Heart of the Castle

Chapter 273 Soldiers dispatched to the Green Castle, the battle is approaching

A group of cavalry rushed up the high slope like a whirlwind, and then reined in their horses one after another. The leading knight was dressed in khaki heavy armor, and his helmet in the shape of a roaring bear's head looked mighty and extraordinary.He straightened up on his mount and looked forward. Although the distance was still far away and the morning mist had not dissipated, a white flag could still be seen clearly on the top of the ancient castle ahead, with a hazy green in the middle.

It must have been the banner of Ser Lydwan, Lord of the Greencastle.

Roaring Bear Donald looked at the ancient castle opposite, lost in thought.

The Green Castle on the northern border has a very long history, and can even be traced back to the early days of the Kingdom of Arthur. At that time, the fort was not owned by the nobles of the kingdom, but existed as a stronghold established by some pioneers and refugees in the north.These people refused to recognize the newly established Kingdom of Arthur, and gathered strength to attack the border of the kingdom through the Dusk Forest many times.

The establishment of North Aola City is to fight against the evil disaster on the one hand, and to defend against the attacks of these refugees on the other hand. 120 years ago, the Northern Conquest War initiated by Arthur VIII conquered a large area of ​​land north of the Dusk Forest, and established the Northern County to accommodate the Dusk Forest. Block noble territory.Viscount Ryan's ancestors achieved enough meritorious service in that battle and obtained the title and territory of Viscount on the northern border.

Green Castle was the city chosen by the viscount at that time. However, with the passage of time and the baptism of more than 100 years of wind and frost, the fortress of the past has long lost its glory. The mottled city walls covered with green moss are full of cracks, showing signs of decay; The wooden watchtower standing behind the city wall has long since decayed, and there are no traces of its glory as a stronghold of refugees from the north.

According to records, thousands of armed refugees gathered here at the most time. Under the leadership of some exiled knights, they fought against the Arthur Kingdom Army for decades. Their leader called himself the King of the North, Passed down from generation to generation like a kingdom.

It was not until Arthur VIII, known as the "King of the Expedition", led a large army to besiege Green Castle with an absolutely superior force. After a week of hard work, the fortified castle was captured and the refugee forces entrenched on the northern border were completely wiped out.The tragedy of that battle was far beyond imagination. More than 1000 people from both sides died inside and outside the Green Castle, and the Green Castle itself was severely damaged.

After the Ryan family chose this place as their residence, they worked hard to renovate the Green Castle, but they only roughly repaired the main building and the outer city walls. As for the tall towers and watchtowers, they didn't have the time and money to repair them one by one. After all, the Green Castle was built as a base camp for refugees, and it was completely unsuitable for the life of nobles.After the current castle of the Viscount Land was built, the Ryan family immediately abandoned it, and entrusted it together with the nearby land to a branch of the Ryan family at that time.

That is the ancestor of Sir Ridwan.

"Is this the Green Castle?" The tall knight standing on Donner's right muttered, "It looks dilapidated, and with one charge, the rotten gate will collapse, right?"

"Master Dickway, don't take it lightly." Donner warned in a low voice, "The Green Castle has stood in the northern border for hundreds of years, and it still stands today. In history, this castle has only been conquered once, and that time, it cost Hundreds of lives of soldiers of the Royal Army."

"Green Castle is indeed easy to defend and difficult to attack, but that happened more than 100 years ago." Knight Dickwell pouted and said, "Master Donna, I think you are being too cautious, and you don't need to wait for the follow-up infantry Now, just the cavalry we brought can take this old castle in one fell swoop."

"Lord Dickway, if you join the battle with this thought, we will have no choice but to collect your body." Dragonson, who was on the left side of Donna and was wearing a thick black armor, said in a stiff tone.

"I've always been at odds with this guy, Ridvan, but I've never underestimated his mind. You can tell by looking around that this place is not so much a ruined castle as a place of death. trap."

Dragonson's words not only reminded Dickway, but also reminded Donna. The two looked in the direction of Dragonson's finger. Dickway was still a little confused, but Donna, who was rich in adventure, immediately took a deep breath. Take a breath.

The thick outer walls of the Green Castle have indeed cracked, and some places have even collapsed into steep slopes. However, the huge chlorite that once built the castle is still extremely strong, and multiple wooden fences have been built on top of the cracks and steep slopes.Of course, it is impossible for these wooden fences to achieve the defensive capabilities of the original city walls, but there is no problem at all in hindering the attacking troops for a period of time.

On the towering broken city wall, there is an inconspicuous hut at intervals. These huts nailed up with wooden boards have shooting openings on all sides. When the battle starts, these huts can just form crossfire. Sealed several openings on the front of the city wall.

