The lord led his team and traveled all night, one man riding two horses, and arrived at a place he was very familiar with at the fastest speed.
Near Qicha Fortress.
This is where Li Ang and his fellow merchants made their fortunes...
Now, the hill south of the Sava River, where the Double Eleven trade fair was held, belongs to the Fierce Lion Kingdom.
Since Sir Lehman took charge of Qicha Fortress, he has set up some fortifications on both sides of the Sava River, so that he can completely control the Sava River section near Qicha Fortress and the bridges on the river - he even began to collect "bridge tax" and "shipping tax"...
Of course, these are taxes that were added privately and are not very legal.
But the lords these days all make their living from the mountains and rivers, so of course they have to collect tolls if they live by the river or the bridge...
Besides, Qicha Fortress is a military fortress, with few residents around it. Even military supplies can only be supplied by Sarleon City. If they don’t find ways to make some money, how can the soldiers live?
Therefore, a makeshift "toll station" was built at the bridgehead south of Qicha Fortress, with several rows of barricades blocking the bridge deck, and a team of soldiers sitting at the bridgehead, leaning on their spears and yawning.
"Hey, Captain! There seems to be a caravan coming over there? There are at least 20 to 30 people!"
A soldier looked to the east and became excited.
Not many people have been crossing the bridge recently, and it's not easy to come across a caravan of dozens of people - since the toll started to be collected, not many people have been traveling on this road...
Of course, there are also advantages to not having many people passing by. At least it is beneficial to defense, which is a good thing for a military stronghold like the Qicha Fortress.
But the soldiers at the bridgehead toll station certainly hope that there will be more people, because they are on duty in shifts, and the opportunity to guard the bridgehead is a benefit that only comes once a month...
"But they may not cross the bridge... maybe they are going to Sarleon..."
A halberdier called the captain stood up with his halberd and took a look. Then he suddenly became excited: "Hey! Those seem to be Singalians. Ha, it seems we have income!"
It was a Singal horse caravan of more than twenty people, with several covered carriages. They looked like Singal merchants - perhaps slave traders, because the riders looked like skilled warriors.
But no matter what kind of business he is in, for the soldiers guarding the bridge, collecting tolls is the most important thing.
That group of Singalians was indeed heading this way, and it looked like they were going to cross the bridge.
"stop!"
The halberd soldiers led this team of fully armed infantry to stand behind the chevaux de frise at the bridgehead.
"Ah... Thank you for your hard work, brothers. We are merchants from Singal..."
The leader of the Singars was a bearded warrior. He was the only one riding an armored hunting horse, while the others were lightly armed riders.
"It's the same for everyone... toll! Five dinars per person!"
The halberd soldier started to ask for an exorbitant price - there were too few people passing by today, so he temporarily raised the price, which was a little outrageous.
"What?!"
The bearded man had already started to touch his wallet to prepare a bribe, but when he heard the price, he immediately got angry and said, "Why don't you just rob them?"
But he changed his tone right after he finished speaking: "Damn it! You are robbing me!"
"Ha! You wild donkey, you don't want to live anymore, do you? It just so happens that the large army in our fortress hasn't come out to suppress the bandits for a long time..."
The halberdier sneered, using the Sarleon term for the D'Shar.
This bridgehead is indeed very close to the Qicha Fortress, only a few miles away, and the bastion of the Qicha Fortress can be seen with the naked eye from a distance.
“What are you doing…”
The bearded man was originally very indignant, but after looking back at the Qicha Fortress, he suppressed his anger and began to look for his purse.
But there didn't seem to be much cash in his bag. After opening the purse and taking a look, the bearded man simply gritted his teeth and threw the purse directly to the halberd soldier: "Take it all! Let us pass!"
The captain of the halberdiers squeezed his purse slowly and said, "This is not enough... one, two, three... for the twenty-four of you, you get one hundred and twenty dinars!"
It seems that this halberd soldier is quite good at math, and can probably be considered a cultured person in this era...
