"In one day, the number of northerners on the other side of the river has doubled, what do you think your castle has a chance of winning?" Ormond took a sip of the strong seahorse spirit, and his throat instantly seemed to be on fire, and he swallowed it hard, only to feel that his stomach was like a furnace. Billion, the castle guard sitting opposite, was unconcerned about this, and after a while he had drunk a glass, and then poured himself a full one.

Summer had arrived, and the nights were warm, but the castle on the banks of the Red Rock River was not so lucky, and the coolness of the water hit the castle from the wide and deep water, seeping into the bedroom. The fire under the alcove stirred and swayed. The two of them drank wine in the faint light of the fire, and ate beef in garlic sauce and vinegar-pickled oysters brought from Meiyan City.

Billion took out a letter from his waist pocket, "Just today at noon, a brown letter crow arrived, and the cavalry regiment of the basswood fort has been assembled at the fortress of the Takishui River, and they have brought twelve carts of baggage from the basswood fort and two hundred fat sheep. Their neighbors, the Takayama people, were equally generous, and the King of Nishizawa ordered the construction of 4,000 camps and sixteen horse pens around the fortress of the Takisui River, for the sole reason that he was determined to fight the Giant's Bridge with the northern savages. He raised his palm and gestured exaggeratedly, "What does the four thousand barracks represent? Four thousand troops, and the number of soldiers that the Twin Towers Fortress can hold at least this number, all add up to no less than eight thousand." I think the barbarians on the other side of the river will survive 10,000. Don't panic, my brother in black, they will be defeated. ”

It sounded like Say, and only he could say something with a smile. "If the candidate for Erjing attacks tonight, maybe tomorrow dawns, I think your plan will be different. ”

"Let them come, let them come. But I can assure you that it will not be in three days, because they have just lost a tough battle, lost their troops, and broken their morale, and they are not stupid. Billion grinned, then tore off a piece of beef and put it in his mouth, its yellow teeth jagged and saliva splattering, which made Ormond lose his appetite. "The walls of the Giant's Bridge ignore fire and are not afraid of catapults, and the embankments on both sides are narrow and dangerous, so if you slip your feet, you can fall into the Red Rock River and let the adventurers never recover. Hmph, Liang They prepared a thousand grappling hooks and a hundred ladders, and it was completely impossible to climb up from the city wall. So the only thing they could do was the city gate, and then you can imagine how spectacular that scene would be, with corpses stacked in front of the city gate like a mountain bag. ”

There was a burst of hysterical laughter from the window, and the soldiers seemed to be caught up in joy by something, and bright firelight was cast on the walls, dancing wildly. "You are the supreme commander of this castle, what will you do if the barbarians are defeated by the Giant's Bridge and flee in rout?"

Billyon hurriedly took a sip of wine, "It's not that I choose what to do, it depends on the mood of the soldiers around me." There are no wooden sticks and wheat mangs on the real battlefield, the sword is merciless, and if you are not careful, you may die, so the soldiers who participate in the battle will become a sharp blade holding the judgment of life and death at that moment, and when they deal with a wild man, they will become more and more sharp, until the enemy kneels and begs for mercy, but I think they will never show mercy, wild people are wild people, there is no conscience at all, why should they keep these species, leaving them is to leave a future for themselves. Since the savages want to be defeated and flee, then we will take advantage of the victory to pursue and cut down the grass and root it. ”

King Eli of Basswood Castle would not say so, nor would Holheller, King of the West, nor would Alexa agree to venture into the forests of the north, for the Stone People had never set foot in the north, and King Ed of the Red Castle was as soft as a writhing trout. Everything is for the sake of the people, this is what a king of a country should do. Barbarians are savages, but they also have families, they also have faith, and they also have a purpose to fight. Ormond poured it for Billion, and poured some more into his own cup. "There's another possibility. He looked up at a staggering, drunken Billion, "What if the defense fails?"

"There is no such possibility, absolutely not. His expression clenched, "My fortress is impregnable, impregnable." ”

"Well, your fortress is impregnable. But I have one more question to ask. In the past two days, the window of your room has become a market for letter crows, going in and out, never stopping, and I have seen letter crows from the north and crows from the south, what is written on them? What messages have you received?"

