PS: I bow down and thank the book friend "Wang Xiucai" and "jht121" for their reward~!

In half a day, before the Cangyan Legion headquarters received the news, the rumors of the fall of Xiongguan City had gradually spread.

This is also an inevitable result, not to mention that it happened suddenly, even if it was prepared in advance, it is impossible for Liliang to be able to completely block this shocking news. Of course, after all, the time is still short, and now this news is mainly circulating in the Zichen Defense Zone......

Some people who had been lucky enough to escape from the frontline cities, mainly the satellite cities passing through Tiu, kept releasing the news in a hurry. At first, the people in the cities behind naturally didn't believe it, and even some refugees who ran into the streets and shouted frantically and shouted for everyone to evacuate quickly would be arrested by the garrison cavalry for disturbing the peace.

But when more and more refugees poured in, and all kinds of gossip with noses and eyes flew all over the sky, the people in the rear were a little nervous. Immediately, the cavalry who set out from various cities to Xiongguan City to find out what was going on soon turned around with a blank face, lost their minds and muttered repeatedly, "It's on fire", "It's all on fire", "Someone jumped down on the city wall......", everyone finally panicked.

Running and shouting, packing up in a panic, and preparing the car to go out of the city...... The Zichen Defense Zone, which had maintained a stable state for twenty years, instantly fell into boundless panic at this moment. With the exception of a few who started to go out first, most civilians were not able to evacuate. Because the cities that learned the news had entered a state of alert, all the city gates were closed, and all kinds of heavy weapons defending the city were urgently pushed out of the arsenal, all facing the direction of Xiongguan City.

Of course, it is not enough for everyone to know this alone. There is no danger to defend after Xiongguan City, and the cities are basically located in the wilderness. If the barbarians attack. The gates can be attacked on all sides. And now there are a small number of Zichen garrisons in the cities. Coupled with the barely able garrison cavalry, there were no one to fight at all, and they couldn't even stand on the surrounding walls, let alone fight any defensive battles.

Standing at the head of the wall, the soldier faces north, clutching the weapon in his hand tightly, his face nervous. Staying at home, people knelt before the idol. Constantly scribbling prayer gestures on his chest, nervous!

At this moment, in the hearts of most people, the once glorious belief in the god of war collapsed with a bang! In its place, the people's hearts were in fear and could not live all day......

............

Xiongguan City has a large area and a large number of people. Tiuna's three-light strategy of killing, robbing, and burning is obviously not something that can be completed in a while. Now, let's move our gaze north to the original owner of Xiongguan Castle......

At dusk, twilight is approaching, and the junction of the Zichen Defense Zone and the outer periphery of the Cangyan Defense Zone.

There was originally a small level of the Cangyan Legion here. However, it was occupied by barbarians a few months ago. Of course. After occupying this checkpoint, the barbarians did not take any further steps towards the Zichen Defense Zone. Over time, this place has gradually faded into oblivion. Except for the fixed reconnaissance of the movements of the Zichen Legion, the barbarians here no longer have any military missions on their bodies, which can be regarded as leisurely.

But now, the barbarians gathered at the head of the checkpoint wall looked at a few miles away, and the black pressure that appeared out of nowhere pressed a figure, their bodies were tense and a little nervous.

Because of the darkness and the fact that the other party was all dressed in black armor, the condescending barbarians couldn't tell what these people were coming from. However, looking at the other party's constant arrangement of things a few miles away, and the occasional reflection of blade light, they still sensitively smelled the smell of danger and hurriedly went on guard.

A few miles away, Ralph looked around at his busy surroundings, his usual expressionless face still paralyzed, but his eyes revealed a faint confusion and confusion.

There were many doubts, but no one explained them to him. Dazed, Ralph felt like he was standing here, as if it was a bit redundant......

Yes, it's redundant! Since he and Zi Yi set out from Xiongguan City with the soldiers of the Ninth Army, Zi Yi's body has been deteriorating at an almost visible rate, except for riding on a horse during the march, he basically stays in the tent of the Chinese army the rest of the time, and never comes forward.

This situation was expected by Ralph, and as Zie had said when he set out, he was needed to assist in command. Ralph was also ready to carry the load, but all the way through, without any orders from him and no one to report to him. These soldiers of the Ninth Army, who were so indifferent that they didn't have a trace of human taste, seemed to have never seen him. And not only him, according to Ralph's observation, these soldiers never asked Zi Yi for anything to report, everything was spontaneous, including changing the route without permission today and attacking this insignificant small checkpoint in front of him!

Is this still a soldier...... Frowning slightly, Ralph walked up to a young man who was waving his hand in command and looked like an officer. Yes, just looks. The more than 20,000 men of the Ninth Army from top to bottom were all dressed in pitch-black battle armor, and there was no sign that could distinguish the rank between officers and soldiers.

