In the early morning dawn, the sun had not yet risen, and the thick ice fog shrouded the barracks in the wilderness, and there were still traces of last night's battle - the corpses on the snow outside the fence had long been frozen, and the green smoke was still rising from several collapsed earthen walls, and several cold corpses were still hanging on them, as if they could still see their last struggles before their deaths.

The soldiers who got up early in the morning cleaned up the battlefield and threw all the bodies into the trenches outside the barracks. Before it could be cleaned, the two-meter-deep trench had already been filled.

Heavily armed, Lebinus, carrying a shield and spear, personally led the patrol on duty, and the chief centurion's brow had not been loosened since the morning. Although it was the Chief Flag Officer who led the cavalry to repel the night attack of the barbarians last night, it did not turn the morale back, and an extremely uneasy atmosphere permeated the entire barracks.

The guy who had put the sword to his neck last night was not at all surprising to Repinos - he knew that many of the recruits in the barracks were going to do it, but they were afraid of whips and sticks, so they didn't have the guts. From the moment the Chief Flag Officer announced that he would march to the Red Horse Canyon in winter, the hidden danger of fear had been planted.

Turning his head to look at the trembling recruits, who seemed to be sent to death when they went out to work, and at the brethren who patrolled behind him, their faces were pale, and their eyes looked into the distance from time to time, Lebinus could not help but sigh, some things could not be easily changed by him.

Just as he was about to continue patrolling, he suddenly saw several attendant cavalry with swallowtail flags outside the gate of the barracks, as if they were waiting for someone. It wasn't long before Edward Witwood, on horseback and in a big coat, and Miss Allen walked side by side towards the barracks gates.

Restinus, who had a somewhat surprised expression, patted the shoulder of a brother behind him: "Your Excellency the Chief Flag Officer." What are you going to do?"

"I said I was going to hunt in the nearby forest—I heard from an attendant. The soldier's appearance looked a little frightened, and a little incredulous: "I really don't know what the adults think, Radiant Cross bless!"

Instead, there was a look of understanding on Repinos' face, and after nodding slightly, he waved the flag in his hand behind him, and the patrol, which had only stayed for a moment, continued to move forward.

By the time the horsemen waving the swallowtail flag arrived in the forest. The thick ice mist is gradually dissipating, and the remnants of the faint mist and the sunlight that penetrates the trees form a hazy beauty, which is refreshing - the crunch of the leaves under your feet, the faint sound of distant sounds in your ears, and the magnificent vast soil is full of the ingenuity of nature.

Several horsemen stood guard around the woods, all their crossbows wound in their hands, as if they were facing a great enemy, while Edward accompanied Alan in search of prey in the forests near the periphery. The blonde girl looked very excited, holding the bow in her arms, looking back and forth among the trunks and snow like a cunning fox. There was still that confident smile on the corner of his mouth.

Edward, who was following behind, only grabbed a few javelins very casually, even the tip of the spear was straight - although hunting was his idea, Alan seemed to be more interested.

With great fanfare, he left the barracks with only a few attendants to hunt, just to reassure the soldiers who had been frightened by the barbarians, and let them know that they were still safe - of course, there were other purposes, and Edward, who had glanced around a few times, was almost certain that the group of barbarians who had attacked the barbarians last night had stayed here for a long time.

It was only after leading the troops that Edward truly realized that there were one man and a thousand. There is even a big gap between tens of thousands of people -- a large number of baggage, a huge number of troops, doomed to be impossible to be alone. Or dozens of people and hundreds of people can advance and retreat freely, move quickly, and never really achieve "one heart". Good quality and moral cultivation can affect not the majority of people, but even the slightest negative emotion will spread to everyone.

For those really tough armies, perhaps too hard fighting and marching will not affect their morale. But it was a terrible test for a legion full of new recruits, bandits, routs, and all that was preoccupied with how to take advantage, and the entire legion was always on the verge of collapse.

In order to be able to march and maintain morale in this bitter cold weather, Edward had done everything he could—hot food and cured meats at every meal. The most time of the day is before the afternoon and evening, and enough time is set aside to set up a more solid and well-established camp. If it weren't for the fact that little Goodwin had returned, Edward would have had no time for anything else.

The army was still a day's journey from Tallinn and more than three days from the Red Horse Gorge, and if the men who were hiding in the tents and couldn't get out could not get out of the camp could continue to march in the blizzard and the enemy who could appear at any moment, the battle would probably be over without fighting.

"Why do you seem to be absent-minded?" Allen, who had never found any prey, turned his head a little discouraged, looked at Edward who was stunned in place, and said with a little worry: "Are you still worried about what happened last night?"

"No, just something else that came to mind, something very important. Edward shook his head and stood up with a wry smile, "I find that I have been taking some things for granted. ”

"You've always taken things for granted. Alan turned his face and muttered a few words before asking, "What's wrong?"

"Who the hell are we fighting, who our enemies are -- I thought it was clear when I came back to the fortress in the Green Valley, but now I realize that I couldn't be more wrong. Edward, who laughed and had a self-deprecating voice in his voice, opened his arms: "I'm not fighting an enemy, I'm challenging this land and the ancient civilization that has been around for a long time!"

"Our enemies, the war tribes and savage clans of the vast lands, will not be like the Dominicans or the Turinese, two armies choose a location, and then arrive at the battlefield, and the two armies will face each other head-to-head! They know the land better than we do, they can march quickly in the gorges, dense forests, and even cliffs, attack our sentinels and camps in any place we don't expect, raid our baggage squads, cut off the back road, and then slaughter us like wolves chasing cattle!"

"And our soldiers have long been accustomed to forming phalanxes, listening to the trumpets and watching the march of the flags, and once they lose order, they are no match for these barbarians, and the harsh conditions combined with the lack of foster care will make them collapse on their own. Speaking of this, even Edward himself couldn't help but shake his head: "Morale and courage are very different but incomparably similar things - this battle will be very difficult. ”

"Are our soldiers and knights so unbearable?" Alan was a little angry, "According to you, isn't it impossible for these barbarians to defeat?"

"No, we will win - time will tell. Edward looked back and smiled playfully, "And I'm going to win, either way, no matter what ...... What the result is. ”

Edward, who was a little distracted, turned his head as he spoke, but saw the blonde girl's somewhat frightened appearance, and couldn't help but raise his eyebrows: "What's wrong?"

"You, do you know......" Alan looked at him with some worry, and there was still a little fear in his eyes: "When you say this, it seems that you are swearing that you will kill all the tribes of the Han Land!"

"How is it possible, no one can do this!" Edward's cheeks twitched unnaturally, revealing a slight smile. After just a moment's stunned effort, the black-haired knight suddenly turned around and threw the javelin in his hand, hitting a rabbit that was galloping through the snow!

"Hey, you, you, you...... You're cheating!" The blonde girl, who was worried and nervous just now, immediately returned to her "original state", raised her bow and arrows angrily, and ran into the distance. (To be continued.) )