Warhammer

In his heart, Al still likes this wolf-dog daughter very much, except that she is a worry.

Like Hera, Al also worries about his third son...his daughter Barbatos. Her androgynous charm often confuses her young father, so this time he simply keeps her by his side and doesn't let Barbatos go to the front line right away.

Chapter 149: The Green-skinned Lady, the Human Puppet Army

During the time Aiur stayed in the fortress, which was about to become the front line and destined to be filled with the corpses of greenskins and tribal warriors, he encountered an unexpected incident.

A group of Estalia warriors from the tribe were angry and took a group of human prisoners with rough behavior, escorting them to the temporary command post outside the fortress. A large crowd followed and the noise was deafening.

Al was pressing his fourth daughter's head and giving her all kinds of instructions. The big wolf girl squatted in front of her little father. She was only a head shorter than him. Her wolf tail was erected and shaking quickly behind her. It was obvious that she was in a very good mood.

The interaction between father and daughter was interrupted by the noise outside. Hera narrowed her eyes and stretched her lips, revealing a mouth full of particularly developed sharp teeth.

The dissatisfaction was evident in his words.

It really looks like a large carnivorous hunter.

Hera has such a strong influence of wolf, or dog, that sometimes Al even wonders if when the bloodline was given to her, by the time it came to this fourth child, his blood was not enough, so that the wolf inheritance occupied a larger proportion.

However, the boy still held the wolf girl's hand and dealt with the matter at hand first.

Al walked out of the tent and looked around. The guards smashed their weapons to the ground with great force, making thumping sounds.

The noisy atmosphere in the venue suddenly quieted down and became silent.

"what happened?"

Al looked at the group of human captives. Many of them were still injured and looked like they had just come down from the battlefield not long ago.

Two Estalia commanders walked out of the team and saluted to El from a distance, with expressions of inexplicable grief and anger. They pointed at the group of prisoners and said, "Your Highness!"

"These prisoners are from Margarita's army!"

A few sporadic voices came from the captives: "We are mercenaries..." "We are from Sartosa..." The voices were low and sounded unconvincing, as if they were deceiving themselves.

Al suddenly understood.

My goodness, they even formed a puppet army? This green-skinned warlord is even more terrifying than I imagined...

Obviously, this explanation could not be hidden not only from El, but also from the angry Estalia people. They searched many things from the captives and now took them all out or held them in their hands to show them to the people around them.

"This is the badge of the Margarita Ranger Company! It has a name engraved on it. Look here. It says: 'Ford Kahn Harold / 125th Ranger Centurion / Margarita'!"

"There are also those from the Phalanx Army, those from the Phalanx Army!" Someone shouted, holding up a string of nameplates found on the prisoners.

"These equipments are all standard! There's the military factory number on the handle of the musket! It was newly manufactured last month!" The seized materials were piled together, and under the supervision of the guards, only people were allowed to approach and were not allowed to take them away for inspection.

"Armament... nameplate! Accent, they are all Margarita people! They are even the Kingdom Army under Margarita!"

The Estalian soldiers all shouted angrily: "Coward! Traitor!"

"They've sided with the greenskins! They're helping the enemy attack us!"

The leading officer walked up to the front of the Aiel Guards and knelt on one knee in front of the boy behind these mighty guards. At the same time, he pointed at his bandaged right arm with his remaining left hand, which was still intact and could move freely, and said in an angry and sad tone: "Your Highness! I fought for you, for the Four Mother Gods, and for my land and compatriots, but the injury I suffered today was caused by the bullets made by my compatriots!"

"Hang these traitors! Hang them!" "Spread the news to the kingdom! Let all the warriors of Estalia know that Margarita has such a group of cowards!"

The scene was extremely exciting.

If it was just a group of people enslaved and driven by the greenskins, then the situation would not have come to this point anyway, but these people are not like the human laborers enslaved by the greenskins.

