The remnant sun fell far behind him, dyeing the endless mountains in his field of vision with blood, and the earth that had been frozen for months had long since been devoid of grass, and the thin twilight could not hide the smell of gold and iron in the air.

On the low cliff, Pike, the young leader of the Seventh Legion, dressed in dark silver heavy armor, stood with a long sword in his hand, and the battle flags of the Holy Alliance's legions fluttered at his side, and the hunt sounded.

Pike let out a sigh of relief as he looked at the steeper mountains ahead, stacked like layers of barriers until the end of his vision, at the foot of the towering, distant frosty mountains dyed black and purple by the setting sun. The bitter cold wind howled in his face, and white vapor curled a pale frost on his griffin badge breastplate.

Ahead lies the area known as Thorn Ridge.

One step further, it was no longer the Lange Line where he should be stationed.

One step further would be a violation of the ban of the Council of War.

A shadow fell from the clouds.

It was a silver-feathered pigeon, which was caught by an adjutant beside him:

"According to the second reconnaissance team, the Rotten Fang Corps has an abnormal dispatch, which is the approximate troop map and fortification map. ”

Pike took it, glanced at it, and dropped it off the cliff.

"How many are these?" he asked coldly, his tone so solemn that Morin on the side shuddered, the amiable father in the young man's impression had never been so murderous as he was now.

"First, fifth, there are still a few squads that haven't sent back news," Pike's adjutant also froze, "According to this posture, I'm afraid that those corps also have abnormal scheduling." ”

"Withered hands, dead breath, ice blades, black flames, rotten fangs......" Pike said slowly, "If you count the remaining three in the east, will the eight unruly legions of the dead want to block our way......"

He snorted coldly, "I can't help but despise my griffon's shield." ”

The cold wind from the Frost Mountain Range was bitter, but when he heard this, beads of sweat still oozed from the adjutant's forehead, he lowered his head and said a little hurriedly: "Looking at their troop dispatch, it is just some flat terrain for the card master, I, we can take a slight detour and take advantage of the defense areas that the Lark Corps is responsible for, and we don't have to clash with the Dead Corps." ”

"There was no time. Pike denied:

"The four major legions are trapped, the Frost Fortress is in an emergency, no one knows if there will be other variables, we can't afford to delay. ”

He turned around, and there were tens of thousands of soldiers in full gear on the vast Gobi.

Mo Lin remembered that Daddy only planned to send thirty percent of his troops to the Frost Fortress, but after receiving an order from the War Council forbidding him to send troops, the request for transit passage in the Thorn Ridge Defense Area was rejected by several of the dead regiments, so Daddy decided to abandon the Lange Defense Line and personally lead his troops to support, and now it is estimated that nearly half of the strength of the Seventh Army has been arrayed on this Gobi.

In addition to the heavily armed warriors, the boy also saw a lot of support personnel and magical machines.

The terrain of the Frost Mountains is so high that even airships are difficult to shuttle on it, and even logistics personnel who are not capable of fighting may have to follow their combat duties all the way on the ground.

"I know that at least half of you had never been a soldier before this war, and that you were probably just an ordinary life professional, a mechanic, a pharmacist, or even a few who might not even be professionals, who had never been exposed to the sea of magic, but were just a farmer with a lot of strength. Pike spoke, his voice not loud, but it was heard by magic:

"Few of the remaining half have actually been to the front lines of the Four Frontiers to fight the chaos, you may be just ordinary city guards, you may be just a nobleman or a merchant guard, or maybe the most difficult enemy in half your life is just a drunken and wounded thug, and the battles of the past few weeks on the Lange Line are all you have. ”

"But you are all brave and fearless warriors," Pike said heavily.

"You joined the army when the border defense line collapsed, joined the bitter war, and after only a short period of training, you were assigned to our 7th Army to garrison the Lange Line. I know you're all determined to hold the Lange Line to the death, and you're all ready to bury your bones here. ”

"But now I must lead you out of this zone. He paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping over the slightly agitated formation.

