The first group of freedmen, who served as cannon fodder, were not hindered and had successfully climbed the dirt slope.

At an angle to the slope, a wooden fence pointing diagonally towards the sky blocked their tracks. The fence was not tightly barricaded, but left gaps for spears to pass through. When the attacker destroys the logs, the defenders simply stand behind the fence and can kill their opponents with their spears.

However, to the surprise of Duke Fran, the people who were still standing on the city wall were also gone, and the entire perimeter was currently undefended. The vanguard quickly cut several gaps with small axes, and after knocking down a few logs, the crowd poured into the city. In a few moments, the wooden gates were also lowered.

"Let's go," the Duke shook the reins and led the rest of his troops toward the gates. From the beginning of the siege to the lowering of the gates, it was less than two quarters of an hour, what the hell was Garcia Wimbuton doing? Fran frowned, anyone with a little combat experience knew that when abandoning the city, it was necessary to leave behind a group of personal guards, or hire a lot of brave men who were not afraid of death, to go to the city to block the enemy's attack, and buy time for the retreating large army as much as possible.

The Three Princesses were not stupid people, otherwise they would not have been able to turn the entire southern realm against her so quickly. Why didn't she arrange a group of men to defend the city wall? No matter how strong the defense is, no matter how clever the trap is, if there is no one to operate it, it will only become a dead thing. Duke Fran thought about it and decided to let the guards enter the city first to investigate the situation.

The result of the Captain of the Guard was still the same, and there were no resistors in the city, but some streets were indeed blocked with wood and masonry, and his men were already rallying the local people to clear the obstacles.

Fran no longer hesitated, and led the rest of his troops into Eagle City. He is also a veteran who has followed Wimbledon III for many years, and he can't be bluffed by a little girl. However, Tifeko made a slight mistake in this move, and if he could wait until he captured the city gate and passed through the city directly, he could save a lot of time.

As he passed through the city gates, the Duke smelled a pungent smell, not the smell of rotting corpses often seen on the battlefield, but a mixture similar to pine nut oil, orange peel, and incense. If you take a deep breath, you may even feel a little fragrant.

What does it smell like? He looked left and right, but didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. Instead, the ditch used to drain the earthen wall was blocked, and the sewage overflowed the channel and flowed slowly along the ground. I don't know how long no one has cared about those filthy accumulations, black and slimy, reflecting colorful light streaks in the sun.

Probably the smell of the pile, Fran shook his head and led the group towards the castle district.

Now that you have taken Eagle City, it is natural to go to the Lord's Castle and City Hall to take a look around and see if there is anything to take away. Of course, the city has probably been looted by Garcia, and the golden dragon may not be left behind, but some of the larger artifacts and decorations are also great trophies. It would be better to bring a grain wagon that he brought with him to be cleaned up a little and used to load the seizures. As for the mercenaries, it is estimated that they have already gone to the shops and farms by this time.

Whatever they are, Duke Joey is dead anyway, and it's still a question of who will be the next successor. At this time, it is a matter of urgency to snatch the city to the bottom.

After visiting the Lord's Castle, Fran Cherit notices that something is wrong.

There was space in the castle, he thought, not just the coins, but not even the cloth and grain stored in the entire basement. There were only blank walls in a few places where frescoes were hung, not a single book in the bookcase, not even the large bed in the lord's bedroom, and the whole castle seemed to be stripped naked.

Is this something that can be done in a hasty retreat? Fran felt to himself that if he hadn't moved these things slowly from the beginning, the castle would not have been looted so thoroughly.

Just as he wanted to go to the city hall to take a look, a thick cloud of black smoke suddenly rose from the north gate.

"What's the matter, there's a fire?"

"I don't know, my lord, I've told Morriel to go and see it," said the captain of the guard, "perhaps the enemy is deliberately setting the fire." ”

True, the first thing that came to the Duke's mind was also a trap, but he soon realized that this method of sealing the door with fire was pointless. First of all, not to mention that you can bypass the city gate and climb out directly from the dirt slope, even if the fire is ignited, and if no one takes advantage of the chaos to attack, the organized team can quickly extinguish the fire source.

The correct way to use it is to set up troops in the city, and when the fire breaks out everywhere, take advantage of the panic of the enemy army to launch a surprise attack, which can effectively disrupt the enemy's formation and even force the opponent back. As he said, a trap that no one operates is nothing more than a dead thing.

At this moment, black smoke rose from the other three gates, and the north gate could already see the fire, and the fire was rapidly expanding, as if it were filled with straw. The screams of civilians were heard in the city, and it seemed as if someone's house had been set on fire.

That's not right...... The duke thought that he had come in through the north gate, and that there was nothing but an open field, but how could the fire have spread so quickly without it?, etc....... A year flashed through his mind, could it be that Garcia Wimbledon had secretly recruited witches?

Fran touched the Divine Punishment Stone hanging around his neck, and his heart calmed down a little. If it was a witch's fire, he just had to go straight to it, and the demon's flames wouldn't hurt him at all. And every member of the pro-soldier team wears this thing, which doesn't pose much of a threat. As for the freedmen who had no money to donate to the Church, the Duke could no longer care for them.

There was something evil in the city, and he decided to go out first. The army can camp at the South Gate, both to keep an eye on the Eagle City and to receive the cavalry of the new king's return. Thinking of this, he ordered the captain of the guard: "We are going out of the city from the south, and you blow the call on the road to gather the troops." ”

"Yes!"

The crowd immediately set out, but when they reached the vicinity of the south gate, they found that the flames had spread to the city, and the dwellings were set on fire, and the heat that came over them forced them to retreat. The citizens of the city, who had been hiding in their houses and not going out, also ran out at this moment, and the streets were full of people, and even the swords of the guards could not stop them from fleeing in panic to the open space that had not yet burned. For a moment, everyone seemed to be in a sea of fire, and there was smoke and flames all around.

"Calm down, go find a well, fetch water to put out the fire," Duke Fran quickly issued a series of orders, "leave the house alone, just douse the burning obstacles in the street and clear a road." Don't stop the summons and let others know where we are!"

"Lord Duke!" a knight came running from the direction of the center of the city, and before he could stop his horse, the man had already turned over from his horse and jumped off, it was Moryl, who had been sent by the captain of the guard to the north gate. "My lord, the fire at the north gate can't be extinguished at all!"

"What did you say?" asked Fura in surprise, "unable to extinguish?"

"The flames are burning on those black waters," she said quickly, "not only will they not be extinguished by the water, but they will flow along the water!"

"Unquenchable flames...... he muttered, "yes, it seems to be demonic fire." Then the Duke shouted, "Don't panic, everyone, this is the demonic fire that Garcia has cast using the evil witch! As long as you wear the Divine Punishment Stone, this flame looks terrible, but it can't burn you at all!"

"I see, may you be merciful," Moriel subconsciously stroked her chest, "then, my lord, what should we do?"

"What are you afraid of with the Divine Punishment Stone!, everyone get on the horse, let's rush over," the Duke waved his hand, "As long as these evil fires encounter the Divine Stone, they will naturally disappear without a trace!" He paused, "Moriel, you take a group of people out first, and I'll stay here to gather the people who follow behind." ”

"Yes!" the knight nodded, "Take care, sir." Others, keep up!"

Then she flipped on her horse and rushed towards the end of the scorching street without hesitation. (To be continued.) )