On the route from the metal empire Ge City to the border P city of the Non-Metal Alliance, rows of soldiers in silver armor are advancing, followed by a group of war horses led by horse trainers, because the road between the two cities has been destroyed by the non-metal tribe a hundred years ago, so it will be very troublesome to march with war horses, and it will also waste the strength of war horses.

Most of the warriors of the Metal Empire are knights, only a few are mages, and the mages are also concentrated in the H clan. These rugged metal tribes are not good at using spells, and their fighting style is usually accomplished by a great sword, a warhorse, and a courageous heart.

In this kind of barren mountains and mountains, the war horses are not easy to travel, and the knights of the metal empire will suffer a lot, so the commander Zhao Lucheng who is sitting on the horse at the front of the team will continue to order the whole army to march quickly and get through this dangerous area as soon as possible.

Their team is the South Road Striker, the number is about 30,000, and the source of soldiers is mainly from the standing army of the city around Fe City Mn City, compared to the 60,000 elite troops from the Au Legion under Jin Luo, the North Road Striker of B City and C City, and the 100,000 troops under Nangong Bo, the main force of Al City and Si City, it is naturally a huge gap, whether it is the number of soldiers or the quality of individual soldiers.

As for the 10,000 reinforcements of Sword Emperor IV, in fact, you don't need to think about the expeditionary army, those are noble knights who don't pay much attention to training on weekdays, their parents want their children to get exercise or in order to mix the identity of a noble knight, seeing that the reinforcements under the command of Sword Emperor IV this time are quite safe and have status, they ask people to pull relationships to send their children into the army.

If this army were the first to go to battle, it would definitely be a lot of casualties.

Fortunately, the other armies on the front line this time have enough military strength, so they should not need the backup of this three-legged cat army.

The mountain road from Ge City to P City is still very long, and the spies back and forth repeatedly report the road conditions in front and on the flanks, but to Zhao Lucheng's expectations, there is not a single soldier on this mountain road who is responsible for blocking the non-metallic army.

Before leaving, Zhao Lucheng carefully looked at the map of this mountain road, and also focused on marking several places that were quite easy to ambush, but at the moment, there was not a single soldier in these places?

"Shouldn't it?" Zhao Lucheng muttered to himself with some confusion.

Considering that his mission this time was only to block the reinforcements of non-metal from the south road to support P City, and he only fought when he met it, and patrolled if he didn't meet it, and considering that the march on the mountain road was difficult, and the convoy of grain, grass and baggage was inconvenient to run on the mountain road, he only asked the soldiers to bring some dry food that could satisfy hunger, and did not even bring a cook.

However, when they were marching so awkwardly, the non-metallic army that had always pursued the principle of "half-crossing and attacking" actually did not ambush?

Didn't the non-metal know about the Empire's troops?

It shouldn't be possible.

The weakness of the army on this expedition is that he Zhao Lucheng is here, and the army of Sword Emperor IV will not leave the country easily, so the non-metallic army that is weak in terms of strength should quickly destroy his team.

Could it be that the non-metallic army has changed its strategy?

Zhao Lucheng was puzzled, but he was deeply relieved to see that his team had safely passed through a place that had been marked with caution before.

"May this expedition go on safely!" he thought.

......

Metal Empire Frontier on the outskirts of the eastern part of the city

After a day of arduous marching, it was already evening, and the young master soldiers who had worked hard all day had unloaded their heavy armor and were moving wood and other materials with a smile and a smile, preparing to build a camp in the area drawn by the leader of their team, the Sword Emperor IV. Not far away, several soldiers were hoisting the "twin swords crossed behind steel shields" flag representing the Imperial Army on a makeshift flagpole.

On a mountain range, the robed Sword Emperor IV looked up at the sunset that was about to set in the west, and his expression was sad.

A gray-haired old man in armor appeared behind him, his face indifferent.

Sword Emperor IV glanced back at the old man, and then turned his head again: "Isn't Old General Wei going to take off his battle armor?"

"Before the end of the war, I had never been in the habit of removing my armor in advance, except in exceptional circumstances. Wei Zilu replied.

