Knight and Wand

Chapter 272 Transformation into a Dragon
The once prosperous land gave birth to a good harvest, and the towns scattered across the land were filled with noise, but now, everything has become a phantom of the past.

Standing on the tower of the castle, the strong wind blew across Count Mamor's old body. He looked solemnly into the distance, staring directly at the nightmare that was swallowing up his last territory under the darkness and dragging everything into hell.

He never thought that he would receive His Majesty Aviut's "army" in this form.

The war with the Orlanders caused half of his land to fall into the hands of the northerners. He thought that if he retreated to the southeast, the difficult times would eventually pass.

However, real natural disasters followed one after another, and the boundless sea of ​​corpses was unstoppable.

The Mamor family had experienced ups and downs before, but never as desperate as it is now.

The old man who had ruled the northern border for decades felt gloomy as he recalled the loyal soldiers falling one after another.

".Father! Since we are powerless to resist, let's go! Lead the remaining troops to retreat, to the south, to the west! As long as we are still alive, our family will be able to make a comeback one day!"

Baron Sangetan, with a sad face, stood anxiously beside his old father, and gave loud and unwilling advice.

The last of the vassal knights echoed this, their faces filled with worry.

"My Lord Earl, please retreat. Our ancestors originally came from the south. As long as you are here, we still have hope of recovering our lost territory."

The old earl slowly turned his head and looked at the vassals who had followed him for many years. His voice was slightly hoarse, having lost its former majesty, but it was full of unquestionable authority:
"Everyone listen"

The knights behind him immediately knelt on one knee with their swords in hand, and the crowd fell to their knees.

“.From now on, I will grant the title of Earl to my eldest son Sangetan, and he will be your new master from now on.

You go. "

Sangtan lowered his head. Now a middle-aged man, with tears streaming down his face, he understood his father's final decision.

".I am old, the gods no longer favor me, hope is not in me, I don't want to escape again and again.

The land beneath my feet is where my ancestors made their fortune. I will stay here and defend the last dignity as a warrior."

Count Mamor said as he helped his son up: “You are not young anymore, it seems that I, an incompetent old man, should have died long ago and let you lead the family.

It's too late to say this now. I'm no different from a walking corpse, but the living must be led by someone. Let's go, Sangetan. I hope your descendants will have the opportunity to return to this land in the future."

After saying this, the old earl turned around and looked at the dark clouds in the distant sky again, as if he saw the impending death, but his eyes were full of calmness.

Behind the old earl, although Sangetan and the family knights were reluctant, they understood that the earl's decision would not be changed.

Finally, the army of less than a thousand people evacuated the last stronghold belonging to the Mamor family.

Sangtan rode his horse in the countryside and couldn't help looking back at the desolate and lonely castle behind him.

He seemed to see his father's weathered back standing on the castle, symbolizing the final outcome of the family.

Entering the only remaining family territory in the southwest of Mamor County, the army joined forces with family members gathered there and the people of the territory who had nowhere to go.

The knights sat around a bonfire where food was being roasted, and all looked towards their new monarch.

"Sir, where should we go next?" asked a loyal old knight.

This question was like a heavy rock, pressing everyone to the point of suffocation.

No one wants to stay here any longer. This place is a plain with no strategic locations to defend. It is only a matter of time before the undead army arrives.

It seems that the only two directions available are the former territory of Mamor occupied by the Orlanders in the west and the Bardim County in the south where the situation is still unclear.

Sangetan frowned and thought.

He wanted to seek refuge with the great lords in the western part of the kingdom who had not yet been ravaged by the undead.

Although the family has lost its power, it is still surrounded by elite soldiers. Their loyalty and strength have withstood the test of successive battles with the Orlanders and the Undead. A lean camel is bigger than a horse. If he brings this elite force with him and serves a noble, he can temporarily settle down even as a mercenary group.

The question now is, how to get there?
To the north are the Galak Mountains that run across the land.

To the east is the sea of ​​undead corpses.

To the west is the family's ancestral homeland occupied by the Orland army. Should they beg the Orland people to allow the remnants of the Mamor family to pass?
Sangetan didn't dare to gamble, nor did he want to kowtow to the Orlanders.

“Let’s go south. Didn’t the nobles who escaped from Mamor say before that the Baldim family in Sobonitz’s territory is still holding on?

Let's go there and see if the east border is still passable, we can go to the eastern mountain pass of Wusato Territory and go to the west from the king's territory."

"But, I heard from the lord in the east that His Highness Casso has surrendered to the Orland people." A knight reminded hesitantly.

Due to the wars that broke out in various parts of the kingdom this year, although the County of Mamor knew little about the war in Usato, not long ago, the eastern lords who were invited to join Earl Mamor's army brought them rumors of a civil war in the central part of the kingdom.

"That's better than passing through the land of the Orlanders. Even if Casso is forced to become a puppet of the North, he won't make things difficult for us as we are a desperate escape team."

