On the eve of verse 31

Ashruphat left, but Leo didn't. He approached Thomas and took a closer look at Thomas's wounds.

Thomas's situation is not even "terrible". If it weren't for the fear that Thomas's actual situation would be known, they would not have asked the prophetess Fei'er to take care of Thomas, but found two servants to take care of this matter. Although Leo also loves Thomas, he knows that some things may be irreparable. But Ashrufat refuses to consider any of these "possibly" questions. Anyone who mentions even the slightest bit of those bad predictions on Thomas's recovery will have an expression as if he was about to eat someone.

In fact, Ashrufat and Thomas are two completely different people. If he hadn't seen it himself, perhaps Leo wouldn't have believed how people with such a big difference in personality could have such a deep affection for each other. Thomas was a generous, kind, hospitable man (at least for those who were not hostile), he was very good at dealing with people, and he had a convincing demeanor and heart. If you stay with Thomas for a long time, people will be infected by Thomas unconsciously. Thomas never gets angry, his smile melts the ice of the barrier between people, his demeanor makes people unconsciously attracted to it, his generosity and tolerance can make people feel grateful, and his every command makes people happy to obey and even willing to sacrifice their lives. When Thomas walked by with a confident smile, confidence filled everyone's chest.

Ashrufat is a different type of person. Perhaps because of the fact that he is an outsider (and has not been here for a long time), he is not very communicative and is more reticent. Aside from William Daly and Leo, he had few close friends, and he and most of the other knights were only general friends, not in-depth. Ashrufat was not a rough man, but he always had a natural and intimidating aura about him. And he is not only a knight, but also a magician, adding to him a mysterious aura that is prohibitive. Ashrufat was not easily angered, but when he did, his fierce expression and gaze were enough to freeze the blood of others, and his actions were absolutely terrifying, as evidenced by the execution of the captives at the head of the city that day. In short, he is a naturally intimidating person who cannot be approached by him (of course, those who really have a deep contact with him, such as Leo and William Daly, know that Ashrufat has a noble and gentle side, but not everyone will be happy to have a deep contact with him). When Ashrufat commanded the troops, he always used an unconscious sense of oppression to make people obey orders. When Ashrufat ordered an attack in a fit of rage, the people rushed to the battlefield in fear.

Thomas's subordinates always obey his orders because of "respect". And Ashrufat used "fear" to drive his subordinates.

"I've done my best. Perhaps it was Leo's careful examination of the wound that made Phil uneasy, the prophetess said.

The prophetess also upset Leo. When they set out, there were three prophetesses and three hundred Knights of the Grail, but now that the Knights of the Grail had all been killed, the Prophetess was the only one left. But this prophetess ...... Well, well, it's a blind man like Ishrufat who can't see the affection in her eyes. Of course, it could also be that the guy in Ashrufat deliberately ignored this. Leo was skeptical, though, because he really couldn't see anything in Aerufat worthy of a prophetess's favor.

Phil is not doing anything now, except for taking care of Thomas, and all her strength is devoted to treatment. In her own words, "wholeheartedly united with the wind of life". She didn't even need to move around, and the wounded in the army, as long as they were not seriously injured or their wounds were inflamed, could heal in just two or three days.

Leo carefully washed the pus from Thomas's wound with water. There is no hope, and the "myrrh" must be obtained as soon as possible. Without this thing, the time that Thomas could live would have been counted only in the unit of "day".

He stood up, tiredness sticking into his lumbar spine like an awl. Their former logistics officer was caught by a cannonball flying over the city walls during the defense of the city, and unfortunately returned to the arms of the god of nature on the spot. Now that guy is pushing everything on him except for the battle. For the first time, Leo understood that a logistics officer was really not an easy job, especially when he had a lot of other jobs part-time. Maintaining the normal movement of the whole army every day would have to exhaust him. I really don't understand what that guy is doing for Ashrufat, he can go without sleep for days on end, and still be full of energy.

But there was no time to rest. A big war is coming, and he must do everything in his power to prepare for war, damn Paro!

Two days later, in the Commander's Tent of the Coalition Army, Ashrufat, Leo, and several other officers were gathered here. These officers were in fact Eshurufat's lieutenants - because nominally, Thomas was the commander, and Esseurofat and Leo were only lieutenants. But the command of the army was now in the hands of Ashrufat, who also needed some "de facto adjutant generals" to assist in command.

A large map was spread out on the table.

"The enemy is already approaching here," someone pointed to the map. "According to the results of the reconnaissance, the total strength of the Paro army was about 30,000. General Thomas had not recovered from his serious injuries and was temporarily unable to command the army, which had already been detected by the enemy, so they were resolute in their will to fight. For them, this may be their only chance. If nothing changes, we will face the enemy head-on in the Misty Steppe the day after tomorrow. ”

Point to a location on the map. It can be seen that the misty grassland is a vast wilderness. , which is not the land of any lord, but belongs directly to the Casilos royal family, and produces the finest and best quality horses.

