Chapter 299: Pre-war Meeting

Wochez, a seaport city on the northeast border of the Kingdom of Nord, separated from the Kingdom of Vaegirs only by Elbuk Castle, belonged to the territory of Haringoth.

However, when Allen arrived near Wochez with a light cavalry, the sword-ripple flag representing Haringoth had long since disappeared. Hanging on the city wall instead was a black-bottomed blood-colored nightmare flag, which was the flag of the Dark Cult, belonging to the leader of the Doomsday Thunder Knight Order, the "Flame Holy Knight" Fenrir.

Yes, Allen's team was carrying a large number of commoners. In order to avoid the enemy's reconnaissance, they had to go around in circles along the way, and the speed of the march was really too slow.

They walked all the way from the bleak mid-winter to the warm spring when the branches were budding. Usually at this time, people in the fields had already started preparing for sowing.

It was estimated that Fenrir had fought all the way from Jelberg Castle and felt that besieging Sargoth with Hel was too boring, so he launched a lightning war on Wochez with his elite cavalry.

Now, the nightmare flag was hung high on the city gate, and it was estimated that the battle should have been fought extremely smoothly.

It was just that the fall of Wochez caused huge trouble for the team behind Allen.

The supplies in the team were already running low. Whether it was Haringoth or those soldiers and commoners, the supplies and money they carried were limited. If they didn't hurry up to find a place to settle down and continue to wander aimlessly like this, then sooner or later even eating would become a problem.

By then, this army of several thousand people plus these nearly twenty thousand refugees would probably become the largest group of outlaws in the history of Calradia.

In fact, when they set off from Herus Fortress, there weren't this many people, but with the burning of the flames of war and the turbulence of the situation, people kept dragging their families and quietly walking into the team along the way.

By the time Haringoth discovered it, the team had already expanded by more than double, and even many strange-faced soldiers appeared. After asking, they were all deserters who didn't know where to go after escaping from the battlefield.

What could be done in this situation? Use swords and axes to drive these commoners away? Or let those soldiers who were still willing to serve the lord wander in the wilderness and become deserters like outlaws?

Finally, under Allen's persuasion, Haringoth helplessly accepted these people. Slowly, even some gray-faced lords appeared, starting to help Haringoth manage this bloated migration team together.

The number of people could be said to be soaring, and everyone placed their hope on Wochez.

So, after Allen described the situation, the atmosphere in the camp suddenly quieted down.

After a long while, Olaf, who had once had a face-to-face encounter with Jormungandr and was then knocked away, spoke first.

"Why don't we just defect to the Bald One? As long as Sargoth falls, the Kingdom of Nord is finished. Our contracts with Ragnar can probably only end here. It's not that we are not loyal, but the enemy is really too powerful. Who among us hasn't turned around on the edge of death?"

This big man, who looked burly and strong, spoke in a slightly weak voice. This was also normal. If it weren't for Allen holding his life, at this moment, Olaf would have rotted to the ground at the foot of the city wall of Herus Fortress.

Jormungandr only used one move, and this brother was already in a seriously injured state.

"Defect to Vaegirs? You're crazy. Even if your family has guarded Kulin Castle for generations, you participated in the war with Vaegirs three years ago, right? I remember your old man captured a Boyar and was showing off the ransom the other side gave him at the banquet in Sargoth. You dare to defect to the Bald One with this?"

The person speaking was a Nord big man with a full beard. He was the lord of Luar, Tredian. His territory was right next to Vaegirs, and there were constant conflicts all year round. Others could defect to the Bald One, but he absolutely couldn't.

"How about turning back?"

A small lord next to him looked at the big shots standing at the front and cautiously provided suggestions. Before, he was just a manor lord. At that time, seeing the situation was not right, he directly took his family and the few guards he had and ran away.

"Turn back? Turn back my ass!!"

The long-term exhaustion made Haringoth, who wanted to maintain noble etiquette, directly break his defense. Now, he was cursing loudly.

