"I never thought that I would be able to come here one day."
Looking at the towering city walls in the distance, Oldman shook his head ruefully. He turned around and saw that in the barracks behind him, the soldiers were undergoing arduous training.
It had been a month and a half since they defeated the Soros Family's private army. There were only a few days left until the end of the year, and it would soon be the Rebirth Festival.
Thinking of this, Oldman looked behind him. On the snowy plains, there were lively lights rising and falling, and he could even faintly hear the sound of music carried by the wind.
For the people of Karkhalan, this would be a Rebirth Festival that would leave a deep impression on them. They originally thought that they would end the year in hunger and hardship.
But now, they had enough food to celebrate the end of the year.
But for Oldman and Jenn, there were more and more troubles that needed to be dealt with.
After they defeated the Soros Family's private army, Oldman originally thought that they would welcome a thunderous attack from the other side. But unexpectedly, the Soros Family did not make any moves after that.
But Jenn was not surprised. Currently, almost all of the Soros Family's forces were concentrated on the frontlines to confront the Papwood Alliance. Unless the Soros Family did not want to live anymore, it was impossible for them to mobilize a real regular army to find trouble with these rebels.
After all, there were so many eyes watching Karkhalan, and the mobilization of the army was not something that could be completed in a day or two. As long as they moved, it would definitely give the Papwood Alliance an opportunity.
Not to mention the fact that the cold winter posed a considerable obstacle to the mobilization of troops, and the lack of food supplies was also a considerable problem.
Unless they used private and mercenary troops that were originally not very useful. But it was a pity that everything before had clearly told them that this path was not possible.
So even if Soros wanted to swallow these mobs alive, he could only restrain his anger and wait until everything was over before finding trouble with them.
In any case, Karkhalan was only the most barren and insignificant territory under the Soros Family. Even if these mobs caused a ruckus, they would not be able to hurt the Soros Family. Instead, it was the Northern Alliance led by the Papwood Family that posed a greater threat to them.
Which was more important and which was more important, they could still distinguish this clearly.
Because of this, Karkhalan, which had originally become the center of attention, had sunk into a strange calm. This also caused many citizens, who could not bear the Soros family's tyranny and oppression, to flee to this place. Among them, there was no lack of people who had fled after the failed uprisings in other places.
According to Jenn's calculations, they now had close to 1300 soldiers. Of course, this didn't include the non-combatants. Because most of the refugees had families, the population behind them was close to 5000. For Oldman's "National Freedom Army", this was not a small amount of pressure.
This was still because of the cold winter, so the distant refugees could not come over and most of them died on the road. Before, Oldman had seen an entire village of people migrate to Karkhalan, but there were less than twenty people who had safely arrived here. Even so, he still felt a little breathless.
If they couldn't capture Tarkus in time, then they wouldn't be able to last until next spring. Moreover, as James had said, as the central city of Karkhalan, they had to capture Tarkus. Only then would they truly have their own territory.
But now, Oldman had finally encountered a problem.
Although Karkhalan was a barren land that could not be any more barren, and although Tarkus was a huge city that could not be said to be flourishing and lively, it had a city wall that was at least ten meters high.
Even though it was a thick and heavy city gate made of steel, it was enough to stop Oldman's footsteps.
After all, they were only a group of rebels and not a regular army.
Without siege weapons, it would be almost impossible for them to storm the city.
Currently, among the soldiers of the "National Freedom Army", about two-thirds were civilians. Most of them were farmers, blacksmiths, coachmen, and there were even some militia like Oldman who were born in the village guards.
In addition, one-third of the soldiers were made up of veterans and surrendered soldiers. Not only that, but there were also a few Warlocks, Mages, and Clerics who had joined them.
Although the strength of these Spell Casters wasn't considered strong, it was already very rare in Oldman's opinion. If it was said that he didn't have a direct understanding of the existence of Spell Casters in the past, then after the battle in Reed Fort, Oldman finally experienced how important a powerful Spell Caster was to a battle.
