The transmission of information is not easy.
When a fire broke out in Changfeng Fortress, the two Dukes far away in the Royal Capital were still focusing on maintaining order in the Royal Capital. When the troops of the Duke of Eastland and Prince Edmund gathered together, , when attacking the land on the border of the Holy Spirit Plain, the person in charge of St. Sunil City did not get the slightest news. It was not until the gryphon messenger who risked his life to break out from the border of the plain flew into the royal capital that this great change related to the future of the kingdom truly appeared. In front of the people in charge in Silver Castle - however, until this time, they did not know that a huge change was also taking place in the southern border, which would further affect the future of the kingdom.
But there is not the slightest connection between the distant southern border and the royal capital - outside the Silver Castle and in the city of Saint-Sunil, there is an informant from Cecil dormant.
In the Cecil family's official residence at No. 4 Crown Street, which has become the gathering place for the mage circle and scholar circle of the royal capital, a scholar wearing a soft woolen hat stood up politely and said to the mage apprentice in front of him After bowing, she left the room under the guidance of her attendants. "Witch" Jipri watched the mage of the royal capital get up and leave after completing the registration, then sighed slightly, stood up and moved her slightly stiff shoulders.
Sitting in such a spacious and bright room, wearing a well-tailored expensive dress, meeting with scholars in the royal capital as the duke's agent, such a decent job is something that "Witch" Jipri has never imagined She got by, but it wasn't until she actually sat in this position that she realized how difficult it was behind such a seemingly glamorous job. Dealing with the well-informed and smart people in the capital was a test in itself, and she also had to In this process, as a military intelligence agent, she collects intelligence and transmits it. The hardships during this period are no less difficult than when she relied on sweet talk to swindle money from passing adventurers on the street.
The door opened, and "Fast Legs" Pierce, wearing a knight's uniform, walked in. After seeing that Jipri was the only one in the room, the young man nodded: "The last person to register has left? "
"Yes, the last one today," Jipri said while beating her shoulders. "There are a few more people than yesterday..."
"The situation in the royal capital is changing. Becoming nervous, soldiers and knights coming out of the castle are checking suspicious people door to door. There was even a fire in the wealthy area a few days ago, and people's hearts are floating." Pierce found a place to sit down at the table and talked about the recent Changes in the city, "It is also thanks to this that our recruitment has become easier - Duke Cecil's employment certificate allows them to legally leave the city during this period."
" We can gather a hundred people tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, and we can send another batch." Jipri looked at the registration book on the table, then raised her head and looked at her companions, "In addition, an order came from the mainland, Let us stop all open recruitment activities after sending the last batch of people, and only maintain contact with the royal capital's magic circle in the dark, collect information and wait for orders."
Pierce felt a little curious for a while. in the southHow did the lord know about the changes in the situation in the royal capital? Because this part of the information had not yet been sent out, but the training he received in the Military Intelligence Bureau made him not question the order, but nodded directly: "I understand, I will go to various places tomorrow. The association cancels the commission."
"It's time to stop public activities..." Jipri sighed softly, "The situation in the city is deteriorating, and there are rebels hiding in the royal capital, Silver Castle. I'm afraid people will soon order a blockade of the entire Saint-Sunil. We rely on the protection of the Duke to always move freely, but it is best not to continue to challenge the sensitive and fragile nerves of Silver Castle for the next period of time..."
“I don’t know what the future will bring,” Pierce couldn’t help but sigh. Born in a slum, he began to lament for the first time this kind of thing that originally had no connection with his life. “This country is really getting better and better. It's getting more chaotic..."
"The chaos in front of us is only temporary. The Duke will eventually bring prosperity and order to this country," Jipri raised her eyelids and looked at Pierce and said, "This kind of prosperity Peace and order are products beyond this era, but we may be able to see it in our lifetime."
"This seems to be what Mr. Santis lamented," Pierce laughed, "although it sounds like it. It's too optimistic, but I think it makes sense."
...
If what we see in Cecil Territory is prosperity and order, then in the place where the noble army has been raging. , all that can be seen is decay and chaos.
In the southwest of Carroll Territory, in the Consco area, a small village was almost razed to the ground. On the edge of the ruins of the village, a small armed team was passing by.
This team is well-disciplined, with black and red flags flying above the team, with the emblem of the Cecil family printed on the flag. Half of the team were Cecil combat soldiers wearing bright armor and carrying combat backpacks, while the other half were non-combatants wearing light armor and smocks who didn't look like soldiers. The latter's blouse has a red triangle logo printed on it. This logo has always been a symbol of professions such as doctors and pharmacists in Ansu tradition.
