Chapter 485: Changing of the Guard

On the winding road, an army stretching for several miles advanced in a grand and unhurried manner.

Aoduoluo Flamel rode on his warhorse, walking at the very front of the formation.

The ancestors of the Flamel family were once Honorary Knights of Wushan Territory, but after declining for several generations, by the time Aoduoluo was born, there was almost no property left, only a noble title.

Although Aoduoluo is now forty years old, fortunately, he possesses Golden Grade strength, so he has fared much better than his father and grandfather.

It is just that the family foundation is gone, so everything had to start over; after drifting for many years, he could be considered to have entered Lulansi's line of sight.

It was precisely because of Lulansi's introduction that he successfully joined the First Knight Order established by Luoning, and after passing Ruidar's assessment, he temporarily took over the position of Deputy Commander of the First Knight Order at Yueguang Valley.

To Aoduoluo, this was simply a pie falling from the sky, and because of this, he was incredibly serious about the matters handed down from above.

A scout cavalryman galloped back from the front, "Lord Deputy Commander, three miles ahead is the perimeter of the West Wind Hill camp."

"Good, let us reach the camp before sunset."

West Wind Hill is called a camp, but in reality, it can be regarded as a small town with relatively concentrated residences; besides military soldiers, there are also ordinary people here, and even traveling merchants who come to do business.

It is just that due to the special nature of this place, it has not developed much.

The troops gradually advanced, and soon everyone saw this camp.

It was situated on a small hill, surrounded by temporarily erected wooden fences, and had relatively simple defensive fortifications.

Sunlight spilled through the sparse clouds onto the hard ground, reflecting a golden hue.

Aoduoluo looked up and gazed into the distance; atop the hill flew a flag with a golden Griffin on a blue background, which is the flag symbolizing the Kingdom.

Just at this moment, a troop of men and horses rushed down from the hill, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Is this the troop of Marquis Luoning from Yueguang Valley?"

Aoduoluo spurred his horse forward and responded with slight respect: "Yes. I am Aoduoluo Flamel, Deputy Commander of the First Knight Order of Yueguang Valley. May I ask if you are Lord Denni Torres?"

Denni Torres, a Kingdom Viscount stationed at West Wind Hill for many years, is also a battle-hardened Meteor-level Knight.

To be honest, standing in front of the other party, Aoduoluo felt a bit weak in terms of presence.

After all, his strength was weaker than the other party's, and his status and position were not as high as the other's either.

But overall, his performance was still quite commendable.

That man gave a light 'eh', looking at Aoduoluo with some surprise, his brows slightly furrowed: "Was it not said that Ruidar Main was coming?"

Aoduoluo explained: "According to the previous plan, the Commander should be arriving soon."

As he spoke, a cry came from above, and it was Ruidar flying over on a Griffin.

The snow-white Griffin landed in front of the troop, and Ruidar jumped down from it.

"Lord Denni, I am the commander under Marquis Luoning, Ruidar Main, Commander of the First Knight Order of Yueguang Valley, here specifically to take over the West Wind Hill defense line; this is the handover credential."

Denni could feel the thick, indistinct aura on Ruidar, knowing that the other party's strength was not weak.

He dismounted and laughed, "Welcome, Ruidar, and all you brave warriors; His Majesty will be proud of you!"

After some polite exchanges, the two swapped their defense handover credentials.

"My Knight Order will withdraw within tomorrow, but for tonight, I must ask you and your troop to set up camp outside and make do for the night."

There were houses in the camp, but it was impossible for them to move out overnight.

"No matter."

Ruidar replied with a smile, "Aoduoluo, go make the arrangements."

"Understood, Commander!"

Denni gestured with his hand, inviting Ruidar into the camp's fortress hall.

According to the handover arrangements, he needed to explain the defense situation and precautions of West Wind Hill clearly to Ruidar.

Ruidar listened while pondering.

Combined with the scene he saw when entering the camp, it seemed the atmosphere here was not tense, but rather relaxed and carefree, and the discipline of the soldiers was not high.

Thinking about it, the lack of war for so many years had caused them to lower their guard.

After the briefing, Denni said with a smile: "With your strength, there should be no problem guarding West Wind Hill. However, I suggest that before you arrange the garrison plan, there is a place you need to visit first."

He paused and explained: "The Crown Prince sent me a letter a few days ago, asking Marquis Luoning to go to Red Pine Castle. Now that the Marquis has not come, you should go on his behalf; after all, the Crown Prince is our commander-in-chief here."

Ruidar stood up and shook hands with the other party, "Thank you for the information, I will go."

The handover of the defense change was completed, and the rest was orderly entry and withdrawal.

It could be seen that Denni was already prepared; by the next morning, he had packed up almost everything, and after lunch, he led the Knight Order away from West Wind Hill and headed toward Red Pine Castle.

The Kingdom's Seventh Knight Order led by Denni would report directly to Jialete.

After a brief emptiness in the camp, it welcomed the new incoming team.

Under Aoduoluo's command, the cavalry, Infantry, and others were successively assigned and arranged.

After a busy period, it was already evening.

"Commander, many of the houses in the camp have been damaged by human hands, and many need repairs before they can be occupied. I have arranged for logistics personnel to do this; before they are repaired, we will have to squeeze in."

Aoduoluo was somewhat angry, "We are all here to fight the enemy, why would they do this?"

Ruidar gave a hum; there was no way to investigate such matters, and he just did not know if the destruction of the houses was Denni's instruction or if the soldiers below did it deliberately.

"Just arrange for the repairs. Go notify the captains of the ten Knight Squads; I need to arrange a defense plan to prevent the enemy from taking advantage of the situation to launch a sneak attack."

He had already inspected the surrounding environment during the day and, combined with Denni's briefing, had prepared a preliminary defense plan.

And in the next few days, he needed to carefully survey the surroundings and even prepare to scout the enemy's camp.

As for Denni's instruction for Ruidar to go to Red Pine Castle to see Jialete before setting up the defenses, it was thrown to the back of his mind.

To him, going to see the so-called commander-in-chief was not as important as stabilizing his own side first.

Moreover, according to Luoning's arrangement, West Wind Hill could not just be treated as a camp.

Anyway, they would be stationed here for Along time to come; rather than constantly transporting grain to the front line, it would be better to renovate this place, build a front-line base, and simultaneously begin implementing a military colony system.

For this reason, Luoning had already applied to His Majesty the King for a fifty-year management right for West Wind Hill and had received the other party's approval, so there was no need to worry about the constructed facilities being suddenly abandoned due to a transfer, or benefiting the next occupant.

Red Pine Castle.

Jialete's expression was so gloomy it looked like it could drip water, and he was in an extremely foul mood.

"This Ruidar, he actually dares to openly ignore my orders!"

He slammed his hand heavily onto the desk, sending the books and letters piled on top flying into the air.

It was one thing for Luoning to not give him face, as the other party's status and strength were there after all.

But now, a commander from Yueguang Valley, who was neither a noble nor had any status or background, actually dared to disobey the orders of him, the pre-war commander-in-chief; this was completely disregarding him.

"Go, notify that Ruidar immediately and tell him he must arrive at Red Pine Castle by tomorrow morning!"

"Tell him that if he does not come, he and Luoning will be held responsible for the serious consequences!" (End of chapter)