Knight and Wand

Chapter 266 Scouting the Enemy
The internal military meeting was held in the small conference room of the fortress. Apart from the generals from Orland and Dineshien, only Count Runaf and Baron Ivan, who were still able to cooperate in the operation, participated from Kantadar's side.

Leon rested his arms on the table, concentrating on examining the key food storage points marked by Count Runaf with several chess pieces. These locations were related to the survival of the coalition army in a few days.

The food and fodder supply of Glade County's own army is already very tight, and Count Elliver cannot come up with more surplus food to help the Kantadars led by Sobonitz. Solving the food crisis of the coalition forces is the most urgent and top priority.

"Before the army retreated to the north bank, the 'Dor Camp' on the south bank stored 5,000 dan of food and fodder.
The town of Morton has about 10,000 gallons.
The large warehouse at Ashford Port holds 24,000 tons of cargoes.
'Finleytown' has 20,000 tons of land.
And 'Haggstein Castle' has a reserve of 16,000 liters..." Count Runaf carefully introduced the locations of these large granaries.

"Lundan" is the unit of measurement for grain in the Kingdom of Kantadar, and its weight is basically equivalent to the "Oshi" of Orland, which did not cause any conversion trouble for Leon.

At this critical moment, he had no intention of investigating why the other party had failed to transport most of the food and grass to the north bank for storage in advance.

Perhaps it was because of the limited transport capacity during the hasty retreat? Or perhaps it was because the young Eastern Lords had overly optimistic expectations for a counterattack?

In any case, it is meaningless to discuss these things at this moment. Leon just wants to attack as soon as possible and take back those vital food resources. Of course, the premise is that these foods are still intact at this moment.

However, it is necessary to first accurately assess the coalition's transportation capabilities, which is the prerequisite for formulating subsequent action plans.

Leon immediately asked Count Runaf a key question: "How many baggage wagons can your army currently gather on the north bank to transport food and fodder?"

Count Runaf quickly looked at his staff, who gave a clear response: "My Lords, there are currently fifty-four large four-wheeled carriages available on the North Bank. Each carriage can carry about forty dan of grain."

However, this transport capacity was far from meeting Leon's needs. He gave an unquestionable and tough order: "Not enough. No matter what method you use, whether you call on craftsmen for emergency construction or forcibly recruit people from the public, you must build a baggage train that can transport at least 4,000 dan of food and fodder in one trip in the shortest possible time."

After that, Leon once again examined the chess piece marks on the map and planned specific military operations in his mind: "What is the distribution and specific number of the undead army's forces in these five locations?"

Facing Leon's question, Runaf hesitated and answered awkwardly: "Before retreating, Ashford Port suffered a fierce attack from the Undead Army. I can confirm that there are at least 50,000 zombies besieging the city, including a powerful Undead elite.

As for other locations, I don’t have any accurate information for reference. Every time our scouts enter the occupied area shrouded by the dark clouds of the undead, only one in ten can come back..."

Leon was silent for a moment after hearing this. He understood that this was not their fault. Even if a mortal sentinel could muster up the courage to cross that despairing dead zone, his soul might be extracted by the magic sound of the soul-summoning bell. That sound was a magical effect that directly affected the souls of living beings, and it would be useless even if they blocked their ears.

However, now that he has the protection of the Holy Spirit Lamp, he can send out an advance team to conduct more in-depth reconnaissance. Naturally, he must not rashly lead his troops across the river to launch an attack when he is unclear about the enemy's situation.

The first priority is to confirm whether the food in these granaries is still intact, and to understand the distribution of the number of undead in various places and the location of the enemy's elite.

Leon asked Runaf his next question: "Are there any warriors in your army who are willing to cross the river and face the army of the undead?"

Before the Earl could answer, the vassal knight beside him could not bear the attitude of Baron Orland towards his lord, and snorted coldly: "The knights of the Baldim family are ready to go to the other side to kill the undead at any time!"

Leon didn't care about his tone and responded calmly: "Very good, but I don't intend to send soldiers to die in vain. I want you to organize two teams of fast cavalry, cross the river, and go to 'Dor Camp' and 'Morton Town' for reconnaissance. With the two wizards under your command using the Holy Soul Guardian Lamp, your soldiers will not be harmed by the undead bell." Taking morale factors into consideration, Leon assigned the two nearest occupied areas to the other side.

Seeing this, Count Runaf appeased the vassal knight a little and immediately accepted Leon's order: "I will arrange it right away."

As for Leon, he chose to take the initiative to take on the most dangerous location. After all, as one of the few spellcasters in the army, he did not have the luxury of sitting in the military tent: "I will personally lead the Avalon cavalry to Ashford Harbor for investigation."

