Chapter 289: Cutting off the retreat

Seven Forks Fortress, in the camp of the Ravenstern Kingdom on the outskirts of the city.

"The scouts we sent out have all disappeared without a trace. Doesn't this explain the problem? We must send a unit to support Long River Town. Your Majesty, if you don't intend to help, then I can only choose to go back myself!!"

The huge roar seemed to want to overturn the tent. Inside the tent, a dozen or so nobles showed different expressions such as worry, sneer, and schadenfreude, and looked at Duke Alama standing in the center of the tent.

Alama couldn't help but be anxious. As early as a week ago, fragmented news came, saying that countless long-eared monsters suddenly rushed out of the forest and surrounded Long River Town, and the messengers sent by Lord Foucher were killed in the wilderness.

Alama, who was nearly fifty years old, wanted to take troops back at that time, but was rejected by Ulric on the grounds that the war was imminent and this was likely a rumor spread by the enemy.

Of course, in order to confirm the news, they still sent several teams of scouts to Long River Town, and now a week had passed, not only was the news not brought back, but those scouts also lost their tracks.

King Ulric, sitting in the middle of the camp, frowned. He looked at his good friend, who was breathing rapidly, with wide eyes, and even his brown beard began to tremble slightly, and chose to remain silent.

All along, Alama had been Ulric's loyal supporter. Whether as a king or as a friend, he was also unwilling to watch Long River Town be looted by Elves, which represented that the strength of the kingdom had been damaged.

It was just that compared to being looted by Elves, he thought that confronting the Baccan Empire was more important, because the Elves' burning, killing, and looting were generally for revenge, and they would always leave after venting.

But Marius I was different. The Empire people came for conquest. If they wanted to take back the land they snatched, they would definitely have to pay a price of blood flowing into rivers.

"Alama, don't be so irritable all the time. Long River Town is not close to the Seven Forks Fortress itself. Even if what you sent out were those Horned Rangers, it would be very difficult to make a round trip within a week. Why not wait two days?"

The person saying these sarcastic words at this time was Duke Elfwan. This was the lord of Lion Lake City. His rough face, full of wrinkles, was completely a look of watching a good show, and the two brown-yellow mustaches on his lips had an irrepressible smile.

Lion Lake City and Long River Town were adjacent, and there were many frictions between the territories of the two. Moreover, Duke Elfwan's family had been passed down for more than four hundred years and looked down on Alama, who was like an upstart.

And a deeper reason was that the previous lord of Long River Town was an in-law of the Elfwan family. In the political struggle more than ten years ago, he was implicated and stripped of his title by Ulric, which led to Alama's rise.

The relationship between the two had been at odds since then.

"Yes, don't worry, wait a little longer."

"The Baccan Empire's army is watching us from the opposite side. Is it appropriate for you to choose to leave at this time?"

Several lords who had a bad relationship with Alama also began to follow suit, giving the other party some embarrassment, while testing Ulric's attitude.

In fact, after the efforts of four generations of Ravenstern kings, many old nobles who once occupied important positions in the Pendor royal family had been hit to varying degrees for various reasons.

The titles of many castles such as Sharpster, Haringos Castle, and Seven Forks Fortress had all been changed once, not to mention those manors and villages.

Such naked exclusion of dissidents and suppression of old nobles aroused the dissatisfaction of many people, including Duke Elfwan.

"Alama, if you insist on leaving, then I respect your choice, and I will send Lord Andrew, the lord of Yalajia'er, and Lord Malbert, the lord of Haringos Castle, to help you."

"Remember, after you force back the siege of the Elves, you must come back immediately. Defending against the Empire's invasion is the most important thing right now."

Ulric's face was very calm, and his command language was powerful and slow, with a posture of having everything under control and not being surprised.

In his view, even if it was as powerful as the Noldor Elves, wanting to break through Long River Town, which had high walls and thick walls and a wide moat, was not a very easy thing. Moreover, Elves were also famous for not liking strong attacks, because that required paying too many lives.

