When the new fleet docked at Djerkhala, the White Dove Valley returned.

Things went as Garcia expected, and the Admiralty changed their attitude in a short time. Aaron's naval headquarters no longer asked the 'White Dove Valley' to go north as soon as possible. My father remained in Djerkhara for new orders, but after a few weeks he did not wait for orders from the navy, he waited for almost the entire navy: twenty-eight warships and their supply ships, carrying more than 1,700 sailors and soldiers, whose arrival caused a great sensation in Djerkhala.

Rumors of the Duchy's rivalry with Salander soon spread throughout the city: the Swadians had been entering the Rhodok hinterland from the border months earlier, and the Salanders had allied themselves with the Kugit and had made it clear that Rhodok would not intervene in the war in the North.

Many of the Rhodoks have a non-chagrin attitude towards this, they do not want the Swadias to be slaughtered, but they are even more reluctant to get into trouble. They wanted the Principality to remain neutral and help others on that premise. The Rhodoks, especially the Rhodoks of Djerkhara, were very war-averse, they cherished their peaceful life, and did not want to be affected by other people's disputes, and the common sentiment of the citizens was "let the warlike Svadians fend for themselves".

The White Dove's rescue of the refugees was unanimously recognized by the citizens, while the Principality's attempt to rescue Swadia was met with widespread skepticism, and people looked at the busy port of Djerkhara with concern, as if war was about to come again. General Enor's headquarters had been secretly moved to Djerkhala, and not many people knew about it, and his official residence was in a monastery on the outskirts of Djerkhala, where the Admiralty was extremely low-key, including many junior friars who thought it was just some people from religious offices who came to visit.

These days, the White Dove Valley reported in detail to the Admiralty what information they had: including the composition of Swadia refugees; the attack effects of new weapons; Of course, there is also the case of 'pioneers'.

There was a dramatic shift in the Army's attitude towards Lily Marlene, and the Pioneers' requests for negotiations were granted. The Pioneers seemed to have far more trust in the White Dove Valley than in the Navy, and on many occasions my father and Cesara were present as naval representatives at the request of the Pioneers.

The content of the meeting was clear: the 'Pioneers' demanded the return of the 'Elwin', Captain Lily Marlene and their entire crew, and the restoration of the 'Pioneers' rights to trade in Rhodoc. The navy, on the other hand, asked the 'Pioneers' to provide information about Salander and to assist in the transportation of at least one hundred and fifty ships of supplies within six months.

The negotiations went well, because in many ways, Rhodok showed clear goodwill. Cesar and my father sensed Rhodok's meaning of the 'pioneers'. But on the issue of Swadia refugees, Rhodok officials have been quite tough, and they appear to be under considerable pressure. Rhodok officials allowed only the 'pioneers' to take away the Swadias who had left voluntarily, while the rest who wished to return would be sent to the Swadiya settlement at the southern foot of Mount Alame to await their return.

Lily Marlene soon boarded the departing boat in the port of Djerkhara, where the Rhodok officials were ordered to see them off, where they reaffirmed the Principality's support and trust in the 'Pioneers', and expressed their sadness at Lily Marien's departure, with several officials waving handkerchiefs on the docks and shedding tears of sadness for their departed friends, with Cesar weeping the most.

More and more ships are mooring in the port of Djerkhala, which is now a bit overcrowded. Every day, the brass horns of ships entering and leaving the port come and go one after another, continuously. The view from the water is spectacular, with countless seabird-like boats floating on the waves, and masts and sails densely covering the harbor for miles. The boats shuttled back and forth between the big ships, and the sound of horns and shouts was incessant. The sampan carrying the goods and the navigator's boat scolded because of the dispute over the waterway; The sailors sang about the joy of the distance; Hawkers peddle corduroy coats, lucky chicks and delicate Vecchia wool trousers back and forth between ships.

The White Pigeon Valley had recently been arranged to carry supplies, and the sailors had loaded a thousand bales of linen, two hundred sheaves of flannel, twenty barrels of cured pork, ninety loads of preserves, and a hundred camping tents in a week's time. Cesar was curious: "Are we going overseas?" ”

"No," said my father, looking at the busy sailors, "we are going to Garmic Bend, where there are more than 10,000 refugees and soldiers waiting to be resettled, and many more will flee in the future." ”

"Gamicki? Pile these things up somewhere like Gamickey? What to do with the recklessness of the people of Saland? Cesar asked, puzzled.

The father pursed his lips and did not speak.

