Someone opened the window, and the first rays of sunlight of the morning entered the room with the cold air after the snow.

Stirling, who had woken up from his drowsiness, immediately raised his head from his desk and asked the deputy commander of the zhōngyāng army, who had just entered:

"Any news?" He was emaciated from several nights of staying up late and anxious, and his eyes were bloodshot.

Qin Lu shook his head. Sterling didn't give up, and asked: "I'm explaining the whereabouts of the two adults, Hui and Fang Jin, and where the main forces of the two armies are—is there no news at all?"

Qin Lu still shook his head: "I'm sorry, my lord." Everywhere the advance team of the demon clan is active, they specially pick officers and heralds to attack, and the heralds sent to listen are gone! Our news has been cut off, and there is chaos everywhere!"

Stirling stood up and walked around repeatedly, thinking rapidly in his mind: how many demons have come? What is their purpose? Do they want to seize the Far East? Or do they want to contain our military action against the rebels in the Far East? Or is it just the whim of the Great Demon God King after his afternoon nap? Where is their main force? Which direction of their main attack is pointing? After three days of fighting, we still don't know anything about it, and we are beaten blindfolded! What's worse, we don't even know where our allies are going.

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Sterling couldn't help but say out loud: "I want the living mouth of the demons!

Qin Lu looked at him silently, and the two looked at each other: two days ago, Lu Zhen, the scout captain of the zhōngyāng army, went to reconnoiter the movements of the demon clan, and before leaving, he told Sterling that he would come back alive within ten hours. Now that two days and two nights have passed, I haven't come back, I'm afraid that I have already caught the demons "alive".

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It sucks, Sterling thought to himself, it's all a mess!

He forcibly beat the god and asked, "Is there any news about the Xiuzi camp?"

"My lord, the entire Xiuzi camp has disappeared, and the station has been burned to the ground. I'm afraid His Excellency Shikawa Shu has ......"

"Don't talk nonsense. Ah Xiu Jīng is capable and capable, there will be no problems!"

Qin Lu knew that he was speechless, and hurriedly said: "Yes, I hope that a qiē is just as the adult said." ”

Sterling took a deep breath and put his worries about Shikawa Xiu out of his mind: "Okay. Qin Lu, I don't think we can wait like this anymore! Let's go to Tussauds Province immediately to meet with the Theater Command, what do you think?"

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"My lord, according to the lower officials, the safest way is to retreat to the fortress of Valen immediately, which is the safest. ”

Sterling shook his head: "We didn't receive an order to retreat, let the friendly troops run like this, be careful that we will go to court-martials in the future." Let's go now and go to Tussauds. ”

In the morning light, the war horses were whistling in the wind, accompanied by the sonorous sound of weapons, and the sound of chariots, and the zhōngyāng army began to advance to the east. As the army marched along the Great Highway of the Far East, Sterling saw a scene that he would never forget: the endless flow of people was like a long dragon, rolling from the east to the west. Everyone knows that the murderous demons are coming, and only by going west and entering the Valen Fortress can they survive.

Some people drove the carriage full of large and small boxes, some people panted and resisted all their belongings, some people were empty and did not bring anything, the poor old man drove two sheep and staggered, the woman with a child in one hand carried a heavy luggage in the other hand on the cold snow, and fell, the child was crying in her arms, the mother was sobbing, people kept passing by, but no one reached out to help them, the deep suffering of the war made people's hearts become selfish and numb, and one by one there was a blank and sluggish look in their eyes: what will happen to our future if we have lost our home, land, and relatives？

In addition to civilians, many are also military personnel. The seriously wounded man was unconscious on a stretcher on the side of the road crying and shouting, "Mother, mother!" The soldier with a wounded leg was limping and scolding on crutches, his companion had left him behind, and a soldier covered in mud and blood sat in the snow and kept crying loudly: "I am from the 71st Division! Does anyone know where our troops are?" Please, take me away! My leg is broken! Please!" People strode past him, and no one stopped. Until his vocal cords were torn and he couldn't cry out, he cried silently, grabbed the grass on the exposed snow with his hands, and struggled to move and crawl like an insect little by little.