"Hey! Don't go too far! You can see that this is all the money I have!"
The bearded man had already suppressed his anger, but now he is furious again...
"Don't you have more than 20 brothers? Ask them to contribute. I don't believe that all of you can't come up with a mere 120 dinars..."
Judging from the intentions of this halberd soldier, he obviously wants to squeeze all the money out of these Singalians...
The bearded man pursed his lips and looked around for a few times, then turned around and went back to look for his brothers.
"Captain, look at his back...is that the sword of the Noldor?"
The sharp-eyed armored infantryman had been staring at the weapon on the bearded man's back, and suddenly asked in a low voice.
"It seems to be true... This is very valuable..."
The halberd soldier threw the money bag to his men and took two steps forward with his halberd: "Hey! Stop! Put down your weapons! This is a military restricted area!"
To be honest, this is really a military restricted area. If anyone plans to enter the territory of the Kingdom of Sarleon from here, then it is a normal requirement not to allow entry with weapons.
But the problem is that they don’t intend to enter Sarleon, but simply cross the bridge. They came from the no-man’s land in the east and are going to cross this bridge to return to D’Shar…
So, as soon as the halberd soldier said this, veins popped out on the bearded man's forehead, and he turned around and drew out the Noldor rune sword from behind him.
But after his face twitched a few times, he actually looked at the sword in his hand, then slowly put the sword on the ground, spread his hands and took a step back.
The halberd soldier smiled triumphantly, moved away the barricades in front of him, and stepped forward to pick up the sword.
"Can we go now?"
The bearded man in front of him asked.
"Don't worry, what kind of cargo are you transporting? Slaves, right?"
The halberd soldier answered nonchalantly while bending down to pick up the sword, and it seemed that he was still thinking about how to squeeze more money.
"...Yes, slave."
The bearded man took a step forward as he spoke.
“Bang!”
Just as the halberd soldier was squatting on the ground looking at the sword, the bearded man rushed forward and gave him a fierce knee strike.
The knee hit the halberd soldier in the face, sending him flying two meters.
Then, he rolled over, picked up the sword on the ground, and chopped off the halberd soldier's shoulder armor with one sword, but the blade stopped accurately at the halberd soldier's neck.
"Now you are my cargo too, slave!"
The bearded man spat to the side and looked at the halberd soldier with a grin.
"Tie him up!"
The bearded man kicked the halberd soldier whose face was covered in blood from being hit by his knee to his own men, and then he overturned the barricades in front of him with his sword.
The bridge was blocked by several rows of barricades, which had to be cleared first, otherwise vehicles and horses would not be able to pass.
The twenty or so Singal men also dismounted, drew their weapons and rushed forward.
The halberd soldier's mouth had been blocked and his hands had been tied tightly behind his back in a few seconds. The speed at which these Singals tied people up was incredibly fast.
A dozen or so infantrymen looked at each other, somewhat at a loss.
"Are you going to go to war with the kingdom?!"
An armored archer shouted loudly.
But the bearded man turned a deaf ear and continued to clear the barricades.
"Shoot! Block the bridge and light the beacon!"
The archer gritted his teeth and gave an order which was reasonable under the current situation, but had serious consequences. It seemed that this armored archer was probably the deputy captain of this team.
Seven or eight armored infantrymen from the Fierce Lion Territory blocked the bridge, and five or six archers began to shoot arrows - there were more than a dozen infantrymen guarding the bridge, all of them elite troops stationed on the border, and if a fight really broke out, they would not back down.
But they really didn't expect that these Singal people would actually dare to attack them!
After all, they are the regular army of the kingdom, professional soldiers stationed in the border defense zone of Qicha Fortress. Attacking them is tantamount to declaring war on the Kingdom of Fierce Lions!
The individual combat capabilities of the bearded man's men are obviously much stronger than those of the Fierce Lion Realm soldiers. Those guys who appear to be Singal riders are definitely not less capable than the knights on this continent in actual combat.