Earlier, the boatswain had inadvertently told him about this arrangement: because every move of the Rhodoks in the Garmici Basin would be known to the Salanders, and as soon as the Rhodok increased his troops, the Salanders would find out. Now, with the Svadias as cover, the Rhodoks can confidently transport more than a thousand soldiers and their equipment and supplies to this place. And this dispatch appears to be above board: in order to improve the lives of refugees.

In fact, in this situation, who cares whether a group of Swadians lives or dies?

Rhodok's calculations were well struck, and if the Salanders could no longer hold on and start the war, the Rhodoks could tell the Swadians that the Salanders were going to wipe out all its refugees. This will drive the desperate and angry Svadian refugees and soldiers as a precursor to reduce their own casualties in the later battle for the recovery of Garmic.

In the past, Fort Alamey's geography was rather treacherous, with the north beware of the Swadians, and the southeast, the Saland's wolf ambitions. And now, in an interesting twist, the defenders of Fort Alame received orders to remove the horses and barriers to the north, widen the road, and accept all the soldiers and civilians from the south; To the southeast, the garrison of Fort Aramey reduced the frequency of patrols, leaving the Salanders with the illusion that they had an opportunity.

If you were a Salander soldier, every morning when you had finished praying to the Holy Land and looked back from the battlements of Fort Garmic, you would be able to see the entire Garmic Basin: at the end of the basin was a horde of frightened Swadians, who dragged their families with their families. Their wagons and mules were stuffed with grain and tenderness on their backs; Their women are delicate and elegant; Their men looked cowardly; The wealthy Swadias are encamped right under the noses of the city of Garmic. Really, if you're a Sarandian, it's hard not to be tempted by the fact that your allies are repeatedly urging you to do something, and it's the same situation right in front of you.

Inside Fort Garmic, Rhodok soldiers disguised as servants and refugees entered the area every day, and these soldiers were arranged to be stationed in Fort Aramey in batches. The garrison of Aramei was increasing every day, and some veterans knew that a counteroffensive was coming, and they had been waiting for such an opportunity for a long time. Only a handful of generals knew the full plan: to use the Svadians to draw the Salanders to attack, and then take the opportunity to retake Fort Garmicch.

The plan allowed Rhodok to stand on the moral high ground from beginning to end, and all it had to do was wait quietly for the Salanders to make a move, then pretend to be surprised, and finally come out to administer justice.

The soldiers of Fort Garmic and Fort Arame looked at the refugees in the Garmici Basin with their own thoughts. The once invincible Svadias are now placed in a miserable situation, used as bait in military struggles.

In these days, every day small detachments of Salander came out to harass the refugees, looted some goods, cattle and horses, and then withdrew to Fort Garmic, and the Swadias soon turned to Fort Alamey, whose slow patrols always arrived after the Salandians had completely left, and the officers casually inspected the camp, hastily registered, and went home.

The disarmed Svadian soldiers demanded weapons so that they could protect themselves, but this request was denied, and the Rhodoks could not tolerate a group of armed Svadias on their territory, even though Rhodok was now a de facto ally of Svadia.

Armed with simple farming tools and a handful of weapons, the Swadia soldiers built their camp with the limited help of the Rhodoks. Sometimes, the Rhodoks had to admit that the Swadians were good, and even in exile, the Swadians were able to create something great with their meagre resources if given the opportunity.

The Swadias are actively contacting their homeland with the help of the Rhodoks, and they hope that the Imperial army will soon liberate the eastern frontier and drive the Kugits away, so that they can return to their homeland. So far, Swadia officials have made no commitment to these refugees, and the officials have only demanded that the refugees submit to the administration of the Rhodok government and return to their homeland when the time comes. When the Swadias heard that there were many Rhodok ships unloading in the bay of Gamage, there was widespread optimism that the Rhodok government was taking care of them, and that supplies would soon be flowing into the camps.

By the time the White Pigeon Valley arrived at Garmic Bay, the camp was being fortified and the Fort Alame patrol was being asked to step up their patrols. The refugees even scraped together 10,000 dinars to ask Fort Arame soldiers to be stationed in the camp, but this request was denied. Swadia soldiers dug deep ditches around the camp to build a makeshift walled city, repaired the springs where nearby shepherds drank their livestock, and brought water into the camp. The tents given by the Rhodok were placed in the camps in an orderly manner by the refugees, and these tents were dotted at night like fireflies dormant on the earth.

