Chapter 183 The Real Storm
The halberd soldier and several cavalrymen set out first. They were to carry out the mission assigned by the lord.
For the lord, those who are on his system team list are basically reliable.
It was a pity that Wendatil, Wendylf, and even the other two girl rangers did not join his team...
Then, the lord came to Wendatil and Wentilf.
"Vendatiel, your unique swordsmanship relies on your hearing to determine the enemy's position, right?"
The lord covered his eyes with his hands and signaled to Wendatil .
"That's right, Lord Leon, but humans can't learn it..."
Wendatil nodded: "Humans cannot hear those subtle sounds. This is innate and cannot be trained. But we can hear where the enemy is and even how the enemy is going to attack, just like we see with our eyes - ears are not decorations for us!"
What this means is that human ears can only be considered decorations?
Elves have long pointed ears, and indeed, just from their appearance, you can tell that they can hear a much wider range of sounds than humans, or at least can hear more subtle sounds. However, they also encounter more noisy interference.
"Of course I can't learn it... Wendy, you are Wendatil's student, you should be able to do it, right?"
The lord turned and asked Wendy.
"Of course! I am an excellent ranger! Lord Leon, are you going to assign me any combat missions?"
Wendy's eyes suddenly lit up, and she seemed to be looking forward to an adventure - it seemed that she had indeed read a lot of knight novels.
"Yeah, I'm thinking about who to assign to the most important mission... Wendy, besides Vendatil's swordsmanship, what else do you know?"
The lord seems to be thinking about something.
"Sir, I know a lot..."
Wendy was more alert now. She was very curious. "What is the most important task? Can you tell me about it?"
…
There was indeed a large army gathered near the Qicha Fortress.
Duke Brunus led the Lion Knights to take over the defense, while Rayman was leading his troops around Sarleon. Rayman's current mission was to guard the flanks and try to find the "troops that killed the garrison at the bridgehead and lurked in Sarleon."
The reason for this situation is that the garrison of the Sava River Fort of the Bacchus Empire also saw the beacon fire, and they discovered that a large force of the Fierce Lion Kingdom was at the border of the Chen army. In this case, General Titus, who was in charge of the defense of the Sava River Fort, naturally had to summon a large army for defense.
Then General Titus discovered that there were no troops on the hills south of the Sava River that were originally occupied by the Kingdom of the Fierce Lion...
This is because Leiman concluded that "the enemy has probably crossed the bridge and sneaked into the territory of the Fierce Lion", so Duke Brunus believed that he should not send troops to defend the uninhabited areas in the south, so as not to lose sight of the enemy and be attacked from both sides.
So he abandoned the fortifications built by Reman on the south bank of the Sava River, gathered his troops and deployed defenses around the Qicha Fortress, intending to be more cautious, so as to prevent the "lurking enemy" from attacking the area around Sarleon City...
If there really is an enemy sneaking into the hinterland, this approach is actually reasonable, at least to ensure that the capital area is not attacked by surprise.
Moreover, the main force of Duke Brunus's current troops are the Lion Knights, who have outstanding field combat capabilities on the plains. In fortifications or mountainous environments, these Lion Knights who do not have long-range capabilities cannot be fully utilized, so it is more appropriate to deploy the defense zone to the plains around the Qicha Fortress.
But in this case, General Titus of the Bacchus Empire naturally took over the abandoned fortifications without hesitation and pushed the front line to the south bank of the Sava River.
So the armies of the two countries began to confront each other across the bridge...
Because of this, the Kingdom of Sarleon concluded that the attack on the defenders on the bridge was most likely done by the Bacchus Empire - this kind of provocation must be retaliated, so Duke Brunus directly launched a tentative attack on General Titus's troops.
Because of this accident and misunderstanding, the battle between the Sarleon Kingdom and the Bacchus Empire started again...
But fortunately, both countries have a lot of troubles at home, and neither side is willing to launch a large-scale full-scale war.
