"If I'm not mistaken, the army under your command, except for the recently collected defeated troops, the main forces that can really fight, reliable, and trustworthy are all diehards you brought from the fiefdom of the province of Césaire, right?"

Of course. In the era of feudal lords, the most capable of fighting in the armies under the command of feudal lords could often only be those old guards who came out of their hometowns and were composed of township parties and hometown people. Because only in this way can you know the roots of the commander through the nepotism of the villagers and the fetters of the township party, and you can ensure the loyalty of the other party, believe that they are willing to fight for you, and also give your back to the other party with confidence.

Bochmond had always been born into a local nobleman of Césaire, and when the "Emperor" of Icon was named Prince of Césaire, he was chosen to be the prince's slear knight, and they grew up almost together. Naturally, as a Césaire, most of the guards around him and the officers he trusted were also Césaire. Before the outbreak of the Auckland Civil War, he even returned to Césaire to recruit a group of nearly 10,000 elite soldiers as his backbone, so that he dared to take up his post at the northern gate of Herring, the imperial capital that would surely withstand the test of fierce war.

Now, as the war continues, only half of the 10,000 old guards under the marquis's command, composed of hometown people, are left, and many of those who survive are still crippled and seriously injured that cannot be healed. But even so, they were still the core combat force that the Marquis relied on the most. He was even confident that even if everyone else in the city jumped up and rebelled, as long as these 5,000 people were still on his side, there would be no chaos in Herring City.

"She" is mentioning such words at this time, is she trying to shake my will with everyone's lives? Hey, that's a wasted effort. Scold...... After all, she is a woman, how can she understand the friendship between comrades-in-arms who eat in the same tank and sleep in the same room?

"They are the soldiers I trained single-handedly, of course, they already have the consciousness of living and dying with me." He said so eloquently.

"Warriors who live and die together. They are all human beings, people with families and old folks. ”

As soon as his words fell, a melodious singing voice suddenly sounded outside Herring City.

"Our Césaire, always like paradise, with its blue mountains. and the meandering ...... of the Nandor River"

“…… This, this is. The marquis was slightly stunned, it was such an iron man with a will like steel, and at this time he suddenly fell into an indescribable trance.

"Life there is longer than trees, and as young as mountains, drifting away like the wind......"

What was originally just the loud and tactful singing of a few people gradually turned into a chorus in unison. It was a chorus of hundreds. The voice is uneven, far from the uniform spirit and majestic timbre of a professional choir, and even mixed with a trembling broken note. But it's so deep and so affectionate that people can't help but fall into the sound.

"Mother Mountain, take me home! Back to my long-awaited hometown, the forest of Césaire. Meander the river, take me home! Back to my long-awaited hometown, the wilderness of Césaire"

The chorus voice, for some reason, began to resound on all sides of Herrin City. Gradually, everyone in the city could hear the song. Whether it is the soldiers who are being deployed on the city walls. Or the medical officers who are healing, and even those who are doing their duty. The elite knights trained by the Marquis also involuntarily stopped their work and listened attentively to the fluttering of the song.

It is a folk song from Césaire's hometown, with melodious and beautiful tunes, simple but sincere lyrics, and it is very popular. It is also recognized as the song that best represents the province of Césaire and the people of Césaire. Whether it is a dignitary or a pawn of a peddler, even if he can't sing completely, he must be able to hum twice.

"All my memories revolve around her, she was the wife of a lumberjack and a hunter, she was the mother of a farmer and a shepherd, and she had never seen the deep sea. Darkness and dust painted colors in the sky, and tears welled up in my eyes in the hazy moonlight. ”

Césaire is located southeast of Auckland, bordering the Greenridge Mountains on the border of the Noldor Forest, not by the sea. It was a region not close to the sea, and there were no very valuable minerals, but the land was fertile and densely forested, and it was the most famous source of mountain goods and timber in the entire empire.