Moreover, all of these people use Noldor weapons!
Although the narrow space on the bridge obviously limited the performance of these riders, after just a few minutes, the dozen or so infantrymen guarding the bridge all fell at the bridgehead, while none of the Singal riders died.
However, the beacon tower nearby had been burning very brightly in the past few minutes, with black smoke rising high into the sky. The people at Qicha Fortress must have seen it!
"Retreat quickly!"
Seeing smoke and dust rising from the direction of Qicha Fortress, the bearded man immediately left with his men. He did not dare to waste any more time dealing with the corpses and beacons. He only took away the halberd soldier who had been tied up.
That was his slave. Strong and sturdy halberdiers were also very valuable in Singal!
…
Just ten minutes later, Leon's cavalry arrived here.
The lord stepped forward, looked at the corpses, then looked at the still burning beacon fire, and frowned.
"My lord... this is a wound caused by the sword of the Noldor! It was done by those Singalians! The blood is still hot, and they are not far ahead!"
Wendatil was now dressed as a human female explorer, with a helmet covering her long, pointy ears.
She has studied sword skills for three hundred years and is very familiar with the Noldor sword.
"Vendatiel... I know this was done by the Singal Slave Catchers... but this is the border between the Sarleon Kingdom and the Bacchus Empire! You probably don't understand what it means for these garrisons to be killed and the beacon fires to be lit..."
The Lord sighed deeply, "They are declaring war on the Sarleon Kingdom! These Singalians will cause chaos in the world!"
"Sir, there is no other way. We must pursue them immediately... But we cannot take this road when we return! Should we extinguish the beacon fire?"
Lisadilan could understand this situation better - soon countless troops would block this place, and a large-scale war might very well break out!
"No, it will only be worse if we destroy them! Never mind, let's catch up with those Singalians first!"
Leon knew that he couldn't inform Qicha Fortress that it was the Singalians who did it - otherwise the Kingdom of Sarleon would have no choice but to declare war on the Principality of D'Shar!
It's already troublesome enough to face the Bacchus Empire, and then declare war on Desha... Emperor Marius of the Bacchus Empire will definitely be very happy. It is estimated that White Hart Castle will face another bloody battle!
He also couldn't extinguish the beacon fire or do anything else, because the Qicha Fortress must have seen the beacon fire a long time ago. If it was suddenly extinguished now, it would only lead to a bigger misjudgment - after killing people, not occupying the bridge deck, but only extinguishing the beacon fire, it would look more like a large-scale enemy army setting up an ambush.
Moreover, it would be difficult for Leon to explain to the people of Sarleon why he was chasing those Singalians. He couldn't just say that he was trying to save the Noldor maiden, right? Then Leon would not only be traitor to his country, but he might even be accused of betraying humanity...
Just ignore it! There is really no time to waste now, Li Ang can only lead his troops to pursue as soon as possible.
Half an hour later, another group of people arrived at the bridge.
This army was large in size and flew a red double-lion flag.
That was the Lion Knights led by Rayman.
From seeing the beacon fire to completing military preparations and rushing from Qicha Fortress to the bridge a few miles away, Leiman's troops took only forty minutes - this efficiency in leading troops was quite high, as it took more than ten to twenty minutes to put on armor.
Moreover, he brought more than 500 people with him, including 100 Lion Knights and more than 400 Lion Followers. These were all the members of the Lion Knights who remained in the Qicha Fortress.
"Master Leiman, there is indeed no body in the river..."
Several wet guys popped their heads out of the calm and clear Sava River. "Sir, with the weight of the halberdiers' equipment, they would definitely sink to the bottom if they fell into the river, but there is nothing in the river."
"That is to say, a beacon was lit here more than half an hour ago, the team guarding the bridge was killed, and the halberd leader is missing..."
Leiman examined the corpse and muttered something, then stood up and issued an order: "Send a message to Sarleon City! The enemy has invaded! Moreover, the enemy has captured a captain who knows the defense zone and passwords to lead the way. The situation is very serious!"
