"That's it, we've got to fuck off?"

In the ruins of Broken Mountain, the Byrne knights methodically packed their luggage, burped and drank the last drop of wine in their glasses, hid the cooked ham in the saddle backpack, and turned over to their horses contentedly.

The Knights of Byrne, who had taken a hot shower, changed into a new shirt, and had eaten and slept well, were very satisfied—except for Ranmaros, Earl of the City in the Lake.

"No welcoming procession, no revelry dinner, no girl changing and hiding under the covers—we have to fuck off just because of an order from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?" muttered a disgruntled Rammales in a whisper:

"Holy Cross, we just won the monster invasion and saved the empire!

"yes. ”

Regrel, the Earl of White Horse Peak on the side, glared at him: "This is a courtesy to a knight who is loyal and obedient to orders - the person who won the battle of the Valley of Bloodbones is not you, not me, Lord Loren Turin." ”

"Without our Duke, none of these 10,000 people would have been able to come back alive!"

"You are unreasonable, if it weren't for the Duke, we wouldn't have gone to that place where we died. ”

"It's you, you wooden head!" Rigrel's expression was very confused - when he was on the battlefield, this guy kept calling out for his obedience to the duke, but when he left the battlefield, everything was reversed.

Could it be that every cavalry commander is this kind of straight intestine who speaks but has a head, except for himself?

"All in all, think more about the brothers who didn't make it back alive from the battlefield, think about them, what are you not satisfied with?"

What's not to be satisfied with... Lanmaros shrugged: "No... I'm just complaining about the Duke, and then more for ourselves - we won the battle of the Valley of Bloodbones and ended a monster invasion, but what did we get?"

"Prestige, respect... And your little life!" Rigrel said coldly, "This is a battle of dignity for Byrne to return to unity since the tenth generation, what else do you want?"

"Of course, when we get to the imperial capital of Golovin, you may really get what you want—those panicked nobles and ladies, in order to be protected by an earl with military power in their hands, I am afraid that they will not even need the bride price money to marry their daughter to you. ”

"Oh, that sounds good... Wait?!"

Before Ranmaros, who was brightly lit up, had time to be happy, his expression suddenly changed: "What are you talking about, the imperial capital Golovin? We are going to the imperial capital? Didn't we all say that we were going home?

Rigell silently put down the work in his hand, and slowly looked back at him with an expression like a fool, with a look of disbelief:

"Tell me, are we both in the same military meeting?"

"yes!"

"The Duke personally presides over the task assigned by Count Eckert of Fury Castle?"

"Yes!" Lan Malos looked inexplicable: "Are you sleepy, I was next to you at the time!"

"Then why did you come to me as if you didn't know anything about this kind of thing - I also want to ask why the guy who was yelling next to me to make 'rabbits look good' suddenly lost his memory?!"

"Is there such a thing?!"

..............................

At the long table, everyone's eyes were on the black-haired wizard and the countess of the Red Blood Castle who were facing Brandon.

"As for Guan Baine's deployment arrangement......" Edward hesitated for a moment before he slowly spoke, "My suggestion is... Duke Byrne, please return to the Red Blood Castle for the time being. ”

Well?

Everyone present was stunned, and even Charlotte couldn't help but show a look of surprise.

As a matter of common sense, isn't it time to mobilize as many forces as possible at this time - especially now that Conod is dead and Brandon has not yet been crowned, the only people who are really willing to express their loyalty to him are the East Sakrand people, but the knights of the Thirteen Lords of Byrne.