"I will lead you to the Frost Keep. He said: "The conditions there are a hundred times worse than here, and the situation there is a hundred times more dangerous than here, and you may not understand this decision, but you can trust me, you must trust me." ”

"The situation has reached its most critical moment, and the consequences of the fall of the Frost Fortress are unimaginable, so I will take you there, and I will take you to defend the fortress. Pike raised his sword and pointed at the distant and towering mountains in the sky, and his high-pitched voice rang out over the four fields: "Compared to the Lange Line, there is a need for you, more for your shields and swords, for your fearless bodies, for your roars and roars." ”

"Now there is no one to replace you, you are the only hope for the Frost Fortress, the only hope for the entire southern defense, the fire of order in Todder is in our hands, we must defend it, we will fight to protect it. ”

Young Pike softened, and his tone sank again:

"If anyone dares to stand in our way, if someone tries to stop us from coming to the aid of the Frost Fortress, no matter what banner they are flying, no matter which power or country they belong to, with or without an order from the War Council, we will rush through. ”

"We will crush them and crush them. ”

"Crush their !!," the neat roar of tens of thousands of soldiers shook the earth.

"Let's go!"

Young Pike jumped off a low cliff and led his army out of Lange's defense.

"Whew......" Morin let out a sigh.

Watching the young and unruly Daddy Pike swing his sword to boost morale before leaving, the boy couldn't help but follow his enthusiasm, wishing that he could turn back time and make this image illusion real, so that he could draw his short sword and follow Daddy to fight.

But when the huge army gradually started, the young man who looked at the layers of mountains in the distance was a little worried.

Before watching this video, Morin had checked the information many times, not to mention that the towering frost mountain range on the edge of the sky could be seen on this low cliff, but in the middle was still a barren mountain range of thousands of miles and hundreds of ways, and the Thorn Ridge defense area was very large, even if it was a march along the smoothest road at the speed of a low-level warrior, it would take several days, not to mention the deliberate obstruction of several dead legions in the middle.

I don't know if my dad can lead the army to arrive in time.

Recalling the map of the area he had memorized in his mind, and finding it difficult to get any useful information from the intricate mountain maps, the boy couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic for Oran, who would have told him a lot if the captain of the griffon team had been watching the footage with him at this time.

This is the end of the video, and the scene begins to change.

……

Maureen found him coming to a frozen stream.

The sky had already darkened, and there was a moon hanging in the night sky, covering it with a thin layer of blood, which looked very ominous.

The army seems to be resting, at least the regiment that followed Daddy is.

Some soldiers were using mechanical cutting blades to cut large pieces of pale ice from the ice stream and put them in the ice bucket to make water, and Merlin knew that everyone would try to conserve as much magic as possible when fighting, and try not to use magic cards for any work that could be done with magic machines, especially on a rapid march like this, every mana of a low-level warrior had to be used just right, and every short break had to be used for meditation and recovery.

Otherwise, it will be difficult for the army to maintain the highest speed of rapid marching.

Young Pike didn't rest, he was talking to two regiment commanders with regimental insignia tattooed on their armor.

Under the light of the flickering light, Morin vaguely remembered these two tall corps commanders, they should be the two regiment commanders under the command of the previous general Nick when Dad first came to the Lange Line to change defenses, and General Nick formed two corps of soldiers who still had spare strength under his command when he changed defenses, and handed them over to the two of them to let them continue to guard the Lange Line.

But at the moment they are arguing with Pike, and Maureen notices that Daddy's face is very bad.

"General Pike, we all admire your command skills, and we have also seen the arrangement and dispatch of the Lange Line, but this time it is too reckless to send troops without authorization, and I am afraid it is not appropriate to act without the order of the War Council. Said one of the corps commanders.

"So what?" asked Pike coldly.

"I still think that we should go back to defend the Lange Line, even if we want to support the Frost Mountains, we shouldn't take our two corps with us, the soldiers have been fighting and killed in the Lange Defense Area for months, and only on that line can we play the greatest role. Another corps commander said.

