Ebolden, the city of wealth and wisdom, the northern pearl of the empire.

Compared to Loren's last visit, the city is as densely populated, mixed, turbulent and full of opportunities as ever.

The only difference is that this "opportunity" is a little different from the past.

"After that turmoil, the Trident mercenary group... Yes, the one you killed, as well as the other mercenary groups attached to the Bellini family, are all finished, and the three surviving mercenary groups have taken over their soldiers and camps. ”

Looking at the city of Ebolden getting closer and closer in the distance, Locke, the tavern owner who had just mixed in with the "Duke of Byrne's old acquaintance", glanced at Loren, who was a little unkind beside him, and said cautiously:

"Vipers, Black Blades, and Silver Blood—three mercenary regiments, well-armed and in control of Ebolden's private black market trade, have become almost semi-independent in the city after losing Bellini, a large family that can control them. ”

"Although the destruction of the ocean-going fleet has deprived them of an important source of revenue, and their numbers are much smaller, the total number of troops is still nearly 20,000, which should not be underestimated!"

"If I'm not mistaken, there must be an Imperial regiment of heavy infantry stationed in the city of Eboden, no less than five thousand men. Count Eckert of Fort Fury frowned:

"And the Ebotden Free Council should have a patrol of 3,000 men and an elite city defense force of 5,000 men - even if it is less than mercenaries, how can it be so easy to control the city defenses, even to the point of being blackmailed?"

Looking at the serious Count Eckert, the tavern owner shook his head with a smile: "This noble lord, the army of Ebotden is not the same as the knights of Byrne's glory. ”

"Not to mention the 3,000 patrols, they are just decorations for the commoners and petty nobles to see, and it is okay to bully the hooligans and gangsters, and there is no way to fight at all; the 5,000 city defense army is the only capital in the hands of the Free Council, and it is loyal to more than a dozen large and small chambers of commerce and families in the whole city, and it cannot be mobilized by the consul with a single order. ”

"As for the Legions of the Empire... Hehe, if it weren't for the fact that this legion was transferred back by the Minister of War to defend the imperial capital last month, how would these mercenaries dare to rise up and make trouble, and dare to take control of the city walls and fortresses?"

Speaking of this, even the tavern owner himself couldn't help but sigh: "So now that I heard that Ebolden is about to fight, the commoners and nobles in the city are running out like crazy;

"In addition to a few city walls and important fortresses, they also occupied the port, the commercial area and the city gates, set up roadblocks everywhere, extorted shops and people who wanted to flee - when I went out, I also paid a lot of money to go out!"

At this point, the tavern owner, who had been terrified, immediately gritted his teeth, if there was an Ebolden mercenary in front of him, he would probably be able to pounce on him and strangle him to death.

The black-haired wizard with an indifferent expression didn't say anything, and suddenly raised his right hand behind him, and the roaring Byrne knights of the iron horses suddenly stopped like a moving city wall.

Ahead, is the city of Ebolden.

Looking at Loren, who had never said a word, and the Byrne knights with solemn expressions on both sides behind him, the tavern owner shrunk his neck, and suddenly had a faint premonition that it was not good.

There was a commotion under the walls of Ebolden in the distance, and the mercenaries who had blocked the gates had clearly noticed the movement outside the city, and the sound of hurried trumpets and shouts continued to sound.

It didn't take long for the panicked mercenaries to form a dense phalanx in front of the city gate, but they did not close the city gate immediately, but kept waving flags in the direction of the Byrne army formation, and sent a cavalry (death ghost) holding a swallowtail flag to this side.

The black-haired wizard squinted his eyes and had an indifferent expression snorting.

"Eckert, order the whole army to prepare for the charge, and wait for my orders. Glancing at the cavalry who came to negotiate, Loren looked at the two behind him expressionlessly: "Lusen, let the demon hunters who have infiltrated the city do it, take down the city fortress, don't let them close the city gate!"

"Yes, Lord Loren!"

"Yes, Duke. ”

Well?!

The tavernkeeper looked startled.

No, no, no... No, no, how can this be?