There are many soldiers who are in good health, and they have shamefully taken off their uniforms and hats, and walked with their heads drooping as civilians, and it is really heart-wrenching to see these routs. Not long ago, they were still wearing armor, their uniforms were straight, their mouths were singing war songs, their eyes were flashing with pride, and they were full of desire to serve the frontier and defend their homeland and country, but now, they were dressed in rags and covered with mud, and they were more like soldiers than a group of beggars. If there is anything else to masturbate for these disgraced fellows, it is that it is not just a few of them who are disgraced, but thousands of companions. But there was also no shame, an officer riding a tall horse shouted: "Get out of the way! I am Lord Qiben!" The soldiers did not react, the officer was furious, whipped indiscriminately, and as a result, several angry soldiers turned around and pushed Lord Qimoto and his horse down the cliff, and the screams echoed for a long time.

At a junction, a bloodied military judge announced that he had been ordered by the Far East High Command to stop every soldier who passed by and regroup them into battle! "Soldiers, don't be afraid! Stop! Come back!" His voice was hoarse: "Humanity is being invaded! The Zichuan family is facing a strong enemy! Defend the family, defend the human race! Soldiers, this is a holy war! Never retreat again! Be brave! Come back!" He said it over and over again, and the rout walked past him without stopping, and he took the hand of one of the soldiers, who shook him off without looking back, and he drew his weapon in anger, shouting threats and curses, and went to stop the other soldier, who pushed him to his stomach......

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The ranks of the zhōngyāng army crossed the densely populated highways, through the chaotic convoys, through the fleeing routs and civilians, and interspersed forward in battle formations, this army was orderly and radiant, and it was just the opposite of the direction of the fleeing people, and they went straight to the east! Everywhere they went, the numb people were given a little vitality, and some people cheered: "Good job, zhōngyāng army!"

But there are also people who maliciously shout: "Ahem, brothers, don't deceive the officials! They will send you to die!"

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Sterling asked the defeated soldiers everywhere, but the results were mixed:

"Well, my troops were defeated in Shaga. ”

"We were defeated in the Minsk province, and our flag was dead. ”

"Commander Fang Jin, we don't know, I heard that he was dead, if he hadn't been captured, we wouldn't have seen him anyway. ”

"Minghui? I heard that he is also dead, right? We don't know! Our troops were surrounded by demons, and a few of us escaped with a few thousands. Where there is so much idle work. ”

As for the question of how many soldiers and horses the demons have, there are even more different opinions. Some people say that there are a lot of them, he has seen a group of demons dozens of kilometers long with his own eyes; some people scoff, saying that there are at most so many teams, and those deserters are frightened and blow wildly; some people even say that he has seen the Great Demon God King killing people there with his own eyes, so it's not scary, it's as tall as the four of us ordinary people combined, the head is as big as a stone mill, the eyes are spewing fire straight out, and the blood is full of mouth, swallowing a living person in one gulp!

All kinds of gossip have been circulating, some people say that the family Wang army on the front line has been completely wiped out, Fang Jin and Minghui have been killed, and some people say that Hui has begun a big counterattack, starting an attack along the line of the Gray Water River, and the demon clan has been defeated and retreated.

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In the end, a wounded soldier told Sù Stirling that Minghui's Far East Command had retreated from the province of Dursha to the capital of Ibon City, the province of Ilia. After repeated interrogation and confirmation, and then discussion with his staff, Sterling felt that the credibility of this information was still relatively high. Immediately ordered the army to change direction and turn to the province of Irya.

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Two days later, Stirling's troops entered the city of Iben. There was also a scene of chaos here, with a large number of deserters from the front line of Tussauds pouring into Ibn in a chaotic manner. The formation of the various units has been defeated, and the square is full of routs and hasty citizens, all saying:

"The demons are behind!", but no one took on the task of directing the defense of the city. People are scurrying around like a swarm of headless flies, as if they are doing aimless Brownian motion in the city.

The entry of the Zhōngyāng army into the city caused a sensation throughout the city, and the governor of the province of Iria immediately came to meet him as soon as he heard of Stirling's arrival.

"What's the situation?" Stirling asked as soon as he got off the horse before greetings, and then asked, "Are the two adults Minghui and Fang Jin here?"

Irinin looked very tired and exhausted: "Lord Sterling, the situation is very bad, really bad! It's great that you're here, Lord Minghui is in the city hall, do you want to see him?"

"Yes, you lead the way!" Sterling simply dismounted, and made his way through the crowd and wounded soldiers in the square into the town hall. In one of the rooms, he met the commander-in-chief of the Far Eastern Theater of Operations, Commander Ming Hui.

