"Hey, Cole. Have you heard about the battle situation in the first two days? ”

The young man named Cole withdrew his gaze from the distance and glanced sadly at his blonde companion beside him.

"Of course, Fort Maple was captured and then taken over by the Federation - this is the third." He sighed, "Maybe it won't be our turn soon, Rogers." ”

"So what?" His companion apparently didn't take this to heart, "Even if tomorrow is the end of the world, you still have to eat today!" He raised his hand and rubbed it top of Cole's head, "Don't forget why you're here!" By the way, how about a drink? ”

"Not for the sake of eating, anyway." The young man muttered in a low voice, looking up at the sunset in the distance, "There is my post tonight, let's do it another day." ”

"Tomorrow night, that's it!" Rogers clapped his hands in satisfaction, "I'll ask Maggie later, it would be perfect to have her along-"

Satisfied, he walked down the wall, leaving Cole alone to look at the sky. The young monk listened to the footsteps in the distance, showing a little helpless, but with a warm smile.

It's been more than eight years since he joined the Crow Knights, the monastery of the Maar's mother. Rogers was a monk at the same time as him, and the two were placed together in the training of the new team members, and then assigned to the same squad. Today, both have been promoted to squadron leaders in the regiment, and their residences have moved from Mosaic to New Sunset Fort, the current military and administrative center of The Black Crow.

The two of them have very different personalities and hobbies. The study of history and lore was Cole's pleasure in his spare time, and he had read almost every single one of the hundreds of books in the fortress library. He also wrote several books on knighthood, mostly based on an alternate history - which received a good response from the members; In addition to his mother's magic skills, he also dabbled a little in alchemy and secret arts.

Nicknamed the 'Squatting Knight' in his spare time, Cole was nicknamed the 'Squatting Knight' of the house, while his companions were keen to travel and attend parties. The status of the Crow Knight in the Empire is not low, Rogers is both talkative and unscrupulous, and always receives a lot of invitations. There is no superiority or inferiority between the two - for the knights of Mar, it is a lifelong creed to pursue their own joy in life.

Over the years, Rogers has had many new friends, and he has even married and had children, but the relationship between the two has not faded over time. Whenever the other party has something to worry about, he will always come to him to pour out bitter water; And if there is anything "interesting", he will never be forgotten.

Maybe that's what it's called bad fate, Cole thought to himself. It doesn't feel bad though.

He stroked the blue bricks of the battlements in the shape of a "gate", recalling the fortress's past.

The New Sunset Fort was built one hundred and four years ago and is today one of the largest and most famous castles in the southern part of the Empire. The fort was located in the western part of the Langton Plains, about forty kilometers from the imperial border, and the West Fran River flowed through it on its north and south sides, forming an excellent natural barrier.

Seventy-six years ago, in recognition of the success of The Crows in supporting his ascension to the throne, Griffin IV the "Descender" gave the former emperor's palace and the surrounding lands to the Knights. Since then, the Order has undergone many repairs and expansions, preserving as much of its original appearance as possible, and transforming it into a truly defensible fortress.

For a long time, Cole didn't think that these strong city defense systems would be useful. After the abdication of Griffin IV, now Sandru I also relied on the combat power of "Black Crow", and it was almost impossible to send troops to defeat the Knights. The Fowl Confederation in the south has always been less aggressive, and some knights even serve as bodyguards for federal merchants in their free time, earning an extra income.

Now, it seems to have some meaning – but it still doesn't.

Since the Empire declared war on it and returned defeated, the Federation, which had been silent for nearly half a month, finally began to act. In just three weeks, Fort Lovas, Fort Silverfrost and Fort Maple Leaf fell, and the process was almost identical.

Dragons flew into the skies in hordes, destroying the castle's defenses with spells and breaths; They then took human form and stormed the fortress's interior, killing any survivors who dared to resist. When there were no more people left in the castle, mercenaries from the Fleld-Fedral came to clean up the battlefield and hang the castle with the Federation's flag.

According to rumors Cole heard, the enemy had not yet attacked defenseless cities and towns. That's not good news for him: the new Sunset Fort looks like a suitable target, and it's less than a hundred kilometers from Maple Leaf Fort. It did have more garrisons than the three fortresses, but Cole didn't think that a group of Mar's knights—even counting the mystically fortified walls and the four temporary cannons in the city—would be able to repel the terrifying magical creatures.

The only thing to be thankful for is that my wife gave birth half a year ago and is currently recuperating with her daughter in a neighboring manor. According to the law of the Crow, if he dies in battle, his wife will receive a monthly pension from the Order until she finds a new husband. If she wishes, the Order can also offer her a job - provided she has the right abilities, of course.

He's always prone to overthinking, and that's a bad thing. Cole exhaled and walked down the walls to the Red Cloak bar on the first floor of the castle. He was not allowed to drink alcohol before his duty, so he asked for a cup of hot goat's milk, two slices of toasted bread and a small piece of butter, and spent thirteen coppers. Originally, the food was only about half the price, but the price of the southern part of the empire had risen a lot due to the breakdown of relations with the Federation.

The warm food made Cole's mood improve slightly. He touched his stomach and sat leisurely for a while. Most of the discussion around is related to the movements of the Federation, but there is no new news worth noting. Seeing that the sky was darkening, the young knight stretched and walked to the clearing below the city walls.

Several young men were already waiting there, all of them members of the knights who belonged to him. After a few minutes, the remaining dozen or so people also arrived. Cole clapped his hands, and they quickly lined up, just like every time before.

Cole swept his gaze over the faces of the thirty-one knights and nodded in satisfaction.

"It's good, no one is absent and they're in good spirits." He turned his head to look at the sky, the red curtain of the setting sun was not much left, and the silver moon had not yet risen, "Your duty will end at midnight, and then the fourth squadron will hand over to you." He cleared his throat, "If it's okay, work in pairs, and patrol in their respective positions as before." ”

"I have a problem!" One of the members of the group on the right, with his neat short gray hair and a round face, looked no more than twenty years old, "What should I do if I see a dragon coming?" ”

Cole licked his lips and thought about how to answer the question. Then he spread his hands and followed Rogers' tone, "Whatever you see coming, it's the same thing to do—come back and report to me, then pray to Mother Mar, and finally fight!" Got it? ”

He raised his hand and drew a slanting hourglass on his chest, the emblem of Mal. The members of the group on the opposite side answered in unison, prayed in the same way, and then dispersed to their predetermined posts.