Section 283 Worry

"In the rebellion of the valley, only Brias remains. Even if there are traps, there is no point. Clio replied disapprovingly.

This is a fertile valley west of Gruny, close to the national border - and to the south-west to Chur. The land was originally divided among the nine great nobles. Back in the days of Garunas, this was definitely not a wrong choice. Because in those days, magical communication was far less smooth than it is today. What happened at the border was reported back to Eagle Falcon City, and it would take a month for the fast horse. The king was not able to react quickly to all kinds of emergencies on the border. That being the case, the only option was for the land to be given to the faithful ministers to administer in place of the king, so that the land would always be under the control of Gruni - even if that meant not being under the king's control.

That's right...... But we still need to be more vigilant. Essien pondered for a moment and replied. "Cleo, it's not like I'm suspicious. There have been many battles in history in which large armies were attacked by a weak enemy and collapsed. ”

"Then try to be careful. Clio replied uninterested. "We've got the valley around, that means ......," his eyes looked at the large map on the table. "It looks like we've accomplished most of our mission. ”

Speaking of which, it had only been half a year since they embarked on this unpopular (and even insane) journey with 500 soldiers.

Essien, who was originally considered to be rebellious, untrusted, and without a future (as many people know, when he came back from Byron anyway, he just saved his life, and even blew the title of "knight" he once had), but now he is about to embark on the first peak of his life. And this rebellion battle, which was originally thought to have a slim chance of victory, is now recognized as a win, and it is only a matter of time.

What happened in the past six months is like a dream. Sometimes, looking at the map that has been marked with circles and crosses, Clio himself doesn't quite believe his gaze.

Although more than eighty lords were declared treacherous by the Queen, only about twenty were actually difficult to deal with - and now, all those "hard bones" have all become history, dead or surrendered. With Essien's commanding skills, coupled with Clio's ability to negotiate, the most difficult days are over.

Of course, in the eyes of others, Essien has never had a hard time at all. It is also human nature to always underestimate the difficulties encountered by others, to always attribute the reasons for other people's success to "luck", and never to think about how keen and wise the mind is to grasp this luck.

"...... on the side" Clio diverted from the topic. "The four lords on the edge of the valley have already sent their instruments of surrender. ”

Of course, those are just "letters of agreement", not "surrenders", but the essence is what it is. Just as gamblers admit defeat and pay the bill out of their pockets, these lords have given up the idea of resisting.

In fact, everything in the world is like this -- there are always only a few people who really have bad intentions, are really rigid and uncivilized, and are determined to "live and die with their homeland". Most people are just adding fuel to the fire with the feeling that "the law does not blame the public". Of course, most of the time, they were able to force the king to back down, but sometimes the game got off the hook - and that's where it is.

In such cases, such people who did not have strong convictions in the first place often choose to watch others fight, hoping to reap the fruits of victory for free. But the world is fair, and nine out of ten people who adopt this position will not get the fruits of victory. And then the situation will develop further, for example, in the current situation, when an enemy who is beyond their strength comes to the door, they will choose to surrender.

"Ah, that's to be expected. Essien replied. "Clio, if I'm not mistaken, we probably don't need soldiers at all, just messengers to end this crusade. ”

"Essien......" Clio sighed softly.

"Cleo, what's wrong?" Essien narrowed his eyes. "I remember you received a letter from Eagle Falcon City today?"

"I've been getting a lot of letters these days. Clio admitted. "Some of them were from magical communications, others were brought by messengers. ”

"I guess...... Your expression shows that we're in trouble. Since we don't have any difficulties on the battlefield anymore, the only reason is what happened in Eagle Falcon. Because you just sigh instead of wail, it shows that things have not progressed to the point of no return. All of that said, I'm guessing," Essien said with a laugh. "It should be that some people are jealous of what we've accomplished, and want to do it before we finish this crusade...... Get us away. Of course, it would be better to replace me. Am I right?"

"Uh......" Cleo was stunned. Then he realized that Essien might also have his own channel. Regardless, Essien's composure gave him confidence.

"Essien, you know?"

"Oh, you can guess it. Essien replied. "Cleo, I've been experienced with this kind of thing. When I was taken by Byron, and was chosen to be the Queen's personal bodyguard—as you know, this position meant a knighthood, a noble status—and that sort of thing happened. Of course, since it only involves a knighthood, the attack on me wasn't particularly violent. I made it through...... And this time, it is at least the title of a duke, and it is a duke with his own territory...... Even if you imagine it, you can think of it. ”

"Do you have a solution?"

