The sun is gradually turning westward. As the sun gradually obscures out the peaks of Longji Mountain, the cold wind from the tundra howls to bring the place into winter again. At this time, a large number of torches had been erected on the walls of Valley City, but the flames burning on the torches were faintly green under the influence of the sulfur smoke in the air.

"My lord," the strange-looking soldier with a torch in his hand walked to Marcus's side, and judging by his clothes, the soldier belonged to the Knights of the Kingdom. It's just that not all knights are in the Knights, and the servants and servants will join the battlefield with their masters, "The cleanup of the outer city has been completed. But the resistance to the inward march was too great, and the smoke obscured the view, and we could not provide support from afar. ”

"What about the casualties of the Knights?" the king's hand rested on the bulge of the wall, looking down on the city. The closer you get to the castle in the valley, the smoke gets thicker, but no one knows where the smoke comes from, with its strong smell of sulfur. The warriors under the walls formed squads to patrol and sweep away the demons that had slipped through the net, and after an afternoon of fighting, they had taken initial control of the outer areas that relied on the southern walls.

"Knight of Kayla, Knight of Aldo, Knight of Ente were killed, and ten others were wounded of varying severity. Thirty-four people were killed in the battle, and the wounded are still being counted, but they should be more than fifty. The herald stated that the knight he himself served was one of the ten wounded, otherwise he would have been patrolling the city with his master at this time, and would not have returned to do such a herald's business.

Marcus snorted, this level of casualty accounted for seventy percent of the soldiers entering the city. And he knew very well that with the temper of those arrogant knights, there would only be more people who were injured and did not report it. The battle had reached the point where the Knights' vitality had been greatly damaged. You must know that although it seems that only three knights were killed in battle, it means that the servants under their command also suffered serious casualties, otherwise the knights under their protection will never die easily.

"Have the bodies of the war dead been recovered?" According to tradition, the knights and their servants were returned to their families by the Order after they died in battle. This is a very serious matter in the Grey Lion, and the ranks that are returned are strictly divided according to the status of the deceased, and this is the last glory they can enjoy. Their bodies are then cremated or put into coffins in the presence of their families, and then brought back to the royal capital by a return procession, where they are buried in the cemetery outside the royal castle to rest with the knights of the ages.

"Mostly, my lord. Only the body of the Knight of Kayla was destroyed in the battle with the demon and could not be recovered... It is said that in order to cover the retreat of his troops, he faced a huge enemy alone, and was swallowed by the demons. Later, the reinforcements killed the demon and disemboweled open its belly, only recovering something unrecognizable. The soldier's face turned as green as the torch in his hand as he said this, apparently remembering the terrible scene.

The Hand of the King nodded, this is also a problem in the battle with the nezumi. After all, their opponents are not people, and no matter how much the kingdom values glory, it can't ask those monsters not to gnaw at the corpses of their warriors. "The Knight of Kayla's family will personally go to the door to apologize, so that the warrior can not rest in peace, it is a dereliction of duty on my part. ”

"In addition, there is one more thing that will bother you. The soldier looked at Marcus for five seconds or so before finally mustering up the courage to tell him about the terrible thing, "Although Knight Ente's body has been recovered, there are traces of desecration on her body, and given that she was snatched from his men by demons, we can't be sure..."

"Got it, keep the body of the Knight of Ente separated. I'll have someone from the Pharmacists Association do the appraisal later. Until then, I don't want more people to know about this news. "The news that the female knight of the Knights of the Kingdom was killed in battle and desecrated by demons is likely to bring shame to the Knights even if Atticus is famous. Marcus gritted his teeth and gave the order, now that the Knights were the largest force group in his hands, he couldn't let anything go wrong with it.

"Looks like you're not in a good mood, are you in a moment of silence for the knights who died in battle?" an inopportune question interrupted the conversation between the herald and the king's hand. Duke Andrea of Kroger walked over with a blood-dripping prism hammer in his hand, judging from the traces of a large amount of corrosion on his armor, this duke should have just gone to the battlefield to fight the demons at close range. And in the face of an opponent who is enough to kill even regular knights, Andrea's demeanor at this time makes people sigh at the injustice of the Creator, and let extraordinary force and monstrous power gather in one person.

Marcus waved his hand for the herald to leave, then turned to the duke who walked by, "Thank you, the king, do you know that you shouldn't be so first?"

"Why, I've heard that when you were defending the royal capital, you told your Majesty that all the nobles who didn't participate in the exhibition would pay the price. Andrea chuckled and handed the weapon to the servant beside her. He glanced at the city of Vale within the city walls, and his eyes seemed to have passed through the thick smoke to see the castle that was destined to be planted with the flag of the kingdom again.

"At this time and then, the ruler of the kingdom should sit in the rear, and this is for the sake of his people. Just like His Majesty didn't go up to the city wall during the defense war. Marcus said in a deep voice. He knew that the other party wanted to hear such words, and the Hand of the King was not shy about acknowledging that Andrea was indeed qualified to inherit the throne of the king. At least the Duke still has the courage and ability to fight the demons better than the cowards who hide outside Vale and hand over command of the army to someone else.

A smile flashed at the corner of Duke Kroger's mouth for a moment, and then disappeared again. "I think it's time for the troops to retreat, and we'll just hold on to the walls. It is too risky to camp in the city at night, and it is not too late to wait for tomorrow when the sappers bring up the crossbow arrows, and then explore the inner city. ”

"Your will, my lord. Marcus nodded, and he had no objection to this, and soon the trumpets of the troops sounded on the wall, and the groups began to ascend the wall in the prescribed order. More torches and campfires began to be erected on the walls, and thanks to the fact that Vale was originally intended to be a military fortress, its walls were wide enough to accommodate the Lion's coalition forces for a temporary station.

But just as the last Kroger soldiers in charge of the palace were about to evacuate the outer city, the sound of alarm bells sounded on the city walls.

"Rat-people! It's rats! They're coming!"