Chapter 187: Ultimatum

As the messenger of the second prince, Viscount Hinderson set out from the city of Gildusk on March 15, but it was difficult to walk because of the melting snow and mud on the road, and it was not until March 23 that he arrived at the Rock Castle. By this time, Lorist had already led a family of nearly 40,000 men to start digging rocks and digging into the earth to build roads and fill the black mud swamp.

Fat Man, who was still in Rock Castle to deal with complicated administrative affairs, received Viscount Hinderson, and when he heard that he had come as a messenger to the second prince, he asked him to rest in the inn for a few days, so that he could send someone to inform Lorist to return.

On the morning of March 25, Lorist stood in front of the corpse of an iron-ridged crocodile more than ten meters long, carefully studying the weakness of this behemoth. There are more than 30 iron crossbow arrows stuck in the body of this Iron Spine Bay crocodile, as the largest demonic beast encountered by the road construction troops in the past few days, this Iron Spine Bay crocodile is still alive after more than 30 arrows, and it is still alive and well, and it is coming straight to the chariot camp with its teeth and claws.

Had it not been for luck, an iron crossbow bolt pierced its tail and nailed it to the ground less than thirty meters from the chariot battalion, the reptile might have rushed into the chariot battalion's defensive line and slaughtered. It wasn't until the iron-ridged crocodile was killed that everyone put down their hearts.

"Your Excellency, you see, the cause of death of this iron-spine bay crocodile was this crossbow arrow that penetrated the jaw and went straight to the brain, and at that time, because the tail was nailed, the monster was moving forward again, and as a result, the whole head was raised, exposing the lower jaw, and it was killed with one blow. As for the more than thirty crossbow arrows on his body, although they caused heavy damage to this demonic beast, they were not fatal, but instead inspired ferocity. We're lucky this time. There are no dangers...... "Marek, the new commander of the chariot corps, concluded.

"We killed dozens of ironridge crocodiles the other day. The largest is only five meters long. Three or five arrows will kill us, we are all too careless, thinking that the monsters of the famous and dangerous place of the black mud swamp are nothing more than that, and there is nothing to worry about. I can't imagine that there is such a huge Iron Spine Bay crocodile, and now it seems that our steel car crossbow is still a little weak to deal with such a huge Iron Spine Bay crocodile, and these crossbow arrows are inserted in the body of this Iron Spine Bay crocodile like toothpicks...... "El vividly depicts the situation of the more than thirty crossbow arrows inserted in this demonic beast.

"The black mud swamp is so big, maybe it's bigger than this Ironridge Bay crocodile. My lord. It was already more than two meters tall, and I remember that the family records said that someone had seen an iron ridge crocodile four or five meters high, and I don't know how long it was, it was said to be like a small hill......," Pat reminded worriedly.

Loris nodded: "It is imperative to develop the black mud swamp, no matter how difficult it is, we must overcome it, but your concerns must also be faced." To be honest, I didn't expect a steel crossbow to be able to deal with a mammoth demon would be so difficult to deal with these Ironridge Bay crocodiles. Reddy, make a trip to Master Farin and ask him if he can make a larger batch of steel crossbows. Specifically to deal with these Iron Spine Bay crocodiles. It doesn't need to be as demanding as the steel crossbows of the chariot battalion, and it doesn't matter if the operation is cumbersome and slow to wind. I ask for more than double the lethality and piercing power......"

"Yes, my lord, I'll go. Reddy said let's go.

"Okay, Malek, send someone to clean up this Iron Ridge Bay crocodile, don't look at this thing looks hideous, after peeling the skin, this meat is still extremely tender and delicious, tell everyone to eat the meat of this Iron Ridge Bay crocodile at noon, it can be regarded as a shock to everyone." Remember to pack up the skins, these crocodile skins are the best choice for making leather armor for our sailors in the future......" Lorist ordered: "By the way, tell everyone to be careful next, it's okay to slow down the project, pay attention to safety, and call it a day early when it's dark and the vision is not good, so as not to be attacked by these crocodiles." ”

"Yes, my lord, I will warn everyone to stay safe. Malek replied.

