The attackers gathered near the trebuchet were still busy reloading, and the scorching meteorite and heavenly fire rained down from the sky, engulfing the crowd in an instant. In the roar and smoke, meteorites tore trebuchets to pieces, and the rain of fire set the crowds and forests on fire, and not a single scream could be heard.

The attack was completely dismantled.

Rana caught up with a fleeing rider and dragged him off his horse to knock him unconscious, ready to be interrogated. There was no identification on the body of these people, and it was impossible to tell whether they were the private soldiers of the local nobles or the bandits.

Rana's first thought was an attack by the local audacity of arrogance.

The unknown enemy arranged a full five waves of attacks, from ambushes on the shore to riders in the distance, and even trebuchets hidden at the edge of the woodland. Although their combat effectiveness was weak, their organization and coordination were almost non-existent, and a large amount of resources were used to fuel the battle, it was undoubtedly a well-planned attack, and the attackers were very aware of the itinerary of the camping group, and had a strong mobilization capacity in the core of Verona.

Who else could be behind the scenes, if not the local nobles?

Thousands of years have passed since the establishment of Bayeran, and the lords of the Westlands are still not fully integrated into the kingdom system. They were nominally loyal to the Duke of Verona and had a lot of autonomy. They paid some taxes to the kingdom and contributed legions and auxiliaries of the natives to the war, but it is difficult to say how much of the dividends of the war in the east would be shared.

According to Griffiths, the new southern provincial capitals contribute a lot of agricultural products and minerals, and the trade income of the lords of the West will inevitably suffer. In this case, it would be inconceivable if there were no separatist ideology.

A subtle and unspeakable speculation circulated among the students of the upper nobles at Holmonwaltz that the war assumption of the staff trip was directed against the local nobility. Once Verona is weakened by an internal rebellion, Bayeran, who is poised to attack, will look for an excuse to invade.

However, bandits and rebels are not out of the question. The further west you go into the mountains, the more barren Verona becomes, where many freedmen who fled from the nobility are concentrated. Rebels and bandits, formed around a group of highly skilled fanatics, hid in the mountains to provide protection for the freedmen, and occasionally descended the mountains to attack noble lands and estates. Recently, they have also been joined by some angry veterans, and their strength will undoubtedly increase rapidly.

It is possible that the rebels had reached some kind of agreement with the local nobles to conspire to attack the visiting Baieran nobles.

Careful interrogation must be carried out.

Lana nodded inwardly. Griffith's little hobbies he knew about, and Ophelia, who was also proficient in them, explained them to him a few times, and Fiona was unhappy about them for a few days.

The routed attackers ran everywhere. Lana and Murat grabbed a couple of what looked like leaders, tied them up, and brought them back to the ship.

Ishus, who had already led the men to extinguish the fire and reassembled the frightened sailors and city guards, inspected the condition of the sailboat and said to the two: "Good news, no one was injured, and the hull of the ship was not damaged in the attack just now. ”

"Then we should get out of here as soon as possible. Murat said immediately.

"But, the bad news," Ishus shook his head, "is that we have lost our captain and a third of our sailors, and that our sails, cables, and rigging have been badly damaged, and that the ship will be able to sail but move much slower. These people are here to delay us. ”

Without further ado, everyone immediately urged the sailors to turn around, stop camping, and retreat in the direction of the old town.

The dhow, having lost its captain and some rigging, became sluggish and clumsy, and even when turning, Rana felt an indescribable sense of incongruity that had not been seen on previous voyages.

He made a brief tour of the sailboat, then picked up a handful of prisoners and headed for the inner cabin.

"Lana, what are you going to do?" asked Fiona, who was a little uneasy, "are you going to interrogate? ”

"It's for interrogation, but you and Miss Lamor stay here," replied the hussar briefly, "Griffith and Ophelia are more good at it, but neither of them are here. As for me, I'm not good at it, I'll be rough. ”

......

The freshmen at Holmonwaltz saw Ranner leave the bound captives out the door, carrying them one at a time into the cabin, slamming the wooden door shut, and then the heart-rending screams rang out in their ears.

The wounded, bloodied captives shouted together, insulting everyone with all kinds of expletives. Murat had to stuff a rag in each of their mouths.

It took only five minutes for Rana to walk out. His hands were covered in blood, but his face was clean. Gurgling blood was oozing through the crack in the door. When the second captive was carried in, he did not know what he saw, and immediately let out screams and screams, desperately begging for mercy.

After a few more moments, Lana burst out of the cabin with a red face. He was dressed only in a single garment, and his whole body was steaming as if he had taken a sauna, and his eyes were red and full of fierce light, like a vicious dog crawling out of hell to devour people, sweeping over the kneeling captive. Strong hands as steel grabbed the third captive, pulled the rags from his mouth and threw them into the cabin.

