Heart of the Castle

Chapter 562 News from the Black Wing Messenger
Before the spring of 592 in the dawn calendar, no one thought that a speech could have such a great effect, let alone that a speech could be carried out in such a strange and novel form.Li Wei's voice spread to every corner of Beijing County and to the ears of every citizen through the Earth Altar, and the fanaticism it aroused was like pouring a handful of cold water into a hot oil pan.

After the speech that day ended, the entire North Border County was plunged into a sea of ​​excitement and joy. Hundreds of villagers gathered near the earth altar, clapping their hands, stomping their feet, and shouting loudly, "Griffin The slogans of "Long live the lord" and "The kingdom must win, the devil must defeat" echoed under the sky, as if the army of demons had been severely defeated, and the capital of King Fermeyer was about to return to the hands of the kingdom.

Those who fell into frenzy were not only young people in full swing, but also many women, children, and old people. There were countless arms raised above their heads, shaking violently like a dense forest blown by a strong wind.Even the knights who were supposed to maintain order joined in. The heroic and powerful shouts of these soldiers joined together, and from time to time, fighting spirit burst out from the weapons they raised.

Only the nobles of the king's capital were ashamed, but they had to raise their hands to respond to the crowd.If there were still people who were lucky before this speech, after seeing the reactions of those who listened to the speech, they had no other thoughts.At least at this moment, the hearts of the people in the northern region have been united by this speech, and their guarding knights are all raising their arms and shouting, excited for the magnificent prospect described by the Griffin Lord.If someone jumped out and tried to stop it at this time, no matter who it was, the fanatical crowd would tear him to pieces in an instant.

This high enthusiasm was inspired by Li Wei's speech, and it could not last for too long. Perhaps after calming down, many people would still have the dross of selfish thoughts in their hearts.However, it takes time to calm down, and the follow-up actions of the Griffon Lord followed closely, without giving the nobles of the royal capital any chance to make trouble.

In the afternoon of that day, the altar of the earth shone with earthy yellow light again, but this time it was not only the Griffin Lord who appeared on the light curtain, but also four key figures from the integrated army of Northern Border County and the old red-robed scholar Master Sugard, the old scholar, is dressed in a particularly solemn attire today, with a brand new red velvet robe embellished with sapphires and golden threads, the necklace around his neck is polished to sparkle, and he holds a roll of parchment in his hand.

Then he unfolded the parchment, and in a solemn tone read the northern army integration plan issued by the Griffon Lord—at the same time, he also announced the official establishment of the Griffin Knights, replacing the Lightning Knights that had been wiped out, and becoming the newborn of the Kingdom of Arthur strength.

Flame Wheel Knight Willpus is the first branch leader of the Griffon Knights, and the banner is a golden griffin with a scarlet fire ring flashing around it.His subordinates include 120 Griffin Knights and [-] elite cavalry who have experienced the defense of the Ice Wall Great Wall. Haihua, the former head of the second branch of the Death Knights, served as Wilps' deputy, and the thirty Death Knights under him were merged into the first In a group.In Li Wei's vision, the first division composed of pure cavalry is the most powerful peck of the Griffin Knights, capable of launching an unstoppable group charge and destroying all enemy formations in front of them.

Lord Cedric the White Wolf is the second head of the Griffin Knights, and the banner is his family crest - a white wolf head with red blood dripping from its teeth.His subordinates include [-] white wolf guards and [-] sturdy mountain people from remote forests.Compared with the first division, this team's impact is not as good, but its attack methods are more comprehensive, and its actions are very fast and concealed, suitable for dogfighting with superior forces.

Steel Fist Knight Dragoonsun is the third branch leader of the Griffin Knights. The flag he chose is a black iron fist standing on a blood-red background, which looks aggressive and murderous.The number of fighters under his command is second to none among the four divisions, 1000, [-] Great Wall defenders and [-] alchemy pikemen belong to his command, in addition, there are dozens of Dreadfort equipped with heavy flails and black iron ring armor jailer.Since Dragonson is a strong and reckless knight, and his troops are all infantry who are good at array defense, he was equipped with three high-ranking knights as his assistants, namely Hall the Iron Head, Hall the Silent Gavin and quick-tempered Riat.

Sir Grace, the sniper archer, is the commander of the fourth branch of the Griffin Knights. The flag is a hunter in red striding forward on a background as green as a deep forest——the emblem of the Tully family is finally flying openly again under the blue sky.The soldiers of the fourth branch of the Griffin Knights are very different from the knights in the usual sense. Half of them are snipers holding special longbows and wearing gray-green cloaks, and half of them are holding heavy steel crossbows and wearing cloaks. Alchemy marksman in chain mail.

Such purely long-range troop formations rarely appear in formal knight orders. The reason for this is that a well-made longbow that is powerful enough to penetrate standard armor and shields is very valuable, and it can almost catch up with an excellent horse. The price of a horse plus a set of steel knight armor.However, what a heavy cavalry can do, it is difficult for an archer to do, especially in large-scale cavalry field battles, the role of archers is reduced to negligible.