Jim brought someone over, who was now a captain of the guard battalion: "My lord, Knight Schrader has sent someone to deliver a message, saying that the second prince has sent Viscount Hinderson, who came once last time, as a messenger, and has come to Rock Castle again, I hope you can go back soon." ”

N Lorist was stunned for a moment, and said in his heart What kind of reputation is this second prince doing? Brother has rejected him so many times, why hasn't he given up, and this time he sent a messenger over for fear that he will not be rejected again and will not be able to step down? Brother is busy here and has no time to play any aristocratic games with him, and he is really persevering.

After thinking for a while, Lorist said, "Let that Viscount Hinderson stay for a few more days, and I'll go back in two days." ”

......

"I'm very sorry, Lord Viscount Hinderson, I'm sorry to keep you waiting. ”

Lorist did not return to Rock Castle until March 28, and met with Viscount Hinderson as soon as possible.

"It's understandable, after all, your family has to fight against the tide of demonic beasts in winter. To tell you the truth, Baron Norton, I have seen those monster corpses in the city of Gildusk, and I have my deep personal respect for your family's heroic deeds. The Norton family is worthy of being known as the Northland Raging Bear, and only your family has the courage to fight against such a ferocious demonic beast. Viscount Hinderson complimented.

"Thank you for the compliment, may I ask what the Viscount is doing this time?" Lorist was too lazy to be polite, and went straight to the point.

"Oh, I have come this time on the commission of His Majesty the King to bring a letter for His Excellency the Baron, and to bring back your reply. I think His Majesty the King would like to express his condolences to your family for their heroic deeds in fighting the tide of demonic beasts. "Viscount Hinderson handed over a letter from the second prince.

Lorist smiled as he took the letter: "It is too condescending to bother the Viscount to make a trip himself for this little thing. In fact, all you need to do is send an attendant with a letter. His Majesty's entrustment of a letter from an adult would have been too solemn. ”

Viscount Hinderson laughed at himself: "Your Excellency Baron thinks too highly of me when he says this, I am just an honorary nobleman, not as good as you territorial nobles." Normally, there is nothing to do, and I can just run errands for His Majesty. ”

"Your Excellency the Viscount has been overly humble. Lorist laughed, and opened the letter.

The second prince has lost his mind and gone crazy, he must have a brain disease.

Lorist wanted to curse, but Viscount Hinderson was in front of him, so he had to remain silent.

The second prince did not write many polite words on this letter as he did in the last letter. Instead, he put forward three requirements straightforwardly:

One. Lorist had to rush to the city of Gildusk by May to meet the second prince. and offer gifts of sufficient goods to show surrender and respect.

Second, the Norton family must offer 500,000 gold fords to the second prince to atone for his previous disrespectful behavior.

Third, starting from this year, the Norton family must provide 10 million catties of snow salt to the second prince free of charge every year as an annual offering.

At the end of the letter, the second prince stated that he could not bear the Norton family's repeated rejection of his kindness and his behavior against his will. If the Norton family refuses these three requests again, then the second prince will gather the nobles of the Northland to form a coalition to conquer the Rock Castle, and the destruction of the Norton family is imminent.

Foolish dreams. This second prince must have been stimulated by something to dare to issue such an ultimatum to the Norton family, this is almost a declaration of war, Lorist will never agree to these three unreasonable demands, why should he? rely on the first army of the Iberian Kingdom that has only been formed for a year? hehe......

Lorist raised his head with a sneer: "Lord Viscount, are you sure you want to reply?"

Viscount Hinderson nodded: "Yes, this is what His Majesty the King has repeatedly ordered, and I will bring back the reply from Lord Baron......"

"Okay, wait a minute. Lorist turned to his desk and quickly wrote a reply.

"Targer......" Lorist pulled the summoning bell. Targer, who was outside, entered the study.

