(December 25, 343 A.D., east of France, inside the officers' club in Gresden)

There hasn't been a single snow this winter, but the weather is still very cold. The sun looks red www.biquge.info, and it seems that he has drunk too much pine nut wine. The fire in the officer's club was blazing, and the middle and lower rank officers were drunk, red-faced and swearing. If it weren't for the fact that the legion commander was in the house, a dozen people would have gone out to duel.

The commander of the Third Legion of the Falency - Taugrend Gretil Leuss was waiting for his wine in the corner seat, and he was joined at the table by Tom Andak, the chief of the guard of Rocchith; Carl Holin, division commander of the 8th Division.

It has been nearly four years since Sogrerd took over the legion, and the 1,300 men who survived the First Battle of Valrane have grown to an army of more than 32,000. The youngest legion commander in the kingdom will be 25 years old by the end of the year. Goose egg face, a pair of purple eyes with jewel luster, peugeot facial features, and short flowing dark hair draw a delicate arc in front of the right eye. In Holin's words, "The king's wisest decision was not to let our legion captain join the Praetorian Guard, or the social world of Kaunescu would be completely ruined." ”

The attendant brought the wine. "The wine of Parello, 320 years old. It would be nice to be able to drink it every day. Andak said, opening the cap and filling three glasses of orange-yellow liquid.

Thorgrande picked up his glass and playfully said, "I have to drink such an expensive wine every day, and I don't even think about it unless I can find gold mines in the forest of Abdullah." ”

"Speaking of the Aildura Forest, Mang Chuck wants you to get some corn seeds for him." Andak said.

"That old thief is finally going to change his ways, shall we send him another priest?" Carl Hollin, who spoke, was the number two man in the Third Legion, 32 years old, with honey-colored hair, a pair of gray eyes with a sharp aura, and a cleanly shaved face.

"The latest intelligence says that the Mastar Army is still facing off with our army on the Sorena River, and the Fifth Army has just been assembled and should be about to leave for the front."

"So there are seven legions to the west, why are we the only ones here to spend time when everyone is fighting for honor with their swords?" Hollin complained.

"It should be glad that Mastar is only confronting us with her northern group, and if we add any of her other groups, our comrades will be better. Pamis's cavalry is good for us at Scaran, and Mastar's Western bloc is not able to move. Their central bloc will have to look at the Rossi family in the south, and the only free eastern bloc will be a threat to us if it can pass through Iberia. Sogrend analyzed easily.

"So it's none of our business, right?"

"Not necessarily, maybe tomorrow five legions of Iberians and Mastars will rush across the border, how can Ferdinand III, who came to power by coup d'état, shut the mouths of the nobles in the country? Winning the war against the barbarian Farensi is a good option. Therefore, it is not impossible for Iberia and Marstar to jointly attack the twin forts of Gresden-Langcados. ”

"The Legionnaire seems to have been worried, how can the Mastar army come back from Iberia? Drink bars. Andak said, filling three glasses.

After that, the three of them asked for two bottles of liquor and a bottle of pine nut wine. It was not until the sun was in the west that the three of them paid their bills and left the officers' club. The winter twilight fog has begun to thicken. The three men came to the stable, and Andak called out to the sleepy orderly, huddled in a ball. The frozen orderly clumsily and quickly saddled for both horses. Andak stepped onto the horse and jerked the horse vigorously, "Alright, Legionnaire, see you next spring." "Although it is a border, there is still a considerable distance between the fortress in front and Gresden in the rear.

"See you in the spring." Sogrend and Hollin watched Rockohit's guard go away, not realizing it was a farewell.

On the evening of December 31, 343 in the mainland Gregorian calendar, officers and soldiers were celebrating the arrival of the New Year at a post on the Franco-French border. Sergeant Mache Landil was reading a letter from home, and when he saw his wife describing the days and nights of his son's growth, he couldn't help but smile with relief.

"Ma Qi, if you don't come again, we will drink your share." The man outside the house shouted.

"I'll come!" Ma Qi rolled up the parchment, scraped off the handwriting tomorrow, and replied to his home.

The soldier on duty filled his water bladder with a full bag of liquor, and climbed the ladder up the watchtower. "Don't fall asleep on it, boy!" The partner below teased.

"Don't be arrogant, you guy must have done something about the signing, we'll see next time!" After a few words of scolding with his comrades, the sentry returned to his post. He had just taken a sip of wine when his instinct suddenly stopped him and squinted his eyes to look into the distance. The sentry shuddered, but not out of fear, but out of surprise, "Unknown army ...... found" Before he could finish speaking, an arrow pierced his throat. He reluctantly fell from the improvised watchtower, "Tim!! The soldier who had been scolding him just now hurried to the sentry. Wine flowed from the sentry's water bladder, and the soldier struggled to stop the loss of fluid, as if this would save the lives of his fellow companions, who were also dying, but what was gone could no longer be recovered.

