"Ah...... Of course, my lord. ”

Cecilia said to Chad who had already dismounted and was waiting, "Come, sir, let me see why the people of Morus do not need the walls. Chad straightened his cloak and followed Cecilia's footsteps towards the dock outside the shipyard. Four well-armed knights surrounded Cecilia with halberds, allowing Chad to see only her long golden hair.

Turning the red walls of the shipyard, the fleet of Port Morlus was moored on the docks. Chad's first reaction was vertigo, as the ship's mast was so high that he needed to look up to see Brutz's pennant on top of the mast. Chad lowered his head, there were so many warships moored outside the harbor that he couldn't count them for a moment.

A gust of wind mixed with the last hint of winter chill blew across the sea, and Cecilia tightened her robes, pointed to the huge fleet outside the docks, and said to Chad, "This is Morus's fleet. She paused, smiled and said, "My fleet." ”

Chad walked up and down the wooden bridge at the pier in surprise. Wickwood was an inland dukedom, naturally without a navy, and the last time Chad saw a ship was in the harbor of Powana. However, Povana is a predominantly commercial city, known for its mercenaries rather than its fleets. Chad walked up to a three-masted battleship and looked at the beautiful bronze angel statue on the bow.

"The Karak battleship, there are ten of them in the Morus fleet. Cecilia followed, her white hand pointing to the side of the harbor. The Karak battleships lined up and occupied almost a third of the berths.

The remaining battleships, most of which were Hawk and Kirk. The latter can be driven by an ancient pulp. All warships were armed with ballistas, and the entire Morus fleet consisted of nearly fifty ships large and small, anchored on the east side of Morus. It is sheltered by the walls and mountains of the shipyard, making it impossible for outsiders to see it. Chad marveled as he stepped from the pedal onto the first Karak battleship. Stepping on the newly made deck, the planks creaked slightly, and the canvas was whistling in the wind. Chad stepped off the deck and excitedly went up to the captain's quarters.

"How's it going, Lord Chad?" said Cecilia.

"Brutz's fleet. It is estimated that there is no one to beat in the whole North Sea!" said Chard, "Countess, your fleet. Together with the army of the Guiyu Alliance, they will sail to the east! Although the fleet of the Knights is large, it is no match for the fleet of Brutz. ”

Cecilia silently walked over to the handrail and leaned against it. "Go back and tell the Duke of Wickwood. Lord Chad Chard. I'm just a woman though. But I'm more committed than a lot of people. Brutz's fleet is not something you can buy with a few territories. It's just that if I wait for the Guizi alliance to be defeated, then the peace of the Bruts will eventually be broken. She brushed her hair, which was blown by the sea breeze, and looked at Chad. At night, the footsteps of the night watchman in the castle could be heard from the aisles. Chad closed the window and sat down at the table, dipping a quill in ink. Write beautiful italics on a piece of paper:

"To the Duke of Wickwood:

The negotiations proceeded smoothly, and I only represented His Excellency the Duke in exchange for the union of the Countess of Brutz with the town of Cerry and the town of Groz. Although the Countess has not yet sent troops. But I believe in its sincerity. In addition, the Countess showed me the fleet of the port of Morus, which was truly spectacular, and I was aware that warships were being built in five ports of Bruz. With the aid of the Bruts fleet, the Guiyu Alliance would have a great advantage against the Knights.

Your faithful servant

Chad de Virta"

Chad looked through the glass as the messenger rode out of the city gate with the pass in his hand. He finally breathed a sigh of relief, lay down on his bed, thought about the coming war, and fell asleep.

The blood and smoke of Frost City disappeared with the last snowflakes in Vikia's time. It's been two months since Frost City changed hands, and the long-lost spring has quietly arrived on Vecchia. While there are still remnants of snow and ice in forests and lakes, the snow has melted into the creek and hibernating beasts have come out of their burrows. The coming war will nourish the spring of Vekia with blood.

In the bushes eight hundred yards from Fort Varina, Boud and Baron Roland lay down and hidden. The bushes had already pulled out new shoots, so the scouts in the green cloaks were not spotted by the Knights scouts. A dozen horsemen tied their horses to the trees in the distance, wearing light leather armor, peered through the grass at the besieged camp of the Knights in the distance.

Roland was dissatisfied with the task given to him by the duke, and it was supposed that he should lead the levies in the territory to fight with the duke, just like the other lords, but in fact the duke still sent him as a knight. He moved his numb arm and looked up at Bode beside him. Bode was still only a captain, but the Duke treated him as if he were a close confidant. At this moment, Pod was squinting intently, observing the army of the Knights.

"I've counted about two thousand, what about you?" Bode asked.

"Me too. Roland said impatiently.

