Section 2: Death of the country

Marcos could barely believe his ears. This is the city of Flos, far from the rear of the front line! How could the Paro army appear here? Without the slightest warning? Even if there was an unimaginable defeat at the front, as a general rule, there would be a group of defeated troops who would retreat. How could it be possible to appear in the city of Flors all at once?

But that's just the way it is. Countless people cried and fled through the gates, and many were trampled to death in trampling each other. Relying on these soldiers at the city gate, it is completely impossible to resist such a wave of refugees. The only thing Marcos could do was hide in a corner and wait for the flow of people to pass.

When the crowd had passed, he realized that he was left alone among the guards at the city gates.

Now, he could hear shouts and gunfire in the distance. Guns are rarely used in the Stygia region, with the only exception being Paro. Because of their close contacts with the central powers, Paro's army was different from the rest of the Stygians, and they followed the example of the central kingdoms and were armed with a large number of muskets and cannons.

The sound of cannons came from near the royal palace. It was clear that the Paro army was suppressing the royal palace. Marcos knew that in the face of such a sudden attack, Cassilos' proud army of knights could barely help. Not to mention that there is no decent army in the city at the moment. The war is still a hundred leagues away.

The black plume of smoke continues to increase and has permeated most of the city. It shows that the invasion is not a small army, but a large army. No matter how incredible it is, it's happening.

Marcus stood alone at the gates. His sanity told him that it was best to flee in time while the enemy had not yet taken care of it. But another part of his body told him that he should stay here and do his duty until the last moment. But at this moment, what can he, a guard, who is unarmed and disabled, do?

Fortunately, his family does not live in the city now. They should not be affected by the war for the time being, but no one can really be sure of that.

The smoke in the distance, that is, in the direction of the palace, was getting bigger and bigger. Looking at that momentum, it was almost like burning down the entire palace.

Just when Marcos hesitated, not knowing what to do, he heard the rumbling of the iron hooves of the war horse. Then, several riders appeared on the gravel pavement. They were not Paro cavalrymen, but knights of Casilos. Each knight had their coat of arms painted on their cuirasse. They slowed down near the gates and eventually stopped in front of Marcus.

"Marcos!" the knight in the lead recognized the janitor's identity. But Marcos couldn't remember for a moment who the knight was.

"Your Highness, I said that even if the other militia fled, Marcos would definitely defend the gates! The knight turned his head back and said. Only then did Marcos notice that among the knights, there was a young girl on horseback.

"Oh my God, Princess Irina!" Marcos finally recognized the girl's identity.

"Marcos, this place can't be defended. We must withdraw with Her Highness Irina. The knight froze. "Can you find a way to hold off our pursuers for a little longer?"

"He's just an old militiaman......" said the other man, his voice younger.

"Shut up! If Marcos hadn't been injured and disabled, he would have been a knight a long time ago! Marcos, can you do it?"

No matter how stupid people are, they understand what price this request will pay. But even so, Marcos nodded.

"I'll do my best. He replied.

"Let's go, Princess!" a knight rode past Marcos.

"Uncle Marcus. He heard the princess call him that. The princess had just had a coming-of-age ceremony, and was still a very young child in a sense. "I won't forget you. If you can, tell me how I can repay your loyalty and courage. ”

"I have three sons in the army, and I hope that Your Highness will one day be able to take care of them. ”

"According to the law, they will inherit your knighthood and receive the corresponding status and honor. ”

After a few minutes, when all the knights and horses were out of sight, Marcos realized what the princess had just said. He was no longer Uncle Marcos, the janitor, but Sir Marcos.

Marcus immediately set his hands dirty. He's been touching this door for more than a decade, and no one knows it better than he does—from its pros and cons, even a scratch. He picked up a crowbar from the corner and pried off a few nails above the latch. Then he took out his tool and hammered the crooked nails into it again. When he had done all this, he closed the door and fastened the latch, and did the same with the latch of the small door for a single person to enter and exit. But it wasn't strong enough, so he got the spare latch out and embedded it in the recess outside the door.

Now no one can open the door in a short time. This door cannot be opened now, either from the inside or from the outside.

New horses' hooves sounded, and many horses rushed to the gate from the city streets. Marcus heard someone shouting in an out-of-town accent through the door, telling the others to latch the door and open it. But it was just in vain. In this respect, they are too tender compared to Uncle Marcos. They were busy for a long time, but they didn't open the latch.

Attempts were made to open the latch with weapons. Then swords came out of the crack in the door and moved up and down.

