Heart of the Castle

Chapter 669
For the vast majority of the North County Aboriginal people, the summer of Dawn 592 was a particularly gratifying harvest season.Large-scale land reclamation and the application of various seeds that contain the divine power of the earth have brought amazing results. If you look down on the entire North Border County from a high altitude, you can see that the originally desolate, barren and independent land is now full of people. signs of activity.Numerous village camps and the surrounding cultivated land are like hundreds of gold coins, large and small, scattered in the endless virgin forest, and even the most remote camps are connected by forest paths as thin as ribbons.

Abundant supplies have injected new vitality into Beijing County. The householders who have tasted the sweet fruits of land reclamation began to spontaneously organize teams to expand outward, and reclaimed new arable land and farms around the original village camps. The faith gained by the Temple of the Earth The strength also continued to grow.While the reclamation wave is rising again, it has also brought about the problem of manpower shortage again. The northern lords who were deeply worried about whether the barren northern border could support an additional 20 refugees have now begun to work hard on how to increase the number of people. stand up.

The new King Arthur's court is also considering this issue.

The area of ​​Northern County is indeed vast. Even after the addition of 20 refugees from the capital of Fermeyer, the area that can be reclaimed only accounts for one-tenth of the forest area. Where mountains, rivers and lakes occupy.Completely different from the desolation and barrenness in the impression, when the alchemy detection instrument made by the little spirits-they call it "big and small eyes, high and low eyebrows, thin and leaking light" and the mineral detection technique of the priest of the Earth Temple were applied on a large scale, the North The rich mineral deposits buried in the mountains of Jingjun for tens of millions of years have been gradually unearthed. The rich types and huge reserves are astounding.

However, whether it is to expand the land reclamation area or to mine mineral deposits, more labor is needed, otherwise you can only watch precious time wasted. Her Majesty Queen Fleischer I, Regent Li Weiston and other important ministers of the kingdom continued to carry out In several imperial meetings, various development strategies were put forward with great care, but all of them were rejected one by one due to the lack of manpower.

In the end, they set their sights on the neighboring Xifeng County.

Due to the victory of the Moonglade outpost, the demon army entrenched in Westwind County and the capital of Fermeyer suffered heavy losses. Before the reinforcements from Abyss Hell arrived, they had to shrink their remaining troops as much as possible.The demon army in Xifeng County even gave up the undefensible port capital of Arius and the already dilapidated Iron Rock City, and gathered all their forces behind the high walls of the city of Xifeng County, waiting for help.

As the devil shrank its strength, the resistance team that had disappeared in Xifeng County regained its activity.The number of these teams varies from dozens to 2000, but the common feature is that discipline is lax and the composition of personnel is very chaotic. It is better to say that they are gathered together than fighters against demons invading their homes. gang of war refugees.

Among them are small and medium lords who have lost their manors and castles, farmers and craftsmen who have fled their hometowns; Barefoot children and even women with babies in their arms.Their weapons and equipment are even more pitiful, most of them are farm tools such as hoes and sickles. In some small groups, even the leader may not be able to wear a decent long sword or battle axe.

It is conceivable that the combat effectiveness of these people is very poor, even some of them are led by knights or sergeant majors from the former Westwind County Guard. They were either the old and the weak, women and children, or the terrified soldiers.During the period when the demon army just occupied Xifeng County, a horned demon warlord or burner would often encounter a team of more than a dozen little demons, which could cause hundreds of thousands of human teams to collapse, and the fleeing figures were all over the mountains and plains. Both are.

But it is different now. Except for the county town, demons are rarely seen in the entire Xifeng County. Due to the persecution of hunger, those rebels walked out of their hiding places in fear, and then they were pleasantly surprised. Neither encountered the demonic contingent, and it seemed that peace had returned to the land.

Their courage gradually grew. First, some noble lords returned to the castles that had been occupied by demons to clean up and repair their houses; Due to the shortage of manpower, many former thieves and bandits took the opportunity to join the army under the command of a certain noble lord, only a small number of guys who did not want to be restrained returned to their old jobs and formed gangs Live by robbing the weak.

It seems that everything has returned to the life before the disaster came.

However, there are many people who are not so short-sighted. Xifeng County did not succeed in expelling the demons by its own power. Anxiety is growing in people's hearts, and it is increasing day by day.Just when many people were desperate and felt that the future was dark, many travelers in khaki robes held iron-headed wooden staffs inlaid with obsidian, and walked through the mountains, fields and valleys of Westwind County. Following their footsteps, " Go to Northern County" and "Go to the territory of the anti-magic hero Levi Stone" sounded like a ray of morning light tearing through the fog, quietly spreading among people's ears.

So the nobles of Xifeng County were surprised to find that the number of people under their rule was rapidly decreasing. Even if they sent soldiers to stop them, they were either scattered by the flow of people, or they simply followed the elders on the journey of escape. The stubborn soldiers were surprised to find that those traveling priests in khaki robes all possessed the gifts of the gods, the iron-headed wooden staffs emitting a faint light and the powerful power of the ground splitting technique, allowing them to use broken bones and bruises Qing's eyes deeply understood what it means to awaken the wrath of the earth.

