Heart of the Castle

Chapter 674
A hazy drizzle between morning mist and water vapor shrouded the ancient city walls of Green Castle. Although it was still early, it was already filled with the noise of people shouting and neighing. Thousands of elite troops were about to leave this city. The castle, which has been stationed for half a year, is going to be stationed south of the Dusk Forest. Of course, the preparations to be carried out are very heavy.

Wearing a delicate iron-blue light armor, Li Weiston rode on the tall back of the Dark Nightmare in the Northern Territory, with gloomy eyes, standing on a small hill outside the city like a equestrian statue.The cloak on his shoulders had been soaked by the rain and fog, and it hung wet and heavy behind him. The uncomfortable feeling made the young Griffin Lord even more depressed.

The sky is covered with thin clouds, and a layer of gray morning light shines through the gaps, shining on the busy square in front of you. The strong military servants are shouting, carrying various supplies on their hands and shoulders, and transporting them Get to the carriage of the baggage train.Barrels of oiled arrows, musket points, and chain mail, boxes of spare parts for swords, tomahawks, and armor, sacks of herbs, spices, and a host of other miscellaneous cries from hundreds of throats Amidst the labor chants, they were all loaded into carriages.

Due to the large number of troops, when the last dozen or so carriages were still empty and waiting to be loaded with supplies, the first batch of supply carriages had already set off under the escort of a team of cavalry.The wheels rolled over the bluestone road of Green Castle, passed through the iron gate suspended in mid-air, and then left through the ancient gate on the south side of the castle.These carriages were filled with all kinds of food, including whole barrels of salted fish, whole loaves of dry hard bread like logs, sausages exuding the aroma of lard, turnips comparable to the size of human heads, and meatballs as big as wheels. Yellow cheese, and bags of red kidney beans and squashed oatmeal.

Glenn Worm, the servant knight who served as the messenger, rode a white horse and galloped like a whirlwind.This young knight has already put on the standard steel plate armor of a high-ranking Griffin Knight. The golden Griffin badge glows faintly on his chest, and the silver long sword that never leaves his body is slung across his waist. The military horn with hoop, the whole person looks very heroic.

"Your Excellency, Commander, the first branch of the Griffon Knights has been assembled, and the branch leader, Master Flame Wheel Knight Wilps, asks for your permission to go!"

"I agree with the first branch to start immediately." Li Wei said concisely and forcefully, then fell silent for a while, and glanced at the attendant knight who was full of enthusiasm, "Knight Glenn Worm, go and take my Tell the commander of the Wilps branch that although the march is within the scope of the northern county, safety cannot be ignored, especially when passing through the Dusk Forest. The scouts in front and the messengers in the rear must be led by high-ranking knights. What happened in the four southern counties cannot happen."

"As you order, Your Excellency the Commander." Grunn Worm kowtowed excitedly, then turned his horse's head and galloped away.Obviously, the young knight wanted to act with the cavalry and gallop freely in the wilderness than to accompany the crowd who were preparing to set off with Li Weiston.

The first branch of the Griffon Knights is an all-cavalry unit, including 120 Griffin Knights wearing heavy armor and [-] former Death Knights, as well as [-] soldiers who have experienced previous fierce battles such as the Great Wall of Ice and the Fall of the King's Capital. An elite light cavalry soldier with a long sword hanging from his waist and a fine steel spear in his hand.Under the twilight of the morning light, this team was like a long arrow shot by a huge ballista, rolling up dust and smoke in the sky, and heading south all the way.

In contrast, the third branch of the Griffin Knights under the command of Steel Fist Knight Dragonson seemed particularly heavy-footed. There were shield-bearing infantry, fifty Dreadfort jailers in black ringmail and heavy flails, and fifty alchemical swordsmen with two-handed greatswords.Since most of the baggage carriages will also travel with the third branch, it is necessary to be extra patient and meticulous in the preparation work.

Dragonson can be called a brave and fearless knight, but he is definitely not a patient and meticulous commander.Poor him, he barely suppressed the irritability that was about to burst out of his chest and gave orders all morning. He had already exhausted the last trace of patience. When an obviously overloaded carriage broke its axle not far in front of him, and the When the supplies above collapsed, Dragunson couldn't help cursing, his eyes widened, and his flushed face seemed to have been sprayed with blood-colored paint.

"Barud, the God of War, if I ever see these crunching things take off the axle again, I promise to kill the two animals that pull the cart, and then let you poor people put ropes to pull the cart! Got it! ?"

Draconic's loud voice was rough and resonant, and it was the loudest among the hundreds of knights in the entire Northern County, except for Donald the Roaring Bear.The thunderous roar, coupled with his fierce facial expression, made those poor barracks servants tremble with fright.One even let go of his hand subconsciously, and the wooden barrel with the chain mail fell down immediately. If his companion was not calm and pulled him away forcefully, he would have almost broken his own feet.

"Master Dragoons, please calm down." The deputy of the Iron Fist Knight, the upright Knight Hall, persuaded him, "This is not the fault of those barracks servants, Captain Leviston gave us time to prepare It is still too urgent, and some small mistakes may be unavoidable."