However, this is not the case in the Griffon Knights. In the entire battle sequence of the Knights, Sir Grace's fourth branch is tied with Wilps' first branch, and is known as the strongest "dual" of the Griffin Knights. The Wall", whose combat effectiveness was far superior to Lord Cedric's Second Division and Dragonson's Third Division.The sniper archer trained by Sir Grace is equipped with a special longbow produced in the heart of the castle, and the alchemy marksman has a heavy crossbow also produced in the blacksmith shop of the heart of the castle. Rain has repeatedly made outstanding achievements in previous battles, and can be called a terrifying army that makes demons fearful.

Those who can join the Griffon Knights are the most elite and loyal troops in Northern County. For the standing troops of the Northern Territories and the guards brought by the royal nobles, the threshold of the Griffin Knights is still hopeful. and unreachable.For these people, proper arrangements have also been made in the military integration plan.Master Sugard paused for a moment, then turned the parchment over, cleared his throat and continued reading.

In order to fight against the fierce offensive that may be launched by the demon army at any time, the northern border county is divided into four war zones. Among them, Dirk City, the original county seat, and Sicily City, a seaport city, are divided into the first war zone, Dusk Forest, and North Austria, the city of anti-magic. La was divided into the second war zone, Permafrost and Green Castle were divided into the third war zone, and the Great Wall of Ice was divided into the fourth war zone.

Among them, the guard knights of the nobles of the royal capital joined the city guards of Dirk City and Sicily City, and cooperated with the Knights of the Temple of the Storm to form the defensive force of the first theater, led by the archbishop of the Temple of the Storm, Bovava; The standing troops of the Griffin Knights and the second branch of the Griffin Knights are stationed along the Dusk Forest and the city of North Aura respectively. The third theater of the Fort is ready to support the battles of the first two theaters at any time, or when the situation is irreversible, the remaining troops will retreat to the area north of the Dusk Forest.

As for the other dangerous Great Wall of Ice, in addition to the thousands of defenders led by Donald the Roaring Bear, the integration plan also requires all male residents who are 16 years old and above, healthy and disease-free to participate in five days of military training every month. And went to the Great Wall of Ice to serve in batches for two months.

If this integration plan had been announced a few months ago, the loud opposition might have drowned the entire northern border.Earl Ansair, a sword dancer who is not inferior to Li Wei in prestige, once proposed a similar but much milder integration plan at the beginning of the disaster, but as a result, there were so many objections that the sword-wielding earl had to let go. Keep a low profile, and patiently appease those small and medium-sized lords who are either panicked or angry.

However, the situation between now and then has undergone great changes. The never-fallen land favored by the gods, Fermeyer, has fallen, and the kingdom is full of wars. Although the northern border county is still stable as a whole, it also has an illusion of being precarious. .The army of demons seemed to be like the sword of Damocles hanging above the head by the strands of hair, and it might fall violently at any time, cutting the last piece of peaceful paradise in Northern County into pieces.

Li Wei's passionate speech at this time and the subsequent army integration plan were tantamount to a powerful slap in the face, waking up the soldiers and civilians of the kingdom who were still at a loss.They suddenly find that although their situation is still dangerous, someone has pointed out a path to hope.This road may be rough and bumpy, but it is the only thing they can see in the twilight, so they have no choice but to step on it.

The speech of the Griffon Lord and the announcement of the army integration plan became the symbol of the rapid development of Northern County. This period was also known as the period of "holding the sword in the left hand and holding the plow in the right" in later generations. The critical stage of the disaster.But that was a topic that was talked about more than ten years later. At least at present, even people like Li Wei, Mr. Dish and Master Sugard are not very sure whether the integration plan can go smoothly.

When the light on the crystal ball disappeared, Master Sujiad let out a long breath, and then dared to raise his hand to wipe the crystal sweat from his forehead. "Merkativo, the Lord of Wisdom," his voice looked tired and weak, "This is probably the time when I have been listened to by the most people in my life. I really am not usually nervous."

"Actually, you should relax a little more." Wilps, who was wearing full flaming knight armor, said in a relaxed tone, "Just now I saw so much sweat on your back that it soaked the velvet robe gone."

Master Sugard turned his head and gave Wilps a reproachful look. "You can't say that, Mr. Wilps, you just stand behind without saying a word, you should be much more relaxed than me, but do you dare to dry the sweat on your body without fighting?"

Wilps was immediately at a loss for words, and everyone couldn't help laughing, and the tense atmosphere just now dissipated.

"I hope this integration can go on smoothly." After the laughter stopped, Lord White Wolf Cedric muttered, with a little worry in his tone, "At the beginning, Earl Ansair and I were in the dark. Trying to promote this incident almost caused a serious commotion in the northern border."

