Many and Salia had been walking for three consecutive days. Judging from the tracks they had observed, they were getting closer and closer to the refugees led by Henry. They were now less than half a day's journey away.
Along the way, Many deliberately slowed down their pace in order to monitor if there were any zombies that managed to catch up to them. However, it seemed that the forbidden spell cast by Salia was too powerful. So far, no zombies had caught up to them. Athena's senses also indicated that there were no zombies within a ten kilometer radius.
In places where there were plants, Athena's senses could be said to be unparalleled.
Many looked up. The sky was clear with a few white clouds drifting past. The late autumn wind gently caressed their faces, giving them an indescribable sense of comfort. The tip of their nose was filled with the faint fragrance of grass. A few empty farmlands began to appear on both sides of the road. At a glance, it was a field of shining gold. It was the wheat that had yet to be harvested.
A scarecrow stood alone in the wheat field with a tattered straw hat on its head. A few crows perched on the scarecrow's arm as if they were laughing at something.
There was no one around. The wooden houses and villages not far away did not have any traces of cooking smoke or human activity. Occasionally, a few wild beasts that looked like wild dogs would run by. They looked quite arrogant.
Seeing this, Many nodded. Henry brought all the villagers who might be attacked along the way into the group. It seemed that none of the villages here had any armed forces. Many carefully looked at the wheat fields that had been harvested. The stubble and straw were still wet. Most of the wheat was not harvested neatly. Some places were not even harvested at all.
This should be the result of Henry's emergency requisition of food after he arrived here.
He took out a waterskin and gave it to Zaliya, who was riding on the back of the horse, to drink a mouthful of water. Then, he plugged the cork and looked into the distance. "Zaliya, we have to speed up. We should be able to catch up with them before nightfall."
"Yes!
I can see Sister Nana again!
Hehe, I even know a secret that she doesn't know, hehe … "
When the little girl remembered that her Sister Nana did not know that Athena was a unicorn, she felt a sense of pride in her heart. Because she was the first to know, the little girl was so happy that the corners of her mouth curled up all day long.
She wanted to know how shocked Sister Nana would be when she heard the news!
Many of them smiled and did not say anything. Then, they tightened their belts and cloaks and began to run.
Athena let out a neigh and suddenly sped up, overtaking Zaliya's exclamation. Zaliya immediately understood Athena's intention and cheered her on, leaving behind a string of happy laughter.
※ ※ ※
"Your Highness!
Your clothes. "
The attendant gently placed a set of military uniform that had just been ironed using the ironing tools brought by the army on the table beside Stu with both hands.
"Got it. You can go now."
Stu waved his hand, and after his attendants left the tent, he began to change into the clean clothes. Since he was on the march, Stu's clothes were simple, and there were not that many maids to serve him. However, this was not a problem for His Royal Highness.
A prince who had been through war was not so delicate.
After marching in the Khalim Forest for so long, Stu's army was about to walk out of the dangerous forest today.
Over the past few days, Stu's army had been attacked by thirteen groups of undead. Although they had not suffered a single defeat, the last three battles had been extremely difficult. The number of casualties had begun to appear. Up until now, a total of 137 warriors had died, including five heavy cavalrymen from the 7th Cavalry Regiment.
Due to the terrain, the heavy cavalry did not fight on horseback in the recent battles. Instead, they acted as a strong reserve force to decide the outcome of the battle.
To Stu's surprise, these zombies, who had been swarming like bees during the battle, had gradually learned some basic tactics. They actually began to form a horizontal line and then charge. Although these zombies could only be called garbage tactics, they could not form a particularly effective offensive formation. But as the battles went on, Stu actually noticed that these zombies actually knew to leave a reserve force!
In the last battle, there were actually quite a few necromancers among the zombies!
Fortunately, Stu had two high-grade magic casters from the Dahlmann Academy by his side. After a bitter battle, they managed to eliminate the zombies. However, the powerful spells of the enemy necromancers still caused Stu's heavy cavalry to suffer losses for the first time.
The advisor presented the battle plan to Stu. After reading it for a few times, Stu nodded and approved. Then he stood up and walked out of the huge tent.
"Your Highness!
The scouts found something in the east. "
"Oh?"
Stu gently put on his leather gloves and raised his eyebrows. "Speak."
"They're zombies. But they seem to have died from internal strife. There are no traces of weapons. They're all zombies."
The messenger did not seem to believe such a thing, and there was some hesitation in his tone. However, this was a military camp, and he had to speak his mind. He still reported the information reported by the scout word for word.
"Zombies killing each other?
Humph. "
Stu sneered disdainfully. "You don't need to report this. Zombies killing each other?"
