The knights of the Jackdaw tribe have already reported the battle, but it is not the same as seeing it with their own eyes. After several days of trekking, the knights of the Heim Territory finally came to the outside of this famous northern city.

And then they have a weird feeling.

The city had just been wared and looted, and it was supposed to be dilapidated, chaotic and depressing. There should be ruins, smoke rising from the ruins, and people weeping over the corpses. If it were more miserable, there should be a flock of crows and vultures hovering in the sky, fighting for the carrion.

But none of this is possible.

Siegel saw craftsmen repairing the city gates, residents rebuilding their homes. The guards patrolling the city gates looked very young, and their faces were horrified when they saw the brigade of cavalry, but they also remembered to ring the alarm bell to inform his commander.

Soon more than thirty men in leather armor and spears were gathered at the gates of the city, standing before twelve hundred knights. One of them, who seemed to be the leader, stepped out of the crowd and said to Siegel and the others, "Stop! Who are you?"

There was not even a city gate behind them. Between Siegel and Waterdeep, there are only about thirty flesh and blood.

"You're city guards, why don't you have uniforms?" Siegel pulled out a scroll with a ribbon, and the blue and gold stitched parchment had Seagal's identity and title written on it. "I am the Baron of Waterdeep, the pioneer knight Siegel Squid. You're in charge?"

"Baron Siegel?" the man looked at the paper suspiciously, his eyes widened, and then he said behind him, "Which of you can read? There are many things I can't read!"

Three young men ran over and worked together to crack the scroll. In the end, they unanimously agreed. This is a canonization certificate. The Council of Masked Lords of Waterdeep bestowed the title of Squid and the title of Knight of Pioneering. But as for the authenticity of this thing. But they could not judge.

Fortunately, these people are not stupid, knowing that their thirty or so people are meaningless in front of more than a thousand cavalry. Since the other party is not attacking now, there must be no malicious intent.

"Your Excellency Baron Siegel, my name is Newman Charles, captain of the City Watchman, and I am in charge of the security of the Northwest Gate today. The city has just returned to the hands of the people, and it is being rebuilt, so I wonder what you are here for?"

"People?" Siegel asked, "what happened to the Council of Masked Lords?"

"Back to the Baron. The Council of Masked Lords has lost its ability to rule and has dissolved itself. The elders elected by the residents of each district are currently consulted to temporarily govern Waterdeep in the form of a new council. Newman looked proud, but humble in front of Siegel, and said, "The new council is very capable, it has cleared the passage of the sea, merchant ships have begun to enter and leave, and order is being restored to the city." ”

Siegel nodded, but in his heart he didn't believe the new council. Kerry had only been out of town for a few days, how could the new regime have such a high level of operational capability at once? Even the residents of Waterdeep had a strong desire for peace. Excluding all militants and disorder, it is impossible for the new parliament to bring merchant ships at sea at once, right?

Could it be that the merchant ship was parked not far from the harbor?

"Now that the city has a certain order. Then I'm much more relieved. Siegel said, "As a knight of Waterdeep, I have come from the south to fulfill my duty as a guard. But now it seems that the elves have been repulsed, the siege of the city has been lifted, and I have heard that the steppe people have left. Captain Newman, do you think it's still necessary for my troops to enter the city?"

"As long as you keep the peace, and abide by the regulations and policies of the new council, you can pass through the city gates freely. In the original Downtown, there is a clearing near Pigeon Square that should house your army. However, prices are very high in the city right now, so please pay for them yourself and don't cause a riot. ”

"We have our own supplies and we won't be staying here for long. Siegel said, "If you're willing to help, I'd like to meet with the members of the new council to discuss the title of Waterdeep." ”

Newman nodded and stepped out of the way. The City Watchers no longer blocked the gates, leaving a way for Heim's army.

The buildings near the walls were all destroyed by elven trebuchets and then burned to ruins by silvery flames that were difficult to extinguish. After the residents cleared the area, they built shelters out of wood, gravel and straw. The people here looked at Siegel with curiosity, pointing at his cavalry, not at all afraid.

Manna grabbed the horse's belly, hurriedly marched to Siegel's side, and said in a low voice, "My lord, the atmosphere in the city is really weird. How come they don't know to be afraid?"

"I don't know. Siegel replied, "I wondered if there was any mental magic effect of the Knox Commons when I entered the city gates, but after checking it many times, I still didn't find any suspicious magic fluctuations. Although Waterdeep is not hostile, you have been on the highest alert as you have conveyed my orders. I'll shorten my stay at the Tri-Peaks Tower, so let's leave as soon as possible. ”

"Also, watch out for anomalous mental activity among the soldiers - like the inhabitants of Waterdeep. At all times, I'm going to have one-third of the people on guard, one-third of the people awake to prepare, and the remaining one-third of the people to rest, understand?"

Manna nodded, and immediately began to arrange.

