Chapter 51: Marching on Long Lake Town

It was already evening by the time Allen and Holimion returned to the military camp together.

Accompanied by Holimion, Allen conducted a comprehensive inspection of the camp's defenses, patrols, provisions, and tent arrangements; by the time this was all finished, it was nearly dark.

Afterwards, Allen went to his own tent, tidied up his attire a little, and after eating a simple dinner, he went to the main marching tent.

Allen sat in the main seat of the large tent, looking at this tent that could hold dozens of people, thinking in his heart about the thousands of soldiers in the camp.

A feeling that could not be described suddenly welled up from the bottom of his heart, somewhat satisfied, and somewhat proud, followed by self-reflection and contemplation.

Very quickly, Allen's personal guards began to shuttle through the camp; their task was to notify all officers above the rank of Captain to come to the main marching tent for a meeting in half an hour.

Slowly, it grew dark, and candles were lit inside the main marching tent.

In the glow of the candles, more and more people arrived at the main marching tent; after saluting Allen, they sat in their respective seats.

Soon, more than a dozen people were all present, including the two Skin-changers, Beorn and Wulf.

The people here were Allen's main military subordinates; they sat quietly on their chairs, waiting for their lord to issue orders.

Allen looked at the familiar faces before him, feeling deeply moved; this was the first time he had gathered them all by his side.

The vast majority of them were old subordinates who had followed him from the beginning, either having come to Middle-earth with him or having arrived during the first summoning.

The only exceptions were Aota, who sat in the ranks of the infantry captains, and the Skin-changers sitting at the edge of the tent.

These people were Allen's subordinates, assisting Allen in controlling the violent machinery of Wilderness Town; Allen did not worry about their loyalty, but power often meant too many temptations.

When the army was first established, Allen, along with Fatis, Alayen, and Bandak, had stipulated several strict laws; for example, officers were not allowed to extort their subordinates, and once discovered, they would immediately have their hands cut off and be expelled from the territory.

Another example: on the battlefield, soldiers had to strictly obey orders, and once they disobeyed, they would be killed on the spot, and so on.

But those were rigid regulations, hard laws used to restrain the army, which could only make the soldiers afraid, but could not improve their thinking.

Therefore, Allen felt he should say something, at the very least to let these officers understand his meaning, to let them understand how to be a good officer under his command.

Allen looked at them, pondered for a moment, and said with a smile: "Everyone, I am very happy today, because what I see here are all old faces. I think you have followed me since a very long time ago, and I, too, am very familiar with all of you."

As he spoke, Allen stood up and raised his hand to stop his subordinates who also wanted to stand up.

At this moment, he looked at several Cavalry Captains and said: "I remember you galloping dozens of miles with me to rescue innocent civilians abducted by Wolf Riders; even when facing enemies several times our number, you still followed closely behind me."

Hearing this, the cavalry officers puffed out their chests and raised their heads slightly, because they were indeed the group that had followed Allen the longest and fought the most battles with him.

After saying this, Allen turned his head to look at the infantry captains and Archer captains, continuing: "I also remember you guarding the villagers with me on a low wall, facing enemies more than ten times our number; you did not shrink back, continuously inflicting casualties on the enemy, and even dared to face the enemies in a head-on confrontation outside the wall with me."

Hearing this, the infantry and Archer officers sat up straighter, and some had expressions of sorrow on their faces, as if they were thinking of the family and friends who had died in that battle.

Afterwards, Allen first looked at Aota, then looked at Beorn, and said: "I also remember you going with me into the pitch-black tunnels of the Misty Mountains, fearing neither hardship nor danger, and finally saving our allies, Beorn's family."

Beorn, sitting at the edge of the tent, was somewhat touched; he looked at Allen, who was gazing at him, and nodded.

And Allen continued his speech.

"Then why do we do these things? Is it to hold power? Is it for family glory? Is it for wealth and status? Of course, of course, I will give you all of these."

When he said this, Allen's expression began to turn serious: "But I also hope everyone remembers that these are merely accessories; they are the reasonable rewards brought to you by your loyalty, your courage, and your ability."

As he spoke, Allen looked around at his subordinates again and said: "Please remember, only when our people and subordinates trust us, believe that we can bring them a stable, peaceful, and happy life, will we always possess infinite glory, a wealthy life, and sacred power."

