Gracchus gave him a whole night, until the next morning, and when the sun rose, Edward Witwood had to give him an answer, whatever the outcome. Of course, in the eyes of the great chief of the Red Horse Clan, the so-called "reply" was just to give the Turin noble lord a face, so as not to embarrass him.

Midnight is still deep, the bright starry sky completely obscured the moonlight in the dark curtain, the entire sky seems to be occupied by the glorious cross of the starry sky kingdom, and the city of the twin towers under the night has a little quiet mystery.

When Edward came back with a torch, the silver-haired wizard and the little maid were still waiting for him under the city gate, and Angela, who was expressionless, saw the figure of the black-haired knight, and without saying anything, ran up and hugged him, and her thin and small body hugged Edward.

"Looks like that guy has already given you an answer. Marco Tasker couldn't help but ask, "Well, is it still a good idea?"

"It is already quite generous from the point of view of the enemy—though I doubt very much his motives, lest he had another purpose, and not as he said. Edward couldn't help but laugh: "But we're all the same, so I can't blame anything." ”

"So what are you going to do?"

Edward's expression was a little stiff, and his dark eyes kept flickering, as if he was waiting for something. At last he spoke: "Go to the hall and have the fireplace be lit, and I'm going to hold a meeting and inform everyone." ”

"No problem. The corners of Mark's mouth curled, "I guess they're not asleep now." ”

"No, I mean call everybody, 'everybody'. Do you understand?" Edward's tone was rather heavy: "Every centurion. Every flag bearer. Whether it is an officer of the Banner Legion, or a mercenary captain of Silver Blood, or a knight of Fort Hague...... Call them all!"

Marco's expression gradually became serious, and his eyes were a little shocked: "You, what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to take a gamble. Edward's smile was a little bitter, "This time we may have to decide not only our own fate, but all of them - and I want to give them the right to choose!"

"There's a chance you're going to lose. The silver-haired wizard frowned, and couldn't help but say more, "It's likely." ”

"If there really is a so-called 'fate'. Then I'm willing to accept it. Edward chuckled: "But it's a pity, I don't believe in fate or anything, I only believe in one thing - I will not fail, I will not fail at any time, no matter what the result is, the person who can stand on this land in the end must be me!"

"Then I, a little wizard, can only wish you victory. Marco smiled helplessly, turned around calmly and casually, and walked towards the tower of the watchtower alarm bell.

Edward, who was still standing there, patted Angela's little head gently, "Go back to sleep." When we wake up tomorrow, everything will be fine. Angela. ”

"Edward will definitely survive, right?" The little head rubbed Edward's body, "Anyway, Edward will definitely survive, right?"

.................. Although it was already midnight, when the bell rang, all the centurions of the entire Battle Banner Regiment were still dressed and following the order. Behind the closed door, the originally spacious hall was so crowded with people that there was no place to sit.

There was no sound in the dead hall except for the crackling sound of the fireplace and brazier, and even the centurions, who had been very fierce in front of the soldiers in the past, did not speak at this moment, and stood quietly in place waiting.

Edward, clad in heraldic clothes, walked down the stairs and stood in front of everyone with the star in his hand—if he was a little worried about such a scene at first, there was nothing to worry about at this moment, and all he had to do was say what he wanted to say.

"I know I'm sorry to call you at this time, but unfortunately, we don't have time. The dark-haired knight's voice was as calm as the surface of a lake that had never had waves: "So there are some things that I must discuss with you now, because tomorrow morning is the deadline - my deadline, to be exact." ”

"Some of you may already know that the reason why I am back here is because His Royal Highness Anson Marcherus, Duke of Hantu City, has given me a very important mission - he has ordered me to annihilate as soon as possible the army of the Red Horse Clan that is besieging the Twin Towers, which is less than two kilometers outside our castle! ”

Although Edward's tone was quite flat, there was still an uproar in the entire hall, until Chief Centurion Lerbinus stood up with a frown: "Quiet, look what you all look like!"

Edward, who had stood still until everyone had stopped talking, continued to speak: "There is one more thing - the barbarians outside the city have sent an ultimatum, which is the fundamental reason why I must tell you this matter tonight. ”

"If we are not willing to give up this castle by tomorrow morning, they will attack the city at all costs, and then slaughter the entire Banner Legion, or indeed everyone in this castle!" Edward said in a deep voice, "We have sufficient supplies, and the entire Banner Legion will be more than enough to hold this castle for half a month, not even half a year - but please do not doubt that once the enemy really starts to do whatever it takes, and we do not have reinforcements, it will fall sooner or later." ”

"No, maybe it will be worse than that—maybe in the end, we will die not because of the enemy's attack, but because of the casualties of the siege, and the despair of running out of ammunition and food! Maybe someone will kill the brother who saved his life for a piece of bread and a sword! Despair is the weapon of the devil, the power that can make you one of their kind, and I absolutely do not want to see that!"

One by one, the centurions in the room bowed their heads—not out of shame, but because they all knew that Edward was right.

The people who can become centurions are veterans, not only have rich combat experience, but they know more about what the soldiers around them think, they know better than those flag commanders and even regiment commanders, once they reach the situation of besieging the city, even the united legion is afraid that it will collapse because there is no hope.

"So, this time I give you the right to choose - because you are the bravest soldiers of Turin, and this is your right!" Edward said in a deep voice, "Many of you were even under my command when I was sweeping the valley of the Green River - for half a year, we fought from the southernmost point of the vast land to the northernmost part, we killed tens of thousands of enemies, and our trophies were innumerable, and our steps under our feet were one victory to another!"

"In the icy wastelands, in the snow-capped peaks, in the eerie valleys, in the trails of the Levant, in the city of Hamtu, and even in the Twin Towers where you are now, you have witnessed your bravery, loyalty, determination, and perseverance—you have survived the most difficult times and made the most decisive decisions, so I trust you to be able to choose the most reasonable outcome for yourselves, and for those who trust in you, at times like these. ”

"I will not stop anyone who wants to leave - for he is thinking about his robe. Edward Witwood's voice grew firmer, "But all those who remain in the Twin Towers, I will continue to fight with you - no matter how many are left." ”

"I'm not going to promise anything this time. You heard me right, I'm not going to promise anything this time - this time the enemy is much stronger than all the enemies we've encountered in the past combined, so I'm not going to make any meaningless promises to you. But whether you live or die, I will not give up on any of them!" )