Tracy Boone is an ordinary Swadian farmer, just like his father and grandfather. His family had seven acres of wheat fields, an orchard and a water-powered mill. Two years ago, the family's mill caught fire, coinciding with the death of his grandfather and a sharp increase in the family's expenses. Unable to rebuild the mill, his family sold the ruins of the mill to a local rich peasant. After losing the mill, his family became impoverished, and the family's hopes of improving their lives were dashed when robbers kidnapped his father. The ransom demanded by the bandits several hundred dinars forced him to sell his orchard and four acres of the best wheat fields, but the treacherous bandits, after receiving the money, brought his father's coat to his family, which contained a dead fish. He knew that this meant that his father had been killed. His mother became ill and died of winter. He knew that among the robbers, such bad things would be condemned, so he sold the rest of his land and went into the mountains, where he found the leader of the robbers and demanded justice.

The leader of the robbers gets Tracy's money and is embarrassed. He told Tracy, "Your father was a soldier on a patrol when he was young, and he had a feud with one of my men, and you know, your father killed my brother. This kind of blood feud even I can't interfere with, you take the money, I can't take it. I owe you in this matter, you take the money, go home, and come to me in trouble later. ”

Tracy threw the money back, "I have something I need your help with right now." ”

"What?"

"Please arrange a duel between me and that man," Tress said.

"Are you sure?" The leader of the robbers said in an almost unbearable tone. "If you can let go of your hatred with him, I promise, he will thank you for the rest of his life. Hate can't be resolved by hatred, and I learned that it was too late. You have to think carefully. ”

"Yes, I've thought about it".

The leader of the robbers suddenly knocked Tracy to the ground with a punch, and beckoned several robbers to hold Tracy down, "Young man, I'm sorry. The person I'm talking about is myself. I'm sure you'll remember hatred for the rest of your life, I have to kill you, and as I said, hatred can't be resolved by hatred, so let it end with you. You're the last man in your family, and I'll take care of your family's graveyard. ”

Tracy was taken aback and was tied up by the robbers. But that night, Tress escaped during the night. The robbers offered a bounty in the village to encourage the villagers to confess his whereabouts, but no one paid attention to him. After six months of hiding in Tibet, Tracy joined the army, and before the training was finished, the Kugit were like a rainstorm that tore everything up. Tracy, who had just been settled, had to flee again, and after the Rhodoks allowed the Svadias to cross the border, Tracy followed the influx of refugees to the south.

Now Tracy was in a daze by a bush outside the camp and watching the flames. He longs for revenge, but now his future in a foreign land is uncertain. In the past, Swadia soldiers were the most feared people on the continent, but now they have become lost dogs, and everyone dares to bully.

A few days earlier he had led the men to cut timber in the woods and set up a rudimentary camp. He distributed bread and bedding fairly, properly housed the old and weak, women and children, and fulfilled the responsibilities of a soldier and a man.

The Rhodocs gave Tracy a rusty and blunt spear, and Tracy polished it on a piece of gravel to a brilliant shine and sharpened the edges of the notch. Tracy now carries a spear and crouches by a fire to keep warm. He had a hard loaf of bread in his arms, and he took off his helmet, poured half a bag of water into it from the leather pouch around his waist, and then set up the helmet with water with a few sticks, and baked the water hot.

He crumpled the bread into pieces and threw it into the steaming water inside his helmet. He probed the water with his fingers, testing the temperature. As the temperature dropped sharply at night, he wrapped the felt behind his back a little tighter, coughed dryly, and picked up his helmet to enjoy his food.

Tracy heard something, like the rustle of the wind through the leaves, and he looked around, not knowing what it was. He is not the first sentinel, and if there is any situation, then the brothers in front will give a signal. Now there is no news, and that's the best news.

He blew on the somewhat hot bread porridge, and his stomach felt a warm wriggling.

The voice came again, and Tracy was shocked, what if the sentinel in front of him was solved by God unconsciously? The sudden thought made Tracy's brow furrow, and he was wondering how likely it was that such a thing would be installed by himself.

Soon, he emptied his food and buckled his helmet, which was still hot, to his head. He was already very sure that he had indeed run into such an unfortunate thing, because the rustle around him had converged into the roar of the waves, and there were thousands of people running in unison.

Tracy grabbed a torch and ran madly towards the camp. Behind him, an endless darkness shrouded an unknown number of soldiers, like a group of demons who had escaped from the gates of hell. Tracy ran up a small hill, stuck his torch into a branch, and then ran diagonally, and behind him, a dozen arrows sparsely fell into the branch where the torch was inserted. He cursed himself in his heart for being a bastard. Tracy knew that he had to return to the camp as soon as possible, informed the soldiers to close the gates, and sent someone to inform the garrison of Fort Amera.

It was getting closer and closer, and the tent in front of him was already unfolding in front of his eyes, and thinking about the enemy that was getting closer and closer behind him, Tracy ran and shouted the alarm as hard as he could.

"Close the gate! Close the gate! The Salanders are coming! ”