"Lord Viscount has come all the way and worked hard all the way. You go get some monster skins. As a token of our appreciation. Lorist commanded.

"Yes, sir. Tagger stepped back.

Lorist handed the reply letter in his hand to Viscount Hinderson: "I beg your pardon, Lord Viscount, the Norton family is located on the border of the Northlands, and there is really nothing to get hold of, just a few monster skins represent our apologies." I'm really embarrassed to bother adults to go back and forth. ”

Viscount Hinderson happily put away the reply: "Thank you, Lord Baron, for the gift, I actually like the fur of Warcraft." ”

......

"Boom", the second prince smashed the chair on the desk in front of Viscount Hinderson, it was really annoying, there was a piece of animal skin paper spread out on the desk, this is Lorlist's reply, and there was a word written on it, a big word: Phew!

The second prince was so angry that his face was flushed, this reply was simply a naked slap in the face, and the second prince remembered the two bold words on the last reply, and a feeling of being despised and ridiculed arose spontaneously in his heart, so that he could no longer control his anger, and raised a chair in front of Viscount Hinderson and smashed it on the reply on the desk......

The loud crash and the splitting of the chair in his hand finally made the second prince sober up, and glanced at the intact reply on the desk, and the second prince once again felt the anger in his heart burning. But this time he finally restrained himself, staring at Viscount Hinderson standing in front of him with red eyes and waving his hand: "Get down, remember not to talk too much to me......"

Viscount Hinderson hurriedly saluted: "Yes, Your Majesty." ”

Then he hugged his head and ran away.

Only the enraged second prince and the middle-aged man who pretended to be Viscount Hinderson went to Rock Castle in the study.

"Why? How dare the Norton family be so rude, and not take me, the king, in their eyes? Do they think that the walls of that rock castle will protect their family territory from harm? Dream, I will not let them go, they will pay the price of blood, and only blood can wash away the insult they have given me......" The second prince roared as he circled around the study.

The second prince finally stopped in front of the middle-aged man who had been silent: "Tell me, what did you see on this trip to Rock Castle?"

The middle-aged man bent down deeply: "Yes, my majesty." ”

"As you might expect, the Rock Castle is very lax in its defenses. I estimated that there were only three squadrons of about fifteen hundred people, and each of the three squadrons was responsible for the defense of the front and rear walls and the central castle. Unfortunately, I spent a few days at the inn of Rock Castle, and saw no regular Norton soldiers in the tavern or elsewhere, who went anywhere but the walls and barracks. ”

The middle-aged man didn't know about the military reform of the Norton family, he could only look at the Norton family's armed forces from the perspective of the scale of the second prince's formation of the first army of the kingdom, and he didn't know that after March 16th, Lorist would pull almost all the family forces to develop the black mud swamp. Even the 3,000 men and horses of the 1st Guards Battalion of Ovikis, who were defending the Rock Castle, were pulled away. so that the rotation takes place after three months.

"I heard the innkeeper of the neighborhood nagging. After the tide of demonic beasts every winter, there are still a large number of demonic beasts stranded in the wasteland, which seriously affects the reclamation and spring sowing of the wasteland by the lords. Therefore, the Norton family should also drive and destroy these demonic beasts in the wasteland at this time, which is also a source of meat for them. The old man at the tavern said that in previous years, it was almost impossible to take a breath until May, and this year is probably the same. ”

Lorist's plan to develop the Black Muddy Swamp to gain access to the sea was not publicized except to inform the family knights and civilian officials, but directly brought the family armed forces to work in the Black Muddy Swamp, so that the civilians in the territory thought it was the same as in previous years. Sweeping away the monsters in the wasteland again.

