Knight and Wand

Chapter 268 Everyone has special skills
The white flame flag of Ilarial of the Holy Lake fluttered on the blood-stained walls of Hagostein Castle.

The fortress that was once shrouded in the eerie aura of the undead is now filled with the shining silver light of the armor of the Knights of the Holy Lake.

The air was filled with a pungent smell of decay and gunpowder, and the ruins told of the fierce battle that had ended not long ago.

The dark clouds gradually dissipated in this small area, and the sunlight brought some life back to this underworld.

Knights and warriors were busy shuttling between the city walls and the suspension bridge, carrying the bodies and dumping them outside the city.

The corpses were piled up like a mountain. The warriors methodically piled dry firewood under the mountain of corpses. The remains of the undead must be burned thoroughly to prevent these flesh and blood materials from being revived by the returning evil magic.

Following the commander's order, torches were thrown onto the woodpile, and the flames instantly shot up into the sky, completely purifying everything.

The flames licked the bodies of the undead from bottom to top, making crackling sounds. Thick smoke rose up, spreading into the sky with a disgusting stench.

The castle gate slowly rose, and the heavy iron chains rattled.

It took Leon half a day to arrive and he led the Avalon cavalry through the burning pit and entered Hagostein Castle from the main gate.

He scanned the scene inside the fortress, his eyes filled with surprise and admiration.

Leon pulled the reins, dismounted, and strode towards Captain Irem.

"Your Excellency and the Knights of the Holy Lake's bravery is admirable. I never thought that you could destroy an undead stronghold on your own in such a short time."

Captain Irem, whose blood was still wet, saluted with his sword and said calmly, "It's just my duty. I hope Lord Leon will not blame me for taking the initiative to attack in advance."

He pointed to the gap in the fortress wall and said, "I led the vanguard here and found that the gap in the fortress wall was being repaired by the undead, but the progress was very slow. I don't think there are many enemies here."

Irem's eyes showed determination. "But if we delay and wait for the enemy to finish their work, we will have to pay more casualties if we want to attack the city later. So I made a prompt decision and mobilized the reserve troops on the other side of the river to assemble and quickly launch an attack. Fortunately, we successfully captured this place."

"Your actions were so effective, how could I blame you?" Leon praised him highly, and then asked with concern: "Did the Knights suffer heavy casualties?"

"More than a dozen people were injured, and several knight brothers died gloriously. I have sent people to move their urns to the camp on the other side for safekeeping, and will send them back to their hometown after the war." Irem said calmly.

"Ilaril will bless their heroic souls to rest in peace, and people will remember the names of these heroes." Leon felt a little sad.

There are always casualties on the battlefield, but no matter how many times it happens, he can't regard the dead as just cold numbers in his heart.

"What's the food situation?" Leon continued to ask.

“The priests have already sampled the grain in many granaries and found no magical curses or alchemical poisons, and the quantities are roughly consistent,” Irem replied.

In fact, if one wants to poison such a large amount of food, the amount of poison needed is beyond imagination. Poisoning a small amount will only contaminate part of the food and kill a few soldiers, which is completely meaningless for the war. This inspection is done just in case, just because people are afraid that the manipulators behind these undead have some unimaginable magical means.

Leon nodded: "Take me to see it."

Not daring to waste time, he followed Captain Irem directly to the food storage area behind the fortress.

Only a large number of granary buildings were still intact.

After running through several warehouses and checking the stored grain up and down, Leon confirmed with Laura that there were no traces of magic and that the hidden danger had been completely eliminated. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

It is unclear why the leader of the ghouls occupying this place did not burn the food and supplies.

Maybe his brain didn't react quickly enough? Or maybe he was afraid of starting a fire that would burn down the entire fortress?

In any case, the Knights of the Holy Lake retook Hagstan in time. The 16,000 dan of grain solved the urgent problem of the North Shore. It could feed the army of 10,000 for a long time, at least a month. Even if a famine broke out among the people on the North Shore, this batch of food would be enough to open the warehouses for disaster relief and maintain social stability for a short period of time.

Back in the fortress hall, Irem waited for everyone to sit down, then asked, "What is the next plan? Should we use this as a base and continue the attack to the east?"

"No rush. We don't know the status of the other three grain storage areas yet. Let's consolidate this area first and wait for the North Bank to transport most of the grain and grass away."

After Leon finished speaking, he asked Irem to immediately send priests and knights back to the north bank to contact Count Runaf to arrange a transport team to pick them up.

Avalon and his party temporarily stationed in Hagostan, waiting for news.

The next day, the soldiers were not idle either. Leon ordered everyone to work with the Knights of the Holy Lake to use the wood they could find to repair and seal the gaps in the city wall that were destroyed by the undead during the siege.

While the fortress was under construction, Leon did not forget to investigate the ruins of the altar that was destroyed by the Knights of the Holy Lake.

