The wind in the mountains is really cool.

The rest of Yakia was just too hot in comparison. Darla thought so as he rode his horse.

At the age of twenty-nine, he was originally a rare person in the Yaji Army who climbed to the position of general before the age of thirty. Unfortunately, in last year's war with Arubania, the 4,000 Einsatzgruppen he led lost most of his men in order to rescue General Darayan, the son of the prime minister, who was surrounded by enemy troops. If you want to climb all the way up from the mere knight class, you can't do it without a backer. But his backer betrayed himself for the sake of his son's prestige, and Dara really wanted to cry without tears. Fortunately, the final punishment was mediated by Usubu, who only transferred him to an idle post in the southern Dils Mountains. But this punishment also means that his future career has basically come to an end, and he has come to a new place alone with a depressed will.

However, the gods of fate seem to favor him again, and shortly after his arrival, a group of bandits who do not know whether they are alive or dead have captured the city of Essras. Count Jacob, who heard the news, was furious - that group of bandits dared to openly provoke the mountains of Dils that he was in charge of! If this kind of thing cannot be eliminated as an example, it will inevitably spread in the future! So Count Jacob soon gathered a crusading army, numbering more than 10,000. Dara saw the opportunity to ask for orders in time, and when Jacob was employing people, he naturally agreed and appointed Dara as the deputy general and vanguard. Dara was full of joy and ready to seize this rare opportunity as a turning point in his career.

Dara is confident in his abilities, and the only problem is the commander of this crusading army, Irenzar. The twenty-two-year-old young slave owner was a nobleman who had recently inherited his father's title and was Jacob's brother-in-law. Jacob appointed him as head coach for two purposes: first, to allow him to accumulate prestige so as to pave the way for his future career; The second is to prepare for him to hand over the area around Essrath to his brother-in-law after he captures Essrath City, so that this territory will be equivalent to being included in Jacob's actual control area. Dara has no interest in this power struggle, and all he cares about is the manager's commanding ability. Ilenzar was indeed well-known among the nobility of the Tiers Mountains, and was a perennial champion in jousting tournaments. However, from Darla's point of view, it was just a trick on the martial arts field, and I am afraid that it would not be able to show half of it on the battlefield. But Irenzar considered himself a rare general, and even Jacob thought so and had high hopes for him.

The crusade was not superior in terms of numbers, and 2,000 out of 10,000 were Darla's subordinates, who belonged to the regular army; The remaining 8,000 were the individual slave owners' own private troops, and the training, discipline, and equipment of these units were uneven, and the coordination in actual combat was very problematic. However, Dara thinks that even so, these people should be stronger than the bandits.

The key to victory and defeat this time lies in the 2,000 men under my command. Dara had intended this from the beginning. This is also necessary to make enough achievements for oneself, and at the same time avoid being held back by those subordinates under Irenzar and affect his combat effectiveness. Thus, in the name of the vanguard, Dara led the way to the forefront, avoiding the chatter with Irenzar and the other slave owners.

Darla's 2,000-strong vanguard marched along the main road towards the city of Essras. As the troops got closer to Essrath City, Dara became more vigilant. Dara ordered his scouts to reconnoiter along the mountain roads on both sides, and at the same time prepared two infantry squads to respond on both flanks at any time to prevent the enemy from ambushing.

After walking for about half a day, at dusk, Dara saw a child herding sheep sitting on the side of the road crying, and the surrounding sheep silently gnawed on the grass on the ground.

"This little baby, what are you crying about?" Darla asked, as kindly as she could.

When the boy heard the voice, he stopped his grief and looked up. The sight of the army all around him startled the boy and left him speechless.

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, we are the Yaki Army. It won't hurt you. Darla said with a smile. He knew that his face was too fierce and could easily scare the child, so he tried to squeeze out a smile.

The child said in a trembling voice, "This ・・・・・・ this great man, your smile is so ・・・・・・ so terrifying." ”

As soon as he said this, Darra's face stiffened slightly. Several of his subordinates couldn't help but laugh out loud. Dara couldn't help but take a closer look at the child, who looked to be eleven or twelve years old, with a pair of big watery eyes, and was very beautiful. It's just brown skin, and it looks like it's a Nubian hybrid. Dara had to cough dryly to cover up her embarrassment, and then said, "Little baby, why are you sitting here crying?" ”

The child sobbed again when he heard this, and said intermittently that he had come out to herd sheep the day before yesterday and accidentally lost his way, and that he had finally found his way home today, but he was blocked by someone, and now he can't go home, and his dry food has been eaten.

After listening to the child's narration, Darla's heart moved, and she asked, "Little baby, who did you say wouldn't let you go home?" ”

"Well・・・・・・ it's those people who hit the city a few days ago, those people were very good to us before, and everyone was very happy. But this time, I didn't know why, and said that no one was allowed to pass through that road, so I tried to go around the mountain, but there were people there, and they said that I was some kind of spy, and if I didn't go, they would beat me. ”

The bandits blocked the road, did the people in the mountains set up an ambush? If it were me, I would have given priority to setting up an ambush in the face of an advantageous enemy. Dara knew that this was an important piece of information, and immediately asked, "Son, do you remember which way you went home?" ”

The boy bit his finger and thought for a while, then said, "I can't name the road, I just know how to go." ”

"Can you take me there, then?"

"No, no, no, I'm going to beat me up." The child shook his head repeatedly.

Darla smiled and said, "Is this okay?" You lead us to that way, you don't have to go over so they can't hit you, okay? ”

"But what will happen to my sheep in that case? And I still can't go home. ”

Dara smiled bitterly and said, "There is going to be a war here, and you are not safe here." Why don't you buy your sheep with our money, and you take the money home from another way, okay? ”

The child still shook his head: "This road is easy to walk, if you take the small road, you have to go around a big circle, and there are jackals and lions on the road, I dare not walk alone." ”

Dara sighed: How could you meet such a kid who doesn't eat oil and salt, if he usually just drives away, but unfortunately now he needs to lead himself to find the troops of the thief army. I had to persuade him with good words: "Then let's do it, I bought your sheep." You lead us to that place, and then I'll send someone to escort you to the back of the line, and when the road is opened, I'll send someone to take you home, okay?" ”

When the boy heard this, he nodded with satisfaction and said, "Okay, I have to eat something before I go, otherwise I won't be able to walk." ”

Dara let out a sigh of relief and motioned for his men to bring out the rations and money for the child. The child devoured his heart's content, then wiped his mouth and said, "Master, please come with the little one." ”

With that, he got up and walked towards the mountain road. Dara led his men to follow him closely.