"This is a matter that has been decided at the noon combat meeting, what do you mean by raising objections now, do you want to disobey military orders?" Pike's fierce gaze swept over the two big men: "Or is it because I didn't follow the instructions of the council, the two of you plan to take my military power and tie me back for credit?"

"Don't dare, but," said the corps commander with a blushing face.

"Nothing, but, what the First Ordinance of the Alliance Wartime says!" Pike reprimanded.

Both men were in their thirties and forties, much older than young Pike, but they bowed their heads and remained silent when they heard this.

"What does the First Ordinance say?!" Pike said in an extremely stern tone.

"Wartime...... Everything is subject to the orders of the immediate superior. The two corps commanders finally spit out a sentence for a long time.

"And who is your immediate supervisor now?"

Seeing that the two of them were silent again, Pike sneered: "General Nick has made great achievements, who would have thought that the hand-selected corps commander would actually look like this, since it is assigned to my legion, he can't even do the most basic orders and prohibitions?!"

The two corps commanders lowered their heads and gasped, but it was difficult to refute them anymore.

"Maybe you two legions are really more accustomed to the Lange Line, maybe the situation in the south is not critical in your eyes, maybe you think that the consequences of the loss of the Frost Fortress are not unbearable and not worth going to the council to support, or maybe you still don't trust the observations of my reconnaissance team and Mentor Sevis, but these are not reasons for you to disobey military orders!" Pike continued with a sigh of relief:

"Most of my subordinates are new recruits and lack combat experience, I will never put back your two veteran corps, as for the two of you, either continue to lead your corps to guard the Frost Fortress with me, or I will break up those two corps and mix them with other corps, you two will go back to the Lark Empire and let the recuperating General Nick give me an explanation. ”

"Seeing that you didn't question my decision in public when you set out in the evening, I'll spare you once. Pike stroked the hilt of his sword with his right hand.

"If you want to stay, you can discuss it at the operational meeting, but once I make a decision, I will continue to drag my feet like today, and I will be dealt with directly by military law. He said mercilessly: "Whether to go or stay, hurry up and decide!"

The two tall corps commanders glanced at each other and said bitterly, "We are willing to go to the Frost Fortress with the general." ”

Morin saw that the young father's face softened a little.

"We are already close to the defense area of the Withered Hand Corps, and we have seen the information from the reconnaissance team that the Dead Witch is planning to use all its strength to block our way, thinking that this will scare us......" Pike snorted coldly: "I don't care where the Dry Hand hides its base camp, you two Corps go and bring back the head of the Dead Witch for me to sacrifice the flag." ”

"Yes. ”

"Honorable Order. ”

The two corps commanders took the order and left.

Young Pike stared at the long queue in the night, his brow furrowed, and he didn't know what he was thinking. The young man could see from the slightly trembling corners of his eyebrows that Daddy's previous confidence was not as tough as he had shown, and he also knew that there must be more soldiers who were suspicious of Daddy's orders at this time, but they didn't show it.

After all, the majesty of the War Council is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and leaving their defense zone without permission will inevitably arouse dissent.

At this time, Daddy Pike was only twenty-five or sixteen years old, right? Being the commander of the army was not only an honor, but also a heavy responsibility, and he was not afraid of the majesty of the council to take the responsibility of leaving his post and taking the lead in attacking the League of the Dead, and insisted on reinforcing the Frost Fortress despite the opposition of his subordinates......

If you are yourself, you can't be as decisive as your father, and I'm afraid that if you can't even bear the pressure of decision-making, you will have to collapse, let alone command the battle......

The young man sincerely admired his unreliable father.

It's dark, and it's the next video.

……

"Wow!"

A sharp spear stood on the ground, the tip of the spear pointed at his chest, and Merlin was startled, and then remembered that this was just a visual illusion of the past. The firelight flickered, illuminating the scarred corpses and scarred blades that littered the land, most of which belonged to the dead, including a large number of skeletons and walking corpses, the largest number of First and Second Rank warriors of the dead.

