Chapter 243 A Difficult Decision
Two days later.
The accumulated smoke had been blown away by the wind that blew into the valley.
Alyssa burned her priest robes and snake-patterned leather armor, and tied her hair up like a lady from the Fierce Lion Realm. Except for the "hissing" way of speaking, everything else seemed to have nothing to do with the Snake Cult anymore.
She obviously didn't want to have anything to do with the Snake Cult anymore, probably because she was a little afraid.
Alyssa didn't even speak much in the past two days, and she has been hiding in her room in the manor without coming out.
Perhaps, she felt that Li Ang's attitude towards the Snake Cult was a little too radical - as of now, all the Snake Cultists who encountered Li Ang were not spared.
But for Leon, those who created and spread the Red Death must die.
Since these snake worshippers have chosen to become the public enemy of mankind, they deserve this treatment.
At this moment, in the valley, the bodies of thousands of snake worshippers were lying in a mess near the mountain walls on both sides. From a distance, they looked like earthworms crawling out of the soil, leaving countless messy traces on the soft mud at the bottom of the valley.
The bodies of several Snake Cult priestesses also leaned against the mountain wall.
It seems that before they died, they also struggled to survive.
Just like thick smoke can drive out the bugs in the soil, those snake worshippers who did not die in landslides or be buried alive by mud and rocks were driven out by the smoke and fell on both sides of the valley.
The Mettenheimers and the Free Corps infantry had arrived here half a day ago, just in time to clean up the battlefield.
They were cleaning the bottom of the valley with the villagers, one in front and one behind.
In Li Ang's eyes, the bodies must be buried, otherwise when the climate warms up, it is likely to cause a plague.
It didn't take too much time to clean up the bodies lying on both sides of the valley. After all, one only had to collect the equipment of the Snake Cult warriors and then bury them on the spot in the valley - all one had to do was scrape off some of the soft loose soil on the mountain wall.
Many of the pits were even ready-made, and the snake worshippers who were suffocated to death by the smoke had originally crawled out of the ground.
As for those that have long been buried in the ground...there is naturally no need to clean them up.
The valley floor was quickly cleared, and once everything was buried in the ground, it looked like a simple natural disaster.
However, this valley probably won't be a major transportation route for a long time.
Thousands of people spent an afternoon cleaning the valley, but still failed to clear a complete path - there were too many fallen rocks, and many boulders could not be moved at all. The valley would be impassable for vehicles and horses to pass through in the short term, and it was a bit difficult for people to pass through.
However, as long as his own troops can come over, it is enough. Li Ang has no intention of building bridges and roads here to be a good person.
How to restore transportation within the Empire of Bacchus...that's the business of Emperor Marius and Justus.
The situation in the Bacchus Empire has actually been completely under control.
Boshi City and Dilingang have both returned to normal order, and the devoured people in Siyuan City have also been cleared out.
However, these three major cities were severely damaged, a large number of nobles fled, and countless civilians died in the war. Basically every family was in mourning.
It will be difficult to restore its former prosperity in a short period of time.
Perhaps because they could foresee that many nobles would return during this period, several senior governors of the Bacchus Empire tacitly maintained the status quo.
Kairos was concentrating on maintaining order in Siyuan City, Governor Justus took over the defense of Imperial Port, and General Cleon was in charge of the prevention and treatment of the Red Death in Boshi City...
The territories they are currently managing are not their own, but none of them intends to return to their own territories.
This may be because they do not want to argue with the nobles who returned to their territories.
Especially those nobles who I know well and can be considered to have some friendship with...
Perhaps, Justus and Kairos both felt that those nobles who fled in panic when faced with a powerful enemy and then came back to ask for their property after everything was calm were no longer worthy of their smiling welcome.
The entire Bacchus Empire is probably about to enter the post-disaster reconstruction stage.
Perhaps this is the situation that Emperor Marius would like to see most...
A large number of nobles who opposed the reform died, and those who are still alive will certainly not dare to say anything nonsense for a while;
Most of the old men in the Senate who only knew how to make noises on the podium have also disappeared;
The powerful rebels were completely wiped out, and the Snake Cult army was all ;
Although Bacchus suffered huge losses, most of its most elite forces were preserved.
The problem of the rebels was also solved. Although the fruits were plucked by Le Ang, at least no major disaster was caused. Moreover, Le Ang, the deliberately declared "enemy", could block the real enemies from within for Emperor Marius.
And which lords in the entire empire are reliable and which are incompetent were all exposed in this turmoil.
Now, all we need to do is ensure a period of peaceful development and in a few years the country will be reborn, stronger and more united than ever before.
However, just when the most difficult situations had been resolved, Emperor Marius himself encountered some problems.
