The scorching sun burns above the sky.

The power of the sun shrouded the Narun Desert, and it seemed that even the air was about to be burned out.

It's noon.

But just north of the Sentry Oasis, among the sand dunes, a cavalry team of 10 desert bandits was roaming and patrolling on desert horses with majestic horses under their hips, spears clenched in their hands and skin shields on their left arms.

Obviously, this patrol also made them ready for battle.

"Whew..."

This is the desert horse snorting a little irritably.

The desert sun is already strong, and now it's noon, and the temperature is soaring rapidly.

With a flick on the horse's belly, the 10 desert robbers shook the reins and turned around the desert horse's neck under their crotch, ready to return along the route they had come from, ending the patrol deep into the desert.

Their patrols are serious and careful.

After confirming that there is no problem with the area, choose to leave.

However, they didn't know that right in the ruins of the tribe, the expeditionary force from the Greymane Kingdom had sent an advance team, that is, the 300 strong gnolls pirates, to successfully trek there.

And occupy the wells in the ruins of the tribe, dig together, and successfully dig out more groundwater.

The news did not come.

Kant did not set up sentry posts or post stations in the ruins of the tribe.

However, the system has given warnings, and the fortress of "Drehem" is ready, and all troops are on standby to meet enemy forces that may appear at any time.

The desert bandits rode back to the Sentry Oasis.

The 10-meter-high Consulate Hall and the four-cornered arrow tower are the first to come into view.

Then there is the 7-meter-high city wall, which has been reinforced with an attic.

Senran's defenses had been laid out, and the entire fortifications of the city were lined with soldiers, whether it was the arrow tower, the attic, or the top of the Consulate, the crossbowmen were vigilantly scanning the area they were responsible for.

There will be no troops that will be able to approach the sentry oasis silently.

The crossbowman's eyes were good.

The gates slowly opened.

Ten Swadiya light infantry came out with spears in hand.

Not far away, the desert bandits who had gone out to reconnoiter and patrol had all returned, and under the supervision of these light infantry, they led their desert horses and entered the fortress on foot.

The fortress "Drehem" has entered a state of high martial law.

The management is exceptionally strict.

This is a good habit that is brought with it on the continent of Calradia.

Martial law in a fortress or town is very common in the midst of chaotic warfare.

Not only did you have to walk in line to enter the fortress, and you couldn't rush in on horseback like before, but even any soldiers or civilians who wanted to go out had to apply to their superiors in advance.

This is to prevent spies from leaking inside intelligence.

Although it is unlikely that there are spies in the current "Drehem", this habit is still maintained.

It's always good to be strict.

The aroma of cooking begins to fill the air, and lunch is ready.

The able-bodied peasant women carried all the lunches they had prepared to the city walls with rattan baskets on their backs, and these crossbowmen who were in charge of guarding would eat and rest in batches to ensure that the level of vigilance would not be lowered.

The same was true of the infantry and cavalry in the tents that had been erected under the walls.

Inside the Consulate.

Kant sat in his chair and ate the food on the table in front of him.

Manid and Fatis sat on opposite sides of the long table, also eating.

Lunches from the kitchen were hearty, with toast and fried lamb chops as the main dish, and as a side dish fried eggs and stewed porridge with minced meat, and honey-wrapped bread cubes for dessert.

The trio's lunch was sprinkled with increasingly rare spices, and it tasted delicious.

But Kant's face was calm.

Although he was skillfully eating lamb chops with a knife and fork, he asked, "Have you noticed anything unusual lately?" ”

"Nope." Fatis replied.

"Everything works." Manid replied.

Kant's eyes were slightly agitated: "This is really not good news. ”

When the enemy is discovered, it means that he has mastered the enemy's dynamics.

And the fact that he has not found the enemy also means that the enemy is still outside his grasp, in an unknown state, which makes Kant feel anxious in his heart, and even a delicious lunch is not even aware of the taste.

Fatis frowned: "My lord, why don't I lead the team to investigate deeply." ”

"It's too dangerous." Kant vetoed his proposal.

Swallowing the lamb chops that were being chewed in his mouth, Kant said in a deep voice: "Maybe it will take some time for our enemy to reach the sentry oasis with his troops, after all, it will take 2 days to ride a horse from the natural salt mine here." ”

"If you walk, it's estimated to take three days." Manid added.

Kant nodded: "That's it." ”

The hall was silent.

Kant looked up again and said, "But we can't help but prepare. ”

Manid and Fatis looked up at him.

"If I'm not mistaken." Kant narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "My lords, you should have completed all the work in the morning, and transferred the entire agricultural and pastoral areas into it. ”

"Yes." Manid nodded.

Kant is talking about the grass that can be used as green fodder, as well as chicken nests, beehives and other things.