After saying this, he looked at the soldiers under his command.

"Knight Greenthorne, Knight Derek, and Knight Larian." Leon named them.

"Sir, any instructions?" Several chivalrous knights responded immediately.

“Could you please lead the Knight Ranger Company to conduct reconnaissance in the city of Finleytown?

It is the largest city among the five locations except for Ashford Port, and it is the farthest from the North Shore. I think it is safest for a strong and experienced ranger like you to go there."

"Leave it to us."

The old ranger Greenthorne accepted the task without hesitation.

Then, Leon turned to his own Hippogriff Knight: "Corvis."

"My lord."

The blond boy looked towards his master, waiting for orders.

"You join the team led by Lord Greenthorne, obey his commands, and be sure to protect the safety of the rangers." Leon ordered.

"As ordered."

Finally, Leon looked at the Grand Master Irem from the Holy Lake and said, "I'll leave the reconnaissance mission of Hagostan Castle to your Knights."

As Irem was the general of an elite army, Leon was not worried about how he would carry out military operations. The three holy lamps of soul protection had been handed over to the monks of the ring of law in the opponent's army in advance. Now the entire army of the Knights of Ilaril could come and go freely in the undead realm.

"Under the witness of Ilaril, I will complete the task you have assigned me." Grand Commander Irem pounded his breastplate lightly to show his determination.

After assigning several teams, Leon said to Count Runaf again: "Please assign guides who are familiar with the local roads to each of our teams."

Runaf agreed upon hearing this.

"Sir, let me join your team. I am very familiar with the roads in Ashford Port." Baron Ivan volunteered.

"Okay." Leon did not refuse.

"Lord Balfe, you will lead the troops to rest in the camp and strengthen the alert, waiting for our news. I will leave Azerien behind. If there is an emergency, he will lead the remaining Avalon troops to obey your orders."

Scarface Baron nodded and had no objection.

We also discussed with everyone the specific action plans for different situations.
Everything was done. At this time, Leon asked Laura in his heart whether there was anything wrong with his arrangement. After getting the affirmation from Miss Saint, he relaxed.

From now on, the lives and deaths of hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians on the North Bank depend on his every decision, and Leon's spirit must be treated with caution.

The military meeting was disbanded, and everyone quickly returned to their camps to mobilize troops and prepare.

Avalon Camp.

After a day and a night of rest to relieve the fatigue of the march, the soldiers were full of energy.

Before noon, the army began to serve meat to the soldiers who were about to set out. The elite knights, dubbed "Lion Wings", quickly checked their weapons and armor and carried rations and water bottles that would last for several days.

At the same time, other soldiers who came to help tied bags of fine grain and bundles of fodder securely to the sides of their horses. Soon, the fully armed cavalrymen, wearing sword-wing battle robes, lined up with their horses, ready to go.

Leon left several Avalon knights to assist Azerien, and then he, Olivia and Lohak mounted their horses and led the Lion-Winged Cavalry and Ranger Knights out of the camp.

He could see that the camp of the Holy Lake Knights was a little empty. Hagostein Castle was located farther to the south. Captain Irem had gone ahead and followed the guide on the journey.

Looking away, Leon saw that Baron Ivan and Knight Ron, their guides, were already waiting at the intersection with several cavalrymen.

Once they joined the group, the elite cavalry of about two hundred men quickly rode toward the river crossing.

During the journey, Leon couldn't help being curious and turned to Ivan and asked, "By the way, what's the matter with your 'Griffin Mercenary Group'?"

Ivan explained to him awkwardly on the saddle: "After you and Miss Olivia left, we still couldn't defend Shatai City.

Fortunately, two of them repelled the vanguard of the undead, giving us a chance to catch our breath. I evacuated the city's military and civilians in batches to the family territory on the other side of the lake.

But when the second Undead army attacked, I saw that they were unstoppable, so I set fire to the city of Shatai and led the last remaining troops to escape from the city by boat.

But later, even the Great Lake could not stop the advance of the Undead, and we were forced to abandon our territory and lead the people to retreat to the territory of the Baldim family, and fight here under Lord Runaf."

“We are not the only family that has lost its territory. We are lucky to have escaped the encirclement of the army of the dead. Many nobles in the east have been missing since the dark clouds first came.

What’s even more terrifying is that they saw familiar faces of their fathers in the army of the undead. It is said that those lords who had joined the Eastern Expedition and had no news had turned into undead. However, they, who had turned into corpse lords, even attacked their own territories and slaughtered their own people and families, as if they had no consciousness at all.”