The crudely built bell tower was destroyed in the battle, and now only ruins remain. The broken bell is half buried in the rubble, and the residual light of magic flickers faintly on the surface of the bell. The surrounding area is filled with desolation and deathly silence, as if even the breeze is unwilling to touch this cursed object.

There are only a few elite Holy Lake Knights guarding here, and no soldiers are allowed to approach.

Crouching down and approaching the remains of the bell buried in the rubble, looking at the clear footprints and cracks on the metal bell, Leon knew that this was probably caused by Captain Irem himself.

Olivia had had a limited friendly exchange with the other party in Avalon. It was said that the Grand Commander was very powerful. Although his martial arts skills had not reached her level, his body was much stronger than hers.

Judging from the sheer wrestling skills, he was indeed the strongest warrior the girl had ever seen in her life.

Unfortunately, Olivia has never practiced with Valensis and Sir Kailan, so Leon is not sure whether the strength of this grand commander is higher than that of the two great knights.

After finding out the fragments of the bell one by one, with Leon's current level, it is naturally far from being able to analyze the profound and complex magic patterns.

But fortunately, it is enough to just serve as a human camera for Lola.

I don’t know what Laura could see after looking for such a long time. Leon asked a few questions and when she didn’t answer, he stopped disturbing Miss King of France’s thinking.

The next day, before Runaf's grain transport team arrived, Hagsteinburg received Corvis riding a Hippogriff.

The young knight, in a hurry, jumped off his saddle, quickly pulled over an Avalon cavalryman to ask where his lord was, and soon saw Leon.

Leon saw that his companion's clothes were not only dusty and covered with sword marks, but the handsome boy also had a sword wound on his cheek that had just healed.

Should I say that I am a perfectionist? I am used to seeing the flawless and handsome appearance of this boy, Corvis. Now that he has a scar on his face, he feels a little uncomfortable.

However, with this murderous sword mark, it does add some masculinity of a warrior, and perhaps no one will mistake his gender in the future.

"How is it over there? Have the rangers figured out the situation in the city of Fenleytown?" Although he was concerned about the dangerous experience Akao would have with the rangers, Leon patted the boy's shoulder armor and still asked about the military situation first.

Corvis reported, patting his chest: "There are no less than 30,000 zombies entrenched in Fenleytown. There are too many altars in the city. It is too dangerous. I am the only one who can protect everyone. I cannot split my troops to sneak into the city near the granary.

But there are not many elite undead in the city. Lord Greenthorne led the rangers to devise a plan to lure a ghoul lord to chase us. We ambushed and defeated his undead guards outside the city and successfully captured him! Now we have brought the ghoul lord back to the north bank and are imprisoned in Count Runaf's dungeon. "

When Leon heard this, his hand on Corvis' shoulder stiffened.

"what?"

Why don't you guys follow the routine?
Leon was delighted, but also a little amused.

These heroes from all over the world who gathered under his command all possess unique skills.

After a reconnaissance mission, the Knights of the Holy Lake directly captured the target fortress. The Rangers simply captured an undead general and took him home.

The tactical styles of both sides are different, but both have made contributions.

As for feelings, there is nothing I can do about it.

Shaking his head, Leon relaxed his cheeks, not knowing what expression to express.

Although the rangers did not understand the safety of the food and supplies in Finleytown, they captured a high-level undead, which was indeed the first time since the war began.

"Leon, go back and check on that corpse." Laura's heart voice rang out.

Knowing that the young teacher must want to investigate something, Leon quickly responded.

He asked Corvis to rest for a while, then ordered Olivia and Lohark to command the Avalon cavalry to stay and assist in the defense of Hagstein Castle. He then asked Akau to ride the Hippogriff and fly him back to Runaf's fortress.

Back at the base on the north bank, the Hippogriff landed on the tower platform of the Baldim family's fortress, and Leon quickly entered the castle.

"Haha! Lord Leon! May the gods protect you and praise your victorious return!"

Runaf, who knew in advance from the tower sentry's report that the other party had returned, went forward to greet him with exaggerated enthusiasm.

At this moment, he looked at the young Orland nobleman with more eager eyes than when he looked at his missing father.

Leon responded politely and found that it was not only Count Runaf who came to greet him. Behind him, the young lords who had been prejudiced against Orlando's reinforcements at the military meeting had complicated expressions.

Some of these young nobles frowned slightly as if they were thinking, some stared at Leon intently with a hint of curiosity in their eyes, and some whispered to each other.

There was no longer the obvious doubt on their faces as before, but instead a cautious respect.

After all, the good news of victory was before their eyes, and this was a fact that could not be ignored. The other side promised to recapture the lost territory within five days, but the vanguard force of only a few hundred people took only one day to cross the river and take back Hagostan!