But he still reminded: "Lord Kant, the five acres of date palm trees on our north side have not been cut down yet, and if the enemy really comes, it will be difficult for us to cut down these trees in a short time." ”

"It's too late..."

Kant put the lamb chops in his mouth, looked at Fatis next to him, and said in a calm tone: "Then burn them all." ”

"Understood." Fatis nodded.

They will not leave anything behind to help the enemy in the possibility of attacking the city.

Although the troops inside the fortress were well-equipped and well-trained veterans, Kant was not sure in his heart whether he would be able to take advantage of hand-to-hand combat in the face of the strong gnolls with chain mail and two-handed battle axes.

The battle for the walls can only begin after the enemy has paid the attrition.

If you come up, you will have to fight for the city wall.

That means that the soldiers stationed in this fortress are too lax, and even such obvious weaknesses and vital points are surrendered to those gnolls, which is absolutely unacceptable to Kant.

"That's it." Kant opened his mouth and commanded: "Let all the civilians cut down all the date palm trees in the afternoon." ”

"Understood." Manid nodded.

But with a little reluctance on his face, he hesitated: "These date palm trees have bloomed, and bees can still collect honey, and at most a month, dates can be produced." ”

"Cut it off." Kant shook his head and repeated.

There's no way around it.

They have to lose something to be safe.

Just like the date palm trees on this 5 acres of land, if you have a successful harvest, you will get 240 baskets of dates.

If the purchase price of these dates from the Zhivading caravan is used, the total value of these 240 baskets of dates is 12,000 dinars, which is more than the current balance of Kant's village mines, which can be called a huge amount of money!

The main thing is that, mixed with honey, Kant was able to boil a large amount of date sugar.

This kind of commodity that can bring sweetness and satisfy the tongue is also a luxury that those nobles in the Lion Principality who can only rely on fruits and honey to obtain sweetness on a daily basis are keen on and pursuing!

Even if you turn dates into candied fruit, you can sell them at a very high profit!

In the kingdom of the lions, which lacks condiments.

The value of salt, sugar, and spices often represents a huge amount of money.

Kant chuckled, although there was still regret in his eyes, but his tone was still calm: "In the future, we will get more date palm groves, this is just a trade-off for the war." ”

"Yes." Fatis and Manid nodded.

Lunch ended quickly.

Manid was the first to leave, and he had to arrange for the farmers to cut down the date palm trees so that they were all finished before dark.

After reporting on the city's defense arrangements, Fatis also took his leave and left.

The two of them were very busy.

Perhaps the most leisurely is the lord Kant, whose daily work is mostly to inspect various points of the fortress, or listen to the reports of the two, make the final decision, and personally decide on some arrangements.

It's like cutting down a date palm forest.

As a lord, you don't need to do your best, but you have to be in control.

This is Kant's creed.

With the swing of the logging axe, patches of date palm trees were cut down and fell.

In the agricultural area, the strongest trunks were lifted into the fortress, carefully placed against the walls, and tents were made of linen to prevent the sun from damaging the straight wood.

After all, the trunk of the date palm tree is a good wood.

Whether it is to make beams or planks, as well as gun shafts, arrow shafts and the like, the texture is more than enough, and those branches and leaves are also collected and used as fuel reserves in the sugar factory.

The date palm tree is full of usable materials.

Today passes quickly.

Civilians and soldiers alike who had been busy all day went to sleep.

However, on the walls and arrow towers, the sentry crossbowmen were well arranged to ensure that they would not be attacked by the enemy at night.

Prudence is a must.

But at dawn the next day, a cacophony sounded.

The entire sentry oasis quickly became combat-ready.

Even Kant, who had been awakened by the sound of the guards knocking on the door, quickly put on his clothes, and asked, "What's the matter, what's going on, is the enemy attacking?" ”

"No, Lord Kant."

The guard's tone was serious, and he said very seriously outside the door: "There are refugees coming." ”

"Refugees?" Kant's brow furrowed.

After getting dressed, I didn't have time to wash up, and walked out of the room quickly.

However, instead of going downstairs to the Consulate, he went up the stairs to the top floor, where the 20 Livingston rangers were holding their bows and looking in the direction of the east, and when they saw Kant, they hurriedly saluted.

"Well, what's going on." Kant came to the uneven retaining wall.

Just behind the sand dunes to the east, nearly 300 or so refugees are gathering in fear.

There were 40 desert robbers around, running back and forth with spears and horses, staring at the group of refugees very closely, as if they were ferocious desert vultures, staring at the poor little quails.

Kant couldn't help frowning: "Is it really a refugee? ”

PS: I found that I haven't thanked everyone for the tips for many days.,Recently, everyone has given a lot of tips.,I'll resume the rhythm of the plot first.,I'll thank you after the rhythm of the plot is smooth.。 After adjusting the detailed outline, it really doesn't feel so awkward to write.