According to previous information, at this moment the main force of the Knights is still besieging Fort Varina. Although the defenders of the castle were outnumbered and held back the Order's army, the time spent by the nobles in recruiting soldiers and negotiating with each other gave the Order a chance. However, at this moment, the main force of the Knights disappeared, leaving only 2,000 men to besiege the exhausted Varina army.

"No, it's not right, you look at the army outside the castle. Pod said.

"What's wrong?" Roland struggled to crouch to his feet, looking into the distance. Something was wrong, and although the camp was still surrounded by the Order's black-and-white striped flag, the soldiers were clearly poorly equipped and undisciplined, and were clearly not well-trained Knights. In each camp, there are also pennants of various colors with different coats of arms.

"Gwendanians. Roland frowned, "Why are they here?"

"Gwendania sent reinforcements to serve as cannon fodder for the Order. Bode smiled, "Let's go back and report first, the Duke will also send someone to track down the whereabouts of the main force of the Knights." ”

"We'll be able to kill someone like that, the Duke must be too careful!" Roland vented his anger at the day he had spent lying in the grass.

Bode's horse was tethered to a birch tree and was chewing on it impatiently. The horse kicked its hind hooves, its mane fluttering in the wind, and it looked like it was in a hurry to gallop across the plains. Bode patted the horse, tightened his grip on the reins, and rolled over on his horse.

Within the walls of Fort Varina, which had been crumbled by stone bullets and blackened by smoke and fire, the remaining 200 or so defenders were on the verge of collapse. The exhausted soldiers, leaning on their spears, sat on the walls and fell asleep, and only the artillery fire of the Knights could wake them from their sleep. All the male servants were sent up to the walls with all the weapons they could find, while the women, from Margaret, daughter of the Count of Varina, to the kitchen maids, worked part-time to care for the wounded. Food was running out, some of the soldiers from the lower ranks were already catching mice, and the dozen or so surviving nobles, including the count himself, were fed with nothing more than black bread every day.

Baron Matt, dressed in scarred armor, shuffled his tired pace around the city walls. He kicked a soldier with his head hanging down, and was about to scold him, only to find the soldier slowly falling. Another soldier killed by starvation.

Matt's face was covered in soot, and his beard had probably not been shaved in a long time. He circled the city walls, looked at the still-moving knightly camp from the tower, and returned to the castle. He washed his soot-covered face by the well and walked to the castle tiredly.

The hole in the east wall of the main fort had not been filled by the catapult's stone projectiles, so Margaret had to sleep in another room. Matt sat on a bench, his hands crossed on his knees, anxiously pondering the plight of the Varina Army.

"Go and rest. A gentle voice came from beside him. Matt looked up.

Margaret wore a red dress, which looked like a legacy from the previous ball, but the corners of the skirt were cut off to make it easier to move around. She had a basin in her hand and seemed to have just come from the wounded. Margaret's complexion was bloodless due to the lack of rest, and her long brown-red hair turned even paler.

"Thank you, sister. It's just that if the commanders were asleep, I wouldn't know if the soldiers surrendered. Matt said with a wry smile. "It's you, you should rest for a while. ”

"......No," Margaret sighed, "there are too many wounded. ”

Matt took Margaret's hand and said, "This should have been the hand of the young lady, not the nurse." ”

Margaret smiled and retracted her hand, but there was sadness in her eyes. One of the captains comes down the hallway and reports to Matt that there is movement down the mountain. Matt got up and walked with him, and Margaret waited for Matt's back to slowly disappear, and turned back to the wounded area.

This was originally the main hall of the castle, and the bottom and walls were made of polished stone bricks. At this moment, the tables and chairs in the hall were removed, the floor was covered with cloth, and dozens of wounded people were lying down. Blood seeped through the cloth and into the crevices of the stone bricks. Nurses wore masks and tended to the wounded. Moans echoed through the hall, and once it quieted down, it was unlikely to be heard again. Occasionally, rats were scurrying, and the nurses had to chase them away in anger.

Margaret walked softly into the hall, and everyone standing nodded respectfully. She came to one of the wounded men she had seen before. It was a young soldier with an arrow in the chest, apparently improvised before the siege. His face was a mixture of sweat and blood, and his expression was painful. Margaret had already bandaged him, but now the white bandages were covered in blood. His fierce struggle made the blood come out more and more.

"I ...... Am I going to die...... Ahem......" the soldier said to Margaret with his eyes open.

"No, as long as you don't move, you'll be fine. Margaret said.

"No...... Even if I ...... Ahem, I can't die now, the castle is broken......"

"The Knights haven't stormed the city for three days, and the Baron says they've mostly withdrawn. (To be continued......)