Chapter 123: Going deep into the province of Nord
In the cold wind, the girl sat quietly on the horse. The bright yellow priest robe made her look as delicate as the apricot blossoms in early spring.
This flower also bloomed in Raven's heart.
Raven's breathing stopped for a moment. Raven raised his arms, and the soldiers slowly stationed their horses. He himself clapped his horse and came to the girl's side.
But before he could speak, the girl's voice sounded: "I'll go with you."
Raven didn't want her to face this unknown danger: "But..."
The girl held the reins tightly, looked into Raven's eyes, her voice was soft, but her tone was extremely serious:< br>
“We’re going, let’s go together.”
Looking at it, if Raven didn’t take her, she would have to follow him.
After weighing it, Raven had to nod: "Okay, you can follow me, but you must obey my command in everything."
The girl nodded obediently, making Raven feel that her instructions were a bit redundant.
The team continued to set off. They did not feel uncomfortable because of the sudden addition of a woman, and their morale actually improved somewhat.
Because this person is Priest Lux.
It is inevitable to get injured in battle, and as we all know, the healing effect of divine magic is very good. With her here, the probability of everyone returning home alive will undoubtedly increase.
Although all personnel were equipped with war horses and supplies were transported by pack horses, the overall progress was not very fast.
The semi-warhorse that has been strengthened twice has excellent physical strength and speed. If it attacks with all its strength, it can reach Men'en City in three or four days at most without considering logistics.
But you can’t do that.
If you fight for gain at fifty miles, you will defeat the general.
Leaven must ensure that his soldiers maintain combat effectiveness and physical strength at all times - at least they must have the physical strength to escape.
However, he did not delay deliberately. He set out at dawn and found a place to camp before dark. The daily march took about seven to eight hours and the distance was about thirty kilometers.
After all, there are too few troops at hand, so it is better to join up with other nobles as soon as possible to ensure their own safety.
The Nord province covers an area of hundreds of thousands of square kilometers, no smaller than many countries in previous lives.
According to the administrative system of the empire, there are county-level administrative agencies under the provinces. Provinces have "governors" and "provincial capitals", and counties also have their own "county chiefs" and "county cities."
The province of Nord has a total of seventeen counties, some large and some small.
The Eagle Territory where Raven is located, together with the Snow Maple Territory of Viscount John, the Iron Furnace Territory of Baron Angel, and the territories of the other eleven barons and viscounts, together constitute the "Snow Maple County" .
Starting from Xuefeng County, you need to pass through Hippok County, Derby County, Harold County, and then detour through Hodges County before you can reach Munn City.
In the first few days, Raven has been marching in Xuefeng County.
During the period, they passed through the territories of several nobles. Most of the lords in these places had accepted the orders and mobilization of the Slater family and had already left, but they still left a certain amount of protective power at home.
Although you cannot enter the castle or town to rest, when you are stationed outside the city, the local chamber of commerce and political officials will still come to "comfort" with wine and meat, and some will invite Raven inside for a banquet. Fulfilled the friendship of the landlord.
After all, we are all neighbors in Xuefeng County. We meet each other without looking up, and it is natural for us to give each other some convenience and care.
In communicating with these neighbors, Raven also obtained some new news.
For example, not all nobles accepted the transfer order from the Slater family at the beginning. There were many who wanted to preserve their strength and wait and see the situation.
When waves of troops passed through the territory, these lords were a little shaken.
Herd mentality is difficult for anyone to avoid. Following the majority of people in making choices may not always be the right thing to do, but the cost of mistakes can always be shared.
Being an outlier requires tremendous courage.
Therefore, many nobles who did not accept the orders of the Slater family at the beginning later joined the ranks of fighting against the Death Hand Order. At least, like Angel, they sent their unimportant sons and relatives to set off with cannon fodder troops.
The relatively easy march passed quickly.
From the sixth day, after the troops entered Hippok County, they gradually became nervous from the inside out, and felt a hint of "apocalyptic".
Many corpses can be seen on the road. At first, they could only be seen sporadically on the roadside every other distance. Later, as we gradually went deeper, the frequency became higher and the number increased.
In groups of three and five, the dead and wounded were lying on pillows, and even the piles of corpses were like hills.
Most of them are refugees, men and women, old and young. Their clothes have been stripped off. They are all skinny and black, and some have sickly bulging bellies. Their hands and feet are stretched out twistedly, far away. It looks like strange-shaped branches.
Some of the refugees still had sword wounds. They must have died when they were starving and trying to attack towns or army logistics.
The lords and officials of Shippok County were not as enthusiastic as Xuefeng County, but perhaps they were worried that Raven would temporarily "transfer" into a bandit, so they would provide some supplies.
It is worth mentioning that since the entire Eagle Territory knew Lux's kindness, when they saw the corpses for the first time, the soldiers were worried that Lux would ask to be buried, collected or prayed for them.