The young man looked up, and the two sides looked at each other. Half-ringing, no salutation, and no verbal dialogue.

If Ralph, who has the nickname "Silent Eagle", is just expressionless, coupled with an unwavering gaze, his temperament can barely be regarded as plain. Then all the soldiers of the Ninth Army have only one face -- indifference and emptiness! Ignoring everything in front of them, even themselves......

"What are you guys doing?" After a few days of contact, Ralph knew in his heart that if he wanted to continue the conversation in front of him, then he had to speak first.

Fortunately, it was just indifference, not mute, and the young man quickly replied in a hoarse tone that seemed to have not spoken for a long time: "Attack." ”

Concise, but undoubtedly nonsense!Ralph's face remained unchanged, and he continued to ask, "Who gave the order to attack?"

"Marshal. ”

"Who changed the route of the march?"

"Marshal. ”

Ralph's eyebrows furrowed slightly when he heard this: "When?"

"Three days ago. ”

Three days ago, it was when they set off. Ralph nodded abruptly, if this was set by Zi Yi early in the morning, then there would be no problem. After a moment's hesitation, he asked again, "Weishenme?"

"I don't know. ”

The young officer's words were succinct, but they did give a clear answer to each question. Now I don't know, but I also have a convincing firmness.

Nodding, Ralph didn't dwell on it, pointing to something that a few soldiers were fiddling with on the side, and asked, "What is this?"

This is indeed a doubt for Ralph, who has been in the army for decades and has experienced countless battlefields large and small. But I've never seen the half-human-tall metal pipe in front of me, with adjustable heights, and a boxy black box underneath.

If you look at it in appearance, it's a bit like Thor's hammer, Thor's roar and the like. But its size is so small that a horse or a few people can carry it and walk at will. If this is the latest alchemy weapon that has been researched, then how could Ralph, as a general of the First Army, not know the truth? Moreover, this cannon is so short, even if it can be fired, how far can it be fired? 100 meters......

The young officer's face was still indifferent: "I don't know, yes!"

Ralph raised an eyebrow at this, and instantly understood, 'I don't know' was the answer to the question of what it was, and 'yes' was to confirm that this strange-looking thing was a weapon. The answer was clear, but now that they had used this weapon, and they were very skilled in its operation, how could they not know?

As if sensing Ralph's anger, the young man replied, "Not named yet." ”

"Oh......" Ralph suddenly realized, sure enough, it was a new thing, but I wondered why I hadn't heard of it?

At this point, the young officer had no intention of asking Ralph how to fight the next battle. And Ralph's questioning has also been completed, and some doubts in his heart have been solved, and the rest can only go to Ziyi to ask.

They are all people who are few words, but they don't have to make other pleasantries. Ralph groaned for a while, and walked directly to the tent of the Chinese army. The indifferent young man turned around and continued to command the soldiers around him.

The so-called Chinese army tent is actually just a small tent with an area of two zhang and a fluffy and warm animal skin. Except for Zi Yi and Ralph, no outsiders entered, and naturally there were no officers getting together to discuss the war.

Lifting the curtain and entering, Zi Yi, who had not taken off her light purple armor, was sitting cross-legged on the carpet, holding a quill in her mouth, coughing a few times from time to time, and looking intently at the few blank papers in front of her.

"Marshal. Ralph greeted him as he came in and walked straight over. His eyes swept casually, slightly condensed, and his footsteps couldn't help but be stunned. It turned out that the blank sheets of paper were drawn on the strange weapons he had just seen, but now the ones displayed on the paper were more complicated, and the many parts were mixed together, which was dazzling.

"Oh, Ralph, you've come just in time. Zi Yi raised his head, his eyes lit up, his pale face was bloodless, and he waved and smiled with interest, "Hehe, I'm struggling, what should I name this thing?"

"Name?" Ralph was stunned when he heard this, thinking of the meaning behind the sentence, and a shocked look appeared on his expressionless face.

"Haha, yes! I have to name what I have researched myself, of course. Zi Yi smiled and waved Ralph to sit across from him, "Surprised, huh, it took me eight years to make this thing without you." Well, there are still some flaws, but they can barely be used. As for power...... Wait, you'll see it later. ”

Nodding his head, although he also had a lot of doubts about this, Ralph still asked the biggest doubt in his heart first: "We, where are we going?"

Arm paused, "Oh? Did you finally ask?" Shrugging his shoulders, Zi Yi took away the drawings, looked around, and pulled out a topographic map from the messy papers around him, the quills drew a circle somewhere, looked up, and suddenly sighed with emotion, "Here! After so many years, it's time to go and see your old boss, my old friend, Lord Angelos......"

For a moment, the tent was silent. A faint twilight seeped in, the two opposite faces were blurred, and some inexplicable atmosphere slowly flowed through...... (To be continued......)