At first, Ormond feared that the Horkings would use their cavalry to quickly compete for a large area south of the Redstone River in order to gain the next dominance in the south, but after a night's journey, he found himself worried. To the west of Lethe is ruled by the great powers of Patumon and Zealandera, and below them are a number of small city-states, with Talberg, Cliff Jumping, Bobo, Mosbillin, Reese, Mirrormoon, the ruins of the Golden Tooth, and the ruins of Theo and Taiki. If the Horkings intended to expand their power south of the Redstone River, King Luau of Patumon and Yadamani of Sylantera would certainly find a way to suppress the northern barbarians.

Although a large area of land east of Lethe Town is controlled by the Nishizawa, if this happens, I am afraid that the Nishizawa will really open its doors. The enemy of the enemy is the friend, and the East and the West will become closer. But Ormond also knew that Holheller, King of the West, would think carefully. What was left for the Nishizawa people to consider was the covenant of the capital of the gods, and the destruction of the covenant by the strange stone platform did not mean that the basswood fort and the Nishizawa people were fighting separately, as evidenced by the Twin Towers Fortress of the Takishui River. First, the Ertins will find a way to break through the heavy forces laid by the two countries on the Takishui River, and if they succeed, they will face the Solis Mountains guarded by the Strange Stone Terrace and the Passimo Plateau, to which the Nishizawa people belong.

The premise is that the Horking people will choose to cross the Ito Wasteland in the southwest, or cross the Morgan Forest in the southeast. The Horking people lost their troops at every step they took, and they had no choice. Thinking of this, Ormond had to turn his attention to Yulinburg, knowing in his heart that Patumon was the first country to oppose Yulinburg, and the Cizers were the first to choose an alliance with Yulinburg. Although the two countries have economic exchanges, they are politically incompatible. The questions facing Holheller, King of the West, will become more and more intractable.

"I haven't heard from Black Hill Mountain yet. Ormond muttered as he walked.

"I'm worried that the Horking people will storm the Twin Towers in one fell swoop. When they take the fortress, it will really turn into a thorn in the south. Sei spat at the grass on the side of the road, feeling very upset.

"The form in front of us is anything but simple. Ormond said, "I'm worried about the situation of the people of Nishizawa. ”

Edith followed in two steps, walking side by side with Ormond, and Sey following behind. "Elder Ormond, are you worried that Luau will take advantage of others?" said Edith.

"Clever Edith, you can see that too. Ormond replied uncertainly, "Luau and Adamani have been waiting for this opportunity for a long time. It is possible that the two countries will attack Yulinburg directly, and the people of Nishizawa will be torn between them. If Holheller turns his attention to Rottenwood, the West will surely take Yulinburg within the high walls of Mogon, which is terrible news for the people of Xize. But if Holheller had sent troops to besiege the Mogang Wall, the Horkings in the north would be another thorn in the face. How will Holheller choose?"

"The haughty people of Nishizawa have a basswood castle, and King Yili is worry-free at the moment, except for ...... Aside from the Red Castle, they were scared too, and if I were King Eli, I would be scared too. Sei shrugged his shoulders, "The Red Castle has encountered a terrible enemy, it doesn't mean that the Basswood Fort will be safe, because they are also one of the Allied Powers, are you right?" ”

"The Red Castle is the work of the undead, no one else. Ormond retorted, "Dragonfly Town is the beginning." ”

The three of them suddenly stopped moving, Edith was worried about something, and Sei was worried about something. Ormond looked back silently, the western sky was still immersed in night, the dim sky twinkled with a few faint stars, and the eastern canopy was already white, and the dark blue sky was spotless. "Hopefully, the castle will have a decision to deal with it. ”

"When did Ormond worry about Maester Pesil's decision?" Sei snorted, his tone unfriendly enough Ormond could tell, but he remained silent.

"Pesil must be looking into this. Edith replied.

Ormond looked sideways at Edith, "What are you referring to?"

"Red Castle. ”

That's right, because of the Red Castle, everyone is in danger, Ormond has to admit it. "You're so emaciated, Edith. Hold on a little longer, and when we reach the Black Heart Basin, we will rest on the southern slopes of the basin, and I don't think the Erkings will catch up so quickly. ”

"The Horking people have no horses. "Said.

