Chapter 113: Camping Area Outside Changhe Town
Since Li Ang sent people to warn in advance, Changhe Town closed the city gates again and the city was under martial law, so there was no loss for the time being.
The scouts of the Owl Knights were indeed very professional. They relayed intelligence back and forth continuously, which allowed Leon to even mark the specific location of the Prophet's Legion on the map.
According to the reports, the Prophet's Legion has now moved all the way north to Changhe Town, and has taken in many small units , and its military strength is constantly expanding.
After confirming the specific movements of the Prophet's Legion, Ors said that he was willing to continue providing military intelligence, but would not participate in the war. The Owl Knights had less than a hundred people and could not afford to die.
The lord was not going to let them participate in direct combat - in this era, a team that could expand the scope of reconnaissance to three hundred miles away was extremely rare, and the purpose of these night owls was supposed to be as eyes and ears.
There are enough manpower on the front battlefield. Ralph and Charles have already brought the horn-summoning rangers to the Maixiang Territory and brought good news.
"Sir, when your order was delivered, Baron Leofric was preparing to transport food out of Brave Shield Castle. He was quite cooperative after learning about Lady Bella's situation. After receiving Lord Godric's letter, he said that he would directly use the food as rations for the allied forces. Now his troops are transporting the food from behind."
Charles' reports were always detailed and reliable, and he now looked like a proper lord.
After waiting for another day and a half, Baron Leofric indeed arrived outside the Maixiang Territory with a large amount of food.
Nearly three hundred carriages formed a long line. Perhaps only Brave Shield Castle had so many draft horses... After all, Brave Shield Castle had been facing the nomadic forces of Jatu for a long time, and the army of Brave Shield Castle would have a large number of carriages following them during battles to ensure mobility.
Leofric was a sturdy man in his thirties, wearing a simple but practical set of plate mail, with a very eye-catching griffin emblem on his breastplate.
Perhaps because they both used the griffin as their emblem, Baron Leofric showed some goodwill towards Leon, and he even gave the food directly to Leon.
"Baron Leon, I know you are a successful businessman. I have also seen your business near the Sava River Castle. I have also received the Countess's letter... I will give you these grains. I hope we can successfully deal with those heretics."
This seems to be a very heroic person.
The Lord was of course willing to take on this task: "Thank you for your trust, Baron Leofric. If necessary in the future, we can support each other."
Leofric laughed and nodded: "Of course, based on our flags, we should support each other!"
The lord was stunned. What was this guy hinting at by mentioning the griffin flag at this time?
However, the lord did not ask any more questions. The most important thing at the moment was this joint operation.
The joint forces met at the river outside Maixiang Territory, mainly consisting of five groups of troops.
The commander Godric had 500 soldiers under his command. The approximate composition was 30 knights, with more than 100 followers and 200 mixed troops, forming a knight conscripted force of nearly 400 people. His own guard was led by Amy, and it was a 100-strong archer unit.
Baron Leofric, the military officer of Brave Shield Castle, brought more than twenty knights with him. His knights, their retainers and conscripts formed a mixed force of three hundred people - just like Godric's traditional knight conscription method. Leofric's own guards only had about fifty people.
Baron Leon of Maixiangling , with his small force of 100 men, Anson's medical team, Sarah and others were also incorporated into the team.
Ralph, the Knight Commander of the Horn Rangers, led three hundred rangers, which was actually composed of more than thirty knights and their patrol cavalry.
Knight Charles Fletcher brought more than 500 sentinels from Changhe Town, all of whom were elite archers.
But the Changhe Town sentinels should also be regarded as a dozen teams - they are commanded by a dozen captains, each with a number of sentinels, and Charles is probably one of the captains now.
The current Horn of Call Rangers is not actually a unified force.
After all, the Horn Summoning Rangers were without a Grand Commander, and the most prestigious Sergeant Major, Baron Hereward, was not here either. Besides, the Sentinels had always operated in small teams, and they were not used to obeying unified command.
Of course, after discovering a large-scale enemy, they will organize themselves and fight together - just like now.
The total strength of the Alliance Army is 1,700 men, which, if assessed by the traditional number of knights, is roughly equivalent to the strength of 150 knights, each of whom is a captain.
In fact, except for Leon's team of about 100 people, all other troops can be regarded as traditional knight squads.
Godric did not hold any mobilization meeting or oath ceremony because there was no need.
These troops were either from the surrounding knight territories or the local knight orders in Changhe Town, so there was no need to mobilize them to defend their hometown.
After knowing that the heretics formed a large-scale legion and went to Changhe Town, no one would think that the so-called Prophet Legion was just a group tour.
After all, Changhe Town has been a pioneering base for hundreds of years. The people here have been facing wars for a long time, and their understanding of armed forces is often more simple and reliable - as long as a large-scale army appears near their hometown, it will definitely bring disaster to their hometown.
