Chapter 188 Elite Assembled
"Sir, there is an urgent military situation!"
At night, the lord's hesitation was forced to stop.
A soldier on night duty rushed into the lobby on the ground floor of the main building and handed Li Ang a letter.
The letter contained some not-so-good news—the army of Stern Crow Territory was crossing the Gatu Grassland and heading south!
This letter came from Baron Leofric of Braveshield.
The Kingdom of Ravenstern had previously assembled heavy troops in the area of Xiaofu City and Oldenburg, but at that time it was to deal with the Jatu people.
Now the Gatu people have retreated, but the army of the Stern Crow Kingdom did not disband, but went directly south.
Although the Kingdom of Ravenstern did not declare war on the Kingdom of Sarleon, their army has been marching southward after entering the Gatu Grassland. This is obviously not to fight back against the Gatu people, but to enter the territory of the Kingdom of Sarleon.
This is clearly an attempt to attack the Kingdom of Sarleon without declaring war!
It is very rare for Ravenstern to attack Sarleon through the Jatu Steppes - it is difficult to predict how the Jatu people will react, so Ravenstern and Sarleon rarely go to war in the northeast.
Moreover, an undeclared war would be seen as malicious aggression. A country's sudden and immoral attack on a country with which it had previously lived in peace could easily lead to the entire continent joining forces to confront it.
In this era, wars between countries usually have a reason. For example, last year King Ulric launched a war against the Bacchus Empire on the pretext of "recovering lost territory", and the Bacchus Empire's attack on White Hart Castle was a counterattack against this war. In the past six months, the Kingdom of Sarleon and the Bacchus Empire have not signed a truce agreement, so in this case, no matter how they attack each other, they are justified.
But there was no outstanding dispute between the Kingdom of Ravenstern and the Kingdom of Sarleon, and they had even signed a peace agreement. To launch an undeclared war against a peaceful country would be pure aggression.
Of course, from another perspective, the Kingdom of Ravenstern can indeed send a large army into Sarleon, and there is also a barely tenable moral reason - Fothert and Lion Lake City declared their allegiance to Lady Ursula, and Lady Ursula was a rebel in Ravenstern.
The Crow Stern Kingdom marched towards Lion Lake City on the pretext of suppressing the rebels. This was reasonable, but it was a bit far away...
But the problem is that the castle directly facing the border of Sarleon Kingdom is not Lion Lake City, but Eagle Claw Castle and Brave Shield Castle - the intention of taking advantage of the fire is obvious...
So Baron Leofric immediately sent people to spread the news to various towns, and White Hart Castle was probably the first to receive the news.
Leofric was unsure of how the Ravenstern Kingdom's army would operate, nor was he sure of how the Gatu would react. He felt that the Gatu might take advantage of the situation and was worried that his Brave Shield Castle would not be able to hold out, so he asked Leon for reinforcements.
After receiving the message of request for help, the lord no longer hesitated - the current situation was obviously not suitable for sending troops to quell the rebellion, otherwise it would only be making things difficult for other countries.
The chaos and struggle within the Kingdom of Sarleon has obviously been known to other countries. If nothing unexpected happens, in addition to the Kingdom of Ravenstern, the Fierdsvain and the Baccus Empire may also want to seize the opportunity...
Although the Kingdom of Sarleon and Firdsvain had just signed an alliance half a year ago, King Vidis would probably not be bound by a piece of paper. Moreover, this Alliance leader who became a "king" from a "chief" half a year ago might need a victory to consolidate his position!
The Bacchus Empire has not taken any action so far, probably because Levius is still in Leon's hands, and Siyuan City is farther away from Lion Lake City and other places, so it learned the news later and has not had time to react.
"Lisadiran! Go and call Wendatil..."
The lord shouted towards the side of the hall which seemed to be empty.
It was early morning, and the space on the side of the hall looked dark and empty, but Leon knew that someone was definitely protecting him.
"Sir, Lisadilan has gone to guard the outside, I am here."
