Chapter 182 Pocket Encounter (1)
Year 648 of the Demon King's Calendar.
Late June, morning.
In the summer, it rains constantly on the south side of the Spine of the World Mountains. The abundant water vapor gathers into raindrops and falls from the sky, flowing into small streams along the ravines of rocks and hillsides.
A team of about 400 people were riding horses on the slippery land. They were carrying the flag of the Demon Kingdom of Avarus and the coat of arms of the Count of Fran. The battle flags that would have been raised high in the past were now. Listless, just like these people.
Rain seeped in through the gaps in the cavalry's armor. Many of them had already been drenched, and the blood stains on the bandages that should have dried were dizzy again.
The rain not only consumed the physical strength, but also seemed to consume everyone's will. They didn't know where to go, but they just followed Count Fran at the front of the team in a daze. He was the only backbone of these people.
But Count Fran was also very confused at this time. In addition to knowing that he couldn't stop, he also didn't know where to go.
Earl Fran and Earl Leon are two completely different people. He is a noble, but he never bullies others. He believes that the reason why nobles are noble is because they have to bear more obligations, rather than simply being able to exercise more rights. .
His territory is in the upper reaches of the Solharn River that flows into the sea along the side of the Spine of the World Mountains. It is the closest cargo transfer station to the City of Departure.
Although the territory is called Flandland, everyone actually prefers to call it Half-Moon Fort, because the fortress is built in a half-moon-shaped mountain depression, with towering mountain walls that cannot be climbed on three sides. As long as a city wall is built in front, it will be a natural fortress.
The goods coming and going from Sailing City brought a lot of wealth to Half-Moon Castle, and Earl Fran used most of the wealth on the construction of people's livelihood. The lives of the local civilians were very prosperous, and Earl Fran was also quite popular.
Since the territory is on an important shipping route, there are many troops stationed in the territory responsible for dealing with bandits. Including Count Fran's own private soldiers, the total number is five to six thousand.
These soldiers are definitely at the bottom of the list among the many lords of the Demon Kingdom of Avarus, but Count Fran's reputation and loyalty are among the top.
He is an ideal nobleman, polite and polite, and never evades or shirks his responsibilities. He loves his country, is loyal to the royal family, and at the same time cares about the common people. He is a well-known good nobleman.
But this good nobleman doesn't seem to be very good at fighting.
He is one of those characters in strategy games whose internal affairs attributes are as high as 70 or 80, but whose military attributes are probably not even 30 or 40.
News came that the capital had been captured by the four-nation coalition. Faced with such emergencies, Count Fran used his superb domestic affairs skills as always.
Immediately organize everyone in the territory to prepare to stand firm, and release a large number of scouts to try to detect intelligence.
The reason why soldiers were not immediately organized to help was because the feudal nobles were not allowed to leave the territory at will, let alone lead troops to the capital. This was a tendency to rebel.
In other words, Count Fran initially believed that the capture of the capital was purely false information released by the enemy, and he did not believe it from the bottom of his heart.
But the result obviously has nothing to do with whether he believes it or not.
After the Allied Forces of the Four Nations captured the capital, they immediately began to march toward other noble fiefdoms in the Demon Kingdom of Avarus. Count Fran was shocked and mentally prepared to die in battle.
Then fate played another trick on him.
One of the four-nation coalition forces, the Subia Demon Kingdom Army, also known as the Tiger of the Kingdom, came in front of his territory and turned around to attack Qihang City as if ignoring it. He didn't care about Fran at all. count.
This is also understandable. Qihang City is the largest fortress city in the North, and it is also an important naval port. Once it is captured, it will basically paralyze the maritime power of the Demon Kingdom of Avarus, and it will also control the North. On the other hand, Flemish Land does not have much strategic value, and if you attack it, you have to face the Half-Moon Fort, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack. It is really not worth the loss. Therefore, the four-nation coalition's attitude towards Flemish Land is to block and ignore it.
The biggest insult is not to point your nose in and scold you, but to treat you like you don't exist.
Fortunately, Count Fran, who was frightened and angry, did not lose his mind. He calmly judged the enemy's movements based on limited intelligence, and personally led his cavalry to harass the logistics supply line of the Subian Demon Kingdom's army.
On the one hand, this can help Qihang City reduce the pressure, and on the other hand, Count Fran can also re-establish contact with Qihang City.
The second point is very important.
Soon after the news of the fall of the capital came, the connection between Flandland and the surrounding territories was almost severed, and only some gossips came occasionally.
He didn't know if the surrounding lords were still resisting or had surrendered. This loneliness made him unbearable.
For now, Count Fran has done a pretty good job. The surprise attack on the transportation supply line has indeed caused some trouble to the Subia Demon Kingdom army.
But you have to understand that the nickname "Tiger of the Kingdom" is really not a joke.
As usual, he led his troops out to raid supplies, but as expected, Count Fran was ambushed.
What's even more frightening is that even though I and my soldiers are familiar with the terrain here, every time I find a way out, I'm blocked by enemy troops. I feel like I'm jumping in the palm of the tiger of the kingdom, no matter where I go. , will be predicted.
Earl Fran had led his troops to flee for two days and two nights. He only rested for a few hours at a farm he encountered on the way. The physical strength of both man and horse had almost reached its limit.
What chilled him even more was the look in the eyes of the common people on the farm.
The fear when he saw Earl Fran, and the relief when they left, were like a sharp sword that pierced Earl Fran's heart.
The population has come to accept the invaders and fear that their own country's military will cause them trouble.
The country he loved was shattered, the king and prince he was loyal to were killed in battle, the princess was missing, and even the people began to abandon him.
Earl Fran hammered his armor hard. He wanted to roar loudly to vent his emotions, but he couldn't. The soldiers behind him were still watching. They followed the lords they were loyal to, just like Earl Fran was loyal to the royal family. Same.
He couldn't let the soldiers down.
He looked up at the sky, and saw raindrops sliding down the edge of his helmet and hitting his face. He couldn't tell whether it was rain or tears.
Count Fran has worked very hard, and he has exhausted all his talents, but he is as defenseless as a fragile baby facing the torrent of the times.
Why?
Why is all this happening?
No one will give him an answer. The answer to this question is like hazy water vapor covering the road ahead. He cannot see clearly or understand it.
He seemed to have had a premonition that this area might be the place of his death.
The heavy rain is still falling, not only taking away too much physical strength, but also extinguishing the flame in Count Fran's heart little by little...
(End of chapter)