He shook his head and fastened the belt on his wrist. Then, without turning his head, he said, "Let's move out. I hope the scouts won't bring me such meaningless news."
He strode to the center of the camp, leaving the messenger standing there in fear.
The rest of the journey seemed to be surprisingly smooth.
Riding on horseback, Stu listened to the continuous news from the scouts that the front was safe. He was a little surprised. Logically speaking, the attacks of the undead should be getting more and more intense. Why did they suddenly disappear without a trace?
The neatly organized troops were very tight. This was to be able to defend and counterattack the moment they were attacked.
However, the scouts did not find the undead that they had expected. The troops walked out of the Khalim Forest safely. They stepped out of the Khalim Forest peacefully and entered Klimt's territory.
However, when they stepped out of the forest, the hellish scene in front of them immediately made all the soldiers understand why they did not encounter any zombies along the way.
This was the empty space after Salia cast the Forbidden Spell.
Broken limbs and remains were scattered all over the ground, like flowers of flesh and blood.
All kinds of scavengers were gorging themselves. When they saw the mighty army walking out of the forest, they immediately dispersed, bringing with them a large swarm of buzzing flying insects.
Stu's hand that was holding the horsewhip suddenly tightened!
Within a radius of nearly a thousand square meters, there were countless conspicuous large pits. The marks caused by the shock wave and the burnt bodies told Stu what had happened here.
"Forbidden Spell!"
The two stunned mages were the first to react. One of them, who was slightly older, disregarded the guards' astonishment. Contrary to his usual arrogant attitude, he leaped down from the back of his horse and trotted forward.
The huge meteorite formed by the earth element and the rocks exploded together with the fire element when it touched the ground. What appeared in front of Stu were countless rotten corpses and shockingly large pits.
There was a rotten smell in the air that could not be dispelled. It was so heavy that people could not even open their eyes.
Stu frowned, but he ordered the troops to quickly pass through the area.
When they arrived at the empty town of Bolpe, the troops stopped to rest. At this time, His Royal Highness also noticed something strange.
"Not a single person?"
Hearing the report from the messenger, Stu's frown deepened. He had a feeling that these strange things had something to do with Flora's disappearance. Because the scouts in Bolpe's blacksmith shop found damaged armors and abandoned swords abandoned by the Royal Guards.
They were discarded when Daugen repaired the weapons for the soldiers. In the eyes of the dwarves, the craftsmanship of these standard weapons was too low, so they were discarded as scrap metal.
What could she do?
Stu looked into the distance, unable to find an answer in his mind.
"Search for food, resupply on the spot."
"Your Highness … The food is gone … Even the straw to feed the horses is gone …"
"What?" Stu was stunned. "All the civilians left?
Do you think they can take away all the food? "
The adjutant wiped the sweat off his forehead, loosened his collar and said, "Your Highness … Everything is gone … Not even a piece of dried meat. The fields nearby have been harvested, and there is no haystack …"
Before he could finish, Stu interrupted him. "Alright, tell me, how many more days can the army's supplies last?"
"Your Highness, because we are alone, the supplies in Celias City are almost used up. At this rate … we can last for another five days."
The adjutant clenched his teeth and said five days. This time limit was calculated after the heavy cavalry's horses were saved and the food per person was reduced by one-third. The situation was not optimistic at all.
It was depressing to have one's own people run out of food.
Stu was instantly annoyed.
According to the original battle plan, the entire army would immediately collect food on the spot after clearing the Khrim Forest. Klimt was a place rich in food. It had always given people the impression that it did not lack food. Who would have thought that this would happen?
"Five days?" Stu was not an idiot. He knew that the current situation was not right. "Bring me the map."
Taking the map from the adjutant, Stu quickly started to calculate the marching route and the supply problem. After a while, his expression seemed to become worse.
"Inform all departments to prepare for the worst. Rush to Tuya Town within three days. Send three squads to search the nearby villages. Report to me immediately if there is any food."
Stu gave the order decisively and continued, "Everyone's food will be reduced by 30%. Same for me. Go and make the arrangements."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
The adjutant replied and retreated.
Stu also understood that he should set an example at this time. As someone who graduated from a military academy, he knew the importance of the army's morale. Now that they had entered the stable plains, he was not afraid of any enemy that was less than three times his number. His strong confidence stemmed from the countless battles he had personally led and won. However, running out of food was a big taboo. Reducing the supplies was the only way, but it was also the easiest way to break the morale of the army that had just been gathered.
As a prince, he did not do anything special. Instead, he reduced the supplies. This would have a strong positive effect in the army. However, as to whether Stu really reduced his supplies, no one would verify it.
"Rest for 45 minutes. All squads set off on time!"
