It's almost October, and on the border between the Higg Empire and the Papal States in the south of the continent, the temperature has become cooler in the morning and evening, and only at noon when the sun is high, it will make people feel a little hot, which is what people often call the autumn tiger.

It was a flat wilderness, with artemisia grass and sparse shrubs, and the occasional sarotree was already considered tall.

In the middle of the wilderness is a large road that winds from the north to the south, and ten miles away it will reach the Congo Pass.

As one of the largest checkpoints on the mainland, the Congo Pass may be slightly inferior in scale to the Hulamun Xiongguan in the Sunset Steppe, but it is obviously not comparable to the latter in terms of importance.

Since the Congo Pass has been in the hands of the Holy See since 300 years ago, because it is located at the junction of the three forces of the Papal States, the Elven Forest and the Higg Empire, and is directly connected to the Congo Mountains to the southwest, it can be said that it is impossible for either the Elves or the Higg Empire to bypass the Congo Pass if they want to use troops against the Papal States.

However, compared to the Hig Empire, which had to pass through the Congo Pass to enter the hinterland of the Papal States, the elven army could also choose to march along the low redwood forests along the seashore to the depths of the Papal States, but at the risk of being blocked by the Congo Pass defenders, and anyone with a little military common sense would not choose this tactic of putting them to death and resurrecting. Therefore, there is no doubt about the importance of the Congo Pass.

It is precisely because of the important status of the Congo Xiongguan that the "Aegis of War" legion under the jurisdiction of the Knights Templar is stationed here all year round, playing the role of rejecting Hig in the west and resisting the elves in the north.

Due to the existence of the Congo Xiongguan and the garrison, the Holy See and Higg in hundreds of years, there was almost no real war, but the elves invaded the territory of the Holy See many times, but they were all repulsed, and later the Papal State was established, the power of the Holy See was further strengthened, especially the forces in the south, and the status of the Congo Xiongguan was even more stable.

In addition to the value of national security, the Congo Hung Pass is also an important hub of north-south trade on the mainland, the goods in the north of the mainland pass through the Yus and Hig empires, and then through the Congo Hung Pass can be directly traded to the rich areas ruled by the Papal States, otherwise they can only detour to the small countries in the south, not only the distance is long, the customs are numerous, and the safety is also difficult to guarantee, the profit-seeking nature of the merchants makes no one want to take the farther, more expensive, more dangerous road, unless the door of the Congo Hung Pass is closed and not open to the north.

Therefore, as one of the most important commercial hubs on the mainland, the road in front of us has always been an endless stream of businessmen.

But at this time, on a sunny morning in early autumn, the whole road from south to north, as far as the eye can see, there is not even a single figure, let alone a car, which cannot but be said to be a strange thing.

The root cause of all this is a ban imposed by Emperor Higg two months ago. From the day the order was issued, the Higg Empire forcibly closed the most convenient trade route with the Papal States, and all transactions had to go around the small southern states. Before the ban was lifted, all transactions through the Congo Pass were regarded as smuggling by the Higg Empire, and property was confiscated at least and imprisoned at worst, especially for weapons, metals, cotton, timber and other materials that could be used in the war, and if caught, it was punishable by death.

As soon as this order came out, the originally busy business road immediately became deserted.

At the same time, the Holy See also voiced accusations against Higg that against God's will, disregarding the well-being of all living beings in the world, looking for nothing to do, and wasting money and money, and expressed his willingness to uphold God's will and negotiate with the small southern countries to reduce the tax burden of merchants going south, so as to ensure the smooth trade between the north and the south, especially for those goods related to people's livelihood, even exempt from tariffs.

Among the major forces, only the Yusi Empire was noncommittal about this move, believing that it was an internal affair of another country and that it was inconvenient for it to interfere.

It's just that in the end, Emperor Higg is still stubborn, at least two months have passed, and he still can't see that he has the intention of retracting his holy will.

At the same time, behind the invisible eyes of ordinary people, the military machine of the Hig Empire has begun to operate, and the army close to the Congo Pass has begun to adjust frequently, and a large number of soldiers have been mobilized from all over the country, especially the hilly border of Togo, to the eastern border, and are being reorganized and trained.

Against this background, in the early autumn morning, before the sun had risen, several guests suddenly appeared on the side of the roadside, they were out of the grass by the roadside, and if they did not pay attention, they might not be able to detect the traces of their previous movement in the wilderness, they were dressed in civilian clothes, wore straw hats on their heads, and wore different weapons such as swords, bows, and crossbows.

Among the group, the leader was a thin man with slightly dark skin, who lay on the side of the road and looked left and right for a while, and then gestured to gather the people behind him.

"Did Gul follow?" asked the leader in a low voice.

"Captain, I'm here!" replied a small man as he flashed out from behind the other.

"Shhhh This is not a barracks, so you don't need to be so loud, we are scouts, we must always remember to be cautious, especially when speaking, do not speak loudly, to avoid revealing our identity. ”

"Yes! Yes," the little man replied almost instinctively, but immediately realized his mistake and lowered his voice.

The captain glared at Gu Li fiercely, and did not continue to talk about him, but moved on to business.

"Judging by the nearby terrain, we are still less than ten miles away from the Congo Pass, and we must be careful at every step, we may encounter the enemy's reconnaissance team at any time. Next, we need to spread out our actions, in groups of two, into groups of five, and if we encounter a situation, we can ensure that the information can be transmitted back in time. ”

Next, Coulee was honored to follow the captain, and they headed east along the barren grass closer to the main road, while the other four groups dispersed to a greater distance.

As a newcomer, it is the first time for Gu Li to participate in such a close reconnaissance operation, although he does not have a sound understanding of some of the behavioral precautions of scouts, but he is no stranger to field operations, hiding whereabouts and other matters, because before joining the army, he was originally a hunter living in the hilly area of Togo, and since the age of ten, he has followed his father to find and track wild beasts in the mountains and forests, so he has a lot of experience in stealth and stealth.

Gu Li, who had just turned eighteen, was a carefree and happy young man two months ago, but with a large-scale conscription order in the empire, he enlisted in the imperial ** team, and was then assigned to the eastern garrison of the empire along with other recruits.

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