Why did the lord rebel

Chapter 213
Half an hour later, facing the edge of the magic sword "Light of the Sky", Colonel John O'Brien would recall the not-too-distant morning when he saw the offal of Frost Maple Ridge.

At that time, in the meeting hall of the Arcane Spire "Pillar of Eternal Sleep", the turmoil caused by the death of the commander in the Imperial Southern Army had just ended.

The officers of the Confederate Army who filed out, when they passed the dead body of Paulus lying on the wooden table, which was as straight as a spear, would take off their military caps in unison and pay their last respects to the dead leader. tribute—whether real or false.

And O'Brien, who temporarily replaced Paulus in charge of the Southern Army, stood in the darkest corner of the room, looking at the expressions of these senior officers jokingly;
He remembered that some of them scolded Paulus for being rigid and stubborn after drinking, some of them once held a grudge because of being reprimanded by Paulus, and some of them used to flirt with Mrs. Paulus during those singing nights in the imperial capital...

But now, all put on a mask of grief and sorrow.

How ironic.O'Brien couldn't help thinking that some poets once believed that imperial soldiers and those smooth nobles were completely different creatures - fighting on the battlefield allowed them to retain the most primitive straightforwardness and sense of honor;
But at the southernmost point of the empire, the defense line of the arcane spire, the officers of the southern army are increasingly looking like a group of stupid and hypocritical pigs.

War horses cannot stop running, keeping them in stables will only make them fat.

Thinking of this, O'Brien couldn't help but turned his head and looked out the window, at the dawn night sky further south that had already been stained with a fish-belly white.

He understood that in places he could not see, countless demon soldiers were saying goodbye to relatives and friends and returning to the front line.

The pace of war is approaching.O'Brien lowered his head and licked his lips, hiding the enthusiasm in his eyes, and I, John O'Brien, the new commander of the Confederate Army, will become a figure who will change the direction of the continent's history. His name is listed in the history books together with ancient heroes like Count Olaf...

"Deputy O'Brien...sir." An officer came over and reported to him, "The commander's body has been transported to the square for cremation. But there is another thing: it may be because of the frequent correspondence in the past few days , the 'Winter Embrace Pigeon' available at the Pillars of Eternal Sleep is already too exhausted, and the news of the death of Commander Paulus may take two days to reach the imperial capital."

"It doesn't matter, anyway, before the military department replies, I will take charge of the Southern Army on behalf of the poor Commander Paulus." O'Brien waved his hand and patted the officer's shoulder encouragingly, "The important thing is to send someone to inform the other arcane Spire, the Confederate Army cannot live without a leader."

The officer nodded quickly:

"The fast horse has been sent out, and within a day and a night, the twelve arcane main towers can be notified."

O'Brien said "No".

The current situation is very clear. According to the practice of the Imperial Army, after the chief officer Paulus encounters an accident, it is only natural that his adjutant temporarily takes over the post of commander. The other chiefs of the main tower of the Olympiad will not have any objections;
The real question is how the military will react to the news.

At the beginning, the agreement signed between O'Brien and the Demons was that he would lurk in the Southern Army and climb up to the top in a safe manner, but once the situation changed and the war would start, he would find a way to replace Paulus and take over the Southern Army. , so that after the real invasion of the demons, the defense line of the Arcane Spire will be handed over, and the biggest obstacle on the way to the Northern Expedition will be removed for the demon army.

Now, the previous part was successfully completed. Paulus was stabbed to death with a dagger, and he, O'Brien, also successfully became the supreme leader of the Southern Army.

The only question is, can he wait until the day when the demons attack?

After receiving the news of Paulus' death, the Imperial Military Department will definitely appoint a new commander for the Southern Army—although according to O'Brien's qualifications, he should be the No. 1 choice for succession in the minds of the military staff...

But always avoid the unexpected.

The last thing O'Brien wants to see is that before he becomes the leading party of the Demon Race, the military department has a brainstorm and promotes someone, or airborne another officer to serve as the commander of the Southern Army-this means O'Brien's efforts were all in vain, and he was still the second in command of the Southern Army.

O'Brien gritted his teeth, and said to the officer in a deep voice:
"In addition, from now on, all letters from the north must be read to me first."

