Chapter 454 Diffusion
When Duanmuhuai followed Qildi to the square, he could see dozens of bullock carts parked in the square, and there were many guys dressed like adventurers next to them.
"This is what we captured during our patrol today."
Qildi also reported to Duanmu Huai very seriously.
"Today we followed the patrol route and found a suspicious caravan deliberately taking the mountain path, so we stepped forward to investigate, and the other party attacked us. After defeating us, we interrogated and found out that they were slave traders and were being captured from Herman. Transport of slaves to other places”
"Well, good job."
Duanmu Huai nodded. The prohibition of slave trade is one of the doctrines of the Inquisition. Let’s not talk about the various harms that slave trade may bring. Even the slaves themselves may also bring potential threats. After all, you are not sure about these. Will slaves be brought to do hard labor, prostitutes, or sacrifices to some evil god.
Of course, based on the experience of the Tribunal, the latter account for the majority of demand. Whenever you travel among the stars and find slave transportation, if you follow the clues and look for them, you will most likely encounter one or several people who believe in evil gods. The Order…………
By the way, under the leadership of Duanmu Huai, Seth and Lisas have now classified the slave trade as illegal and began to arrest them on a large scale. In fact, this is normal. Seth currently needs to regain his strength, and of course he cannot allow his own citizens to be trafficked. And Lisas - well, even if Duanmu Huai asks Leah to give him the country, I am afraid the latter will not hesitate. of.
"Take a few leaders down to interrogate and check the buyer."
"Understood."
Duanmu Huai gave a casual instruction, and then came to the bullock cart. At this moment, the slaves had also got out of the cart. There were men and women among them, gathering together shivering, watching uneasily the soldiers and night guards around them.
This is normal. After all, he was captured and then brought here. In addition, he was surrounded by terrifying soldiers. It was not surprising that he would feel uneasy.
"Ah, Mr. Knight!"
Lorena, who was registering the refugees, saw Duanmuhuai appear and hurried over.
"How was it?"
"Yes, they are all slaves caught by slave traders in Hermann, and some children were even trafficked..."
Speaking of this, Lorena's expression didn't look good. After all, there was no such thing in the Holy City.
"Ask them about their plans. If you want to go home, you can leave. If you need travel expenses, you can share some money directly from the slave merchants - they won't need it anyway."
"Yes."
Lorena nodded, then turned back to the group of slaves and said a few words to them. Then she saw the slaves cheering excitedly, and many of them even hugged each other and cried. Then they bowed respectfully to Duanmu Huai and Lorena, then turned and left.
But it seems that not everyone yearns for freedom.
"Huh?"
Duanmuhuai saw not far away, a young girl and several little girls, standing there blankly. He frowned, then walked over.
"Dong...dong...dong..."
Hearing the footsteps, the girl turned around and saw Duanmuhuai. She turned pale with fright, her legs went weak, and she sat down directly on the ground. The little girls around her also hurriedly hid behind the girl, looking uneasily at the giant walking towards them.
Duanmuhuai was used to this kind of reaction. He walked up to the girl and stared at her.
"Why, aren't you going to leave?"
"This...I..."
Looking at Duanmu Huai, the girl's expression looked quite nervous. She lowered her head and her voice was as low as a mosquito's chirping.
"Speak."
Seeing the other person's timid appearance, Duanmu Huai frowned and scolded him. And when she heard Duanmuhuai's scolding, the girl trembled in fright.
"Yes, yes, I'm sorry...I...I don't know where I should go..."
Don't know where to go?
"Don't you have a place to go back to?"
“……………………”
The girl was silent for a moment and shook her head.
"Where are your relatives?"
“……………………”
The girl still didn't speak.
"This is a bit troublesome."
Looking at the girl in front of him, Duanmu Huai sighed helplessly, and at this time, Qildi gave some advice.
"In that case, how about integrating her into the logistics force for the time being?"
"Then it's settled."
Duanmu Huai didn't pay too much attention. The main task of the logistics force was to be responsible for chores such as laundry and cooking. Basically, anyone could do it. Since this girl has nowhere to go, it would be a good idea to simply send her to the logistics force. After making the decision, Duanmu Huai turned around and left, while the girl looked at Duanmu Huai's figure, a hint of uneasiness flashed in her eyes.
At the same time, the First Legion stronghold.
Standing on the city wall, looking at the scenery in the distance, General Kriolev of the First Army looked serious.