Wendylf jumped down from the top of the pitch-black hall: "Looking for Teacher Wendatil at this time? Sir... are you... lonely?"
Wendy's current job is similar to that of Lisadilan. She will serve as the lord's bodyguard and provide necessary protection for Amy, who also lives in the main building. Lisadilan is a man after all, and it is not convenient for him to get close to Amy's boudoir.
"Hurry up, Wendy... this is for serious business..."
Li Ang had no idea what Wendy's thinking all day long. This fifty-year-old underage girl obviously knew everything, but she acted like a unscrupulous and rebellious bad girl, making jokes all day long.
"But, Teacher Wendatil is in the guest room upstairs... She must have heard your call."
Wendy said as she disappeared back into the darkness: "She has come down to see you, sir..."
That's true. The Noldor elves have good hearing. They will definitely be able to hear the lord's shout in this quiet night...
"Lord Leon, are you looking for me?"
Wendatil walked down the stairwell and looked at the empty hall, seeming a little hesitant - Leon was the only one in the hall, and the soldier who reported the news had already gone out.
"Vendatiel, I have an idea that I would like to seek your approval... Due to the military urgency, we must come to a conclusion as soon as possible."
The Lord's expression was extremely serious.
…
At noon, with heavy dark circles under his eyes, the lord received important guests .
This is a Twilight Knight under Islandil.
It was obvious that Islandil cared very much about the only human lord who was willing to cooperate with the Noldor. He asked the Twilight Knight to wait near the White Hart Castle, so it only took Wendatil half a morning to bring him here.
Wendatil also attended this meeting as the 'tribune' of the Noldor Rangers.
Those young Noldor rangers all listened to Vendatil's words, but most of them were not from her tribe. These rangers came from four different Noldor tribes, and they all learned how to fight from Vendatil.
Wendatil herself had no intention of becoming a lord, so Leon imitated the title of the Bacchus Empire and gave her the title of "Tribune of the Noldor".
On the one hand, this is to show that the Lord considers the Noldor as equal citizens, just like Men.
On the other hand, it was to show the Noldor their stance - the Noldor here were only subject to the constraints of the tribune, and let the Noldor manage the Noldor, this was Leon's promise.
Wendylf and Lisadiran were actually in the Lord's Hall, they were both there as the Lord's personal guards. However, although they were both Noldor nobles, the two "young people" had little say...
The Noldor elf with the most say is actually the representative of Islandir, the Twilight Knight who was waiting for Leon on the way and ended up beating up Dumbledore's Ebony Gauntlet Knights.
The Twilight Knight's name is Noelle.
This name reminded the Lord of the Mettenheim warriors who had returned to their hometown...
"Sir Leon, His Highness Islandil authorized me to contact you. His Highness originally wanted to come here in person, but it is indeed difficult for him to appear in human territory. I hope you can understand..."
Neuer is a very polite Noldor elf. In fact, most Noldor elves maintain good etiquette and upbringing. Twilight Knights who are able to lead troops seem to be more qualified, and the same is true for Sederen.
After all, they are hundreds of years old...
"Sir Neuer, let's not be polite and get straight to the point... I plan to open up a trade zone in the forest east of White Hart Castle, where the Noldor elves will trade with White Hart Castle. We will start with mutually beneficial trade, such as the food and cloth you need, and the weapons and furs we need. I will set a reference price for these goods, and no one should think of being a profiteer... Let's first let the people of the two races get to know each other and build friendship, and we can discuss subsequent cooperation based on the situation."
The lord gave a trade plan very directly.
"This is a good idea, Lord Lyon. I think His Highness Islandir will also be satisfied."
Neuer nodded repeatedly. This was going more smoothly than he had imagined. In fact, as long as he could buy food from White Hart Castle, it would be a very good result for him - sufficient food would be of great help to the reproduction of any ethnic group.