The two sides were just engaged in small-scale conflicts over the ownership of the bridge.
"Your Excellency the Duke, we have rescued an infantry captain across the river. He is a subordinate of Sir Rayman, and he has important military intelligence to report to you!"
Inside the Qicha Fortress, a Lion Knight reported to Brunus.
“Bring it in!”
A halberdier was brought before Brennus.
"My Lord... My Lord Duke... I am the captain of the infantry loyal to Sir Lehman..."
The halberdiers looked quite nervous, probably because they had never seen a big shot like the Duke.
"To be honest, I have no interest in your position!"
Brennus seemed to have a rather bad temper.
"Sir, my defense zone was attacked by a group of mercenaries. They killed all my members..."
The halberd soldier stammered as he spoke about the situation.
"Mercenaries?"
Brennus frowned. "What do those mercenaries look like?"
"They looked like a slave-hunting team. I told them that this area was a military restricted zone and asked them to lay down their weapons, but they suddenly attacked! There were many of them, and they were all very skilled. We were no match for them... Before I was knocked into the river, I heard them talking about His Royal Highness's mission!"
The halberd soldier spoke with gritted teeth - except for the last sentence, what he said was basically the truth, so he really had no guilty conscience.
"Your Highness? ...Which way did those mercenaries go?"
Brennus's face changed.
"They went south. I heard them say that they had to put on a full show. I also heard them say that Baron Aldfred was waiting for them! Your Excellency, I don't understand... What is His Royal Highness's mission? I'm not sure if I heard it wrong..."
Brennus's face twitched a few times, and he forced out a dangerous smile: "That is the enemy's conspiracy... You don't need to understand."
Then he said to the Lion Knight next to him: "Give this captain one hundred dinars for his loyalty."
The halberd soldiers were sent away - it was because they "didn't understand" that they were able to survive and get the reward money...
In the eyes of Duke Brunus, the halberd soldier's words were highly credible. He was just a small character and would not lie about such a thing.
Because killing a group of bridge guards would have seemed like deliberately provoking a war - if the Bacchus Empire hadn't allowed its troops to enter Sarleon, there would have been no need for them to do so.
What was originally a coincidence without logic has now been found to have a logic by Brennus - is this perhaps a conflict created by Alanric in his attempt to seize military power?
Indeed, it is only logical to think this way...
For most people, there is always a logic to everything.
But reality is often not so logical, and history is often more absurd than legend...
But people always consciously make up a situation that they think is logical based on some so-called clues - even if the truth of the matter is that the leader of a slave-hunting group who didn't want to waste time was blackmailed...
Soon after, Brennus withdrew his troops to the fortress of Chicha and sent messengers to General Titus across the river.
Afterwards, Brennus returned to Sarleon with a group of Lion Knights.
General Titus's troops also withdrew to the Sava River Fort, but the fortifications south of the Sava River that originally belonged to the Kingdom of the Fierce Lion had all been replaced with Titus's phoenix flag.
The initiative that Count Oden and Leon had gained here was returned to the Bacchus Empire by Brunus.
Leon did not forget that Prince Alanric was planning to hire someone to kill him, so he used the halberd soldier to put the blame on Alanric.
This would at least make everyone suspicious and doubt Alanric, but they couldn't verify it anyway...
Of course, this is mainly to achieve a temporary ceasefire between the two countries. In fact, maintaining peace is good for everyone.
Ramon had said before that Baron Aldfred was looking for a Noldor noble girl - this meant that Aldfred must know a lot about the situation, so the lord also included the baron.
To those who knew that the king was 'sick', this situation looked like Alanric was taking advantage of his father's illness to start a war. Ulric was unable to lead the army, and the prince was likely trying to gain military power through this, and the people who were executing it seemed to be Aldfred's men.
Aldfred is the Knight-Captain of the Order of the Lion.
