Section 143 Shock

"Clio. I wasn't impulsive at that time. Essien said after a long time. "Rather, it was a deliberate attempt to make it happen. Although I was not satisfied with the results, at least it gave me some inspiration. ”

"What do you mean?"

"As for today, I got a new message. A secret message. Essien said softly. "You may not know it, but I went to the magician early this morning. ”

"That...... A magician in charge of magical communications?"

"Yes. The church chose neutrality...... Therefore, our Duke Byron can only find wild mages who are willing to accept the employment to do this job. As it happens, this one in Fornoros is an acquaintance of mine in the past. I was talking to him, but I got an update. ”

"What's the news?"

"Clio, are we friends?"

"Yes, friends of life and death. ”

Essien looked around cautiously before speaking, "The little queen has seen her along the mountain road quickly, and perhaps now the striker has entered the territory of the Duke of Byron." The city didn't know anything about it. ”

"How is that possible?!"

"Yes, because it happened that the ground was sinking. Essien said softly. The result was an unexpectedly flat field, allowing the little queen to easily pass through the otherwise impassable terrain without any extra effort. ”

"But...... I remember counting by distance...... The Duke should be able to return in time to intercept her. ”

"If she's stupid enough to go all the way to Fornoros, then it is. But if it was that Ashrufat who was in command behind his back...... Then he wouldn't have done it. He will be at the end of the mountain road...... Here set up to meet Byron. ”

"Ah, what does that mean? The Duke has a threefold superiority in strength. ”

"That's right, a threefold superiority in troops...... But this time, it was Ashrufat who chose the battlefield that suited him. And he will have plenty of time to set up the battlefield. If he didn't have any chance of winning, then he now has a 30% chance of winning. The odds of winning were entirely given to him by Byron himself. Since Byron can give the enemy a 30% chance of winning this time, he will give the enemy more chances of victory next time. ”

"Ah......h

"Clio, are you willing to take a risk with me?"

"What kind of adventure?"

"We have one last chance. A chance to return to the Little Queen's camp!" Essien's eyes looked at his best friend's face.

"Impossible!" Clio replied. "In the palace...... But we took the lead in arresting her. And you are her personal bodyguard, and I am her court officer...... Do you think she'll forget about that? That's all delusional! We two are...... Like Byron, he is the most unforgivable traitor. Others may be fine, they may be forgiven in tears, and they may be able to explain their motives with reasons forced by the situation. But the two of us...... But there's no turning back. We are already tied to Duke Byron. ”

"Yes, just the two of us, that doesn't stand a chance. Essien replied. "The little queen will not forgive us. But in this city of Fornoros, there is one more person. As long as we have his help, we have ...... Great opportunity. ”

Cleo was stunned for a moment, and immediately understood who Essien was referring to.

......

The result of the striker's engagement was not in any way unexpected.

It should be said that after discovering the true size of the little queen's army, the enemy immediately lost the courage to fight head-on. Byron also arranged a force on this road. Because from the beginning, he predicted that the little queen might send a detachment to attack from the mountain roads. Of course, Byron had arranged this force to deal with a hypothetical detachment of about 1,000 men, not the current situation. The enemy's commander wisely chose to retreat at the first time. Although this did him suffer a great loss, at least he withdrew with the remnants. If he wants to fight a blocking battle, it will be completely annihilated.

Ahead, the enemy's abandoned strongholds. Judging by the traces left on the battlefield, it was not a very fierce battle, so the casualties were not very many. This can easily happen in a civil war. In fact, most of the soldiers, seeing that the defeat was assured, did not even choose to flee, but chose to surrender. But even then, it's a pretty bloody scene.

When the little girl arrived at the barracks, she saw a corpse with half of her head cut off. The corpse lay on the ground, white brains mixed with red blood, staining the ground beneath it into a strange pattern. She quickly staggered her gaze, not daring to look at the corpses again.

Is this war? It's not the same as the killings that happened in Eagle Castle before. Because whether it was seeing the robbers being killed by Ashrufat, or the kind of massacre in the warehouse, at least there was no guilt in my heart. But this situation ...... But I can't help but have a question of "if I hadn't done this, wouldn't these people have died?"

"Your Majesty, our army has won. Barranca brought the news from the front. "Sixty percent of the enemy was wiped out by us, and the remnants fled. Do you need to send light cavalry to pursue it further?"

"No, not necessarily. The little girl replied.

......

"Quick! speed up the march!" Byron ordered.

He had already learned of the little queen's passage through the mountain road. What he said earlier at the military meeting was not a lie. In fact, this is also true. Buying a high-ranking general is always a complicated and low-power job, but it is all too easy to buy a lower-ranking soldier and officer, especially a mercenary. The little girl's whole army chose the matter of the mountain road, and quickly through magic communication, first arrived in the city of Fornoros, and then sent it to Byron.

This is also relying on the advantage of the civil war. In addition, because he has more than half a year as a buffer, Byron can arrange everything calmly. In the case of an ordinary war between two countries, this is not advisable.

In any case, this meant that Byron's previous efforts to set up fortified camps, fortified fortresses, and hoards of war supplies were all in vain.

"Lord Duke," one of his subordinates rushed from behind. "You must be calm. ”

"Calm down?" Byron let out a long breath. "Rest assured, I'm calm. I'll admit that the little girl was bold and lucky, but even that didn't affect the big picture. We still have three times the enemy's strength, and the city of Fornoros is not in danger of falling. ”

Having said that, the feeling of going from "100 percent victory" to "99 percent" is still very annoying. It wasn't something to be afraid of, but it still made him feel a bruise on his forehead. It's like you've prepared the perfect meal, but the guests won't come to you.

"Lord Duke, according to the latest information, the enemy has not moved further after defeating our garrison. They should be waiting for us there. The subordinate said. "Since they have no intention of attacking Fornoros directly, we might as well take it step by step. ”

"That's right, I'm too impatient. Byron nodded. "Camp early today, and march at the normal pace tomorrow. He clenched his fists viciously. "I don't believe I'm going to lose to that little girl. Is there any news from Fornoros City?"

"No, Lord Duke. According to Lord Beyer, everything is normal in the city. And he has already imposed military control in the city just in case. Even if the enemy has any tricks, they can't use them. ”

"Good. Byron nodded. This son is still doing a great job. As long as Fornoros doesn't have problems, Byron doesn't feel like he has any chance of losing. "Any other news?"

"General Hunter brought news. The subordinate reported. "He pleads with you. His troops suffered serious losses under the attack of the main forces of the little queen. Are you going to join him?"