The second day, the battlefield on the heights, noon, sunny.

The Imperial Army marches to camp.

Although according to the requirements of Brandon de Salion and the Imperial Council of the Heavenly Dome, troops from all over the country were stationed separately in East and West Sackland on both sides of the Gem River to reduce the logistical pressure, and the commanders of the major dukes and legions were only allowed to lead a smaller army to come, but the strength of the blockade line on the highland battlefield still reached a terrible 150,000.

What is the concept of the barracks of the 150,000 legions - if you spread it out, it is already almost the area of two or three red blood forts!

To describe it more accurately, it is a moving city, with 150,000 inhabitants all fully armed, armed and full of murderous and murdered men.

Stretching for miles on the plains of West Sackland, there are small plateaus around the banks of the Jewel River, which are densely packed with large army camps like stars in the sky: Sackland, Byrne, Ellemont, Arles, Poy... In addition to Lothair, you can even see the nine-pointed star of Eberden in the vast sea of flags.

The swallow-tailed Knights of Byrne, the casters and alchemists of the Nine-Pointed Star Wizard Tower in their robes, the swaggering Boi Hussars, the awe-inspiring Saklans of the Army, the murderous Elemont two-handed swordsmen, and the fleshy Arles troll hunters......

Like the banner of a sea of flowers, the army gathered here, the military camp that covered the terrain line, and the logistics baggage team mobilized from the imperial capital in order to maintain this super-large military camp, almost twice as much... All for one purpose.

"Scare the bunnies to death!" - that's what Brandon de Salion said.

In the middle of the army camp and the highland battlefield, a black and gold lion battle flag hunted in the middle of the ruined battlefield.

"It seems that the Azorean elves have really decided to take our advice. ”

Outside the barracks, looking at the Azorean elven warriors gathered on the high ground in the distance, the Grand Duke of Elems breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's a different plan than I had at the beginning, but it's a good thing to end the fight as soon as possible in this way. ”

"Our decision?"

Almost as soon as Yuri Wirtz's words fell, a slightly defiant voice sounded.

The Grand Duke of Ellemont frowned slightly, and turned his head to look at the source of the voice—Nolan Ode, who had a somewhat hideous smile on his lips, was also staring at him.

"Your Excellency Grand Duke of Arles, what are you hinting at?"

"Hint? no, no, no... Archduke Elleman, you are so gracious. Nolan Ode shook his head and smiled disgustingly, "My words are what I mean, nothing else." ”

"It was the Duke of Byrne's decision to fight the Azorean elves in the highlands, and the messengers sent were the Duke of Byrne's escorts, and it was Byrne's army and the Duke of Byrne himself that were confronted... So, how can this be called a decision for all of us?"

"Didn't Duke Byrne make his own decision, bypassing our group of Grand Dukes who were his equals and His Highness Brandon?"

"Oh... Or should we call him the 'Guardian of Golovin' now?" the Grand Duke of Arles chuckled.

Listening to the other party's undisguised cynicism, Yuli Wirtz, who didn't say a word, had a solemn expression to the extreme.

"Your Excellency the Grand Duke of Ellemont, I know that you and Duke Byrne have fought side by side on this battlefield, and I believe in your loyalty to your friends and the Empire, but ......" Nolan Ode licked his chapped lips, as if to reflect on something:

"Before coming to the imperial capital, I had just killed my uncle with my own hands. ”

"I love him, he is my very important family, he raised me and personally raised me to the position of duke, helped me kill many traitors, but... He had ambitions that he shouldn't have. ”

"No, I should say that he had already had this idea in the years when he raised me—to prop me up, and then take my title and inheritance after my accident, all planned... I have waited for so many years, just to blossom and bear fruit at this moment. ”

"So I killed him, and killed his family according to the ancient tradition of Arles;"

"I... Skinned him with his own hands.

Staring at Yuri Wirtz's extremely difficult expression, Nolan Ode smiled happily: "But in Arles... This is what happens to careerists who have ideas they don't have, and who get status, prestige, and power that they don't deserve, and I don't know how to deal with ......them in the rest of the Empire."

