The year 1024 in the imperial calendar.

Southwestern border of the Empire, Haysonium Fortress.

It was the gateway to the southwest of the empire, and beyond the fortress were the southwestern peoples who lived surrounded by mountains.

Of course, this is mainly the name of those politicians who are far away in the imperial capital, and for the officers and soldiers of the Southwest Military Region who often deal with them, they prefer to call them "barbarians".

Barbarians, as the name suggests, are a brutal people, a vicious people, an unreasonable people.

Barbarians have a very long history of existence, even dating back to the founding of empires.

To be able to compete with the empire that has lasted for thousands of years, and even to be able to take firm root in the southwest of the empire, I have to say that this is no longer an accidental event of historical development, and the civilization of the barbarians must have its merits.

They live in the Sunset Mountain Range with a radius of more than 300 square kilometers, the mountain range is full of poisonous swamps and miasma, which can be said to be a natural barrier against foreign enemies, not to mention that it is also inhabited by poisonous insects, fierce beasts and dangerous species, except for the barbarians who have lived in the Sunset Mountain Range for generations, no matter how elite the imperial army is, it is in vain to enter it.

It was for this reason that one of the later emperors of the empire built this military fortress for the purpose of defending against barbarians, the Fortress of Haysonim.

Since the construction of this fortress, the situation in which the Imperial Army had been at a disadvantage for a long time has finally been completely reversed. Relying on the impregnable fortification, they adopted the tactics of clearing the wilderness, and the barbarians could no longer easily set foot in the territory of the empire.

In order to praise the great exploits of this fortress, later generations called it "Steel Fortress", which means a fortress made of steel.

Although the construction of the Steel Fortress has caused the Imperial Army to have a lot of restrictions on the barbarians, and it is difficult for the barbarians to invade, it is also true that the Imperial Army cannot help the barbarians who use the Sunset Mountains as a cover.

So for thousands of years, the battle between the empire and the barbarians has never stopped. Today you come to besiege the city, tomorrow I will besiege the mountain, both sides are fighting bitterly, but no one has ever wanted to compromise, because there is no room for compromise between these two forces.

They are all marauders, and conflicts between marauders can only be resolved by fighting, ending with the demise of one of them.

……

On one of the walls of the fortress of Haysonim, a young man stood in the wind, his silver-white hair ruffled by the gentle south wind, and his purple eyes, which were as clear as jewels, stared quietly at the endless sea of trees in front of him.

He was silent, as if caught up in some distant memory.

The young man was about twenty years old, his knife-like features were very handsome, his figure was long, and he wore a special black military uniform with gold trim on the neckline, and he looked extremely capable.

He stood there quietly, his posture straight, as if the whole person was in harmony with this world, exuding a unique temperament of tranquility and distance.

"You're here, Javier, I've been looking for you for a long time."

A clear male voice suddenly sounded from behind the young man.

Javier turned around and saw a dark-haired man wearing the same style of military uniform as him.

He looked about the same size as Javier, with the buttons on his chest being haphazardly buttoned and his neckline looking a little messy because it had not been specially tied, giving the first impression of being uninhibited. He has slightly long jet-black hair, and he uses his hair to tie a ponytail at the back of his head, and the ponytail moves with the wind, which looks particularly chic.

"It's you, Arrowian." Javier said lightly.

"What's the matter, being alone in a place like this?"

The young man named Arrowen chuckled and stepped forward, stopping at shoulder to shoulder with Javier.

"There was no particular reason, just a chance reminder of the past."

Javier turned his head and looked into the distance, as if there was a moment of trance in his sight.

"In the past, whenever the barbarians came to attack the city, my father always stood here and commanded the army to fight, and every time he could repel them beautifully. At that time, we were all junior officers, we didn't understand many things, and we were always scolded by our father, but now we can handle everything easily, but the person who taught us is no longer there. ”

Hearing this, a hint of sigh also appeared on Arowen's face, and his eyes became a little gloomy.

Javier's father, Reicter, is a rare person in his heart, his biological parents died in a war, and it was Rector who adopted him who was not yet able to take care of himself, and left no stone unturned to cultivate him.

For Arrowen, Rector was almost a fatherly being, filling in a large void deep inside him and directly influencing his entire life.

