The success or failure of a war depends on morale, weapons, timing, strategy, supplies, and...... Communication.

There was an emperor who lost a war and was exiled because of untimely communication, and although the reason for this is still debatable, the importance of communication in warfare is self-evident.

At this time, I was extremely anxious about the battle plan and the intelligence situation in all aspects, but I didn't see the signal corps come back until midnight. An additional hour of delay increases the risk exponentially.

I couldn't sleep, so I kept crouching on a big tree by the riverbank, and I couldn't trust their sentinels. It wasn't until the second half of the night that the communications corps finally arrived, and the news that could be brought back was that the 4,000 troops of the eastern fortress as the vanguard had been routed.

The rescue of Red Ridge Mountain did not arrive in time, and the reinforcements of Red Ridge Mountain were blocked by orc troops, and the casualties are unknown for the time being, but only one thing is extremely clear...... The operational plan on the Northern Front was declared a failure.

When I asked about the details of the battle, I was told that it was impossible to follow the main road north to the Elwyn Forest, and that it was a blessing that he could escape.

"What should I do?" I looked at Jeff.

"Withdraw!" He was extremely decisive. I only wish the orcs hadn't acted yet.

Everyone immediately set out to retreat, more than 3,000 at the time of departure, and more than 200 people were damaged by the attack during the day, which was distressing.

I remember the first time we crossed the river from Alwyn Forest to the Sunshine Glades, the original plan was to go around the river bank and then to Brightwood, and I remember when it was said that the road was washed away by the flood and we chose to take Raven Mountain.

I didn't know if it was difficult to walk like this, not only was the road narrow but there were a lot of stones, I really wondered how there were so many stones on this land, and not all small stones were fully exposed or half-exposed stones!

An old soldier told me that it was a stone rolled out of the mountains, which were often flooded.

I asked him how he knew, and he said it rained a lot in the mountains in the middle of the sunny glade, where the woods were so dense that you would get lost when you walked in. Even the most sophisticated hunter can get dizzy, and once a hunter took a hound, making marks as he went, and then he never came out again.

Later, I had the courage to find the sign that the guy had made to enter the mountain and tried to explore it piece by piece, but finally one day no one came out again. Later, some people did not believe in evil, so they cut down trees, but they cut down and felled ...... The man in front of him ran into the mountain with an axe, and he couldn't scream, and then he couldn't find it again.

He said that this mountain is particularly evil, and there are some monsters in the legend, some people say that it is a giant wolf, some people say that it is the territory of spider monsters, and the spiders are as big as a millstone. Some people say that there are man-eating devils there, and some people say that there are geckos-like things that have scales and can stand up and run on their hands and feet, but they are very big.

When I asked him if he had seen it, he shook his head and said firmly that none of this was a false legend.

I felt a little furious when he walked and told me about it. Although I probably knew what was in this mountain range, I still felt a little bottomless when I really had to face this mountain now, and I didn't say anything else, but I couldn't see this stone that covered the ground like thorns anywhere else.

The old soldier who told me the story was Waters Gordon, and he said that this land had always been borderless, and that no nobleman wanted to take it away, so it was unknown why, maybe it was just that the land was really useless! But it's true, and after walking this way, I feel that the possibility of this land being reclaimed is almost zero. If you use this time to go to the south or the west, you can reclaim several times more land. But he said there were some people who had settled here.

Those who can settle in such a place are either people with brain problems or identity problems. He said that there were rumors that the land had been cursed, and that anyone who walked on it would have a special feeling.

I asked him what special feelings were, and he said that it might be better if there were more people around, but it would not work in a group, and it would be easy to have inexplicable depression, irritability, and even mania.

He said in a cautious manner that when he passed by a place where there were residents, he would find that the people there were a little nervous, and not all households were basically like that.

I asked him if he was a fugitive or something else living in seclusion, and he couldn't tell, but he grew up in Raven Ridge, where people had always had a grudge against the people of the land.

We wanted to pass quickly, but this wishful thinking was useless, and what was worse was that it was better to sit down and rest, and it was simply torturous to spend the night at night, and we could not find even a square meter of flat place without stones. If you weren't tired, you wouldn't be able to sleep at all.

After walking for more than two days, I finally came out of a ghost place, and the pain in my body was even worse. Just as we were about to pick up our spirits and rush to Castle Black, the messenger who had gone to report the news returned, bringing back bad news along the way...... The town of Roadridge is lost!

If it was just the sad news that Roadridge Town had fallen, it was even sadder that the orc forces were almost arriving at Castle Black.