Wright Aviken was walking in the team. He was the only one in the team who wore heavy armor, but his identity was a doctor - his doctor mark was printed on the breastplate, and the eye-catching The red triangle logo makes him stand out among the team.
Of course, what is more conspicuous than the red mark is his body that is a head taller than the strong soldiers.
At this moment, the strong and tall priest and field doctor looked at the ruins in front of him, and after being silent for a few seconds, he finally couldn't help but let out a sigh.
All the buildings in sight have collapsed and been destroyed. The warehouses storing grain in the village were looted and then set on fire. The wells were also filled up. The cattle and sheep were slaughtered by the hungry noble soldiers to satisfy their hunger. Those that were not taken away in time were burned down like granaries and houses, and in some places, Wright could still see some unpleasant dark red blood stains.
This village was destroyed, destroyed by the war, but it was not the Cecil people as the "enemy" who destroyed it, but the nominal protector and nominal owner of the village - the Consco region knights, and the coalition of nobles allied with Viscount Consco.
The coalition of nobles who fled from the Gravel Ridge front destroyed this place - like everything else they destroyed along the way.
Nobility is synonymous with plunder, especially during wars, but Wright will still be shocked by what he sees and hears. He did not expect that the plunder and destruction carried out by the noble coalition during their defeat would be greater than their march. The destruction caused was even more shocking, so shocking that he couldn't help but wonder whether the fleeing noble soldiers were human beings or a group of termites peeling off their skin and bones.
Standing next to Wright was a veteran named Cecil. This veteran who served as a team commander in the team was used to seeing the battlefield and understood the routines of the traditional aristocratic army. He shook his head, Wright explained: "They will still have some order when they march - at least at that time, they still regard themselves as the protectors of the land and the people. They will collect a lot of food and property when they pass through villages and towns, but at least They would not carry out destruction, but once they fled, they would become jackals... Unlike Cecil's army, those noble soldiers did not regard 'plunder' as a criminal act at all, nor would they regard "plundering" as a crime. They were hung up and whipped for just a piece of bread. They would do anything to fill their stomachs. They would even burn down a place when they arrived to prevent food and houses from falling into the hands of the pursuers..."
"Don't they even spare their own land?" Wright couldn't help but interrupt the veteran, "Those fleeing nobles... will they really order the destruction of villages on their own territory?"
"Why not?" The veteran sighed, "Anyway, they were defeated. According to the rules of aristocratic war, the winner always has to plunder - they feel that even if they don't take away all the food in the village, they will The houses will be burned down, and the pursuers will do the same thing. Rather than letting the enemy succeed, it is better to do it themselves, and in this way they can get back some of the food... They don't feel like losing money like this."
"... ..."
Wright was silent. The darkness and sin in the war made him not know what to say. He came from the relatively wealthy and stable Holy Spirit Plains, and even during his missionary process he had seen the despicability of some barbaric nobles. However, this was the first time he had seen a real war of this scale. What the nobles did during their rout and escape was far beyond his expectations.
But he is not a naive person - although many people say that he is naive after learning that he follows the classical virtues of the Holy Light, he knows that he is not. He was shocked by the cruelty and darkness of the war, but he was not naive enough to believe that this war should not have happened, let alone that it was Cecil's victory that led to the tragedies before him.
He knows the greed of human beings and the greed of nobles., after reading the comments and analysis in the newspapers, he knew that this war was inevitable, and regardless of the outcome of the war, those greedy and cruel nobles and their armies would do the same thing - plunder and destruction would always happen. happens, the only difference is where it happens.
And he also knew that Cecil's army had tried its best to avoid the spread of these damages - when the large army was chasing, they had been trying to drive the enemy into the wilderness and other places. If they were really close to the town, , will also try their best to catch up and attack them before they cause damage, and drive them away. After all, protecting those towns and villages is also protecting Cecil's future property.
But no matter how hard we try, the battlefield is always full of variables and uncontrollables.
So Wright could only watch silently, then lowered his head and silently prayed for those who suffered disaster.
The Lord of Holy Light will not answer his prayers, but he does not expect anything to answer his prayers either.
The commander glanced at the pastor-turned-field doctor and did not interrupt the latter's prayer. Instead, he began to assign tasks to the soldiers: "You two, go and find out if there is anyone else nearby. Find out if there are any survivors who have escaped, and try to find them. You, and the three of you, look for any places where corpses have been discarded, and gather the corpses and burn them. Follow me and look for any. What is available?"