Imperial Crown

Early morning.

Thorn Ridge was covered with snow.

Under the snow, there were clumps of withered bushes.

The sound of snow being crushed was heard, and the steel-clad combat boots crushed several branches. Lancha walked up the mountain road alone, with a bit of regret in his eyes.

As the main road from the Iron Birch District to the Bolan District, and connected to the two districts of Ximu and Chaiqiao, Thorn Ridge has always been an extremely important transportation hub and transit.

If you want to bypass it and go to the Bolan District, you have to add at least half a month of journey.

A few months ago, when the Eagle Army entered the Bolan District for the first time, they easily took down this stronghold, and destroyed it when they withdrew from the Bolan District, in order to prevent it from returning to the hands of the Eivor people.

But now, Thorn Ridge has become a thorn in the throat of the Eagle Army.

2,000 diehard Eivor soldiers are stationed here, blocking the Eagle Army’s way.

Just as Lancha was thinking this, he passed a corner of a mountain valley. Suddenly, he heard several puffs, and then two long spears were placed on Lancha's neck.

These soldiers had emerged from a snow pit, and the animal skins they were wrapped in were still covered with snow.

The leading soldier's hands and face were already red from the cold, and cracked frostbite could be seen, but his movements were extremely stable and his voice was quite excited:

"Traitor!"

"You dare to come to the mountain!?"

A trace of guilt flashed in Lancha's eyes, but he still said calmly:

"I'm here to negotiate terms."

The leader said angrily: "Ha, it sounds good, who knows if you are an assassin sent by Raven?"

"I didn't bring anyone here." Lancha said: "As a holy knight, I can swear to my Lord here that this time I came just for negotiation and will never threaten the personal safety of the Viscount."

"Of course, I can also wait here until you get the magic steel shackles and lock me up before taking me back. I won't resist."

Several soldiers exchanged glances, and soon a soldier disappeared.

About half an hour later, the soldier brought back two more people, one of whom was a knight in full helmet and armor.

Under the supervision of the knights, Lancha was bound by magic steel and walked into the mountain under their guidance.

Along the way, the snow was getting deeper and deeper, and the mountain road was getting more and more difficult to walk.

Soon, Lancha saw a pass.

The slope of this pass was at least 60°, covered with snow, and could only accommodate 4 or 5 people at most.

It was here that became the nightmare of the Eagle Army infantry. The slope was steep and the ground was slippery in winter. They could not rush up at all, and the engineering equipment could not be deployed.

If they wanted to force the attack, at least 2,000 to 3,000 soldiers would have to be sacrificed, so Raven was stuck here for two months.

A huge wooden basket fell from above with a rumbling sound.

"Go up!"

The soldier leader kicked Lancha unceremoniously, but he couldn't make Lancha stagger. Instead, he was knocked down by the force.

Before this man got angry, Lancha shrugged, walked to the wooden basket, and let himself be lifted up.

There was a platform above, and most of the snow had been cleared. Every trace of it could connect Lancha with the previous battle situation.

Those fist-sized holes were left by the spears thrown by the Wind King Cavalry.

The thick layer of scorched earth on the ground with a slick sheen was the trace of kerosene burning.

In the past two months, the Eagle Army has launched various forms of attacks here, but none of them have achieved decent results.

With the cave as a cover, neither kerosene nor poison pipes can achieve decent results; the Wind King Cavalry cannot stand on this narrow platform against the extraordinary.

"What are you looking at? Go!"

A soldier's order came, Lan Cha nodded, and continued to walk inside under the guidance.

Until he came to a huge cave.

The entrance of the cave was blocked by a fence, and the scorch marks of the raging fire could still be seen on it.

After entering, the cold outside gradually faded.

At first, there were frost flowers on the rock wall, but when you get inside, it becomes wet water marks.

As the steps go deeper inside, many soldiers appear on both sides of the road, and they are more or less injured.

The wounds eroded by the poisonous fog and the scars burned by the fierce fire were faintly visible under the bandages, and some of them had even festered.

Lancha's eyes flashed with pity.

It was cold and there was a lack of medical care and medicine. Such wounded soldiers could only wait to die here.

When they saw Lancha coming, the wounded soldiers who could still move pointed at his nose and cursed.

The voices of "traitor" and "scum" were endless, saliva and spit flew, and some people would pick up stones on the ground and throw them at Lancha.

Some people even rushed to Lancha and asked him loudly, as a descendant of the nobles of the principality and the son of Earl Duduo, why did he serve Raven, the invader?

Lancha could not answer or explain.

Just as he could not kill the rebellious soldiers under his command.

But soon someone separated the soldiers and took Lancha inward, allowing him to escape from the sea of ​​abuse and come to a small house in the depths.

At this point, the humidity was so heavy that it made people uncomfortable. Even the burning torches and braziers could not dispel the bone-chilling cold.

And Lancha finally saw the target of his trip - Viscount Fowler.

"Mr. Lancha, we meet again." Fowler coughed and stood up: "You all leave, I want to talk to Mr. Lancha alone."

"But sir, what if..."

"No one needs to doubt Mr. Lancha's character." Fowler picked up the teapot on the small stove next to him and said to Lancha with a smile: "Sit down."