He kept this kindness in his heart and hoped to repay it one day, but what he was waiting for was the bad news of Rechter's death, which had always been the most regrettable regret in his heart.

"Five years ago, the barbarians launched one of the fiercest attacks in history, but my father died at the critical juncture of that war by an unknown person...... For a battlefield general, there is no more tragic way to die. ”

Javier whispered, with no joy or sorrow on his face.

"Although the mastermind behind the use of inferior means on the battlefield is hateful, my father is not completely responsible, as the governor of the Southwest Military Region, he died so easily in the assassination, which can only show that his ability is not enough, and it is inevitable to be eliminated."

Harsh words, no warm tone, even when talking about his father, Javier still made the slightest evaluation without the slightest emotion, but Arowen knew his true nature, and shook his head disapprovingly.

"People in a certain position must have the corresponding ability, otherwise they can only be eliminated...... Oh, that's harsh. ”

Arowen smiled: "According to the standards in your heart, most of the officials in the empire are unqualified now, right?" ”

"That's right, it's because too many officials are incompetent that the empire is so chaotic now."

"Don't be so pessimistic, there are also usage of defective products, as long as the leader is a smart person, isn't it? Just like our southwest region, isn't it because of you that we have been in a relatively peaceful state? ”

After the death of former Imperial Lieutenant General Rector Salmondo, Javier, as Rect's only son, rightfully inherited everything from him, military ranks, official positions, honors, and duties.

There was no opposition from the entire Southwestern Military District to Javier's inheritance of Reicter's legacy.

Because they all can see how good the man named Javier Salmondo is, and his ability is enough to provoke this beam.

Since then, Xavier has also proved this with his actions.

"Hmph, don't pat yourself on the back, no matter how much you praise me, if you can't get the corresponding results, I will remove you from the position of captain of ten thousand horses." Javier said coldly.

Arowen pouted: "Hey, have you seen through?" ”

"Your exaggerated acting skills are not normal if they are not seen through."

"Ahh

Alowen put his hands on the back of his head and said as if complaining: "If I had served in another military region, I would have become a general by my means." ”

"It's true, but you may also be hated by your boss because your military achievements are too prominent, and then you will be persecuted to death on any charge."

"Wow! Don't tell such a scary joke, it's too real and it makes people feel creepy! ”

Arowen and Javier have a relationship from childhood to adulthood, although there is an insurmountable gap between the two in terms of identity, but they don't have any scruples about talking on weekdays, of course, this has something to do with Arowen's character who is not afraid of heaven and earth.

After Javier joined the army, Arowen has been active in various battlefields as Javier's adjutant.

As Javier's henchman, there is naturally no doubt about his ability, but sometimes he is a little unserious, not so much like a soldier, but like a playboy.

However, perhaps it is precisely because there is always a person with the opposite personality around him that Javier's military-like personality has a bit of a valuable human touch.

"Then again, you're not training in the army, why are you coming to me?" Javier asked suddenly.

"Oh, I almost forgot to get down to business."

Arowen patted his head and took out a black letter from his bosom, and the mouth of the envelope was printed with a special pattern of fire paint, which was rare, because it was a pattern reserved for the imperial family.

"The emperor sent someone to send it, it seems to be the emperor's own edict...... That being said, but I guess it's the minister's order, so you can open it and see it yourself. ”

Javier took the letter, slowly opened it, and took out the high-grade letterhead full of words.

Although the handwriting is very neat, it is not difficult to see the jerkiness between the lines, and it is believed that it is from the little emperor who is only fourteen years old.

After staring for a moment, Javier folded the letter and put it away casually.

Arowen asked curiously, "What does the edict say?" ”

"It's a recall order, saying that I should return to the imperial capital immediately."

Javier replied, his eyes glinting with an inexplicable color.

"Recall? The minister wants you to go back to the imperial capital!? This...... Has he forgotten to take his medicine lately? Arrowen was visibly surprised.

"Of course not the minister meant, he doesn't have the guts to face me head-on."

Javier snorted coldly, and his disdain for the minister was not difficult to hear in his voice.

"Well, that's true."

Thinking about the riot that Javier had caused in the imperial capital, Arrowen nodded in agreement.

