Realm of Power

War has always been a cruel competition. The winner can sing loudly, but the loser can only withdraw sadly. The premise is that they can save a life. As the only high-ranking lord of the Northland, Grand Duke Geng knows that Prince Albert The army rebelled and attacked When the commander-in-chief of the Hokuriku Noble Army heard the news of the night attack by the imperial army coming from outside the camp, even Grand Duke Gengdi, who was known as the best general in Hokuriku and had experienced many battles, once again saw something in front of his eyes. Black, he immediately spit out a mouthful of black blood.

Grand Duke Gengdi was frozen in his seat like a statue, with two attendants fanning him beside him. No matter how powerful Duke Gengdi was once, he was already a man in his sixties who once influenced the fate of Feize Kingdom. 20 years old, not to mention this trip south, marching and fighting all the way, eating and sleeping in the open air, even a young man can't bear it, let alone an old man in his sixties.

Duke Geng Di didn't know what he was thinking with his terrifying red eyes. Inside the military tent, the generals of Geng Di's army did not dare to breathe. They could only hear the sound of fighting coming from far away in the camp, like a landslide and a tsunami. Come,

Everyone can see what the battle situation is like outside, but the emperor suddenly counterattacked. As the most powerful Geng Dijun among the noble armies of the Northern Territory, they are just watching quietly. I am afraid that the other families will also feel pain for Geng Dijun at this moment. He was scolded to the core, but if Grand Duke Geng Di didn’t give the order, everyone could only suppress these suspicions in their stomachs.

Outside the military tent, six thousand elite troops of the Gengdi family were soaked by the rain, but there was silence in the queue. Only pairs of eyes looked at the Duke's military tent suspiciously, and the captains of each team wearing white cloaks behind them exchanged views. He murmured in a low voice, the west coast is right in front of him, originally if the emperor chose Choosing a certain strategic point to defend it may cause considerable obstruction, and now the Imperial Army has also taken the initiative to pounce. This is not seeking death. As long as the military order comes down, defeat this Imperial Army. The west coast of the Jinshan Silver Mountain is rumored to be If you don't have the power to resist anymore, you won't be able to do anything you want to do by then! I don’t know what the adults are thinking about, what else to consider, why the battle order hasn’t been issued yet!

"I just got the news that while we were fighting a bloody battle to seize the west coast, the despicable Prince Albert has betrayed us, abandoned the Feize Royal Capital area, and led 20,000 troops to break away from the Hokuriku Portal. "Grand Duke Geng took a deep breath under the gaze of everyone, and said in a deep voice the news that shocked everyone, "What, Prince Albert is this bastard!" "I knew I shouldn't have believed him, he betrayed me in the first place! He betrayed the royal family and now he has betrayed us! "

The faces of the generals of the Gengdi family, who were all spinning at first, all changed at this moment. They finally understood why Duke Gengdi looked so lost. Everyone’s territory was in Beilu. If Beilu was lost, Okay, so what if we capture the west coast!

"Without further ado, the main forces of all the Hokuriku families have gone south, and the entire Hokkiku is empty. We must regain the way to the north before Albert has captured the Hokkiku!" Grand Duke Gengdi stood up and shook his head. He took a deep look outside the military tent, with a bitter look on his lips. Laugh. "And Albert, this bastard, not only wants to rob our Hokuriku, I even suspect that he has joined forces with the Emperor! Otherwise, why, sooner or later, Prince Albert's army turned to attack In Hokuriku, the Imperial Army took the initiative to counterattack."

Grand Duke Geng Di paused and grinned. "The emperor must have thought that our army would be shaken when they heard the news, and wanted to take the opportunity to sneak attack on our army. It's a pity that the emperor's army didn't expect that. This news has not spread. No matter how powerful the imperial army is, it is an army of less than 20,000 people and faces 40,000 to 50,000 people. What can the Northern Army do? Instead, they are so desperate. I don’t know what the emperor’s commander is thinking. "The Grand Duke Shu is right. The emperor took the initiative to attack, which saves us trouble." His subordinates were also surprised just now. Well, why did the Imperial Army suddenly counterattack? Now that I heard what the Grand Duke said, I know why the Imperial Army went crazy."

"So don't tell everyone this news for the time being!" Grand Duke Geng Di turned around from the door of the military tent and beat him back. He raised his right hand and waved to the generals on the left and right. He is worthy of being the most famous general in the Northern Continent, even though he is already old. , but in every gesture, one can still see a bit of the oppressive momentum of the prime of life.

In the camp outside the military tent, no one knew how many people were involved in the chaos, and the momentum seemed quite scary. However, Duke Gengdi did not think it was a serious matter. The information of the entire Northern Army still stayed at five or six days ago. , but they unconsciously ignored that because the Fezer nobles on the west coast were attacked and suppressed, in just five or six days, the empire's military strength on the west coast was reduced. It is no longer the previous less than 20,000, but an army of more than 100,000. The intelligence has been completely cut off, and the Hokuriku noble army, which thought it had a chance of victory, has become blind and deaf. Duke Geng Di believes If other families knew that Prince Albert had gone to Hokuriku at this moment, it would shake the morale of the army and be counterproductive. Wait until other families repel tonight's attack.