No matter whether it is day or night, there is a constant flow of people on the small road leading to Beijing County. They are dressed in rags, supporting the old and the young, carrying their only luggage on their shoulders. Some men are pushing the wheelbarrow with great difficulty. It was filled with all kinds of tattered household items, while the other men lined up on the periphery of the line, with tired and vigilant faces, holding agricultural tools, lassoes, and short knives as self-defense weapons in their hands.

Only a very small number of people own carts pulled by poor horses or oxen. The animals that pull the carts are thin and tired due to hunger, and they wobble every step they take. In fact, the people who drive the carts are not much better.These scooters did not pull luggage, and the people sitting and lying on the scooters were old people and sick people who could not move freely. Their bodies were as thin as straw stalks, and their eyes were empty.

But what comforts these refugees is that they can often see itinerant priests in khaki robes along the way. They either follow the refugees on foot for a certain distance, escorting them through jungles and valleys; or in flat and open forests. A temporary rest camp was set up. In the camp, there are not only warm bonfires and animal skin tents for the old and the weak to camp, but also a large pot of hot porridge boiling all day long for free.

These hot porridges, made of squashed oatmeal mixed with chopped carrots, onions and turnips, filled bowlfuls of every refugee who came to the camp to fill their depleted stomachs.If they would bow down and pray before the makeshift altar in the middle of the camp, they would also get two large hunks of rusk.As for those who can make the obsidian on the temporary altar emit a faint yellow light when praying, they usually get more favorable treatment. They are affectionately called believers by the traveling priests, and they are allowed to rest in a dry area near the altar. They can also get the treatment of using magic and medicine to relieve their pain and heal their injuries.

Not all of these refugees were good people. Some guys who were used to being robbers watched everything in the camp with greedy eyes. Whether it was the stored food, medicine or the tent itself, they were now very precious materials.However, when they saw those itinerant priests performing divine spells, those evil thoughts disappeared as quickly as ice and snow under the scorching sun. What does ability mean.

Since Philmeyer, the city of glory, is still occupied by the demon army, there is no direct road connecting Westwind County and North Border County. Trek through the backcountry trails covered by bushes.This journey can be described as difficult and difficult, especially the shadow of the elf guards who are said to be ruthless to outsiders is even more frightening.When camping at night, many refugees didn't even dare to light the campfire. The adult men on vigil gathered together, holding sticks cut from thick branches tightly in their hands, and staring at the dense forest full of shadows.

If some of them could have the ability of night vision, they would be even more afraid, because not far from where these refugees camped, there were always a few elf archers hiding in the dense shade of the treetops.These elven archers have a dual mission. On the one hand, they are to monitor these refugees and prevent them from doing any stupid actions. On the other hand, they are also to drive away hungry beasts for them and ensure that they can pass through the forest safely.

Compared with the hardships during the journey, arriving in Beijing County is like entering the cloud kingdom of the legendary Father God.According to the rumors about the barrenness and desolation of the northern border county, the refugees were prepared to be treated coldly, but in the end they received a very warm reception.

The temporary refugee camp has regular roads, solid wooden houses and warm beds, which are no worse than the residences of those nobles; The exhaustion along the way; the earth priest in the khaki robe and the storm priest in the dark blue robe spread their teachings while treating the refugees for their injuries; many wooden platforms were set up in the camp, and there were always well-dressed Aristocrats and officials gave impassioned speeches describing the favorable treatment that a certain town in the Northshire afforded to refugees.

All this made these refugees from Xifeng County feel overwhelmed, and some even worried that it was a scam, but they quickly calmed down, because among the entourage of the nobles, they saw The countrymen of the county, these people are now full of energy, wearing clean and tidy clothes, and some have even become guard soldiers wearing iron helmets and holding spears. On the thick blue and white coats, a golden griffin badge is particularly special striking.

Under the testimony of these fellow villagers who had come earlier, the anxiety in the hearts of the refugees was relieved a lot. They began to tentatively ask questions to the nobles and officials who spoke, and at the same time, they thought about where they should go to discuss life.

A total of more than ten such refugee camps have been built in North Border County, each of which can accommodate thousands of refugees. Free food at the camp will only be distributed for ten days, after which they will have to work to make a living.

Farmers with rich planting experience are the most popular, and miners and craftsmen are also fiercely contested; although there is no shortage of guards with swords and guns on the territory, as long as they are strong and hardworking, the military A set of weapons and equipment was not spared; the lonely old people, women and children were all left in cities like Dirk, Sicily and North Orla, where they could get more job opportunities.It doesn't matter even if you are weak and weak, as long as you pray wholeheartedly to the God of the Earth, and after obtaining the priest's approval, you can receive a Holy Communion distributed by the Temple of the Earth.It consisted of cheese, crusty bread, boiled turnips and roasted onions, enough for the day, and sometimes a small glass of cold ale.

