The days of Kislev were short, the sun that shone silently on the moors had sunk into the sky, and the blue-black night sky covered the earth like a low silk curtain. The cold wind howled across the battlefield of corpses, stirring the burning cremation piles, scattering the smell of brimstone and burnt with a mournful whistling.

"May the noble soul of His Excellency General Holt von Nicholas rest in eternal peace, may His Majesty Sigmar, the Holy Emperor be with him, and may Tár, the supreme ruler of the great wilderness and forest, guide his noble soul!"

With Hyde's solemn voice, Mirmidia's Holy Seal Sigil rose from behind him, mingling with the great fire in front of him. The blazing fire turned his young face red, casting undulating shadows on the bullet-riddled and broken armor, as if in response to his prayers.

"May His Majesty Sigmar, the Holy God-Emperor, be with him, and may Thar, the Supreme Lord of the Great Wilderness and Forest, guide his noble soul!"

Dozens of voices echoed together heavily, flames and seals refracting a warm light on their battle-hardened armor. These were the remnants of the officers and knights of the Northern Empire's coalition army, and under Hyde's leadership, a simple mourning ceremony was being held for several high-ranking officers who had fallen in battle. In fact, as the captain of the 3rd Brigade and the temporary wing leader, Hyde is currently the only remaining supreme commander of this army, so the funeral ceremony must be performed by him.

The results of this battle were staggering, with the Chaos Kugan army of 4,000 elite cavalry almost completely wiped out, and more than 3,000 people were either killed on the spot or were caught up and killed in the rout, including a dozen trolls and dozens of Chaos Knights. But the price was also tragic, because the general of the wing commander of the Imperial Coalition Army was killed, the deputy commander of the wing Fischer was seriously wounded, the captains of the four combat brigades were killed two and one was seriously wounded, the total number of troops killed was more than 2,000, and the baggage wagons were lost by a third. In a sense, it is no exaggeration to call this vicious battle a struggle to the end.

The uninvited guest who changed everything was the army of Namidland, a powerful cavalry wing that arrived late on the battlefield but almost instantly destroyed the resistance of the Chaos Kugans, like a thunderbolt that landed in nine days. During the battle, they had destroyed nearly half of the total number of enemies, and thousands of Kugans had died under their devastating charge, while their own losses were no more than thirty or forty dead and wounded. When two warriors fight to the point of exhaustion, even a child's assault from behind can be fatal, let alone that raider is another, more powerful warrior?

Thanks to the appearance of the high-ranking battle mage of Namidland, Lisa the Divine Servant of Sharya, many of the wounded of the coalition were rescued, including the deputy commander of the wing, Fischer. The Divine Servant of Mor was hit by Analyr who broke five ribs, broke a leg, and suffered multiple serious injuries to his internal organs, but he was still lucky to survive. Although he was unable to recover in the short term, the Empire did not lose two Divine Favorites in a single day, which was a blessing in disguise.

"In accordance with the provisions of Chapter XXVI, Section 5 of the Emperor's Code, I hand over the command of this Northbound Wing to His Excellency Hyde, the brave Captain of the 3rd Death Brigade, who meets all the qualifications required by the Holy Code of Military Justice. ”

These were the first words of Fischer as he woke up, and the indifferent Raven Knight maintained his calm style, even when he was seriously injured and unable to move in the carriage. The gods of Mor have always taken death and injury lightly, because the black ravens are always surrounded by the purple roses of death, and they are the servants of the god of death.

So Hyde became the temporary supreme commander of the wing, which was a troublesome matter. Counting the losses, arranging the defenses, sending messengers, marshalling the remnants, presiding over the funeral, and so on immediately weighed on the young man's shoulders like a mountain, and the various reports caught him a little off guard, as if he were about to meet another great battle.

However, Lisa lends a helping hand at a critical moment, and she and Loren Sr. help Hyde sort out a lot of problems. Marshall also participated, so the matter was roughly cleared, and Hyde's mind calmed down for the time being, ready for the next test, whether it was the Chaos Army or something else. But first, as the new wing commander, you must attend the funeral of your comrades, which is an essential ceremony.