Two days ago, he met Martis in the village of Qiza, and was then led by the quick-witted Agathon to flee north. When they fled to the north of Olega Castle, they met Governor Kairos.
Kairos seemed to be coming with troops to support them, so Emperor Marius and Agathon were naturally defenseless and were "protected" in the middle by a large group of troops.
"Kailos, you've come just in time. There are only two hundred Horned Viper Vanguards around Maltis now. We should take this opportunity to eliminate her! Quickly take the troops to Qiza Village and send someone to Siyuan City to pass on the order to have the Shadow Wolf Pack mobilize as well..."
Emperor Marius felt that this was the best opportunity to kill Martis, even if it meant suffering huge losses.
"Your Majesty... maybe you should take a rest..."
Kairos did not move.
His expression seemed extremely hesitant, and the entanglement and conflicting emotions he showed were almost visible to the naked eye. But then, he finally said something that made everyone unbelievable: "Take His Majesty to Leyla Fortress..."
After saying this, Kairos looked like he had aged twenty years in an instant.
Perhaps, in order to say this, he had exhausted all his energy and courage, and at this moment he did not even dare to look into Emperor Marius' eyes.
Obviously, this is an extremely difficult decision.
"What do you mean? Kairos, what do you want to do?"
Emperor Marius was shocked: "Are you planning a rebellion? No, you are not that kind of person..."
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty... I don't want this to happen either, I don't want this either... Don't worry, I will kill Maltis and ensure your safety..."
Kairos sighed with his eyes closed, then clenched his teeth tightly. One could clearly see the veins throbbing on the sides of his cheeks. It was obvious that he felt very uncomfortable and was trying hard to suppress his emotions.
Several shadow centurions stepped forward and surrounded Emperor Marius.
At this moment, Marius suddenly struck Agathon's horse's rump with the back of his sword, then turned around and ran away: "Agathon! Go find Justus or Arina!"
Agathon next to him had also drawn his sword, and it seemed that he wanted to protect Emperor Marius and break out desperately, but the horse was suddenly hit by Emperor Marius and ran in another direction.
The incident happened suddenly, and Kairos's men had originally focused their attention on Emperor Marius, and most of them ran after him.
Only a few cavalrymen reacted in time and began to pursue Agathon.
But General Agathon's skills were not something that a few cavalrymen could deal with. The cavalrymen were chopped down one after another, and Agathon even stole two more horses.
Of course, Kairos's men did not dare to harm Emperor Marius, and they did not seem to have any intention of regicide.
Agathon did not come back alone to rescue people. He did run away as Marius instructed.
At this time, Emperor Marius had been taken to the Lera Fortress.
At the same time, the troops sent by Kairos had searched the area around Qiza Village several times.
But he didn't find Maltis, not even the Horned Viper Vanguard.
Two days ago, Martis was indeed accompanied by only two hundred viper vanguards, but it took her only ten minutes to defeat Emperor Marius and Agathon's guards.
Then, within a dozen minutes, she defeated another troop - an infantry regiment that looked quite elite.
That was the fleet that had been fishing outside Dilingang Port.
Although the warship was in tatters and the men of the infantry regiment were all disheveled, the infantry regiment itself was not in tatters.
The leading captain even wore a luxurious royal pointed helmet with green tassels on his head - this was the style of helmet worn by the lieutenant commander of the regular army of the Barclay Empire.
The plate-and-chain composite armor on his body was engraved with a circular emblem consisting of four fan-shaped patterns. The four patterns were "mountains", "iron felt", "big sword", and "heavy crossbow".
This is Mettenheim's hallmark.
The infantry regiment had more than 700 men, including hundreds of Mettenheim greatswordsmen and even at least 50 death swordsmen. This should have been a very strong legion.
However, in the face of Martis and her viper vanguard, this army only lasted for ten minutes before it collapsed.
In fact, these Mettenheim people are indeed very brave. Their customs and beliefs determine that they will not easily turn around and run for their lives, and they are also very powerful in fighting.
But the problem is that the difference in combat power between the leader of this infantry regiment and Martis is really too big. After just one encounter, Martis rushed into the formation and captured him...
With the legion commander captured, the legion naturally collapsed.
At this time, there were only a few horned viper vanguards left under Maltis.
However, Maltis did not seem to feel any pain or reluctance. She still looked expressionless and put her sword on the neck of the infantry commander: "...Use your ship to take us back to the Amara continent... Bring all their bodies aboard."
These were the only words the captain heard from the "priestess" after being captured.
After that, there was a long silence. Martis no longer said anything. The remaining twenty or so horned viper vanguards escorted the infantry commander onto the boat.
The infantry regiment had no choice but to carry all the bodies of the horned viper vanguards onto the ship.
After Kairos' army arrived at Qiza Village, it was empty.