The enemies that they could not defeat with all their efforts were completely turned around by Tilly with just a small spell. It could be said that there was nothing that could make people feel the gap more clearly than this.
Just like now, if they had a powerful Mage, they could directly summon a fireball to blast through the gate and there would be no need to consider anything else.
But it was a pity that … they did not have such a powerful spell caster.
At this thought, Oldman sighed again.
What should I do?
"Master, how long do you think the rebels can last?"
Lying in Zayen's arms, Ina giggled and asked. She leaned against the man in front of her, and the blush on her face had yet to recede. But for Ina, it did not seem to be a bad idea to ask her master for some physical and mental activities after the snow sealed the mountain — anyway, it was fine as long as no one else found out.
"If they are lucky enough, they should be able to last until next spring."
Caressing the half-elf maiden's long hair, Jenn pondered for a moment and answered.
"But that's not enough. Although enough people have died in this war, it's still not enough. Hmm … I have to admit that there's some truth to that theory, but as for the differences between me and her … Forget it, it's better not to talk too much about another woman in front of a woman. Just thinking about her makes me want to vomit, and it will affect my mood."
"Ina doesn't mind …"
Feeling Jenn's caress, the half-elf maiden narrowed her eyes like a kitten and laid in Jenn's embrace.
After a few moments, she moved her long ears slightly.
When someone knocked on the door, there was no one around Jenn.
Jenn tidied up his slightly messy clothes and stood up from the bed. Then, he opened the window. The chilly wind blew in and dispersed the lingering smell in the room.
At this moment, Jenn walked to the door and opened it.
"Mr. James."
It was Nadia who stood outside the door. After that, she returned to the campsite with Jenn.
Shortly after, Nadia was acknowledged and welcomed by everyone. No matter what, as long as they weren't extremely vicious, they would always respect the holy knights. Besides, being able to fight alongside the holy knights gave them a sense of 'natural justice'. Since even the holy knights were on their side, didn't it mean that what they did was right?
Not to mention, Nadia was more or less powerful. Although as a Divine Knight, she relied on nature most of the time, she wasn't like a Mage who would turn into a pile of trash without mana.
Besides, the paladins had a certain degree of holy power. Although Nadia couldn't sweep the battlefield with a swing of her sword like before, she could more or less use some low-level divine spells such as blessings and healing spells. For the 'National Freedom Army' that lacked medical resources, it could be considered as divine help.
Because of this, in a short period of time, Nadia's position in the hearts of the rebels rose. Now, she had become the third most important person in the 'National Salvation Army', only inferior to the leader Oldman and the strategist Jenn.
And it was precisely because of her existence that a few clergies switched to the Freedom Army's camp. Of course, most of them were bishops and clerics of small places, and while they weren't powerful, the meaning behind it was — Forget it, Oldman and Nadia didn't understand that, and Jenn tacitly kept it a secret.
"What's the matter?
Miss Nadia? "
Looking at the holy knight in front of him, Zayen asked with a smile. Upon hearing his question, Nadia nodded.
"Yes, you asked us to monitor the surroundings of Tarkus City to prevent any unusual movements. Just now, we discovered a caravan appearing from the southern river, planning to leave Tarkus City through the forest …"
Sure enough, they came.
Upon hearing Nadia's report, Jenn chuckled and nodded.
"This information is very important. Thank you, Miss Nadia. Please get ready. We will head there immediately and intercept that caravan."
"Alright."
After hearing Jenn's order, Nadia nodded, but she didn't leave immediately. Instead, she looked behind Jenn with a slightly puzzled expression.
Although there was nothing in Jenn's room, Nadia still sensed a rather strange smell that she couldn't tell what it was.
This made her slightly puzzled as she did not know what it was.
"Any other questions?
Miss Nadia? "
"No, it's nothing, Mr. James. I will go look for them now."
Facing Jenn's question, Nadia shook her head and threw this trace of doubt to the back of her head. Then, she turned around and left.