Section 30: Visitation

"But Thomas ......"

"Thomas was just helping you out. If he didn't come forward and fooled around with such words, then Ashrufat would definitely not be able to stand the humiliation and leave. When the time comes, the Paros will surely trumpet your meanness...... This will be a wound for you that will last a long time and will not heal. All those knights, including the knights of St. Jean, and those from afar who want to serve you, will weigh it up after hearing this legend. Hmph! It was also a shame that the knights of the mountains had no knowledge, and they were fooled by Thomas's words and believed it to be true. ”

"Eshurufat wasn't a knight at all, but at that time...... When he first met me......"

If he was just that kind of mercenary, why was he not interested in the reward offered by the Paroes? and the calm attitude afterwards did not look like waiting for a price...... If you are not from a noble birth, if you are not noble by nature, how can you make such a choice?

"And I sent someone to quietly probe the mouth of Ashrufat. He never mentioned the glory of his ancestors...... Don't mention your last name...... In addition, his coat of arms is simple, which shows that his family roots are not long-lasting. Otherwise, due to the inheritance of the two lines of the parents, as well as some memorable events, the pattern of the coat of arms is usually more complex from generation to generation. Based on the above, I conclude that either Ashrufat is a knight who has been deprived of his rights, or he is just an ordinary wandering mercenary. Extreme low self-esteem can sometimes manifest itself as extreme self-esteem. Understand this, and maybe one day you will be able to use it!"

"Also, remember, Ashrufat once said that he had received the title of Duke from a certain king. The Duke's Title?ha...... Can a duke be canonized at will? Usually a reasonable person would not make such a lie. A person can lie that he is a knight, but he does not arrogantly believe that he can be knighted. So this sentence must be said for a reason. Keep this in mind and this little detail will help you. ”

Irina didn't think that little detail helped. Ashrufat was probably pressed by Ryan at the time, so he simply pulled up a big lie. In this way, Ashruphat was not a knight at all, but a mercenary from a humble background......

"Also, there was another important thing in the meeting that you didn't pay attention to. Ryan's kid is now calling himself a duke in Cassilos, recruiting troops...... It's not a trivial thing to ignore!"

"But this was part of Thomas Scheme......"

"Thomas didn't make himself a duke in his plan! it was a very troublesome matter, far more troublesome than he thought...... That kid is the same as you, with the blood of the two royal families, although they are both side branches of the royal family, but this is troublesome enough. What if that kid is ambitious and wants to stand on his own...... No, it won't, he's not going to be stupid to that point. As long as Thomas is alive for a day, he will not dare to borrow two of his dares, but he may well use this opportunity to create a fait accompli and force you to admit that he is a duke. ”

The black-robed old man sighed in a low voice.

"How important it is to have a courtier who can be trusted with military power...... I don't live long, but I can at least leave you a legacy......" He muttered to himself, so soft that no one but himself could hear him.

"Grandpa, how did you know about these things?"

"Of course, when your precious time is spent riding pegasus for fun, the documents are read! Remember, the king has no time to rest!"

......

When Ashrufat entered Thomas's tent, his armor and weapons were covered in blood. There was a small encounter today, and the coalition forces had inflicted heavy losses on a small force of the Paro people. In fact, the Paros ran away at the sight of the flying serpent banner flying in the distance, but their infantry could not escape the hooves of their horses, and were eventually overtaken by the knights and mercilessly slaughtered.

This would have been a pursuit battle that did not require the commander's hands at all, without any suspense. But Ashrufat joined in, killing at least ten Paros who were not fast enough. He couldn't tell what he was doing, but he knew that in his heart, there was a bloodthirsty desire that was growing day by day, and a rage at his own incompetence.

He caught up with the retreating Blue Shield Knights and routed them in a night attack, but the "myrrh" he had hoped for was in vain. Either these herbs had already been used up by the wounded soldiers, or they were burned in this night attack. To make matters worse, in the days that followed, he could not find this precious herb in every reclaimed city, in every knight who came to defect.

Actually, this is not surprising. "Myrrh" is a precious medicinal material from a distant and exotic land, and the people's reserves must have been exhausted in the previous war. The country's reserves will also be taken away by the retreating Paro army, and there will definitely be no left.

Thomas's situation is getting worse and worse. Now, half of the time he spends his time in a feverish coma, talking nonsense. His wound was no longer as simple as being red, swollen and inflamed, and the wound was now suppurating and very serious. Although Fei'er tried her best to take care of it, she could smell the stench of the wound when she walked into the tent.

And Ashruphat could only watch as Thomas grew weaker and weaker, but he could not do anything about it. That's what he hates.