As soon as he heard the news, Jeff kept urging the army to march quickly, but he didn't have a good rest for a few days, and he fled for his life, not to mention the ghost place he passed by two days ago. Therefore, at this time, he has to rush back to Castle Black in half a day, which is tantamount to asking for the lives of the soldiers.

I still remember the black castle, especially the long, drooping face of the obnoxious duke.

And the scale of the castle is actually not small, although there are no decent villages and towns around it, but the large tract of cultivated land outside the castle is more than enough to feed the people in the castle.

Jeff said that this time Duke Alfred sent about half of his army, and there were less than 4,000 troops in the city. I wanted to persuade the Duke to do his best to send more men after returning to Castle Black, and it was too late to protect Ridge Town, whether or not to keep Castle Black was the first priority at the moment, in case Castle Black was lost, then there would be no decent stronghold in the entire sunny woodland or even the west.

There was a group of soldiers who could clearly see their physical fatigue, but this group of guys ran the hardest. It is estimated that their families are all there.

At this time, the communication corps delivered the news in a very timely manner, but that was all, and we couldn't help anything other than rush back as much as possible. Less than twenty kilometers from the castle, the communications corps brought the news that the castle was in dire need of rescue.

When we saw the black smoke coming from behind the hill in front of us, the group of people who lived in the castle ran back like crazy. But when we actually climbed over the hill and saw Castle Black, there were a large number of civilians who had abandoned the city and fled in front of us.

This scene startled us, could it be that the city was already broken? There were many people who saw that we were rushing back to the castle and did not stop them from fleeing for their lives.

Jeff stopped several civilians to try to understand the situation in the city, and the information was worse and worse, and there were various theories, some said that the city was broken, some said that the duke was killed, some said that the army was overwhelmed, and some said that the orcs used a special magic to blast open the city gates.

By the time we got to the bottom of the castle, we could already hear the explosions coming from the castle clearly, and I didn't want to know what was going on inside now, what I wanted to know most was why the orcs were so quick this time.

Defeats are often instantaneous, and when I see not only civilians but also soldiers pouring out of the city, I thought to myself! Jeff led us into the city, only to be met by the Duke and his family, who were preparing to flee in a hurry.

In an instant, our mission changed from protecting the commoners and the castle to protecting the Duke and his family.

At this time, the bulging-eyed duke's eyes were about to pop out, and he shouted for the soldiers to defend and withdraw from the castle first.

The sound of the orc's shelling was gone, replaced by a rushing roar, and instead of advancing, the soldiers took up the city's main thoroughfare and took a defensive stance. The common people ran out and ran out, and those who ran slowly were really anxious. Even so, it was impossible for the soldiers to disband and go to the aid of the two.

Soon the orcs rushed at us, crushing the slow ones to death. The archers withstood the first charge of the orcs, and after a few minutes the retreating orcs returned, but this time it was the orc's shield wall.

"Retreat!" I said to Jeff.

His tense face furrowed, his eyes staring at the front, "The civilians must be protected and evacuated first!" ”

"We can't control the rest that haven't been withdrawn yet, Commander, now we are the last cards that can protect those who escape, retreat! Once the orcs appear on the roofs of the alleys, we won't be able to get out! As I spoke, I glanced twice at the roof next to me.

He raised his eyes and looked at the houses around him, "Retreat in an orderly manner!" He shouted.

The role of our bows and arrows was completely gone, and what I feared happened, and archers appeared on the houses next to them. Our archers were able to cope with them at this time, but the shield wall opposite was trotting towards us.

Now there is no better way to restrain the advance of the orcs, we are not afraid of the shield wall but the orc troops behind the shield wall. Once killed, I'm not sure if these people will be able to withstand it.

When I finally exited the city, I didn't feel sorry for it, but it was a relief, and I finally escaped from the city.

The troops that withdrew ahead of schedule quickly withdrew and stood in position, and we, as the last group to withdraw, basically ran away.

The orcs did not continue their pursuit after chasing them out of the city gates, and they all retreated back to the city after looking at them for a while.

The Duke's entire family is safe, and the number of people who have escaped is not counted at this time, and I really can't understand why the orcs would take two cities in a row so quickly, let alone how the city of thousands of people fell so quickly.

Soon everyone retreated to the Silent River, and the only thing they could do was to flee to the Elwyn Forest or Stormwind.

The last Duke had his head cut off for escaping, and I looked at this hateful-looking creature and imagined what it would be like for his head to roll to the ground.