In the Rock Fortress, in the inner city, a group of knights and soldiers in bright armor was walking through the wide streets of the town, and above this team, the banner of the Count of Pompeii on the Plains of the Holy Spirit fluttered in the air, and the golden-red embroidery thread on the banner glittered with striking brilliance in the sun, gorgeous and magnificent.

Sir Maryland stood on the walls of the inner city, looking down at the march of the army, and after a long time whispered, "This is probably the last aid we can count on." ”

"It's better than nothing," said Viscount Carroll, who stood beside Sir Maryland, in a deep voice, "The Count of Pompeii knows what it means if this fortress is breached. ”

The team entering the city was not the knightly brigade sent by the royal family, but the private army of the Count of Pompeii, and the appearance of this army meant that the Lord Count finally sensed the urgency of the situation and made a decision from the news that had been coming in recently.

The Rock Fortress is located on the edge of the territory of the Count of Pompeii, nominally, the land on which the fortress is located belongs to the Pompeii family, but in fact the fortress is under the direct control of the royal family, including the soldiers in the fortress are all directly loyal to the king, and the fortress is surrounded by its own farms, mines, and mills, and the Count of Pompeii has no obligation to provide or support the fortress, but it is clear that the count knows that once the fortress is taken down by the Cecil family, his territory will be in jeopardy.

The Count of Pompeii did not dare to guarantee that Cecil's army would stop after taking the Rock Fortress, let alone that the Cecil army would first plunder the surrounding area to make up for the losses of the war - although at the beginning, he seemed to be convinced that the Cecil people could not take the Rock Fortress, so he was quite at ease, but with the efforts of Sir Maryland, After all, he sent his own army to support the place, and this team was the only reinforcement that Sir Maryland could pull.

"It is unknown how much combat effectiveness these well-pampered veterans of the Whitsunday will be able to use," Sir Maryland sighed, "but as you said, it's better than nothing—these people can at least operate a trebuchet, or hide behind a wall and fire a bow and arrow." ”

Viscount Carol hesitated for a moment, and finally couldn't help asking, "Is there any news from the south lately?" ”

"I have sent three groups of spies, disguised as merchants and hunters, and only one group has returned," said Lord Maryland, with a somber face, "and now it is only certain that the Cecil is sending troops here, but the situation further south ......is completely unsearchable."

"They really didn't give up......," Viscount Carol's heart sank, "they will come sooner or later." ”

Looking at Viscount Carroll, who looked disillusioned in front of him, even with a hint of fear, Sir Maryland could only sigh helplessly in his heart.

He had great confidence in the fortress he was garrisoning, and although he had heard many terrible stories about Cecil's army from the mouths of these southern nobles who had taken refuge, he still had faith in his fortress - in his opinion, these southern nobles were so frightened that the terrifying impression of the enemy had been infinitely magnified in their minds, and Sir Maryland was a man who had been through many battles, and he knew this kind of frightened people quite well, so after filtering out the exaggerated elements in the words of these nobles, He was not intimidated by Cecil's army.

But that doesn't mean he takes the threat he faces lightly.

The Cecil people will not be as "god-like" as the southern nobles described, but they are definitely not a force to be taken lightly, in the face of the menacing Cecil army, the Rock Fortress will go through a hard battle, according to Sir Maryland's deduction, the Cecil's "skyfire explosion" should not be able to break through the fortress's magical barrier in a short time, but the defenders of the fortress have no way to repel those Cecils who can launch continuous magical attacks from a long distance.

The battle was supposed to turn into a protracted assault or, to put it more frustratingly, the Cecil unilaterally bombarded the Rock Fortress for a long time, and the defenders of the Rock Fortress would find it difficult to take the initiative.

Sir Maryland was not afraid of a protracted and hard battle, but his real concern was the isolation of Rock Fortress and the deteriorating situation in the country.

As long as this deteriorating situation does not improve for a day, then no matter how long the Rock Fortress can hold out, it will eventually be unable to hold on.

He patted Viscount Carol on the shoulder: "Go back, we need to relax and relax, and drink two glasses of wine to relieve our nerves." ”

They left the city walls and came to the hall of the fortress castle district.

As soon as he opened the door of the hall, Sir Maryland saw Viscount Marie Oran, dressed in a loose dressing gown, standing in the middle of the hall with a glass of wine, chatting with the maids in the hall with drunken eyes, and not far away was Viscount Consco, who was walking around, whose face was full of anxiety, and judging by the look on his face, he probably drank a lot.