And Lord Foucher, who was responsible for the defense in Long River Town, could also be considered young and promising in the Ravenstern Kingdom, and his talent in commanding battles was excellent. He had performed well in the war against Ravenstern.

According to past experience, as long as Lord Foucher responded properly, Long River Town should not be in any danger in the short term.

At this time, having obtained Ulric's promise, Alama's flushed face finally showed a smile. Lord Foucher was his only son. If there was any accident, it would inevitably lead to the severance of the family bloodline.

By then, Long River Town would be someone else's territory. And Ulric was also considering this reason, so he chose to bear a certain risk and allowed the other party to go back to relieve his territory.

Since the King had made a decision, the other nobles in the camp didn't say anything more.

Mocking one's colleagues was one thing, but questioning the King's decision to his face was another.

The camp was quiet again, but it was soon broken by an urgent voice.

"Your Majesty~~, Your Majesty~~."

A slightly panicked figure suddenly lifted the thick curtain and rushed into the tent with a cold wind.

The person who came was Lord Eric, who was responsible for transporting supplies for the main force. He was the lord of Balanli and also an emerging noble promoted by Ulric.

And the news he brought at this moment shocked everyone in the camp.

"Ravenstern City... Ravenstern City has fallen!!! What is flying on the city wall is a golden griffin flag on a silver background!!"

"What?! Say it again?"

Ulric, who was calm just now, stood up all of a sudden, his face full of disbelief.

In his view, whether it was the resurgence of the griffin flag or Ravenstern City being suddenly broken, these two pieces of news were just like those rumors that had been said to rot in the tavern, simply nonsense.

But looking at Eric, who was pale and solemn, Ulric also understood in his heart that no one dared to take such things as a joke.

"Your Majesty, it is absolutely true. I saw it clearly when I was escorting supplies, and a team of Elven cavalry discovered my tracks. If I hadn't thrown away the entire convoy to lure them away, I wouldn't have been able to get here at all. Your Majesty, you must make a decision early."

In the process of telling, a trace of fear appeared on Eric's face. Obviously, the situation was far more dangerous than what he said.

The many lords in the camp had different expressions, and the sound of whispering began to rise, weaving a large net of testing and suspicion in the warm camp.

And King Ulric, whose heart was in chaos, barely maintained his composure, sitting down again in a daze, muttering to himself.

"This is impossible, absolutely impossible."

Nothing is impossible. After Allen's army set off from Long River Town, he opened the ability to move with the wind for all his subordinates. With the extreme consumption of Dinars, the moving speed of the entire team reached the level of three hundred miles a day.

This had to thank the many Dinars obtained during the lottery, just like its introduction: "Don't talk, you will always need it."

At first, Allen was worried that the marching speed of the troops was so fast, would it excessively consume the soldiers' physical strength? But after observing for a period of time, he found that this was completely unnecessary worry.

Even those civilians who had not been trained could follow the main force with weapons on their shoulders. Although their expressions were not particularly relaxed, they did not appear to be panting like cows or sweating profusely.

Seeing such a situation, Allen, who was relieved, let the ability to move with the wind last for a full two days. Finally, at sunset on the second day, more than six thousand people arrived near Ravenstern City.

Then, Ravenstern City was broken.

The golden griffin flag emitting golden light was inserted on the wide-open city gate before the sun completely set.

Even Ravenstern City, as the capital, did not hold on for longer than Long River Town. Facing Allen's army, it only defended for less than an hour before it was completely broken.

What was different was that the defenders of Ravenstern City chose to fight to the death under the leadership of the Lion Knights. Allen, who failed to persuade them to surrender, could only slaughter them all.

Blood formed small streams on the street, the wailing sound never stopped over the town, and the corpses paved the steps for Allen to step onto the Silver Throne.

The so-called bones under the throne were nothing more than today's situation.

By the time the sky was completely dark, the sound of killing had gradually stopped. Any defenders who dared to raise weapons were killed on the spot. As for those who fled sporadically, Allen didn't want to continue chasing them.

They could no longer make any waves.

