Alice in the Land of Steam

Is Chapter 1124 a lesson?

"Big brother!"

A call woke Carson Borg from his trance. He turned around and saw Regina walking towards him. Her short red hair was particularly eye-catching in the dark forest. She also had a pair of sharp and alert gray-brown eyes, just like a long-horned deer going out to forage in the dangerous winter, secretly and frequently observing the surrounding environment. When she approached, she lowered her voice and said, "Everyone has almost finished resting. I think it's best to set off early, in case there are pursuers behind us..."

"The commander of the 17th Legion is a wimp. He doesn't dare to rush into Hesse when the Crusaders are on hold."

Carson Borg shook his head, and his calm words made Regina feel a little more at ease. Then he looked around. In the dark forest, there were people everywhere. Some were leaning weakly under a half-dead black pine tree, taking the last bit of time to catch their breath; some were tightly grasping their weapons, looking up at the gloomy sky between the branches, as if they were still immersed in the tragic battle and could not break free; others were like Regina, looking at her with a serious look, nervously waiting for his next instruction.

What these people have in common is that they are all in a state of disarray, not only in appearance, but also in spirit and will, as if they have suffered a major blow, and are depressed. After today, how many people will be disappointed, how many will quit, and how many will completely give up the idea of ​​resistance? After all, a war without hope has always been the most exhausting.

Carson Borg was not optimistic, but his sense of responsibility as a leader still made him remain calm. He said in a calm but unquestionable tone, "Let everyone rest for another ten minutes. In ten minutes, we will set off for Point 11."

"it is good!"

Carson Borg has a considerable prestige in the team. Regina nodded and agreed without hesitation, and then passed the news to the team members in the forest one by one. Unlike Carson Borg, who is the spiritual leader and the flag of the team and always needs to remain calm and cautious, Regina gives people a more optimistic and cheerful impression. She does not simply pass on the leader's instructions, but also encourages everyone in her own way. She pats the shoulders of the lost and makes a harmless joke; or squats down and takes the initiative to care about the injuries of the injured, and tells them with a confident tone that everything will be fine.

Under her influence, the originally lifeless atmosphere improved a little, the haze of failure seemed to be temporarily dispelled, and even the gloomy dark forest seemed to become much brighter. This was of course a psychological illusion, but it still made Carson Borg feel a little emotional. He knew that his personality was not suitable for doing such delicate things. Without the support of Regina and everyone, I am afraid that this team would not have lasted until now.

But he had also heard a saying that the more cheerful a person appears, the more sensitive they are inside. Could it be that when Regina was comforting others, he had accumulated too much pressure in his heart and found it difficult to vent?
Now, there is no god in this land who can give her the comfort of faith.

Thinking of God, Carson Borg's eyes suddenly became much deeper and seemed to be much darker.

……

Ten minutes later, the team set out again, treading deep and shallow on the muddy and silted soil, heading towards the 11th stronghold. During this process, other teams continued to rush to join them from different directions. Those were the teams that fled after the defeat. If they gathered together, they would be too conspicuous and would be easily discovered by the enemy even in the deep and complex maze of the Black Forest. But now they have entered the depths of the Black Forest. With Carson Borg's understanding of the enemy commander, he knew that he would not easily let his troops enter the Black Forest to take risks, so he could safely and boldly join these teams and go to the 11th stronghold together.

However, as more and more teams came to join the group, Carson Borg's heart gradually sank: thirteen people, five people, eight people, and even only one person, this number was far below his expectations. Carson Borg sincerely hoped that those who did not come to join the group were just temporarily separated from the team, or simply lost the will to fight and fled incognito, at least to avoid the worst outcome.

Behind him, Regina pushed aside a whip-like sharp branch, hurried to Carson Borg's side, and reported the situation to him in a low voice: "There are 23 teams coming to join us, with about 100 people, including 7 seriously injured and 32 ordinary injured. They need timely assistance, but the current medicine reserves are seriously insufficient. In addition, food, weapons, clothing, and some spellcasting materials and ritual materials all need to be replenished..."

Simply put, everything is missing.

Carson Borg's expression remained unchanged: "Are the supplies in Base 11 sufficient to fill the gap?"

"I'm not sure." Regina showed a hint of hesitation. "After all, Base 11 was forced to be abandoned during that dangerous raid. Since the 17th Legion was pressing too hard, we had no time to investigate the results of the raid. If it had not been discovered by the enemy, the stored supplies, plus some simple materials replenished on the spot in the Black Forest, might have been enough to support it; but if it had been discovered by the enemy..."

Then, not only will it be impossible to replenish supplies, but it may even become a trap for itself.

Regina didn't continue talking, perhaps she was subconsciously avoiding such a result.

Carson Borg did not respond. He suddenly stopped. Influenced by him, the team behind him also stopped. Some people subconsciously put their hands on their weapons, and others looked around vigilantly, alert to any sound of movement. But the forest was quiet. The black pine trees silently stretched out their branches, casting dark green shadows. The eerie atmosphere might be a symbol of terror to outsiders, but to the locals, it was a very normal scene.

Regina looked at the leader of the team in confusion, but Carson Borg had no intention of explaining. Instead, he opened his eyes wide and stared at a corner of the forest. This expression of astonishment and disbelief was something Regina had never seen in all the years she had known him. What on earth could make her brother look like this? Was it that the roots of the Black Forest began to expand outward again, ushering in a new high tide? Or had they accidentally disturbed the legendary terrifying monster sleeping at the bottom of the Black Forest? Regina looked up and was stunned.