However, contrary to the thriving scene in the northern county, the news from the sixth war zone—that is, the silent war zone in the second eastern county—is full of ominous meaning.After the enthronement ceremony of Her Majesty Queen Fleisher I, Northern County sent a mission led by the important minister of the kingdom, Marquis Jellos, to Great Serey County, bringing with them a proposal to rebuild the round table council.However, this mission received very indifferent treatment. Not only did they not get to see the real ruler of the Eastern Second County, Thomas De Jansen, the head of the Knights of Death, but they also met James, the puppet governor of Great Serre County. The talks held by Count Serret were also not going well.

The Earl, who was so fat that he had no neck, fully displayed all the characteristics of a dandy nobleman whose body and will were corrupted by power and desire. During the conversation, Earl James sometimes made excuses and avoided the important things, and sometimes he put his chin on his hand and talked soundly. Dreaming, only showing a little interest and vitality when lunch and dinner time came, and cordially invited Earl Geralds and his entourage to have a delicious meal.

The Marquis of Geralds showed the demeanor of a veteran diplomat with great patience, but this was only at the beginning of the talks.According to his thinking, although Earl James is just a puppet without real power, but after all, he has a high status, and he must be able to pass on the proposal he brought to Lord Eyes.However, after three days of fruitless talks, Marquis Jellos finally found out in despair that either the Lord of the Eyes, Tomad Jansen, didn't care about the missions from the north at all, or the Lord Earl James treated him like this. The things I heard for a few days were stuffed into the abdominal cavity of the fat goose as stuffing, and then they were eaten together.

During the talk on the fourth day, the Marquis of Geralds used all his diplomatic skills, but whether it was a statement of righteousness, a temptation with a joke, or a hint in a gentle tone, in Earl James's fat card full of food residue It doesn't work in front of the face.It was as if the county sheriff had turned all his body fat into armor of will, and bounced back all his words.In the end, Marquis Geralds couldn't bear it any longer, he overturned the table angrily, and then strode away amidst the uproar.

The news of the departure of the royal mission from Northern County was quickly placed on the desk of Thomas De Jansen, the head of the Knights of Death. After reading it quietly, there was no expression on Yingwu's face, but the right hand that was holding the hilt of the "Brilliant" Excalibur tightened subconsciously.

"If you find that you can't achieve your goal, do you want to leave without hesitation?" The voice of the Lord of the Eyes was very calm, but those who knew him could hear the obvious admiration, "I underestimated the Marquis of Geralds , and Li Weiston and his subordinates, if Queen Fleischer is surrounded by such talents, I am afraid that Northern County will not be so easy to bow their heads."

"Master Tomard, please rest assured." From the empty shadow on the right side of the lord with eyes, came a voice that sounded very weird, soft, vicious, and full of resilience. A rag soaked in venom. "The dagger protruding from the darkness will solve all your problems. Whether it is a resourceful scholar or an invincible commander, they will all turn into pale corpses in front of the faceless man wounded by the dagger—as long as Just give me an order."

"It's nonsense, deeds in the dark will never be a big deal!" A burly knight wearing black steel armor of a high-ranking knight of the Death Knights and wearing a skull shape growled, his dull voice was as loud as a rock crack. Open the same. "Master Tomard, in my opinion, we have a king, and they also have a king, but one is an illegitimate son, and the other is the daughter of a traitor. Which one is the orthodox depends on who can sit on the king's seat first." Ermeyer’s golden throne. Now that the Church of Light has expressed its full support for the counterattack against the King’s Capital, as long as they reach a deal with those desert vampires, they will definitely be able to regain the King’s Capital in one fell swoop and establish the overall situation.”

"There is no need to mobilize so many people to make trouble, Lord Tomad." The voice in the darkness said with a sneer, "It is enough to dispatch the Faceless Man with the dagger wound. If you nod, take that one before tonight." Let the head of Marquis Geralds prove our words..."

The voice in the darkness was interrupted by a series of footsteps, and then a Death Knight walked into the room and knelt down on one knee, "Report to the Commander, the rangers who monitored the Northern County Mission have just reported back and left Great Serai After the county town, the main members of the mission were picked up by a group of griffins that fell from the sky, and asked if they would continue to follow the rest of the staff for surveillance."

The head of the Jiaxiugang sub-group stunned in amazement, "This is such a coincidence, Faceless Ones, it seems that if you want to fulfill your promise, you must grow a pair of black wings from your shoulders." Woolen cloth?"

The man in the darkness didn't answer, but the unstoppable fury in his heart could be heard from the creaking voice.Lord Gaiyan lowered his eyes and pondered for nearly a minute, then raised his head, his golden eyes flashed with a sharp knife-like light, "Maybe this is the arrangement of God the Father, Jia Xiugang, head of the branch, if the desert kingdom Abraham If your envoys haven't left yet, arrange for them to meet tomorrow."

(End of this chapter)