Allen paused here; he thought of something and recalled, saying: "I once said that I hope we can become a noble team that is loved by the people; I hope that we, who hold firm beliefs, should do those glorious deeds; I hope that we, who hold sharp weapons, should strike down those who deserve to die; I hope that we, who possess power, should help those who are suffering. And now, my original intention remains unchanged, and furthermore, I hope that we, who hold the army, must take protecting the people as our most noble goal."

Having said this, Allen looked around at his nervous subordinates, his expression returning to calm.

"Alright everyone, I am not saying you did anything wrong; there is no need to be so nervous, just remember these things, that is all."

Watching his subordinates who still had not relaxed, Allen issued an order to them.

"Then now, I have definite news, which is that soon a dragon will attack Long Lake Town. Of course, Long Lake Town is not my territory, and we have no responsibility for that town on the wood."

Having said this, Allen's tone shifted.

"However, many innocent people still live there, and I cannot watch them die with my own eyes. Therefore, please obey my order at this time: tomorrow after dawn, all troops will assemble at the camp gate. We will march on Long Lake Town. I want to force that foolish Town Mayor of Long Lake Town to issue an order for the townspeople to leave Long Lake Town, to leave their lair that may soon be destroyed by the dragon. Everyone, do you understand?"

"Yes." "Alright." "We will strictly follow your orders."

Originally, Allen wanted to ask his subordinates if they had any other questions, but this burst of noisy echoes directly disrupted Allen's train of thought.

Facing this situation, Allen had no choice but to say: "Then, go back and prepare, everyone."

After his voice fell, Allen's subordinates left their seats one after another and walked out of the tent; they would assemble their troops at the camp gate on time tomorrow morning.

Finally, in the tent, only Beorn and Allen's Captain of the Personal Guard remained.

At this time, Beorn spoke first; he said somewhat anxiously: "Allen, I seem to have heard the word 'dragon' in your words."

Allen nodded and said calmly: "Yes, soon, I may have to face a giant dragon over a hundred meters long."

Beorn's expression was somewhat serious; he said: "Smaug? Using an army to fight this dragon is not a wise thing, Allen. You are just sending them to their deaths; do you really have the heart to do it?"

Hearing Beorn's words, Allen knew he had misunderstood and hurriedly explained: "I will not let them face the giant dragon. At that time, the only ones present here who will truly face the giant dragon should be me and my personal guards."

Holimion and the other Twilight Knights heard this; they had no reaction, and not even their gazes changed.

Beorn pressed Allen: "Then is there anything I can do?"

Allen smiled, smiling very happily; he said: "Tomorrow you can contribute, my friend. You and Wulf are the important power I have to threaten that Town Mayor Stephen."

Afterwards, Allen's smile faded, and he continued: "But I cannot let you face the giant dragon, my friend. Let it be like this; I also need to rest early."

After Allen finished speaking, he rose and left the main marching tent, returned to his own tent, and lay on the bed.

Even though he was very tired, he did not fall asleep immediately, but continued to think about his plan.

Yes, Allen had always been prepared to use the army to coerce Stephen.

Otherwise, why would he have the army stationed near Long Lake Town? Wouldn't it be better in the Woodland Realm? Obtaining supplies would also be more convenient.

Allen knew that the guards of Long Lake Town did not have many people; at most, they could pull out a few hundred militiamen, and they absolutely could not be as elite as his soldiers.

Moreover, Long Lake Town had no high-end power and absolutely could not withstand the trampling of Allen and the Twilight Knight Guard, or rather, having Beorn and the two of them would be enough.

Of course, starting a war was only the last and worst choice; Allen had enough confidence that that fat guy would agree to his request.

The next morning, having rested for a night, Allen, with his spirit full again, fully armed and riding an Elf Horse, came to the camp gate and saw the full picture of his army for the first time.

More than a thousand people, according to their different troop types, were arranged into three neat phalanxes.

600 infantrymen in full armor, the Spears in their hands flashing with sharp light, stood like a dense forest in the very center of the entire army under the leadership of Alayen.

On their right flank was the ranged unit led by Bandak; they looked at Allen as silently as their commander, and Allen could see the most familiar faces among them.

The Cavalry unit led by Fatis was on Allen's left flank, which was in the direction of Long Lake Town; mounted and holding spears, they would follow Allen to arrive at Long Lake Town first and launch the first round of intimidation against the guards of Long Lake Town.