Brunus and Lehman were both managers of the Order of the Lion, one was the leader and the other was a prestigious deputy leader, and they also knew that the king was ill.
But whether it was Brennus or Lehman, if the prince didn't tell them about such a big thing and let Aldfred do it, it naturally meant to them that the prince did not trust them and wanted to use them as cannon fodder.
In this way, everyone will think of the issue of control over the Lion Knights... and will think that Prince Alanric is trying to stir up trouble...
In fact, no matter who is in charge of military affairs, as long as it is not Alanric himself, he will never go to war with Bacchus because of the "Prince's mission". Even if a war breaks out, he will force peace talks - because no one wants to be cannon fodder.
Therefore, those in charge of military affairs would rather suffer losses than not stop the war.
This was what the lord thought when he saw the halberd soldier. In fact, Leon just wanted to return to White Deer Castle safely - the lord could only go there when there was no war.
At the same time, everything the lord did was to seize the time for development. During this period of accumulating strength, he did not want the two countries to continue fighting.
It stands to reason that with the temporary ceasefire between the two countries, Li Ang could easily return to Bailu Fort.
But who would have known that the lord would actually run into someone he had never expected at the bridge.
Grand Secretary Igor.
Moreover, he brought at least three hundred people with him, all of whom were Lion Knights and Lion Squires, and they were familiar faces - they were Lehman's men.
"Lord Leon? Why are you here..."
Igor looked extremely surprised.
"Sir Igor, why are you here?"
The lord was even more surprised. He originally thought that he would at most meet Leiman here - this was Leiman's territory, so how could Igor be guarding it?
"I was ordered to negotiate with the Bacchus Empire... Sir Leon, you should explain why you came from Bacchus?"
Igor seems to be in a righteous position, and he is probably in charge of the peace talks...
His position is indeed suitable for the job.
"I am a businessman... and, as you know, I have to raise money for your Majesty..."
The Lord laughed with gritted teeth.
Igor stood up slowly. "If that's the case, why don't we go see His Majesty first? Sarleon City isn't far away anyway... Lord Leon?"
After saying that, he waved his hand and ordered the Lion Knights to come forward and surround Leon's men.
"Igor, what do you mean? Are you going to attack me in this place?"
Leon drew his sword directly and stared at Igor with a bad look.
Igor took a few steps back and retreated behind the Lion Knights: "Catch him! He's a traitor!"
The Lion Knights did not move.
"Catch him! Otherwise not only will Rayman die, but you will die too!"
Igor yelled.
The Lion Knight in the front row whispered to Leon, "I'm sorry, Lord Leon."
Then, all the Lion Knights drew their weapons.
…
During the days when Li Ang led his team away from Bailubao, a storm arose in Lion Lake City.
Granlon, the flag bearer of the First Flag Guard of Lion Lake City, was accused of raping and murdering Nelda's maid. The person who accused him was his wife Nelda...
Nowadays, many maids in noble families are actually daughters of knights in the family and are aristocrats.
Therefore, murdering a maid was no small matter, and the crime was equivalent to killing a nobleman without cause.
Although the accusation was not ultimately established and the 'real murderer' was sent to the gallows just one day later, the two divorced reasonably - the wife accused her husband of a capital crime, and if they did not divorce, neither family would be happy.
On the day of their divorce, Alma's death was announced publicly, and Nelda succeeded him as Duke of Lion Lake City.
It was obvious that this divorce was orchestrated by the Horton family in order to prevent the Duke's power from falling into the hands of Granlong, who already held military power.
But Granlong was no pushover. He instigated the Lion Lake City Flag Guard to stage a demonstration. A team of more than 500 heavy cavalrymen went on the streets of Lion Lake City to arrest "traitors" wantonly, causing panic among the people...
This traitor certainly didn't exist, but everyone saw his control over the Flag Guard.
Of course Nelda was panicking, but she was just a clever woman and she couldn't go to the battlefield if a real war broke out.