People who have faced war for a long time usually do not have any unrealistic fantasies about so-called prophets. They believe more in their swords.
In late April of the 355th year of the Pendor calendar, Godric, Lord of White Hart Keep, led the joint forces towards Changhe Town.
However, as the latest military reports from the Owl Knights continued to arrive, several barons of the Allied Forces faced difficulties.
The Prophet's Legion had already set up camp outside Changhe Town, but did not launch a direct attack.
Their total strength has exceeded three thousand, and small groups of troops continue to come from the west to join the Prophet's Legion.
Those small troops were not female soldiers, but teams of knights, but each team had a woman with strange equipment.
According to the description of the Owl Knights, the women in those knight teams were equipped and dressed in basically the same way as the tall woman that Amy and Klose had seen at Madam Bella's place.
The Owl Knights also sent back the current specific composition of the Prophet's Legion in a very professional manner.
The leaders should be three women, riding fast horses and wearing some kind of gorgeous red armor. They have about a thousand female soldiers under their command, of which about two hundred look rather strange - they are covered in black cloaks.
The Owl Knights only had time to see these situations for a moment, and they could no longer see them after the Prophet's Legion set up camp.
The other two thousand were probably all brought by the knights who had joined in. There were currently at least two hundred knights, with two thousand troops of various kinds, probably rogue knights and deserters from all over the continent.
The number of troops in the Prophet's Legion was actually not too surprising.
The problem faced by several barons is that the Prophet's Legion will continue to have troops joining, which doesn't sound good...
And they are all knights from all over the place.
You know, those two hundred knights alone are basically the full strength of a duke - on average each knight will bring five or six followers and several armed soldiers, and more than two hundred knights usually means a military force of more than two thousand people.
The strongest legion in the Sarleon Kingdom, the Lion Knights, actually only has 300 Lion Knights. Together with the Lion Retinue, the total number of members is less than 2,000.
And a great baron like Godric - he actually has the power of an earl, but he only has fifty knights under his command.
The troops brought by the knights who joined the Legion of the Prophet alone exceeded the strength of the Allied Forces.
So, the joint forces temporarily set up camp at the banks of the Aiel River, less than thirty miles away from Changhe Town, intending to find out what was going on.
The location of the camp was chosen with the help of the Owl Knights. There is a bridge nearby leading to Brave Shield Castle in the northeast, which is also the only bridge over the Aire River.
Here, Changhe Town can be rescued quickly, and there is a wide enough view and abundant water sources. It is a suitable camp that will not be ambushed and can prevent the enemy from going to the border towns behind.
The reason why the Order of the Owl has survived to this day is probably because they are quite professional in these areas.
In the camp, several barons were discussing countermeasures.
The Lord was somewhat puzzled: "Why do more and more troops continue to join the heretic army? Are these people all believers in heresy? Does anyone know more about these so-called three prophets?"
It is actually very difficult for rational people to understand the thoughts of ignorant, greedy and foolish people. Some people's behavior is truly unimaginable.
People like Li Ang always have the upper hand in confrontations with smart people, but when facing stupid people, they often get into trouble because they cannot understand them - this is why many outstanding people are beaten by society.
Therefore, the Lord really didn't understand why those people would rather be deserters and join the heretic army - and even then, when the heretics didn't attack them.
Baron Leofric replied: "I have heard rumors about the Three Prophets... There are many rumors about them. It is said that they are all fortune tellers with mysterious powers. Many people hope to get their guidance, and it seems that many people have indeed succeeded because of their guidance."
"It sounds like three fortune tellers? Or business mentors or something like that?"
My Lord, I didn't expect that the Prophet's Legion actually had this function.
"I also know that many people have accepted their guidance - but those who succeeded with the guidance of the Three Prophets paid a painful price. They suffered unexpected disasters, separation from their wives and children, estrangement from their brothers, and the severance of their bloodline... It was like a curse. The more successful people were, the more misfortunes they suffered. Almost everyone who cooperated with the Three Prophets died miserably in physical and mental pain..."
The speaker was Baron Godric. He shook his head and sighed, "Mad King... I mean the last King Sarleon. He seemed to have worked with the Three Prophets. Although I don't know why a king would ask for help from those witches, there is no doubt that he did not live a good life in the second half of his life..."
Baron Leofric also sighed and said nothing. It was obvious that he also knew about the Mad King's "deeds", but he did not dare to criticize the previous generation of kings as casually as Godric did.
But their knowledge of the Three Prophets was limited to this—heretics rarely appeared in the eastern part of the kingdom, and they had not seen much of them.
And Ors could only let his Owl Knights find out the enemy's military strength and movements. As believers of the Goddess of Order, they always kept a distance from heresy and lacked more understanding.
The lord felt that this was not a solution - the number of enemies was increasing, and no one knew what the enemy leader was like. If he could not get more intelligence, this battle would be much more difficult than he imagined.