"Before you speak, allow me to explain. Stopping Charlotte who was about to open her mouth to inquire, Edward continued in a deep voice, "I didn't mean to ask Byrne to withdraw from this battle, even if I thought it would be impossible. ”

"To put it simply, there are three reasons. Edward held up three fingers: "First of all, morale." ”

"The Byrne Knights, who have just experienced the Battle of Blooddale, have already suffered more than half of their casualties, and if they continue to fight, they will not only risk demoralization, but they also urgently need to rest and recuperate. ”

"But in the next battle, there are no such conditions at all, so withdrawing them to the Red Blood Fortress is the best option for now. ”

"Secondly, it is out of consideration for the distribution of combat power - 80,000 Byrne legions have been stationed in the imperial capital, and from the strategic deployment general, the strategic goal that the empire needs Byrne to complete has been achieved, and there is no need for the Principality of Byrne to fulfill more obligations;

"Now is not the time for the final battle, and the war potential of the Duchy of Byrne should not be squeezed too much. ”

"Third, there is logistics, the siege of the imperial capital means that the legions outside the imperial capital will no longer be able to get supplies from Golovin, and the besieging elven army will inevitably cut off the supply lines of communication for the generation of West Sacland. Edward sternly said:

"For the rest of Byrne, there are more logistical tasks to take on - barley, wheat, cured meat, alcohol, iron ingots... Unless Byrne is able to provide one-third to one-half of the war materiel, we simply cannot sustain such a large army. ”

When the words fell, everyone with stunned expressions looked startled, and faintly showed a little frightened expression.

Logistics... That's right, that's the worst thing.

Once the armies had assembled in West Sackland, the total number of troops would be more than 200,000 - even if most of them could be supplied from East Sackland and the baggage teams that accompanied them, that would be far from enough for 200,000!

Byrne was the only one in the principalities who could provide such a large quantity of supplies, and organize a large convoy of transports to transport them to where they were needed, or else these 200,000 men would have starved themselves to death without the enemy attacking.

"Besides, I know from the soldiers who fought in the Battle of Bloodborne Valley that Duke Byrne was wounded despite defeating the Eagle King - nothing else, but my advice is that you would better return to the Crimson Keep for a while to recuperate, and wait until ......"

"Thank you for your concern, but you're too worried. ”

Loren, who had always been silent, suddenly interrupted him: "I have some flesh wounds, but not to the point where I can't hold a sword. ”

"What's more... There are still 80,000 Bainese in the imperial capital of Golovin, and I am their duke, so I can't just leave them alone. ”

Edward's expression froze slightly: "You mean ......"

"Hold on to the imperial capital of Golovin, and don't let the Azorean elves step in the middle of a step - leave it to me. The black-haired wizard said lightly, and couldn't help but chuckle:

"Besides... Someone has to tell the adults in the Heavenly Dome Palace what happened in the north. ”

The face of the Archduke of the Scimitar showed a knowing evil smile, and the face of Drexis on the side was extremely difficult to see.

An indifferent Edward stared at Loren with a thoughtful expression.

Gongwei Imperial Capital... It may seem like a prestigious choice, but it's actually a hot potato, and defending the city means dealing not only with the Azorean elves outside, but also with the Celestial Dome and the Imperial nobility inside.

Even in the days of the Black Duke, the nobles of the empire didn't have much affection for the Byrins, let alone now.

What's more, in the Heavenly Dome Palace, there is also the Imperial Cabinet, there is the Holy Cross Church, and there is a second in line to the throne of the Empire, Her Royal Highness the eldest princess Fetronay de Salion... How to deal with the relationship with them is probably more difficult than holding the emperor to fall.

So the night watchman was really curious, what was it that made Loren voluntarily stand up and take this absolutely unfavorable option for him?

Don't... Is it really just because of the 80,000 Byrne Legion stationed in the imperial capital?

"Of course, it is best that the Duke is willing to take on this burden. After a pause, Edward didn't go any further:

"But... As we have said before, the most important task for Byrne at the moment is to secure the supply lines of baggage in the rear, and without the Duke himself, such a large number would be ......."

"Don't worry about that, Byrne will keep his promise. ”

Without waiting for Loren to speak, Charlotte on the side took the initiative to step forward and raised her head slightly: "During the Duke's absence, I will stay behind in the Round Table Council of the Red Blood Castle and take care of all logistics - in the name of the Turin family, I assure you that the thirteen leaders of Byrne will do everything in their power to provide logistical assistance to the Empire's army." ”

After a generous statement, there was a moment of silence at the long table.

