Chapter 229 Why Fight
Due to the large number of rebels, it is impossible to reorganize them all. Perhaps most of the gladiators will obey the management, but the rest of the mob will definitely have their own ideas.
If the rebels had always been under Brutus' control, perhaps there would not have been so much trouble. Brutus had been both an officer in the regular army and a local lord. When under his command, the rebels were actually orderly.
But within just a few days after Castro took control of this army, this mob turned from an orderly armed force into bandits, and expanded in size without limit.
Perhaps Castro was also fighting for freedom, but most of the slaves he recruited probably didn't know what they were fighting for - no matter what era or place, the vast majority of people were just going with the flow.
Moreover, the quality of these slaves varied greatly. They had never received any training and might not even understand military orders. Not everyone of them was suitable to be a soldier.
It is also unlikely that Leon would take nearly 10,000 slaves with incomplete weapons and equipment to war. An undisciplined and poorly equipped army could easily fall into chaos and could easily backfire on the leader.
This is the main reason why Leon must occupy Karen Deer Castle - he wants to provide a shelter for most of the rebels and select the available personnel among them. Otherwise, this huge army is just a group of bandits and cannot last long no matter how big it is.
'Capture Karen Deer Castle', the lord who has the support of the Kingdom of Sarleon is of course the best person for this rebel army to follow.
Karen Deer Castle is now an empty city. By settling most of them there, they don't have to leave their homeland and go to the Fierce Lion Territory, nor will some low-quality guys harm the people.
Only after a period of management and training in Karen Deer Castle and completing the transition, can these people truly become soldiers or citizens.
Moreover, Karen Deerburg is now the only place in the surrounding area that can be confirmed to be free of the Red Death.
A day later, this huge rebel army was reunited, and after two major battles, it still had a size of 8,000 people.
Sigismund and Brutus together selected two thousand qualified warriors from among them, and armed them on the spot with the scattered spoils of war.
In fact, most of these two thousand people were gladiators or reserve soldiers, which was also what Alina had originally planned.
That is, the real troops that Brutus had been managing while carrying out his plan, all of them were trained soldiers who could obey military orders.
The force was given a new designation - the Pendor Freedom Legion.
In fact, this legion name was also envisioned by Emperor Marius and Arina.
The remaining slaves followed Jocelyn to Fort Cullen, where they could reconsider their future.
If they want to join the army, they will receive training from Jocelyn and after completing the training they will supplement the Free Corps.
If you don't want to fight and just want to live a good life, there are a lot of unowned farmland around Karen Deer Castle, and there are even enough houses in Salem Village that you can live in as long as you repair the roofs and doors and windows.
Now that Leon has become the owner of Karen Deer Castle, Seren Village is no longer the front line of the war between the two countries.
The newly formed Free Corps is still somewhat presentable. The gladiators undergo long-term training in training camps, and their obedience is actually quite good.
But the force still lacks something very important.
For the Lord, what they lack is actually the most important necessity for an army - faith.
Because now they have lost their sense of purpose.
The gladiators led the rebels to rebel for freedom, which was a strong goal-driven force. In the vision of Emperor Marius and Arina, this force needed to be organized into a legion to eliminate the rebels of Hira Yuzas.
Use their sense of purpose against slavery to drive them to eliminate the rebellion, and then use the merit of eliminating the rebellion to absolve them of the crime of rebellion and allow them to be free.
If everything goes according to plan, it would indeed seem fair and reasonable.
However, this legion lost control midway, causing heavy casualties to Justus's First Legion of the Empire, and killed at least half of the nobles in the city of Boshi - although this might be a situation that Emperor Marius and Justus would like to see, it was impossible for them to get any pardon, so they successfully pledged allegiance to Leon.
But in this way, they have obtained the status of free people under the lord. Although this makes them feel that following Earl Leon is right, it also makes them lose their original beliefs.
The powerful armies of the continent of Pendor all have their own beliefs.
The Noldor wanted the elves to regain their glory, and they followed Leon to fight for the continuation of their race.
Amy's Griffin Talons follow in the footsteps of their predecessors, and their goal of becoming female knights drives them to unite around Amy;
The Shadow Legion is dedicated to protecting the interests of the Old Bacchus, and is even willing to go against the Emperor to do so;
The Knights of the Radiant Cross are dedicated to curing illnesses and saving lives and bringing hope to the continent;
The Clarion Call Rangers are able to face any enemy in order to defend their homeland;
Decades ago, the Lion Knights fought for justice and helped the poor and the needy for the sake of the country and the people. Today, the Lion Knights must maintain the glory and status of the Royal Knights.
Even the Ebony Gauntlet Knights have beliefs, perhaps because they do have hatred for the Noldor, or perhaps because of the benefits they can gain after capturing the Noldor;
The non-commissioned officers directly under Li Ang also have a natural sense of mission - for the good life that the lord brings them.
A troop without a sense of purpose cannot be led to fight against a strong enemy. Human will comes from the mission and belief in their hearts. A troop without firm belief can only fight against favorable circumstances.
But now this newly formed Free Corps has no faith.
But Li Ang still needs to lead them to resolve the threat of the Snake Cult...
However, it seems that the lord is not the only one who thinks about this.
After the 2,000-man Free Corps lined up, Sigismund made an unexpected announcement to them...
"Brothers, Lord Leon is the legendary son of prophecy... He is the hero who can save the continent as predicted by Madigan! He will lead us to fight for the civilians who have suffered the same injustice and hardship as us, and to fight for freedom and a stable life! We will follow the true king of Pendor!"
"The child of prophecy! The new king of Pendor! Hooha!!"
Sigismund was asked to organize the troops because Brutus was injured and it was inconvenient for him, while Sigismund was more familiar with this army.
But no one, including Li Ang, expected him to give such a speech!
