manors and towns everywhere, and were finally wiped out by the border guards. There were no less than ten similar military reports. Several troops from the clan alliance carried only very few supplies and sneaked through the mountains, forests and river valleys to the border of Odessa to attack, plunder or gather to occupy dangerous positions.
Nearby towns reported to Odessa officials that gravediggers in the town had discovered corpses in the cemetery, tearing open the graves and gathering into an army of the dead into the forest. The local lord or the garrison knight said that they had dispatched a team of Beyonders to investigate, and found that it was indeed the case and sent some people to pursue it, but no one came back.
The reports about undead creatures were all recent. Although they did not form a large-scale incident, they still caused great panic in various places. Letters for help were sent to Odessa officials and the Holy Light Church one after another. Judging from the attack in Odessa, the thread of life in the virtual world is instructing his followers to take an active offensive, but what is the goal?
The Saint of Anjou is mentioned repeatedly in this series of reports. She led a militia to fight off many orcs and support the beleaguered town, achieving a glorious victory. Logically speaking, the saint should bring a militia of believers to join the army. Maybe it won't be long before Griffith will see with his own eyes what this obscure but famous girl looks like...
Griffith put down the document and fell into thinking. Gradually, he felt very tired and fell asleep on the table.
…
Griffith found himself in a burning town, with corpses lying on the roadside, both human and orc. Brutal fighting broke out here, and almost no building was left intact.
He nervously wanted to grab a weapon, but found that he was bare-handed. The orc ran right past him, completely unaware of his presence.
They caught a young girl.
Her appearance was unclear, her silver breastplate was stained with blood, and the sword in the scabbard at her waist had been lost. The orcs were all injured and shouted angrily:
"Burn her to death!"
"Burn the succubus!"
They tied the girl to the stake and threw wood and straw at her feet. An orc warrior dressed as a leader limped in front of the girl, leaning on a spear.
The orcs are very strong and have entered middle age. Their majestic bodies are stronger than the city walls, and their majestic aura puts the mountains to shame. There was an old wound on the left side of his face from top to bottom, and a new one was opened from left to right. The wound made his face look more ferocious, but his words were very polite.
"Banshee, your people have fled, and they have handed you and your army over to my warriors. The victory is decided.
"Above the vast sea of grass and stone fields, no one can save you; under the sky shrouded like a dome, the evil god is broken under my warrior axe.
"This is all over, you will be purified by fire and no one can save you.
"I command you to repent and let this end."
After saying this, the orc let out a long sigh, his ferocious face full of joy.
"I don't need to repent," the girl's appearance was as blurry as if covered with mist, but her voice was clear and firm, "If possible, I even want to live a little longer. My guardian will come, no matter what The past is still the present, unless time can be stopped.”
The orc spat a mouthful of saliva mixed with blood: "May your soul be purified. Soldiers, light a fire."
He waved his orders to his subordinates, and the flames soared into the sky and swallowed up the pyre in the blink of an eye.
The girl is surrounded by flames. She had no fear, nor did she scream or cry like other people who had been burned, but just murmured in a low voice.
Griffith moved closer, straining to hear what she was saying. When he came to the fire, the flames burned his cheeks and almost set his hair on fire. Here he heard intermittent sounds.
"Griffith, what are you doing?
"You came so late..."
Me, why me? Griffith wanted to stop him, but could not get any closer to the rack. He watched the girl disappear in the flames, and the endless melancholy of loss rolled out.
…
"Griffith."
"Captain, wake up!"
"Wake up, Griffith!"
Griffith woke up from his sleep and raised his head suddenly. He looked around and saw Sonia clutching his arm. Kallen and maid Anna, who were serving as guards, were also around. Kallen hit him on the head with the hilt of her sword, while Anna patted him with a wet towel dipped in cold water.
The would-be knight had ice water applied to his face and jumped up with a "chang" sound.
"what's the situation?"
"Your Highness summoned us for an urgent military situation," Sonia said anxiously. "In addition, we received an urgent report from the trainee nun in Lansada to you!"
Lanzada, then this report will be about the Saint of Anjou?
This is a report from a town in Odessa called Pierrefonds, signed by Lansada.
"Knight Griffith, this is the third letter I have sent. May the Holy Light protect our brave messenger to break through the blockade.
"I am in a border town called Pierrefonds, with Angevin girls, three thousand militiamen, and tens of thousands of refugees.
"We originally planned to move towards Teutoburg. A few days ago, the Saint discovered that a large group of orc regular troops appeared behind us, preparing to attack Pierrefond. If they succeed, they will cut off the Teutoburg and Anjou areas. contact.
"This orc army came very suddenly, and we didn't get any information in advance. When we arrived in Pierrefonds to evacuate the refugees, we found that the garrison of the nearby fortress had already left, abandoning the fortress and baggage without even notifying us. More than Three thousand clan alliance troops suddenly broke out of the fortress and attacked us.
"The Angevin girl commanded the troops to retreat so that the refugees could retreat safely. However, after the defender retreated without authorization, the orc army blocked our way.
"Under the leadership of the Saint, we retreated to the town of Piefeng, where we built walls and trenches to hold on. There were armies of orcs and orcs from all directions, but none of our troops came to support us! We had no food and no weapons. , many, many people were injured.
"Knight, I beg you, for the sake of the brave saints and warriors here, come and help us! Save me!"
The handwriting on the letter was blurred in many places. Lanzada was not the kind of person who would wet the paper with his careless hands.
Griffith collected the letter, stood up and said to Sonia: "Let's go to the headquarters."
Then, he turned to Kallen and said: "You go and inform the squadron to assemble immediately and prepare for the emergency march. In addition, it is recommended that the squadrons of Urenas and Yellen also prepare."
…
When Griffith and Sonia arrived at the headquarters, everyone received an urgent report from the direction of Pierre Feng.
The prince was sitting at the table, looking at the map solemnly. A group of officers surrounded him, silent.
"Where is General Maximus?" asked the prince. "Send a messenger to recover them. As long as the general attacks, Pierrefond's situation will be better."
"The old general took the Twelve Legions to Teutoburg," a staff officer said, "In addition..."
Another staff officer said: "The general cannot launch an attack. There are no suitable roads near him."
The prince dropped the quill in his hand on the map, stood up and walked around the tent. His expression was urgent and apocalyptic.
