Chapter 109 War (IV)
"No, it shouldn't be like this."
"Shouldn't..."
"I am a knight chosen by the Duke."
Joseph rode his horse not far from the battlefield, watching the rapid defeat of the "Legion of Honor".
The "soldiers" under him fled everywhere, crying and howling, chased by those short but extremely ferocious monsters.
In Joseph's countless fantasies, he should have led his army to charge back and forth, defeat the enemy, and finally received special recognition from the Duke, was granted territory, and became a true nobleman.
At worst, he would bravely kill the enemy in front of everyone, die of exhaustion, and become a tragic hero praised by poets.
And now, he was leading a group of "gray cattle" towards defeat, and was about to die meaninglessly in this wilderness without anyone witnessing.
“It shouldn’t be like this!”
Joseph's face suddenly turned grim and he made up his mind.
As the crowd fled, he jumped high on his horse and went against the flow, trampling several people in succession and even chopping off the head of the front deserter with his sword.
Joseph held the deserter's head, his face covered in blood, and shouted ferociously:
"See? This is what happens to deserters!"
"You cowards! Animals!"
"Fight me! Fight to the death!"
At this moment, in the eyes of the soldiers, he was no different from a monster chasing them.
Joseph's supervision of the battle actually had some effect, slowing down the speed of the crowd's evacuation slightly. Faced with the choice of dying in battle or being killed by the generals, many soldiers still mustered up a little courage and put up a final resistance.
But soon, they were overwhelmed by the tide of monsters and fell into a more complete rout.
Surrounded by gnolls and goblins, people could only instinctively flee backwards.
"Go to hell, you monsters!"
Joseph rode on his horse and chopped off the head of a dog-headed man with one sword.
But soon, several goblins swarmed over from all directions, jumped on Joseph, hugged his arms, scratched his eyes, and bit his face.
"boom!"
He actually fell off his horse.
Joseph fell heavily to the ground, pulled off the goblin that was grabbing his arm and stabbed him to death, his face looking extremely ferocious.
"You damn bastards! Go to hell!"
His voice was already hoarse, and spit was gushing out of his roaring mouth. He used the last of his strength to stand up and actually threw all the goblins off his body.
However, before he could swing his sword, several more goblins pounced on him. Their weight made him, who was already exhausted, lose his balance and fall to the ground.
He struggled again and again, but this only attracted more goblins and ogres to pounce on him with bared fangs and claws. Dozens of monsters were like a mountain, pinning him down and making him unable to move.
"Go to hell, go to hell"
"go"
His voice became weaker and weaker, and was finally drowned out by the waves of monster's roar.
"For the Burning Nest!"
"For the great red dragon master!"
The kobolds and goblins continued to chase and kill. When the monsters dispersed, only a pool of blood, scattered bones and torn clothes were left on the ground. The eagle and sword emblem on the chest of the clothes was soaked in blood, and no one cared about it.
It was a symbol of nobility that Joseph was fanatically obsessed with.
But on this bloody battlefield, it was nothing, and even the kobolds were too lazy to pick it up.
Aiden, the captain of the 1st Regiment of the North Wind Eagle Guard, landed on a giant eagle, strode into the tent, and reported in a deep voice.
"My Lord, the Legion of Honor is being defeated."
"About 6,000 defeated troops are approaching our position."
Robert nodded slightly and said calmly, "Only lasted less than an hour? It's about the same as I expected. The only role of these rabble is to scout the way for our army and reduce some unnecessary losses."
His hands tapped the table rhythmically: "What is the situation of the other side's army?"
"They are mainly goblins and kobolds, about 20,000 in number. Some of them are dragon minions, but they can only fight against the so-called 'Legion of Honor'. They should not pose any threat to us."
"Well, it's time to show these stupid and ignorant monsters--"
"What is a real war?"
Robert slowly stood up and walked out of the tent.
Aiden and Schneider followed closely behind.
The "Eagle Claws" dressed in grey robes and holding spears and shields lined up in neat rows, forming airtight square formations. The shields in their hands were engraved with eagle feather patterns, and the tips of their five-meter-long spears flashed with cold light, like a steel forest.
The war horses neighed, and the cavalrymen in plate armor stood on full alert, ready to charge at any time.
In the sky, hundreds of Eagle Guards were flying in an orderly manner, keeping an eye on the surrounding situation at all times.
In the open space behind the tent, the soldiers worked together to push the heavy crossbow cart and moved forward slowly.
"My soldiers—"
Robert's voice was not loud, but because of the spell, everyone present could hear it clearly.
"The real war is about to begin. The enemies we face this time are unprecedented - they are brutal monsters: goblins, kobolds, ogres and even dragons."
“They may be strong, powerful, or able to spit out terrible flames, but please remember that behind you is the Principality of Rackman, where your parents, wives, children, and friends are. The red dragon’s expansion is endless, and the only thing we can do is to fight back as hard as we can and let these monsters know how powerful we are!”
"The Principality has given us many years of peaceful protection, and you have also grown up under the protection of the Duke. Now, any man who knows how to repay a favor and has blood in his veins should know how to repay this favor, fight to the death for the Duke, and fight to the death for the Rackman Principality!"
"For the Duke, for the Principality of Rackman!"
Robert raised his silver sword and shouted.
Most of these elite soldiers of the Rackman family were born in cities, and were often descendants of the urban petty bourgeoisie or petty nobles. They received top-level military education since childhood, and the rhetoric of "protecting those around them and repaying the country's kindness" was very contagious in their ears.
Then the soldiers shook their weapons one after another, the gun barrels made rhythmic sounds on the ground, and burst into waves of cheers.
"For the Duke—
"For the Principality of Rackman—"
This inspiring cheer lasted for a long time, echoing in the army.
However, a gloomy look appeared on Robert's face.
He turned his head to the side and asked in a low voice: "Aiden, why hasn't the Sixth Regiment returned yet?"
Aiden's heart sank, and he quickly replied, "I don't know, but they may have encountered the dragon."
There should be two more chapters tonight, 12,000 today
(End of this chapter)