"Hmph! Little flaw?" Dragoons patted his thigh with still anger remaining, making a violent metal impact sound. "That's because these guys make their own decisions. There's nothing serious about it. There's a lot of things to load on the side of Zombie's face. How can it not be chaotic? Gods, you just want to make my third subgroup look ugly Ashamed?"

There is only one person in Northern County who can be honorably called "Zombie Face" by Dragonson, and that is the fourth branch leader of the Griffin Knights, Sir Grestully, the sniper archer.Probably due to the innate calm personality of the sharpshooter, as his strength gradually increased, Sir Grace became more and more taciturn and serious.Whether he was attending a banquet or training his troops, he always stood silently in a quiet corner, stroking the smooth back of the silver fir longbow with his hands from time to time.

The fourth branch of the Griffon Knights is likely to be regarded as the most cluttered supply in an army of the same size.This specialized long-range troop has a capacity of 500 people, half of them are sniper archers holding special longbows and wearing gray-green cloaks, and half of them are alchemy marksmen holding heavy steel crossbows and wearing chain mail.Since this expedition is likely to take a long time, it is necessary to bring enough ammunition to cope with several consecutive high-intensity battles, so there are nearly a hundred wooden boxes containing ordinary stainless steel arrows, and wooden boxes containing feather shafts There were hundreds of barrels, and more than 20 carriages were piled up.Adding spare bowstrings, nursing grease and other sundries, it does look more than the carriages of the third branch responsible for transportation and protection.

However, compared to the grumpy Steel Fist Knight Dragonson, the calm personality of the sniper archer Sir Grace is obviously more suitable for dealing with these complicated affairs.He didn't yell and give orders, but the cold and sharp gaze shot from those gray-blue eyes was more effective than the steel fist knight's roar.Whether it was cursing loudly or complaining in whispers, as long as Sir Grace gave a cold sideways glance, the barracks servants immediately shut their mouths tightly, as if they were afraid that if they said one more word, they would be pierced by a flying arrow. .

The fourth division completed its preparations at noon, climbing out of the Green Castle like a giant steel snake; while the third division was busy until noon before barely completing it, and Dragonson rode his horse himself He rushed out of the city gate and came to ask Li Weiston for the order to set off.This Iron Fist knight rode a shaggy horse that was only slightly shorter than the Dark Nightmare in the North. He had already taken off his helmet because of the heat, and hung it side by side with his big and ugly two-handed greatsword by the saddle. Clinking each other.

"My lord, the third branch of the Griffon Knights is ready, please go." Dragonson punched himself hard in the chest, making a violent clang.

Li Wei's expression seemed a little stunned, and he didn't return to his usual expression until the impact came. "Permission to proceed, Division Chief Dragoonsun, and my guards and I will move with you."

"It's a great honor! Captain." Dragoons replied as loudly as possible, as if he wanted to use this to dissipate the depression and irritability in his heart. "The two thousand soldiers of the third division will defend your safety with their lives and blood!"

"Squad Leader Dragoons, your loyalty is unquestionable." Li Wei's mouth twitched, showing a teasing expression that was half a smile, "So please don't learn this royal style of speaking, Bei It is enough for Jing County to have Babrupa and Chief Bamilian, two sycophants who are good at flattering."

Steel Fist Knight Dragoonsun had a dark face, but now it was burnt to a dark red color, "Yes, Commander." He grabbed his messy hair, his face was full of confusion, "But my staff say this is the way a nobleman speaks."

Li Wei curled his lips, and said with a sarcasm, "The head of the Dragoonsun branch, those aides from the royal capital can only do clerical work at most, and don't listen to other things. If you use the accent, you are a nobleman If it is demeanor, then we should really promote Mr. Babrupa to the rank of important ministers of the kingdom."

Not long after Dragoons left on his horse, Levi Ston's guards slowly galloped out from the south gate of the Green Castle. There were a total of 40 of them, arranged in two columns, and the surface of the thick steel plate armor was covered with a bright red enamel. , the golden decoration on the edge shone brightly like the rising sun.On their left hands they held a steel shield with golden barbs, and bright red ribbons painted with griffin insignias fluttered below the cocked knight lances.

Anyone with a little knowledge will scoff at what Dragonson said just now after seeing this guard. Sir Rodriguez in black armor can be called an elite force that has never been seen in the history of the kingdom. He may be able to protect Levi Stone and break out even if he is blocked by an army of tens of thousands of demons.

Li Wei patted the forehead of the Dark Nightmare in the Northern Territory, and the black horse neighed, and ran down the gentle slope to meet the champion knight guards.If it was other troops, they would definitely raise their guns to salute when they saw Levi Ston, but this guard did not need to be so red tape, and just moved forward a little, forming a steel protective wall around Levi.

"Master Levi, shall we set off now?" Sir Rodriguez's voice came from under his helmet with his visor down, looking a bit dull.

"Yes, let's go." Li Wei replied simply, and was about to ride his horse forward, but suddenly turned around as if he had sensed it, and looked up in the direction of the main building of the Green Castle.