As for the auxiliary troops left in the camp, they would guard the camp, as well as the supplies and horses within it.

At this moment, Allen, riding his horse, looked at them with excitement, galloping back and forth beside them.

After a long while, Allen did not say anything, but drew the Knightly Longsword at his waist, pointed it in the direction of Long Lake Town, and shouted, "Move out."

Even if the guards of Long Lake Town were lazy, they were not blind; they had actually discovered the military camp of Wilderness Town very early on and reported it to their Town Mayor.

Stephen also sent his deputy, Alfred, asking him to take gifts and visit the highest-ranking officer of the military camp as an envoy.

However, Alfred did not enter the camp at all, on the grounds that the highest-ranking officer of the military camp was not in the camp, and the other officers did not want to see him.

Having no other choice, Alfred had to return to his Town Mayor with only a little bit of information.

After Town Mayor Stephen learned that there was an army of over a thousand stationed beside him, he remained in a state of being frightened; how many people were there in Long Lake Town in total? Only about two thousand.

Relying on those few dozen fully armed guards and a few hundred fishermen holding fish spears, how could they possibly resist such an army?

However, when he learned that the highest-ranking officer of those troops was the lord of Wilderness Town, he developed a sense of wishful thinking.

He felt that he had never offended Allen and had even had a pleasant trade with Allen, so how could those troops be here to attack him?

Yet at this moment, Allen appeared openly on the shore of Long Lake Town with hundreds of fully armed Cavalry and two massive black bears, shattering all his fantasies; for a moment, this Town Mayor did not know what to do.

It was his Captain of the guards, Braga, who gathered the few dozen fully armed guards of this town; their combat effectiveness was decent, they were proficient with bows and arrows, and their morale was not bad, so they stood guard at the gate of Long Lake Town.

Subsequently, Braga also arranged for people to gather the brave souls of this town, and soon a few hundred fishermen would also arrive.

By this time, Allen had already stepped onto the wooden bridge of Long Lake Town with his personal guards, and he keenly spotted Town Mayor Stephen trying to hide in the crowd.

Allen shouted loudly at him: "Town Mayor Stephen, I have something I would like to discuss with you; do you think you could spare a little time?"

Stephen's voice came from behind the wooden gate, and the voice actually remained calm.

"Lord Allen, you have come to the gate of Long Lake Town with hundreds of Cavalry; this is not discussing with me, you are threatening me!"

Allen ignored Stephen, pointed in the direction he had come from, and continued to shout loudly: "Take a closer look; it is not just hundreds of Cavalry, I also have over a thousand infantrymen on their way here. Are you sure you don't want to talk to me?"

At this time, the dust raised by the running of hundreds of horses gradually settled, and Stephen also saw the over a thousand infantrymen marching toward this side; at this moment, his heart turned completely cold.

Admittedly, he could order the guards to break the wooden bridge and hold Long Lake Town, but how long could he hold it?

Did the two thousand plus residents of Long Lake Town live entirely by fishing? That was simply unrealistic.

Moreover, if Allen was determined to attack Long Lake Town, its fall would only be a matter of time; he did not even know how to deal with those two particularly obedient big bears.

After thinking for a long time, Town Mayor Stephen yielded; his voice was not as calm as it was at the beginning.

"Well~, I mean, Lord Allen, what is it that you want to discuss?"

Allen smiled after hearing this; by now he had led his personal guards to the front of the Long Lake Town gate, and he knew that the Town Mayor was behind the gate.

He said with a smile: "Hahaha, I really admire you, Town Mayor Stephen; I hope you can let Bard come out, as I will be discussing the following matters with him."

"Well, alright then."

Although this Town Mayor was unwilling, he did not dare to refuse Allen's request.

He was just thinking frantically in his heart about what kind of matter could be worth Allen raising such an army to besiege Long Lake Town.

Soon, Bard appeared above the gate; he looked at the fully armed Allen at the gate, and then looked at the army on the lakeshore.

He was somewhat surprised in his heart; he did not expect that this young man who had questioned him and said he wanted to cooperate with him actually held such powerful strength in his hands.

But after all, he was not Town Mayor Stephen; he was not afraid, and he was certain that Allen could not attack Long Lake Town—this was just an act of intimidation by surrounding without attacking.

"I have arrived, Lord Allen; speak, what is it you want to discuss."