The defenders of Herrin began to weep. They are all in the city facing the enemy army several times their own standing iron army, and they have already had the consciousness of the whole army to die in battle, but at this time, whether it is a resolute knight, or a disabled veteran, whether it is a veteran oil, or a fledgling rookie recruit, they all feel the softest and warmest place in their hearts. Even those soldiers who were not born in Césaire were affected by such an environment and could not help but think of their homeland. They choked, they wandered, and they ...... Gradually, the courage to fight to the death was lost.

"Mother Mountain, take me home! Back to my long-awaited hometown, the forest of Césaire. Meander the river, take me home! Back to my long-awaited hometown, the wilderness of Césaire! ”

"You...... You, you! The Marquis of Bochmond stared at the expressionless Lu Xi, feeling for the first time a fear of being controlled by someone. He had been facing the morale-high morale of Karin's elite soldiers for months in Herring, and he could not understand such a fear.

He drew his sword and pointed it at Lu Xi, and his whole body began to tremble.

"Early in the morning I heard a voice calling to me, reminding me of my distant home, walking along the great river. I had this feeling in my heart: maybe I should have gone home yesterday, just yesterday! ”

"Are you going to resist? Marquis? Lu Xi sighed and said.

Marquis Bochmond gritted his teeth and trembled, holding his sword as if he was ready to cut Lu Xi in two at any moment, but after a long time, he finally let out a dejected sigh and silently lowered his blade.

"Come with me!" He said to his guards, "Return to the Lionwing Fortress for our final end." ”

The so-called Lionwing Fortress refers to the fortress in the city that was established in the early days of the Griffon Dynasty and was built by elves, dragons and titans. It is the oldest building in the whole of Herring, but it is still the strongest building.

When the "Chu Ge" sounded around the city, even Bochmond knew that his soldiers would completely lose the morale to continue fighting. This time. can only hope that the guards around him can hold on. However, the marquis's personal guards were only four or five hundred, how could they hold such a large city? can only reluctantly use the Lionwing Fortress as the last stronghold, and continue to be a stumbling block for a nail household.

"Besides, there are ...... in the city," the marquis muttered, suddenly realizing that the millions of stone of grain were still hoarded in the storehouses of the city. It is enough food for all the refugees gathered in the imperial capital to survive this period of time.

He felt the torment. The sense of honor as a knight and the sense of duty to serve the lord began to fight in his heart, and after a while, he gritted his teeth, and his eyes flashed a hint of collapse hideousness, and he pulled over a personal guard, and at that moment, he suddenly felt that something very important in his heart had collapsed......

"You go and ...... the warehouse," the Marquis slowly squeezed out of Senran's voice almost from between his teeth, but before he could speak, he suddenly heard a loud roar resounding around him. It was as if there had been a sudden earthquake that shattered the heavens and the earth. Even the singing outside the city completely obscured the past.

He was dumbfounded, feeling a rumbling sound in his ears that shook his heart, and he almost lost the ability to think. He looked at the guards around him who were even more surprised than himself, and looked in the direction of the sound, but what he saw was the ancient fortress that had been established for thousands of years, but it seemed to have been pushed down by an invisible hand, and it fell apart and collapsed like a pile of cheap building blocks.

A pillar that could sustain the soldiers of Herin to continue their resistance. In just five minutes, he was shattered.

"This. It's ......"

"This is the will of the gods, Lord Bochmond!" Lu Xi said word by word. Yes, who would have thought that more than 5,000 years ago, the dragons helped the ancient people of Auckland build this Lion's Wing Fortress, and they would have realized it. These seemingly weak and powerless people of black iron may one day truly reign over this world, threatening the living space of the ancient golden bloodline and even the continuation of their race. They helped the Aucklanders fortify the permanent Dragon's magical defensive stance throughout the fortress, making the stone walls harder than steel, but also sneaking back doors in those circles. Just use some password to start. These defensive circles will disappear on the spot, and even drain the magical links that the elven architects use to maintain the structure of the fortress.