It should be a battlefield, although the battle has ended at this moment, but the sound of fighting still comes from afar in the night.

The boy froze and saw young Daddy Pike again.

There was a blue raven on Daddy's dark silver shoulder armor, and Merlin recognized it as the three-ring psychic magic [Whispering Raven], which could connect the hearts of more than a dozen people, and the magic raven could transmit the words spoken by its master to the ears of all other connectors over a long distance, and the connection distance was affected by the strength of the caster.

This magic is often used in command of nearby battlefields.

At this moment, the blue magic raven was pecking at its feathers, because young Pike was not directing the battle in the distance, he was staring coldly at a corpse, or rather, a head, on the ground.

The boy recognized it as the head of a corpse witch.

Two dark green nameless fires burned in the hollow eye sockets, and the dried flesh wrapped tightly around the skull like a dead skin, and it was easy to confuse it with a normal skeleton if not looked closely.

But the Corpse Witch is by no means the kind of skeleton that is almost unconscious, they are born necromancers, darlings of all death magic, surrounded by dark magic from the moment they are awakened, and their status is extremely noble, belonging to the race of the seventh sequence of the dead, even higher than vampires and spider demons.

With enough materials and equipment, each adult corpse witch can summon and control countless skeletons and walking corpses, forming an army of their own. To celebrate their antiquity and nobility, they wear a unique crown made of mythril with their own sigil. It is said that the crown will possess a powerful magic power as it is impregnated with dark magic, and will gradually merge with the corpse witch as the years go by, and eventually become inseparable.

The head in front of young Papa Pike had a silver crown carved with a withered hand.

It was supposed to be the commander of the regiment called the Withered Hands Corps.

The Corpse Witch's vitality was extremely strong, and although there was only a lone head left in the withered hand lying on the ground at this time, the two soul fires in its eyes were still burning.

"How dare you take the lead in attacking us!" the shriveled mouth opened and closed, and a hoarse and angry voice sounded: "You are offending the majesty of the Sea of Eternal Sleep!

Pike sneered and didn't speak.

"Quack," probably feeling that the other party's heart was weak, he laughed proudly twice: "If you strike at the Alliance in the war against chaos, you will surely be punished most severely by the Council, and they will take your name and make you a disgraced person, wandering in the void forever, unable to rest in peace, never able to return to the moon god!"

"Since you are in such a hurry to return to the embrace of the moon god, then I will give you a ride. Pike said lightly.

He lifted his foot and stepped on the head of his withered hand.

The strength of a high-level warrior combined with the heavy armor immediately knocked the silver crown out of the crack.

"No!you don't dare to do this!!" Withered Hand screamed bitterly, "I am a Bone Noble! The oldest vein of Withered Hand inherited on the shores of the Dead Sea, you cannot destroy me!!You must send me back to the Dead Sea, and take your legion back to the Lange Line according to the ban of the Council, and I will ask the Councillor of the Dead to let you live in the parliamentary trial!!"

"Oh, you know about the council ban I received. Pike said to himself, "So it seems that the War Council is really not clean, and you regiments have come to stop me not only because I have trespassed into your defense area, but because of what orders you have received?"

"Whose order, and who is it in the council that is in cahoots with you?" he asked in a cold voice, adding a little more strength to his feet.

"I don't know what you're talking about! If you dare to enter our defense zone without a council order, of course we will be guarded by troops!!" The corpse witch screamed, "Despicable human!!Get out of your steel boots!!Don't you dare kill me!!"

"Huh," Pike chuckled, turning his head and asking his lieutenant, "how are the soldiers resting?"

"The rest is basically complete, and the wounded have been ......properly arranged," the adjutant on the side replied tremblingly.

"Good. Pike said.

Then he lifted his foot and stepped down heavily.

He trampled the head of his withered hand into pieces.

"Then let's go. ”