They had weapons! From the looks of it, they didn't seem to be starving due to food cuts. On the contrary, each of them was at least a little stronger than the mortal auxiliary troops selected from the refugees and the old garrison.

And on the battlefield, this group of people actually joined the greenskins, just like what they experienced in Cheporio, and took the initiative to attack the human army led by the Beastmen!

They were dressed and used the uniforms of a regular army of the kingdom, so that even when the enemy's bullets and arrows fell on their heads, the dead tribal human warriors were still full of confusion:

Why did the kingdom's army appear here?

How could they...attack themselves!

And a series of things, from the things they used, to identity plates, accents, captured marching supplies, etc., can all indicate their identities:

No doubt most of them came from Margarita's kingdom army!

Among them were even soldiers from the Phalanx, the proud nation of Estalia!

And now, the Kingdom's army, which was supposed to protect the Kingdom and fight the enemy to the death, actually stood together with their enemy, the greenskins who were the initiators of this disaster, and launched an attack on another human army that no longer belonged to the Kingdom but still belonged to the Estalia...

After Al had sorted out everything, he only felt:

Gan!

If I had known it was so easy to make them kneel, why would I have bothered with that effort!

Let’s get started!

From north to south, we conquered and leveled cities one by one, and organized a tribal green camp, no, the Eight Banners of Estalia...

It is understandable that the Margarita people surrendered to El, but this seems to be too smooth. Not only did they deliver supplies and do logistics, they also sent soldiers to the front line to serve as cannon fodder, and those sent were their own regular troops.

Is it because the siege was too brutal that they were turned into puppets?

Indemnity, tribute, and conscription.

It's basically done.

Al was smiling in his heart but saying MMP on his face. It didn't matter. Now they could kneel before the greenskins, and it would be easier for them to kneel when the tribal army arrived in the future.

However, we still have to pretend that we share a common hatred for the enemy.

He briefly criticized the captives for their lack of honor and faith, and tried to appease the human warriors on the tribal side, saying that he would immediately take the captives to the rear and submit the matter in detail to the Northern Parliament for review.

Now this is the only orthodox one in Estalia.

Al knew something about the fall of Margarita, but he didn't expect the situation to be like this now.

I secretly complained in my heart that this time the mortal auxiliary army should not be given any patriotic sentiments, traitors fell, the royal flag was raised and other fancy operations. Strong emotions placed in other directions would be detrimental to the deepening of the spread of the Four Mothers' faith.

But the prisoners were also feeling miserable.

The greenskins will first contribute manpower, and then the southerners will send troops to work with the greenskins to wipe out the beastman tribe in the forest.

Although this was not stipulated in the treaty, the Margaritas even demolished the city walls and agreed to the conditions of a nominal ceasefire (internal) but actual surrender. Naturally, it was difficult for them to go against the demands of the warlords, so they could only reluctantly gather a troop to go with them.

If the greenskins asked them to attack the north and attack the Estalia's own cities, the army would definitely not be happy. Even if the greenskins used butcher knives to force them to do so, to be honest, it wouldn't have much effect. They might even rebel and join the light in the face of danger.

But if they go to fight against the Greenskin Lord and a so-called rampant beastman tribe in the Pina Forest, even though the fighting will of the Estalia army, which has degenerated into a "pseudo-army", is still low, it doesn't matter. It's just the order of the Greenskin Lord and the parliament. Let's do it!

Who knew that in the first battle they would encounter El using mortal auxiliary troops. All of a sudden, the traitor showed up and the identity of the puppet army was exposed.

I thought they were fighting in the south instead of the north, and they were fighting against a tribe of beastmen, which I had never seen before. But when I heard the name, I felt that they were probably as trash as some greenskin war gang or the natives of the New World. This army was mainly assembled, trained and set out from Margarita, and they didn't even have any disguise, as if they were still marching on their own land like the Kingdom's legions did many times in the past.

