novelraw Chapter 29: Passing By
Chapter 29: Passing By
Two days after the great amnesty, an elite cavalry legion arrived at Six Bay Mountain.
The cavalry of this legion had black capes flowing behind them, embroidered with a raptor in a pouncing posture.
They numbered about five thousand, well-equipped.
Though not heavy cavalry, every soldier wore armor and carried lances over four meters long.
Clearly, this was a shock cavalry unit, considered elite mobile forces in all nations.
The allied commander guarding the fortifications came down to communicate with the cavalry legion's general.
"Night Falcon Knights? Looks like your king is quite angry! Planning to use you to exterminate that fleeing allied force?"
Night Falcon Knight Commander Wallace spoke: "It's because you took too much time! Originally, we were supposed to intercept Billie Kingdom's Red Eagle Knights!"
"Thought we could determine who the true hawk is, but now we have to chase a bunch of infantry instead. What a disappointment!"
As they were talking, a group of knights in silver armor arrived."Marquis Wallace! This is the king's latest order for you. Headquarters demands you execute it immediately!"
Marquis Wallace took the metal cylinder, checked its seal, confirmed it was intact, then opened it.
After reading, the paper inside turned to ashes in his hand.
"Pass the order! Advance toward the southwest!"
Marquis Wallace nodded to the general defending this place, then led the Night Falcon Knights roaring out of the valley toward the southwest.
In the ranks, an officer laughed to his colleague: "Obian, you must be happy this time! We don't have to chase that routed army!"
"From the direction, we're probably going after the main allied force! You've always wanted to fight this allied army - your chance has come!"
A look of hatred appeared in Obian's eyes: "Those bastards killed my family. I'll slaughter every last one of them!"
And so, Henwil and Obian passed each other by.
But at least this avoided the tragedy of father and son fighting each other.
Completely unaware of this, Henwil was fleeing according to plan.
After two more days of travel, they would reach the first supply point.
Whether his plan would succeed depended on how the local nobility responded.
Two days later, Beishi City was filled with anxious people. The city lord and various nobles were discussing in the castle.
"The enemy approaches fiercely! We must strengthen our defenses and clear the fields - we can't let them sustain their war with our resources and grow stronger!"
"Right! We must drive these invaders out!"
"Beishi City is fortified. They don't have large numbers and came from far away - they can't possibly breach here!"
"Beishi City is fortified. They don't have large numbers and came from far away - they can't possibly breach here!"
"In that case, we need mobile forces to prevent them from leaving some troops here to besiege us!"
...
Amid the noisy discussion, not a single voice suggested going out to fight actively.
This made City Lord Saxon extremely angry. Usually, when it came to kingdom taxes, they delayed as much as possible.
They held various banquets every day, consuming massive resources just to satisfy their bragging.
They always boasted about how courageous they were, how many enemies they'd killed on battlefield.
And the more they drank, the more enemies they claimed to have killed.
Especially in front of ladies, their boasts knew no bounds.
If they had even one-tenth of the ability they claimed, together they could easily deal with the enemy outside.
But now?
The enemy was truly at their gates!
They didn't even dare stay in their own castles, directly fleeing to Beishi City.
And they had the nerve to say they came to discuss defense plans with me! Utterly shameless!
Saxon suppressed his anger and knocked on the table: "Gentlemen! I have something here for you all to see!"
Then guards entered carrying a tray with a scroll of parchment.
After everyone passed it around, no one spoke, not even looking at Saxon.
Saxon knocked on the table again: "Gentlemen! Well? How should we respond?"
"This is enemy trickery!"
"They've run out of supplies! We can't let them succeed!"
"Right! Exactly - starve them! Then achieve victory without shedding blood!"
...
Saxon looked around at everyone: "Then! Should we reply to those people according to your decision?"
Everyone agreed this should be done. Saxon continued: "Also, I have a message from them!"
"They said! If no one trades with them, they can't guarantee whether the enemy outside will attack us or not."
"In their words, they're just businesspeople. The enemy forces don't want to occupy this place - they want to escape across the border."
"Now exhausted, they just want some food, stay a day or two then leave."
"If they can't buy food, they'll have no choice but to rob!"
"They don't plan to attack Beishi City, but as for your castles and territories, gentlemen, I think they might pay a visit!"
These words made the numerous lord nobles freeze in place.
For a long time, no one spoke, only communicating with glances.
After who knows how long, an old noble asked: "City Lord, what do you think we should do?"
Saxon said irritably: "Me? I think we should fight the enemy to the end, just as you all said earlier."
"I suggest we send troops tomorrow. Everyone contributes forces - viscounts provide three hundred men, barons one hundred, knights fifty."
"With the three thousand city guards, we'd have at least ten thousand troops, making us evenly matched with the enemy."
"I've heard you've all been on battlefield before. Fighting one against ten shouldn't be difficult. Let's slaughter these scoundrels until none remain!"
The noble lords instantly became awkward upon hearing this.
The old noble coughed: "Ahem! City Lord, our duty is to protect the people and defend our land."
"Now that the enemy already fears us, reigniting war wouldn't be good either."
"Then according to Viscount Glass's opinion, what should we do? Accept the enemy's extortion?"
Old Glass smiled awkwardly: "It can't really be called extortion! After all, they're offering normal prices!"
"They're merchants, not enemy troops. I think trading with them wouldn't be bad!"
Another noble added: "The question is, how should we do this, and how do we ensure they'll keep their promise?"
Saxon remained silent for a moment: "They'll send a servant! To communicate the detailed transaction process!"
Saxon remained silent for a moment: "They'll send a servant! To communicate the detailed transaction process!"
Dozens of miles outside Beishi City, in the camp, Fabio waved his hand: "No! You can't go! If something happens to you, it wouldn't be worth it!"
"But we don't need to send a child!"
Henwil shook his head: "Not possible! Only I know how this plan should work! For something like this, sending anyone else isn't appropriate."
"Too many people can't know about this. And as a child, they have no reason to kill me!"