Fei'er looked at Ashrufat who had come in, sighed quietly, and then shook his head gently.

Ashrufat saw the prophetess's expression and felt a nerve-wracking shock. But at this time, Leo walked into the tent.

"Ashrufat, you're here. Leo said. "The interrogation of the captives has already taken effect. The rumor is true, the Paro people have already conquered the Wolf's Mouth Castle, and at this moment they are centered on the army that captured the castle, gathering the retreating rangers from all over the country to form a new army. It is said that the number of troops reached more than 30,000. I'm afraid we're going to have a big war soon. ”

Although the Flying Serpent banner was still flying, Thomas was too badly injured to serve - it was no secret in the army. Now, the front command of the army was under the responsibility of Ashrufat, and the rear was handled by Leo. This point is currently accepted by everyone - it is only natural that the main general will be injured and the deputy general will take over the command. But without the command of the invincible old commander, the question of whether they can defeat the Paros in a real battle is still unanswered. So now a part of the army, especially a small number of militia units, is demoralized, and they were scared by the Paros in the previous battles.

However, due to the fact that the Paros had burned down the royal city before, more of Cassilos' knights were indignant and wanted to fight to the death with the Paros.

"The Paros are closing in on us. ”

If Thomas had been awake and intended to take this opportunity to teach them about military affairs, Thomas would have pointed out that the Paros were self-defeating. Win or lose this battle, and the Paros have lost the opportunity to send reinforcements to the border castle. It's early spring, and the defenders of the border castle are soon running out of supplies. This force, which has actually been isolated, is not destined to last long.

Drake's castle has been taken over by Ryan, and even if the Paros can now defeat Aerufate in a big battle, it won't change anything. St. Jean's main force would soon break through the entire border, and then the two sides would enter a protracted battle (provided that the Paro succeeded in thwarting Princess Irina's advance). But with a long war against the powerful St. Jean/Cassilos coalition, Paro will sooner or later shed his blood in this tug-of-war.

Unless the Church of the True God gives Paro all the support, even involving the Central Seven Powers in this war. However, everyone knows that in the previous vampire war, although Kalean was finally captured and the vampires were completely eliminated, the Central Seven Kingdoms and the Church of the True God were also exhausted and suffered heavy losses. Not only did all the countries suffer heavy losses in their armies, but they were also economically indebted and unsustainable. If the vampires had held out for another year and a half, they would have won. Therefore, even if they want to help the Paro people now, they are powerless and cannot make much of a storm.

In Eshurufat's view, the only and correct course of action for the Paros was to retreat from all of Cassilos, which was no longer defendable, abandon the annexation attempt, and concentrate all their forces on the Wolf's Mouth Castle to preserve the fruits of this last victory. Instead of throwing the rest of the forces into the battlefield in exchange for a meaningless victory.

And they won't necessarily win!! Luckily, Leo was standing behind him and didn't see his face. Because if a wolf saw his face now, he would probably tremble with fear.

"Then we'll fight them!"

"However, the Paros seem to have received strong reinforcements. Leo continued. "According to the news from some spies, they don't know where they got a monster from nowhere. ”

"Monsters?"

"It looks like a griffon...... But there are no wings. I don't know where they got it, but our spies named these monsters 'Hippogriffs' because they all have heavily armed knights on their backs. These monsters are said to charge faster than any horse, and their scent will scare war horses. It's dangerous. ”

"I got it. Leo, how is the 'myrrh' thing?

Leo hung his head gloomily and did not answer. In fact, both of them were well aware of Thomas's situation. But the damned Paros have looted all the "myrrh" in the land. No matter how hard Eshuruphat tried, no matter how hard Leo racked his brains, they just couldn't find it. Leo personally searched every nook and cranny of the medicine warehouse, and Ashrufat offered the Paros "myrrh" in exchange for prisoners, but to no avail.

"Ashrufat...... Leo...... Is that you?" Thomas said suddenly on the bed.

"Mistress Thomas, it's our ......," Leo replied eagerly, taking a half-step forward.

"What about William Daley? Is he defending the city outside?Remember, counterattack as flexibly as possible, only a mobile and flexible counterattack can effectively thwart the enemy's intention to attack the city......" Thomas said something that no one could understand, and passed out again.

Thomas had actually known about William Daley's death in battle for a long time, but he had been suffering from a high fever recently, and every time he was in a coma, he thought that William Daly was still alive.

"Master Thomas, I'm going to make both Paro and Ryan pay!" Ashrufat stood there silent for a long time, then spat out the terrible words in a tone that made Leo feel creepy.

"Let's get out of here, Leo. Miss Phil, Master Thomas, please ask for you. ”