Sword Emperor IV nodded: "Tomorrow we will leave for the border of the Non-Metallic Alliance, and this is the only place where the handover is not mountainous, where we will support other armies at any time and share the joy of victory with the soldiers." ”

After finishing speaking, the two were so tacit that neither of them spoke.

"Your Majesty, listen to my advice. At this time, Wei Zilu suddenly said, "Since the war has begun, let's analyze it from the perspective of war, our chances of winning are not great, especially when our team of young master soldiers marches into the land of non-metal." ”

"Why?" responded to the old general, only the sneer of Sword Emperor IV.

"Because according to my years of experience, the non-metallic army is good at fighting soft persimmons, and my team is composed of noble knights who are not usually trained well, both in terms of number and combat effectiveness, they are the soft persimmons of this expedition team!" Wei Zilu said, "If we are attacked at that time, it will not only affect the morale of the front-line soldiers and make them lose their sense of security on their backs, but also more fatally, Your Majesty, you can be in danger!"

"You don't think that these three-legged cat riders will protect you, do you? In the face of great trouble, they will go to save their lives! And they can't save it!" Wei Zilu said again.

Sword Emperor IV frowned and said, "Wei Zilu! I respect you as a veteran to speak to you like this! If you dare to say such things before the big war, you will destroy your own prestige by raising the morale of others! Military law is serving!"

"Hmph!" Sword Emperor IV snorted coldly and walked away, leaving Wei Zilu alone and sighing.

"It's over......"

......

After dark, the Metal Empire barracks was silent, and the entire tent was filled with the snoring of the sleeping knights, and the magic lights that lit up every corner of the camp.

The imperial flag in the distance hung slightly, and on this windless night, it was destined not to release its passion and vitality.

In addition, this is the eastern outskirts of Al City, the border of the empire, and no one usually has nothing to do to come here to meet the enemy and rub sparks along the way, so it is very normal for the camp to be quiet at this time.

It was so silent that there was no sound of the patrolmen walking.

Wei Zilu lay on the bed and couldn't sleep, looking at the glimmer of moonlight that flowed through the gaps left by the tent's uncovered curtain.

His heart was anxious.

Because the stubborn Sword Emperor IV never listened to his advice.

If the Sword Emperor IV chooses to continue to march to the vicinity of the commander Nangong Bo's troop station, or retreat to the border of Al City, it is unlikely that he will be caught by the non-metallic army, so that the rhythm of the front line will become smooth, but the Sword Emperor IV has to choose to garrison in the barren mountains and mountains of this flat river, and has not done too many defensive measures, so if it is suddenly attacked by the non-metallic alliance army, it is impossible to fight these non-metallic old rivers and lakes who have been immersed in the battlefield for many years and their combat methods are extremely obscene。

Thinking about it, he really couldn't sit still, and decided to insist that Sword Emperor IV continue to march or retreat even at the risk that Sword Emperor IV would be furious.

There is no village in front of this barren mountain and no store, and it is not a way to be on call here!

He got up from the bed, his tendons and flesh were wrapped in close-fitting leather armor, and this veteran was indeed as he said, he would never take off his armor when he went out to fight!

Wei Zilu took the heavy armor from the hanger next to the bed, and a moment later, he appeared in the camp where he was so silent that there was no sound!

Something moved in the distance, he glanced at it, and the thing didn't move.

"Maybe my eyes are a little glazed!Alas, I'm old!" he muttered to himself and continued to look there a few more times, but the voice of his self-talk was a little louder, far beyond the scope of what he could say to himself.

He walked to the gate of the camp, and on the way he woke up a few patrolmen who were asleep on the side of the road.

No wonder there was no sound just now!, he said angrily in his heart. Then he thought of something more important: the janitor wouldn't fall asleep, would he?

Thinking of this, he hurried to the gate of the camp. Fortunately, the guards in charge of standing guard were at least still standing.

When the other party saw Wei Zilu, a veteran, he immediately cheered up, and his waist was straight, although it was still a little bent compared to normal walking...... But in Wei Zilu's opinion, this is much stronger than the sleeping soldiers on both sides of the road.

"When are you going to change shifts?" Wei Zilu asked the guard.