"Damn it, the lord of Ruda Castle died right in front of us. Turn back? Where to? Fight with the enemy near Sargoth? If you had this awareness, why did you run in the first place? Wouldn't it be better to die under Ragnar's nose?"

After venting, Haringoth looked at Allen, who was standing on the side and remained silent, pondered for a while, and opened his mouth to say.

"Commander Allen, most of the people standing here have a grudge against the Dark Cult. You have also led us all the way here. I think you shouldn't just be helping us out of the contract with Ragnar, right?"

"You also told me before that relying on Nord alone, it's impossible to fight the Dark Cult, and we need to preserve our strength and wait for the reaction of Harlaus and the Bald One. We also followed your instructions. Now that the situation is like this, you should already have an idea, right?"

Allen looked at the haggard Haringoth and smiled. His mercenary identity was very awkward among a pile of Yarls. Although he was the strongest one in the team, he didn't have much relationship with these lords, so it wasn't very convenient to stand up and speak actively.

However, since someone was willing to let him take the lead, Allen wouldn't be polite. He couldn't do anything by himself with a pile of mercenaries. In this era and this place, if he wanted to obtain the power to fight against the Dark Cult in a short time, he still had to rely on these nobles to help him.

"Since the situation has developed like this, then according to my meaning, everyone should organize some military strength after going back, and we will launch an attack on Wochez tomorrow at this time."

"Ah?" "What?"

As soon as Allen's words came out, the camp became chaotic instantly.

"What? Ran for two months, and the ferocity of the Nord people has all run away?"

Allen's voice suddenly became loud, suppressing everyone's questions.

"Fighting a war, what's there to be surprised about? As long as we capture Wochez, not only will the problem of supplies be solved, but you might also be able to obtain a piece of fiefdom again."

The lords in the camp looked at each other, not knowing how to reply.

What Allen said was indeed correct. As a port city, Wochez was managed very prosperously, and there were a large amount of cultivated land and orchards around, and animal husbandry was also very rich. Feeding two or three thousand more people, although slightly difficult, was not particularly difficult.

Otherwise, why would they run to this side with their eyes wide open.

Besides the problem of supplies, there were also a dozen or so villages near Wochez that survived by relying on the trade and protection of the town.

If they could snatch Wochez back from the hands of the Dark Cult, then they could indeed obtain a piece of fiefdom again as the other side said, and everyone could continue their family's glory.

Now these people were all exiled nobles, and fiefdoms naturally had attraction, but the problem was how to fight.

"Lord Allen."

Olaf had long since changed his address for his savior. Unlike Haringoth, who called him Commander every time, he felt that calling him Lord was more intimate.

"The people here are all gathered together, and we can barely pull up an army, but we don't know what the situation in Wochez is. Even if we capture it, whether we can hold it is also a problem. This, this can work?"

Allen cast an appreciative look at Tredian, who raised an objection. He knew that everyone in the camp had this question. Asking it now, he could also explain it more clearly.

"Before I came back, I had already scouted the situation in Wochez. The enemy commander Fenrir is not in the city. He should have returned to Sargoth. After all, that is the most important target of the Dark Cult at present."

"But there are not few defenders in the city, at least two thousand, and there is also a small team of Doomsday Thunder. Once the attack is launched, I will find a way to open the city gate. By then, without the trouble of attacking the city wall, a head-on confrontation is still no problem. Isn't street fighting the battle that the Nord people are best at?"

As he spoke, Allen swept his eyes over the Nord lords in the camp, his expression full of confidence.

"As for whether we can hold it after capturing it, you don't need to worry about this at all. I have very reliable information, because of the Dark Cult's actions all along, Harlaus has already gathered a large army in Praven and will set off soon. And in Rivacheg, Yaroglek has made the same move."

"As long as these two large armies arrive at the border, then in the eyes of the Dark Cult, our scattered soldiers and outlaws simply don't count for anything."

The information came from Zendar, and Allen also constantly confirmed it through the ability of "Eye of the Sky." Just in the past two days, the Swadian army had already set off, and the army in Rivacheg was also gathering more and more. He believed it wouldn't be long before they set off.

