In a high place, in addition to the whistling wind and the jingle of the wind bell ringing with the wind, it seems that someone in the distance is reading something aloud.

The voice came from outside the city.

Ian and Alphen clinged to the outer pillars of the Wind Bell Tower, their eyes beyond the walls and onto the armies that lined up the highest part of the hill outside the city. Countless military flags fluttered, and in the center there was an unusually large military flag waving in the wind, and two bipedal dragons were embroidered on the yellow-brown flag, standing opposite each other—the emblem of the Confederation.

When the enemy attacked, Alphen's eyes were full of excitement. He looked at Ian, who had noticed the other's gaze but had not withdrawn it from the Confederate troops. Ian remembered the massive army build-up they had seen on Fort Fran.

He asked, "Can you hear what the man is saying?"

He was referring to the constant voice of preaching, from the Union Army. It was too far away, and the sound was blown away by the wind.

Alphen pricked up his ears and listened carefully, but he could only recognize the sporadic words.

"Betrayal...... Psychic ......" he repeated what he had barely heard, "Contract ......"

Shaking his head, he really couldn't hear why. However, he and Ian seem to have fallen into their own contemplation because of these few keywords alone.

Immediately after, they heard the earth-shattering war drums, the signal for the charge. Then, neat shouts erupted from the army outside the city. The army began to advance, and the soldiers rushed to the walls of Oak Shield. One by one, row after row, the soldiers who obscured the outline of the hill never seemed to disappear, and more soldiers always rushed out behind the hill. Along the slopes of the woods, the soldiers of the Federation swooped down.

"They're attacking!" Alphen shouted as he climbed down, "Hurry up!"

As soon as he hit the ground, Alphen started running, and he beckoned to Ian: "Follow me!"

Seeing that Ian didn't move, he hurriedly said, "I have a way to get out of the city!

Ian shook his head and said, "You go first, we'll see you in Swamp Dragon City, don't die!" After speaking, a dodge escaped into the small alley on the side. At this moment, he didn't care about the pain on his body, and ran to the safe house with all his might.

I don't know how long the defenders of Oak Shield City will be able to withstand it, but the gates are definitely closed. However, as long as he returns to the safe house and joins up with Giggs and them, even if Oakshield City is breached, he should not be troubled by his status as the Golden-tailed Chamber of Commerce. But if they can't attack for a long time, they, the members of the well-known chamber of commerce who have just come from the Federation, may not be able to know what kind of treatment they will be given by Oak Shield City.

In short, he couldn't just follow Alphen and leave.

At this time, the sun had gradually set to the west, and the commander of the Confederation should have wanted to use the dazzling sun to gain more advantages. The defenders of Oak Shield City had to overcome the obstruction of sunlight before they could target the enemy with bows and arrows and trebuchets. In terms of defense, there are always soldiers who do not dodge the attack of bows and arrows in time, and are illuminated by the setting sun, and it is often too late to raise their shields when they see stray arrows.

The earth-shattering shouts continued into the night. But even in the middle of the night, there are still sneak attacks from time to time. The defenders of Oakshield stayed up all night, and the Federalists seemed to be obsessed with this near-nocturnal approach to siege.

"Hold down, press down!" the veteran shouted, reminding the young recruit to bow down on the ramparts. It has only been two or three days since the Federals began to attack the city, and Delphi has been promoted from the vice-captain of a recruit team to the captain and corporal. Now he was leaning against the broken battlements of the city wall, and on his left lay Corporal Wood, who had died in battle the previous night, and on his right was Sergeant Badiel, who had just lost his last breath, and he couldn't help but smile miserably.

It was the early morning of the third day, and as soon as the sun had risen, the Federation had receded like a tide.

Which idiot was in charge of building Oakshield City?, Delphi squinted his bloodshot eyes at the fading foe and cursed.

The population of the Federation is mainly sub-humans, with better hearing and night vision than humans, and the siege of the city is west-facing east, so all attacks are chosen before sunset, and then there is a non-stop infestation all night. The human soldiers defending the city suffered from the loss of vision and always had no rest at night, and this important town, which shouldered the western border of the empire, did not have any targeted defense measures.

There was a rumbling sound in the distance, and it was the Union army building a new siege engine. They used local materials from the forests along the border to replenish their war losses. These sounds sounded like chickens in a poultry pen hearing their master's knives.

"It's coming again, damn it!" scolded a veteran on the other side of the dead Wood. Delphi recognized him, one of the few people who had gone up to the wall with him who had not yet been replaced. Those who were replaced were basically either seriously injured or died.

"The only advantage of this ruined city is that there are enough soldiers and enough food to eat. Delphi's tired voice said, "I can only defend my life." ”

The veteran smiled: "You know what, the empire has never been a lover of peace. Only peace-loving people attach importance to defense. ”

What's the old soldier's name? Delphi recalled, ah, it seemed like Hawke, or Polke...... Delphi's memory was a little hazy, and he now only felt heavy eyelids and drowsiness. The eastern sky in front of me was getting brighter and brighter, and another whole night of duty had passed.

But they couldn't sleep yet, and their commander had warned them that the Federalists were cunning and were likely to take advantage of their most tired time to storm the city. But now I don't sleep, and in the afternoon when the sun falls to the west, no one dares to sleep.