Then, Allen issued his first decree in this city, which was also to forbid anyone from going out of the house, even at noon when the sun was strong, they couldn't. His attitude toward the residents in the city was far harsher than when he was in Long River Town.

This was Ulric's base camp. No one knew how many hidden forces this king had arranged in the city, and the hidden Lion Knights were very likely to connect into an army capable of fighting.

At such a critical moment, one must not cause greater trouble because of temporary kindness.

Late at night, the autumn moon hung high.

The sound of killing suddenly sounded again outside the castle. Allen, sitting on the Silver Throne, coldly watched the darkness in front of him, as if enemies could suddenly appear from the void.

"Swish!" "Swish!" "Swish!"

A dozen black shadows jumped down from the roof, taking advantage of the killing sound outside. After landing, they didn't say a word of nonsense, picked up the cold-gleaming knives and swords, and killed the figure on the throne.

Ever since the city was broken, these assassins had been hiding in the roof beams above the Silver Throne. They knew that any enemy who broke in here would occupy the Silver Throne for the first time.

These people had been waiting patiently for an opportunity, an opportunity to successfully kill the enemy leader.

And the opportunity was at this moment.

"Rumble!" "Crack!" "Ah!!"

The sound of lightning running and the wails of the assassins rose and fell one after another, and the suddenly bright lightning illuminated the empty hall. This unusual sound also alarmed the two people guarding outside the hall.

Sir Azriel and Sir Mokas Villar.

After two days of marching and an hour of fighting, these two people had already developed a kind of thought similar to worship for Allen.

Azriel was fine. This Lion Knight who was a blacksmith by origin had always been educated to be loyal to Pendor, protect the weak, and resist the strong. It was not strange to be loyal to Allen who sat on the Silver Throne.

And Mokas Villar saw Allen's power. Compared with Allen's strength, the old Ulric was just like a weed in the dust. He believed that the cause of unifying the North would surely be completed in this person's hands.

And when they pushed open the wooden door and rushed into the hall, under the illumination of the moonlight, they only saw a dozen scorched corpses, and a cold order without any emotion.

"Find someone to clean this place up."

The two looked at each other quietly, and saw the shock floating on the other's face extremely clearly.

"Obey, Your Majesty."

Unexpectedly, today, the other party stood in front of him grandly, and even forced him into a dilemma.

Allen's face was full of calm smiles at this time, and his tone was very gentle.

"Let me introduce myself. I am the lord of Long River Town and Ravenstern City, the new king of the Kingdom of Pendor, and the owner of the Silver Throne. Although you are just a usurper, I allow you to call me Allen.

Now I have a proposal. Why don't you surrender immediately? I allow you to leave with your family...."

"I refuse!! This negotiation is over." Ulric angrily interrupted Allen's words. This was an insult to him, the king, especially the term usurper, which was simply tearing open the scars of his family for two hundred years.

Although his words were interrupted, there was no trace of anger on Allen's face, but his tone began to become urgent, and his voice became as loud as thunder.

"Why do you refuse? Your troops have less than a month of supplies. Behind you is the Baccan Empire's army watching you like a tiger. Almost two-thirds of the lords accompanying you were once vassals of my Lion King Flag. They were forced to gather under Alfred's flag.

Now, I have returned, returned with powerful strength. The Kingdom of Pendor has been rebuilt, and the Lion King Flag has risen in Ravenstern City again. As long as you surrender, I can solve everyone's crisis.

Even your family is mostly in my hands. Why do you refuse? What qualifications do you have to refuse!"

With the help of the wind ability, Allen's voice completely suppressed Ulric's roar. The soldiers holding long spears and halberds walked forward hundreds of meters in an orderly manner under the command, appearing behind the cavalry.

And those Elven rangers hiding on both sides of the road also showed their figures, their emotionless eyes staring at the enemies looking around.

Even the Snow Lion Legion led by Sir Mokas Villar appeared in the distance. Of course, Baron Villar, looking at the scene in front of him, stopped the charge extremely sensibly.

Obviously, this is not a good time to execute hammer and anvil tactics.