XIX

Early Morning of August 5, 1666 (MDay+126)

Headquarters of the Free Army of Jena

Even in the wee hours of the morning, hundreds of Freire scout cavalry galloped between the narrow and hilly terrain of the rich river valley.

Since the entire western cordon had been cut off by the enemy, this time their reconnaissance net covered three times larger than before, and all the reconnaissance units were close to each other to ensure their safety. A reconnaissance unit with an air detachment was sent to the southern hilly terrain in order to get an idea of the speed of movement of the main Imperial legions—the movements were no longer known.

Of course, continuous combat and alert will reduce the morale and combat effectiveness of the reconnaissance troops. On the eve of the battle, the headquarters of Jena was lit up to hold an all-night buffet for the soldiers who had just fought, were battling hard, and were about to fight. Thanks to the wine region, the wines of the fine wineries are served like water on a long table, alongside hot bread, chowder, steak and other food. The organization of a banquet and logistical supply on this scale would have been almost unthinkable a hundred years ago, but the present Free Army is accustomed to it: unconsciously, the organizational capacity of the army has been substantially improved.

It is said that this is a tradition that began in the First Freedom War, when the militia often engaged in a brutal guerrilla war with the Imperial Army for weeks and months, and after each day the battle was to prepare all the food they could find into a meal for those who were still alive. This feast became a tradition, a habit, a means to raise morale at critical moments. From the marshal to the recruits, everyone knew that Jena would turn into a sea of blood.

Of course, in the eyes of the looted pro-imperial nobles and large landowners, this so-called feast was shameless plunder. Later, these old southern nobles who fled to the north entered the emperor's government in large numbers, helping successive emperors to gain an advantage in the competition against local nobles, and became the most determined force in the policy of southern reconquista.

"Thirty more cases of wine!" "Cooking group, the main course is not enough, supplement the main course!"

There was a cacophony in my ears. After a whole bottle of wine is eaten, the scenery in front of me seems to shake.

"Actually...... Belch...... It's just that the Free Army wanted to eat and drink in the name of battle, right?"

Naimon Soleton rubbed his eyes and staggered towards the banner in the distance, looking for the toilet.

The banner was supposed to say "Victory Celebration on the First Day...... But now he couldn't see clearly, and every letter seemed to be shaking. What a mistake to get up for supper, he thought.

"Captain Soleton, I fought under your command during the last skirmish, it's been a long time, cheers!"

"Captain Soleton who has seen through the Empire's schemes, come, for victory!"

As he walked past each table, some of the soldiers he had worked with would recognize him and raise his glass, and Naimon had to smile bitterly and cope with it one by one. The other half of the bottle went down.

"Wine can increase a magician's magic, don't be afraid, Captain!"

"Such irresponsible statements...... Belch...... I'm going to miss ......"

The stomach was already protesting, like a few mischievous baby dragons rolling inside.

"You're not on the list for the first wave tomorrow, are you? Well, you're not? That is, you can drink until four o'clock, except for the eight hours necessary for mana recovery!"

"Wait a minute, this is ...... Hiccup......"

The captain quickly counted the amount of wine he had drunk, and now there were only three glasses left to two. Seems like three cups, right?

"At least have a drink for our company! My company is in the second wave of the day's charge, Captain. Cheers to the martyrs?"

This time it was a lieutenant in a green military uniform with what seemed to be two lines on his shoulders...... Well, maybe it's one? Naimon put away the smile on his face and leveled his glass with all his might: "For the martyrs, cheers." ”

"Hey, it's not just your company. My company has only one platoon left in the pursuit mission, so I'm more entitled to a drink, right?" another officer leaned in with a wicked smile on his face, "Captain, come on." ”

"My brother was the company commander of the first wave of assault units. It's worth at least two glasses, Mr. Captain?"

Although Naymen Soleton himself is still unself-conscious, he is already a celebrity in the military.

While not a big man like Clad López, Namen's abilities and extraordinary fortune were spread throughout the various units he served.