Markos wielded the hammer in his hand, methodically breaking the outstretched swords one by one.

Now, the Paro people, who were locked up in the city gates, realized that there was someone guarding outside. They began to shout at him, first by falsely claiming that they were carrying out the king's military affairs, and then by promising heavy rewards. But when they realized that it was futile, they began to curse, threatening to cut Marcos into pieces and feed them to the dogs.

Marcos took advantage of this time to block the hinges in the corners of the gate with large and small gravels. To prevent someone from digging up the rubble, he casually poured a whole bottle of glue into it.

Let these Paros know that Sir Marcus is not an easy character to deal with!

"Quick, climb down the walls!" someone shouted. But Marcos knew that it was just a bluff. It was impossible for a cavalryman to carry any ropes, without which it was impossible to jump off the walls. As for whether he could find a rope, Marcos was not worried at all. Even if they could come down, it would be a long time before they could open the door and let the horses out.

Marcus proved his judgment, and there were people on the walls who cursed and shot indiscriminately, but none of them could come down. Marcus roamed around the gate, easily breaking every futile attempt by the Paro to pry the latch open.

"My lord, let's take a detour!" someone on the other side of the door suggested, but was immediately roared back.

"It's all blocked by fire, how do you get around ?!!!?"

"The axe is here!" he heard someone shouting. Then there was a heavy slash that landed on the door.

Stupid young man. Marcos shook his head. If they did split the heavy door with an axe, they would have to cut it at least until dawn tomorrow. Enough for Marcos to wake up and think about it.

After cutting for half a day, the enemy finally gave up this stupid idea and replaced it with the bad idea of "burning". The heat wave caused some trouble, but when the heat wave was gone, the gates were still standing.

"The cannon is coming!" Marcus heard cheers from across the door.

Also...... Is it time to end?

Marcos looked at the sky. Before you know it, so much time has passed, and the sun is almost setting. He didn't delay "a little", and for the whole afternoon, the Paros could not get out of the city.

He clenched the hammer in his hand. The militia can break and flee, but the knights must fight to the end.

"Ready...... Put!" Accompanied by this voice, he heard a loud roar.

This was the voice he had heard in the world.

......

Many military strategists later saw the Paro's winter climb over the sister mountains as a model of strategic maneuver, an extremely remarkable and perfect operation. This is not only a military surprise choice, but also a severe test of the military's quality and logistics. There is no doubt that there must be the backing of the Church of the True God. After completing this great operation, which can be called a "miracle", the royal city of Cassilos, like a charming fruit without the protection of thorns, was exposed to the army of Paro.

And, even more perfectly, the royal family of Cassilos and San Jean (as mentioned earlier, the two royal families have almost merged into one family) are gathering in the royal city at this moment, and it is a good time to catch them all. There is no doubt about what happened next. The Paro army launched a surprise attack, and completely overwhelmed the enemy in terms of strength and equipment. In this situation, the knights of Casilos resisted bravely, but were outnumbered. The vast majority of the royal family died in the massacre.

The only minor accident was Princess Irina's escape. The young princess was the last of the people to be deserved to inherit the thrones of both countries by blood and de jure. He was the daughter of King Cassilos and the granddaughter of King St. Jean. Once the princess dies, there will be no one who is eligible to hold the throne of both countries – on the other hand, of course, too many people are qualified to hold the throne.

For the Paro people, this accident can be said to be the after-effect of crossing the mountains. In order to complete the arduous march, they lost most of their horses, so the princess was able to escape.

However, although it was a slight regret, Paro achieved a great victory after all. In the aftermath of this battle, most of Cassilos had fallen to the iron heels of the conquerors.

However, the Paro people knew that the war was not over. In the kingdoms of Cassilos and St. Jean, every knight was loyal to the higher nobles and, ultimately, to the royal family. As long as the royal rule is not broken, no matter how many tactical victories they achieve, they will not be able to end the war. On the other hand, as long as Princess Irina died, they could declare themselves the ultimate victors, no matter how many casualties they took. Because when the time comes, these two countries will be leaderless and at the mercy of Paro.

The Paro army pursued the princess and her retinue in desperate pursuit. But under the protection of her loyal retinue, three months later, the princess had fled to the remote mountainous province of St. Jean. Here, in seclusion lived the princess's ailing maternal grandfather, King Rangier I of St. Jean. The latter has lived here ever since his retirement. Now, the results of the entire war have been concentrated on this young girl, in this mountainous area. And it seems, the Paros are not too far from their final victory.