Not to mention how majestic they were, how much morale could they have if they had become servants of the barbarians? However, they still maintained full armament of regular army equipment, including nameplates, flags, engravings on supplies and other things that could identify their identity. The green-skinned version of the mortal auxiliary army from Margarita had everything.

These things on the bodies of those who were defeated and captured in the encounter immediately exposed their identities and caused an uproar among the human warriors of the tribe.

It was thought that the entire city had been martyred and had become the shame and sorrow of the kingdom, and that the capital city of Margarita, which must be avenged, had surrendered!

Calling themselves mercenaries was just a last-ditch, futile struggle, a way to find a fig leaf for themselves and the city that was gradually becoming a disgrace in the eyes of these human warriors who were mixed with the beastmen.

Ai'er did not blame the captives. He ordered the tribal soldiers to send them to the rear and prohibited the human legion soldiers from traveling with them and publicizing the matter.

He planned to keep these prisoners in separate custody first, so as not to leak this news to the Estalia people in the rear.

For the time being, we need to think about how to maximize the benefits of this matter.

Maybe the plan that Aiel envisioned, that after the greenskins went north to hold a stalemate, he would go south to liberate the southern kingdom of Estalia and take over, would be close to being realized after this battle...

Chapter 150: Punishment Corps

Ai'er rode a griffin and led his troops back to the tribe.

On the way, he observed the expressions and movements of the human captives with great interest.

Confused, helpless, and ashamed.

Mostly these three.

Overall, the situation is one of low morale and panic.

It seems that their main force is still behind, and because of the puppet army, they have little morale and motivation, and their movements are slow.

After interrogating the prisoners of war, it was revealed that there were approximately four to six thousand human troops heading north to assist the greenskins in "sweeping out the beastman tribes in the Pina Forest."

It is basically composed of the army of the old kingdom and some militia reserves recruited from various places. The equipment is uniformly equipped by Margarita Ordnance, so except that the combat effectiveness and personal decoration are not as good as the old army (the Phalanx Army has the tradition of purchasing equipment and decorating themselves), it looks no different from the regular kingdom army.

This puppet army moved so fast that it had the misfortune of running into the coalition forces of beastmen and humans. It should be the vanguard.

Al had originally decided to keep them in solitary confinement and deal with them after the battle was over, but suddenly he felt that this was not a waste.

After all, there are hundreds of young and strong people.

This puppet army was composed almost entirely of members of the old army. Unlike the militia, they were almost all veterans with war experience (French veterans of the Franco-Prussian War).

Halfway through the journey, the prisoners, who were already exhausted and demoralized, became even more dejected, so Al gave the order to gather the prisoners and line them up. Then he put on a mask, rode a griffin, and had two rows of mighty guards beside him, ready for battle.

The captives looked at each other in bewilderment, not knowing what this Beastlord, the beastman tribe that had suddenly appeared and was said to have formed an alliance with the kingdom to fight against the greenskins, would do to them.

Al silently released a large-scale, group magic with psychological suggestion, the omniscient "Words without Defense", the effect of which was to make the words and actions spoken by the caster or the object designated by the caster form a strong psychological suggestion in the affected group and range.

In more extreme cases, Al could use this spell to trick a group of people into committing suicide on the spot, sacrificing chaos.

The minor thing is to make your words more convincing and have a greater impact on these people.

Seeing that the effect was almost there, the captives gradually focused their attention on him. El said loudly: "You are already traitors to the Kingdom of Estalia. You surrendered to the greenskins and served them to attack the allies of your kingdom."

The prisoners looked ashamed, and some even covered their faces and cried.

"My original intention was to imprison you and inform those who were still organizing the resistance. Since Margarita had already surrendered to the brutal violence of the greenskins, the Northern Council of Bilbarri, the only orthodox in the Kingdom of Estalia, would decide on your sentence."