Stu passed the order to the messenger, and then looked at the tall sentry tower. He also saw the difference between this sentry tower and the original wooden walls of Bolpe.
He climbed up the sentry tower and stood at the place where he and Salia used to stand. He looked down at the bloody battlefield, narrowed his eyes, and thought about something.
* * *
"What did you say?"
Henry stared at the guard in front of him with his sharp eyes like a scimitar pulled out of its scabbard.
"Sir … Count has an order!
Everyone has to pay an entrance fee to enter the city!
Five copper coins per person! "
The person who answered him was a guard at the west gate of the Sistine Chapel. He was standing on a platform that was nearly one meter above the ground. The disdainful expression on his face froze when he saw Harry suddenly raise his head and stare at him. He couldn't help but take a step back and almost fall off the platform.
"Five copper coins?"
Noda, who was behind Henry with a straw in his mouth, scolded without hesitation, "There are thousands of us, and they are all refugees!
Are you going to let us all pay before we go in? "
Before the guard could say anything, Noda spat out the straw and scolded, "Is your Count's head squeezed by the city gate?
Do you know nothing but money? "
"Noda, come back."
Sylvia grabbed Noda's shoulder and pulled him back. The latter stopped talking nonsense, but still muttered something in the elven language.
The guard looked at the long sword at Noda's waist, and then looked at his feet. The straw that Noda spat out was nailed straight into the wooden platform under his feet!
Half of the straw was stuck into the sturdy wooden platform, which scared the hell out of the guard!
This was not an arrow!
This motherf * cker was just a straw stalk!
The guard was stupid enough to know that he had met a tough opponent.
However, he quickly regained his senses and looked at the long line of refugees behind them. He swallowed his saliva and said, "No!
If we don't pay, no one can enter! "
"Then, where is Her Highness the Princess of the Empire of Saint Reims?"
The captain of the Royal Guards, Krenze, walked out of the queue with the fine iron sword that Daugen had forged for him. He stood firmly in front of the west gate and shouted, "Her Highness the Princess has arrived!
Please inform all the nobles of the Sith Court to receive her immediately! "
Krenze was wearing the standard armor of the Royal Guards. The golden edges and red lining were not something that ordinary soldiers could have. These two colors were symbols of class and were definitely not something that ordinary people or soldiers could wear.
If they appeared at the same time, the meaning behind it was not simple.
Hearing this shout, he was also shocked by the valiant aura of the guards. He hurriedly ran down from the platform and almost fell on the ground. Then, he carefully looked at the insignia on Blunze's chest and the mark that represented his military rank. After confirming that he wasn't mistaken, he hurriedly knelt down on one knee and trotted towards the Sistine Chapel's city defense office.
"Tell the guards to calm the refugees down. Let the horses rest and drink some water." Henry gave Krenze a few orders, and Krenze quickly ran to carry out the orders.
Flora sat on the back of her horse and looked up at the walls of the Sistine Chapel. It wasn't a small city. It was built on top of a small hill that rose above the horizon. Behind it was a mountain that was at least three thousand meters tall. Behind it was an endless mountain range that extended southward. The city had a sturdy, greenish-gray wall. Due to the difference in the terrain, including the part that was higher than the ground, the wall was almost thirty meters above the ground. It was even taller than the outer wall of Sistine City!
This was a city that was easy to defend but hard to attack. However, Flora did not understand this. She only stared blankly at the tall towers and dark gray walls. She felt like she had jumped out of a cage and was about to enter another one.
Along the way, Flora felt like she did not exist at all. Every day, she was just walking on the back of a horse or a machine. The people around her basically did not talk to her. Flora did not even try to find something to talk about. Most of the time, she was talking to her dolls in her mind.
The group did not have to wait long before they received a reply from the Count Mansion of the Sith Court.
It seemed like the Sith Court was quite efficient. Not long after, Count Jared came out with a group of nobles. At first, he did not believe that the person who called herself a princess outside his city gate was the princess who had never left the palace in Siliath City. However, coincidentally, he had just received a letter from Siliath City the day before, saying that the princess had gone missing in the Khalim Forest. He did not hesitate to prepare the best welcome ceremony to welcome her.
Regardless of whether the princess was real or not, the experienced Jared had to show the proper attitude. It was better to be prepared than not. In the Sith Court and even Klimt, no one dared to go against Jared's words. Even if this princess was not the real princess, Jared was confident that he could turn her into the "real one".
Count Garr had seen Flora before, so he recognized the princess the moment she walked out of the city gate. He immediately started to greet the princess and her guards with his usual warm and friendly face. He invited the princess and her guards into the Sistine Chapel.
However, when the princess and her personal guards entered the Sistine Palace, the refugees behind them were stopped when they were about to follow them.
"Where did these people come from?"