Garmic Fort.

Adil, the general of the Salanders, knelt on a woollen carpet and gently chanted the scriptures he had developed since he was 37 years old. After that, even in the most chaotic battlefields, General Adil would find time to do his chanting homework. Adil was a Barryya, not a Salander who was "born the son of Allah", and in fact Adil's family rejected the faith of the Salanders who migrated from the south. After entering the army, Adil contracted an alcoholism in dealing with rough junior officers, which made Adil completely forget all the rules and precepts. After a few years of fooling around, Adil often woke up drunk with a severe headache and felt empty; Scenes of brutal war often make Adil sit up and scream from his dreams.

As an ally of the Salanders, Adil served in the Salander camp and held a good position in the army of the Salander Sultanate. It all seemed so natural, until on the evening of his 37th birthday, in his manor house in Dukuba, Adil looked at the shining ponds, the delicate flowers, and the sky lit by fiery clouds, and suddenly felt a strong touch that he could not explain: as if he had been a walking dead himself for so many years.

That day Adil completely changed and closed his doors.

When a respected imam heard the news, he found him, and it is not known what he heard from him. After a few days, Adil suddenly came out of the small room, walked to the temple, knelt on a stone, and under the auspices of several elders of the diocese, Adil converted to Allah. From that day on, Adil broke with his past self, and he became a man of modest temperament and meticulous in life under the influence of his teachings. From that day on, Adil began to pray to Allah day after day, telling his doubts and asking for guidance.

There are many more Barriyers like Adile, and more and more Barriyers have converted to the religion of Saland, whether out of natural identification or out of a desire to climb the upper echelons of Salander. Although the expulsion of the Salander from the Salander had taken place in many remote places, the complete assimilation of the Salander by the Salander within a few decades was almost irreversible.

A traveling monk from Swadia worriedly wrote: "In the past, many of the people of this place of Barriya believed in God, and even if they did not believe, they would not denigrate God." The Salanders had beautiful women, herds of livestock, and large estates. The Salanders told the Bariyas that as long as they follow Allah, those things are theirs, and the faith of the Bariyas collapsed in an instant. Gone are the sights I saw when I was young, and now God's white robe has been swept away by Allah's turban'

Adil had recently sent away an envoy from the second prince. The envoy extended an olive branch to Adil for the second prince, but he received a send-off order from Adil. Adil was almost completely Salanderized in his beliefs, and like a traditional Salander, he was extremely disgusted with usurpers--- who were the source of all unrest and convulsions.

After the envoy of the second prince learned of Adil's attitude, he nodded slightly, took Adil's hand and put it on his forehead, wishing Adil good health and a bright future. The messenger's smile sent a shudder through Adil. Adil knew that although he had come to regard himself as a complete Salander, the Salander regarded him as an 'outsider' in his heart, and Adil could only walk on thin ice and be cautious, not daring to participate in anything that endangered himself and his family.

Adil was ready to go on the defensive, and after directing a few attacks, he went completely on the defensive. Adil carried out several active attacks, and although there were losses, Adil knew that he had to do it, and as an alien general with no background, he would be defeated if he did not attack decisively. Throughout his career in Salander's politics, Adil is well aware of the difficulties of a new convert, where a little achievement is hard to come by, and the slightest mistake can lead to a loss.

Now Adil has done his part, attacking the camp of the Rhodoks, and has already inflicted considerable losses on the Rhodoks. Now, if a political opponent says that he is afraid of the enemy and has different ambitions, Adil can truthfully report his battle record, and then the Sultanate will at most express dissatisfaction with Adil's command level, and this punishment is insignificant to Adil.

The first day of the Rhodok offensive was extremely aggressive, which made Adil feel a sense of frustration. The Rhodoks stormed the walls almost an hour after the assault began, and although the Rhodoks eventually retreated despite the courageous resistance of the Salander soldiers, the morale of the Salander soldiers inevitably dropped. Adil could see the dim or wandering eyes of the soldiers during his rounds, which showed the frustration and fear in the hearts of the soldiers.