But it turned out that their worries were completely unnecessary. Lux was indeed praying, but she was just reciting the prayers silently in her own way. Except for personally praying for the souls when setting up camp, she did not delay the team. itinerary. On the night of the thirteenth day of the march, Raven and his party left Shippok County and entered Derbyshire.
As usual, Raven camped next to a town. This town called "Watson" was extremely quiet. There was no one on the street. If it weren't for the fact that he could see the smoke from every household, Raven would hardly be able to see it. You should think that you have arrived in a dead city.
The political officer here showed complete indifference and just sent a notice: If Raven dares to enter Watson Town, it means going to war with Viscount Garner.
To be so vigilant can only mean one thing - next, we will enter a real war zone.
The facts also confirmed Raven's judgment.
At noon on the fifteenth day, he discovered a destroyed town.
This small town is about the same size as Goldsmith, with enough room for a population of four to five thousand, but now it is completely buried in snow, with no trace of human activity.
The originally tidy house has turned into ruins, with roofs collapsed, walls toppled, and only snow on the wooden beds where people should have been sleeping.
Leaven led the team around the edge of the town. Horse hooves trampled the snow, startling a group of crows.
"Karma——"
Hoarse screams echoed in the air.
Vlaf suddenly pointed to the side, his voice trembling: "Lord Baron, look!"
Raven looked in the direction of his finger, and his breathing suddenly became suffocated.
That's where the crow just stayed.
In the midst of the white snow, an altar stood quietly, a bloody altar.
It is not built with stone and wood, but with the flesh and blood of living people!
The corpses were pieced together, squeezed, frozen together, and stuck together to form a circular altar with a diameter of more than ten meters.
This altar was obviously carefully designed. The dead were head to head, feet to feet, and their hands were connected together. Each person's head was facing upwards, with fear on their twisted faces.
In the center of the altar, there is a young mother. She is naked, her abdomen has been cut open, and she is half-kneeling on the ground. Her hands are shaped into the image of being raised high. In her hands, there are still Dragging the body of a baby.
The baby's eyes have been pecked out by crows, his body is scarred, and his skin is shriveled and wrinkled, like an old man in his eighties or nineties.
"Lord Baron, this is the handiwork of the Hand of Death." Margaret's voice rang in Raven's heart: "The baby was made to look haggard, symbolizing the god of death they worship. According to legend, Danat, the god of death Si has the power of life and death, so he is both old and young at the same time. "
Lei Wen didn't say anything, but suddenly began to recite the incantation. After a few seconds, an orange fireball with a hint of blood flew out and landed on the altar with a loud noise. , the flames spread instantly and engulfed the entire altar.
Lux folded her hands on her chest and prayed quietly.
The soldiers also became solemn and solemn, and some spontaneously began to bow their heads in silence.
Because this place is so much like their hometown, they dare not imagine how they would feel if their hometown turned into this.
In the next few days, as he began to penetrate deeper into the war zone, Raven behaved more cautiously, which was reflected in his slower and slower marching speed.
The soldiers also became more vigilant.
This is not the bloody highlands, but the interior of the Nord province. If we march at full speed and go straight to the central city of Meng, it will only take two days.
But they never saw a living person.
Lei Wen finally realized intuitively what it means to have "white bones exposed in the wild, and no rooster crows for a thousand miles"!
During this period, the scouts led by Simon also discovered the remains of a battlefield.
The battlefield has been cleaned up. Except for scattered broken bones and broken blades, no corpses were seen. Judging from the traces, someone once burned corpses on a large scale here.
On the twenty-third day after setting off from the Eagle Territory, just as he was about to arrive in Harold County, Simon finally sent good news - he had discovered a huge camp that could accommodate at least 20,000 people. ; He also saw the banner of the House of Luke belonging to Viscount John.
Although he was excited, Raven still remained calm enough to let Simon go over with his invitation to take a breather, lest the other party regard him as a lackey of the Hand of Death.
When Raven made this request, Simon showed an embarrassed expression on his face, but he still followed the order.
After two hours of marching, when Raven arrived at the camp, he finally understood why Simon had that expression.
It’s such a mess!
It is more like a noisy market than a camp. The wooden fences on the outside are placed very randomly and are not aligned at all. They can be rushed away without any hindrance. The role of the enemy.
All kinds of tents are crowded together. Some of them did not stand up at all and collapsed. You can see what materials are piled inside. There is a forest not far away, so you just need to put them casually. A fire can make it impossible to save a person.
The soldiers standing at the gate of the camp could be said to have no vigilance. It was not until Raven on the war horse could clearly see the eye droppings in the corners of his eyes that he opened his eyes.
Seeing the battle flag behind Raven, the soldier immediately straightened up: "Baron, Lord Baron! Please come in!"
This is like sleeping in his own home, if he is his own soldier , Raven will definitely break the whip!
"Which noble is the person in charge here? Take me to see him."
......
(End of this chapter)