Considering that his own guards had fought against heretics before, Leon planned to lead the team to conduct a close-range reconnaissance together with the Owl Knights.
The main reason why he wanted to work with the Owl Knights was because the lord himself felt a little uneasy. He thought that the 'prophet' who could lure so many knights around him might really know some witchcraft.
And the Owl Knights seemed to be very good at saving their lives - their scouts brought back such detailed intelligence, but there were no losses.
In fact, Ors, the leader of the Owl Knights, expressed doubts about ability to conduct joint reconnaissance. He said that the reason why none of them suffered casualties due to spying on military intelligence was mainly because they could see at night.
But the lord and the muscular men of Mettenheim are not deficient in vitamin A, and their eyesight has always been very good.
So, on a dark and windy night, a small group of about twenty people took advantage of the cover of darkness and quietly approached the huge camp outside Changhe Town.
Or rather, a 'cluster of camps'.
Because it was made up of one big camp and hundreds of small campsites - it looked very much like a particularly lively outdoor camping attraction, with countless tents scattered everywhere and groups of people gathered separately, seemingly clearly separated.
The large camp was obviously the camp of the three prophets. It was about four miles away from Changhe Town and had a large area, but it was completely covered by curtains, so it was impossible to see what was going on inside.
It is estimated that the situation in the camp cannot be seen clearly from the city wall of Changhe Town as the distance is still quite far.
The Prophet's Legion used curtains to form a wall outside the camp - this was undoubtedly an extremely luxurious act, and the king had never made such a scene when he went to war.
The curtain blocked the view, and only a few tall tents and goat-horn flags standing tall could be seen.
And those small camps might be the knights who kept joining. They built hundreds of small camps outside the main camp, surrounding the main camp covered by curtains.
The lord watched for a while and found that even at night, there were still small groups coming to set up camp.
Moreover, there were even disputes among the outer camps over locations, which created some noise in the relatively quiet night.
It was obviously the first time for Ors to come and investigate in person, and he was a little surprised to see this situation.
The lord wrapped his black cloak around his whole body and began to crawl forward.
He moved closer and listened for a while, then crawled back: "Ors, I seem to hear them fighting for a position closer to the inside... These people don't seem to know each other, and there is no unified command... Do you have a tent with you?"
Ors was shocked: "Master Leon, what are you going to do? Are you planning to..."
The Lord nodded as a matter of course: "They don't know each other, so of course we can set up a tent and sneak in to see..."
"This is not camping! This is the camp of the heretic army! If we are discovered..."
Ors said in a low voice with gritted teeth, looking at the lord as if he were a madman.
"Shh... keep your voice down. I need to know why they are increasing in number! If they keep going like this, there might be tens of thousands of them in a few days. What's the point of fighting then... Do you have a tent? Hurry up!"
Li Ang kept looking around the camp, and it seemed he was already looking for a spot.
Ors shook his head as if he was having the hiccups and handed two packages to the lord: "There are only two tents to carry with you!"
Li Ang flipped it open and looked at it: "Isn't there your owl emblem on it?"
Ors sighed: "I'm not stupid... This is just an ordinary marching tent... Sir Leon, I don't plan to go in with you..."
"I have no intention of letting you in. You just stay here to monitor and keep in touch if anything happens. Send someone to tell Lord Godric to prepare for battle..."
After saying that, the lord stood up with a group of Mettenheim tough guys and walked towards the camp in a swagger.
As Leon expected, no one stopped them, and these knights seemed to be completely unfamiliar with each other.
The area outside Changhe Town really looks like it has become an outdoor camping area.
Li Ang had just spotted a pretty good location - it was about a hundred meters to the side of the Prophet's Legion camp, which was considered the 'inner circle' of hundreds of small camps.
It was occupied by a rather thin-looking knight, and there were only seven or eight people in the camp.
The reason we chose this place is because there are many tall trees behind it. Although it is a sparse woods, no one camps in the woods.
The lord thought that if he climbed up the tree, he would probably be able to see clearly what was happening inside the Prophet's Legion camp.
Plus, if anything went wrong, they could use the grove to escape—it formed an escape route without a campsite.
There were several horses tied under the tree, probably belonging to the knight.
There was a bonfire with embers still burning in the small camp, and the people were sitting around it.
Among them was a tall woman, wearing a half-helmet that revealed only her eyes, chin and mouth, and wearing gorgeous and revealing leather armor, who seemed to be quite intimate with the thin knight.
The Lord gestured to Klose, who nodded and whispered, "This woman is dressed exactly like the female warrior I saw at Madam Bella's, except that this one is not as tall."
But she was still quite tall. Leon took a look and found that the woman was half a head taller than the skinny knight, at least 1.8 meters tall.
He touched the Artemisia annua powder in his pocket and checked his equipment again. Feeling that nothing would be revealed, the lord walked forward through the woods in a circle.
"Hey man, can I camp next to this?"