"Nomads are never short of horses. Edith objected, "They don't need horses to attack Giant's Bridge, they only have fearless charges and endless bows and arrows." The Ormond seniors, the Erkings have been preparing for this for a long time, and I fear that they will have a way to deal with the southern nations. ”

Ormond responded to Edith with a silent nod. The trio then galloped through vast expanses of waterlogged meadows and damp hazel forests, and then over a hillside overgrown with whimpering grass, where thumb-sized pink flower bones hung from the top, thousands of plants converging into a pink lake, which was eclipsed by the smell of grass before dawn, and the smell of grass was still firmly enveloped by the smell of wet earth and cold moisture.

Edith walked ahead, not a single arrow in her basket, the bow in her hand was spotless and dew-washed, and the black cloak draped over her body seemed to have been soaked in water, weighing heavily on her shoulders. It looks like she's really too thin, she shouldn't be burdened with such a heavy mission, this should belong to men, right. Ormond thought of Baru Ailin's fiancée, Linda, the noble girl who was humble and courteous, and the silly girl who did not hesitate to fall in love. She walked so fast that she didn't get love in return, which can't blame her, only that this world is sinister and unpredictable.

Ormond rummaged through his pocket, and finally pulled out a moist merlan fruit, which he handed to Edith. "Everything will pass. He said.

"This rainstorm will turn the Black Heart Basin into a lake. Edith put the Merlin fruit in her mouth, "I'm afraid we're going to run out there. ”

Sai heard Edith's concern and took over, "If we are blocked, so will the northern army, and the time is all equal, see who will use it effectively." Hmph, when the war starts again, I will not participate, my weapons are gone, and my fists will not be able to resist the menacing barbarians. ”

"You've done enough, no one is going to ask you to do more, Say, powerlessness isn't limiting one's abilities. Ormond tried to comfort the frustrated stubborn.

"We lost to the Horkings. Sei reminded him, "And Amberta...... I can't even bury our friend, I'm so useless, why was I the one who went up to the wall first? If I insisted on letting Amber go up first, he wouldn't have ......."

“...... Amber is blessed by the Grewyn Star, and he will return to the Grevin Star. Ormond slowed down and walked with Say, and the difference in height between the two was evident. Say's bald head was covered in mottled mud spots, and his black cloak was torn to pieces on the battlefield. "Don't be sad for my old friend, his fate is not over, but a different path. ”

"I know, I know. Sei replied in a muffled voice.

"If I fall on the battlefield, I only hope that you will not be saddened by the death of your friend, and that you will become more and more courageous. ”

"Amber should not die at the hands of the living. "He is a man in black, a knight who slays the slayer, and he deserves to die." barbarians, they don't have that qualification!"

Ormond looked at Edith who was walking ahead, her head hanging low, her body so weak that it could be blown down by a breeze.

"No, I will not run away, even if I die in battle, I will avenge Amber. Sai kicked the mud off his feet and threw it into the grass beside the road, "If you don't slaughter a hundred barbarians, this revenge will not be avenged." ”

Edith turned around and said coldly, "The murderers are those mysterious people from the north, and they are the ones who killed Amber. ”

"Those mysterious people are nothing more than thieves who like to brush guns and sticks, like the black and white warlocks of Screaming Bay, I know them well. "There's a little guy who's been punched to death by me, and I'm willing to bet my punch will kill him." ”

"But the one who performed the magic didn't appear. Edith touched her bow and arrow with the palm of her hand, "When the Horking attacked the fortress, I was going to climb the wall to find a target, but there was a huge disparity between the enemy and me, and before I could jump onto the eaves next to the inner wall, less than twenty had survived, and the enemy was more and more numerous. At this point, I don't think I had a chance to shoot the wizard at all, so I had to buy time for the living. She looked back to the north and suddenly stopped, "You see, smoke is rising from the direction of Rotten Wood Town. ”

The two of them turned back at the same time, and in the northern sky, a lonely cloud of black smoke condensed in the dark blue sky, and the mountains and fields between the two still seemed deep and stagnant. The Erjing people burned down the town of Kuchimu, which meant that they began to move south. This is a lot faster than Ormond imagined. Looking at the east again, the dawn had not yet appeared, as if some force had slowed down time. "I can't even remember how long we've been walking. Ormond said with a look of loss.

