Chapter 158: Burning the Ass
The team passed several burning human settlements, and the vision was full of billowing smoke, marking shocking stains on the blue sky, and up closer, the remaining flames could be seen spreading between the ruined roofs and beams, and the apocalyptic scene made Rhodes feel heavy. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info
Even the night did not improve the situation, and the horizon in all directions was shrouded in fire, and it was clear that the Anteli army was determined to clear the fields and scorched earth, and the action was decisive and swift, and the scale was unheard of.
They spent the first night together with the dozen or so soldiers on a flat field. Rhodes tossed and turned again and fell asleep very late, and he couldn't help but imagine that there must be countless other small forces like this in the vast territory south of Anteli, watching and "escorting" countless fleeing groups like his own in the direction of the Midland army.
......
Experiencing a war from the perspective of a refugee, he soon discovers that it is not as exciting as it is portrayed in legends and novels. If Midland annexes Antelli, the winner will be the one who will expand the territory, and if the kingdom's army drives the Imperial army out of the country, the winner will defend the homeland...... No matter who wins or loses, many years later, the bards or later generations will sing and talk about it only the imperial generals who led their troops across the border or the scorched earth commander Anteli who decisively gave the order to the scorched earth, and who will remember the refugees around them whose homes were burned down and forced to flee to a foreign land?
I'm afraid not.
Rhodes couldn't help but start thinking about the reason for the outbreak of this war. He was a Midlander, but he had also been to many villages and towns in Anteli, and as far as he could see, the people of both countries were living a decent life, and neither side had enough food to eat or water to drink, so what was the purpose of this battle?
Thinking only obviously does not give an answer, and if there is a chance, perhaps asking the supreme commander of the invader's army, his own titular father, will get the answer.
......
The next day it began to drizzle, and the wet mist was mixed with the smoke from the burning of the village, so thick that it was like countless white gauze tents hanging in the air, and it was impossible to see the scene even ten meters away.
Under such circumstances, the convoy could only move forward thirty or forty miles a day, but fortunately, the small unit in charge of the "escort" did not urge them too much, and the soldiers, who were basically locals, did not worry about their messing around, and the two groups of people marched one day after the other in such peace, and took another step towards the Cavernhall Forest.
On the third day the rain had stopped, and the refugees were overtaken by a party of several hundred men coming from behind them at noon-part of what the officer had said had been called the Warrior Force that had tried to hold back the Midland Vanguard.
Although the unit claimed that they had successfully repelled a round of attacks by the Midland army, it was difficult not to suspect that they had lost the battle in a hurry, and the women in the fleeing group panicked.
"They repelled the invaders, why should they run?"
"Repelling 10,000 men is called repulsion, as are vanguard scouts and raiders who repel 1,000, the latter of which is obviously more likely. Ryan spoke: "Midland's surprise attack was too sudden, and if it was forcibly defended without giving up an inch of land, the result would only be that all the armies would be wiped out one by one like moths to a fire." The response of the upper echelons of Antaili was obvious, the front-line army mainly contained and took the initiative to retreat back, taking advantage of the depth of the territory to lengthen the battle line of the imperial army, and then try to counterattack when enough troops were gathered and wait for foreign reinforcement. ”
He paused for a moment and comforted the crowd: "In this case, all the armies, having completed the initial tactical objective of delaying the enemy's army, will inevitably disperse and retreat to the predetermined place to regroup. So although they walked in a hurry, they did not run away. ”
The monster hunter's serious explanation reassured the fleeers, and the small force of ten people who escorted them did not move, so everyone continued on their way.
But reality soon hit Ryan in the face, and a soldier who was apparently supposed to be also guarding a group of fugitives soon ran from behind their butts, out of breath, apparently abandoning their duties and becoming deserters.
......
"Stop! What about the civilians you protect?"
"It's too late...... The Midlanders caught up. The ten-captain of the deserter squad said with a pale face, "I told them to throw away their things and run away lightly, but some people refused to ......."
"What about the Queen's troops?"
"I don't know...... But some of us saw the men in red sneaking up behind us. They may have sent scouts to bypass the forces behind the Temple, or they may have been wiped out. ”
"So you ran away with someone? didn't let a single arrow go, didn't hurt a single enemy, didn't kill a single enemy?"
The deserters wiped the sweat and dust from their faces, and no one answered.
"Very well, assuming that the Imperial Rear Force has been wiped out, if that is the case, now we are the new Imperial Rear Troops, and I am the new Imperial Rear Force Commander. If anyone wants to run north past me, step over my corpse!man is dead, and we are soldiers!" The stout officer who had been with Rhodes all the way to the refugee team drew his knife and roared, and the officer who led the people to escape was theoretically the same level as him, but at this moment he did not dare to say a word, and the other soldiers also looked like he was saddle with the head of his horse. He glanced at Rhodes and the fleeing people who were watching, and became furious again: "Look at it, don't hurry up and get on the road!"
......
It was very dramatic that one after another small detachments of eight or nine to a dozen people came one after another from behind their butts, and then one by one they were obediently accepted by the officer who accompanied Rode, and only one day later, they actually organized an army of hundreds of people.
But this success soon came to an end, and in the evening of the fourth day two horses caught up with the group, both of them staggering and foaming at the mouth, and only one of them was carrying a man.
"Ready......" The man slid from the saddle of the crowd as he rode into the crowd, and the improvised soldiers went up to hold him. "Midlanders...... Right behind me. ”
"Where's your troops?!"
"Dead...... They were all dead, and I escaped. The man finished saying this with all his might, and fainted.
After examining the armband of the unconscious, the officer fell silent, and the wounded in front of him belonged to the unit in charge of the rear of the palace.
"Boys, get ready for battle, the time has come to test us!" he drew his sword, "the one over there with the sword on his back, and the beautiful young man next to him, can you hold the sword, come here!"
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