The news that the Orland army had successfully recaptured Hagstein Castle from the undead quickly spread to every corner of the Kantadar coalition under the deliberate promotion of Count Runaf.

Regardless of the high-ranking ghoul prisoners who were subsequently sent back to the fortress for imprisonment.

Or the troops gathering outside the fortress to set out to grab the food and fodder, it can't be fake.

Runaf's men deliberately made a big fuss of the grain and grass transport team, just to use this hard-won counterattack victory to boost the morale of the coalition forces that had fallen to the bottom.

Now, although the Eastern Lords have not yet been completely convinced, they have begun to reconsider the proposal of having the other party serve as the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces.

Leon ignored the complicated expressions of these young people. This quick victory was a miracle created by the Knights of the Holy Lake, not his own credit. The strategy he was still planning was far from being implemented, and now it was just a prelude to blowing the horn of a real counterattack.

Leon declined the rest arrangement offered by Runaf. If Laura hadn't wanted to see the zombie prisoner, Leon had no intention of abandoning the army and returning to the north bank, let alone having the mind to sleep.

After meeting up with Greenthorne and other rangers, Leon headed to the castle dungeon without stopping.

The deep and gloomy cell was filled with the smell of decay and dampness.

Under the dim and flickering firelight, the corpse lord who fell into the trap and was captured by the rangers was tied tightly to the wall with thick chains.

It was tall and exuded a terrifying aura. Thanks to Corvis' reminder, the ranger did not completely cut this powerful high-level corpse into a human stick to prevent the undead from leaving the underworld and its body from being unable to sustain its soul. He only cut off its arms.

But even so, the Knights-Errant guarded the cell at all times, keeping a vigilant eye on it day and night, always on the lookout for the unexpected.

In order to capture this high-level undead, even though there were dozens of powerful rangers besieging them, two warriors still died at the hands of the undead knights who were guarding them.

"After leaving the range of the dark cloud, it became much weaker and its reaction was not as active as before."

Knight Derek said, knocking on the iron fence with the butt of his gun.

The mummy face with a faint green glow raised up, and faced with the provocation of the living, it only hissed softly in its throat, without the manic reaction of an ordinary corpse ghost.

"He can speak. We have heard this guy's whispers and war cries during the battle, but he won't answer any questions now. We don't know if he can communicate with living people." Larian shrugged while pressing the hilt of the knife.

"Does anyone among those Kantadars know his identity?" Leon asked the ranger to unlock the door and walked straight in.

"Yes, Baron Karenwell of the coalition recognized this ghoul, and this ghoul is his father, the previous Baron Karenwell, who was recruited to follow Avilut to invade Serian." Corvis answered behind Leon. The blond boy shook his head and said, "Although his son recognized him, this ghoul could not recognize his son. The little Karenwell got too close and was almost bitten off his nose by this ghoul."

Hearing this, Leon looked coldly at the corpse in front of him with the chains taut.

The undead in front of him must be one of the thugs who ravaged Rolandar. Now he has turned into a zombie. It is really a good thing that he doesn't have to suffer.

"Lola, what do you want to know?" he asked in his heart.

"I want to examine his soul and mind. A dead soul, after resurrection, still attacks his loved ones. Either his relatives have failed him, or he is now completely controlled by the orders issued by the upper manipulator. Since those Kantadar people said that high-level dead souls killed their relatives without mercy, then I guess the situation belongs to the latter. However, there are some strange things."

Laura didn't elaborate, and instructed Leon: "Draw the Seal of the Dead of Nokaela on him, chant the ancient spell of the sixth section of the third volume of the Book of Summoning, establish a connection, and let me read his soul and memory personally."

Leon nodded, recalling the time he had spent studying Necromancer to deal with the undead crisis.

His powerful memory allowed him to easily find the corresponding magical knowledge.

He put two fingers together, a white magic light spot lit up, and he shook his wrist lightly, drawing the necromancy seal in the air without any error.

The ancient and time-honored incantation quickly drew out the magic power from Leon's body and pushed the gorgeous halo of the seal toward the forehead of the corpse ghost.

The sizzling sound of high temperature, like a branding iron, burned the head of the corpse lord and produced wisps of green smoke.

The hazy light continued to appear between the seals on Leon and the corpse ghost's forehead.

The undead suddenly struggled, opened its broken mouth and roared towards the sky, its head shaking continuously.

The knights-errant on the side drew their swords to prevent the zombie from attacking.

After a long time, Leon heard Laura speak.

"That's enough! That's enough!"

Leon immediately dispelled the spell in his hand.

"I was wrong. Leon and the others are not trying to tear the curtain of reality directly."

"What? What do you mean?"

"They transformed the land under the dark clouds in order to completely merge this land with another alien plane that I don't know about yet."

(End of this chapter)