For all but a knight in full metal armor, these gaps and steep slopes are a formidable death journey.Even with a large shield that can cover the front of the body, the infantry will be killed by the sharp arrows flying from the sides and behind. If they can pass quickly, perhaps this is not a fatal problem, and the green mud with moss The stone was so slippery that it was impossible to move quickly on it.

After listening to Donald's explanation, Dickway couldn't help being speechless.As a high-ranking knight, he also had quite a lot of combat experience. Of course, he could imagine the tragic scene of the troops staggering forward on the slippery rocks and rolling down under the rain of arrows when attacking the city.

"According to what you're saying, Lord Dragunson, don't we have a way to break through this castle?" Dickway asked unwillingly.

"Of course there is a way, but there are not enough of us." Dragonson showed a thoughtful expression on his rough-looking face, then turned his head to Donner and said, "Master Donner, although you don't know much about Greencastle, you are prepared to I am very impressed that you have done enough. I think you should have the idea of ​​attacking the castle by now, right?"

"I was just an adventurer. Siege of cities and villages is not my specialty. Those perfect preparations are not my idea, but one of the countermeasures left by Lord Li Wei and Lord Wilps before they left. "Donna bowed his head and said very humbly.

"So, has Master Li Wei ever considered that after he leaves, there will be a rebellion in the territory?" Knight Dickway's voice contained some unbelievable feelings.

"All aspects are considered, including the worst case scenario." Tang Na explained, and then jumped off the horse. "Then, my lords, let's set up camp here temporarily and wait for the follow-up infantry and supplies."

Of course, Dragonson and Dickway would not object, because they marched all the way from the Viscount's castle, and the total rest and meal time did not exceed four hours, and the men and horses were already exhausted.

The infantry and supply troops, consisting of more than 20 carriages, arrived at sunset that day, a little later than expected.This is mainly because although the weather on the northern border has entered winter and the wind is biting, the ground has not yet frozen. Heavy-duty wheels often get stuck in the mud and can only be dragged by livestock and people. able to move on.The land near the Green Castle is even more squishy, ​​and it doesn't feel like land at all, but like a swamp that slowly sinks with stepping on it.

Several trucks loaded with black bread and dried meat slowly moved towards the temporary camp built by the cavalry, and the three knights who were in charge of leading the infantry also followed.They all looked in a state of distress, even the wind dancer Golei Joy, who was most concerned about appearance, was splashed with mud and water, not to mention the two knights, Liat and Templeton.

They walked past rows of war horses and cavalrymen who were taking care of them, and finally found Donner and the others beside a campfire.A sheepskin map was laid among the three knights, and the raised corner was nailed to the ground with a dagger. They were gesticulating on the map while discussing something fiercely, so that even Gao Lei, Joey and others I don't even know it's coming.

"I think we must mobilize enough archers to suppress the enemies on the walls of the Green Castle and provide protection for our attacking team." Dragonson's loud voice is particularly ear-catching. "Master Donner, will the sniper archer who has made great achievements in the battle to eliminate Lord Demon participate in the battle this time?"

"Sir Grace will definitely participate in the battle and lead the marksman troops he has trained himself." Donner replied, but then his voice changed, "Even if the enemies on the front wall can be suppressed, Green Castle is still not easy. It was taken down. If we attack by force, we may suffer a lot of losses."

"Of course people will die in war, and I believe that none of my subordinates are cowards!" Knight Dickway growled, "If the infantry dare not charge, then I will personally lead the team and dismount the cavalry to do it. "

These words changed the faces of the three people who had just arrived, especially Gao Lei Joy, who was in charge of infantry training, turned pale with anger. "Dickwell, what nonsense are you talking about? Cavalry are not afraid of death, so don't the infantry I train fear death in battle? Lord Donner, I request an attack early tomorrow morning, and I will stand at the forefront of the ranks. I will never take the Green Castle." Do not withdraw troops."

"Don't be impulsive, Mr. Gao Lei? Joy." Tang Na quickly stood up and asked the three knights leading the infantry to sit in front of the bonfire.After they all sat down, Donner pointed to the green castle on the map, and said with a wry smile, "Things are more troublesome than we first imagined. Sir Ridwan is simply a lunatic."

"Sir Ridwan was once the wisest person in this territory, except Master Sugard and the two great knight commanders. Why do you say that?" Knight Templeton asked curiously.

"According to the report from the sentry, before we arrived, Lord Lidwan drove all the peasants in the territory into the Green Castle, killed all those who disobeyed, and added a row of terrible gates to the gate of the Green Castle with the corpses. Ornaments." Pointing to the ancient castle in the distance, Tang Na told a terrible fact.

"Barud!" Riat Knight exclaimed in shock, "How could he do this?"

"More than that, he also flooded all the cultivated land and fertile fields near the Green Castle, creating a swamp. Neither knights nor heavy infantry have any way to approach the high walls of Green Castle." Dragonson Go on.

