The air seemed to smell of gunpowder, and in the event of enforcement, most of the inhabitants of the village of Gruss had been forced to move out, and the remaining Ionians were preparing for the coming war, like ants busy with their heads in their hands.

If anyone can look down on the village of Gruss from above, they will find that a tall tree wall has been erected on the periphery of the village, and the buildings inside the tree wall have been transformed into a mess, with high and low buildings and extremely complicated lines.

Sweating in the sun, Tri followed the herb-picking team through the long street of horses and stone piers, the entire village of Gruss had been torn apart by the men of the Third Militia Regiment, and the building materials had been reduced to part of the fortifications, forming an impregnable line of defense with the plants spawned by the spirit callers.

A dozen two-armed ballistas designed by craftsmen were erected on top of the towering stone buildings, the muzzles of which were facing the direction outside the village, and in many places spiked pits, and passively triggered defensive magic were arranged...... Originally, there should have been more of this magic, but for some reason, most of Vastaya didn't seem to want to be involved in the war.

Without Vastaya's magical assistance, it is naturally not so easy to rely only on spirit summoners and temporarily summoned mages to set up the battlefield, perhaps a war of a few hundred people can still have a decisive effect, once the number of people is tens of thousands, it is better than nothing.

It stands to reason that everything in front of him should bring a sense of security, but there is always a bad premonition, and the physical and mental exhaustion makes the man a little haggard.

After delivering the herbs collected in the morning at the camp of the station, Terry lowered his head and walked with the rest of the herbalists to the cauldron in the village, unlike in the past, today at noon Terry actually smelled the aroma of meat for the first time, and the sun really came out of the west.

Noticing the identity badge of [Special Herbalist: Terrie], the soldier who had been squeezing out a smile and gave Terri a big bowl of stew, and the pieces of meat in the bowl floated up.

Nodding gratefully to the soldier, Terry took the bowl and sat down at the wooden table under the jealous gaze of the others, and the sound of other people's chattering was suddenly heard in his ears.

"Did you hear that? General Brest, they fought while retreating, but the result was that the dragon birds of the Noxians cut off the back road, and suffered heavy losses, General Brest's whereabouts are still unknown, only the second militia regiment that retreated in advance successfully retreated,

Counting the rout of the First Militia Regiment, we have less than 40,000 people here at full capacity.

The Noxians followed, and it must not take a day or two to call, and in my opinion, our good days are at an end, and I just hope that I will die happily then, and that will be the ...... if I don't lack arms and legs."

"Who's to say it isn't? Our time is too short, in the plan, the two militia legions will jointly flank the Noxians along the Phantom River, at least ten days for the third militia legion, but the two legions will be defeated in one day, and the village has only been rebuilt in less than four days, even if we work hard day and night, we can't do it?

The defense line of Gruss Village is not completed by a third at all, according to General Trollope's plan, two more lines of defense must be added in the village to give those martial artists enough room to maneuver, you don't see General Trollope's face, it's too scary......"

"Alas, to be honest, I really don't have confidence in this war, even the main army led by General Brest can't last a day, what can those martial artists do? If I were to say that it would be better to save this little life than to fight with the Noxians, and to go to other provinces, I would not believe that the Noxians would have such a large appetite as to swallow the entire newborn land in one gulp. ”

"Shhhh If you say something like this during a war, don't you die? ”

"I'm just telling the truth......"

"In any case, I just hope that General Trollope and them will have a backhand, if you really count on the martial artists and our motley soldiers to resist the Noxians, maybe Presidian will really be finished......"

Terry sighed to himself.

The enemy has not yet come, and the hearts of the resistance have collapsed.

In a miserable cloud of sorrow, he made up his mind, put down the empty bowl, and walked all the way to the house of his direct governor.

Pushing open the door, I saw Wilder frowning and counting the herb packets on the ground.

Turning his head to look at the visitor, Wilder soothed his brow.

"It's all up to you to lead the team into the mountains for the past two days, it's really hard, it's rare to have a good meal, did the guy add meat to you? I specifically instructed it. ”

Nodding gratefully, Teri plucked up the courage to ask.

