The remnant sun hangs obliquely.

The afterglow of the setting sun, like blood, dyed the white clouds in the sky the color of blood.

The red that covered half of the sky was so shocking to watch. It was as if in the next moment, a bright red rain of blood was going to fall in the sky.

On the city wall, on the side of the wall, and on the ground under the city wall, it was also covered with bright and thick red. Even if it suddenly rains in the sky, it may not be able to wash away the red in the eyes.

But these various shades of red, flowing or solidifying, have nothing to do with the sunset in the sky.

This is real blood, which is blood that comes out of a living human body. But its owner, at the moment, may not still be a living person.

The offensive and defensive battle at Huaishui Pass has been going on for almost half an hour.

The shouts of killing on the city wall, the soldiers who crawled along the ladder, and the follow-up soldiers who joined the battle scene kept pouring in inside and outside the city wall......

All this constitutes a cruel, poignant but spectacular picture.

On a raised earth wave not far in front of Huaishui Pass, a Riga Imperial general silently watched the battlefield in front of him and slowly waved his hand.

The flag bearer standing behind him waved the huge flag in his hand vigorously.

At the same time, the sound of beating gongs and drums instantly sounded, and it reached the ears of the Riga soldiers who were shouting and fighting on the Xiongguan.

Mingjin withdraws his troops.

The warriors who had made it to the city walls with great difficulty, struggled to break free from the entanglement of enemies who were several times their size, and quickly slid down the city from the ladder that had been placed on the city walls.

The soldiers, who were still under the castle and were about to climb up, raised their shields to resist the arrows shot at their heads, and slowly retreated.

Just as they were about to support the troops who had come forward, they turned around on the spot, walked in a neat pace, and returned to the commander's flag.

The siege forces of the Riga Empire retreated like a tide, and in the blink of an eye, they were all out of the battle.

The soldiers of the Glorious Empire, having lost their opponents, immediately stood on the ground with their swords, or simply lay on the ground, gasping for breath.

Grand Duke Mattesias glanced at the performance of his generals, Su frowned slightly, and shouted loudly:

"Valliant soldiers! The Riga Empire is famous, conquering the south and the north, and destroying countless countries. In addition, General Dinuo, who was ranked second among the six famous generals, personally led the command and came to attack our Huaishui Pass. But what is the result? Didn't you be defeated by us and run away with your tail between your legs? Soldiers, I am proud of you, and so will His Majesty the King and the glorious Empire! ”

"Long live the glorious empire! Long live His Majesty the King! Long live the Grand Duke! ”

The soldiers raised their arms and shouted with great excitement and responded enthusiastically. The exhaustion and pain in his body seemed to be all gone at this moment.

The Grand Duke's eyes narrowed slightly, staring intently at a short, unsightly man on the small dirt slope in the opposing camp.

The short man tilted his head slightly, his sharp gaze piercing the boundaries of distance and colliding with the Grand Duke's gaze.

After a long time, a grim smile tugged at the corner of the short man's mouth, and he was the first to withdraw his gaze.

There is no point in this "fight". The number of victories and defeats still has to be snatched back from the real battlefield.

"Collect the troops, go back to the camp!"

Grand Duke Mattesias also withdrew his gaze and walked down the tower reflexively.

It's just that the look on his face has become a little gloomy.

There is no need to wait for the staff to compile and sort out the post-war report, and with the old and spicy vision cultivated in his years of military career, the Grand Duke can already roughly estimate the battle loss ratio between the enemy and us in this battle.

Close to a 1:1 casualty ratio!

The Brilliant Empire had a slight advantage.

If it were to be fought head-to-head in the field, this result would be enough to make Grand Duke Mattsias ecstatic.

But this is a siege war.

The besieging side must first rush through a death zone baptized by a rain of arrows before they can reach the bottom of the city. Set up a ladder, or throw a rope hook and climb it with all your might. If the ladder is pushed and the rope is cut, they will be ruined and they will fall to their death under the city wall.

After going through a lot of hardships, they finally climbed up the tower and stood in front of the enemy. What awaits them is still not a fair war. Because they have to face a defender who is several times or even dozens of times their size. Before they could gain a foothold, they would be slashed down by the swords of the swarming defenders and thrown outside the walls.

According to past examples, the ratio of battle losses between two armies with the same level of strength, equipment, and command is generally about 3:1.

But the battle just now was close to 1:1.

Even if you are mentally prepared before the start of the battle, it is expected that the process of fighting will be extremely difficult. Because the soldiers of the glorious empire are indeed not as experienced as the enemy. The military quality of the soldiers is also far lower than the average level of the other side. In addition, for the sake of the future development of the war, one-third of the soldiers guarding the front line of the castle tower are newly recruited, hoping that they can grow up from the cruel actual combat as soon as possible.

But Grand Duke Mattesias still didn't expect that the first battle of the opening of the war would have such a result.

This was only the first battle, and the battle lasted less than half an hour.

Moreover, of the five phalanxes under the front of the enemy's formation, only one was dispatched. It was clear that the unassuming General Dino had only made a tentative attack.

Fortunately, it was getting late at this time, and General Dino led the army to attack Huaishui Pass for the first time, and he had not yet figured out the situation here, so he could not risk attacking the city in the dark as soon as he came up. If he dares to put all his troops under pressure and launch a strong attack, whether this Xiongguan can be held or not depends on two questions.

Grand Duke Mattesias saw the soldiers fall to the ground and gasp for breath as the enemy retreated.

As the defender of the city, it should have been very advantageous in terms of consumption. But judging by the behavior of the two sides when they disengaged, the soldiers of the glorious empire were more tired than the enemy.

The difference in the quality of the soldiers, and even the backwardness of the overall military strength, is really not something that can be compensated for by a momentary cheer up and hard work.

Grand Duke Mattesias sighed in his heart.

Even in terms of tactical command, he was not afraid of General Dino, who also had a great reputation on the Ostrum continent. And this steel fortress, which has poured countless efforts into the Grand Duke's efforts to defend against the invasion of the Riga Empire, has added great confidence to him. But in other respects, the Grand Duke could not believe in victory.

In this battle, there is only death!

Grand Duke Mattesias secretly clenched his fists and strode forward with a firm step.

……

At the same time, the province of Aberdeen, located on the westernmost tip of the continent of Os, separated from the province of Edinburgh, also welcomed its guests.

Facing the afterglow of the setting sun and braving the whistling north wind, a team of less than thirty people walked slowly, looking so thin.