At first glance he understood: Minghui had completely collapsed! He was huddled in a ball, his shoulders trembling, he shrunk in the corner of the wall and buried his face in his hands, sobbing silently, his clothes were sloppy and his clothes were sloppy, and he emitted a foul stench—the well-mannered, radiant Commander Minghui had completely collapsed.

The deputy commander of the Black Flag Army next to him explained to Sterling: "Master Ming committed suicide once three days ago, but we stopped him. From then on, he was like this, shrinking here and not entering the water, and no one paid attention to him. ”

Sterling walked over and whispered, "Lord Minghui, it's me, Sterling. It took three calls before Minghui reacted.

He slowly raised his head, his face was horribly white, his snot was dripping, his eyes were empty and full of fear, and he looked at Sterling as if he were looking at a stranger he didn't know, and he didn't say anything.

Sterling looked uncomfortable and asked, "My lord, what is the condition of your ministry now?"

"Do you know where Lord Fang Jin is?"

"How many demon troops are there on the front?"

Minghui looked at Stirling blankly, but remained silent, and finally the deputy commander replied: "Lord Sterling, three days ago, the headquarters was suddenly attacked by the demons, and we escaped from death. ”

Stirling turned to him: "The western battalion is still there, and all the soldiers and horses are still there?"

"The western battalion has been taken by the demons! All four divisions have been chopped to pieces. We have lost contact with all the troops, and the dozen or so troops that we already know have been defeated. ”

"What about Fang Jin and his troops?"

"The ranks of the people's army have all collapsed, and those who have not collapsed have fled. We asked a deserter yesterday, and it has been confirmed that Fang Jin's people's army has indeed been completely wiped out in Moon Bay, with more than 100,000 dead. As for Fang Jin...... There are rumors that he has been killed in Moon Bay, and others say that he has been captured, none of which we know yet. ”

Sterling felt his feet go limp. He already had a premonition that the situation at the front was not good, but he did not expect to be defeated so miserably. The entire army was wiped out, the whole way was routed, one commander was killed in battle, and the other was scared into an idiot. He forcibly calmed down and asked, "How many troops have the demons dispatched, and where have they arrived?"

The officer replied slowly: "We don't know the full strength yet, but it will not be less than 300,000 at present." Sterling gasped: this was three times the current number of the Zhōngyāng army.

"We don't know where they went......"

The anger that Sterling had been suppressing finally broke out, and he asked, "I don't know what you've been doing? The demons have only found out when they have been killed in the nest? I don't know how many people there are even now?"

The officer swallowed in fear: "My lord, you know that before the rebellion, the Far Eastern Army originally had a large number of half-orc divisions and snake tribe divisions on the border, specifically to reconnoiter the invasion of the demon clan. Now that they have all defected and sided with the demons, we have become blind until the demons pounce under their noses...... And our troops are all drawn from the hinterland of the family after the rebellion, unlike the original Far Eastern Army, they have no combat experience against the demons, and suddenly encountered, everyone panicked, and the losses were very great, and now even Lord Ming is like this, the headquarters has become a mess, and we don't know how to ...... it."

Ilyinning, who had been listening from the side, interjected at this time: "My lord, I don't think this is the time to review. Now I would like to ask for instructions: what should we do? Like our provinces, guards or retreat, we are all waiting for a directive, but like Lord Minghui, ...... like this."

Sterling thought for a while, suppressed his anger, and instructed Qin Lu, who came with him: "You take out a pen and paper to record." ”

When Qin Lu was ready, Sterling slowly said word by word: "In view of the extremely poor physical condition of His Excellency Ming Hui, the former commander-in-chief of the Far Eastern Theater of Operations, I, the commander of the Zhōng Yāng Army, believe that he is no longer suitable for this position. In accordance with the provisions of Article 32, paragraph 2 of the Regulations of the Combatants, as the highest-ranking family officer present, I will take over the duties of His Excellency Ming Hui and command all the family armies in the Far East. Stirling. January 8, 780 in the Zona Imperial Calendar"

Stirling continued: "This order was to be made in triplicate, one copy to be kept by the Zhōngyāng Army, one to be kept by the former Far East Command, and one to be sent to the Command. - Do any of you have any objections to this order?"

Everyone present, including the Black Flag officers and Irinin, shook their heads together: "No! At this time, Stlinken came out to take command and take responsibility, and they were unbelievably happy, and their hearts felt a lot more relieved.

"Good. Listen up. Sterling turned to the deputy commander of the Black Flag Army, "What's your name?"