Going inward, the situation gets worse, especially uptown. It was home to wealthy merchants, high-ranking craftsmen, and powerful people, who were not affected by the siege of the elves, and thought they would survive to the end, but they were confronted by Kerry. The warriors of the Raven tribe ransacked the place, completely destroying the original beautiful and tidy environment. Fortunately, Kerry was only interested in gold and silver treasures, and did not give orders to slaughter the city or plunder freely, so the lives and personal safety of the inhabitants were safe. But when Kerry leaves, that's when the nightmare begins.

The City Guard, who surrendered and rebelled in front of the Raven tribe, ended up becoming bandits, committing serious crimes in the upper town, and then escaping outside the city and becoming bandits. So the uptown that Siegel saw was chaotic, and the people who had basically no hands-on ability stared at the ruins in a daze. Skinny cats, sheep and dogs roam the roam, trying to get food from their former owners. But nothing was found.

Siegel looked at the group. The group looked at Siegel with curiosity and delight. There's definitely something wrong with that. The mage thought that the whole city was like an overly frightened girl, who did everything upside down. Those who should cry are living an optimistic and hopeful life, those who should be afraid and cowering are standing bravely and strongly, and the city that should be depressed and chaotic is being rebuilt in an active and orderly manner.

When they see the cavalry, the inhabitants of this place will also show a frightened expression, but when they turn their heads, they will return to normal. Could it be that their ability to forget is so powerful that they can instantly leave negative emotions behind?

Hope to be able to get the answer at the Tri-Peak Tower. What exactly did Knox and the elves do?

Two hours later, 1,200 people arrived at their destination. Instead of going to Pigeon Square in the lower city, they came to the original Siegel home next to the Tri-Peaks Tower. Because Siegel had moved to Heim to build and live in the city of Myr, it had been given to Lady Linda Deepp and her son, with the only request left was to open the gates to Siegel forever.

The house was locked and there was no one inside. It's a miracle that it hasn't been looted, and even the flowers and plants in the courtyard haven't been damaged. Only the courtyard at the back was looted, and there was nothing left in the fields. I still remember that a lot of vegetables were grown here to supplement the family, so as to cope with the rise in prices and the lack of food.

I don't know what happened to Mrs. Linda Deep. Isn't it peace. His son, Karl, is a trainee priest at the Temple of the Moon God, and is theoretically on the elven side. When the war began—and Siegel hadn't yet made his way to Fort Hub—Waterdeep wasn't immediately attacked. So the Temple of the Moon was safe during that time. Maybe the mother and son have already left Waterdeep City while that precious time, or maybe they ......

Siegel didn't dare to think about it, and the more worried, the more fearful he became. He set up his residence in a small building, and his soldiers fenced off the large open space around him, arranging for them to stand guard and wait for patrols.

Not far from here is the home of Alexander, the Lion King, who is familiar with the place, having lived there for a long time and being guarded by the Iron Golem. In contrast to the tranquility of the nearby buildings, Alexander's mansion had been burned to black ash, and the only remnants of the buildings were within the twisted and melted walls.

There was plenty of space inside, enough to fit a team of 1,200 people. However, Siegel forbade anyone to enter Alexander's mansion so as not to cause unnecessary trouble.

Even if he didn't know if there would be trouble, and what kind of trouble it would be.

After settling the soldiers, Siegel checked the spell status on his body and was escorted by several guards to the Tri-Peak Tower.

The Mage Guild was once protected by stealth spells that played a role in the face of elemental surges, but eventually collapsed due to the rampaging magical energy and turned into a dangerous area of magical chaos. All kinds of elemental energy are like birds that come to life, carrying the feathers of lightning, ice, or flame, cruising around the perimeter of the Three Peaks Pagoda. They are not far away, but without the knowledge of the caster and the means of protection, no one can pass through the protective area of these spell birds.

Of the towering three magic towers, only one of the towering towers remained, the Mighty Fa Tower, and its two companions had broken off and fallen to the ground. Traces of explosions were everywhere, and the marks left by the wreaking havoc of various elemental forces could be seen everywhere.

Throughout the Mage Federation, there was space everywhere emitting residual power, all of which were fist-sized spatial teleportation and displacement spells. Teleportation of this size is not sustained at normal elemental concentrations, and is only possible in extreme environments of elemental surges.

It's like digging a hole in a spatial cake with a spoon, and every teleportation hole has the potential to cause death. Siegel saw many broken limbs, all caused by the collapse of the stealth spell. Most of them are apprentices, and they do not have the ability to perform early warning sensing of spatial teleportation energy fluctuations.

After the collapse of the defensive circle, the magic items also began to explode under the continuous action of the elemental surge. The first group was supposed to be the Lamp Gods, and their construction determined that it was impossible for them to survive the blows of the elves. The Spell Scepter should follow, followed by various magical enchantments and magical armor, which will inevitably be destroyed as long as they are still being exchanged for mana.

Siegel walked through the ruins, his defensive staff striking a clear rhythm through the ruins. Once both magic items and magic effects have been destroyed, it's the mage's turn. Only those mages who have dispelled all the magical effects on their bodies and drained their elemental energy will survive the surge - this is documented in some of the Federation's books. Now the question is, what about them? )