"Sir, do you think it was done by the Bacchus Empire?"
A lion knight nearby asked.
"All the wounds on the corpse were caused by very sharp swords. This is indeed the style of the Bacchus Empire..."
Leiman shook his head, stood up and looked in the direction of the Bacchus Empire: "In any case, we can only stay here and see what happens . Send someone to pass the message, let the surrounding towns be prepared and search for any traces of suspicious people! If we don't find the enemy by tomorrow, then we will cross the bridge and go to Bacchus like the enemy! If the enemy wants to fight, then we will fight!"
"Ha! Glory is my life!"
The Lion Knights under Rayman shouted in unison.
…
Near the Turda Fortress, a group of men in black were marching silently towards the northwest, with a total of about three hundred people.
'Good brother' Ramon is in the team.
His unit had no name and was unknown.
Because those who can see this army have basically been reincarnated.
Most of the Singalians today are Ramon's "good brothers", and this army has not been deployed in large numbers for two or three years.
In fact, these men in black were not soldiers. They worked for Ramon. They were employees of his large entertainment city in Singar that integrated hotels, casinos, auction houses, taverns, brothels, etc.
Of course, the work content is not too fixed. Sometimes you have to serve tea and water, sometimes you have to massage shoulders and backs, sometimes you have to stab people with a knife, and sometimes you have to dig holes and bury bodies.
Before working for Ramon, these people had another identity - they were all the lowest level slaves.
The kind that are bought and sold like cattle in the Sinjar market.
They are either criminals who have lost their civil rights, or prisoners of war who have no one to redeem them. In any case, they are the kind of animals who have absolutely no future, that is, the "untouchables" whose descendants can only be slaves.
However, once they were bought by Ramon and became Ramon's "good brothers", no one would treat them as slaves anymore.
Ramon gave them new jobs and lives, allowed them to marry and have children, and even let their children receive an education - even the wives and children of the dead brothers would receive such care.
——This alone is enough to make them die for Ramon!
As long as Ramon is alive, their wives and children will still be treated like normal civilians. Their wives will not have to sell their bodies in the alleys of Sinjar, and their children will not have to compete with wild dogs for food.
Perhaps this is a true brotherhood. Although Ramon is not a good person, he is at least a good boss.
"Master Ramon, Fruz's convoy is in the valley ahead."
A black cavalryman came to Ramon to report.
"Very good... go tell him I'm here to pick him up..."
Ramon waved his hand and followed the cavalry into .
The men in black behind him dispersed consciously and surrounded him in a circle.
Not long after, Fruz, the bearded man from before, saw Ramon.
"Mr. Ramon! Why are you here? Are you here to greet me? Ahahaha...it's such an honor!"
Fruze looked surprised.
"Ha, you shameless fellow, did you get the goods I need?"
Ramon smiled and rode over to Fruz.
"Of course. When have I, Fruz, ever let anyone down? I can catch any slave!"
Perhaps thinking that meeting Ramon meant he was safe, Fruz looked quite pleased with himself.
"Let me see...you didn't ruin these precious goods?"
Ramon rode straight to the carriages, drew a sword from the waist of one of Fruze's riders, and cut the ropes that tied the tarpaulin.
Of course, Fruz's riders recognized Ramon and cooperated by pulling open the tarpaulin.
The carriages in front and behind were carrying a lot of Noldor equipment, and there was also a Fierce Lion Halberd Warrior with blood all over his face.
In the carriage in the middle, there were three Noldor girl rangers with their mouths gagged and tied up like dumplings. One of the Noldor girls was wearing an exquisite headband and had purple eyes.
"We won't go against the dinar... Mr. Ramon, everyone knows that the price of a girl is at least ten times that of a woman!"
Fruz smiled even more proudly: "This is a great harvest, I can probably retire and enjoy my life! She is a real Noldor noble girl! She is probably related to a certain Elf King!"