Winter in Hantu comes much earlier than in the south, which borders the land, and at the beginning of the first month after the harvest festival, the tail of midsummer disappears completely, and the bitter cold of winter falls on the land amid the flying snowflakes and frozen rivers.

The distant mountains and hills have long been covered with snow, and the once lush forests are only dead branches and fallen leaves buried in the snow, and the winter sky is as clear as sapphires, and from time to time the howling cold wind rolls up the snowflakes on the moor, sweeping a touch of white on the flat land.

After a month of training and recuperation, a thousand recruits who had completed basic training were added to the Hundred Ranks of the Banner Legion, and Edward immediately ordered the entire fortress to gather its troops and unite the Silver Blood Mercenary Regiment and Donner's "Black Crow Regiment" in the direction of the Red Horse Clan, leaving less than 3,000 new recruits still training to garrison the fortress in the Green River Valley.

In order to arrange the candidates for the stay, Edward also thought about it a little, and in the end only three people were left - the clerk Virgil, the flag bearer of the Knights of the Sacred Tree detachment, Salald, and Marco Tasker, and the three of them still performed their duties according to the existing work, Virgil was in charge of logistics, Salad was in charge of training, and Marco was his own representative, dealing with the squires in various towns.

What's more, Marco is able to carry out his orders in any situation, and that's all that matters. Now Edward has regarded the Green River Valley as his "home base", and of course it is impossible to tolerate others getting involved.

In a plain white wilderness, the long marching columns are like winding pythons, trudging through roads long buried by snow. Heavily armed soldiers carry their own bags. Contains three days' worth of food and essentials. Felt and thick scarves draped over the body. Step on one footprint after another in the deep snow.

The four-wheeled wagons loaded with the baggage of the army were protected in the center by the soldiers on both sides of the queue, because the snow was so deep that the soldiers on both sides had to push forward to ensure that the baggage wagons could keep up with the march of the whole army, but no one complained - everyone knew that the contents of these carriages were the guarantee of their lives, and the whole army could only hold out for three days at most.

The cavalry attendants and mounted sergeants took on the duties of the light cavalry, surveying the roads for the entire army in front. The chief centurion, who was familiar with the terrain, took charge of the work himself - this was in the Vast Wasteland, and if the army got lost, let alone found the enemy, it was a question of whether or not they could return to the fortress.

It was early in the morning, and the whole daytime of the moor was clear and clear, as if it had been blessed by a glorious cross, but soon, before the sun had sunk in the west, the howling north wind whistled up the icy snowflakes and whistled over the heads of the army, and even the two flags were blown away, and the bearer of the flag was nowhere to be found.

Edward immediately recalled the hussars in front. After finding a gentle slope with a high rise, they set up camp on it, and the soldiers braved the snow and wind. Tents were set up and improvised fences were set up - it was obvious that it was impossible to march in such a heavy snowstorm, and the original plan to find a settlement in front to rest had to be abandoned.

The morale that was high when he set off was immediately hit in front of Blizzard. Alan, who was roasting around the fire in the military tent, looked at Edward who was lying on the map table with some worry, and just wanted to comfort him a few words, there was a chaotic sound of footsteps outside, and several flag commanders and the leaders of the mercenary group walked in, and naturally Shrell Lightlane was among them.

The sharp-eyed blonde girl was like a frightened bunny, and immediately stood at Edward's side, her vigilant eyes fixed on the figure of the purple-haired mercenary, but Shirrell stood opposite Donner, the leader of the Lund warriors, with the little Robin Chief.

Leafinus, dressed in snowflakes, was the last to enter, and stood in front of the map table with a somewhat tired face. Without raising his head, Edward asked, "How far are we from the nearest tribe?"

"Less than a day - less than half a day, I should say. Repcinus bowed his head and replied in a deep voice: "The cavalry was attacked on the way back, and there were about forty or fifty men. A dozen men were slightly wounded and six horses were damaged, but luckily none were killed. ”

"I'll get the people in charge of logistics to make it up as soon as possible. Nodding slightly, Edward's gaze still did not take his eyes off the map: "You are the most knowledgeable of all the people present, Lebinus, tell me how we should march?"

"I'm sorry, but I really don't know. Lessinus shook his head stiffly: "The weather in Hantu is often very strange, one moment it is still a clear sky, and the next moment there may be a snowstorm, and no one knows how long it will last. ”

"That's right, so the sensible option is to hold on to the Stronghold of the Green Valley - and then wait until the beginning of spring next year, when a new war tribe will appear in the lands we've cleared, and all the previous victories will be a joke. Edward raised his head teasingly, his gaze swept over everyone's faces one by one, and stopped in front of Lybinus: "Last question, can these barbarian warriors march in a blizzard?"

The chief centurion hesitated for a moment, then nodded silently. Everyone's faces became a lot more ugly, but Edward had a very relaxed posture, and gently patted the map table: "The Red Horse Clan will definitely not let us be humiliated, the three war tribes that were eradicated before are all their vassals, even if it is to prevent the tribe from falling apart and losing the deterrence and trust of other tribes, they will definitely start a war against us!"

"This is their land, and they know it better than we do - so we must not let the enemy choose the battlefield, we must be the first to go to war, to seize an important territory, and force them into the battlefield we have set. Edward's expression was very affirmative: "They must have already been pulled out, so we are running out of time, which means that there is not much choice." ”

"Avoid the most dangerous mountains and dense forests, and march as far as possible along open and hilly terrain - such terrain is the most suitable battlefield for our army to display its combat effectiveness. Fingers slowly moved across the map, eyes moving with the fingertips, resting on a settlement called Tallinn.

"I need to have an advance army to capture before the legion arrives, and build a strong enough stronghold to hold off the Akama Clan's army to be able to attract the enemy's attention as much as possible. Edward's voice was slow: "Who wants to take on this important mission?"

"Let me go!" Edward's face turned pale, and Allen, who had been standing beside him, suddenly spoke, with a sworn posture, his left hand was already pressed on the hilt of the sword, and his eyes were resolute: "I will take the knights of The Hague Castle to take this settlement, and then for, for you...... Your legion holds it!"

"Lord Chief Flag Officer!" Seeing the embarrassment flashing across Edward's face, Lessinus hurriedly spoke: "The brothers of the First Banner Regiment hope to receive this honor, if you want, we ......"

"The Lund warriors are willing to serve you!" Before he could finish speaking, Donner, who was standing behind, pushed him away, and his deep voice echoed in the military tent: "No matter how many enemies there are, they can't stop our axe!"

"If you want to defend a castle, you'll need a good group of archers, and the guys who are best at fighting these barbarians. The little man Robin suddenly stood up, a flash of embarrassment flashed on his face, but he still bowed respectfully: "Silver Blood is willing to serve you, I believe there is no more suitable person than us." ”

Glancing at the flamboyant fellow, Edward looked behind him, and there Shirrell Lightlane stood there leaning against the pillar with his eyes closed as if he hadn't heard anything.

“...... You're right. The black eyes moved back to Robin's face, "There really is no better fit than you!" (To be continued.) )