"It seems that Sir Lidwan is really crazy." Goray Joy's voice was also very shocked, "If you do this, this year's harvest will be ruined, and his reputation among the farmers will also be ruined. From now on, even one No one who came to farm on his lands could be found."

"We'd better not discuss Sir Ridwan's mental state anymore, because whether he is really crazy or not, we must break through the Green Castle as soon as possible, severely punish his betrayal, and take the king's envoy and Miss Lisa Save it." Donna said, punching the map hard with his fist, and then stared at the map in a daze.

The six knights discussed until the sky was full of stars, but they still couldn't come up with a good solution.What interrupted their discussion was a smell of beef and oats, and two servants brought up a simple supper, the protagonists of which were each a large bowl of hot soup made of beef jerky and a few pieces of browned meat roasted on the campfire. Black bread, and vegetables like small berries and wild onions found in nearby forests.

After a whole day of high-intensity marching, even though these people were all knights with fighting spirit power, they felt extremely tired and hungry.When the dinner was served in front of them, they temporarily ignored the discussion, but there was a sound of chewing.

This dinner was only unsatisfactory in terms of quantity and quality, and the knights devoured everything that was served.Seeing that the plate was empty, Dragunson licked his lips eagerly, and said to the servants who were waiting for orders: "Good boys, do you have anything to eat? Bring some more."

The two attendants looked at each other, and then one of them replied with some hesitation: "I'm sorry, Mr. Dragunson, there are no more. But if it's your order, we can let them make some more food."

"Forget it, I can't set this precedent because of my greed." Dragoonsun grinned and said, "If one day I am promoted to the title knight, I will be called a glutton knight because of this incident, but It's not worth it."

After sending away the servants, the expressions of the knights became heavy again. This time they made the best preparations, but Sir Lidwan's response far exceeded their expectations, even if Sir Grace led the militiamen tomorrow morning Troops and archers came to join them, and there was no good way to take the ancient castle.

The man-made swamp has become the biggest obstacle. The troops who want to attack the Green Castle must trample on the knee-high mud and march forward against the rain of arrows falling from their heads.And since any siege equipment couldn't get close due to the weight, they had to climb the slippery moss-covered city walls with bare hands.

Even the two high-ranking knights, Dragonson and Dickway, who boasted extraordinary courage and strength, couldn't help but feel deeply embarrassed.If it is for victory, they can face death without hesitation, but dying in vain under the rain of arrows and gaining a reputation for recklessness is not the ending they want.

"If Sir Lydvan leaves this turtle shell, it will be easy to deal with." Knight Templeton said scratching the scar on his forehead.

"Of course, if this damned traitor comes out of the Green Castle, even if he takes all the soldiers with him, I can stab him in the ass with this big sword!" A two-handed sword of astonishing size, the original one was broken when fighting against Lord Demon, but Li Wei arranged for the master blacksmith Brebe to build him a better one.

"However, it is impossible for him to leave the protection of the high walls of Greencastle." Di Kewei said, putting his hand on the hilt of his sword: "Sir Lidwan is as cautious as an eunuch in armor. No matter what methods we use to provoke and humiliate him, he It is impossible to come out from behind the safety of the fort."

This sentence also became the conclusion of the discussion, because everyone found that if the discussion continued like this, it would have no practical effect other than delaying the rest.

In the bivouac, separate tents were set up for several knights, made of thick canvas, with the knights' respective badges embroidered on them.Donna walked to his tent with the head of a snarling bear on it, stopped, and turned around to look at the camp.

The bonfire was raging, and the soldiers were holding their weapons, sitting or lying by the fire, and the beating firelight reflected on these young faces, making their expressions even more resolute and dignified.The guards on duty at night stood quietly in the corner of the camp like cedar trees, only the occasional dangling sword brought a faint flash.

"Tomorrow, how many of these people will survive? They didn't die in the battle against the evil disaster, nor did they die in the war against the invasion, but they were about to die in the disaster caused by one person's ambition and desire. A trace of sadness flashed across Tang Na's eyes, and he raised his head to look at the sky.

The night was dark and the stars were like a sea. After the disaster was over, whenever Tang Na saw this scene, he felt extremely peaceful and proud in his heart.But today he didn't feel that way, those blinking stars seemed to be laughing at the imminent disaster brought about by human selfish desires, or...maybe they were crying.

Tang Na's eyes turned to the front again, the night blocked the figure of the ancient Green Castle, and he could only see a vague and thick black shadow. In this shadow, Tang Na seemed to see the arrogant and conceited knight leading the way. He cast a disdainful look with a sneer.

Tang Na's gaze sharpened, and a solemn oath flowed through his heart: "Sir Lidwan, I, Don Na, the Roaring Bear, swear here that I will make you pay enough for your ambition and madness!"

(End of this chapter)