Ten days passed quickly.

Although he knew that he would soon be stripped of his military power, the general still held the hope that he would still be a member of the military to take his place, and he could continue to lead the army to fight. He still tried his best to do what a general should do.

Until now, the various circumstances of those orc troops have not been clear, and most of the troops sent out to investigate have found nothing. The general even began to plan to send a vanguard force of several thousand men to the city of Ofu to explore and attack in a virtual way.

Asa was strongly opposed, and only those who had experienced it knew how risky it was, and it was purely a death sentence. And he knows what such a strategy means by Oufu. This is delaying time, Ou Fu has never thought of starting a war with the empire from the beginning, and if he does not let the opponent know his specific combat strength, the other party will not dare to act rashly, and the situation on the side of the royal capital is already obvious, and the order to withdraw from the armistice is only a matter of time.

Asa knew that it was only a matter of time before he was on a mission. As long as the order of His Majesty the Emperor is handed down, it is enough to try not to let the general send troops. So these days he tried hard to deal with the general with the kung fu of his mouth that he was not good at, fortunately, the rich field life and combat experience always allowed him to have something to say and be able to persuade the general, the key is that he did experience the amazing combat effectiveness of the orcs, and also saw the high efficiency of Orf under the rule of Cedros. He analyzed the mobility of the orcs beyond the wilderness, and most importantly the sight that was not affected by darkness at night, and the sense of hearing a hundred times more sensitive than that of humans. This is completely different from the situation when the general exterminated those rigid orc tribes before, and if the orcs will take the initiative to attack and use various flexible methods to fully exploit all their advantages, the concept of battle will be completely different. Not to mention the bipedal wyvern, which can see the whereabouts of its troops at heights beyond the reach of bows and arrows. In a situation where the enemy is in the dark and we are in the open, just a non-stop sneak attack at night can smash the morale of the troops.

The general's attitude towards him gradually calmed down during the constant arguments with Asa, and even began to show approval and admiration. Such a young man, both his mind and combat experience are not commensurate with his age, as for his skills, as a martial artist's intuition, he can also see that this young man is by no means ordinary. Nor did he eat and drink in the tents or discuss abstract theological issues with the priests every day, as other priests did. This is undoubtedly a talent to lead the war, a natural fighter, and the general has wanted to ask many times why a man like him would work under the Elni family, but he has not spoken.

Today, the messenger who delivered the emperor's will has finally arrived. Sure enough, the general's military power was cut off, and he finally ceased to be a general. The military and the Ernie family were at odds with each other on the question of the choice of a new general, and finally Duke Mlak was approved by the ministers of both factions. He would soon come to take over the military power, and the emperor ordered the general to wait here for the duke's arrival.

The general listened silently to the decree, and finally he asked, "Will the battle continue after Duke Mrak takes over, and will he lead the troops here to attack the orc city-state?"

"Your Majesty has decided to withdraw from the army. The envoys of various countries demanded that the Bishop of Ronis also strongly advocate the recognition of Oufu as an independent state. I heard that Ou Fu is about to send an envoy to discuss the peace treaty, and this battle is not only now, but may not be fought in the future. The 40,000 troops here will be assigned back to the southern frontier after being taken over by Duke Mlak, and if necessary, half of the soldiers will be disarmed and returned to the fields. ”

The general was silent, and then his whole body began to tremble slightly, and he said a few words very hard: "The minister's order." ”

At dusk, Asa was called out by the general. The general led him out of Bracada.

They came to a small hill outside the city, and there was no one else around. The general looked at the blood-red sunset and was silent for a moment, then said, "I can see that you are a real warrior these days. I want to talk to you now, putting aside what the fuck political positions and purely based on the conversation between the two fighters. ”

The general glanced at Asa very powerfully, full of regret and unwillingness. "Why did you succumb to the smoky politicians of the Erni family? You can see in you the temperament that only a true warrior possesses, that is, the strength of a man who has walked through countless lines of life and death, experienced the smell of death, and trampled the blood and flesh of his opponent under his feet with his hands and teeth. So how can you put up with those pig-like politicians? Don't you, as a true warrior, feel disgusted when they play with all those smoky machinations?"

"I'm not from the Ernie family. Asa replied. "Bishop Ronis sent me here. ”

The general was a little surprised, and asked, "Your Excellency, what did he send you here for?"

"The Bishop has told me to come here to de-escalate the situation and wait for a truce. ”

"De-escalate the situation .... No wonder you've been trying to stop me from sending troops all this time. "The general didn't get angry, and his energy seemed to have been drained by the decree that came today. "So what will happen to us soldiers after the armistice? We can fight, we can use our own flesh and blood to expand the territory of the country, and then we can protect it with our own lives. But in the end, once the peace is over, there will be no need for us people, and it will be the world of those politicians who are flies and dogs. The sword is no match for means and conspiracy, and those of us who fight for our lives on the front line can only be political tools, and we can't do that kind of dirty thing, so we can only be slowly squeezed out, and the country will slowly fall into the hands of those pig-like aristocrats who spend all their lives drinking and drinking. What are those people, pampered, powerless, indistinguishable, industrious, and industrious, and what will they do but women and eat and drink? We can kill them with a single finger, as easily as a bedbug. Anger began to sparkle in the general's eyes. "Why are we still being toyed with by them, and why are the land and glory that we have bought with our blood and flesh being taken by these people for themselves?"