Eldon paused, and said: "However, you will not be able to avoid being nailed to the stake of shame, and the glory and splendor of Margarita will be forever tarnished by the shame of being enslaved by greenskins and submitting to the enemy... Now, I will give you a chance to atone for your sins."

"I will form a 'punishment' corps as an atonement army. Your treatment and equipment will be aligned with those of the same corps. For the sake of the kingdom and the goddess, we will use the blood of our enemies to wash away the shame of you and the city you come from."

"After the greenskins are driven out like this, at least you and your family won't be treated as traitors and be liquidated!"

Al deliberately did not use the tribal terminology, but instead adopted the official orthodox tone of the "kingdom".

These captives were bullied and came here without knowing anything and were captured without knowing anything. They had no idea about the relationship between this so-called "tribe" and the kingdom, and they actually thought it was a unity, friendship, and unbreakable alliance.

Or the tribes are semi-subordinate to the Northern Council.

Then, the old rules apply: those who are willing to join the disciplinary camp to "atone their sins" and wash away their shame stand on the left hand, and those who are unwilling to stand on the right hand.

Under psychological suggestion and instigation, most people chose to seize this opportunity and joined the Punishment Corps. A very small number of people did not go, and stood on the right with their heads down.

Al expressed his satisfaction and continued on his way.

Soon after the second march, they arrived at the base of the advance corps. Al casually called a meeting with the command system of the advance corps, and then squeezed out about two hundred sets of ordnance. They were not given new equipment for the time being, but their treatment had improved a bit and the supervision was more relaxed.

After all, this is in the big forest and the heartland of the tribe. Where can they run to even if they want to?

Then the big stick came down.

As for the few people who refused to join the Redemption Corps, Al did not take action himself. Instead, he manipulated the Advance Corps to take action and directly and roughly arrested this group of people, dragging them to the camp and imprisoning them.

It was too late to regret now. Al intended to let the advance corps that truly represented the "legitimacy of the kingdom" do this for him and do the dirty work.

Then there was a series of trials and humiliation processes, with representatives of the kingdom's delegation participating in the entire process. The captives were first brutally interrogated, humiliated and tortured, and then dragged out in public, whipped and beaten.

They were stripped of all their clothes and paraded around in wooden shackles.

Under Al's instigation, these surrendered troops suffered humiliation from their former comrades in the advance corps. After all, although this kind of thing was not unheard of, it was indeed extremely bad. Many people thought it was a rumor when they heard the news. Even with the prisoners as hard evidence, it was hard to believe that the capital of a country had surrendered to the mortal enemy of the entire kingdom.

The empire was beaten up so many times by various demons and monsters. There were inactive emperors, fanatical and unbearable bishops, ambitious or incompetent electors, incompetent and mediocre generals, various cultists, chaotic elements, mortals bewitched by vampires, etc.

But such a terrible situation has never happened before!

The capital of a country surrenders to the greenskins!

Many people even burst into tears on the spot, calling on the goddess for guidance, wondering why the people of Estalia had to go through such a terrible experience.

Then they vent their anger on the captives in revenge.

Several were even beaten to death.

Because the captives who had previously joined the El Punishment Corps were frightened. In this situation, if El also handed them over to the North and the Kingdom, in order to boost morale and encourage the military and civilians to wash away the shame, these pseudo-soldiers would be publicly tried and hanged one by one.

After achieving his goal of deterrence, Al became a good guy again. He first designated a camp for the prisoners and stationed them further behind the advance corps. He then distributed supplies and weapons, and arranged for religious officers and shamans of the Blood Oath Brotherhood to be responsible for training, brainwashing and missionary work.

Regardless of whether they were forced or not, these surrendered soldiers, who have been accused of serving the greenskins, are a very good group of helpers who can enable Aiur to go south in the future, occupy various places, and quickly establish a tribal management system. They can help him utilize the manpower in southern Estalia as soon as possible.

But before that, they must go through bloody battles in the name of the "Punishment Corps" and prove themselves to Ai'er.