Edith told him, "One more forest will probably be over the Blackheart Basin, and when we reach the forest border, the sun will come out, and when we have passed through the forest it will be morning." ”

The three of them turned their heads and left, and none of them spoke for the rest of the journey, and none of them proposed to rest. They found traces of people camping at the edge of the forest, with abandoned carts and dead horses lining the road. At this time, the dawn shines from the eastern sky, the dew covered with grass and trees refracts the hazy sunlight, and the forest bursts into a dazzling starry light, and above the forest, the water vapor merges with the dawn, making the road inside the forest extremely bright.

The three of them probably spent several hours in this forest, and by the time they reached the Black Heart Basin, the sun had risen very high, but the Sun Mountains to the east covered the Black Heart Basin, and it was a little bleak in the morning. "Thankfully, the rainstorm didn't block the road. Edith let out a long sigh of relief.

"Yes, it bought us a lot of time, it's not safe here, so let's cross the basin and find an open place to rest on the opposite side. Ormond said. The three of them came to rest on the southern slope of the basin, from which they could see the whole forest when they first arrived, and the whole basin could be seen. The Black Heart Basin is not large, but it is not small, it looks like a huge reservoir, surrounded by hillsides, sheltered by the Sunrise Mountains to the east, and forests and meadows to the west. In the center of the basin are patches of ponds, criss-crossing fissures that spread outward from the center to the bottom of the hillside on all sides.

The ancients once said that the Black Heart Basin was sneezed by the gods in the sky, and there was a fire burning here for hundreds of years. Until a rainstorm came and extinguished the flames, and those were the tears of the gods in the sky. The Earth Elves once said that a meteor caused a great earthquake in Lannia, and then the elves searched for the meteor to go north, and they saw that there was an extra sinkhole here, so the earth elves thought that it was a trace of a meteor visit.

Hopefully, this is also the place to stop the Horkings from going south, Ormond thought to himself.

"Senior, there is a group of people approaching here, and there are very many of them. Edith leaned down, listened close to the ground, and then climbed to the highest point of the south slope, "from the direction of the south." She got up and pointed.

Ormond and Sye ran to the top and looked south, where an army of a thousand men was approaching in the wilderness a few hours away. "Support the army of Kuchigi Town. Ormond reminded.

"Hmph! The fire in my backyard is almost extinguished, and I know that I came to fight the fire with water, and I bet there are less than a thousand people, isn't this here to die!" Sei was very angry.

"More than two thousand, and they marched extremely fast. Edith looked intently into the distance, "All of them were cavalry, and the ranks were very long, well, the army was divided into two parts, the leading ones in front were probably light cavalry, and the heavy cavalry were closely followed behind. ”

"Last night's heavy rain had soaked the dust, and it was difficult for the huge march to kick up the smoke. Ormond said, "Can you see the flag bearer at the front of the line?"

"It's just too far. Edith replied, "If Irina was here, she would have been able to see it." Senior, shall we continue to rest or meet the past?"

"Let them come, I think this sinkhole is a good fit for a decisive battle, a decisive battle between the southerners and the northerners. Say sat wearily on the wet grass.

Ormond looked around, and he saw the footprints of people and livestock on the gentle slope more than a hundred meters to the west of the three men, as well as a large number of ruts, in the direction of north to south. "The people of Kushiki Town should have arrived at the Takishui River Fortress, and it is impossible for Nishizawa Town and Linaki Fort to settle these refugees in a very short time, and if we choose to retreat to the Takishui River, I am afraid that these refugees will be affected. ”

"Then we'll wait for them here. Edith said.