"It's only the first day of the war," Adil reassured himself, "it's normal for soldiers to be lost."

That night, Adil ordered the soldiers to be rewarded, and the soldiers took turns to enjoy a sumptuous dinner in three groups, at which they listened to General Adil's encouragement. This seemed to have had some effect, and the soldiers were in much better spirits by the time they reached the gates again. After the feast, the townsfolk cleaned up the small square with cups and plates under the command of a group of lower-ranking civil officials.

That night, Adil received a report that several civil officials had left the city with the order runes.

Adil looked at the command runes, they were all forged. Some of the Salander's junior officers in the city seemed to have received some kind of news that Garmic was a mortal fort and was quietly preparing to evacuate.

Adil called the city gate and told him that no one was allowed to go out of the castle in the future.

The rumors spread quickly, after all, the sudden disappearance of colleagues around them always raises questions. Faced with the initial suspicions, Adil dealt harshly with several of the sergeants who had spread rumours, who had been chained to a pillar in the open space in the center of the castle without food or water for three days. Soon, some of the hardest-beaten soldiers died in the sun. The severity of Adil's punishment made people no longer dare to talk about the bleak future of the castle.

Adil's men quickly investigated a list of missing officers, and records showed that 12 officers had disappeared after leaving their posts without permission. Mr. Adil was chanting the names of the men on the list, and he was drafting a document accusing them of desertion. Adil knew that unless there was a strong force behind them, their future would be over. Thinking of this, Adil couldn't help but smile bitterly, if it weren't for the strong network behind them, how could these people be stupid enough to leave as soon as they were besieged. You must know that the best way for the children of the nobles to accumulate their qualifications is to serve in the besieged fortress, because the fortress is rarely conquered head-on, as long as the fortress is relieved, the children of the nobles have the qualifications for promotion in the future. Looking at the accusations that may not work, Adil felt a little upset in his heart.

"Cavalry Commander Abdul. Gudus, City Defense Infantry Officer Ali ''Trainee Warden Edward'''' Many of these people are the children of nobles who are idle in their posts, and although they usually have a modest attitude, their abilities are limited, and now they are quietly leaving Garmic Fort, and Adil is not very surprised.

And Adil deduced the influence of the second prince from these people, Adil found that most of the families of the children of the nobles who left the city were upstarts in the past few generations, and the children of some ancient families did not leave. This shows that there is already a clear stratification among the nobility: the old nobles do not want turmoil and want the situation to remain stable, so they support the eldest prince; And the new aristocracy knows that the resources of the country have been carved up, and if there is no force to break the rules, then the new aristocracy will never have the opportunity to make great progress.

The fact that Adil's family was left in the capital by the Sultan was a consolation for Adil, who did not have to worry about the comfort of his family as long as he was faithful to the Sultan. For people like him, strict neutrality is the best option.

Edward in the list caught the attention of Adil, who was a Wikirian who was in a similar situation to Adil, and even more so if Edward converted to the religion of the Salanders. Speaking of which, this Wiki boy usually works very hard, and this person's protector seems to be powerful, but Edward does not have the pampering of the noble son, and Edward's disappearance makes Adil faintly disappointed.

Adil understood Edward's disappearance as the political orientation of the forces behind it.

"It seems that the second prince has to make a huge wave," Adil thought to himself.

At this time, the alarm came, and there was a commotion of people inside the castle.

Adil went to the window, opened the well-made walnut window, and saw a fire burning in the grain warehouse at the back of the castle. Men and soldiers were pumping water from several wells and rushing to put out the fire.

Adil grabbed the whip on the table and walked out, and when Adil went out, some of his guards followed him and helped him bring the horse. The general tugged at the reins a few times, whipped his whip, and rode away at the place where the fire was burning.

At the same time as on the wall of Mount Garmic and in the camp of Rhodoc, the light of the beating fire in the fortress of Garmic was seen.

Garcia, who received the report, smiled slightly, he knew that this was a good sign.