"Your Majesty, I also found that the second-line troops of the Norton family, even those who are responsible for the guard, are also very small, and the guards of the storage department are about a few dozen, not even a small team. There was also a city built behind the rock castle, and I found that there were less than three hundred members of what I called the garrison. Moreover, under the pretext of visiting the tomb of the martyrs, I went up the hill near the wall behind Panshi Castle, and found that there was not a single crossbow on the wall behind it. It seems that in the battle against the Warcraft tide, the loss of those castle guards and crossbows is very large......"

The middle-aged man is an excellent secret agent, but he doesn't understand that Lorist has changed the unit to a ten-man squad. For the vigilance battalion that guards those warehouses, such a small squad formation is indeed much more convenient. One or two squads are responsible for guarding the warehouse gate, and there is no need to pull out a team of nearly 100 people to stay at the warehouse door and do nothing as before. As for the garrison of the 500-strong brigade in the back city of the rock, half of them were also pulled to the black mud swamp, and the middle-aged man did not understand the situation.

So in the eyes of the middle-aged people, these have become a manifestation of the Norton family's lack of troops, especially the lack of a city guard crossbow on the wall behind the rock castle, which reflects the embarrassment of the Norton family in the face of the monster tide. Therefore, for the refusal of the Norton family to the second prince, he tended to think that it was due to the arrogance of a noble family of military merit territory that had been inherited for hundreds of years, and it was not so strong that he had no fear.

"Hahaha......" After listening to the middle-aged man's analysis, the second prince laughed wildly.

"After the harvest of winter wheat in May, I will send troops against the Norton family. The second prince made a decision coldly.

"It just so happens that in May, those Northland lords will come to the Northland Nobles' Fellowship, and at that time I will announce the disrespect and rebellion of the Norton family, and on the grounds that Baron Norton has accepted the canonization of the Andinac royal family without authorization, I will jointly send troops against the Norton family. ”

"Your Majesty, you need to keep an eye out for Baron Shaheen and Count Kenmeth, both of whom have been doing business with the Norton family, and both of them have a strong army, so you should be wary of them two. The middle-aged man reminded.

The second prince nodded: "I know in my heart, when the two of them come to participate in the sorority, we will keep the two of them by our side and coerce the two of them to send troops to participate in the crusade." Baron Saheen has to give me 10,000 troops, doesn't the Kenmath family have a legion of 30,000 people, so for the sake of the life of Lord Count Kenmeth, 20,000 is the least.

There is also Baron Philim of the Pegasus family, and the troops in his hands are not weak, so he has to give me 5,000 troops. In addition to the Norton family, Northland is currently the strongest of these three. This time, no one wants to let the side watch the excitement, they all have to help the battle. But Baron Philim has always been respectful, and if he behaves well this time, I may be promoted to his knighthood......"

"Your Majesty. The middle-aged man complimented: "Then how many troops is Your Majesty going to send to attack the Norton family?"

The second prince pondered for a moment and said: "This is actually a good time to show off the military strength of the kingdom, and also let those soil buns in the north see the great military might of the first army of the kingdom, the first army dispatched 50,000 people, leaving 1,000 people to garrison the large camp, and the remaining two brigades are responsible for the transportation of logistics and baggage." ”

"Your Majesty, isn't this a bit of a fuss about dealing with a small Norton family?" the middle-aged man asked.

"You don't understand, the Norton family is not in my eyes, we don't need to attack the Rock Castle, as long as we besiege it for half a year, we can win without a fight. Without food input from the outside world, I'd rather see what the Norton family used to feed more than 200,000 people. I wouldn't be so foolish as to let the First Legion of the Kingdom attack the sturdy Rock Castle and cause damage in vain.

The main purpose of dispatching the First Army of the Kingdom is to suppress the family forces of Baron Shaheen and Count Kenmeth and coerce them to carry out siege warfare on our behalf. With the force of the First Legion of the Kingdom, I would like to see which of the Northland nobles still has a heart of disobedience. I hope that after the victory in the battle against the Nortons, the Northlands will be able to settle down and become a base camp that can provide me with a steady supply of troops and food. The second prince said.

"Your Majesty is wise!"

...... (To be continued.) )