"This recall order should be written by the general, with his status in the imperial court, it is not difficult to ask the little emperor to write an edict. Now that the barbarians have been wiped out by us, and the scourge of war in the southwest has been basically eliminated, the rest of the empire still has the spark of war. ”

"There are not many generals in the empire who can really fight, and with the character of a great general, naturally they will not continue to idle me here. Besides, even if he had the heart to stop me, he couldn't find any reason to bind me to the border. ”

The barbarians were exterminated, and Javier said lightly, but this sentence was simply informative!

The barbarians have lasted for thousands of years, and there have been hundreds of wars with the Empire, large and small, and although they have been repelled many times, none of them can hurt their bones. Naturally, there have been many outstanding generals who have guarded this place in the past, but so far, none of them have been able to achieve absolute victory.

The main reason is the geographical advantage, for the barbarians, the Sunset Mountains are not only their hunting grounds, but also an absolute barrier of defense.

Once the battle is lost, they can retreat to their strongholds in the mountains, and with their natural terrain advantage, they are helpless against any of the strongest elite troops.

This alone makes them invincible.

Therefore, in the face of the threat of barbarians, the empire can only defend passively.

And the one who finally changed that was Javier Salmondo.

Five years ago, Javier's father, Rector Salmondo, was assassinated in a sudden outbreak of war, which caused the situation on the southwest border to spiral out of control, and Javier, who took over the chaos, immediately showed his military talent, defeating all the barbarians on the frontal battlefield, and the defeated barbarians had to hide in the Sunset Mountains.

After that, before the barbarians could catch their breath, Javier immediately formulated a plan for the extermination of the barbarians and led a large army to attack the territory of the barbarians.

And so for the next five years, the barbarian nightmare came.

Havel personally led a special operations force composed of 300 elite soldiers into the Sunset Mountains, they opened the way in front, and the army behind slowly followed, destroying more than a dozen important strongholds of the barbarians in one go, annihilating their main force.

After that, it was time for the eagles to catch the chickens, and the battle to exterminate the remnants of the barbarians continued until now, and not long ago, Javier's troops took out the last stronghold of the barbarians, and the war with the barbarians came to an end.

The fame of a person who can accomplish such a feat in the empire is naturally quite loud, and it can be regarded as a myth in the military world, no wonder the general values him so much, and the minister is so jealous of him.

"That's right."

Arowen touched his chin and muttered, "So, isn't this a rare opportunity?" To realize your plans, activities in the Imperial Capital are essential. ”

"I feel the same way, the emperor is the center of all power exchanges, and if you are not in that position, you can only be a marginal figure of the empire forever, and nothing can be changed."

Javier looked in the direction of the imperial capital from afar, and his purple pupils seemed to reflect the abyss.

After a pause, he continued: "Arowen, this time you will also go to the imperial capital with me. ”

"I'm going too?"

Arrowan was surprised, "I thought you would definitely leave me behind to arrange logistics." ”

Javier shook his head: "The Imperial Capital is an unimaginable vortex of chaos, even I need help, and it is enough to have Andre and Enoch take care of the logistics." ”

Arrowen teased: "It's really rare for you to say such a weak thing, I always thought you could do anything." ”

"No one is omnipotent, and I didn't show weakness, I was just talking about the fact that the imperial capital is indeed a Longtan tiger's den."

Javier said with a serious expression: "Even if you are very confident in your own ability, you must not be careless, otherwise...... It's going to die. ”

Seeing that Javier attached so much importance to this matter, Arowen also put away his joking mentality, and he nodded seriously: "I understand, are you going to prepare to go now?" ”

"Don't be in such a hurry, I'm going to meet with those two first, this time the departure may be a long time, and some things must be explained clearly."

"Well, it will take some time to gather troops, and the personnel arrangements after we leave, ah, what a trouble...... Is it okay to set the departure time for the day after tomorrow? ”

Arrowen grumbled, but was clearly in working mode.

"No problem."

Seeing that Javier didn't have any other orders, Arrowen was about to leave, and just took a few steps forward, as if he suddenly remembered something, so he turned his head again: "Aren't you going to say goodbye to Spiya?" I guess if you leave without saying a word, she will be very sad. ”

Javier was silent for a moment, and the smile of the girl with long light blonde hair flashed in his mind, but he shook his head firmly: "There's no need for that. ”

"That's ......"

Knowing that he didn't say anything about this matter, Arrowen could only sigh helplessly and turn away.