Chapter 62, The Army Suppresses the Territory

"The bad news is... maybe Brig's coming is sooner than expected!" Albert took out the map, pointing to the pass on the map: "The time that the Oak Pass can withstand is shorter than imagined! According to the information from the messengers on the front line, after a terrible sacrifice, more barbarian raiders have been upgraded to barbarian warriors and even chaos warriors!"

The horrors of the Chaos Warriors have already been said.

The deterioration of the situation made several people present frown.

"So what about the good news?" Ryan had already accepted the bad news in his heart, so he continued to ask.

"The good news is... the 7,000 reinforcements from the empire are already on their way, and our courier has already contacted him. We only need to hold on for three days, and we only need to hold on for three days!" Albert said quite excitedly, The wrinkles around his eyes slowly unfolded.

This 40-year-old lord has not fought many wars since he succeeded to the throne. The main military action is to eliminate bandits and a small number of beastmen. This time he is suddenly faced with a large army, and he is actually very nervous.

"Then let's count as it took only two hours for Bireg to break through the Oak Pass." Albert motioned to Ryan.

Neither the count nor his two knights were masters of battle.

Ryan put his finger on the Oak Pass: "If Bireg breaks through the Oak Pass, his next move is to cross the Ovlie River and then go straight to the city of Mjorden Haven."

"So my plan is that we send troops to respond on the Aarhus Bridge on the Ovre River, and then snipe at Bireg's army first. If we can't hold on to the river, we will retreat back to the city." Ryan gave I made my own suggestion - defense in depth.

"So... Ryan, your proposal is... field battle?" Earl Albert and his two knights looked at each other, and Walnut Knight Nikolay hesitated for a while, but said hesitantly: "I said, isn't this a bit... Too risky?"

"Yeah...Mr. Ryan, I think... Maybe it's better for us to rely on the city wall to hold on? There are artillery on the tower and various defense equipment, which will make people feel more at ease." Bamboo Knight Valdemar also against this opinion.

"We can't just defend the city like this!" Ryan said dissatisfiedly, and he told the earl and the two knights the theory he had told Estelle before.

Historically, in the face of the enemy, the idea of ​​relying on the city wall to defend is the most stupid. In defending the city, the city wall is always the penultimate line of defense.

The two knights still didn't speak, and it was obvious that they were powerless to refute Ryan's decision, but they could not cooperate.

Ryan was stunned at first, but he immediately realized that there was a problem with his way of expression: "Gentlemen, I don't mean that we should fight the barbarians in the wild. What I mean is that we are relying on the Aarhus Bridge and trying to Delay Bireg's advance time, and we will definitely retreat behind the city wall in the end."

Ryan first put his finger on the Oak Pass: "There are two hundred defenders stationed at the Oak Pass. This pass has a solid city wall and defensive equipment. The barbarians came from afar, and they lacked enough siege weapons and sufficient numbers. Therefore, even if Oak Pass is broken by the barbarians, the defenders still have a chance to retreat. These soldiers are the elite who have fought against the barbarians. They are an important force. We should try to meet their retreat. I am right. Gentlemen? Your Excellency the Earl?"

All three nodded subconsciously. The two hundred defenders were regular soldiers. If they could successfully support their retreat, this force would play a pivotal role in defending the city.

"After taking over the Orc Pass garrison, we will send troops to defend the Aarhus Bridge... Listen to me, gentlemen, we will not be able to hold this bridge, but we can delay long enough, and then... The bridge is full of gunpowder. When we fail to hold it, we will blow up the bridge.

Ryan went on to say: "The barbarians abandoned a lot of luggage and forced to march here. It was very troublesome for them to cross the river. Don't forget that at this time, the Ovrie River has just begun to freeze. While the river is rushing, the surface of the river is either It's a large piece of crushed ice floating, or the ice layer is thinner than a piece of parchment! Whether the barbarians choose to build bridges or build ships, they will spend a lot of time! "

Albert summed it up and finally nodded: "You are right, what we have to do now is to buy time."