All that was left on the beach were the corpses of some Imperial Knights and Iron Ring Centurions, as well as a few tattered abandoned ships.
…
At this time, Leon was leading a large team of more than 6,000 people winding northward, preparing to return to Karen Deer Castle.
The main purpose of his trip south was to eliminate the Snake Worship Cult that might threaten his territory, and now this matter has been accomplished.
Leon took away all the people around the village of Fiedene. More than 4,000 villagers, carrying the food they had searched from Levius and the spoils they had just obtained from the Snake Worshipers, followed Leon's troops. They looked like a large group of Snake Worshipers...
All the property of the Levius family was also taken away - it was a variety of valuables loaded into dozens of carriages.
Apart from the mines that could not be relocated, the area around the village of Fiedner is completely empty.
Unexpectedly, the goddesses who were expected to say a few words did not say anything this time. This made Li Ang, who had been mentally prepared, feel a little uncomfortable.
Perhaps this is because I did not solve the problem in the way the gods expected... My lord, sometimes I feel that the gods of the continent of Pendor have probably seen little of the world, and they probably have never thought that heretics can be eliminated without swords.
Taking the villagers on the road together and carrying heavy loads, the journey was naturally very slow.
But this time there was no need to abandon the villagers and set off lightly. After all, there was no battle to fight that required hurrying.
After walking for a whole week, Li Ang finally arrived outside the city of Boshi.
The main force was still moving northwards. Li Ang asked the others to take the villagers to Karen Deer Castle for resettlement first.
He himself took the newly reorganized "Silver Hand" to Boshi City.
He was going to meet Anson and see how the doctor's research on the Red Death was going.
The main reason for bringing the Silver Hand was that the gladiators therein were familiar with the environment around the City of Knowledge. Besides, it was not very appropriate to bring the Noldor elves into the city. It was also for this reason that Leon did not enter the city when he lifted the siege of the City of Knowledge.
The Silver Hand currently has about 300 members, all of whom can barely be considered trainee knights - this knight order is currently an illegal knight order, and their knighthood can actually only be recognized within Leon's forces.
Currently, all members of the Silver Hand are brave warriors.
It included more than a hundred Mettenheim people and nearly two hundred gladiators.
These infantry knights were elected by the Free Legion warriors themselves - they were the ones who played the greatest role in dealing with the python knights of the Legion of Terror on the seashore, including Sigismund.
Most of the soldiers of the Free Corps crawled out of the tragic arena. They actually have a simple sense of honor. They are willing to join the battle to fairly win the respect they deserve, and are also willing to follow and support those comrades who have made greater contributions in the battle.
After all, that's what they did in the arena.
Although Leon said that they were all qualified to become knights, they themselves did not do so.
Only three hundred people were elected as knights, while the others remained in the Free Legion. During battles, they would serve as sergeants and follow the knights they supported.
This was Sigismund's suggestion and the consensus of the Free Corps fighters.
Sigismund once personally established a group of civilian knights. He knew that when too many people obtained the status of knight, the sense of honor and identity brought by this status would fade.
Therefore, the Silver Hand temporarily established only a force of 300 foot knights.
Leon equipped each gladiator in the City of Knowledge with a big hammer - this was the equipment that General Cleon found for them from the Knights of the Glorious Cross, and it was also the thing that everyone felt was most lacking when they were dealing with the undead of the Legion of Terror on the seashore.
If everyone had a hammer at that time, the Python Knight's rotten bones would have been smashed to pieces long ago, and the fight would not have been so difficult.
Since the purpose of the Silver Hand is to eradicate evil, it is very likely that they will encounter such skeletons in the future, so each of them was given a long-handled war hammer as a standard weapon.
Anyway, these gladiators are all muscular men and are very suitable for swinging hammers.
As for the Mettenheimers—they all brought their own Mettenheim two-handed swords with them this time, so they had no shortage of weapons…
Of course, the identities of these brave warriors as apprentice knights would definitely not be recognized in other places.
No place would allow a group of slaves to become knights...
Even under Leon's command, they could only be respected but not given fiefs - they were not real knights, so naturally they could not register for fiefs.
In fact, many people can't even write their names, and even signing is a problem. If they are asked to register, they can only fumble around...
Leon did not find Anson in Boshi City. General Cleon said that Anson went to Bretwin two days ago and never came back.
"Sir Leon, it is said that there is an abandoned Snake Cult lair in Breitwen. Anson sent a message back yesterday. He seems to have found clues related to controlling the Red Death there."
General Creon said.
In fact, Leon also knew about the Snake Cult's lair in Bretwin.
A year ago, Leon led a caravan to fight against Count Oden. After the caravan was robbed by the Snake Cult, Count Oden sent cavalry to chase them all the way here and burned down the Snake Cult's lair.