Billion holds his chin in one hand and picks up the oyster with the other, sucking the juice inside. "O North, the North is a message from Screaming Bay, and I'm an old friend of the Black and White Warlock's Warlock Chief, and he has brought me some news about the mysterious wizards of the North and the stones they are looking for. ......I haven't told anyone about this letter, but you're a man in black, you're our friend, right?"

"Yes, definitely. ”

"So I'll just tell you. Billyon leaned his face to Ormond, and the smell of wine came to his face. "The stone they're looking for has something to do with the wrath of the gods in Seahorse Town. ”

"Wrath of the gods?" Ormond leaned back, puzzled. To be honest, Ormond really didn't know much about Wrath of the Gods, he only knew that on that night more than two hundred years ago, many people died in Seahorse Town, and almost no Holy Court remained. There is a rumor that the ruling king at the time was Sarkega and that the heart of glory he obtained through violence was the cause of the wrath of the gods, because it was a priceless treasure, the crown of the true god Panla dropped to the mortal world, and she punished Seahorse Town and Saar King in a fit of rage. "Something to do with the heart of glory?"

Billion snapped his fingers, "That's it, that's it!" To tell you the truth, I didn't believe it at first, but it makes sense when I think about it, there are thousands of stones, and there is only one priceless gem, have you ever heard of that poignant legend?"

It was a legend of the church of Dashtur, Ormond thought to himself that the tricks they were playing were the same as those played by the Twitans. "I really haven't heard of it. Ormond grinned, "Tell me about it." ”

"Actually, I don't know much about it, and everyone who knows the inside story was burned to the ground by that fire. Billion drunkenly raised his glass and touched it with Ormond, "Anyway, the gem fell from the sky, on some plateau in the north, and was guarded by wild beasts day and night. But the heart is wise, and in the end, the fallen king of Thar took possession of the gem and regarded it as the heart of glory of the north, and so, and so the calamity came. He stared intently at the tongue of fire dancing in the fireplace, "Does the man in black believe in the true god of Panla?"

"The men in black do not believe in imaginary gods. ”

"It's no wonder how the men in black could believe in the gods of the north, but the Church of Dashtur does have the power of prophecy, and they can glimpse through the flames of what is about to happen to some nameless person, and nine times out of ten, it will work. ”

This is also the only guy that the Northern Cultists can handle, Ormond smiled, "The Black and White Warlock only gave you this information, if I were a letter crow, I would definitely tear it apart with my claws and trample on it." ”

Billyon lowered his voice again, "Of course not. Awang had been in contact with the mysterious people of the north, but the strangest part was here, he couldn't remember the appearance and clothing of those wizards, it seemed that he had never seen them, and they seemed to be ....... Hey, the men in black should be very familiar with black and white warlocks, they like to play with blue flames, make flying flame eagles, jumping and jumping flame rabbits, and rolling flame waves, only you can't think of them without them. But even these powerful fellows who have seen the mysterious people of the north can fall to such a point, and you can imagine the barbarians on the other side of the river. ”

It was clear to me that the mysterious sorcerer was from the far north, and that the mysterious gem was the purpose of their trip, and the futility of the search in the north prompted them to raise their troops south. Perhaps they had thought of joining forces with Screaming Bay and Riverbay, but they would not fight with the Ertins, so they fought alone with the Ertins. It only takes one step, an important step, to cross the Giant's Bridge and seize control of the lands of the South, and the mystery man is half the battle. "Aywang provided important news, and the northerners will not rest on their laurels. ”

"The Battle of Giant's Bridge, you say?"

"The Horking people will swear to take the Giant's Bridge to the death. ”

"Well, the man in black won't sit still, it seems to me that this is already your business, no, ours. ”

Ormond fell silent, a moment of thought telling himself that the men in black would have to participate in the upcoming Battle of Giant's Bridge. Then I'll have to wait for the news from Irina, hoping that she can find the secret in Seahorse Town. Ormond drank the rest of the wine. The process of the three Carol must be blown aside, because time is of the essence and there is no room for delay. "The man in black will continue to observe the situation on the Giant's Bridge, and I will give you a suggestion to send the letter crow to the fortress of the Takishui River as soon as possible. ”

"As you go...... Thin ice....... "Billion fell asleep and became a dead man.