"Lord Lord Loren!" the tavern keeper couldn't help but exclaim, "You... Do you really intend to kill them all and take down the gates with such drastic means?!"

The black-haired wizard looked back at him in disbelief.

"They occupied the gates of Eboden, openly opposed to the Eboden Free Council and the Imperial Army, and were already rebels. Loren asked coldly, "In addition to war, does the Empire have a second way to deal with the rebels?"

"But you ......"

As soon as the tavern owner wanted to say, "You're not such a person", he suddenly remembered the fate of the gangsters and the Trident mercenary group in Gutter Alley, as well as the Bellini family who destroyed their family in that turmoil, and immediately chose to shut up.

The Duke may not be a complete villain, but he has absolutely nothing to do with the word "goodness".

The black-haired wizard who no longer looked at him turned his gaze indifferently to the cavalry who came to negotiate in front of him.

"This noble lord from afar, the Silver Blood Mercenary Group greets you!" The mercenary turned over and dismounted, looking down at Loren with a very clever smile on his face, with a respectful look: "Excuse me, is there anything I can do for you?"

A sneer flashed across Loren's lips.

According to the Tavernkeep, the mercenaries should have rebelled after Corona returned to Ebolden, meaning they knew who they were, and they knew they were coming from the beginning.

In this case, it is very clear that the other party does not want to confront the Free Council in the city, but has to prepare so many troops to control the city gate and the fortress in the city - the mercenaries plan to use their own army and the city as bargaining chips to negotiate, and make up their minds to get a profit from themselves and the empire!

The mercenaries may not know that the Azorean elves are coming, but they know that the current Ebolden is important to the Empire, and the 20,000 professional mercenaries in their hands are also important to the Empire.

So they intend to sit on the ground and negotiate with the Empire.

But Loren didn't accompany them to talk nonsense.

"I am Lord of Turin, Duke of Byrne. The black-haired wizard stared at the mercenary who was negotiating, and the other party was furious: "I was ordered by the Supreme Emperor of the Empire for the thirteenth generation, Conod I, to take over Ebolden." ”

"Tell the scum under the gates, get out of the way at once, hand over the keys to the gates, disarm everything, exit all fortresses, lay down your arms and stand by... Empire, can show her benevolence. ”

"Otherwise, I will personally 'disarm' you. ”

The mercenary was startled, and there was not much blood on his already pale cheeks.

"Lord and Duke are so fond of jokes, how can I need your help. He swallowed hard, and barely squeezed out a smile on his stiff face: "Of course we don't dare to disobey your order......;

He deliberately dragged out a long note, looking at Loren with a provocative gaze, waiting for him to ask "why", but the black-haired wizard with an indifferent expression remained motionless, still looking at him like a dead man.

"It's just that we are owed a large amount of commissions, and we are also required to stay at Ebolden and fight against the Azorean elves......"

The mercenary stubbornly said: "You have to understand, we don't care who we fight with, but if the commission is not in place, our brothers themselves will die, but the family is still waiting for their ......"

"Get out of the way, disarm, stand by and stand by. Loren interrupted sharply, staring motionlessly at the paler mercenary: "This is a warning... For the last time. ”

The mercenary frowned, and was a little speechless for a moment.

This Duke... It doesn't seem to be the same as he imagined, and the army behind him shouldn't have any siege weapons, could it be that he didn't see his own army under the city gate?

Or was he so confident in the army of more than 2,000 men behind him that he could storm and take the city gates?

In the stalemate, the mercenary who was difficult to ride the tiger had to muster up his courage, plucked up the courage to raise his head and said: "Of course we can follow your orders, and we can also offer loyalty to you and the empire, but only if you and the empire can honor the commission promised to us before!"

"As long as you are willing to agree, I will now go and inform the three mercenary captains to negotiate with you fairly, negotiate a 'entry money' that is acceptable to everyone, let you and your army enter the city, and then honor the commission that Ebolden promised us!"