At this time, her lover Milgan appeared openly in the Lord's Hall of Lion Lake City.
Just one day later, Nelda announced her marriage to Mirgan and handed over the Duke's power to Mirgan...
Of course, this was just a private authorization. Without the recognition of the king and the nobles, Milgan would not be able to become a duke.
But he became the military officer of Lion Lake City, and within one day, he obtained the village of Payne as a knight - but this was originally the territory of the Granlong family.
Of course Granlong refused to accept this and went to argue, which resulted in a duel on the spot.
Mirgan challenged Granlon to a duel in the name of a love dispute - this was barely a reasonable reason ...
Although Granlon was divorced and was already his ex-husband, any man would definitely accept a duel initiated by the person who cheated on him...
As a result, Granlong, who had fought with Ralph and both were injured, went into battle with injuries, but was easily defeated by Milgan and humiliated - Milgan hit Granlong's lower body with the sword and said in public that he was useless.
When Mirgan first came to power, he probably got a little carried away and went a little too far.
It is understandable even if someone is killed in a duel, but this kind of humiliation is indeed a bit unnecessary - as a result, the Lion Lake City Flag Guard rioted!
They refused to obey the orders of Milgan and Nelda, and publicly declared that they hoped Fothert would return to Lion Lake City to take charge of the situation...
A day later, Fothert did return to Lion Lake City and did receive support from the Lion Lake City Flag Guard.
In fact, he even had the support of Baron Kaedron of Eagle Claw Castle - it was Kaedron who brought him back.
Then Fothert went into the lord's hall alone to see his sister Nelda, and when he came out, his face was covered in blood and his eyes were cold and fierce.
He announced that he would take over the Horton family and Lion Lake City, and immediately issued an arrest warrant for the murderer Milgan.
No one in the Horton family refuted.
Because Nelda is dead.
At the same time, all the other children of the Duke of Alma died - four other underage children also died.
Fothert became the first heir of the family - whether he inherited from Alma or Nelda, he was the first heir.
And Granlon also clearly supported Fotherg.
In fact, it is obvious who the murderer is, but no one would go against Fawcett at this time. A man who dares to kill his own brothers and sisters is no different from his father.
In fact, the Houghton family identifies more with Fawcett because such a character is more like Alma's child.
After being wanted by Fothert, Milgan, who had only held power in Lion Lake City for two days, had to flee again...
He finally remembered the Griffin Sword Mercenaries that had accompanied him for many years, but he didn't know where his troops were now, and the ones chasing him were the Lion Lake City First Flag Guards who were once again under the control of Granlong - the two sides had a grudge against each other, so they were chasing him particularly closely.
As a result, Milgan fled all the way south and then disappeared.
However, the most unexpected thing was that the Lion Lake City Flag Guard, which was originally chasing Milgan, suddenly launched an attack on Changhe Town!
Moreover, Changhe Town was captured within one day!
This was not because the Lion Lake City First Banner Guard was so powerful, but because Granlon was holding the King's Golden Seal of the Sarleon Kingdom! He claimed that this was the will of the Sarleon King!
The Lion Lake City Flag Guard had only more than 500 people, and they were all heavy cavalry with no baggage. It was impossible for them to capture Changhe Town, and it was even impossible for them to organize a decent siege.
But Godric and Eric still took a boat from the dock and left Changhe Town. They did not stay in the city. It could even be said that they had no intention of staying here at all, but handed Changhe Town over.
Because they both knew that no matter where the golden seal of the king in Granlong's hand came from, they could not fight with the person who held the seal - no matter whether they won or lost, there would be no good ending!
If they win, they will be defying the king's authority, and if they lose, they will lose their troops and become prisoners...
Moreover, they knew that the golden seal was real - in the room where Alma was stabbed to death, there was a royal decree that transferred Changhe Town to Alma! The seal and handwriting on it were all real!