A dense rain of rockets struck the outpost, accompanied by shouts of killing woven by foreign Chinese dialects.

"All ready to fight, Sergeant Randyre!"

"In!"

"Get on the horse, and be to Gresden before dawn."

"But?"

"No, obey orders!"

"Yes!"

Soon a black horse galloped out of the camp.

On the high ground on one side of the post, a black-clothed knight was reporting to another knight in silver armor: "Your Highness, ahead is a post in Farensi, which has started a battle with the Iberian army. ”

"Iberian miscellaneous soldiers can only suppress such small outposts. General Hayes, let's move on. ”

Although the invaders were superior in numbers, they did not make the defenders feel the slightest bit of timidity. Blood droplets glow dazzlingly in the air against the firelight. "Hasus!!" The Phariseans shouted the name of their national god of war and pounced on the enemy who rushed into the outpost, without any hint of fear. Most of the soldiers of the Iberian National Army had never seen a real warrior and, as a matter of course, took a few steps back. The Iberian army's attack was even stopped for a moment, but the cavalry of the nobles immediately dispersed the small group of Falunsi. Mother Earth received body after body. The fight lasted only a short time.

"Brave soldiers," exclaimed the Silver Knights as they rode past the outpost, "I would like to know their commander, the commander of the Third Legion of Farency. ”

"Your Highness's wish will be granted," Hayes replied, "don't stop, go forward, aim for Rochohit." "The black iron flows in a northwesterly direction. In a few moments, the Mastar army was completely at the forefront of the Iberian army. In the Phalensian outpost, in a corner where a fire had already burned, a roll of parchment that had been used many times burned silently.

Sergeant Landil rode his horse, he had already changed horses in Rochocht, but even a good horse could not withstand such a gallop. "Hurry, faster, you can't slow down." He kept urging the horse. Soon they entered the valley of Besser, and the mountains on both sides kept retreating, as if they knew the situation and were in a hurry to get out of the way. But at a fork in the road, he nearly crashed into another rider in the dark. But he ignored it, and only tried to push the horse forward. The man seemed to be unwilling, and chased after him, shouting, "This is not good, you will run the horse to death, what the hell is the matter?" ”

"I have an emergency military situation, so I don't have time to talk to you."

"What kind of emergency military situation, don't toss the horse like this."

"There is an enemy invasion, no less than 100,000!"

"What?! Swap horses with me, or you'll have to go to Gresden. Randuil thought it was justified and swapped mounts with the man.

"Thank you, may I ask you ......?"

"Mun Chuck, let's go!"

In the early morning of January 1, "Your Excellency, Commander! Sogre reflexively sat up from the bed, only to see a tall figure rushing in with a candlestick. "It turned out to be Jack Fleet," he began, looking for clothes, "what's the matter, it's too dark." ”

"There is an enemy invasion, and there are at least 100,000 of them!!"

"Really?" The young corps commander didn't seem surprised, "Which country's army?" Iberia certainly participated, and Ferdinand III finally made up his mind. With that, he put on his shirt.

"Order the kitchen to be opened," was an order that did not need to be explained, and everyone knew the meaning, "bring the messenger to me." ”

A few minutes later, a non-commissioned officer, who was older than the regiment commander, came to the meeting room.

"Your name?"

"March Landier."

"Sergeant Randil, I'm afraid you'll only be able to nibble on dry rations for the next few days. You must know that in winter, those flying dragons can't move for 2 hours a day. This is an urgent military situation, and it will be sent to His Majesty the King of Parello as soon as possible. Thorgrande handed him a paperwork, and the non-commissioned officer took his leave on an honorable mission.

"Legion Commander, the army has been assembled, please give orders to the whole army in person." Jack Fleet DiNova reported. This is a 23-year-old young man with long black and brown shawl hair, a pair of brown eyes that are commonly referred to as "eagle-like", a head taller than Sogrend, and as strong as a black bear, and is the commander of the Seventh Division.

Sogre walked through the cold corridor to the parade platform. Seeing him come out, the soldiers in the playground cheered. It wasn't quite dawn yet, and there were still sporadic torches around the playground. Thorgrande raised his hand to signal silence, and there was silence on the playground. He said in a voice that was not loud but very frustrating: "There were uninvited guests who broke in last night, so now let's go and welcome them, and the whole army will attack!" ”

Thunderous cheers echoed through Gresden.

On January 1, 344 in the continental Gregorian calendar, the Third Army of Falunci attacked, and the First Battle of Alc broke out.

(Early morning of January 1st, Rochocht)

Garrison Andak was directing the defense of the city, when the scout cavalry came to report to him: "Lord Andak, the enemy has the Mastar Army and the Iberian Army, and the number is about 150,000. ”

"How much time do we have left to get here?"