"Or... Or you can make a deal with us on behalf of the Empire, assuring us of the Empire, or you will definitely honor our commission, and I am sure that if my brethren could hear a duke's promise with their own ears, they would lay down their arms at once and obediently return the gates and fortresses to you. ”

The mercenary thought well, and his eyes widened, and he waited for Duke Byrne's reply with a smirk.

Now, if he doesn't agree, he won't be able to enter the city, and if he does... Twenty thousand mercenaries are his witnesses, and a dignified duke will not ruin his credibility with such a small amount of money, right?

But Loren didn't want to pay attention to him anymore.

Turning on the "Beyond Perception" enhancement of his eyes, he looked above the city gate, and a gray-blue light flickered faintly at the end of the field of vision.

Well, it's time.

"Bell ——!"

The dark-haired wizard held down the hilt of his sword in the saddle, and the mirror-like sword was unsheathed and raised one hand above his head.

The mercenary who saw this scene was startled, and hurriedly raised it and rushed forward to stop it: "Wait, Lord Duke, everything is easy to say, everything is ......"

But late.

Before he could finish speaking, the sound of horses' hooves shaking the earth sounded in his ears.

The deafening sound made the mercenary stay in place.

"Byrin, on the orders of the Duke—"

"None of them will be left!"

"Leave no ————!!!! behind"

The shouts of the Earl of Eckert and the neat cries of the Byrne knights rang out one after another, and the heavily armed knights in the billowing smoke and dust passed by the mercenaries and the black-haired wizards like torrents of steel.

Harnessing the sound of thunder, he rushed towards the gates of Ebolden.

It was only at this time that the mercenaries finally came to their senses, and they turned their heads sharply, staring at the mercenaries who were still organizing the formation in the panic under the city gate.

He raised his shield and raised his spear, ready to intercept the charging Byrne Knights.

"No, no, no... Don't, don't, why don't you close the gates, stop them, shoot them with the heavy crossbows that defend the city!"

The panicked mercenaries shouted as if they were frightened, staring at the mercenaries who were still at a loss under the city gates, forming a phalanx to meet them, and the knights who had already lowered their rifles and were ready to charge.

On the city gate, Byrne's black and gold lion flag had been erected, and more than a dozen mercenaries had been stripped of their armor and hung upside down with ropes at the city gate.

The terrified mercenary finally understood "why" and sat down tremblingly on the ground. I was so scared that I couldn't even speak.

A quarter of an hour passed, and the sound of fighting and fighting faded away.

No.

The real battle was over the moment the Byrne knights charged.

The Knights of Byrne mercilessly trampled and ravaged the dense formation formed by the mercenaries with their spears in their hands and the iron hooves of their mounts;

They crushed the fools who stood dumbly in the first row, and stabbed to death the warriors who dared to resist in the second row;

Cut off the heads of the heartbroken, and hunted down the cowardly deserters.

Nearly a thousand elite soldiers, a blink of an eye turned into a battlefield full of flesh and blood and messy mess.

The demon hunters who came down from the city gates, holding high the banner of the golden lion on a black background, grabbed out one mercenary after another who were still alive but lying in the pile of dead people and pretended to be dead, and slit their throats one by one with daggers that shimmered with the luster of Mithril.

The two teams of Byrne knights who broke through the gates took possession of the gates and took control of the streets behind them, and the sound of the horns could already be seen as the belated patrol soldiers came to "meet" the friendly troops.

"Duke, you can let the army into the city. An accompanying Byrne knight reminded him.

The black-haired wizard waved his hand, handed the "Dawn" greatsword to the knight behind him, and turned over and dismounted.

In the next second, he pinched the mercenary's jaw, lifted his entire head, and said coldly: "Tell your regiment leader and the leaders of the other two mercenary groups, I am waiting for them in the Free Council of Eboden." ”

"If they really want to negotiate with me. ”

After speaking, no longer looking at the mercenary who was running for his life with his hands and feet, Loren, who turned his head, looked meaningfully at the tavern owner Locke who was hiding behind:

"I'm sorry, but it looks like you're going to have to go back to Eberden with me. ”

"Yes, yes!"

The pale tavern owner nodded hurriedly, his expression flattering.