The afternoon sun shines lazily on the castle. By the way, the warmth shines through the semi-circular sky carved in white stone into the richly decorated study.

An oil portrait of a full-height duke hangs in the middle of the wall. The duke, young and mighty, rests his hand on the hilt of his sword, and his eyes look down with a sharp momentum.

Below, there is a large mahogany desk with several beautifully bound parchment books. On the pen holder, slender quill pens are lined up.

The surrounding walls are covered with stained glass and mosaics of various pebbles, which complement the old artworks in the living room, creating a magnificent view.

On the hand-woven wool carpet, the gray fluff is swaying slightly in the breeze.

The sturdy Grand Duke of Herrington, sitting upright in a large mahogany chair, quietly looked at the messenger standing at the desk: "Tell me, princess's reply." ”

The messenger bowed his head respectfully: "Your Excellency, as you expected, Her Royal Highness the Princess refused on the spot. ”

"yes, that's a shame. Having said that, the duke had a playful smile on his face: "Since that dinner, I have really fallen in love with this pearl of Falken, hey......" He tilted his head sideways, as if stuck in a memory: "Beautiful and strong, and my deceased wife, how much like me......"

Hearing the gentle murmur, the messenger bowed lower, a chill that made him tremble with nervousness.

There was a sharpness in the duke's eyes, and he was satisfied with the awe that his subordinates showed at this moment. He waved his hand as if to drive away flies: "Go down and call Mittler to me." ”

If he was pardoned, the messenger hurriedly bowed and withdrew.

Archduke Hellington stretched out comfortably and gently picked up the tea on the desk. The fragrance is long and far away, which makes him feel refreshed.

Tuk tuk, there was a soft knock on the door.

"Lord Duke, my subordinate Mitler has come to report. ”

Putting the teacup down, the Duke returned to his deep appearance: "Come in." After seeing Mittler close the stuffiness, he slowly spoke: "How are you preparing over there?"

The leader of the Knights of the Wind gave a standard knightly salute to the Grand Duke to whom he was loyal: "A group of loyal servants have been selected, and the troops are ready to set off at any time with your orders." ”

"How many are there?"

"Sixty-five people, compared with the regular knights of the Knights, their combat power level is about ninety percent. ”

"Good. The Duke nodded appreciatively: "However, the opponent is also thirty elite knights, as well as the existence of Blair's guy." Just more than sixty people, it's not enough. ”

Mittler cautiously spoke: "In addition, there are a hundred mercenaries, if you add your personal soldiers......"

The Duke muttered for a moment, and he weighed carefully.

Seeing the Grand Duke's expression, Mittler quickly bowed his head and patiently waited for the next order.

After a quarter of an hour, the quiet atmosphere in the room was finally broken: "Who are you going to send to command?"

"Acrylic. Mittler said the candidates who had been prepared for a long time: "Lardo's knight servant, only twenty-one years old, has already met the requirements of advanced knights, and has a high prestige among the knights. He paused: "And, absolutely loyal." ”

"Very well, then let him command the knights and mercenaries. After a moment's pause, the duke continued: "I'll send another 100-man squad of spearmen from my side. His eyes suddenly became fierce: "Tell that acrylic that this is his chance, tell him to behave!"

Mittler hurriedly protected his chest with his right hand: "Obey!"

"Go down, and we'll go in three days. The duke reminded again: "Remember, don't use the armor of the Knights. ”

"Yes. ”

Mittler saluted again and withdrew.

Not long after he left, the voice of the attendant sounded outside the door: "My lord, the secret envoy of the church has arrived at the castle and is now waiting for your reception in the side hall. ”

Call.

Grand Duke Herrington glanced at the sunset outside the window: "Got it, bring him over." ”

After rejecting Archduke Highlington's proposal, Her Royal Highness Victoria consulted with Blair and ordered the castle to be halted for the time being, and the focus was shifted to recruiting soldiers.

However, even the militia did not recruit a few.

Although Blair went to the Adventurers' Guild to issue a recruitment order, and the hiring price was not expensive, except for a few stunned youths, no one came at all. Even those who were stunned for unknown details quietly slipped away after coming to the princess's territory to find out the situation.

Ronald had no surprised expression at this situation.

Following his plan, the mage surveyed the vicinity of the foot of the mountain and set up a rudimentary circle temporarily. And from time to time, together with Bruno, he went to the depths of the forest to find out if there was a demonic aura.

Ronald, on the other hand, offered to follow Blair and learn how to ride and charge.

In this way, they spent five days of intense and fulfilling lives.

On the sixth day, Anina, who volunteered to find out the information, returned. After seeing Ronald and them, her expression was a little anxious: "There are nearly three hundred troops from the Helrington side, and it is estimated that they will arrive in Yorktown in three days. If you march in a hurry, you will be there in two days at most. ”

"Three hundred?" Ronald raised an eyebrow, "That's a lot." ”

The mage asked, "Do you know the composition of their troops, Annie?"