Since the beginning of the civil war, the loss rate of troops on the Rulok front has exceeded 50 percent, and as the best army in modern history, the Free Army has a tradition of officer corps taking the lead in fighting, and the officer loss rate is even higher than this figure. There are very few officers who have not missed every battle, and those who have survived from the rebel camp are simply endangered animals. Most soldiers are happy to drink with such a colleague in order to get a little bit of good luck.

When my head hurts so much that I feel like I'm about to crack and my stomach feels uncomfortable, an unexpected savior suddenly appears.

"Sir, new news from Blenheim has arrived. Blenheim won a great victory, and the enemy army retreated across the Metz! Long live the republics!"

The woman in the red officer's uniform dropped the news just right, taking advantage of the chaos to drag the unsteady Naimon out of the crowd.

She held the brim of her hat low, because Anne Sefier herself was supposed to be in Blenheim. The demon's miniature wings pressed against the inside of the uniform, causing the arms and shoulders to be positioned slightly unnaturally. The red uniform she was wearing had been taken from Métie Crosso. Before going to Blenheim, Anne gave Métie a lot of military uniforms and daily clothes that she didn't leave in the army, but she couldn't wear them because of her height and chest size, so she just used them for this guy with the exact same figure as Anne.

The cheers seemed to overturn the whole camp. Resisting the urge to vomit, Namen asked, "Any details, Demon Annie?"

The demon who looked like Anne shrugged, "Nothing too remarkable. Blenheim's Figota army was smashed to pieces in front of the trenches. The enemy's losses should have been no more than three thousand, but they left the right flank company of the Mediced Knights forever. ”

"Your master seems to be doing a good job......

"Hurry up, I don't want you to get drunk on me. Like a puddle of mud, Naimon stumbled and was dragged out of the banquet hall by the impatient demon beautiful girl.

"When I signed the contract, I didn't think about rescuing a man who was dying of poisoning due to an overdose. It's an extra cost, and I'm going to have to ask the summoner for money. ”

As soon as she walked out of the barracks, someone interrupted the demon girl's complaint with vomit very ungracefully. Emptied of the ethanol toxins in his body and gulping in the cold air, Naymen Soleton felt a little sober, sober enough to start telling jokes.

"The wine table is more dangerous than the battlefield. There are many more officers who die at the wine table than heroes who die on the battlefield......"

"Since there is no danger to my life, I will go back first. Demon Anne frowned at the vomit and turned her head away as quickly as she had appeared.

"I've learned something new, it turns out that summoned creatures are also tricky. But is this the character of a demon, or the character of a demon summoner?"

The barracks at midnight is a magical place. There's revelry, there's silence, there's death, and the cordon of passwords and sentry posts separates the three. After passing through several cordons, he stopped in front of the silent and deserted camp.

Less than a third of the camps that can accommodate 50,000 people are now in use, and many tents have been permanently emptied. Looking up, you can see some strange lights flickering in the starry sky. Magical beams of light still trailed in the sky from time to time, and the air squads of the two armies chased each other. The opposing magic forces are also in full swing, and instead of covert marches and silent spellcasters, the Wyvern Knights will fly straight over Jena to investigate the movement of the Free Army's attacking troops.

"Tonight's identifying light is ...... Red, right?"

The spirit of alcohol surged, and Naimon gathered his mana, and released a group of all-out tracking missiles against a meteor in the sky that emitted a blue light.

The purple light gathered on the tip of his right finger and flew out again. One, two, and by the third time, the magic gathered a little, and then disappeared in an instant. Still not enough. He was still a poor second-stage mage, unable to even meet the minimum mana requirements of a colonel.

"Still can't do it...... Bastard!"

Namen smiled bitterly and began to run recklessly, shouting the password for tonight all the way to his camp.

Entering the canvas door, he was not surprised to find that the demon Anne had arrived first, lit the oil lamp, and was tending to her own sleeping bag by his bedside. He brushed past the demon and collapsed on the bed he had made.

"Are you awake?" said Demon Anne, with a slight impatience in her tone.

"Do you have to make the bed in your summoning contract? Naimon turned sideways and stared at the demon adjusting his sleeping bag, "Or is this a requirement for your cloned personality?"