Ormond left the room and descended the stone steps, where he met young Jelly James by the campfire in the middle of the courtyard, and he rose to meet Ormond. "Good night, man in black. ”

"The flames of the castle burn day and night, and the soldiers are worried?" Ormond and Jelly Jans walked through the courtyard and into the hallway, and the surroundings were instantly darkened.

"We don't dare to take it lightly, although the enemy is on the other side of the Red Rock River, and the city gates are closed, there are loopholes in everything. Gilly Janse accompanied Ormond to his room, where Sye was now asleep. "On the night before yesterday, the barbarians tried to cross the shore by boat, and they were only a hundred meters away from success, and finally the whirlpool overturned the ship, and none of the seven people on board survived. The guards stationed on the battlements that night heard the sound of ships hitting the piers and cries for help. ”

"Maybe while we're talking, the Erking people are trying to figure out how to cross the river. The fire in the center of the courtyard is not big enough, you should add some to the walls, a flame every hundred meters. Ormond crouched in front of the fireplace, and with a whisper, a whisper, a flame, and in an instant, the whole bedroom became bright. Say complained in bed and fell asleep again. "How long is that wall that connects to the castle?"

"A mile from west to east, maybe farther. The farthest ends of the fort were deserted, and no one had ever been there, because the flood three years earlier had breached the levees, and the river had become wider and deeper, making it almost impossible to cross it by boat. In fact, the area has also been hit by floods, and every year the garrison spends a long time repairing the collapsed dikes and sloping walls. ”

"Who's going to pay for it?"

"At first, it was Holheller, the king of Nishizawa, and finally Meiyan Castle was in charge. ”

"Their way must have been to collect money from passers-by on Giant's Bridge?"

"That's true. ”

"Therefore, the gold used to repair the embankment is not enough to maintain the entire wall, and the farthest point from the castle is already dilapidated, and by the next flood, the city wall will most likely be in ruins, and a vicious circle will befall the castle, and the cost of the castle will not be more than the town can afford. Ormond always scoffed at the way the Twitans did things, and he disliked them in blue robes any more than cats never liked cunning mice.

"Men in black, what are we going to do?"

"That's not the point, it's the paper-thin gate, you should strengthen the gate, and make the fortifications of the fortress as good as possible. Ormond got up, and the two of them sat down in chairs near the window, a cool breeze pouring in through the window, an environment that made Ormond feel comfortable. "The vicious circle of the city wall has begun, and if left unchecked, one day, the entire wall will collapse. The same goes for the city gates, which seem to be safe on the surface, but if a big war starts, the battering ram will break through the gates, and the Erjing people will capture the town of Kuchimu, followed by more cities in the south. Isn't that also a vicious circle?"

Jelly James nodded, "I'll do what the adults say." ”

"It's better to collect more sand powder. ”

"There isn't much sand powder in Kuchigi Town, and some of the residents are reluctant to give it, so the son of King Nishizawa goes to the Hatayama Hills alone, and he will get a truckload of burning materials from the dwarves. ”

Time was running out at all, and as soon as the army of the Ertins was assembled, they would attack. Far to the west, the Porto Hills almost touched the Sea of Our Lady, and it took half a month to form back and forth. "A cart of sand powder? This war has not yet happened and a large amount of money has been thrown, and it seems that Meiyan City is going to make a desperate bet.

While the two were talking, the letter crow that had been black flew into the bedroom, it was the letter crow of the man in black, summoned through the Lore whistle, and only the man in black would pass the message in this way.

Ormond removed the letter from Crow's pink ankle and signed it as Carol. He cut the silk thread, spread out the letterhead, the surface blank and without ink, his fingers brushed lightly, and the handwriting appeared: I have received orders from Master Pesil, but the dead have broken into the town of Forgotten Horn, and the mortals have been harmed. Once the matter is closed, we will fully support the Giant's Bridge.

'Greatsword' Kairol, with whom Itong and Irina's student Amanda are along, I think the crisis at Giantbridge will ease a lot if the three of them can get here. And Amber and Edith, where are they and why haven't they been heard for a long time?