Damn war. Three days ago, Delphi was still drinking and bragging with people in the tavern, bragging and flirting with the girl, saying that one day if he was not a soldier, he would register as a mercenary, fight Warcraft, and he would not have to stand guard on duty, and he would be at ease. Now in a blink of an eye, the guys who bragged at that time have all been buried, right?

Why the Federalists suddenly called, Delphi still hasn't figured it out. All he knew was that the enemy was coming, and that he, as a soldier and captain, had to lead the rest of the soldiers to kill the enemy and defend the city, even though the recruits in his squad had changed one after another. He hadn't experienced any wars himself, but he had joined the army a few years before them. Looking at the mess of contusions and sword wounds on his body, it can be regarded as excellent luck to survive until now.

By the way, the Federalists seem to have shouted before the war, reciting a long ...... War book?Probably something like that. However, he was still on standby in the bunker barracks under the city walls, and he couldn't really hear it.

"What the hell are the Federalists mad about?" the veteran next door asked, pushing Wood's body away and sitting down next to him, "Why, it's coming!"

Delphi smiled bitterly: "It seems that there was some war letter, but the war started immediately after the war letter." ”

"I didn't hear the contents of the war book," the veteran's voice was still loud, "did you hear anything?"

Delphi shook his head blankly.

"It's a contract. A little farther away, a soldier replied weakly, "I heard the officer they sent a war letter, saying that our empire violated the sacred contract and developed spiritual power or something......"

Probably because the veteran's voice was too loud, and the soldiers around him could hear him.

"Oh......" he muttered, "or are we not right first?"

"Soldier, so much?" Delphi gave him a blank look.

The veteran stopped talking, not knowing what he was thinking. In the middle of the night, he saw someone coming up from below to carry the body, so he got up to help. The stretcher was not enough for Wood, but he was bold enough to carry Wood's body directly to his body, intending to help the corpse carrier send it down directly. Only then did Delphi notice that the veteran was so tall and muscular.

As it happens, no sooner had he picked up Wood's body than an arrow came from outside the city. Probably because he was too tall for the Federation sergeants outside the city to see and want to shoot him. When the arrow looked to hit him, he suddenly turned around and threw Wood's body over. With a pop, the sharp arrow sank into the corpse.

The veteran smiled at the corpse behind him, "Thank you, sir, for saving your life." After speaking, he urged the corpse carrier to lead the way quickly.

Since then, Delphi has not seen the veteran return.

Of course he won't come back, because the veteran is Sid. With the help of Jinx and Harvey, the keeper of the safe house, he disguises himself and impersonates a stupid boy who has been frightened and infiltrates the army's reserve barracks. He wanted to find out the content of the war letter declared by the Federation that day, but who knew that the war was fierce, and he was actually sent to the city wall to garrison not long after he entered the reserve barracks.

Sid had already served as a soldier in Rift Rock Fort, so he was naturally familiar with such a role as an imposter and had no flaws.

However, at the head of this city wall, there is the gate of life and death, and it is not a good place to stay. So as soon as he heard the clues that the Confederate State was going to war, he immediately looked for an opportunity to slip away.

"It's only a matter of time before the city is breached," Sid shared with everyone the information he had gathered on the city walls after returning to the safe house, "The Empire's Rubber Shield City doesn't pay attention to defense at all, and the cantonment barracks and underground fortresses under it store a considerable amount of military rations, and the barracks are very large, obviously more like a stronghold for troops. And—" Sid took a sip, "the garrisons in the city seem to be from different places, and it seems that they have only been transferred for a short time. I suspect that the Empire originally wanted to take the initiative to attack the Federation, but it was robbed. ”

"How long do you think it will take to break the city?" asked Ian.

"There are no other variables, three days at most. Sid held out three fingers, "In the next few days, we have to be ready, as soon as the city changes flags, we will leave this hellish place immediately." ”

"When the time comes," Ian nodded, "you go back to the oasis first." ”

Giggs asked, "Are you going to meet His Royal Highness the little prince?"

"If you want me to say," he said with a sly smile, "the information is already in hand, so what does it matter to him?" a third prince in exile, Emperor Hilfa also knows that he can't make any tricks, so he is willing to let him live!"

"That being said," said Ian, "there is no oath, but a promise is a promise." ”

Sid took over and reminded warily, "As long as you can remember who you are." Never forget Regin, and the Falcon for their presence. ”

Ian nodded in agreement, packing the wig and improvised drag props that Jinx had prepared for him into his backpack.

His next stop was the city of Swamp Dragons, in the southern hinterland of the Empire, where he and Alphen had agreed to meet. Sid insisted on going with him, but Ian refused. Sid is gone, Jinx is bound to go with him, Giggs is not yet healed, and there is no one to take care of him. Along the way, although Sid said that it was a joke that he was dragged into the water by Ian, Ian knew in his heart that everything that happened around Sid was caused by himself. After that, you should still walk on your own.

"The reward for you two will be given to you when I return to the oasis. He half-jokingly said to Giggs and Jinx, "I'm going to surprise you, just wait." ”

He saw the light in Giggs's eyes, and before he could open the conversation, he said to Sid, "When you arrive at the Oasis, remember to say hello to Elise and Granny Sumu for me." ”

"Do you want to tell Elise that you miss her?" Sid teased.

Ian was stunned for a moment, and then smiled: "Tell her that I miss her - the snacks I make." ”