"Ah!!h

The captives screamed in the cabin, as if they had seen a terrifying beast. His hands and feet were tied, but he squirmed frantically, crawling out like a caterpillar.

"Don't!" The crawling captives wept, "I said ......"

Rana smirked and kicked him into the cabin, slamming the wooden door shut.

When it was the turn of the fourth captive, Fiona finally couldn't take it anymore, and she stood up with righteous words, blocking between Lana and the captive. The captives who had not yet been captured begged for mercy.

"Huh?"

Lana was as hideous as a black wolf, not only Fiona, but even several people present seemed to see the solemn and indissolvable, illusory and dark aura embodied into fangs and a pair of terrifying eyes.

The aristocratic girl's brain went blank and stood in place trembling. Her Sciultore grabbed the next captive and brought him into the cabin.

Each interrogation lasted no more than five minutes, and Rana would soon come out and catch another one.

The screams in the cabin continued for half an hour.

Professor Witzleben came to see the situation here once, and left in a hurry without saying anything.

Soon, Rana returned to the lounge on the upper level. Professors and students are gathering there to discuss the route and countermeasures.

Rana had already restrained his terrifying aura, and his hands and face were wiped clean. His breath was gentle, and his resolute and mighty face even had a calm and relaxed smile. Re-draped in neatness, his steps were steady and imposing.

Whew~ I kind of understand Griffith. Rana opened a small blood-stained notebook and reported to those present:

"It has been established that our attackers came from a nearby rebel army led by Reims. They had been engaged in a battle with the coalition led by Viscount Tret, but the battle had subsided the day before, and Lance's troops had passed through the coalition defense zone and were attacking this area.

"They numbered no less than 3,000 men, and were joined by a number of horse thieves and retired legionnaires. This rebel army is trying to block the way for several troops, including us, as well as the local nobles, to retreat to the Old Town.

"They don't know where they got their trebuchet, and Lance sent someone to bring the heavy weapon, specifying the location and time of the ambush, but did not tell them the source of the information. ”

“......”

This amazing news left everyone jaw-dropping. If it weren't for the horrific torture of Rana, everyone would have suspected that he had been deceived.

No, there are still people who question it. Berthier frowned and asked, "Lana, did you hit too hard?" Inducing questions and torture will cause the captives to try to come up with the answers you want to hear in order to get out as soon as possible. ”

"I have no questions, Monsieur Berthier," Rana replied blandly, "and I will only say one word to each of them, 'You say.'" ”

Berthier was stunned for a moment before he understood what Lana meant. He couldn't help but look at Fiona, who kept her head down and didn't say a word.

"Go on," said Professor Witzleben, as if it weren't a big deal, "have you noticed that the hull has deflected by 5 degrees? ”

The second half of his sentence is not a question, but a statement of facts.

Sonia was shocked and hurriedly found someone to check on the bilge. Soon, the sailors replied that there was a lot of water pouring into the river, that the bottom of the boat might have been damaged, and that they were trying to block it.

"It must have happened during the fighting, a group of men dived underwater and destroyed the bottom of the ship, and the ambush they had set up seemed to be more than five rounds," the professor's expression was light, as if it was not him sitting on the broken ship, "If the condition of the ship is not sustainable, we will disembark and walk to the nearby castle." ”

......

Tributaries from the mountains to the west and north converge into the Vilo River, which stretches for hundreds of miles, and then flows into the tranquil sea to the east. The very fertile plains fed by this great river are known as the Vello Plains and are the richest areas in the region.

Baron Bate's estate sits on the banks of the River Villo. The modern-day baron is Jerry Bate, whose family has been here for countless generations. The Baron's ancient ancestors once rebelled against the wars of conquest of Beyeland. After years of getting along, the baron, like the rest of the local nobles, had forgotten his hatred and became a loyal friend of the kingdom.

A river flows from north to south through the east side of the manor, then turns west, turns left near the south gate of the manor, and flows south again into the River Villo. The creek was named after the lord's family and was called the River Bate. The abundant water of the river brought prosperity to agriculture, and there were endless fields and farms as far as the eye could see. The best wheat is produced here, and the radishes are crisp and delicious, and along with the porridge, they have become a staple food for the locals. Wine and rose essential oil are also quite well-known and are expensive commodities.

At the gate of the manor were guarded by 7 or 8 spearmen with shields, and a squad leader with a waist knife led the guard. The guards looked nervous, looking out at the black mountains and forests to the north.

This morning, a messenger from afar reported that a terrible rebel army had broken through the defenses of the viscount's army, sacked the estates of the two barons passing by, killed several feudal knights, and was rushing towards Baron Bate's domain.