"Figured it out. Annina nodded hurriedly, and said everything she had found: "Nearly seventy knights, a team of 100 spearmen, and the rest are all mercenaries." ”

The mage thought for a moment, then looked up at everyone: "Let's go to Her Royal Highness the princess first to discuss countermeasures." ”

Arriving at the makeshift camp, Ronald found the princess with a sad face.

"You're here. Blair glanced at Anina: "I guess I got the news too, right?"

Ronald nodded in acknowledgement, "Yes, Lord Blair." We just got the news, so we're here. ”

"So, do you have any suggestions?" the princess looked up, and the sadness on her face did not hide the firmness in her eyes, "Or did you come to take your leave?"

Hearing that cold tone, Annina felt a pang of disdain in her heart. It's all at this time, what kind of confidence do you pretend!

"We are planning to discuss it with Her Royal Highness the Princess. Ronald hurriedly denied: "After all, there are so many troops in this attack. ”

"Actually, there is nothing to discuss, so we can only stick to the danger. The mage shook his head: "Or rather, give up here." ”

The words were too straightforward, and the princess's face sank.

Blair hurriedly laughed and haha: "That's right, at present, we can really only choose to stick to it." ”

The mage pointed to the marching map behind the princess: "So, all we have to discuss is how to hold on and where to choose where to hold on." ”

"So, let us hear your opinion, Your Excellency. The princess slowly stood up and walked over to the topographical map, "I hope you can give us some unexpected surprises." ”

"This is a mountain forest, which is not conducive to fighting on horseback. The mage analyzed: "But Her Royal Highness the princess has brought elite knights, even if you can't make a charge formation, at least the forest raid shouldn't be a big problem." ”

Blair nodded slightly: "There is no problem with this. ”

"Thirty elite knights against seventy knights, do you have any chance of winning?"

Hearing the mage's questioning, the princess raised her head confidently: "You also underestimate the troops trained by Uncle Blair himself, not to mention, there are also me and Uncle Blair!"

Ronald, who had learned riding from Blair for five days, couldn't help but nod his head again and again: "Indeed, they are superb in horsemanship and highly skilled. When it comes to high-speed combat on horseback, I can only deal with two at most. ”

"My opinion is to take the elite battle. ”

"What about the mercenaries?" the princess looked a little disdainful: "There is also a spearman hundred-man team, how should you deal with it?"

"It's up to us to attract the attention of the enemy. In the face of the princess's cross-examination, the mage was not in a hurry: "I set up a quicksand trap on the side of the camp, although it was made in a hurry, but it can also cover a small area. Anina also sets up a few small traps, which are not very useful, but can also cause some trouble for the enemy. ”

He then pointed to Ronald and said, "We will take the initiative to attract the attention of the enemy, and the rest will be left to you." ”

Hearing that the mage had volunteered, the princess was a little surprised: "Oh, why did you do this?"

The Master's expression was sincere: "One, it is to express our sincerity and determination to cooperate. Second, as adventurers, we are not suitable for group combat, and individual combat can work wonders, and we also have the ability to protect ourselves. Third, most of the mercenaries are rabble, as long as the morale is low, it is easy to flee in battle, and my spells happen to be more terrifying. ”

"Dark necromancer. The princess seemed to understand something: "As long as we can seize the opportunity of the enemy being drawn by you, and take the opportunity to defeat the enemy's main knight force......"

"Exactly. The mage smiled, "We will not disappoint you, and I am confident that neither will you, Your Highness." ”

Hearing the mage's confident words, the gloom in the princess's heart also disappeared. Her slender eyebrows were slightly raised, and the colors of confidence and pride appeared on her beautiful face again: "It seems that I have to apologize for my previous mistakes." ”

"You're welcome. The mage was neither humble nor arrogant: "We still have to carefully discuss the details of the operation. ”

Ronald, who has been listening carefully, can't help but admire this elder from the bottom of his heart.

It's amazing, you can analyze so many ...... Since I can't strategize now, let me prove myself by force!

In his heart, a sense of pride suddenly arose.

Seeing Ronald's confident eyes, Anina couldn't help but feel a little moved, but she quickly came back to her senses and focused her attention on the tense discussion.

Heated discussions filled the humble wooden house.

For this victory, everyone contributed their wisdom and concentrated on it, forgetting the time and the hunger.

It wasn't until the moon and stars were scarce that they ended this military meeting.

Looking at the dry skin on everyone's mouths and the bloodshot in their eyes, the princess, who has always been very proud, couldn't help but be a little touched, she rarely let go of her reserve, and gently comforted everyone: "Everyone is tired, let's go back and have a good rest first." ”

The next moment, her tone changed back to firmness: "For victory!"

The vigorous spirit completely covered up the tiredness on his face, and everyone followed suit: "For victory!"