At that time, all the blows that the fortress itself withstands, including the limits of its architectural life, will be directly expressed on a physical level and in a very "realistic" way.

This was the straw that broke the camel's back, right? At that moment, Lu Xi felt that all the spirit and spirit seemed to have disappeared from this determined famous general. He looked at the "female officer" in front of him with an almost numb gaze, and after a while, he finally realized something.

“…… You can't be as simple as a female officer of Her Royal Highness Caterina, right? ”

"I'm Lu Xi? Lin Ge? Belencaster, Lord Marquis. Lu Xi bowed slightly, and officially introduced himself: "I am not the only one in Karin's army who has the confidence to kill this city single-handedly, but I am indeed the only one who has the confidence to persuade you with words, and I am still the only one who has the confidence to let you stop you when you finally take the risk." Now, the former proves to be nothing more than my daydreaming, and the latter...... I hope you don't do anything stupid at this time. You have fulfilled all your obligations as a warrior and retainer, and there is no need to bear the eternal infamy of a doomed man. ”

Bochmund was stunned, a deep sense of frustration and fear brewing complex emotions in his heart, but then he suddenly felt a rare sense of relief and exhilaration.

"It's you...... Oh, I'm a fool. The longevity banquet when the emperor was alive, in fact, I was also present. At that time, you and Her Highness Caterina were the focus of thousands of people in the Harvest Hall! But I didn't recognize you. At that moment, Lord Marquis showed a self-deprecating smile, but it was also the most relaxed smile Lu Xi had ever seen.

"Kaesong, surrender to Her Highness Katerina! All the materials, weapons, and food in the city have been sealed, and you will personally guard every important position, waiting for His Highness's army to accept it. If you're running out of manpower, you're all going! He turned his head and shouted at the cronies behind him. At that moment, he once again resumed his duty as a famous general who led 30,000 or 40,000 men to defend Herlin and made Karin's army of more than 100,000 helpless.

The captain of the marquis's personal guard hesitated for a moment, but he was infected by the courage of the lord, and he stepped forward and saluted, but said: "But, my lord, if we all go, you ...... here."

"I need to fulfill my last duty." The Marquis replied aloud.

The knight seemed to realize something, and seemed to be confused, muttered for a second, struck his fist on the breastplate and nodded, and then buried his head in it.

It wasn't until all his subordinates left that the marquis silently turned his head and looked at Lu Xi, his eyes seemed to be filled with inexplicable complex emotions, making it impossible to see his mood at this time: "Everything today is your handiwork." Lu Xi? Master of Berencaster. If you had been by His Highness's side, perhaps I would not have been able to keep Herrin City to this day, would I? ”

“…… You've won a prize. All the tricks are built on the asymmetry of information, and you've done your best. Knowing that his words sounded a little triumphant, Lu Xi still couldn't help but want to comfort the other party.

"Yes, the best, but in the end it will not save the fate of my lord. But as a martial artist, since he has decided the fate of his life, at least at the last moment, he must fulfill his last loyalty! He suddenly drew his sword, turned his head, and turned around to slash at Lu Xi.

His sword, with its swift and violent movements and smooth and freehand moves, may be the most perfect sword he has ever slashed in his life. However, it only stabbed the air. He heard a sigh in one side of his ear, and then felt the sharp pain in his chest being pierced by a sharp blade, but then the feeling of exhaustion, numbness, and chaos quickly took over all his senses.

This resolute famous general, until he lost his breath, still had his eyes open and stood on his own.

"Please go on your way in peace, I will convince Karin no matter what, at least, Prince Césaire's family can save their lives and private property." Lu Xi said in a low voice.

As soon as these words came out, the corpse of the Marquis of Bochmond suddenly closed his eyes, and his majestic body like a mountain slowly fell to the ground. (To be continued.) )