"He saw me, Earl of Ansair, look, he turned around!" On the windy rooftop of the Green Castle, the undisputed orthodox King of the Kingdom of Arthur, Her Majesty Queen Fresier Adams, was shouting excitedly She said, with a happy smile all over her face, "I knew that Li Wei and I have such a tacit understanding in the heart!" She raised her arms high and shook them in the direction where the army was gathering.

Beside Queen Fleischer, Countess Denise Ansair had already put on a gray steel plate armor belonging to the Knights of the Iron Guard, and the Iron Ring badge on her chest was replaced by the Royal Arthur Crown badge with two swords.Her right hand was pressing on the position of her heart - that was also the position of the blood alliance mark, and the voice she answered was in full compliance with the elegant etiquette of the nobles of the royal capital. "Yes, Your Majesty, there is an amazing tacit understanding between you and Your Excellency the Regent."

The marching speed of the heavy infantry has always been relatively slow, even for an all-elite unit like the Third Griffin Regiment. The slow rhythm of the marching war drums made Li Wei, who was riding on horseback, a little dizzy. drowsy feeling.If you look down from the sky, the team of the third group of Griffins protecting the transport vehicles looks like a huge and colorful multi-legged centipede, but this centipede does not use its hundreds of feet to crawl forward , but move with the belly sticking to the ground.

When Li Wei finally saw the bridge across the Sealand River built by the Sherwood family not long ago, the sky was already approaching evening. Although the afterglow of the setting sun still dominated the western sky, the eastern sky had already risen. The color is dark blue, faintly dotted with a few of the brightest stars.

The rapid sound of horseshoes sounded, and Li Wei raised his eyes, almost looking enviously at the galloping messenger knight, "Your Excellency, Sir Robin of the Sherwood family led the family members to welcome us."

Li Wei nodded, "I see, Knight Riat, tell the head of the Dragonson branch to join me immediately, and leave the command of setting up the camp to Knight Hall and Knight Gavin." Then He turned to the black armored knight beside him, "Sir Rodriguez, let's go together."

Sir Rodriguez has always been taciturn in the presence of outsiders, and he is even more so in front of the Riat knight who once served as his attendant.He made a gesture without saying a word, then shook the reins and rode forward, followed by forty Griffin champion knights, their movements were amazingly uniform.

The Sherwood family, whose family crest is an emerald green oak tree, is an old family in Northern County and one of the first families to form an alliance with Levi Ston.However, on the eve of the fall of the royal capital, when Grand Duke Raul accused the Griffin Lord of killing the king, the original patriarch, Sir Dee Hashewood, made a wrong choice, shouted for Grand Duke Raul, and tried to split and shake the original northern coalition forces. An unstable camp.

The old knight's conspiracy almost succeeded. However, under the unanimous opposition of Cedric, Lord of the White Wolf, Belia, the vice-archbishop of the Earth Temple, and other knights loyal to Li Weiston, the lords of the Northern Alliance finally Still decided to declare war on the nobles of the royal capital.And Sir Diha Sherwood was also attacked by his nephew, bow and arrow instructor Robin Sherwood, and lost control of the family's troops, and came to the end of his life in regret and pain.

In order to reward Robin Sherwood for his contribution to this matter, after returning to Northern County, under the suggestion of the old red-robed scholar Master Sugard, Li Wei promoted Robin Sherwood to the title of Lord of the Kingdom in the name of Guardian of the Realm. He held the power of the Sherwood family, and gave him the important task of building and protecting the bridge across the Zeeland River.

Sir Robin led several important members of the Sherwood family to usher from a distance, followed by a large group of archers wearing dark green studded leather armor and gray cloaks on their shoulders - in Sir Grace's fourth regiment of Griffin Before it appeared, the Sherwood family had always had the best archers in Northern County.

In order to show respect to the Griffin Lord, including Sir Robin himself, all the longbows carried by the Sherwood family soldiers have taken off the bow strings, and the only weapon is the short sword worn at the waist.Seeing the group of people galloping under the guidance of the Griffin banner, Sir Robin immediately rode up to meet him, with a warm and respectful smile on his face.

"Lord of the Kingdom, Robin Sherwood, lord of the Ferry of the Sealand River, led all the members of the Sherwood family to welcome the head of the Kingdom of Arthur, the guardian of the whole land, and the regent King Leviston. We are deeply honored by your presence."

The Dark Nightmare in the North slowed down a dozen meters away from Sir Robin, and then Levi Ston jumped off his horse swiftly, "Sir Robin, you are too kind." He simply greeted, Then he patted the back of Dark Nightmare in the Northern Territory, signaling the black horse to go to the nearby forest to find food on its own. "Anything about the Griffin Knights?"

"Your Excellency the Regent, everything is going well. The first cavalry regiment of Lord Wilps passed the bridge before noon, and the troops of the third regiment of Lord Grace arrived about three hours ago. Leave." Sir Robin replied with a smile, "It's getting late, and the Sherwood family has prepared a reception banquet for you. Although the food is simple, I still hope that you can take part in it."

(End of this chapter)