"Don't worry, the situation is different now." Mr. Dish came over and continued with a smile. "The people's eyesight is not that long, and they can't think of things so far away. They can only see that the northern border county is in a state of being attacked from both sides. No matter whether the devil is attacking from the extreme northern ice sheet or the south, it is difficult to resist in the current state of loose sand. "

"Actually, it's really hard to resist." Speaking of the threat of the devil's attack, Flame Wheel Knight Wilpus showed worry on his clear face, touched his mustache with his hand and said, "Wang Wang It has been almost a month since the fall, and the demon army may expand to a terrifying level. Now there is almost no danger in the south of the Dusk Forest. Although Dirk City, which was originally the county town of the North Border County, is relatively large in scale, it is bigger than the St. Fortified cities such as Whitestone Fort and Firmeyer are too far apart, even worse than Green Castle and North Aura; let alone the port city of Sicily, defending there may not be much different from conducting field battles. Only North Orla's terrain is dangerous, and it can withstand it for a while, but it's a pity that the scale is too small to accommodate many troops."

Perhaps it was due to the majestic appearance of the Tully family's striding hunter badge again, Sir Grace looked a little excited, and his always gloomy expression became much more cheerful because of this. "Master Wilps, there is absolutely no need for your worries." Sniper Archer pointed out bluntly, "Master Li Wei, Steward Frederick and Master Sugard have discussed this matter long ago, and arranged the first And the retreat steps of the second war zone, after this army preparation, the combat effectiveness of the northern troops will rise to a higher level, and it is even possible to rely on the three cities to fight a tug-of-war with the demon army."

"However, during the integration period of the army, due to the lack of cooperation with each other and other reasons, the combat effectiveness of other troops except for the Griffin Knights will drop a lot." Wilps still frowned tightly. "Lord Li Wei, what worries me even more is the Great Wall of Ice in the north."

Levi has been listening attentively to everyone's discussions, and occasionally exchanged a few words in a low voice with Mr. Dish beside him. Hearing Wilps' worries, his face showed doubts. "Worried about the Great Wall of Ice? Wilpus, the defense there is impregnable, and there are thousands of soldiers led by Donald to defend it. Is it the place we should not worry about the least?"

"Lord Roaring Bear Donna's strength is not bad, but his Fierce Fire Fighting Qi is only at the level of the peak of Sanhua." When he said this, Wilps hesitated, and then said in a calm tone as much as possible, "I The worry is that he can't resist the real powerhouse among the demons, such as General Kleinus, who can rely on teleportation or other methods to rush directly to the Great Wall of Ice. Without enough strength, it is difficult to move its destroyed."

Li Wei was stunned for a moment, because he knew very well that the direction of the extreme north ice field could be completely safe and sound, but he couldn't explain that reason, at least he couldn't explain it to people like Wilps and Dragunson.

After all, neither the Heart of the Castle nor Lord Scott of Burning Cinders is something that can be said casually. The people present are undoubtedly friends and subordinates that Li Wei trusts, but trust does not mean that you can say it without reservation. own secret.

Especially since this secret is difficult to explain in an ordinary way.

Roaring Bear Donna was able to learn about this because of the soul blood oath, so he was appointed as the commander of the Ice Wall defenders.Through the relationship between the soul blood oath and the heart of the castle, he can communicate with Scott instead of the Griffon Lord to a certain extent, ensuring that the defense of the Great Wall of Ice is foolproof.

Just when Li Wei was in a dilemma, Mr. Dish's voice appeared in time, "Master Wilps, the Great Wall of Ice Wall is not only guarded by Lord Donner and thousands of militiamen, it is directly under the two squadrons of Griffon Knights of Master Li Wei. They are also stationed nearby, ready to provide support at any time."

"Two squadrons?" Wilps repeated in surprise, "Butler Frederick, I know that the Griffin Knights are elite, but if there are only two squadrons, that is, 40 people, I'm afraid it won't do much good." Great effect, right?"

"Sir Rodriguez is the chief instructor of the Griffin Knights directly under Master Levi." Mr. Dish smiled pointedly. "Master Wilps, you should feel at ease now, right?"

"...I understand. Since it is a knight trained by Sir Rodriguez...the defense of the Great Wall of Ice is really nothing to worry about." Wilps showed a relieved expression on his face, and then touched the steel boots, He straightened his body and kowtowed to Li Wei, "Master Li Wei, if there is nothing else, I will take my leave first."

Li Wei nodded, and was about to return the gift when he suddenly heard a piercing scream from above his head.Before he could react, the messenger with black wings volleyed down and landed directly on his shoulder.

"Smart mouth?" Li Wei was a little surprised, and pointed the sharp beak of the big crow with his finger, then raised his head to look at the sky. "Why did you come back alone? Shouldn't you lead the crows to patrol the camps in the southwest?"

"Trouble! Trouble! Return! Return!" The big crow shrieked and shook its wings, then looked at Li Wei with eyes like black pearls. "Assault, attack, come on, come on!"

The voice of the big crow was as sharp and noisy as a steel wire rubbing against each other, and the blood on everyone's faces faded away in an instant!

(End of this chapter)