"I'll be there around noon."

"I'll go back and report any changes." Andak commanded. The knight retreated. The fortress was in full swing, and soldiers were moving many stones into the fortress. Andacus pondered for a moment, summoned his lieutenant, and said, "Send someone to send the situation to Lord Luce as soon as possible." ”

Before the sun reached the center of the sky, the living scouts returned," the Iberian army approached. ”

"It's coming so fast," Andak said to himself, "all ready to fight!" "The entire fortress was silent after a period of commotion, and everyone could clearly hear their own heartbeats. Soon, a high cloud of dust was kicked up in the southeast. "Prepare for battle!" Andak clenched the javelin in his hand. The battle flag of the other party was clearly visible, it was the three-headed dragon, the symbol of the Guinot dynasty, the Iberian army.

The enemy army was assembled at a distance of 200 fats (about 300 meters) from the walls of Rokohit. With a trumpet, 200 soldiers rushed out against twenty siege ladders. Infantry with huge copper shields took cover behind catapults and ballistas.

"Call me!" At the sound of the order, javelins and arrows rained down on the city. Even so, twelve ladders were erected to the top of the city, and the soldiers climbed the ladders like ants. The city's four stationary trebuchets can throw 400 ruts (about 500 kilograms) at a time. Although several siege engines were destroyed, stones several times their size were thrown back. The defenders destroyed several ladders with boiling oil and fire, but the number of siege ladders continued unabated.

Andak cut down one enemy after another who tried to jump onto the walls, but they still managed to find a way to get up. Javelins and stones kept coming up, and the crash kept hitting the gate. He threw away his blunt sword, picked up a spear and ran towards another gap. A non-commissioned officer who had just jumped off the ladder was stabbed in the throat by him, and the man fell. Two more men died at the hands of his gun, and when he knocked the fourth man down with his shield, a soldier came and reported: "Lord Andak, the gates are running out of support." ”

"You stand up here, I'll take a look." He sped to the top of the gate and looked down to see a six-fatz (8-meter) long crash truck bombarding the gate under the control of two dozen Iberian soldiers. "Pour the oil!" Five cauldrons of boiling oil were poured on the crash, and Andak grabbed a torch and threw it down. In an instant, the huge crash turned into a fire dragon, and the soldiers affected by the flames let out a terrifying scream, but it did not last long before they were drowned out by the "crackling" sound of burning wood, and the city gate was temporarily safe. Andak said to his non-commissioned officers: "Don't be stingy with oil, if you die, you won't be able to eat anything delicious." As he spoke, he used his spear to kill another enemy, and when the spear broke, he took the double-sided axe from the enemy's hand and ran to the next gap.

The commander of the attacking side had been watching the battlefield from a distant plateau, and the Iberian commander-in-chief, Juan José, shook his head incessantly, and he had always been worried about the quality of his army, which was not at all on the same level as the Farencian barbarians. If it weren't for the absolute superiority of long-range firepower, it was possible that he would not be able to capture this small fortress in front of him for a year. Moreover, those counts must save their strength in the end, and after the casualties exceed a certain number, they will stop attacking without his order.

The fierce battle continued until sunset, and the besieging side was overwhelmed by bloody battles, and sure enough, the attack was stopped first. Watching the enemy retreat, Andak sat down on the ground and shouted the name of the adjutant in a loud voice. It was a long time before one of the soldiers replied, "My lord, Mistress Michelle is dead." ”

Andak was stunned for a moment, and said, "You can temporarily convey the order on his behalf, count the number of people first, ask the cooking team to bring the meal, and then bring some firewood and blankets." The makeshift herald withdrew.

Andak was stunned for a moment before dinner was served. On this day, at least hundreds of people fell forever before him, both enemies and comrades. He thought of his young lieutenant again, and said to him happily yesterday that he could be transferred to the Praetorian Guard. But today .......

"Captain Guard, your dinner." Andak came back to his senses and realized that it was the herald. He took the plate, and the man said, "We have 483 that can be moved, and 57 that cannot be moved." One trebuchet was completely scrapped, and the rest was being repaired. ”

"I see, what's your name?"

"Jayne Beta."

"Who else is in the family?"

"I have a mother, a wife, and a son, and I'm 4 years old, so I should be so tall." Jayneby painted.

Hearing this, Andak was determined to give the soldier a way to live. He said, "Beta, I entrust you with a spokesperson for my will. By the time the city is broken, you must make it to the home camp of the Captain of Leus alive. ”

"Chief of Guard, I hope this commission is not carried out. We will definitely hold out until reinforcements arrive. Jayne said sincerely. Andak just smiled back, gulped down the hard bread, and didn't say anything more. It was already completely dark, and the magnificent constellation Orion sparkled in the sky.