"It's just a good deal. Demon Anne laid out her sleeping bag and turned to look thoughtfully at Naimon with her chin propped up, "Shouldn't you turn around?"

Naimon made a trade-off between spilling wine and gentlemanly demeanor, but turned his back. Although the other party is not the real Anne Seifer......

"Sorry, I'm just a little curious. Your personality comes from your master, so does Anne also have a demonic side?"

He heard the sound of the demon hanging up his uniform, the metal parts colliding with each other with a crisp sound. "In a logical sense, yes. The character of the summoning demon is not decided until the moment she makes a contract with the summoner to take effect, as all thoughts, abilities, and appearances must be obtained from the summoner. But in the strict sense of the word, no. Do you think that a person has a fixed personality? There are many sides to everyone's personality, and it's not surprising that there are aspects that you don't know. Does it matter if this side is real or not?"

"Can you two have the same mind? I don't have the ability to summon sapient beings, and the literature says differently. In the past, when I talked to other magic officers, they told stories of summoners who were arrogant and were overrun by summoned creatures. ”

"Hmm, how do you explain that...... Horror stories are just stories. Magic is logical, and as long as you follow it, there is no risk. "The background sound is the rustle of cloth rubbing," the same degree of thought between the summoner and the summoned is like magic communication or telepathy, and the amount and content of the message can be controlled. If summoners don't do a minimum of mental defense, it may cause each other's thoughts to erode each other, but the current summoning magic contains this part of the spell. It's really hard to lie, but it's not so hard to conceal it. Don't talk about our conversation here, even if you get caught peeping, as long as I don't say it, the other side shouldn't know?"

The wine is up. Namen's mind was in a mess. Demon Anne said so, it seemed a little rude not to look back, but she was not Anne herself, and Anne did not give permission. He couldn't help but quietly turn his head away, and swept it with the corner of his eye—

The oil lamp was immediately extinguished with the demon's silver bell-like laughter, and her figure slipped into her sleeping bag in the darkness.

"Well, I know you don't really want to peep. I think there's something I want to say privately, right?"

"I have a stupid-sounding request...... "Naimon hesitated, "Can you please stop protecting me and quietly go back to protect Anne herself?"

Demon Anne burst out laughing "poof" and rolled around in her sleeping bag.

"You...... Are you serious? You don't need protection, Anne does? Can you estimate the difference between her and your magic, young magician?"

Naimon scratched his hair in discouragement: "She can summon demons." Ten times or so I thought...... At least. ”

"Tell me, who needs protection more? I have a contract, and Anne Seffir wants you to live until the end of the war. ”

"Who wouldn't want to live until the end of the war? I bet everybody in this barracks has thought about what they're going to do when the war is over. It doesn't matter if it's a fantasy or a dream, but every GI has a picture of the future. In the field in the painting, we run forward, run forward, run forward. ”

Speak up. Naimon couldn't help but say his thoughts through alcohol, anyway, the other party is just a demon, and he will eventually disappear into the void with the end of the contract.

"Just like this war, one day, magic will reach everyone. When I get back to Lenny, I'll study my magic and keep the cost of low-end magic items down. I'm a war hero, I can borrow money, and I'll open a factory next to St. Grace's Welfare House. The products are sold through the pure gold of Sephir to change people's lives. Maybe I can hire Danika back, she has the idea to work with Miss Zart to invent something useful and new, like a cheap illuminator or a tablecloth that can produce food quickly. In two years, when I'm twenty years old, I'll be automatically granted citizenship, and perhaps I can support Luthor's party in trying to improve the military system in case the tragedy of civil war repeats. It would take me twenty years to get a gold badge, and the research book with my name on it would be in Lenny's large public library. When the time comes, I will boast to my friends that I am in the most dangerous place in my country, in the eye of the storm in the middle of the war, with colleagues who may never see me again, drinking crates and fighting side by side with demons summoned from another world. ”

Probably because he was already drunk and incoherent, Demon Anne interrupted in a flirtatious tone, "But, if you die, none of this will come true, right?