The comprehensive collapse of the Kingdom of Nord still frightened its two neighbors. Just as Ragnar wrote in that letter for help, Nord is finished, will the other side let Swadia and Vaegirs go?

Even if the Dark Cult said they wanted to be a good person, do Harlaus and the Bald One dare to believe it?

They are all ruffians who have been on the throne for I don't know how many years, so stop pretending to be pure.

The news Allen revealed caused a huge sensation in the small camp.

A group of burly men with full beards started whispering to each other like village women. They were probing each other's minds and searching for information favorable to themselves from the words. For a time, the camp was like being stuffed with dozens of flies, making a "buzzing" sound.

Allen was not in a hurry, because he knew that he definitely had to leave some time for these smart people to discuss and think. Being in a hurry was useless.

So, he talked to Haringoth beside him in a low voice.

"Haringoth, what do you think?"

Haringoth, with a look of exhaustion, turned to look at Allen and said helplessly: "I don't have any thoughts. I just want to end this nightmare as soon as possible. You said you want to attack Wochez, and I will try my best to help you. Only you here possess the power to fight against strong enemies."

Allen shook his head. He didn't want to ask if the other side supported him.

"All the lords in the entire camp added together are not as good as your and my troops. This time attacking Wochez, I am responsible for opening the city gate and occupying an area in the city sufficient to launch an attack. You lead others to attack the city gate to support me, how about it?"

This made Haringoth a bit surprised. If it was just opening the city gate, he could understand. Many people in this camp had seen Allen fly, so sneaking into the city gate wasn't a difficult thing.

But occupying an area in the city sufficient to launch an attack was not easy. Even that guy Jormungandr brought his most elite soldiers.

"This...?"

Looking at Haringoth's suspicious look, Allen smiled and continued: "Don't worry about how I do it. By then, Dantis will lead my soldiers to attack the city together. You just need to restrain them and don't indulge the soldiers in burning, killing, and plundering."

As he spoke, Allen looked at the nobles who were still discussing.

"Okay, then I think, after taking Wochez, you intend to keep this city for your own rule, right?"

"That's right."

The smile on Allen's face became even brighter. Talking to smart people is just saving effort.

"After taking Wochez, I will continue to attack Elbuk Castle. That place can be left to you. As for the rest, I think villages are enough."

Haringoth took a deep breath of this spring air, and the exhaustion on his face seemed to have disappeared a bit.

He didn't want his family to be cut off in his hands either. Fiefdoms were too important, so he had to fight with twelve points of spirit.

"No problem, I will handle the others. Lord Allen, if, I mean if, Sargoth falls, Ragnar loses his crown and his life, are you willing to continue leading us people?"

These words of Haringoth made Allen surprised.

Could it be that he really cultivated the kingly spirit? How come someone is bowing down to him now?

"Yes, that's of course no problem. My goal has always been to fight against the Dark Cult, and I won't change this idea in the future."

Hearing Allen's answer, Haringoth seemed to be relieved. Subsequently, his face straightened, and he slapped the table in front of him hard.

The "slap, slap, slap" sound interrupted the whispering in the camp.

"Alright, stop talking nonsense. More than half of the people in this camp eat my food and drink my wine. Next, you have to listen to me."

He said this sentence with sufficient confidence. Most of the lords here were driven out of their territories by the Dark Cult. Besides the armor on their bodies and the weapons in their hands, all that was left were the personal guards dressed the same way. Besides that, there was really nothing at all.

So they had to rely on Haringoth, who had a big family and a big business and plenty of supplies, to support them.

"After going back, organize your own soldiers, and then go to the convoy to collect supplies and wine according to the number of people. Rest for one day tomorrow and set off the day after tomorrow to attack Wochez. As long as it is successful, all problems can be solved. Everyone here can also obtain a fiefdom to continue the glory of the family. This doesn't need me to say too much, you should understand this principle."

Listening to the words that were like orders, all the lords fell silent.

Subsequently, words like "Understood." "Okay." rang out one after another. ===== CHAPTER 300 =====

Immediately, words like "Understood." and "Very well." echoed one after another.