"An hour ago, but the person who was going to take over my shift hasn't come yet. The guard's voice trembled a little, this veteran usually has a lot of prestige in the army, anyway, this guard from a noble family is very afraid of Wei Zilu.

"Okay, he probably won't come, you go to sleep. Wei Zilu said, "I'll stand guard in the second half of the night." ”

"Yes. The soldier cautiously left.

......

"Knock, knock, knock, knock......"

In the silence of the night, it was so quiet that there was no smell of fireworks in the world, and there was only a cold and hard war style.

In the silent night wind, the silent rows of iron and silver battle armor formations drove into P City in unison.

Zhao Lucheng rode a horse and stood on a nearby mountain, the cloak behind him fluttering in the wind, draped in a pair of standard battle armor, and he looked heroic, but his expression looked far inferior to his outfit.

All that could be seen on his face was seriousness and coldness.

"Commander, the fifth investigation has been completed, there is not a single non-metallic soldier in the city of P, and the people have not caught a single one. A knight came to Zhao Lucheng's side and bowed his head to report.

"Oh?" Zhao Lucheng raised his eyebrows, "It seems that it is not the empty city plan of the Non-Metal Alliance, they directly ceded the city to us, so what do they want to do?

"My subordinates have an idea, and I don't know whether to talk about it or not. At this time, a young man who was also riding a horse rode to Zhao Lucheng's side and bowed his hand to Zhao Lucheng.

"Speak. Zhao Lucheng glanced back at the man, this person was not masculine and heroic, but his slender black eyebrows and beardless face revealed a sense of femininity that was very different from ordinary men.

Zhao Lucheng remembered that this person was the secretary of the army he went on this expedition - Su Zhengyu.

Seeing Zhao Lucheng let him talk about his thoughts, Su Zhengyu smiled, didn't make too many embellishments, and said straight to the point: "Commander, I don't think the non-metallic alliance looks down on our troops, on the contrary, they attach great importance to us, so they will leave us with an empty city and not clash with us head-on." ”

Zhao Lucheng nodded and motioned for Su Zhengyu to continue.

"When it comes to frontal combat ability, each of our knights can top their ten non-metallic soldiers, in terms of strength, they have never been an advantage, according to the investigation of the spies, the non-metallic sent a total of 50,000 soldiers this time, obviously although they won the battle last time, they were also seriously injured, you also know this. Su Zhengyu said.

Zhao Lucheng propped up his chin with his left hand and fell into deep thought.

"With their strength, if they encounter our army directly, it will undoubtedly be a sheep sending a tiger's mouth, which is tantamount to hitting a stone with an egg, when an army is at an absolute disadvantage in strength, what will the commander of the army do?"

Zhao Lucheng slapped his face, and suddenly realized: "You mean that the non-metallic alliance is deliberately showing weakness to us, giving us these empty cities that are very important in our eyes, and then using them to disperse our forces, and they will drill into them to attack our vital points!"

That's exactly what my subordinates meant. Su Zhengyu said, "I don't know what the commander wants?"

"You stand down first," Zhao Lucheng held his forehead, and after listening to Su Zhengyu's analysis, his head hurt a little, "Let me think about it again...... Wait a minute, you can bring me a topographical map of the area. ”

Su Zhengyu nodded yes, and after going for a while, he brought a map and handed it to Zhao Lucheng.

"The non-metallic army must cut off our grain routes and support routes, and break through our weaknesses, so that we can have a chance to disrupt our rhythm and win the victory," Zhao Lucheng looked at the nearby main cities and terrain marked on the map, "So, where are the weaknesses of our expedition this time?"

Suddenly, his pupils shrank sharply, and his whole body began to tremble and break out in a cold sweat!

"What's the matter, Commander?" Su Zhengyu noticed Zhao Lucheng's strange appearance and hurriedly asked.

"Where is Xiao Yulong? Has he already led part of his army to ambush and fortify in a nearby dangerous place?"

After receiving Su Zhengyu's affirmative answer, Zhao Lucheng almost roared and spoke: "Tell him to cancel the fortification! We will withdraw our troops immediately! This place can't stay!"