She saw the church steeple.

It pierced through the dark haze and pointed stubbornly toward the sky. Regina had only experienced the simple and solemn religious imagery and the solemn atmosphere in those ancient churches that had been passed down for a long time.

But the question is, why is there a church here! ?

Not to mention in the depths of the Black Forest, even in Suare, the "City of Gray Hills", and in the entire Ansers region, you will never find any church, because this is a "land abandoned by God"!
God abandoned his believers, and so they abandoned him.

Could it be that while they were fighting the invaders, a new religion was rising in secret, or that foreign religions from other regions were trying to extend their tentacles here to grab the coveted benefits of this land where faith was blank? But why did they build the church in the depths of the black forest where few people go? It couldn't be to preach to the ash creatures here, right?
A humorous idea suddenly emerged in Regina's mind, but others could not maintain an optimistic attitude like her. Noisy sounds gradually came from the back, and some people's faces showed fear and panic. Facing the visible enemy, they can be fearless, regardless of life and death; however, in front of such a strange scene, they can't help but feel a chill and their hair stand on end. After all, on this continent called East Emperor Fant, there is no shortage of strange and bizarre legends, and the tyranny and greed of the gods are well known to the world. If you step into the church of the evil god without knowing anything, the end will never be better than dying under the gun of the invaders - at least you still know how you die in the latter. Carson Borg's face was gloomy. After staring at the spire that pierced the branches of the forest for a while, he suddenly asked: "The location of the church... is it near the No. 11 stronghold?"

Regina realized this belatedly, and her face suddenly turned ugly. She bit her lower lip slowly, and her voice was as difficult as if it was squeezed out from a dry throat: "Brother, otherwise... let's go to other bases..."

"Except for the 11th base, even if we speed up, it will take at least a day to get to the nearest base. The seriously injured in the team can't wait that long, Regina." Carson Borg interrupted her calmly, and while speaking, he silently put his hand on the handle of the knife at his waist. His weapon is a pair of very beautiful scimitars, the blade is in the shape of a flame, and there is another blade at the end. The arc is like a crescent and a barb. If you merge the two scimitars with this branch blade as the connection point, you will be surprised to find that it is almost exactly the same as the wing skeleton of an ash creature called the Red Eagle in the Black Forest. This is why Carson Borg is known as the "Grey Hill Eagle".

"I'll go check the situation." He calmly adjusted the position of his scimitar so that he could respond quickly to any emergency, and gave instructions to Regina: "You stay here and calm everyone down. If I don't come back within half an hour, you must leave immediately and don't need to look for me. Remember, I will meet you at Point 15. Before I come back, you will be the temporary leader of the team, Regina."

"Big brother..."

Regina said worriedly, "You...be careful. If you notice anything wrong, just return immediately. We don't necessarily need the supplies from Base 11. If we're lucky enough, we might be able to find healing herbs nearby..."

She did not stop Carson Borg, nor did she suggest that someone else take her place, because she knew the man in front of her very well, and anyone who knew him well would never say such a thing. So in the end, she could only say a few words of comfort that she herself did not quite believe: If it was really that easy to find herbs suitable for healing, why would the Axis army just blockade them in the Black Forest without any intention of annihilating them? Didn't they just want to watch them exhaust their resources and slowly die, and easily eliminate this most difficult resistance organization in the Ansus region?
Even the precious supplies in the stronghold were smuggled in from the Kingdom of Billingsman on the other side of the mountains, at the cost of sacrificing dozens of elite members and paying a heavy price to break through the Axis blockade.

But this kind of covert smuggling activity could not be too frequent. In fact, the Chamber of Commerce that secretly cooperated with them only agreed to trade once every six months. Even if the materials were exhausted within half a year, the other party would never take the huge risk to make a second transaction - or, they could not afford the price of letting the other party bear the risk.

Every bit of strength must be fought for, every resource must be utilized, and no inch of land will be given up - this is the purpose established by "Ashehill Eagle" Carson Borg when he founded the Ash Guerrillas. He has been defending it with practical actions, and this time is no exception.

He nodded to Regina calmly, and took a deep look at his friends, companions and reliable warriors who had always followed him. Without saying a word, he turned and walked towards the church. He was incredibly agile in the intricate maze of the Black Forest, as if the thick vines and ancient tree roots hidden in the dead leaves, as well as the dense branches and thorns that were full of murderous intent, had actively avoided him. Soon, the figure disappeared from everyone's sight.

Regina stared blankly in the direction he left, and after a long while, she sighed silently.

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

When she turned around, her face had returned to that optimistic and cheerful smile.

In the absence of her eldest brother, she is the temporary leader of the team.

Everyone's confidence and enthusiasm now rests on themselves.

There must not be any slackness.

Although the corners of the girl's mouth felt slightly sour from maintaining the same arc for so long, it never fell.

……

"somebody is coming."

"Are you going to reach out to them?"

"Yes. This is the only way for us to obtain intelligence at the moment... We can't always be trapped here. We have to proactively look for opportunities."

“Is this your experience?”

"...No, it's a lesson."

After a long silence, the girl's voice at the beginning said sadly: "It's not your fault, Lingge."

The footsteps paused.

Soon it started again, fading away.

Give me some meow