"If you fight here, it's going to be a face-to-face, head-to-head battle without any tricks. A clash of strength and courage. Someone said.

"Hmph, that's what I thought, too. Ashrufat's eyes were fixed on the future battlefield pointed out on the map, and his eyes were full of murder.

"Lord Count, they have more troops than we do. There are only 25,000 of us......" someone reminded in a voice.

"Those are just the generals of the defeated army. It was just a bunch of cowards who barely managed to escape with their long legs. The bravest of them have all been buried in the ground!" Only people who are extremely confident or arrogant can speak in this tone.

"The Paros have newly appointed generals. Now they are no longer a mess, but have a complete leadership. Moreover, they also have that mysterious monster cavalry. Our scouts tell us that as soon as an ordinary horse comes close to that 'eagle', it will immediately neigh and jump uncontrollably. ”

"I heard from a merchant that it didn't seem to be called a 'hippony,' but a 'half-griffin'. ”

"I'm afraid that's the Paro man's trick. As soon as the horses were frightened, the knights' charging formation immediately collapsed. At this time, if the enemy is counter-charged, then the consequences will be serious......"

Could it be that this thing, which I don't know whether to call a "hippony" or a "half-griffin," is the Paro people's last resort? If Thomas were still standing sober, he would have laughed a lot. This is simply naïve thinking. If the Paros really expected to win with this monster cavalry, they should have used all means to hide the monster and then take it out at the moment of the battle. In this way, the effect of "surprise" can be played.

And their best choice is not to come to fight, but to retreat to the Wolf's Mouth Fortress.

No, you can't think of it that way. Ashrufat's mind remembered Thomas's teachings. No one is free, and neither is the army. Why did the Paros come to fight this battle that didn't matter whether they won or lost? That was an obvious gambler's mentality. It's like when the Greyhound Knights ventured into the mountains. Although these are all bad choices, they are the same choices that have to be made under external pressure.

If the Greyhound Knights had not entered the mountains to fight Thomas in a decisive battle, but had instead held the main road and blocked Thomas's way out, then perhaps the situation would have been completely different now. But this militarily optimal option simply cannot be achieved. Because the Paros do not trust the Greyhound Knights. If the greyhounds make this conservative and steady posture, then it is likely that they will get another kind of doom - they will be abandoned by the Paros and the whole army will collapse with no backups.

And now, the Paros should not have woken up from the dream of "conquering all of Cassilos and achieving total victory". So, they don't look at the facts, they don't care about the fact that they are actually at an extreme disadvantage, and they try their best to gamble. Put all your money on the table in the hope of winning a meaningless win.

Ashruphat came back from his contemplation, only to realize that the argument was over. Everyone was watching him, waiting for his final orders.

"There's nothing to say, face the Paro army head-on. Ashrufat said. His eyes wandered over the area of the map that was destined to be a bloody battlefield, and rested on something else—the Wolf's Mouth Castle, the only possible spoils of war for the Paro.

Wolf's Mouth Castle was his only hope. Such an important castle could not have been without reserves of "myrrh". If he can capture this fortress in time and capture the "myrrh" inside, maybe he can save Thomas.

Thomas won't be able to survive for a month anyway. But as long as the wound can be reduced, as long as it can be closed, there is still a glimmer of hope for him.

......

Although the remnants of the winter snow have not completely melted, the first traces of green have crept out from under the earth on the grasslands in spring. This is Cassilos' famous horse farm, and spring is a critical time for horse mating, and the grasslands should be busy at this time.

But now, an indescribable aura of slaughter enveloped this otherwise peaceful grassland. Under the rising morning sun, the two armies were gradually marching out of the camp and lined up. Paro's army of 30,000 and the combined army of Cassilos and St. Jean of 25,000 men fought the final decisive battle here.

Today was a good day to fight, and although there were clouds, the sun was shining high and the view was wide. The officers and men of both armies clenched their weapons and looked at the enemy troops in the distance with expressionless faces. Even the horses seemed to be infected by this atmosphere, and the horses' hooves kicked the ground impatiently.

"The enemy has marched out of the geese!" said one of the scouts as he rode up to Ashrufat, loudly.

"The geese march ......," Ashrufat repeated in a low voice. The Goose Formation is a central assault formation, and of all the three central assault formations, the Goose Formation is the strongest on both wings. The needle formation is the complete abandonment of the two wings, the cone formation is the two wings that only leave the diversionary troops, and the goose marching formation is the further strengthening of the two wings. The Paro's battle plan is now clear.