He said to an attendant, "You arrange for a few people to stay and tell other families about this after dawn." The attendant nodded, turned around and arranged for the people to go.

Duke Geng Di's temporary decision allowed Geng Di's army, the most powerful among the Hokuriku noble armies, to evacuate in a night of life and death. Compared with the more than 40,000 Hokuriku noble army who were killed that night, they were still at a loss. Geng Dijun who didn't know was lucky. However, on the third day, they were attacked by imperial cavalry scouts. Geng Di's army began to feel that something was wrong. Duke Geng Di ordered to advance lightly, but was pursued fiercely by the imperial light cavalry like wolfdogs all night long. Unfortunately, the number of the imperial light cavalry was only 600. It was enough to bring Geng Di's army to a standstill. In the area of ​​King Feize's capital, Geng Di's army was overwhelmed again and suffered heavy losses due to the harassment of the imperial cavalry.

After two days and two nights of running wildly, more than 6,000 troops crossed the Feize Royal Capital area and arrived at the Hokuriku Plateau with less than 4,000 troops.

Grand Duke Geng's body almost collapsed. He was woken up by the sharp cold wind in the morning. When he woke up, he felt severe body aches, a splitting headache, and a thirst in his throat that felt like a ball of fire. He was burning, and his eyelids were as heavy as weighted lead balls. He groaned in pain: "Water!" The attendant quickly handed over the kettle. He greedily grabbed the spout with trembling hands and swallowed the water in big gulps. . But he only drank half of the first sip before he spit it out: the water in the pot was smelly and fishy, ​​with an unpleasant smell of earth and blood. The attendant whispered in his ear, "My lord, get over it." , all the wells have been filled, we can only find this one temporarily.”

Duke Geng Di knew in his heart that the entire capital of Fezer had been swept away by the Northern Territory noble army all the way south. Moreover, when the Imperial Reclamation Army evacuated, all the wells along the way were filled with stones. Now it is impossible to dig them temporarily. Unable to do it, I suppressed my nausea and swallowed another mouthful of water, but Unable to take a third sip, he lay down weakly, feeling as if his body was rocking in a boat. Duke Gengdy was being carried forward on a stretcher. Amidst the rhythmic rocking, he fell into a half-socket. I woke up in a semi-conscious trance, and when I woke up for the second time, it was already the afternoon of the same day. Looking out from the edge of the stretcher, the brown road underneath the stretcher slides endlessly, "The road to the north!"

There were cheers all around, and the soldiers shouted excitedly, "The Road to the North," this is the name the Fezer people have for this only road that connects the Hokuriku Plateau. Lying on the stretcher, Grand Duke Gengdi looked at him with complicated eyes. The front line fell into inexplicable confusion. Just over half a month ago, the 60,000 Hokuriku noble army entered the Feize Royal Capital area through this road. But now, only the three or four thousand who have returned are indeed in front of them. Man, an attendant ran towards him quickly,

"Where have we been?" "Grand Duke, we have reached the road to the north. As long as we go further, we will reach Beilu!" "Is there any news from other families?" Grand Duke Geng Di's old face was pale and he was struggling. Sitting up and looking around, the clothes dyed with summer colors In the brown grove, the dense leaves are the color of emerald green, swirling and flying. The sun shines on the large slopes that were originally fields. The large woods in the distance appear under the dazzling blue sky, and a road extending to the north gradually disappears. In front of the raised plateau

“Not yet”

The attendant shook his head with an ugly expression. The news coming from the south has not been confirmed yet, but the Imperial Army's troops appeared from behind and attacked them, which in itself explains a lot of problems. If the main force of the Hokuriku Noble Army is still there, the Emperor's Army will The * team will not bite them no matter what, but in this case, Who dares to say it? You know, that is the main force of the entire Hokuriku noble army. Forty to fifty thousand lives were lost overnight. It is not an exaggeration to say that for the entire Hokuriku family, it is almost destroyed. Now the army Everyone at the top and bottom is forbidden to discuss this matter because it is too scary and makes people feel hopeless.

Duke Gengdi looked back with deep eyes from the distant road to the north. He sat up from the stretcher. He came to his horse with difficulty and took out a package tightly wrapped in oilcloth from the package on the horse. The package was handed to the attendant solemnly with both hands. Seeing how solemn Duke Geng Di was, the attendants did not dare to ignore it and took the package with both hands: "Grand Duke, is this?"

"This is the flag of our Northern Alliance Army." Duke Gengdi closed his eyes and said after a few seconds of silence. The attendant immediately knelt down, holding the package in his hands and raising it above his head. His voice was a little trembling with excitement, "Grand Duke!"