"Beheaded!"

A cheerful voice came from behind the two.

"If memory serves, the Byrnes love to be beheaded, the Boi love to be buried in the sky, the Elemands throw the most heinous bastards into the mountains, the Lothair is a thousand arrows through the heart, and the Sakran love to be burned at the stake... Oh, and while I don't know what the Eboden hobby is, it is rumored to be the dismemberment of living people. ”

With a cheerful tone, Brandon walked to the center with a smile on his face, tilting his head to look at Nolan Ode: "In other parts of the empire, that's how traitors are dealt with. ”

"Especially those traitors who disobey orders, disobey the yang and the yin, and break their oaths!"

The two Grand Dukes had different faces and bowed to His Royal Highness the "Shameless Prince".

"Oh, by the way, what were you talking about, you look so elated?" asked Brandon, who looked curious, as if he hadn't heard a word of what had just been said.

Yuli Wirtz, who twitched the corners of his mouth, kept a straight face and refused to say a word.

For this "playful" His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the fourteenth generation emperor of the empire who is about to succeed him, he really can't accept it.

But Nolan Ode was cold, as if he was not the one who was slandered in the back just now: "It's nothing, we're just discussing how today's agreed showdown will end." ”

"As we all know, Byrne is the home of knights, and the army of the Azorean elves is dominated by the agile and well-coordinated 'samurai' who wear light armor and wield long swords, and the samurai who trample on the ground. ”

Before Nolan Ode's words fell, he found that Brandon, who was still very "curious" just now, suddenly became a little strange: "What's the matter, Your Highness......?

"No, you're mistaken. Brandon waved his hand, his expression a little strange: "I mean, if what you want to see in today's fight is a duel between knights and samurai, you... May be disappointed. ”

"Huh?"

Nolan Ode instinctively turned his gaze to the Byrne Knight in the distance, who was still hunting in the middle of the battlefield, and there was a hint of surprise in his eyes.

And at this moment, he was not the only one who was stunned.

"It's a... What's that?"

Looking at the spear-like weapon in his hand, Carl Colin's expression was inexplicable.

The main body of the whole "spear" is composed of a brass metal tube nearly two meters long, with simple ancient runes engraved on the frosted surface, a simple wooden tray and card slot on the tail and below, and three fluorite stone flakes in the shape of a round cake can be seen in the metal tube, which are intertwined in series.

As for peripherals... In addition to the "spear" in his hand, the attendant standing on the side also held a zither-shaped shield with a card slot in his hand, which was used as a bracket for the "spear" in his hand.

In other words, this "spear" does not have to be used by two people?

"Hmm... It's a projectile weapon, what's the name... Tentatively, it's called 'Kyauk-Spear No. 1', and you can think of it as a heavy crossbow powered by the power of the Void. Under the black background gold lion battle flag, Loren, who couldn't help but laugh, explained to the witcher in front of him.

Because he didn't expect that the little wizard and Isaac would finish it so quickly!

"Oh, powered by the power of the Void?" Carl Colin's eyes lit up: "So, this weapon is very powerful?!"

"Well, it's not very strong, it's about the same as a more powerful crossbow bolt... There is no problem shooting through chain mail, but plate armor is more difficult. ”

"Na... It has a long range?"

"The ultimate range of the test is 150 meters, but the actual effective power is only within 50 to 100 meters, and if you are 50 meters away... It's hard to get it right. ”

"Oh, is the rate of fire fast?"

"It's faster than a normal heavy crossbow, but not much faster... Better than nothing. ”

“......”

At the end of the three questions, Carl Colin's expression was like a cold water poured on the head.

"Then why did you go to great lengths to make it up and call me here?" the witcher had an inexplicable expression on his face, "Why don't you just equip yourself with more heavy crossbowmen when you spent money to get this weapon?"

What is the difference between the two, and no matter how heavy the bow and crossbow is, it is enough for one person, and this broken "spear" can only be used by two people.