"The trade zone will be jointly protected and controlled by me and Lady Vendatil. At the same time, I will count the outer part of the Noldor Forest near the White Hart Castle as the territory of the White Hart Castle. I will issue a decree to refuse any outsiders from entering the White Hart Castle territory with weapons, which can provide good protection for your tribe. But it should be noted that the Noldor must also abide by the laws of my territory, and killing people will be punished with death. Of course, if a human kills a Noldor, I will also capture him and hand him over to you for disposal. I hope that His Highness Islandil can make Aldarian willing to cooperate with this cooperation..."
The plan proposed by the lord was obviously beneficial to the Noldor, and Neuer had already begun to smile.
"That's great, Lord Leon. We will make our people behave themselves! We will also convince Aldarian. Before he is willing to cooperate, I can lead the troops to protect the trade zone. Please rest assured."
Neuer stood up with satisfaction, bowed and touched his chest in salute.
"Okay, then finally, I want to resolve the hatred between you and humans, Mr. Neuer..."
Li Ang also stood up: "I plan to take your troops to rescue Brave Shield Castle!"
This is the plan that the Lord and Wendatil discussed overnight.
This actually didn't fit into any of the options he was considering yesterday...
Since Leon received news in the early morning that the army of Ravenstern was crossing the Gatu Grassland and heading south, he planned to send reinforcements first and take this opportunity to solve the most troublesome problem - to make the Noldor elves live in peace with the people under his rule.
In other words, how to prevent others from targeting the Noldor Rangers in White Hart Keep.
Especially those female rangers - their value is so high that most people will regard them as walking dinars...
Leon's method is very simple. He wants to lead the Noldor Rangers to reinforce the border, let the Noldor fight side by side with humans, and let the Noldor protect the villagers in the war. With this real battlefield friendship, let everyone in the border area see the Noldor elves' dedication to humans.
Yes, the efforts are mutual. Leon led his subordinates to fight and shed blood for the safety of the Noldor people, and thus gained the trust of the Noldor elves.
Well, if the Noldor also fight to protect human civilians, they will naturally be recognized by humans. At least they will be able to appear openly in the territories of Leon and his allies, such as White Hart Castle and Braveshield Castle.
Moreover, this would solve the problem Leon himself was facing - if the Noldor helped the people of Sarleon to fight, then the lord could publicly claim that the Noldor were his allies and would not incur hostility or attacks from anyone.
Perhaps there will still be people who covet the beauty of the young rangers, but at least, people will no longer regard the Noldor as monsters, nor will they think that capturing the Noldor as slaves at will is something to be proud of.
Only after taking this crucial step will the Noldor elves have a real future.
Originally, it would have been possible to bring only the young rangers for reinforcement, and Wendatil had agreed to this in the early morning.
But the lord intends to take this opportunity to include more Noldor groups and fight side by side with more human troops, which will greatly speed up the process of the Noldor elves integrating into Leon's territory.
Of course, the lord had another intention that he did not tell Vendatil - he wanted to make the Noldor accustomed to fighting under his leadership and under his griffin banner.
"It is natural to provide assistance to our allies, and I am also able to restrain my subordinates, but I am a little worried about the reactions of others... Lord Leon, I mean the human soldiers of the Sarleon Kingdom, will they attack us?"
Neuer has no objection to coordinated operations, but it is normal for him to have such concerns.
"If I lead the army, you and the Noldor warriors will carry my banners in this battle and temporarily follow my orders. Basically, there will be no problems... I have already written to my allies and told them that the Noldor elves will fight together."
The lord gestured to Risadiran to hand the griffin flag to Neuer.
Neuer took it and nodded after a moment of silence: "I will obey your command, Lord Leon, but I hope that my people will not suffer too many casualties."
"I will try to reduce casualties as much as possible... Don't worry, I never fight a battle that I am not sure of winning."
The lord was extremely serious from beginning to end this time.
Neuer can also understand that some sacrifices are necessary and that fighting will inevitably involve sacrifices.
But this is indeed necessary so that the Noldor and humans can live together under the same blue sky.
…
A few days later, Brave Shield Castle received an unimaginably powerful reinforcement.
Nearly four hundred Noldor elves and six hundred human troops, totaling about one thousand people.