"yes! I don't know if I'll survive until the end of the war! I practice my magic every day, but I can't control the three stages of magic until now. So many people with better abilities and dreams than me have died very casually on the battlefield. I know several of the officers who led today's offensive, some of whom graduated second in the military academy, some of whom owned enough farms to feed eight thousand tenant farmers in Italy, and some of whom had published papers in the 'Southern Magical Society Newsletter'. We can't control our own destiny, but your master can. I often think that if we had more capable magicians, this would not happen today. We don't have this magic, but your master does. ”

Demon Anne sighed, "Who dares to say that they can control their fate? They are dead, but you still have a chance to live." There are many fearless people, and they are especially easy to find inside the grave. ”

"Of course I'm afraid of death! I'm as afraid as everyone here! Of course I want to live! I want to live as much as everybody here! But I don't want to increase my chances of survival by damaging other people's magic! I'm a combat staff officer. Although incompetent, I remained the operational staff officer of the entire Lenny Army. I have to judge what is good for my army, and that judgment will not be changed by my own likes and dislikes. Do you know what the core of a magical strategy is?"

"I seem to have to take one sentence before I can continue, right?" Demon Anne smirked and smacked her tongue, "Please continue, Counselor. ”

Naimon choked for a moment, but coughed and continued: "The role of the mage in strategy is the same as the gems in the magic circuit: you can fill the less important places with good gems, but you can't fill the important places with bad gems. At the heart of a magical strategy is the use of the strongest mages in the most appropriate positions. The value of a high-level mage is much higher than that of a team of low-level mages with the same mana output as him. Magicians and priests are not artillerymen, they are not consumables, they have not been, they are not, and they will not be in the future! Putting a precious high-level mage to protect me, a low-level mage, is putting the cart before the horse. ”

"Even if the High Mage volunteered?"

"I can figure out how much magic it takes to summon a demon. What is the difference between weakening the strength of my comrades to protect myself and a coward who abandons his allies and flees? What face do I have to meet my comrades who have died in this war? As an operational staff officer, victory is my responsibility. I cannot allow our precious power to be abused in this way. ”

"But is this really your responsibility? Is this kind of responsibility more important than your own safety? Your life and death may have no effect on the outcome of the war, so why don't you struggle to survive by taking advantage of every opportunity?"

"Not everyone can become a magician, and not every soldier can become a staff officer. I'm a lucky man, and I have a responsibility to fulfill. ”

Naimon's logic is still the same mess, but it doesn't sound so drunk.

"I don't know if we're going to be better off after the Empire rules, and I don't know if there's going to be lasting peace that way. But I knew that then my faith would be gone. Then I won't be me anymore. The United Nations is my homeland. I was born and raised in Lenny. I am a magician of a free country. I don't know how to describe it...... That's why I'm who I am. My faith is my magic, no matter how weak or ridiculous it is. ”

He narrowed his eyes and recited the purest incantation, pointing his right hand to the top of the tent.

“...... EnergyFire!"

The silver glow hit the canvas, still one or two......

"Three?"

"Three. ”

"I've reached the third stage. ”

"You've reached the third stage. ”

The two men counted at the same time, stood up at the same time, and looked at each other at the same time. The palms of the two hands collided in the air, making a crisp sound.

Naimon raised his hand again and recited the same incantation. Three more Pure Energy Flames cut through the connection between the three small holes, and the canvas fell silently. The moonlight and the glow of searchlight magic coincided, shining down from the newly appearing hole in the canvas.

Demon Anne chuckled softly, "Now you're no longer a low-level mage. See you tomorrow, Mr. Middle Stage, and I'll consider your suggestion. ”

"Please. Once she's in danger, even a little more magic is good. ”

He lay down again, silent for a moment. Naimon could see the sleeping bag rolling back and forth, as if fighting over something.

"Well, maybe a little too curious. Are you ...... Miss Seffer?"

Naimon's breathing stopped for a moment. His fingers were lightning fast, pressing down on the demon Annie's lips.