"There are many reasons for this, such as the cost of this weapon is cheaper than the heavy crossbow, for example, the use of the heavy crossbow requires a lot of physical strength, and it only needs to be fired with the switch flicked, for example, it does not need to consider the weather... And so on and so forth. ”

Speaking of this, Loren Turin couldn't help but think of what Harlem Van Ashamai said to himself during the defense of the Thousand Hordes many years ago.

"One day, we will have these weapons in the hands of the soldiers, stand three hundred paces away and instantly fire dozens or hundreds of crossbow arrows that can pierce armor;"

"This weapon will eventually turn the sword into a dispensable, the delicate armor into an ornament, and all wars into a cruel contest between three hundred paces to see who can kill each other faster;"

"Crumple glory into waste paper, make war rigid and rigid, turn the courage of all soldiers into a joke three hundred paces away, and calm killing will replace bloody hand-to-hand combat;"

"Finally destroy all the beautiful illusions and decorations, and let the war reveal its truest cruelty. ”

Looking at Carl Colin with a stunned and skeptical expression, the black-haired wizard smiled: "Of course these are not the most important, the most important thing is... I promised you. ”

"Promised?"

"That's right, you once said that if I think you should keep fighting, and keep fighting, you won't stop carrying out every mission I give you. ”

Looking at the metal prosthetic leg on the other party's body, the black-haired wizard said lightly: "This... That's the task I gave you. ”

"Karl Colin, Witcher, I now officially authorize you to take command of my new guard. ”

"You will be the first army in the history of the Empire to be armed entirely with Void weapons. ”

"As for your names......" remembered how the little wizard looked when he told him, and the black-haired wizard couldn't help but want to laugh out loud:

"Tentatively, it's the 'Shooting Army'. ”

"Shooting ......"

The moment he heard the name, Carl Colin couldn't help but clench the "Bright Light Spear" in his hand and whispered.

"You tell me you want me to give you a reason to die. Loren looked at him seriously: "This is what I gave you, the reason to die." ”

"Carl Colin, more than half of my men are knights who stick to dogma and tradition, and half are ordinary people who don't know anything about military affairs - to make a change, I need someone who is not afraid of death and does not care about tradition. ”

"So I give you this task, just as I gave the Wings of the Sky to Luthen. ”

Carl Colin didn't speak, and the silence remained.

Clutching the "Bright Light Spear" in his hand, he raised his head and looked at Loren Turin with a solemn expression.

"I see... If this is your order, then I will take it - to become the commander of the shooting corps, so that you can make them really shine in this battle. ”

As the words fell, Carl Colin raised the "Bright Light Spear" and knelt down on one knee.

From the day you stepped into Ruth Infinit's room, what exactly have you been looking for?

Revenge, status, reputation, power?

Neither... I am an ordinary mortal, of course I care about this, but this is not what I am pursuing.

What I am looking for is a meaningful reason to die, to know the cause and the cause.

In that case, why refuse?

"Woo————————————————!!!!"

The sound of an eagle's horn sounded from the distant highlands, echoing across the battlefield, causing the witcher and the black-haired wizard to look back at the same time, in the direction of the source of the sound.

"It's time. ”

Desperately pressing the heartbeat that was about to burst out of his chest, Anson Zade, who was forced to compose, clenched the Azorean elf battle flag, his eyes staring at the Byrne battle flag on the battlefield in the distance, and ......

And the one who stood under the flag... Golden Lion.

"Sister-sama. ”

"Yes. ”

The blindfolded elf girl, who was as calm as water, slowly raised the ancient knife in her hand, and held the handle of the knife tightly with her right hand;

She was greeted by the sound of blades unsheathed in the high ground, shining like fish scales in the sun.

"Today—"

With an almost hoarse voice, the elf boy roared loudly:

"Our Azorean elven warriors—"

"Fulfill the agreement—"

"With Duke Byrne—"

"Die, fight, to, end——!"