Sangetan said, frowning, "If Usato is not possible, we will go to Shannan Territory. Passing through Aberle's territory will only take us a longer detour. Anyway, it doesn't matter to us who is a rebel and who is a royalist."

It was more than meaningless. Thinking of the broken flag of King Aviut in the powerful undead army, Sangetan couldn't help but feel angry.

All in all!
The invasion of the Northmen!

The emergence of the Undead Scourge!
It was all caused by the Eastern Expedition launched by that old bastard!
Sangetan was burning with rage. If 40% of the blame was on the people of Orland, then old man Aviut should be held responsible for 60% of the fall of the county!

Taking a deep breath and calming his anger, Sangetan then decided on the team's escape route.

The confused knights around him did not say anything against it. They were isolated and helpless at the moment and had no better solution.

As he didn't know when the undead army would arrive, Sangetan didn't dare to delay and left Mamor County the next day.

A thousand soldiers, accompanied by more than three thousand family members and laborers, carrying food and the last wealth of the Mamor family, set out towards the unknown.

The scouts sent out quickly returned to the team and reported that the southern County of Baldim had indeed not fallen.

This news gave Sangetan hope and he ordered everyone to speed up.

At dawn the next day, they arrived at the border town of Bardim County.

The knights stationed here saw this team early on. They were neither panicked nor negligent. They led their men to meet them with ease.

The knight first asked about the purpose of the visit, and Sangetan immediately informed him of the situation in the north.

Although he felt deeply humiliated, he still asked the knights of House Baldim to allow him to pass through his territory.

He was willing to pay the toll and threatened that the Mamor family would remember the help they provided today.

After hearing this, the knight felt heavy-hearted as if his teeth were in danger.

Although not long ago, several eastern nobles who had returned led their troops from Mammor to Baldim and brought the sad news of the complete defeat of the northern county, the knights were still shocked that a powerful family that had stood on the northern border for hundreds of years disappeared so quickly in the offensive of the undead.

Now, it seemed as if the whole world was surrounded by this terrible disaster, as if Baldim County was the only place in the kingdom that still had hope.

Throwing aside the absurd illusion, he looked at the other team with their families, and although he felt sympathy for them, he did not make things difficult for them.

However, the knight was puzzled by the fact that the new Earl of Mamor had completely abandoned the hope of regaining his territory and chose to embark on the road of escape.

He couldn't help but ask politely: "Lord Sangtan, I am deeply sorry for the great changes that have happened to Mamor County. But why did you choose to go west instead of joining the Eastern Alliance to fight against the undead disaster with us?" Sangtan was relieved to see that the team was allowed to pass by the other side. Hearing this question, he couldn't help but smile bitterly in his heart.

He was not optimistic about the future of the Baldim County coalition.

His father once had an army more powerful than the Runaf family in its heyday, but now he could not escape the fate of defeat.

A group of young lords had gathered together the scattered soldiers in Baldim County. Facing the monstrous army of undead, they were probably only able to survive by relying on the natural barrier of the river.

He knew that when the wave of undead in the north bypassed the Waiusato River and attacked from the south, that would be the day when the so-called Eastern Coalition would be destroyed.

Of course, Sangetan concealed his pessimism and did not show it to anger the knight of Runaf. He just replied calmly: "Things in the world are unpredictable. The undead are powerful. The surviving soldiers of the Mamor family are no longer able to fight."

Hearing this, the knight of Baldim County sighed. The Earl had lost his fighting spirit and a mere knight like him could not keep him from moving forward.

"If that's the case, it's a pity. The coalition forces have recently recovered a large area of ​​lost territory on the south bank of the river and are heading straight for Kilmerton Pass.

A few days ago, the commander-in-chief assembled the entire army. He must be besieging Ashford Harbor at this moment, trying to capture the last big city of the undead on the south coast. It is a pity that Lord Sangetan left now and did not join our counterattack. "

"What did you say?!"

When Sangtan heard this, there was a gleam of disbelief in his eyes.

He remembered the news sent by the eastern nobles that Baldim County suffered heavy losses and had lost two-thirds of its territory.

And now, how come they have counterattacked and reached the city of Kilmerton?
Doesn't this mean that the Baldim family has already recovered the half of the county that they had lost before! ?

Sangetan asked in shock: "How did you do that? Is your new earl so brave and good at fighting?!"

The knight's expression became a little subtle because of Sangetan's words.

Finally, he endured the embarrassment and explained honestly: "Ahem, you don't know that the position of the coalition marshal is no longer held by Lord Runaf. In fact, it is now led by Lord Orland who came to support us and is launching a counterattack."

"?" Sangtan's expression was even more shocked.

Alanders?

An Orland man is now leading the alliance of eastern nobles of Kantadar?

He couldn't help feeling absurd and inexplicably angry.

Why are there Orlanders everywhere? Has the whole of Kantadar fallen into the hands of the northerners?
November 673, 11 Aurland.