"I say, haven't the demons heard that curse? Even if all the bachelors in Lenny's Army were interested in her, no one would talk about it tonight......"

Her eyes looked at him mischievously, as if they were also emitting a turquoise glow in the night, as if to suck him in all of them.

He couldn't see the face of the demon in front of him, but he felt a palpitation.

The fingers were retracted, but no one spoke.

The urge to drink is constantly rising, turning into a headache that hits the end of the brain's thinking circuit, like the feeling when the magic is exhausted, like the feeling when the mind is stagnant.

He told himself that he should know it wasn't Annie. It is very dangerous to be tempted by demons. It's the eve of the decisive battle, and the curse of the war death is always there.

But it didn't work. It's like falling for a spell, there's no reason.

Every magician should know when he has fallen for the spell of charm, and then use his will to fight against it-

But for some reason, I don't really want to fight. This is a testament to the depth of seduction.

He has counter-magic and has practiced against charm over and over again before. No one but Denika could fight his willpower, not even Teacher Zalte or even General López.

Can't be counted. Can't be counted. Can't be counted. Can't be counted. Can't be counted.

But the will just can't be opposed. The deep eyes, in this sea-blue night, and the seductive lips that are faintly visible in the moonlight.

I want to kiss it.

Would like to.

The body has already begun to act.

Nervous. Can't be counted.

Wrap your arms around her waist and take a gentle step forward.

Nervous. Can't be counted.

You can feel each other's hot breathing, and the rhythm is intense.

Nervous. Can't be counted.

Her shoulders seemed to tremble slightly, too, and the demon blinked, and reached out his unsteady right hand to stop in front of him, expressing a gentle refusal.

He suddenly sobered up, got down on one knee, grabbed the right hand, and kissed the back of her hand. Should this be celebrated or regretted?

There is a faint scent of roses on the back of the hand.

Then, the contract is established. I will protect you until the moment the war ends. ”

It's seductive magic. It's seductive magic. But it seems that it is too late to resist, and then we will have to wait until tomorrow when the effect will naturally disappear. Sometimes I think that if it's this face, it doesn't matter if you don't resist. Alcohol affects thinking, and logic starts to get confused.

He shouldn't have forgotten that this demon was a woman. He shouldn't have known that this woman's hidden personality was a demon.

"Why?"

"I take back what I just said, you are not a fearless person. You know what fear is, but you have the courage to face it. It's a virtue, and it's called courage. If a strategy doesn't save people like you, it's not a good strategy. You will see the moment when peace comes, I promise. ”

She pulled the quilt on his behalf. The last glimpse before going to bed was her standing in the dark.

A tiny ray of moonlight shone through the tiny hole left by the Pure Energy Flame onto the back of her right hand, and she smiled faintly as she stared at the silver moonlight on the back of her hand. She seemed to be able to hear her voice talking to herself: "Something that only a high-level mage can do...... Yes. ”

If this reassuring smile actually symbolizes the success of the demon's evil scheme, he will admit it. He couldn't think of a demon with such a dangerous and alluring clear turquoise pupil.

"Shouldn't the pupils of the contract demon be slightly bloody?"

The doubts in the drunken mood were fleeting. Probably have a good night's sleep. Hopefully, by the time you wake up tomorrow afternoon, the war has been won...... No, it is enough that the situation has changed for the better, he does not have much luxury.

Naimon thought so and fell asleep.

Maybe it's a good dream now, too?

Postscript: This section is a little shorter than the most recent chapters, but there's a change tomorrow anyway, so that's it (hmm, how long has it been since I said the word "even change"?). Nonsense tomorrow, happy Chinese New Year everyone!

By the way, I helped the junior at my alma mater in middle school push this book, "Ten Days of Darkness is Coming", the ISBN is 1077612, and the multiple protagonists unfold the orthodox ice, fire, and wind fantasy. http:///book/1077612.aspx, popularity is quite low in terms of quality......

Welcome to the majority of book friends to come and read, the latest, fastest, and hottest serialized works are all here!

Welcome the majority of book friends to come and read, the latest, fastest, the hottest serialized works are all here!