"The lower official's name is Lan Qi, and his official position is the ...... of the Black Flag Army"

"Listen, Deputy Commander Blue, I now appoint you as the Acting Commander of the Black Flag Army. ”

Lan Qi was stunned, and then his face was happy: "Xiaguan thanks to the cultivation of the adults! Xiaguan will definitely do his best and work hard to ......."

"Lan Qi, how many people are there in the Black Flag Army now?"

"My lord, we have lost contact with the various divisions below, and now there is only the Jǐng Guard Squadron of the Headquarters......

"Now you immediately take the Jǐng guard out into the streets, announce my order, and gather all the stragglers, regardless of their original unit or position, into the new unit. The commanders of the new units are appointed by you. After the compilation is completed, I will go to Ilynin and ask for weapons! Before dark, I will never see a single idle person on the street! Those who do not obey orders will be punished on the spot! My military law team will also be handed over to you to use!"

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Impressed by the unequivocal determination in Sterling's tone, Lan Qi gave a powerful salute: "Yes, my lord!" and turned to go out.

Stirling turned his head and instructed Qin Lu: "Send a squadron from my Jǐng guard to escort Lord Minghui back to Valen Fortress!"

Qin Lu understood what Stirling meant: the name is "escort", but it is actually "escort"! He went out to greet him, and several jǐng guards with big shoulders and thick waists came in, and Sterling said to Minghui in a good voice: "Lord Ming, please go on the road!"

Minghui's eyes were wide open, full of fear, and he whispered, "Don't, don't......" and leaned hard against the dirty wall, as if he felt safest there.

Sterling couldn't bear to look at it, so the guards lifted Minghui up and lifted it out. Minghui screamed miserably: "No, I don't want to die, I don't want to die! Don't send me to the Judge Advocate General's Office!"

Sterling said expressionlessly, "Tell them not to be rude to Lord Ming!" twisted his head to the side, unable to bear to see Minghui's tragic condition.

Seeing Minghui struggling to be forcibly carried away, the soldiers present couldn't help but reveal the sadness of the dead rabbit and fox. Everyone knows in their hearts that this smash hit leader will never be seen again. At Valen Fortress, a death squad from the Judge Advocate General's Office awaited him.

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Stirling sat down and asked Irinin, "How many troops do you have on hand?"

Minghui's screams before leaving were too terrifying, Yilinning was still in fear, he was stunned, and quickly replied: "My lord, my Ilia Province originally had more than 70,000 garrison troops, but now there are less than 30,000 left, and we can't contact the rest of the troops......

"That's enough!" Stirling interrupted: "You immediately send scout teams to the north and south to reconnoitre, the main task is to see where the vanguard of the demon clan has arrived and where the main force is." If possible, try to catch a live mouth. Also, gather all the troops you have in your hands and send a few brigades to the city to maintain order!

"Yes!" Ilyinin heard clearly, and immediately turned his head and went out to execute.

In times of crisis and panic, people need someone who is strong and confident to obey and rely on. The officers all returned to their posts and began to work, the panic at the headquarters gradually subsided, public notices and patrols appeared in the streets, a large number of stragglers roaming the streets began to regroup, and squad after squad of scouts were sent out to reconnoiter the enemy's situation in the left and right areas. Preparations for war are beginning to take place in earnest.

In the evening, there was a burst of excited shouts outside the headquarters: "The scouts have captured the prisoners! The demon captives!" The soldiers all ran over to watch excitedly, discussing: "Tsk, look at his hairy head! It's scary enough!" "Oh my God! Look at how fierce his eyes are! Those claws, those thick arms!" "This is still caught by us, and maybe it's even more terrifying!"

Sterling was very happy and complimented Irinning a few words. Several of the officers of the garrison knew the demon language, and they interrogated and interpreted, and Sterling himself was present to observe.

In fact, it was not difficult for this demon soldier to speak, he was already frightened, and he couldn't stand it when he roasted it on the fire, so he immediately agreed to confess.

Q: "What's your name?"

The demon soldiers replied in a whisper, and the translators immediately translated simultaneously: "Mu Zuoxi." ”

"What is the position in the Demon Army?"

The demon soldier replied again, "Karami." ”。 The interpreter explained: "My lord, this position is equivalent to our private. "Sterling was a little disappointed that there was no important information to be found from such a person.

"When did you join the army, and why did you join the army?"

"This fall. It is in response to the order of the Supreme God Emperor. ”

"Why did the demon army invade our Zichuan family?"