As a pure Hermannian soldier, Kriolev enjoyed a high reputation in the Hermannian army. He was tall and strong. Although he was past his prime, he still had an indescribable domineering attitude.
Although Hermann's First Army led by him was not the largest in number among Hermann's troops, it was the army with the most knights. And Hermann's First Army prides itself on being invincible.
But now…………
"My lord."
Adjutant Karl appeared behind Kriolev, and upon hearing his voice, Kriolev sighed.
"The commander-in-chief ordered me to lead the First Army, the Second Army, and the Fifth Army to suppress the rebellion."
"The goal is..."
"The Inquisition and the Fourth Legion."
In fact, this was expected. Kriolev had an unparalleled reputation in Hermann's army. If he had not been unwilling to collude with Prime Minister Stisser, Kriolev would have been the commander-in-chief. However, it is precisely because of Kriolev's upright character that the relationship between him and the Council headed by Stisser is extremely bad.
"I guessed it would be like this."
Upon hearing the chief's answer, Adjutant Carl sneered.
"You know?"
"Well, I heard that just recently, several more escorts defected."
"………………"
Kriolev remained silent and did not speak. In fact, there has always been no shortage of loyal people within Herman. They couldn't tolerate Stisser's overwhelming power and even tried to assassinate him several times. However, because Stisser had an extremely powerful steel monster as a guard, these assassinations ultimately failed.
But this does not mean that those soldiers gave up. Therefore, when the Fourth Army rebelled and even launched the banner of "Qingjun Side", many soldiers and troops who were originally loyal to the royal family but were suppressed by Stisse fled the royal city directly. He defected to the Fourth Army.
In fact, within the First Army, the generals have discussed similar issues several times. In the past, their unwillingness to rebel was due to their loyalty to the royal family. But now, the Fourth Army's slogan of "clearing the emperor's side" has also opened a window for them.
There is actually such an operation!
That's right, we are not betraying the country, we are trying to clear up the emperor and punish the sycophants!
The generals below also wrote more than once, asking Kriolev to learn from the Fourth Army and directly enter the royal city, kill the sycophants, and assist the emperor, but Kriolev refused.
And now…………
"Obviously, the council wants us to die."
The strength of the Fourth Army is not something to be afraid of, but the strength of the Inquisition has become very clear to everyone after these long investigations. Not to mention anything else, they didn't have any methods or means just for the mechanical giant that was taller than the mountain. Although the First Army, Second Army and Fifth Army combined had a large number of people, Kriolev still had no idea how to deal with that kind of mechanical giant.
Now for the Council, the First Army is the least trustworthy. They are even afraid that the First Army will rebel like the Fourth Army, so they simply send the First Army out to attack the Tribunal to avoid causing damage to the royal city. threaten.
"Are we really going to move out?"
"Of course."
Faced with the adjutant's question, Kriolev nodded.
"According to the commander-in-chief's order, the First Army will mobilize 40,000 people, the Second Army will mobilize 50,000 people, and the entire Fifth Army will mobilize a total of 100,000 people. To form a joint operation, it is necessary to combine the Tribunal and the Fourth Army The legions are blocking the royal city.”
Stretching out his hand and pointing forward, Kriolev said calmly. He could also understand why the council was so crazy. At present, the Tribunal and the Fourth Army have occupied Guzak. Going northwest from here is the fortress of Bonn and the royal capital of Guland. In other words, once the Bonn Fortress is broken through and the city of Guland is occupied, then the Tribunal and The fourth legion came directly to the royal city.
Although logically speaking, according to intelligence, there are currently only 20,000 people in the Fourth Army, and the total number of troops on the Tribunal seems to be less than 1,000. But the problem is that the mechanical giants of the Tribunal are too terrifying. If they can't be stopped, they might really kill them directly into the royal city in one go.
"Does the council think that the other party will make a quick decision?"
"Probably so. After all, the total number of opponents is less than 30,000. In addition, they have strong fire support from the Tribunal. In this case, instead of taking a steady and steady attack, a direct assault on the royal city is the most effective method. . On this point, I also agree with the Commander-in-Chief’s conjecture. Therefore, we must fight against the Fourth Legion and the Inquisition head-on!”
Speaking of this, Kriolev clenched his fists.
Then he looked towards the horizon again, then turned around and walked into the fortress without looking back.
"………………"
Looking at his commander's back, Adjutant Karl sighed silently.
As an adjutant, he could only make suggestions, and it was Kriolev himself who made the decision.
And he made a decision... Then, the actions of the First Army were about to begin.
(End of chapter)