"I agree! I will personally lead the soldiers to deploy defenses at the Aarhus Bridge!" The Walnut Knight Nikolai spoke, and this thirties-year-old knight of the Kingdom stood up.

"Then I will be responsible for the defense of the city. When you retreat, I will lead the army to respond immediately." Bamboo Knight Waldemar nodded.

"Well, then, Mr. Nikolai and I will go to the Aarhus Bridge to deploy defenses." Ryan saw that Albert did not intend to leave the city, so he took the initiative to take over the job.

"I will dispatch 500 soldiers to you, and the 200 standing army and 300 conscripts will all be under your command. As for the safety of the city, you don't have to worry." Albert's eyes became fierce: " I have a bodyguard, this time, I must make these damned barbarians come and go!"

"clear!"

Everyone rushed to other places, and it was agreed that everyone would gather at the barracks in three hours. It would take time to deploy troops and food.

Ryan walked towards a hut in the town.

As the season deepened into winter, the weather became colder and colder. Both sides of the road were crowded with disaster victims. Many people shivered in the cold corners. The houses were also crowded with people. Ryan could see many figures from the windows.

After discussing with Albert, he got a very bad news-there are no legendary-level powerhouses among the defenders and nobles in this city. The basis is because they are a family of knights.

These two guys are not too strong, one is an elite ranger and the other is an elite fighter.

But the crushing bear is a legendary high-ranking barbarian chieftain! Chaos warrior blessed by the blood god!

He came to a longhouse and knocked on the door.

"Hello! Excuse me?" A young man opened the door.

It was Ike, and the expression on his face became subtle after seeing Ryan standing at the door.

"Son of Gade, now it's your turn to repay my favor, follow me to fight." The voice that answered him was cold and frosty.

………………

Three hours later.

An army of 500 people left the city under the leadership of Ryan and others.

This army consisted of 200 shielded and long halberd soldiers, 100 great swordsmen and 200 crossbowmen, in addition to that, there were more than a dozen cavalrymen.

Albert trusted Ryan quite a lot. He handed over his main force to Ryan, and ordered Nikolai to be controlled by Ryan.

This is the role of reputation. If Ryan's reputation is at the national level, then Nikolai's reputation is at the village and town level at most. Ryan is a White Wolf Knight in the establishment of the White Wolf Knights. Walnut... There is no Knights.

"Hi, Mr. Ryan, I'm Lops!" A knight with a halberd came out from behind: "I've heard about your name for a long time, and it's a great honor to fight side by side with you."

"I remember you are...the son of Lord Mosheen? We met before." Ryan said strangely. He recognized this young man. He was the son of Lord Mosheen Hyde. Hyde has many children. Lop Si can be regarded as one of them, but why is he here now?

"Yes, we have met. I am a wandering knight now. It is a great honor to meet you." Lops is a young man with a golden cut and a childish face. There is still a little pockmark on his face. He is wearing a full set of plate armor and a kite helmet. He seems to have grown some beards on his mouth to look mature. Judging from his appearance, he should be about the same age as Ryan.

"Wandering knight? What made you choose to wander?" Ryan asked casually, "Did you sleep with your father's maid? Was driven out?"

It was another cloudy day. Since he set off, the weather in Nord has been very bad. The mood of this army is the same as the current weather. Everyone's face is full of clouds.

The morale of the soldiers is low, and the faces of the officers are not good.

"I chose it myself." Lopus forced a smile: "After witnessing an unfair trial, I feel that there is nothing good to do at home. It was not my turn to inherit my father's title, so I decided Come out and wander."

"... also." Ryan nodded. There are various reasons for the birth of wandering knights. The adoption of the eldest son inheritance system is a common inheritance law in the mainland. In this case, only the eldest son of the nobles can inherit the title. The other children get at most a small fief.

In this case, many noble children will become wandering knights.

After speaking, he looked at Ike who was riding behind him with a face of shame.