"The God Emperor said that there is a great demon named Di Lin among the human race, who slaughtered the children of our God Race and made us bleed. The Zichuan family also killed our beautiful flowers and Her Royal Highness the princess to the human race, and we must take revenge!"

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"Where are you from, and what did you do before joining the army?"

"I'm a farmer in the mountains of Kuqiulin. ”

At this time, Sterling waited impatiently, and interjected and asked, "How many troops have the demons come this time?"

The officer translated, and the captive spread his hands as if he were a bird flying, and grunted a few words. The interpreter turned back to Sterling and said, "My lord, he said he didn't know how much it was. Anyway, there are so many of them that they are like flocks of birds flying by in the sky. ”

"How many people joined the army with him?"

He said he didn't know either, and he said that the conscription had been going on since last year's chūn day. One out of every five men in their village joined the army, and even more in the city. ”

Sterling asked, "Ask him, is the Demon God King with the army, and is he not in the army?"

The answer came quickly: "The emperor is here." ”

Sterling took a deep breath, stood up and said, "It's okay, you keep asking." ”

He walked out of the room, and his head rang loudly: The matter is already obvious! The Demon Kingdom has been planning for a long time for this operation! They watched from the sidelines as the Zichuan family and the Far East rebels were consuming troops, and when the national strength and military strength of the Zichuan family had already weakened, they chose the most suitable cold winter for the demon clan to fight, led by the Demon God King, who was known as invincible in the world, to attack with all the strength of the country, and to defeat the main army of the Zichuan family in one fell swoop with the momentum of thunder! Regardless of the choice of timing, the use of strategy and tactics, it is so flawless, no more than half a point difference. The impression of the demons is that they are simple-minded, they will shout "Ulag" to rush forward, and if they lose, they will hold their heads and run backwards, how did they become so smart this time?

Yi Linning approached: "My lord, the reconnaissance troops on the north and south roads have turned back, the distance is less than three hundred miles, and they have found a large number of demon armies on the road heading west, and there is no way to advance further." ”

Sterling calmly asked, "How many troops are there?"

Ilyinin's face turned pale and replied: "I can't estimate it, it's too much, it's overwhelming." ”

"Get all the scout captains, I'm going to ask them face to face!"

The inquiry took only half an hour. The situation is already quite critical, Yun Province, Minsk Province, Shaga, Tussaud and even the already deep Wag Province, there have been large forces of demons. On the battle map, two hideous black sè arrows have been deeply inserted into the deep hinterland of the Far East, and a piece of red sè representing the two provinces of Deya and Ilya is sandwiched between the two arrows, like an egg in the iron tongs, which may be crushed at any time! But why don't they directly attack the zhōngyāng army stationed in the province of Ilia that is already very close? After a little thought, Stirling came up with the answer:" The demons are trying to make a pincer attack, and they want to swallow the millions of human soldiers and civilians in the encirclement in one go!"

Stirling suddenly said: "This city can no longer be defended! Irinin, you lead your people to organize the retreat of the inhabitants of the two provinces of Ilya and Deya overnight!"

Ilinning protested: "My lord, I only have less than 30,000 people, and it will take at least two or three weeks for such millions of people to retreat, and the demons will not let go of our ......."

"You move as fast as you can, and you can save as much as you can! ”

Ilyinning thought to himself: That's not enough! The zhōngyāng army only has so many 100,000 people, how can the demon army have such a wide attack surface, how can it be stopped? But hearing the deep anxiety and urgency in Stirling's hoarse voice, he didn't ask again, and immediately went out to prepare.

※※※

The continuous ringing of bells resounded throughout the night sky of the city. Officials in the province of Ilya began to organize a retreat overnight.

Qin Lu came out and said to Sterling, "My lord, I have already asked the location of the Great Demon God King. Wang Jia stayed at Tussauds' Maple Leaf Danlin. ”

"Okay! Now you gather all the division commanders at once, I have an order!"

Without saying a word, Qin Lu immediately went out to gather his subordinates, and in less than twenty minutes, all the thirty division commanders of the zhōngyāng army were assembled. Stirling stood in the middle and shouted, "We are running out of time, you go back to your troops at once!

The division commanders looked at each other, the troops had just stopped marching, and the soldiers had not rested enough, and they were about to set off again? Finally, it was the commander of the Wenhe Division who asked the question in everyone's hearts: "My lord, can the subordinate officers know where we are going?"

Sterling said word by word: "Go and kill the Great Demon God King!"

With a thud, someone fell off the chair.

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