"How?Cleo, do you really think I'm the protagonist of those storybooks? Standing still can play with things thousands of miles away? Just thinking about the troubles of this war drains my brain. ”

"What do you mean......"

"Trust, well, I should say I believe in our little queen. ”

"Hey, Essien, why do I think you're sticking your head in the sand and pretending not to see? ”

"Clio. Essien replied. "You see, the two of us are people without roots. Speaking of which, you have some reliable relatives and friends in Eagle City - they can pass on news to you anyway, and I don't even have those friends. It's a ...... A battlefield where neither you nor I can do anything. On this battlefield, we are like two ordinary minions who can only entrust our fate to the officer who commands us. That's it. In addition to that, I also believe in the gaze of our little queen...... Remember when she agreed to my request and gave us five hundred soldiers......? Five hundred soldiers is not a big number, but to be able to entrust five hundred to a 'traitor' like me, the amount of equipment that the queen has is not so simple. ”

"But if, I mean...... If ......"

"I don't think I'm mistaken. Essien sighed, bowed his head, and replied. "But I'm not 100% confident in that, after all, I've made a mistake once, haven't I?"

......

"Your Majesty, this is a recent report sent back from the front. ”

Irene sent the information to the Queen's desk. Gruni's information exchange system is a bit strange, the first recipient of magical communications (and secret letters) is the Grand Governor, who will then pass it on to the ministers based on the content of the letters. If the ministers think that a particular piece of information is particularly important, or if they are not in a position to make their own choice, they will submit it to the king for decision. If the king himself could not decide for a while, he would convene a council of the royal court and work together to reach a final conclusion.

This also illustrates the importance of the position of Grand Governor of the Imperial Court. Because of his existence, it is quite difficult to "deceive the upper and lower levels". This position was also an important means for the king to control his courtiers.

The little queen's affection was obviously not good—it had been for the past few days, at least Elynne hadn't seen her smile.

"Is there any latest news from the front?" the little girl didn't look at the text, but asked her prime minister directly.

"That's right, with the first good news. There was news from Gaohua City that the Chaos Legion had finally suspended its offensive after launching a frantic attack some time ago. It looked like their attack had been thwarted by the stubbornness of the defenders. Eryn said. The Chaos Legion turned to attack the other small castles in the vicinity. He accentuated, "It's similar to the last Chaos Legion invasion. ”

The last Chaos Legion invasion had achieved the capture of the White Keep and the killing of King Gruni the Prophet, but it was ultimately stopped at the city of Salek. At that time, the reaction of the Chaos Legion was similar: first, they attacked the city in a frenzied manner. However, when they found that they could not bite this hard bone, they turned to the siege instead of attacking, and divided their forces to attack the surrounding castles and towns (each settlement northeast of Gruny was well fortified). The Chaos Legion undoubtedly intended to use the "siege and food" tactic, but they ultimately underestimated the preparedness of the defenders, and the defenders were able to hold out much longer than they expected. The end result was that the enraged Chaos Legion spent months using a catastrophic magic that turned the entire city of Sarek into a plagued hell. Not one of the city's surviving inhabitants (i.e., those lucky enough to suffer from non-fatal diseases) remained.

Because of this, the Chaos Legion wasted an entire year under the city of Sarek, losing great fighters and finally being defeated by Bayrell.

And this time, the Eagle Falcon City was originally worried that Gaohua City would be captured in one fell swoop, but now it seems that their worries are unnecessary. The Chaos Legion may have more troops than last time, but things are not out of control.

One way or another, by this time a large army had gathered at the front, ready for a counteroffensive.

"That's great news...... What about the others?" the little girl seemed to be in a better mood after hearing the news.

"Count Ashrufat sent a message, according to his opinion, since Gaohua City was not in danger of being captured in the short term, then he thought that the attack should be postponed and wait for a better time. ”

"What about other people's opinions?"

"General Beleur and General Barranca agreed with the Count, but Viscount Parry thought it was necessary to do it quickly. Because there is intelligence that the chaotic reinforcements are still coming. He also wrote you an additional letter, saying that Ashrufa was afraid of the enemy and did not dare to attack. ”

The little girl didn't believe it at all.

"Anything else?"

"In addition...... And the matter of General Essien. ”