Chapter 598 Desperate Situation
Cullen hadn't slept for two days, and he hadn't had much rest before that.
Eighteen days have passed since they were trapped, and there is still no hope of a breakout, and as time goes by, the situation will only get worse.
Due to the lack of necessary survival supplies, the knights had no choice but to kill their beloved horses to feed themselves. However, compared to the huge number of people in the army, this bit of horse meat could only be said to be a drop in the bucket.
What's even more terrible is that there is no water source in this valley. The soldiers of the empire relied on hard digging and dug two wells.
Since they didn't have the right tools, they could only dig with their hands and their own swords... After digging through countless swords, they found some groundwater.
But spreading it horizontally on everyone's head is just to moisten their throats. After so many days, everyone's body and spirit have reached their limits.
Starting yesterday, the army began to experience large-scale attrition, with nearly 2,000 men lost in just two days.
In addition to the more than 2,000 people who died in the previous battle, Cullen only had less than 6,000 people left in his hands.
I don’t know how many of these 6,000 people will be able to see the sun tomorrow.
Thinking of this, Cullen's body was obviously very tired, but he didn't feel sleepy at all.
He got up from the blanket, put on some clothes and walked out of the tent.
The valley is very quiet at night, with fallen leaves covering the mountain stream, making a rustling sound when your boots step on them.
The head of the Figuerola family recalled that when he was a child, he sneaked away to play in Lake City without telling his father, and he once passed through a small valley.
Moreover, he was not very lucky that day and encountered a group of robbers.
At that time, Cullen was only sixteen years old, and there was only one attendant around his age.
The entourage begged Cullen to escape, saying that he would risk his life to hold off the robbers and buy Cullen time.
But Cullen rejected his suggestion, pulled out the sword from his waist, and chose to fight side by side with the entourage, facing the five robbers in front of him.
Cullen told his followers at the time, "It was my decision to sneak away from Yanxue City. You tried to dissuade me but I didn't listen, so I can't leave you and run away now and let you bear the responsibility for the mistakes I made."
In the end, Cullen and his entourage defeated the robbers who were more numerous than them. It was also the first time in Cullen's life that he killed someone. The deceased was a drunken red-faced man.
Thinking of the past events, the head of the Figuerola family was slightly distracted. It was not until the guard outside the tent called him, "Your Majesty the Marquis." Cullen came back to his senses.
He glanced at the guard who saluted him. He was a very young guard. Cullen remembered that his name seemed to be Asuo. He came from a small noble family with no territory. He had been his guard for less than three years.
Asso is very good at swordsmanship and riding, and is very loyal to the Figuerola family.
Cullen was optimistic that he could become a knight in the future, and he took him on this expedition in the hope that he could accumulate some military merit.
But now Cullen noticed that although Asuo still stood upright, his body was very weak. He had lost a lot of weight and his eye sockets were sunken.
Cullen reached out, patted Asuo on the shoulder, and asked, "How are you doing? Are there any movements from those dwarves tonight?"
The young guard shook his head, "Same as the previous days, there are only a few guys sneaking around behind the rock wall and looking this way."
After a pause, he added, "My Lord Marquis, let's send a few more people to break out. It's getting darker now."
Cullen shook his head, "It's useless. Those dwarves have already formed an alliance with the savage tribes in the mountains. No one is more familiar with this mountain than those savages. Sending people to break out will only lead to death in vain."
Asuo clenched his fists, with a very angry look on his face.
"Those guys, the envoys they sent to the royal capital not long ago just said that they hope to live in peace with us, how can they be so treacherous."
Cullen doesn't think this is anything. Although there has always been a saying on the Bratis continent that oaths are more important than gold, for countries, only interests are eternal.
Just like those savage tribes, they have been fighting with the dwarves on the other side of the mountain for thousands of years. The two sides have already had a bloody feud, but as long as the benefits are sufficient, they can put aside their past feud and become temporary allies.
Not to mention that Edward II also made harsh words before his death, saying that he would help his two neighbors to bring order to order.
But Cullen didn't intend to say these words to Asuo, and the latter didn't need to know so much.
The head of the Figuerola family said to the young guard, "Go and find Sir Judit and Ilkand of the Emmanuel family."
Not long after Asuo left, he brought the two of them to Cullen.
It seems that Ilkander didn't sleep well tonight. He didn't even take off his armor. In his words, I don't want to be beheaded in my sleep. If I really want to die, then I will die fighting too!
As for Judith, the head of the Malir family, he had completely lost his fighting spirit at this moment, his eyes were dull, his face was pale, and he looked like he was lost.
Cullen frowned and said, "Judit, wake up, I have something important to give to you."
Judit looked blank, as if he didn't hear anything.
Ilkand snorted coldly, went up and grabbed Judith by the collar, and slapped the latter in the face.
Judit was knocked around half a circle by his palm, and finally no longer looked like a piece of wood. When he saw his attacker clearly, Judit became furious.
"Boy, why are you crazy? Even if your father Theodosius is here, he would not dare to be so disrespectful to me. Is the Emmanuel family planning to go to war with the Mariel family?"
Hearing this, Ilkander curled his lips in disdain, "How long has it been since then and you still want to use your identity to suppress me? Everyone is going to die anyway, I don't care who you are."
Judith couldn't help but feel a little discouraged by what he said.
Yes, everyone is going to die, so what's the point of worrying about it at this time.
But Yudit thought of something next, with a hint of hope in his eyes, and said to Cullen.
"Lord Marquis, let's... surrender. There are too many enemies, and they have already occupied favorable terrain. They don't even have to do anything. They just need to push down the rocks on the top of the mountain. Not many of us can survive."< br>
As he spoke, he glanced at Ilkand beside him, worried that the grumpy young man would attack him again.
The main reason is that now is different from when I was outside. The title and status in the family are useless, and the beatings are in vain.
But this time Ilkander said nothing and just stood there quietly.
And his reaction actually illustrates his attitude. It's not that he is greedy for life and afraid of death. The main reason is that they really have no chance of winning. If they continue to resist, they will only die in vain.
Cullen actually knew what the two of them were thinking.
He was not disappointed, because Judith was right, this was already an impossible battle to win.
But he did not agree to Yudit's suggestion of surrender, but asked instead.
"As you said, those dwarves can kill us at any time, so do you know why they haven't done it yet?" (End of Chapter)