As several Northern Lords have said, the night Rhodes arrives at the camp, Commander-in-Chief Cohen calls him to his tent.

The soft moonlight shrouded the camp, allowing Rhodes to clearly see where the commander-in-chief was working.

It was a splendid tent with a white curtain covered with various animal skins, and a white cloth on the perimeter embroidered with a standing white bear, the protector of Kislev. In the tent, Commander Cohen was equipped with all kinds of office supplies, such as desks and chairs, quills, parchment, marching maps, bows and arrows, wine, and ...... There was even a small bed, and Rod estimated that the bald man would call a few military prostitutes to warm himself in the tent in his spare time.

"Lord of Blackhammer Castle, Rod?"

In the tent, Commander-in-Chief Cohen sat on a large bearskin chair and asked with a disdainful expression.

Beside him stood two equally richly dressed men, who looked like nobles, but not like from the North, but from the Empire...... Because they are dressed in the luxury of the empire. But perhaps it is the people who came from the capital of Kislev, since the days of stability came, the wind of enjoyment has also spread to the south of Kislev, and half of the buildings in the capital city of Kislev have the imperial architectural style in them. Naturally, people's clothing was also more or less influenced by the empire next door.

"Yes, Lord Duke. ”

Standing in the middle of the tent, Rod replied modestly.

"The order of the Ice Queen Caterina is to arrive here by the twenty-fifth of this month, but you have postponed it for a whole week, give me a reason? ”

General Cohen said arrogantly. He does have the capital of arrogance, and not only because he is the commander-in-chief of this legion, commanding the various lords and their armies on behalf of the queen. Also because he was a duke in Kislev. Although Kislev is big, there are not many people with the status of dukes, according to the rank of knight-baron-earl-marquis-duke, the proud general Cohen in front of him, his rank is three levels higher than Rhodes. Coupled with the fact that Blackhammer Fort is located on the edge of the desolate northern border, the land is barren, and the castle is extremely small, so it is even less appreciated. Perhaps for Earl Cyril, the biggest lord in the North, this Duke of Cohen would give some face, but for Rod, he looks like a hundred arrogant.

"The Beastmen have invaded my territory, and I must stay to defend my castle......"

Rod replied neither humbly nor arrogantly.

"Beastmen? fifty or a hundred? You have to tell whether it's a beast or a beastman. ”

Cohen asked sarcastically.

"Beastmen, horned beasts, bighorns, bull guards, harpies, more than a thousand, Lord Duke. ”

As soon as Rod finished speaking, Cohen and the two young nobles beside him immediately let go and laughed. The expression was extremely exaggerated, as if he was ridiculing the person who reported it as a mentally abnormal person.

"More than a thousand? Or bighorns and minotaurs? Are you an idiot to me? Rod, I know about your castle, it's just an ancient castle left over a hundred years ago, it hasn't even expanded much in more than a hundred years, the population of the town is only a few hundred, it's still a floating population, just with such a small castle, you can block more than a thousand beastmen warband?"

Cohen said as the two young nobles clutched their bellies and laughed happily.

"For the sake of the gods, stop bragging, Rod. There are a thousand Beastmen warband, and you're a pile of bones buried under your beloved castle by now. And not the head and feet are intact here. "Romance 888

Cohen said with a smile. His eyes were almost narrowed into a line, and the corner of his eye glanced at Rod, and the originally serious atmosphere suddenly became cheerful. But Rhodes doesn't think so, these ignorant nobles, they don't know that the real danger is near. Two hundred years ago, the Great Chaos Invasion lost an entire generation to the entire kingdom of Kislev, a generation spent in darkness, the number of males dropped to freezing, and widows appeared in droves. Even after the Imperial General Magnus united all his forces to defeat the Chaos Legion and drive it out of Kislev, the polluted land is still rampant with evil beasts, and it is not uncommon for humans to become beastmen, and beasts to become beastmen......

"Can I get out?"

The man in front of him, Rod, never wanted to see again, he asked. But Cohen is clearly not done yet.

"No, I can't. I have a task for you. ”

Cohen continued. He gracefully picked up an ice cube and tossed it into the wine. Then he lay on a bearskin chair and shook his wine glass.

"I'm listening. ”

Rod replied impatiently.

"In two days' time, I will lead this army to the towns around Errengrad to plunder the grain. You will remain in this camp as a garrison officer, guarding it. And, continuing the siege of Erlengrad, ensuring that no convoy entered the city through the east gate. ”

"How many will remain? My men alone are not enough to besiege Erlengrad. ”

Rod asked.

"Of course, relying on your people alone will definitely not work, those barbarians, they can't even understand military orders, they will only drink and beat their own people. How did you choose? Pick a bunch of Norscans to be mercenaries? Are your territory so poor that you can't even afford regular soldiers? I won't expect these barbarians to guard the camp for me, and four hundred soldiers will stay behind to guard the camp with you. ”

Cohen shook his glass and returned.

"Seven hundred soldiers, still too few......"

"Is it too little? That's a matter of your ability. If you can't do it, then I can only use you as a logistics force. ”

Cohen scoffed again.

Rod had no choice but to accept the task. He knew that this was his punishment for being late...... But I had to pick it up again. If you really become a logistics army, not only will you not be able to raise your head in the legion, but the logistics army is actually risky, and transporting food in the field is actually a very risky thing for the medieval world. Moreover, now in the north, most of the food consumed will be their own grain and grass, and Black Hammer Fort does not have much grain in store in the first place, so it can't withstand such consumption at all. So, I can only agree.

As for whether Erengrad's rebels will take advantage of the weakness after the withdrawal of the large army, Rhodes has no bottom in his heart.

However, based on the population of Errengrad, the original defenders of the city were only a few thousand at most. As long as they don't all come out to attack themselves, it's not a big problem. And they can't really all go out to attack themselves, they have to keep people to keep the city and defend the city walls, Rod thought to himself......