Outside the port of Ashford.

The shouts of the living and the screams of the dead resounded through the sky.

Dark clouds still covered the vast land, but the roaring bells had stopped.

The huge river port city was half-surrounded by a legion of 12,000 soldiers and thousands of civilians, with countless flags fluttering.

Behemoth-like catapults took turns hurling fire pots, smoke and flames streaking fiery trails through the air, falling like whistling meteors into the waves of zombies pouring out.

With bursts of loud noises, flames exploded among the undead, and the air was filled with the pungent smell of burnt fire.

At the forefront of the coalition forces, crossbows continuously spit out deadly flaming arrows, and the heavy infantry phalanx was like an indestructible Great Wall. The shield wall resisted the claws and swords of the corpses, and the stabbing spears destroyed the undead's fierce attacks again and again.

Standing in the center of the formation on the high ground, under the sword-wing battle flag, Leon's bright red cloak and wolf-mane collar swayed in the cold wind.

He held the winged helmet in one hand and the pommel of his sword with the other, looking down at the battlefield where tens of thousands of living and dead soldiers were fighting.

From time to time, he turned his head and looked at the hourglass beside him that was about to run out.

A guard knight flipped it over for the last time.

The error was not too big, and soon, the coalition generals on the high ground saw in the distant city of Ashford, ray of faint light on several soul bell towers rising into the sky, making an explosion that resounded through the earth.

Green pulses of magic pierced into the dark clouds, and under the strange vision, the crazy sea of ​​ghouls suddenly fell into chaos and dullness visibly to the naked eye.

"Corvis."

"exist!"

"Order all units to launch a general attack. We must capture Ashfud and destroy the altar within six quarters of an hour."

Glade County.

The footsteps of Young Master Thornflower echoed on the corridor floor. He came to the throne room of the castle and pushed the door open:

"Father, what do you want to call me for?"

Count Elliver raised his eyes from the letter in his hand and looked at his eldest son, Feodor.

"Tomorrow I will take 2,000 troops with me and follow His Majesty Ledwin's army to Mamor County to support General Trosa's defense in the northeast. You will stay and be responsible for recruiting troops on my behalf and training another 2,000 soldiers to elite standards!"

Feodor was stunned. "But we have just collected taxes in Glade for less than half a year. The previous war in Usato consumed too much food and grass, and now we have to supply Lord Balf who is going to the war."

Elifer waved his hand and said, "We don't need to worry about the food and fodder in Balf. As for the lack of food for the soldiers in Glade County, we can send people to buy food in the west, in Farael County or Magya County. We will buy it at any price! Don't be stingy with money."

"Father, the Baldim family has only paid one-third of the commission. Twenty thousand Cantadar gold coins are only worth sixteen thousand gold crowns. If we have to go outside to buy food, this is far from enough to train two thousand elite soldiers." Feodor looked embarrassed.

The number of large-scale wars the family has experienced in the past year is countless times more than the past ten years combined. Although each time has been fruitful, it is still unable to catch up with the continuous consumption of astronomical military supplies in such a short period of time.

"I don't have to worry about money. I'm only worried about how to transport the money I can't spend back from the east." Elifu's heroic old face couldn't hold back a smile. His lips lifted up and the corners of his mouth curled up uncontrollably.

After handing the battle report and secret letter sent by Leon to his confused eldest son, Count Thornflower stood up, scratching his short beard and looking out the window.

The allied marshal who led Sobornitz.

After only being out for half a month, he controlled half of the territory of Baldim County, an area larger than the entire Glade County.

It was hard for Elifer to imagine how powerful that boy was now, controlling hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians in the eastern part of Kantadar.

Feodor read the letter carefully, his eyes widening.

After watching the latter part, I completely forgot to blink.

November 11. Hargostan Castle is captured.
November 11: The capture of Finlaytown
November 11. Fort Saylahook captured.
November 11. Capture Karenwell and destroy the undead strongholds along the way.
November 11. Capture of Cheyne Hall
November 11. The town of Morton was captured.
November 11. Recapture of Ashford Harbour, a great victory
The coalition army was resting and in urgent need of reinforcements. They also had to collect funds worth about 120,000 gold crowns but had no way to digest them.
I hope Lord Elliver can help me gather reinforcements from the rear as soon as possible and collect the missing military supplies and equipment. The more the better.

It took Feodor a long time to come back to his senses from the thin paper in his hand.

Even though he had a deep prejudice against it, he could still feel the indescribable weight in his hand.

"You should build a new army as soon as possible. Money is not a problem. I will follow the king to the front line first, and then find an opportunity to persuade him to go south to support Leon. It seems that we can directly block the undead outside the border."

After saying this, Elifer turned around, patted his eldest son on the shoulder, and said earnestly: "I am going to re-examine my relationship with him this time, Fyodor, and relax in the future.

I underestimated the boy. He is not a griffin, and neither you nor I can control a true dragon."

(End of this chapter)