The crowd with different expressions cast their eyes and kept looking back and forth between Charlotte and Loren—among them, Salica's expression was particularly wonderful, and her sparkling eyes seemed to see the Holy Cross descend.

"I—I mean, of course, in the name of the Duke and the Council of the Round Table, not personally!" the cramped Charlotte looked a little annoyed:

"During the Duke's expedition, the remaining earls formed a round table council to select the regent, which is a long tradition that has existed since the time of the knight kings of the Old Kingdom, and it has a very deep ...... in Byrne."

"Got it, so be it. ”

Ignoring Charlotte's murderous gaze, Edward, the night watchman, interrupted: "Ladies and gentlemen, we only have three months to fight in the imperial capital of Golovin this time - the information from the west shows that Lothair's food stocks are on the verge of running out, and if we don't get any help in three months, we will definitely fall." ”

"Three months... We must hold the imperial capital, defeat the invading army of the Azorean elves, and open the lines of communication to Lothair!"

"The future of the empire, the survival of millions, if not tens of millions... It's on everyone's shoulders!"

..............................

"So... The next thing we have to do is to defend the imperial capital. ”

In front of the Floating City, Dalton Kander, who was holding his hands behind his back, bowed his head slightly while supervising the craftsmen and alchemists in repairing the Floating City:

"No problem, the detailed plan can be arranged separately after arriving in Golovin - besides, on the way to Golovin, I will gather as much information as I can about the imperial capital of Golovin, which may be of reference to you. ”

"You don't seem surprised, Mentor. Loren's expression was quite surprised: "I thought you would at least ask me why?"

Dalton just shook his head.

"The dialogue between the mentor and the apprentice will ask why, you are the duke, and the decisions you make do not and should not be questioned. ”

"But... I still have some suggestions. ”

"Please. ”

"On this trip to the imperial capital, don't let Ain and Isaac work together—if you have any plans, I'm not going to say that. Dalton said in a deep voice:

"In the battle of Golovin, what you need is sufficient intelligence and talents who can coordinate the relations between all parties, they will only become a burden to you, the head of the United Chamber of Commerce, Yod Jr., and Bishop Webber of Byrne are more suitable. ”

"Also, Count Grenwell, Stormcastle, I find him competent in his role as 'Foreign Secretary', let him coordinate with the armies of Ellemont and Arles—besides, Isaac told me that there is some new progress in the new weapon you commissioned him, and that it should be of greater help to him to get him back to his job. ”

New types of weapons ... Something that almost killed him at Eberden popped into Loren's mind.

So far, the research and development of the "Kyauksaber" is still in a relatively early stage - the miniaturization has been completed, but the failure rate and cost are still high, and it is still not a weapon that can be put into actual combat.

So far, Loren has never really planned to put this thing on the battlefield, and even if he has trained a group of wizard apprentices who specialize in using this weapon, it is only part of the research and development process, and he even felt that he probably won't see a mass-produced finished product in his lifetime.

But listening to Mentor Dalton's tone, it seems that there has been some new development in this thing recently?

The black-haired wizard nodded, but his gaze turned to the ruins beside him and the barracks behind him.

The snow and ice on top of it gradually solidified and melted, and the dripping ice water turned into pools and ponds, making the otherwise neat camp muddy, and the soldiers' boots were not visible except for the snow.

The lead-gray clouds scattered under the majesty of the scorching sun, revealing a clear blue sky—a view that would never be visible in the Broken Mountains in the harsh winter, and the whole world seemed to have been washed away, and it seemed clear and clear like never before.

And in the muddy pond under this clear sky, a delicate young bud pierced the dirt and struggled to grow upward by Loren's boots, conveying an important message from the material world.

Severe winter, it's already yesterday.

Spring, has returned.