Asa was silent. He could feel the waves in the general's heart. Although he didn't understand anything about military politics, he could understand the anger of this old man.

The general looked at Asa and said slowly, word by word, "I have a request for you. This is the first time in my life that I have asked someone to ask for it. It's a warrior's request to a warrior, can you grant it?"

With a general's personality, such a prestige, and such a person, this is probably the first time in his life that he has begged for someone.

An old man's lifelong request. Can a general commanding tens of thousands of troops refuse a request in an equal, endorsing the other party's request?

Asa was on the verge of saying yes. But he did not forget the delicate circumstances and tasks of the moment, and simply said: "You talk about it. ”

The general was silent for a moment, and then said, "Didn't you notice? And the messenger quickly departed after delivering his message. I have arranged these things on purpose. ”

"Really?" Asa frowned, he wasn't familiar with any of this. "Why do you want to arrange it that way?"

"No one else heard the contents of the Divine Decree. In other words, no one knows that I have no authority to command the troops except the two of us...... Do you know why I'm doing this?"

"I don't know. Asa waited for him to continue.

"This is a team that I have led for nearly 20 years, and I can say that every one of these generals is my henchman. As long as I don't let them know that I've been stripped of my military powers, I can still mobilize them. ”

"What do you want to do?" Asa frowned at the general.

The general's voice slowly regained its vitality and majesty: "Tomorrow we will march with all our troops to that orc lair and kill it." As long as that nest is razed to the ground in one fell swoop, other countries will naturally not dare to say anything when they see our military might, and His Majesty the Emperor will also know that we soldiers are still needed to maintain the country, and those politicians will be terrified and dare not play any more tricks. ”

Asa looked at the general in amazement, his despair had turned his anger and reluctance into the passion of a gambler.

"Nothing to scrupulously about. History has always been a success, as long as we can succeed, no one will dare to say anything. Bishop Ronis will never blame you either. There's no problem with the Holy Knights, Captain Roland is an old comrade-in-arms who has fought side by side with me for many years, and he will definitely support us secretly. As long as we work together, you can command the priests and the troops to work together to kill those orcs without a single piece of armor. We're ten times as many. The general's eyes began to shine, as if victory was at hand.

"I'm sorry, I don't do it. Asa shook his head. "I told you that rushing into the army will not lead to good results. Also, I'm here to stop you. I'll go back and tell the other generals that you've been stripped of your military power. ”

The general's eyes dimmed, and then the rage burned again with a hundredfold ferocity.

Facing the general's eyes that seemed to be able to kill, Asa did not have the slightest fear, he just felt that the old man was a little pitiful, he shook his head and said: "Isn't it good to stop fighting? Who is in power and what? The soldiers don't need to die, they go home and go home." It's better to live in peace than to die here. ”

The general's voice seemed to be roaring, and it was like a scream: "People will die in life, and sooner or later." As a soldier, it is better to die vigorously on the battlefield than to go back to farming and selling vegetables, and wait for the future to slowly survive on the bed and die. ”

Asa still shook his head, still saying lightly: "Even if you think so, these tens of thousands of soldiers will not think so, and their relatives will not think so. They all want to see their sons or husbands come back alive. General, don't your wives and children want you to go back alive?"

The general slowly stretched out his hand to the west, where the sunset was red as blood. His voice was actually trembling: "My wife and the last son died there, at the hands of the orcs. ”

Asa froze.

"Twenty-five years ago, my wife was killed and eaten by the orcs when she passed through the wild highlands with a caravan. I don't even know where to find the body. The fortitude and ferocity of the general were gone, and only trembling sorrow remained. His back to the setting sun makes him look as if he is a broken sculpture. "More than half a year ago, my last son led a team of mercenaries to reconnoiter deep in the heights, but there was no news. He was only twenty-five years old and a valiant warrior. In time, he will definitely be a great warrior and general, you know?"

Asa knows. Before his eyes appeared the heroic figure facing an ogre like a fortress of war on the top of a barren mountain.

"I'll tell you again, twenty years ago, the villages and towns around the Savage Highlands were attacked by orcs every year. Those beasts hunted humans like hunting, capturing and killing living people, and eating them. When I led the army to exterminate these beasts, I saw among their tribes ornaments made of human bones, and they used human skins as paper to write and clothes to wear. And now, the beasts have built cities in great shape, and want to negotiate with us humans. Not as a warrior, even as a human being, can you allow that?"

The general's voice was no longer so impassioned, only sadness and a kind of tired anger. But Asa's heart began to be unsettled.

No one would be unaware of the fact that orcs used to eat people. One of the biggest impressions of these subhumans in the past was that bloody and evil barbarism. Compared with the chic that passed around in the mouth of the eloquent city lord of Cedlos, it is indeed heart-wrenching to hear such a tragedy from the mouth of an old man who has lost his wife and children.