At this moment, this army of a thousand people were all flying the black-background golden griffin battle flag.
This powerful army was led by Li Ang and was divided into five teams.
The first team was the young Noldor Rangers led by Wendatil. They were all equipped with newly acquired Gato horses. Amy shared the spoils with them during the last robbery and let each of the Noldor Rangers choose one. The others were put into the stables of White Hart Castle...
The second team was the regular army of Family Ainor led by Noelle, including four Twilight Knights, a dozen Noldor nobles, fifty Noldor rangers, and more than a hundred Noldor warriors.
The third team is the lord's own troops, a mixed force of nearly two hundred people led by Sir Roland. This is a non-commissioned officer unit tied to the lord's land group responsibility system.
The fourth team was led by Raphael, and the horns of the two hundred or so Rangers were summoned.
The fifth team is led by Amy and Sarah. It is a special force - two hundred female explorers.
To be honest, these five troops are rare elite forces in the entire continent. Most of them are not loyal to Leon, but at least they are willing to fight under Leon's banner - the lord has actually quietly accumulated the strength equivalent to that of a duke.
Leon didn't even use the garrison at White Hart Castle, nor did he use the guards that Godric left for Amy.
Those female explorers are from the Griffin Sword Mercenaries.
To be precise, it came from the Griffin Sword Mercenary Group without Milgan.
It was Sarah who brought them back.
Sarah's persuasiveness may not be as good as Leon's, but no one can resist her empathy when she expresses her true feelings - when women curse the same scumbag together, they will definitely become besties quickly...
The Sword of the Griffin mercenaries had been waiting for news of Milgan in Troublen. They had lost a lot of their companions due to Milgan's personal behavior, and they were already depressed.
Later they heard that Milgan had left them and ran away to Lion Lake City to hunt Nelda, so they felt that Milgan seemed to have abandoned them.
Not long after, I heard that Mirgan was hunted down and fled because of "marrying Nelda"...
Yes, in the eyes of these women, this is how it is. The focus of their attention is not power and conspiracy at all, but the fact that Milgan married Nelda and was hunted down because of Nelda...
As a result, the women in the Griffin Sword Mercenary Group cursed and declared that they would castrate Milgan if they saw him again.
But before they castrate Mirgan, they still have to eat...
So these two hundred or so female warriors who originally belonged to the Griffin Sword Mercenary Group have now become a mercenary force of White Hart Castle. Their employer is Amy and Sarah is the team leader.
Perhaps these women's claims of castrating someone are unreliable. If they see Milgan again, they may change their minds...
But at least for now, most women are willing to follow Sarah and make a living with Amy.
In fact, no one could find Milgan now. No one knew where he had escaped to. He might have even left the Fierce Lion Territory.
Amy was very interested in the experiences of the female explorers and was willing to hire them. In fact, Amy had long wanted to establish a female soldier unit, and now her wish had come true.
Of those rangers summoned by the horn, fifty were the rangers who followed Ralph to White Hart Castle, and the other one hundred or so were summoned by Raphael from various villages along the way.
The more than fifty Horn Summoning Rangers who followed Ralph officially became citizens of the Maixiang Territory after Leon returned, because these people had no property of their own.
But the other members of the Ranger Group have their own homes and properties, so they don't need to rely on others.
After being dispersed to various villages by the Duke of Alma, the Horn Summoning Rangers did not regroup. This powerful armed force is now actually dispersed and returning home.
They have no leader now, and they have no intention of dealing with Granlong in Changhe Town...
After all, Granlong is also a noble of the kingdom, and he has not brought any harm to Changhe Town.
Just like Alma had occupied Changhe Town illegally, Granlong's occupation of Changhe Town was also an internal struggle among the kingdom's nobles. As long as they did not harm Changhe Town, the Ranger Group would not get involved.
But it was different when facing foreign enemies. After learning that there might be an invasion, the members of the Ranger Group responded to Raphael's horn call, joined the team, and gathered more than 200 people along the way north.