At the same time, at the end of the boreal forest, the fire had receded, and the black smoke had turned into a gray haze that obscured the sky. The army of the North is approaching step by step, and an inevitable major battle will be fought here. We won't lose, Ormond thought to himself, if the Horkings chose to conquer the south on foot, as Sayi said, they would surely lose, but how likely was that? An army of 2,000 men was definitely not the main force of the Nishizawa and Basswood Castle, what the hell were Holheller and King Eli thinking, they really thought that cavalry alone could defeat the Hortyns. Ormond thought of Amber again. If I win, I will take Amber back to the Dusk Castle on Blackhill Mountain and give Amber a ride in the same way that the man in black is buried.

Sei lay in a black coat, his bushy beard blending in with the grass, and the emerald earring on his left ear was missing, replaced by a torn wound and a thumb-sized congealed bruise. According to his temperament, he will really return to the battlefield, search every corner, rummage through every corpse, and even if he sneaks into the bottom of the riverbed of the Red Rock River, he will find his earrings back. Edith paced left and right on the hillside, never taking her eyes off the south.

Ormond came to her side, "Go get some rest." ”

"Senior, I'm not tired. ”

"It's an order. Ormond said, "At Black Hill, Maester Pesil and Scordy have an absolute say, but the members who are on assignment outside will choose to listen to my advice. He knew that the rest of the time before the big war was useless, and the most effective way to deal with it now was to calm down and rest.

After Edith left, Ormond sat alone on the slopes, his eyes turning to the east of the Sun-Facing Mountains, which were not too tall but just enough to block out the warm sun. The Black Heart Basin is aptly named, crouching in a large pit beneath the surface, without the sun shining, and as if there has never been a bright moon in the sky. Only a beach scattered in the middle of the basin is a shallow green moor, which is turbid and terrifying.

The damp cold wind in the shadows blew through his body, making him shiver, but beyond the shadows the earth was full of warmth, every grass and tree was glowing, they were breathing, dancing, waiting for the sun to rise and the afternoon sun.

What are we waiting for? Ormond felt his ass soaked through the clammy grass, and felt a pain all over his body with every movement. We are waiting for the sword to face each other, to fight for our lives, nothing more than that, nothing more than death. He spat at the cold wind blowing in front of him, and the wind took away the spittle. He felt his mouth dry again. Never felt this way, damn it. He curled up, lying on his side on the grass, for a moment he felt that the world was spinning, his head was buzzing, and sleepiness instantly flooded his whole body, his eyes opened and closed, and finally fell asleep unconsciously.

It was Edith who woke him up, "Senpai, Senpai, wake up." ”

Ormond awoke to the cacophony of people and the neighing of horses below the hillside, but the loudest and loudest sounds were the trampling of thousands of horses and the shaking of chains and armor. Ormond slowly got up. "How long did I sleep?"

"About three hours. Edith replied with a smile.

On his left, the top of the hill was crowded with well-armed light cavalry, numbering about three hundred, and on the top of the hill on his right, there were also hundreds of cavalry, and the two flag bearers stood at the forefront, holding the alpine eagle of Nishizawa Town and the red basswood banner of the basswood fort. Several horsemen with skilled horsemen lingered on the outskirts of the ranks, some shouting, others raising their swords and shouting. Hundreds of cavalrymen responded at the same time with their swords drawn.

Below the slopes of the hill were heavy cavalry and archers, more than a thousand people, who gathered into a crowded sea of people, with archers in front, who calibrated their bows and crossbows, distributed feathered arrows. The heavy cavalry followed, each in heavy armor and armed with spears, and the horses were covered in silver metal armor. The head of the six-foot spear was made of metal, and it was as bright as molten silver in the sunlight, and the thousands of shaking spears were like thousands of sharp ice needles as far as the eye could see.

"The scout arrived an hour ago, and he said the soldiers were ready to teach the barbarians a lesson in the Blackheart Basin. Edith told him. And he also brought good news. ”

Ormond looked sideways at Edith, and when he saw Sey standing on the hillside on the right side talking and laughing with a few people, he rubbed his eyes and looked closely, only to realize what the good news was. But he still had to wait for Edith to tell him herself, so he pretended not to see anything. "What's the good news?"