The officer blinked in surprise: "Sir O'Brien, this...is not in compliance..."

O'Brien shook his head and said:
"Unfortunate circumstances require extraordinary measures... The assassination of Commander Paulus was sudden this time, and I suspect that there are some unknown enemy spies in the Southern Army... So I have to review the communication first to ensure safety."

The officer nodded hesitantly and took the order.

O'Brien let out a long sigh of relief.

He has already prepared the worst plan in his heart: once the successor commander appointed by the military department is not him, then he will intercept the letter, burn or tamper with the letter of commission sent by the imperial capital - anyway, in the remote southern army Here, the information is quite limited, and by the time the matter is revealed, it is estimated that the demons have already called.

Time, time is the most critical resource.

O'Brien went through the matter in his mind, and felt that there was nothing wrong with it, so he picked up the wine bottle and took another sip.

Through his dim drunken eyes and the monocle blurred by the firelight, he saw another junior officer approaching.

"Lord O'Brien! There's news from Corporal Thompson," the junior officer shouted loudly, "The Frost Maple Ridge bastards who murdered Lord Paulus have been captured by his team!"

"Just catch it." O'Brien waved his hand irritably, "The evidence is solid, no matter how they quibble, just chop it off."

"Yes!" The junior officer agreed, and trotted out.

Ten minutes later, he reappeared in O'Brien's view, looking as flustered as if he had just learned that his wife was having an affair with a neighbor.

"What's wrong?!" O'Brien stared at the junior officer.

The other party's expression made him instinctively feel that something serious should have happened.

"Master O'Brien!" the junior officer yelled in the voice of a remarried mother, "I saw that the bastards in Shuangfengling seemed to be fighting, and they took Corporal Thompson's six-man squad as hostages and captured them! Now they are confronting the brethren in the square outside!"

"What?!" O'Brien jumped up, "There are only six of them, and you have thousands of fucking professional soldiers! Fuck! Hurry up and send someone to help, kill these northern bastards!"

The junior officer hastily took orders.

Listening to the faint noise coming from outside the tower, O'Brien took a sip of his wine.

Then every 5 minutes, junior officers would appear at the door of the chamber in a hurry and report loudly:

"Lord O'Brien, there's a red scarf bastard from Frost Maple Ridge, who carried a black, unnamed big sword and killed a bunch of brothers!"

"Commander O'Brien, the bastards of the Igor family have captured Captain James as well!"

"Sir O'Brien, the chief old mage of Eagle's Rest, used spiritual magic to put a large number of people to sleep!"

"Adjutant O'Brien, the six warriors from Frost Maple Ridge are advancing towards the tower under the cover of a group of rebel soldiers!"

When the junior officer appeared at the door of the chamber for the last time, O'Brien couldn't bear it anymore, and before the other party reported the enemy's situation, he strode out angrily:

"Six fucking nobles can't handle it, and the Southern Army is a bunch of whores!"

As a result, the junior officer blocked O'Brien's way and shouted sharply:
"The dog thief O'Brien, stop for me! Respected Lord Elliot Igor, he has arrived at his loyal 'Pillar of Eternal Sleep' arcane spire!"

O'Brien stared dumbfounded at the subordinate who made a 180-degree turn. Before he could figure out what happened, he saw a hippie smiling face poking out from the side of the junior officer.

O'Brien will remember his flowing black hair, his pale and handsome cheeks, and the iconic golden goshawk neckline of the Igor family until he dies.

——Of course, O'Brien's memory is only at the level of normal people;
He just died fast enough.

A certain Shuangfengling lord who traveled from the earth came out from behind the junior officer and pretended to clear his throat.

Behind him is Eldridge wearing a red scarf and carrying the blood-stained dark sword, and Alice Comstock holding the magic sword "Light of the Sky" upside down.

"My lord, please slow down, the floor of this chamber has just been waxed..." The junior officer hastily stretched out his hand to support Xia Houyan who was coming. go too far.

"You...you..." O'Brien lost his voice, and took three or four steps back, almost falling to the ground because of the alcohol.

"John O'Brien!" Xia Houyan yelled sharply, with an expression as if he was criticizing the reactionary academic authority, "You are suspected of murdering the Imperial Southern Army Commander Paulus, and framing Eliot Igor, the legal lord of the Empire—that is, my lord. , now we arrest you according to the imperial decree and in the name of His Majesty the Emperor and the Supreme Holy Spirit!"

