The early autumn sun casts its shadow from the western sky, stretching the huge shadow of Holly once more, enveloping the eastern slope of the Ella Hills. Dozens of smoke rose www.biquge.info the sparse groves at the foot of the hills, and then melted into the clouds in mid-air. Around each smoke, there are people of different descriptions, ranging in number from two or three to seven or eight. The only thing they had in common was that each of them had swords, daggers, crossbows, war hammers, and all sorts of other weapons hanging from their bodies.

"It's a lot of business." Lily stopped the carriage at the edge of the crowd, jumped down and stretched, "That guy Kratos, I'm afraid you didn't gather all the mercenary groups around here?" ”

As she harnessed her horses, a group of Belons, clad in chain mail and armed with tomahawks, came on foot and joined the group.

"After all, the target this time is the base camp of the Crow Knights." Yuffie looked at the magnificent fortress at the top of the hill, "The castle that is said to have never fallen since it was built." ”

"Didn't Kratos say that this was originally Count Joffrey's territory?" Alphonse seemed to have some doubts, "If it hadn't been captured, how did the Knights get this castle?" ”

"Bought it." Yuffie straightened her hair, "To be exact, they once made a deal with the Earl. But then Count Joffrey died, his family gradually declined, and the deals at that time were uncountable. ”

"That means we're going to set a precedent this time." Lily pursed her lips, "Just this gang of miscellaneous soldiers?" ”

After saying goodbye to Annaville, Lily travels to the Guild in Winterfell, intending to find a quest that pays well and is part of their journey. And the person in charge there, Kratos Miltyen, gave them this task without thinking about it—to assist the regular army of the Empire in destroying the "cult" entrenched in Holly Castle, the "Black Raven Monks under the Guardianship of Mar", commonly known as the "Black Raven Knights".

And now, I am afraid that there are no less than dozens of mercenary groups that have accepted this 'commission'. Lily roughly counted the number of people in her sight alone, more than five hundred. But as she said, it was just a rabble.

She knew very well what kind of existence the mercenary group was. They possess greater personal strength than ordinary regular armies, as well as the ability to cope with various environments and unexpected situations. However, the nature of fighting for money makes them rarely fight for their lives in battle. In the case of guerrilla warfare in a complex environment, this large group of people can play a very good role. But use them to take down a heavily armed castle -

"I say, could it be that or something, the siege?" Bell grabbed his beard and tried to think, "If they dare to come out, I'll cut off their heads!" He gestured with his hand to cut off his head.

"Mercenaries won't do such time-consuming and laborious things." Lily shook her head, "If you don't get the siege right, it will take half a year, or more, and these people ...... Will it be dispersed in less than a month? ”

"So what are we going to do?" Bell grabbed his hair, "It's not okay to storm it, it's not okay to surround it, just leave!" ”

"Don't be in a hurry." Yuffie picked up the dead branches on the ground and answered the words of the Beronns. "As mentioned in the commission, we are only 'assisting the regular army of the Empire' to complete the mission, which means that the main attacker is probably not us."

"So, what are we going to do, Lilianor." Alphonse turned his head, his eyes twinkle.

"Let's watch the show." Lily shrugged, "Anyway, there are always people who can't hold their breath." ”

"That's it." Bell shook his body, pulled the pot out of the carriage, and walked to the river, "For me, eating is the most important thing now!" ”

……

Lily said yes.

In the early hours of the next morning, a few young mercenaries sneaked up on the castle before dawn. But as soon as they reached the bottom of the city wall, they were caught by the patrolling Crow Knight. As a result, two men were turned into corpses, and the other two escaped with an arrow wound each.

The encounter of these daredevils has dealt another blow to the already not very high 'morale'. Lily saw that several small mercenary groups had picked up their luggage and left the place. But perhaps because of the high remuneration promised in the commission, most of the team stayed. The meeting period in the order is noon today. As the morning sun rises, it is probably the last few groups of people who come one after another to join in the excitement.

The sun was nearing its zenith, and Lily sat in the driver's seat of the carriage, looking around a little boredly. Bell lay on her back and snoozed on the weeds, and Yuffie kept her head buried in the books she couldn't read. There was a loud noise in the woods, and the sound of weapons clashing - mercenaries were not a safe existence, and with so many people crowded here, some friction was inevitable. Fortunately, they also cherished their lives, and a few of them seemed to have suffered minor injuries, but there was no greater commotion.

Alphonse tapped her on the shoulder and raised his hand to the distant street—she looked in the direction Al's point and saw a procession coming along the main road.

Dressed in sturdy scale armor, they lined up in four solemn columns, marching in unison, armed with sharp spears more than four meters long, the tips of which resembled a jungle of steel, occasionally reflecting the dazzling sunlight. Behind them, a dozen wagons laden with goods creaked as if they were overwhelmed.

This is the "Imperial Regular Army" mentioned in the commission - the question is, what can a hundred pikemen do? Lily jumped out of the carriage and cursed Kratos for being an unreliable bastard. She saw the soldiers standing neatly at the foot of the hill, spears and flags waving. On the bright red flag, the two-headed griffon is dancing with its teeth and claws, and a golden crown sparkles at the top of the flag.

"The coat of arms of the imperial family, and sure enough, this operation was commissioned by Rogman III." Yuffie didn't know when he stood beside her, looking at the flag, thoughtful.

"Are you going to 'reclaim' this territory? It's like he'd do it—" Lily knocked her teeth, "isn't it child's fun to send just a few of them?" ”

She narrowed her eyes as her gaze fell on the commander of that army. It was a middle-aged man, and he turned his head, his eagle-like gaze sweeping across the woods and finally on Yuffie. He gave a few words to the team around him, then strode closer to Lily.

A battle-hardened man, Lily looked at him and made an easy judgment. His skin is dull yellow, and various scars can be seen on his face, some of which have faded with age. The short gray hair and beard made him look even older, who was not young in the first place. A notched cuirass covered his upper body, stained with long-faded blood.

"Lily, Yuffie." He called out their names, "Follow me." ”