But Asa did know that sending troops out to attack was definitely a dead end. And from now on, under the leadership of Cedros, the relationship between orcs and humans will be completely different. There is no point in such a war waged purely for the hatred of the past.

Asa took a few deep breaths, looked at the general, and whispered, "I'm sorry." ”

The general's tall body shuddered violently. Despair, loss, and pain twisted across his face and then slowly turned into anger. The murderous aura was already evident in his eyes.

As long as he kills Asa, he can still command the army and still take revenge!

Looking at the angry lion-like general in front of him, who was already like an angry lion with his fangs bared, Asa shook his head calmly and said, "If your wife and children have spirits in heaven, you would never want you to use these 40,000 lives to avenge them. Do you think they would be happy if they knew that you were going to sacrifice these living people to them? Do you think they want you to die yourself?"

The general still glared at Assa, but slowly his eyes became dazed, and the murderous aura gradually faded. He stood like that, and at last he turned silently, ignoring Assa, and walked back alone the way he came.

Under the bloody sunset, the tall back no longer has the majesty and majesty of the past, only a little staggering. Watching this back gradually disappear into the sunset, Asa now only hopes that Duke Mrak can come over quickly and withdraw his troops to end all this. So that he could give an account to the Bishop, and then go out on a trip and forget about these nasty things.

An owl purred twice from a nearby branch with wide eyes. Hearing this, Asa, who had always been very fond of animals, suddenly felt disgusted, and turned his head to glare at the ominous carnivorous bird.

At night, a hazy half-moon hung in the sky. It's a rare cloudy day in the highlands.

The general lay in bed and could not sleep. It was the first insomnia he had had in years since he first killed at the age of thirteen.

But it was completely different from the nervousness, inexplicable fear and excitement at that time, and now he only felt tired and weak.

It's not fatigue, it's burnout and despair that really weighs on my heart. Not only is every muscle invigorated, but even the spirit is about to collapse, as if the body is just a shell, and there is no vitality to drive anymore.

Every wound on his body, old and new, moaned together at this time. In the past few decades, he has left nothing. His wife and son died at the hands of the orcs, and now he can't even avenge them. And he will leave the army under the means of those politicians, and from then on he will spend his days like a useless old dog eating the leftovers given by those politicians until he dies of old age. Even stabbing an enemy in the chest with his own broken bones like a warrior and dying a vigorous death is just an extravagant hope.

There is no point in living, and you can't even die decently..... The general's eyes were closed, and in the weakness of grief and despair, he vaguely felt as if he had become a puddle of mud, slowly dissolving, deforming, rotting.....

"Father. A deep voice woke the general up. The general opened his eyes and saw his son. The youngest, his favorite, the most gifted son.

It was still the same majestic and calm face as when he was young, and his expression was as dignified as if he had just come from a fierce battle. He stood there straight, with a bare hilt in his hand, his face red with the blood from a torn wound on his forehead, but it still could not hide his heroic expression, and there was a bloody hole in his chest that had been pierced by some terrible weapon.

"You ....." The general did not dare to move, for fear that the image would suddenly disappear if it was disturbed. He didn't know if it was his son's soul or if it was an illusion created by his own thoughts.

"Father, I have followed your teachings, and I have fought with all my might until the end, and I have lost my life in the most glorious battles, and my death is the most glorious destination of a warrior. He stood majestic, holding the hilt of the sword firmly in his hand, and the terrible wound on his chest seemed like a medallion.

"Yes, you are doing well, you are doing well, you are my good boy......" the general muttered.

"I saw countless innocent people dying at the hands of the orcs, and they all died horribly. But they are also praising you, saying that you are a great hero, and that you have killed many brutal beasts to avenge them. I have also seen the soldiers who died in battle with the orcs, and they all encouraged you and wanted you to continue your fight. You have been fighting to avenge the deaths. Maybe you are not the greatest general, but you are the greatest warrior. ”

"Yes....." The general nodded, and a tear dripped from his dry eye.

The general has always hated and despised tears the most. He thought it was a sign of weakness, the last thing a warrior needed, but now he felt that all his vitality welled up in his heart with this tear.

"I also met my mother, and she said that she wanted to be waiting for you in heaven, waiting for you to see her in the most glorious way. I also want to see my father's heroic posture in battle, that is the real you. The sound faded away, and the image blurred. "Goodbye, Father, I'll go first. ”

"Child...," the general slammed himself up from the bed, and it was already dark.

Was it just a dream? The general found that there were really tears on his face, he wiped his face, half-sat up and looked around blankly, and saw a small thing on the ground not far away, shining in the morning light.

The general walked over slowly, picking it up with trembling hands. It was a bare hilt, and the blade seemed to have been shattered by some force, leaving only a little bit of it near the hilt.

It was probably the long exposure to the sun and rain that it looked old, and even if it was thrown on the side of the road, it would not attract attention, but the general recognized what it was. At the end of the hilt is a notch of the Holy Cross, the mark of the Holy Knights, and on the other side are the words 'courage' and 'glory', carved by the General's own hand.

The general pressed the hilt of the sword to his chest as if to put its meaning in his heart, and he stood up, feeling full of strength again, and never before.