"What... what..." O'Brien couldn't figure it out at all, why did he suddenly change from the arrester to the arrestee?
His brain, which was always bright, seemed to have fallen into a once-in-a-thousand-year downtime.

So O'Brien simply gave up thinking.

"Come on!" The Southern Army adjutant yelled at the door, "Catch these bastards!"

"Stop shouting, stop, little Ao...there are good brothers outside who have surrendered to Lord Igor..." The junior officer rolled his eyes at O'Brien, and then turned to the senior official Xiahou, his face changed instantly. Courtesy said:
"Well, my lord, do you want cigars? I remember that there is also a box of high-quality 'wasteland flue-cured tobacco' in this meeting room..."

"Try it." Xia Houyan snapped his fingers.

The junior officer hurriedly ran to fetch cigarettes, while Eldridge moved an armchair and placed it behind the lord. The latter sat down in the chair and crossed his legs triumphantly.

Facing this terrifying scene, O'Brien was only distracted for a moment, then pulled out the demon dagger from his belt, and rushed towards Lord Frost Maple Ridge on the chair like a wounded beast;
The light of the sky that flew out suddenly cut off O'Brien's wrist holding the knife, and then Alice Comstock, elbowing sideways, knocked the screaming O'Brien to the ground.

To be honest, the female swordsman had already put in all her strength—if she really exerted all her strength, it would be enough to hit O'Brien, a civilian officer who had been away from the battlefield for many years, into hemiplegia with an elbow hammer.

O'Brien, who fell to the ground, held his severed wrist in his left hand, and let out an earth-shattering scream;

However, he didn't shout out any secondary lines like "My King's Power".

O'Brien's face was pale, and cold sweat rolled down from the severe pain, but he still stubbornly raised his head, gritted his teeth and looked at the junior officer who handed Jahouyan a cigarette:
"You...you traitors...why...why did you betray me..."

"You are the traitor, right, O'Brien?" The junior officer snorted coldly, "On the square just now, Lord Igor has shown Commander Paulus' handbook... I, and thousands of people outside Confederate brothers, not betraying you, but always loyal to Commander Paulus!"

"Hand... hand letter...?" This newly emerged concept surprised O'Brien on the ground so much that he forgot the pain.

Xia Houyan blew out smoke rings while snapping his fingers.

With a wave of his hand, Eldridge smashed the roll of military orders stamped with the seal of Paulus on O'Brien's face.

But everyone present had forgotten that O'Brien, who only had one hand left, couldn't easily unroll the scroll at all.

"O'Brien, you poor bastard." Xia Houyan said with a sneer while swallowing, "You thought your trick of assassinating the commander and blaming Shuangfengling was successful, didn't you? But you don't know, All this has long been expected by me and Commander Paulus!"

O'Brien opened his mouth slightly, then shook his head viciously as if trying to get rid of a fly, and roared angrily:
"No! No! I—I have succeeded! Paulus...I have killed Paulus! I have clearly won! Paulus is dead! I saw it with my own eyes!"

Xia Houyan looked at O'Brien who was writhing like a maggot with pity:
"The last one who said this was the zombies in the infected area."

"Lord, zombies can't speak." Eldridge reminded with a serious expression.

"This is a rhetorical technique." Xia Houyan smirked, and dusted off the cigarette ash, "I have to say, O'Brien, in the peaceful days of the south, far away from the bustling areas like the imperial capital and the school city, it may indeed blow your mind. It has become less aura... Do you know that among magicians, death, like wind, earth, water, and fire, is just a resource and tool that can be used!"

Magic... Mage?O'Brien struggled and raised his head, trying to find the chief old mage of the Igor family.

But all he saw was the young lord with black hair.

"Are you looking for someone, dear Adjutant O'Brien?" Xia Houyan said with a smile, "It just so happens that I know there is someone here, and you must really want to meet..."

Then, amid the resounding military salute of the junior officers, a bald-headed officer with a strong physique walked into the meeting hall with steady steps.

"Meet you again, O'Brien." Paulus, the commander of the Imperial Southern Army, said calmly.

(End of this chapter)