"Huh?" Su Zhengyu said, "Don't worry, Commander, General Xiao is your order to build fortifications in various dangerous places before you to prevent the enemy from attacking from the south road, are you mistaken......

"I'm not mistaken, here and there, my order has changed, hurry up and inform!" Zhao Lucheng shouted out completely, and he also pointed to a few guards who were following him, "You few, go and notify too! Hurry up! I want you to go and notify the departments as soon as possible and leave for the army immediately!"

"I'm afraid it's too late, the Sword Emperor IV. won't be saved!" Zhao Lucheng shouted.

"Yes!" As soon as they heard Zhao Lucheng say that His Majesty the Sword Emperor might be in danger, everyone was shocked, and hurriedly responded, and then quickly went down the mountain, calling a few more people along the road, and rushed to inform the various troops.

After all, what Zhao Lucheng mentioned was the Sword Emperor IV., the ruler of the Metal Empire, if something happened to him, he would be able to pay it back!

"The whole army will go to the eastern outskirts of Al City to rescue His Majesty the Sword Emperor!" In the distance, the shouts of several people in charge of the herald lasted for a long time, and fluttered into Zhao Lucheng's ears.

Zhao Lucheng secretly prayed, "I hope Your Majesty will be fine", and then he also rode his horse and galloped down the mountain.

......

Metal Empire H City

The clock that announced the end of the night had already struck the third watch, and the dark streets were deserted, except for a few patrolmen on duty carrying night lights made of magic condensed fires in their hands, and occasionally some young men and women who had just finished their nightlife passed by.

The early blooming pear blossoms on both sides of the street have begun to turn yellow, and some have already withered, but next to these "sick trees and sunken boats" there are many "ten thousand trees and thousands of sails" that have just grown into flower buds and some flower buds are ripe and ready to open.

Some young couples refused to move, they snuggled together and watched the white snow-like H pear blossoms bloom quietly, and made a vow in their hearts.

This is the scenery of the outer city, there is at least a little human voice here, but the closer you get to the location of the Huangfu Mansion in the center of the city, the sound becomes quieter and quieter, until finally in the Huangfu Mansion, an ancient and regular castle with an ancient architectural style, there is not even a single noise!

At this time, most of the servants rested, and needless to say, the nobles took great care of their bodies, and most of them developed the good habit of going to bed early and getting up early. Unlike commoners and some poor middle and low-ranking nobles, who have to run around every day for a living, how can they have free time to cultivate a fixed sleep time.

The small window of a tall tower in the Emperor's Mansion was closed at this time, like a vigilant heart closed in the wind.

A gust of wind blew, but the window seemed to loosen a little, and slowly the window opened a small crack, one eye looked in, and after carefully looking at the surrounding environment, he cautiously pushed the window in.

A man in black.

He looked around the room, there were a lot of landscape paintings on the walls, and there were a lot of doll decorations hanging on the corner of the table and the head of the bed, which looked like a girl's room.

The man in black looked around, and after seeing the sleeping woman lying on the bed, he smiled and nodded, slowly approached the girl's bedside, slowly and slowly sat down against the bed, and slowly watched the girl wake up from her sleep......

"Zhao Lucheng!" the girl opened her eyes, there were tears in the corners of her eyes, apparently she had just had a very unpleasant dream that made her very unhappy.

She came back from her dream and looked around, only to see a dark figure the size of an adult man sitting in front of her!

Suddenly she was so frightened that she was about to shout!

The man in black hurriedly covered the latter's mouth: "Don't shout, Rose, if you want Zhao Lucheng to live well." ”

Huangfu Rose was taken aback, and quickly stopped struggling and stopped shouting.

Thinking about it, I am estimated to have been asleep for a long time in front of this person, if this person is thinking about himself, wouldn't he have done it early!

Thinking about it this way, this person should have other plans, and even knew about Zhao Lucheng's expedition. She thought so, and since that was the case, she was going to deal with him first.

Thinking of this, she sorted out her emotions and said, "Say it." ”

The man in black looked at Huangfu Rose, who was sitting on the bed, and smiled: "Are you ready?"