Ike Albrecht, the legal illegitimate son of Baron Albrecht, the Landlord of Wollrich in the Empire, his father is Baron "Eagle Hook" Albrecht, the commander of the fifth company of the White Wolf Knights.

What is a legal illegitimate child?

An illegitimate child is a symbol of shame for nobles. This kind of bastard will generally be kicked out of the house. If a nobleman dares to bring home the illegitimate children born to himself and a lowly farmer/farm girl, then the noble wife will be punished by the imperial law for abusing these illegitimate children. protection of.

There are two circumstances, however, in which an illegitimate child is not considered a badge of stigma.

The first is that the parents of the illegitimate child are both nobles or figures revered by human society. The relationship between Margarita, the sorceress of the domain, is a lover relationship, and the illegitimate child they gave birth to is considered lowly by no one.

The second type is that the illegitimate child comes from the maid of the noble lady, or the female courtier in the noble court. In this case, the illegitimate child does not have the right of inheritance, but his heir status is also recognized by society.

The status of the above two illegitimate children will be "legalized".

Ike is the second type.

So why did Ike dare to beg him like this, and why Ike didn't say anything to him when he disrespected Ryan during the journey.

The real reason is that Ike's "fighting side by side" friendship does not refer to the friendship between Ike and him fighting side by side, but the friendship that Ryan once had with his father, the White Wolf Knight, Baron Ged Albrecht. Fighting together on the banks of the Ovre River to destroy the Beastmen Warband.

So in fact, Ryan is trying to save face for his father. The reason for this is clear to Ryan, and Ike also knows that, because Ryan didn't say anything about Gade's reputation, which made the wandering knight feel ashamed.

He has done too many things that he had to do to survive and to be famous.

After Ryan found Ike, he found out that the group of wandering knights knew that the barbarians were coming, so they collected money and went out to sea overnight. They didn't know where those people went. Only Ike stayed because he carried this surname. , his family would be ashamed of him if he fled in front of Lane under such circumstances.

From this, it can be seen how heavy the pressure was on this wandering knight.

Baron Gade never mentioned his son in front of Ryan, obviously he didn't like this illegitimate son.

Thinking of this, Ryan sneered, what right does he have to think about others?

What are you?

A person from the Celestial Dynasty who traveled through time?

A wild child with amazing talent?

Baron Norman's beloved adopted son?

Godfather Ivan's favorite godson?

Or the Emperor's... illegitimate child?

"Mr. Ryan! We have arrived at the Lake of the Moon." The Master Chief in charge of leading the team saw that Ryan was distracted, so he reminded him in a low voice.

Ryan finally came back to his senses, what appeared in front of Ryan was ruins.

A quiet lake appeared in front of Ryan. The lake covered with thin ice stretched to an invisible distance. The cloudy weather was like a thick curtain that completely covered the sky. The surface is like a mirror, reflecting the white light between the sky and the earth.

In an instant, Ryan had the illusion that the sky and the ground seemed to be upside down.

Surrounding the Lake of the Moon, large forests and ruins of buildings appeared in front of everyone. The buildings here were all built of large white stones, and all of them had pointed roofs. However, under the ravages of time, most of these buildings collapsed, abnormally Thick trees are constantly eroding the original buildings.

There also used to be a glorious past and history here. According to what Ryan knows, it was once one of the strongholds and settlements before the elves withdrew from the mainland. It also had a glorious history and prosperity. It is said that during the catastrophe period In the previous human wizard empire, many human wizard apprentices learned magic from elves here.

Later, when the elves retreated from the old world, this city was completely abandoned. Since it was once a place to study magic, the chaotic magical energy and frequent energy tides made it uninhabitable. After thousands of years of uninterrupted patronage by adventurers , the treasures and wealth that may be left here have been excavated, except for the occasional few spellcasters who come here like a pilgrimage, usually there is a dead silence here.

"We'll be stationed here tonight! We'll be at Aarhus Bridge tomorrow."

"yes!"