"Open it and let me have a look." Grand Duke Geng Di's voice was slightly trembling. The flag of the Hokuriku Allied Forces. If the southward march goes well, this will also be the national flag of the Hokuriku nation in the future. But now, it can only be Dreaming, the main force of the Hokuriku noble army was lost, Prince Albert's army invaded Hokuriku, and an unknown number of imperial troops were coming behind.

Hokuriku was in a precarious situation, and the fate of each family was completely out of control. Under his gaze, the attendant carefully opened the carefully folded package, took out the flag, shook it open, pulled a corner, and smoothed it. the flag. The attendant and the two guards worked together to unfold the military flag, allowing Duke Gengdi to see the smooth flag. On this smooth flag, the proud white-haired eagle of the Northland stared majestically at everyone.

"Go, find a high place and hang up the flag! If you can still reach here alive, you will see this flag." Duke Gengdi gently touched the surface of the military flag with his hand and murmured in his voice. Under the reflection of the setting sun at dusk, The flag floats lonely on the high slope. The white-haired eagle flag is cold and sad. Everyone gathers in front of the high slope in silence.

"Okay, let's go home!"

Duke Gengdy raised his finger and headed north. This single road had blocked the Fezer people for more than a hundred years. The Anstey Dynasty had built a very strong fortress on this road. Prince Albert's army must have also Some of the guards will be left behind. Now the whole army is exhausted, and their morale is even lower. If they don't find If you use some means to encourage me, I am afraid that wanting to return to Hokuriku is delusional. However, if Albert wants to complete the conquest of the Hokuriku families as soon as possible, he will not be able to leave many troops, and neither will Albert. Thinking that he came back so quickly, it turned out that Duke Gengdi’s guess was correct.

Prince Albert has only 2,000 troops left to guard the mountain road. Although these 2,000 troops do not seem to be many, they are already more than one-tenth of Prince Albert’s current troops. According to Prince Albert’s prediction, the North The Army's noble army had to conquer the west coast for more than half a month before leaving, so on the west coast Under normal circumstances, two thousand people only need to be able to guard the mountain road fortress and report the situation at any time. In half a month, even if they do not capture the entire Hokuriku, they can still do it for most of the Hokuriku. But unfortunately, these two thousand people can still do it. What Albert's army encountered was Duke Gengdy, who knew the northward path very well.

Geng Di's army suddenly returned to the army like a pack of hungry wolves that came up at night. The first thing they saw was not the enemy, but a lot of corpses of nearby civilians. Their eyes turned red. There were many people in Geng Di's army at the beginning. The fortress is on duty and has a very good relationship with these Hokuriku civilians. Some of the soldiers are even nearby civilians. Because there was no time to deal with these corpses, Albert's army just threw them in the low-lying mud, but they didn't expect that Geng Di's army would come up at night. When they found out, they were already in a chaotic battle. Geng Di's army held up their shields. , watching his companions fall down after being hit by arrows, desperately running towards the entrance of the fortress,

"Papapapa 1" Dozens of crude long ladders were leaning against the crenellations of the fortress, with more than a dozen Geng Dijia black silk bars pressing down on each ladder foot. Prevent this simple long ladder from falling down. The first group was killed and returned, while more people still climbed up the long ladder. Either empty-handed, or desperately climbing up without any protection. "Pah! Pah! Pah!" Countless cupping jars were thrown from the city wall and hit the people who were climbing the city. These cupping jars exploded on the heavy armor one by one. The Geng Di Army heavy infantry wearing the heavy armor produced by the empire only shook their bodies. After a moment, he continued upwards, and the Albert Army soldiers above felt a chill in their hearts.

"Bastard, it's the heavy infantry of the Geng Di family!" Someone immediately recognized the emblem of the Geng Di family. The Geng Di family is the family with the most heavy armored infantry among the nobles of the Northern Continent. The heavy armor on their bodies was all purchased from the empire. They were all made of fine and fine scale armor. Inch-wide armored leaves are layered one on top of another with leather rope buckles, like Thick layers of armor were hung, making it difficult for arrows to penetrate, and long spears would be stuck if pierced by them. Unless they were hit hard by heavy weapons, it would be difficult to break through them in one fell swoop. Faced with these heavy armored infantry climbing up, Albert The soldiers left behind by Prince Te were completely helpless. In just one night, the fortress fell and the obstacles to the northward march were opened.

The rain hit me like beads on a broken rope, and the end of the rainy season that had passed just caught up.

Duke Gengdi immediately looked at the blood-stained fortress in front of him. Inside the open door, more than two hundred prisoners of the Albert Army could be seen with their hands tied behind their backs, and they were forced to kneel on the road into the fortress. Every prisoner Behind them stood a Geng Di army with a sharp blade in his hand. As Duke Geng Di's horse slowly moved forward, every time it reached a Position, Geng Di's army standing behind the prisoner would not hesitate to slash at the back of the prisoner's neck. The head rolled down, and blood flowed like a column of water. Lao Gao, a heavy rain suddenly hit the Geng Di family's gorgeous military flag, and the rain was like a mess. The broken beads slapped on the muddy ground, like a turbulent current rolling wildly on the land.