"Plus, thank you Chief Wilder for your kindness, in fact, I'm here to ask, this battle ...... How are you going to fight it? ”

"It stands to reason that this doesn't seem to be something you should worry about as an herbalist."

With a slight smile, Wilder sat down in his chair and sighed.

"Sit down first, I wonder why you thought of asking me such a question?"

Sitting across from Wilder, filled with the scent of herbs, Terry decided to take out what he had – sincerity.

In his opinion, Wilder should not have put him in prison because he told the truth.

"Chief Wilder, I, I want to survive this war, to return alive to my wife and son, and I want nothing else."

Staring into Wilder's solemn gaze, he whispered.

"There are a lot of people who are not optimistic about the outcome of this war, and I often hear those pessimistic statements during dinner, and no one in the legion has been paying attention to this all along, as if ...... As if this war had never been about us,

We are for or against, optimistic or pessimistic, the legion doesn't care, we are all worthless pawns, except to build a house here and pick herbs, which will have no effect on this war...... So, what are we here for?

Sir Wilder, I'm afraid of death, I want to go back to my family, but since I'm here, I want to do the best I can, even if I die on the battlefield, I want to die a little more clearly,

But what I'm going through now tells me that my faith and determination seem worthless, and that I've never been seen as a part of what I'm needed. ”

】

In the eye contact, Wilder's gaze gradually became complicated, and he did not speak, Wilder just picked up the wine bottle on the table, poured a glass of honey wine for Teli, and poured another glass for himself.

Maverick was stunned.

"If you can say such a head-killing thing to me, Terri, you are a man, I will toast you."

Drinking some bitter mead, Maverick looked at Wilder, who was quite helpless between his eyebrows.

"As you can feel, the center of gravity of this war has shifted,

From the moment of the rout of the 1st and 2nd Militia Corps, the disappearance of General Brest, we lost the opportunity to defeat the Noxians from the frontal battlefield,

There was not enough time to operate the construction, and even with the addition of the Second Militia Corps, the village of Gruss could not become a line of defense against the Noxians, and to the east of the village of Gruss was a plain with a flat river, and there was no danger to defend in Presidian.

So, the village of Gruss is the only place we can hold the Noxians back, and we have to find another way to win this war. ”

The intensity of the honey wine is even greater than expected, and the head is a little groggy, but the thinking of the peculiar is clearer.

Thinking of a possibility, Terri's heart skipped a beat, and his face was shocked.

"Hold on...... Could it be ...... Do you say ......"

"That's right, we're going to assassinate! Hold back the Noxian army in the village of Gruss and find out the Empire's commander and kill him! Of course, it would be better if we could take prisoners, this is our only chance to win! ”

Wilder, whose eyes were like knives, was sharp and murderous.

"The protagonists of this war are not the Second Militia Regiment and the Third Militia Regiment, let alone you improvised laborers, but the assassins of the Martial Arts and the Brotherhood!

At that time, we and some martial artists will drag the frontal troops of the Noxians in the village of Gruss, and the most elite martial artists and Brotherhood killers will form an assassination force to jointly flank the Noxians from the north and south.

In addition to the assassination forces against the Grand Commander of the Empire, you, me, and them! ”

Wilder pointed across the wall to the camp, where there were tens of thousands of Ionians hovering on the edge of the battlefield, no one liked to be the victims, which is why no one told them the truth.

"We are all pawns that can be sacrificed! We may be defeated...... But they will never give in! If you dare to invade the Newborn Lands, the Noxians will have to pay the price in blood! ”

His face was as white as gold paper, and his voice trembled a little.

"Even if it is...... Even if the assassination is successful, what if the angry Quesians want revenge and the army is overwhelmed? ”

Staring at Terry, Wilder whispered.

"If we think so much about it in the war, we might as well surrender directly, anyway, how can we offend the Noxians, just tie our hands, what kind of battle will we fight......