"Oh! Sir! And my friend Viscount Carol," said Marie Oran, who saw the man pushing the door in, raised his glass and exclaimed, "salute you—you deserve to taste this." ”

"Oran, you've drunk too much," Carol frowned slightly, looking at the man who had become more and more misbehaved in recent days, and there was some helplessness in his tone, "and why are you wearing a nightgown in the hall?" ”

"This is the castle, and you can wear a dressing gown anywhere in the castle...... "Marie Oran" laughed, "Don't worry, I'm ...... awake."

Viscount Conscoe walked over and walked straight past Marie Oran, who was already a little delirious, his eyes full of sadness and congestion caused by days of excessive drinking: "Sir, there is a ...... of the South"

Sir Maryland waved his hand without waiting for the other party to finish: "There is no good news. ”

Viscount Carol looked disappointedly at the two friends in front of him—one profligate, the other depressed, and the poise and decency of the nobility had almost disappeared from them.

Not only these two friends, but almost all of the other nobles who fled from the south to the fortress were no better.

These viscounts and barons gathered in the banquet halls, or in the bars and prostitutes of the city, squandering what little money they had left, expending their worthless energy, eating and drinking, and almost without the slightest hint of hope.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but raise his head and look for someone in the hall, and soon the slightly emaciated figure of Baroness Penny Gülen appeared in his sight.

The Baroness just sat quietly in a corner, whispering something to one of her knights, and although she had the same faint anxiety on her face, her calm appearance was very different from the others.

For many days, such a situation also fell into the eyes of Lord Maryland, and the high-ranking knight looked at the situation of the other nobles in the hall, and couldn't help but shake his head and mutter, "It's better to be a widow......"

Viscount Carol, who was nearby, heard the knight's muttering, but he didn't hear it clearly, but he was about to ask, when he saw the door of the hall pushed open again.

A knight in armor hurried into the hall, and the sound of steel boots and the ground echoed in the hall at once, and the people nearby fell silent and looked at the knight who suddenly ran in with dismay.

"General! Checkmate! The knight shouted loudly as he ran to Sir Maryland, "a small group of people from outside the city who have fled - they claim to be from the Glenn region!" ”

Gülen region?

The southern nobles in the hall suddenly subconsciously looked at Baroness Tropney Gülen who was sitting in the corner, and in their sight, the lady also raised her head and looked at the knight standing in front of Sir Maryland with shocked eyes.

Sir Maryland saw this scene in his eyes, and then turned to look at the knight who reported the news: "Where are they?" ”

"In the barracks below the outer walls," replied the knight, "we didn't let them into the city—and there was a group of soldiers watching." ”

Sir Maryland nodded imperceptibly: it was necessary to be cautious.

The Cecil had apparently blockaded the southern region, at least in the buffer zone between the Rock Fortress and the southern border, and there was already a blockade line set up by the Cecil, and the experienced spies sent out of the fortress could not break through this blockade, and those who could escape from the southern region at such a time...... No matter how you look at it, it's very suspicious.

"Take them to the main hall," Sir Maryland quickly decided, glancing back at the southern nobles who had gathered in the hall, "ladies and gentlemen, I invite everyone to go—perhaps we will finally get a definite message from the South." ”

Soon Sir Maryland and the Southern nobles were in the main hall of the castle district, and shortly after they entered the hall and took their seats on the high platform, a small group of soldiers entered with a few ragged and scarred men.

Those people had obviously gone through an ordeal, their clothes were in tatters, dirty, bruised, and their embarrassed posture made the southern nobles at the scene couldn't help but think of what they looked like not long ago, and Sir Maryland also sighed secretly, and then asked out loud: "Who are you?" You got it from Gülen? ”

Most of the ragged men looked terrified and nervous, but one stood in the center and kept his composure, a tall middle-aged man, who turned his head as if he hadn't heard Sir Maryland's words, as if he was looking for someone in the hall, and finally his eyes fell on Lady Penny Gülen, who immediately bowed to the Baroness with a choked voice: "Mistress, I have finally seen you!" ”

Ronpeny Glenn also recognized the person in front of her, and she got up from her seat with a tone of disbelief: "This is my butler!" ”

"Are you sure, ma'am?" Sir Maryland glanced at the ragged, dirty-faced middle-aged man with some suspicion, "Is he really your butler?" ”

"Of course I'm sure," Penny Gülen replied immediately, glancing at everyone in the room, "I didn't take a sip of wine!" ”

"Well, I see," Sir Maryland nodded, looking at the middle-aged man standing at the bottom of the steps, "Mr. Butler, have you brought news from the South?!" ”

"They're coming! Mistresses, and my lords, the Cecil is here! The butler said with a pained look and a tone full of fear, "They have taken Gülen Castle, and they have also occupied the areas of Comsco and Carroll, and they are coming this way!" ”