At this point, Ivan shuddered. He paused and said, "Sorry, I got off topic. After losing the territory, in order to protect myself, I followed Ron's advice and merged the family knights and soldiers who still chose to follow me with the young and strong men in his disaster relief team to establish a mercenary group."

"In memory of your rescue, I named my army 'Griffins'. I hope you don't mind. If it offends me, I will change it to another name immediately."

Knowing the reason, Leon waved his hand and said, "Just call it the Griffin Mercenary Group. No need to change it. As long as you don't do evil, I don't mind."

At this time, Ron, who was standing beside him, stroked his chest and interrupted, "Sir, please forgive me for interrupting you."

Leon looked at the knight wearing plate armor who had pledged allegiance to Ivan.

".Do you want to ask about the little gold coin?"

Ron nodded. "Excuse me, did that brat cause you any trouble in Avalon Castle?"

Leon comforted him, "Don't worry. My barony is at the junction of Orland and Kantadar. He is not the only Kantadar child in my castle. Brandon is very well behaved. He eats well and is not that thin anymore. He is now studying and learning to read in the academy I founded."

Ron was very pleased to hear that Little Gold Coin was doing so well. Although it was difficult for him to bow on the back of his warhorse, he still leaned forward slightly and lowered his head: "Thank you again for your kindness in taking him in."

Leon shook his head: "I also want to thank you for sending me a magic apprentice with excellent talent. Brandon thinks about you every day. I see that you have such a deep relationship. After the undead are eliminated and the war is over, you can just adopt him as your son."

"That's what I meant," Ron laughed.

"Destroy the undead."

Ivan murmured and repeated Leon's words, and couldn't help but sigh heavily.

In order to protect his family and the people, he will not stop swinging his sword until he falls. But now, facing the corpse ghosts that cannot be killed even if he cuts the blade, he does not see any hope of victory.

"Master Leon, can we really win?"

Leon looked at Ivan's confused eyes and nodded calmly, as if he was just stating a fact:
"I will lead you to defeat the undead. I have a plan, but we need to solve the problem of military rations first."

Ivan looked at the Griffin Baron who was confident in his plans, and thought that he was a mysterious wizard who could create tools to deal with the undead. He felt relieved. After experiencing many defeats and escapes, at least at this moment, the courage and faith that he had gained when he saw the other party falling from the sky a few months ago seemed to have returned to his heart.

Leon turned his head and looked at the river in front of him. It originated from the branch of the Rushina River, flowed south through the territory of Kantadar, and was called the Usato River by the Southern Kingdom.

On the other side of the river, the gloomy sea of ​​clouds that blocked out the sun and sky seemed to divide the kingdom of the living and the dead.
He knew that what he had just said to Ivan was actually a lie.

Leon currently had no idea how to defeat the undead.

Arriving at the holy city of Rolandar is undoubtedly his highest strategic goal.

But now that Kantadar has launched an expedition to the East and the undead disaster is sweeping across the land, a distance of just a few hundred kilometers has become like an insurmountable barrier.

Thousands of miles away.

In the vast wasteland, there are only a few rare and precious animals in the world. The cycle of life and death is shrouded in endless loneliness.

The disaster that occurred in the far southwest seemed to have nothing to do with the desolate mountains in the northernmost part of the continent.

Until the underground corridor connected to the unfathomable deep canyon, countless heavy footsteps entered the dark realm that no intelligent life had set foot in for a long time.

I don't know how many desperate situations and dead ends I have passed through over the past few months.
On the huge and dark underground platform.

As countless short and sturdy figures held up torches, they gradually illuminated the huge circular structure that had been eroded and ruined by time.

Gorim couldn't wait to walk through the crowd of guards.

His rough hands reached forward and touched the base of the giant structure, feeling the ancient runes and carvings that belonged to his ancestors.

It was as if a wanderer who had been separated for six or seven hundred years had returned home, as if seeing the gate of this realm open, it was the new hometown that the people of the remaining ethnic groups had been searching for.
"I believed you, Gorim, but after months of eating dirt, I now see nothing but a useless ruin!"

A dwarf with a bare upper body, scars all over his body and a hair style like a horse mane, came to the side of the King of Steelforge carrying a war hammer and shouted in dissatisfaction. His high-pitched voice echoed far away in the empty underground ruins.

Gorim's old face recovered from the excitement. He shook his beard and looked at his cousin: "At least what Lord Feru said was not a lie. Such a hidden and deep underground ruins, even the ancestral underground network map is not marked, how could a Feru person make up such an accurate one?"

".Then go find him immediately!
Let him activate this so-called realm gate immediately, at any cost! "

(End of this chapter)