"Guess who else is coming with us, besides the soldiers who are supporting us?" Edith said with a pouting smile, "It's Nofio, yes." Then he came to them with Ormond.

The leader of the trio is called Nofio, and the other two are Guise and Vidal, all three of whom are uniformly dressed in black cloaks and are slightly similar in height and appearance. Nofio has a mustache under his nose, Vidal has a bunch of irregular stubble, and Guise has even more body hair. I don't know where these three people have gone, what they have experienced, they haven't even had time to trim their beards, and their mental state is particularly vicissitudes. Ormond remembered that the last time he met the three of them was at Blackhill Mountain, but they were short-lived, and the three of them only stayed for half a day before leaving the Castle at Dusk. We haven't seen each other since then, and it's been about a year or so.

Prior to joining the Men in Black, Nofio was from Fort Basswood and was a baggage supply for Fort Basswood, while Guise was from a remote town in the north, and Vidal was from Mulhain in the Land of the Green Thorns. By the time they received Grewin's blessing, they were in their thirties and had joined three different teams. After five or six years of training, Maester Pesil formed a team of three to carry out the mission.

More than twenty years had passed, and the skills of these three men would surely help the Southern army salvage the situation, and Ormond looked at their faces and couldn't help but wonder why the six men in black here couldn't defeat the invading Hoerkings. "It's really hard to say that you guys are in this location. After speaking, he hugged the three of them one by one.

Nofio was the first to speak, "Ten days ago, Maester Pesil informed us of this through the Raven, but we were on a mission in the area of the Sea of Our Lady, and there was a day's delay in between, before we came out of the mountains three hundred leagues east of Julinburg. He scratched his severed left ear and continued, "When we got around Nishizawa Town, we heard a lot of news on the way, and it was all bad. He turned his gaze to Vidal on his right.

Vidal said, "I'm really surprised that the Horkings burned down Bullhead and Lookout, and breached the Giant's Bridge in Rottenwood, especially what happened to Red Castle. May the dead rest in peace. ”

"May the Grevyn Stars be able to accept these innocent people. Edith replied softly.

Gise stepped forward and hugged Edith, "I swear I'll avenge Amber until I die." ”

"Me too. Nofio and Vidal said in unison, and then Nofio added, "But I also heard good news. He turned his head to look at the people of the mountains behind him, hundreds of horses standing on the top of the hillside, restlessly stirring, and the cavalry preparing for the coming battle. "I heard that the dwarves of the Bodo Hills have begun to build a fourth watchtower, and that the hills for which the foundation is almost finished. However, this news has not really spread yet, and the dwarves don't want the outside world to know, and this is probably only known to the men in black. ”

"I've heard the news too. Edith told them, "The hills of Bodo are not far from Yulinburg, and I have heard from Yulinburg. Why, no one can guess what the dwarves are doing. ”

"It seems that we still have a lot to share. Ormond said, "When this is over, we'll return to Black Hill together." ”

The commander of the army came on a white war horse, with dark skin and a long beard. "Brother Black, I am the commander-in-chief of the Takisui River Fortress, all the people here are from the town of Nishizawa and the castle of Basswood, the battle has begun, the southerners will unite against the enemy, I am glad that the brothers in black can fight with us. ”

"It was our honour, young Sir Hull. Ormond nodded, "The black smoke from the forest side comes from Rotten Wood Town, and it has been burning for a long time, so according to the time, the northerners are about to arrive, so that the soldiers can prepare for battle as soon as possible." ”

"The army was ready for battle at the time of departure. Sir Hull smiled confidently.

"This basin with a radius of several kilometers will be their burial ground, the bones will be buried by the wind and sand, and the barbarians of the north will remember the hellish place that wiped them out. Sei said lightly.

"Why don't you tell us about the northerners at this time?" said Sir as he dismounted and said to Ormond.