Instead of being a timid coward, it is better to think about the good, maybe as soon as the current commander of the empire dies, the empire will fall apart and break itself,

After all, the current Imperial Grand Commander ascended to the throne by forcing the palace, and the former Grand Commander Darkwell was driven to the imperial border, as long as he was not stupid, he would not give up the status of the Immortal Fortress and the Grand Commander, and choose a bitter cold land to be his border lord in peace.

At that time, even if there is no civil war, civil strife will definitely break out in the Empire, and we will have enough time to assemble the power of the First Lands to deal with the next Noxian invasion,

When Noxus returns to stability, even if Darkwell invades the Newborn Land again under the banner of avenging his predecessor, it will not be the First Militia Legion and the Second Militia Legion that will greet them...... Ionia, however, is not so weak. ”

Maverick, whose face looked a little better, thought about it, and Wilder's speculation was not unreasonable.

Since the frontal troops are not the opponent of the Noxians, they can indeed try to capture the thief and capture the king first, and without the backbone, this glorious expedition for the Noxians will lose its meaning.

Having said that, it is still a little uncomfortable to hear that he who is ready to die in battle is sacrificed as a meaningless pawn, and the most important thing is that Wilder, whom he trusts, is still high-sounding.

How can he maintain his consciousness in such a situation? It's just a pathetic self-touch.

Now it seems that this 'glorious battle of resistance' should not be a big deal without him a herbalist who can only collect herbs to make medicine packs, after all, if he drags on time, he can only block the Noxians' knife, and it can't drag on for three seconds.

He can't control others, and before the war comes, find a suitable opportunity to run, there is no psychological burden.

Taking a deep breath, he said solemnly.

"Sir Wilder, I see, assassinating the Imperial Grand Commander is indeed the only way we can get the Noxians to retreat right now, don't worry, I won't talk nonsense."

Glancing meaningfully at Terry, Wilder waved his hand and began to chase people away.

"Well, go ahead, don't be cranky, just do your job well, but don't forget, you're a native of Ionian."

……

Heavy iron-clad wheels crushed the way, and the ruts of the empire left an indelible mark on the land of the newborn land, and also interpreted the incompetence of the Ionians.

After a night's rest, the 14,000 Noxian Imperial troops who set out again finally slowed down the pace of conquest, and the village of Gruss, surrounded by a tree wall, appeared at the end of the line of sight amid the flying dragons and birds in the sky.

Four horses with dragon scales snorted, in the luxurious carriage of what could be considered a mobile fortress, Lyist took the binoculars from Sindra's small hand, and fixed his gaze on the familiar tree wall,

According to the intelligence of the War Masons, the village of Gruss is a rather large town, but now it has become another obstacle to the advance of the army, and if you want to go to Plessidian, you can't get around the nail in the way of the village of Gruss.

This cross-sea expedition brought a total of 32,000 soldiers, 8,000 men were stationed on Philo Island, 5,000 men were left behind in the port of Lin Yin on the west coast opposite Philo Island, and a permanent camp was established next to the Phantom River, and 4,000 soldiers guarded the fleet.

All the way to now, the number of troops has been reduced to less than fifteen, but the morale of the Imperial army has not decreased but risen, because the flag of Noxus is only "separated by a wall" from the destination of this expedition, Presidian.

As long as the village of Grus is taken, Precidian will be at your fingertips, and the empire that has mastered the passage will be able to transport a steady stream of soldiers to the newborn land, and when the empire completely takes the province of Navoli, it will become a matter of time for the whole of Ionia.

With a light breath, Lyist put down the binoculars and said in a deep voice.

"Let's get started."

Three simple words kicked off the war.

"Woo woo woo ......"

The sound of brass horns came from high in the sky, and as the Dragonbird Knight landed in the warband, the long-thirsty Inghal Sexter finally received an order from the Grand Commander to act.

"All Imperial warbands obey orders! After breaking the wall, crush all the rebels head-on! Show the bravery of the empire with iron and blood! Long live the Great Noxian Empire! Long live the Grand Commander Lyist! ”