But perhaps such a statement is indeed effective. The gladiators certainly yearned for freedom and stability, and it did allow the gladiators to find a reason to fight in the midst of confusion - for those who had experienced injustice like them.
Under the tsunami-like shouts of "Son of Prophecy" from the Free Corps, Sigismund knelt down in front of Leon: "Lord Leon, I'm sorry, I acted on my own initiative... I promised my brothers that I would lead them to find the Son of Prophecy and make sure there would be no more slavery and tyranny on this continent..."
Leon looked around and saw the gladiators holding their swords and shouting "Son of Prophecy, King of Pendor"...
“Fight for freedom!”
This situation can only be guided but not prevented. The lord had no choice but to raise the sword in his hand, force a smile and shout slogans.
Wendylf behind him was quite smart. She immediately led the Noldor Guards to shout in unison, "Fight for freedom!"
The uniform slogans barely drowned out the chaotic voices shouting "King of Pendor".
Then, everyone started to chant "Fight for Freedom" in unison.
The lord let out a long breath, but still held the sword in his hand, not daring to hide the smile on his face.
"You don't trust me... Are you trying to force me to become an enemy of all kingdoms in this way?"
Leon looked at the troops, but he was talking to Sigismund who was kneeling in front of him: "Do you know how much trouble your words will cause?"
"I admit that this is a form of coercion, but I finally see hope for a change for the entire continent..."
Sigismund was still kneeling on the ground, with his head lowered. “Moreover, when you control such a civilian army, you will inevitably face the hostility of all kingdoms, Lord Leon. No matter how good your relationship with other nobles was, from today on, you can only be the son of prophecy…”
"Perhaps you are right, but you shouldn't speak without thinking! I have my own way of doing things... Sigismund, you are making decisions for me!"
The lord glanced at Sigismund with a rather unfriendly look.
"Lord Leon, I know that the Son of Prophecy may be just a legend, and I also know that this title will bring many consequences... But I just want to make sure that you will really do as you said... save the civilians and bring a peaceful life to the continent of Pendor."
Sigismund raised his head and looked into the eyes of the lord: "I am willing to give everything for this, and most gladiators are the same as me..."
"But have you ever thought about this... What if the Child of Prophecy is not just a legend? What if I really am the Child of Prophecy?"
The Lord sighed, "And... more importantly, your last sentence! The true king of Pendor? I'm not planning on becoming king yet!"
"Sir, my personal experience tells me that no matter what you plan to do now, as long as you have a large civilian army, if you do not declare yourself king... then some noble will declare himself king with your head!"
Sigismund's eyes became firm. "Besides, people need heroes... No matter if they are related to the legendary son of prophecy or not, as long as they fight for the common people, they will be regarded as the son of prophecy by everyone!"
Perhaps Sigismund was right.
The continent of Pendor has always been invaded by various evils...
Bandits are rampant, cults are rampant, and most lords do not protect civilians. Instead, the constant fighting continues to exacerbate people's suffering.
Food is always scarce and life is always full of uncertainty.
Decades ago, people kept mentioning Madigan's prophecy, and they really needed a hero to save people from suffering.
Twenty years ago, in the village of Vezan in Ravenstern, a young man and his stubborn wife once again lost everything they had worked so hard to build.
Their homeworld was completely destroyed by a war between two Raven Lords.
I don't know how many times this has happened, but it always happens. In the wars between nobles, the common people are always the ones who get hurt.
After much deliberation, the couple decided that they would no longer tolerate raids by Vanskerry pirates and Mistymountain barbarians, nor would they grow crops on the farmland burned by Ravenstern's armies.
They decided to gather anyone who was willing to fight against all threats and protect those who could not defend themselves.
With some talent and luck, the couple and the small group of volunteers they recruited managed to score many victories against the attackers around their village.
Soon after, the number of their team began to grow rapidly.
People from all over the country joined the two men, fighting for the common people and quickly forming a huge alliance.
Pirates and bandits began to fear this civilian armed force, and the nobles also began to fear them, because they would kill anyone who committed massacres in their territory, whether they were raiders or nobles' troops.
They wore white clothes, called themselves "Commoner Knights", and established the first force in the continent of Pendor that belonged entirely to the common people.
The young couple who established this power gradually became known as the 'heroes of Madigan's prophecy' and were called the children of prophecy.
But the young couple's victory did not last.
The name of that stubborn woman was Claire, but this name has been forgotten by most people.
All that is known is that she was killed in battle by a Vanskerry leader named Vidis.
That man was also defeated on the battlefield by the combined forces of Sarleon, Raven Stern, and Firdsvain.
The power they had built up was once again reduced to scorched earth, and almost all of the "civilian knights" died on that land.
In fact, this group of "civilian knights" never intended to attack any country, they just wanted to live in peace.
But when they reached a certain size, all noble lords regarded them as targets that must be eliminated - even those lords who were considered kind and gentle.
The fact that the Firdsvain Alliance was recognized by the Sarleon and Ravenstern countries and transformed from an alliance of warlords into a kingdom was also somewhat related to this matter.
The commander of the coalition army that wiped out this group of "commoner knights" was King Vidis of Firdsvain. At that time, the king was only known as "Chief Vidis", but after he killed the leader of the commoner knights who was known as the "Son of Prophecy", he was placed on the throne by the nobles.
However, the man did not die on the battlefield.
Good luck seemed to always be with him, and he was lucky enough to survive many situations where he was sure to die.
But it wasn't until his wife died in battle and his troops were wiped out that he realized that he had not spent the first half of his life fighting for civilians.
He was just fighting for a peaceful and tranquil life.
His name 'Sigismund' does indeed mean 'to guard with victory', but he never did it, even though he had won countless victories.
Because war only brings death...
