Before the end of summer, the city of Turin, where the festivities were being prepared, was in a solemn atmosphere, with soldiers and swaggering knights lining the streets, making the otherwise joyful atmosphere extremely oppressive, with children no longer visible in the lively gardens, and no one greeting each other in the crowded streets, everyone was cautious, and swept their neighbors' faces vigilantly, as if they were also comrades of some rebel army.

And on the Silk Street, it is still a scene of singing and dancing. Even the nobles of Turin, who had experienced several bloody storms, enjoyed everything they could with impunity—for them, the bloodshed was a matter of course, and they were the masters of the city, at all times.

Especially after His Majesty Horace's final decision that Anson Markellus would succeed the Duke of Hantu City and lead a large army to Hantu to quell the rebellion, a series of open and secret battles had already begun in these "superior places" - from the source of troops to military supplies, it would be an extremely grand feast, and the wealth contained in it alone made everyone covetous.

the recruitment of soldiers, the supply of weapons and armor, food...... In the eyes of these Turin nobles, each of them was able to make them a lot of money, and they were originally frightened and trembling by the garrison legions, but all of a sudden they were like vultures who had found the corpses, and they frantically swarmed up, ready to get a piece of the pie.

All of them were tacitly accumulating their strength, ready to raise enough chips for themselves before the start of the upcoming war—and the lives represented by those chips were naturally no longer in the eyes of these noble and glorious nobles. A war that has cost hundreds of thousands of lives. In their eyes, it is just a gamble that can give them a chance to get rich overnight.

It's only been a week. The little prince Anson didn't even know how many knights he would follow, all the banners of the entire 20,000 infantry and 2,000 cavalry had been divided, and as for how many real "soldiers" there would be, instead of the "ghosts" on the roster and the "skeleton soldiers" who had long since been buried in the ground, it was only seeing was believing.

On the other hand, Edward Witwood was also planning for the coming expedition - no matter what the Marquis Holard Minnest was planning, he could not really be unprepared, at least he had to hold in his own hands an army that could be absolutely subordinate to him.

And at least for now. It is quite right not to take the liberty of accepting the position of Chief Flag Bearer. Although Edward had made a fortune in the early summer grain trade with Landzel in Star City, the money was either unsightly or unavailable for a while.

At the very least, he could not explain how his little viscount was able to get the gold to raise an army, and why he did not turn it over to the treasury.

On the second night alone, Edward sent out all of his attendants, Goodwin Jr., and Donner, the captain of the guard—if war was to be waged against the lands, food and troops would be the key to the war.

After establishing contact with the Millar family in the south. Edward had been given a very solid alliance of interests, as long as he could guarantee that he would not harm the interests of the Millar family. Gaining their support is not a very difficult task, and the Goodwin Chamber of Commerce, which has already established itself in Fort The Hague, will become its most important logistical line.

And Donner and his crow mercenaries are all from the Lund pirates - the Lund people of the Misty Sea, even on the West Coast, their ancient and bloody beliefs make these monsters fearless to death, and if all goes well, they will become an important force in their own hands.

What really made Edward's decision was that he had finally figured out what Holard Minnest's "legion" was for him.

"The Battle Banner Legion - a garrison regiment formed by the Duke of Berion three years ago to monitor the movements of the barbarians in the western part of the Vast Lands, there are about two thousand to three thousand people, all of them immigrant Turinees, as well as an army composed of local natives. Marco Tasker sat on the couch and said, "It's not elite, but it's very experienced." ”

"I really don't know, if even one defeat after another can be called experienced and strong, maybe this army can really be regarded as elite. Edward sneered: "Maybe in the eyes of the Marquis of Hollard, there is a gap between the word elite and our understanding?"

There is a reason why Edward said this, if this "Battle Banner Legion" was only no different from the other auxiliary legions established by the Duke of Berrion, then he would not say much, but it is obviously not the case - since the day it was formed, this legion has not won a single battle, as long as it is the war they have participated in, it has been a complete defeat every time!

In just three years, it has already experienced ten consecutive crushing defeats - from large-scale battles to several individual battles, not only did not win a single victory, but each time they fled.

And just recently, this poor legion was even attacked into the barracks by a group of mountain tribes, the commander of the legion was torn to pieces of flesh by two blood wolves, and even the military flag was cut off into the enemy's trophies - in the Kingdom of Turin, if an army was even taken away from the military flag, it was tantamount to losing the proof of existence, that is, this was a legion that should have been completely disbanded a long time ago!

"Perhaps to protect the western barrier of the Vast Land—or to look like it was protecting, though in the end it was as if he was protecting, and the Duke of Berrion placed the remnants of his legion in a barracks called the Greenland Valley, with three towns behind it as a barrier. ”

Marco Tasker said as if he were saying a tongue twister: "But in fact, this legion has long ceased to exist when the flag was lost, and if the normal steps were followed, they would have been dealt with separately - most of them were dismissed, and the children of the elite and nobility were transferred to other legions, and of course we have a special situation now......"

"Berrion Marcherus is no longer the Duke of Hantu City, and now His Highness Anson has not had time to gain control of the army of Hantu City, this is an army that no one will scruple about!" Edward nodded: "Even if this army is in the bag, no one will take it seriously. ”

"But that's not the problem...... What good do I want an army that has nothing but to defeat a battle?"

"Because you're Edward Witwood, the man who can defend a Hornfort besieged by thousands of troops with four hundred men, who else has the power to turn this army into an invincible monster?!" Marco Tasker sneered, "This will be your greatest and best chance to truly show everyone your ability to transform decay into magic." ”

"Sounds like a wizard. Edward smiled, "I'm not going to turn decay into magic, and I'm not going to create miracles." ”

But you will kill all the enemies that stand in front of you...... The silver-haired wizard couldn't help but scold in his heart, and then seemed to think of something: "So, you really want to take Miss Allen with you to Handi?"

"It's not just Allen, it's Ludwig, Angela and you - it's going to be a gamble that will determine my future for more than a decade, I'm not like those guys with a lot of money, I only have one chance to gamble, so I'm going to put all my chips on it. ”

"All ...... Chips?" Marco's eyes jumped: "I didn't know you thought so highly of me?"

"It should be all - of course I take you very seriously. Edward slowly stood up, "So I'm not going to lose, because I can't afford to lose!" (To be continued.) )