"We could last for hours, but never until noon. ”

"That's right, it's just a conservative estimate. ”

"The northerners are strong and have sufficient physical strength, everyone can fight alone, and the soldiers who deal with us can kill two of them one by one, not to mention ...... They had no less than 7,000 men. Ormond's expression was cautious, "As far as I can guess, this is only a part of the force, the enemy stayed on the north bank of the Giant's Bridge for several days before attacking the Giant's Bridge, what should they be waiting for." ”

The Commander nodded, and Edith said, "The wizards of the north call the wind and rain, and this will make us very tricky. ”

"We need to think of some countermeasures, first to deplete their forces, and then ...... One-pot end. Nofio said.

"The terrain here is more familiar to us than the enemy, and we can use the advantage of the terrain to consume the enemy, plus the woods on both sides behind us as cover. Keith added.

"The enemy will not be fooled, the only advantage is in our hands, this land, the hillside on which we are stepping, we can use it to make a good defensive position, although let the enemy attack it. ”

"That's all we can do. Ormond said.

"No matter how you discuss, give me a weapon to take advantage of, I can't even deal with a chicken without a weapon. Say turned to Sir Hull from Nishizawa to complain. Hearing the scouts shout, all eyes turned to the northern forest. "Get ready, get ready...... one of the Nishizawa cavalrymen stood out from the crowd, and with a flick of his horse's belly, the horse sped past the cavalry regiment at the top of the western slope, and then rode towards the heavy cavalry and archers below the hillside. "Everyone is ready to fight!" and a few others cheered up the morale of the top of the eastern slope.

Then there was a restless agitation, and the vanguard of the Erkings poked out of the forest, followed by a black oppressive infantry, who climbed the gentle hills, and in a very short time submerged the northern slopes of the Black Heart Basin, but the tsunami-shaped enemy continued to emerge from the forest.

"Looks like these people on the other side are the northern invaders?" Vidal said calmly, "just as I thought." ”

"What do you see?" Nofio smiled.

"Hatred, death, and arrogance. ”

"This fight will give them their wish. Keith said.

"What do you mean?"

"The doors of the undead will be open for them!" Gise explained.

"Concentrate on my old friend, the enemy is not the robbers of the mountains and forests, nor the undead in the dark, these people are violent and wanton, and they only have killing in their hearts, and the red-eyed enemy is terrible. Sei was given a brown-black iron axe, and his expression became less embarrassed.

"When did you start worrying about it, too? Guise said to Say.

"Maybe yesterday, maybe longer. ”

Ormond left his friends, and then rode with Ser Hull to the highest point of the southern slope, "There is no time left, we can only stay here, let the enemy take the initiative to attack, when the two armies fight, the men in black will bear the brunt, let all the archers consume the enemy on the left and right slopes, and the others wait for orders." Ormond said.

Sir nodded, rode his horse into the army, and shouted to the warriors. "Warriors of the Basswood Fort, Warriors of the Castle of Basswood, Today's battle will be a battle that will go down in history, do not be soft, do not have mercy, strike hard at the enemy, and let the enemy roll back to the north!" The warriors were full of confidence, and all of them drew their weapons and waved them in the air, and their shouts drowned out the enemy's war drums, and their anger prevailed over the enemy's hatred.

"All the Rangers are coming to me, and do my bidding! The archers are gathered on the slopes on either side!, and when they are at range, they will give the enemy a taste of it!" shouted Sizzle. In an instant, hundreds of rangers gathered together, and the sound of dense horses' hooves fell like thunder and knocked on the Black Heart Basin. Hundreds of archers split into two and entrenched on the slopes on either side.

The enemy on the opposite side was unmoved, and when the sound of the trumpets stopped abruptly and the drums of war calmed the ground, the mighty enemy began to slowly descend the northern slope and approach the center of the basin. The superiority seemed to have long been on the side of the enemy, and the disparity in numbers was testing every warrior until fear took over their hearts.

Then Ormond stepped forward, sword in hand, and walked among the warriors. "I see the fortitude that emanates from you, and I see the ignorance of the enemy, but we all know that there are many enemies, so what? As long as we have a breath, the enemy will not see victory, think of the homeland behind us, the family waiting for us to go back, we have a reason to fight to the end, and we have a reason to face everyone, because this is our mission. ”

The warriors stared at the enemy on the other side, their horses breathing, their hooves rippling, their swords raised higher. This is a good sign, even if you die on the battlefield.