The cremation ritual after cleaning the battlefield is a rule of the Holy Military Code, not only to mourn, but also to avoid enemy tricks, because the corpse of a warrior is the necromancer's best asset. In order to prevent the souls of brave comrades-in-arms from being desecrated by the enemy and the remains being used by the enemy, the first baptism of the Holy Fire is indispensable. As long as the situation of the war allowed the slightest permit, the funeral must be held on the same day, because this is the best way to cut off the enemy's conspiracy.

The cremation ceremony on the battlefield was simple, and the bodies of 2,000 comrades were roughly divided into ten fires. All the remains, as long as they belonged to comrades-in-arms, were piled up together, except that a small number of recognizable middle and senior officers were placed on top, poured oil and wine, and then a raging fire was lit. They had fought together, but they had to return to dust together, and there was no time or energy for meticulous work in a perilous wasteland. In fact, this is also in line with the original intention of the god of death, More, because the great Lord of Death will never pay attention to his earthly identity.

"May every soul who died heroically on the battlefield be blessed by the divine god of war, and may the great god of the white wolf bring their warriors rest!"

General Chris, who was the representative of the friendly forces, also paid tribute to the war dead with a prayer from Ulric, and the powerful champion warrior with a grinning face suddenly became very serious at the funeral. Ten cheetah knights and white wolf knights lined up behind him, their heavy fur cloaks and glittering swords rustling in the cold winter wind. Because of the heavy casualties of the Imperial Alliance, Midland's army was temporarily responsible for the reconnaissance and defense of the periphery, so there were not many people who attended the funeral.

"May the souls of the warriors rest in eternal peace, may the banner of the empire and Kislev always triumph!

With the heavy, solemn cries of hundreds of people, the brief ceremony ended, and most of them returned to the makeshift trenches and walls, leaving only a few to collect the ashes of their comrades. In fact, they also serve as the task of the perimeter cordon, and the imperial [***] code is always thoughtful. Etiquette is never useless, strength is never wasted, and everything is to have as much extra meaning as possible, for luxury is not allowed on the cruel battlefield.

"Your Highness, it's late at night, aren't you going back to the camp?"

With this unexpected voice, Frey gently leaned into Hyde's arms. The black-haired girl was wrapped in a thick fur scarf and hung one hand in a bandage on her chest, but she was in good spirits, and her slender body swelled with youthful charm.

"I'm here to pay one last tribute to our comrades, and at the same time to be on the lookout for a while, because I'm running out of manpower and I have to do something. ”

Hyde caressed Frey's cheek gently, and the young goddess looked quite relaxed. Although he suffered a lot of skin injuries during the fierce battle during the day, and his physical strength was once exhausted, under Lisa's healing magic, he recovered surprisingly quickly, and now he is completely like a person who is fine. In a sense, the eighteen-year-old blonde was more interested in fighting than in documents and reports, and he was afraid of hemp and parchment not long after learning the alphabet.

"I'm fine, my strength has improved quite a lot in today's fierce battle. But you, why did you run out? What happened to your injuries? Do you think you're that strong?"

"Miss Lisa...... No, Aunt Lisa's Sharya magic has completely healed my wounds, and her magic is much more powerful than that of Mrs. Greenhill, so I'm fine. I also came over to Aunt Lisa, she asked me to ask you to go back, she knows that your body needs to rest. ”

Frey's face flushed, her hand gripping Hyde's strong hand tightly, her slender fingers moving a little uneasily.

"If I go back, will I let Grandpa Loren stand here? Now the loss of the powerful men in our army is too great, one of the hands of Lord Cicero has been broken, and the sternum has been broken, Lord Fischer cannot even move, Lord Fred has been killed, and Tenan is also seriously wounded, and now the most powerful person is me. Of course, this is without counting the Midlandan army. ”

Hyde frowned slightly, and involuntarily clenched the hilt of the lion's tooth greatsword, his deep voice tinged with a layer of love and a hint of reproach.

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