The guards quickly retreated, and the knight glared at Lancha before leaving.

And Lancha didn't sit down immediately.

Because Fowler was very different from his impression.

The hair that was always neat now lay on his head like a ball of rotten algae, greasy; the square face became pale, and even looked a little fat due to swelling; the beard under his chin grew into a broom.

And his body was thinner than his cheeks, and the skin on the hand holding the teapot was so loose that wrinkles appeared.

Lancha couldn't help asking, "Viscount Fowler, why are you..."

"Sit down." Fowler smiled gently, poured a cup of tea for Lancha and placed it in front of him:

"How can a defeated general live better?"

With a sigh in his heart, Lancha sat down, politely picked up the teacup and took a sip, frowned slightly, but still swallowed it.

The quality of the tea itself is quite good, but due to the poor storage conditions, it has become moldy and deteriorated. Lancha can clearly taste the moldy smell in it.

"I really miss it." Fowler drank the tea in big gulps without caring, and said leisurely: "The last time we met was at your coming-of-age ceremony. At that time, the whole principality was so peaceful."

"You and I don't have to confront each other as different camps like this."

At the coming-of-age ceremony, there were flowers, fine wine, blessings from parents, and...

Lancha fell into warm memories, but was awakened by the moldy taste in his mouth. The huge gap almost made him cry.

"Viscount Fowler, I'm here to persuade you to surrender."

This sentence destroyed the atmosphere extremely.

But Lancha had to say it, otherwise he was afraid that he would never be able to tell the purpose of this trip.

So once he started, he couldn't stop:

"You may not know that just yesterday, a rebellion broke out under my command."

"And Lord Raven was very lenient in dealing with it. He just let them cut off their thumbs and released them."

"He is not a bloodthirsty person. In fact, since the Eagle Army arrived in Eivor, there has never been any organized beastly behavior; occasionally there will be soldiers bullying men and women, but they have also been severely punished by military discipline."

"This time, Lord Raven also gave loose conditions."

"As long as Viscount Fowler can lead his troops to surrender, then everyone can be forgiven. As long as you promise not to confront the Keynes Empire again, you can go home safely."

Viscount Fowler's expression was as calm as autumn water. He just slowly drank the tea in the cup and then turned it upside down on the table.

In Eivor's culture, this is a sign of seeing off guests.

Lancha frowned: "Viscount Fowler, don't you really think about it carefully?"

"Indeed, there is water in the cave, but what about food? What about medicine? How long can you last here?"

"When I came, I saw your soldiers wearing the leather of rock-skinned withered horns. I'm afraid these first-level monsters have been slaughtered for meat?"

"You are almost out of ammunition and food!"

"Even if it's for the lives of your soldiers, surrender!"

Viscount Fowler looked enlightened and nodded:

"I'm still wondering why you chose to surrender, this makes sense."

"I won't judge the right or wrong of this choice." Fowler looked into Lancha's eyes:

"But I have a question, why did your men rebel?"

Lancha was speechless.

Trapped in the lonely mountain, the nobles in Bolan City did not dare to fight Raven in the field, and did not leave the city for two consecutive months, so that there was no help here.

When Fowler led his troops up the mountain, it can be said that he had already fallen into a dead end.

But he held on here for two full months.

During this period, Lancha saw it all, and so did his soldiers.

As fellow Eivorians, how could they not be moved by Fowler's persistence?

Their rebellion was a response to Fowler's actions.

Lancha knew it, and so did Fowler.

"That's the meaning, Mr. Lancha." Viscount Fowler smiled and said:

"I have to admit that the Principality of Eivor is rotten from top to bottom, and what we did in the Iron Birch District is indeed unworthy of the name of nobility."

"But we are Eivorians after all."

No mistakes in one post, one content, one book, one forum, 6, 9, and one post!

"Baron Raven is a master of military tactics. No one in the Principality of Eivor can rival him. Perhaps in the future, Eivor will become a historical name."

"But..."

"She can't die in such humiliation as she does now! Even the people who are loyal to her are pitifully few."

"After repeated defeats, the Marquis surrendered. Now there are more than 100,000 troops gathered in the entire Bolan City, but no one dares to go out and fight Raven in the field."

"Even if this is our own land, even if the other side has only 10,000 people!"

"This country shouldn't be like this."

At this point, Fowler took a deep breath: "So, I insist here, not because I don't cherish the lives of the soldiers, nor do I know the preciousness of life."

"But there are always more things that are more important than life."

Lancha's expression was extremely complicated for a while. Something that was above life and family crashed into his mind, turning it into a pot of porridge.

He couldn't help but start to question himself.

Was the original decision really correct?

Seeing Lancha start to think, Fowler smiled slightly: "But there is no need to be so pessimistic. Eivor is not yet doomed."

"Perhaps, you will have to shoulder part of the burden of rebuilding it on the ruins."

"Don't think too much. Rest here for one night. I'll take you back tomorrow."

Lancha stayed like this.

He didn't sleep well that night, not because of the damp straw bed, nor because of the soldiers' constant abuse and ridicule of him all night.

He fell asleep in a daze until he was too sleepy.

The next morning.

When Lancha was awakened, the cave was basically empty.

He saw Fowler in the open space in front of the cave.

The viscount put on armor and cut off his beard with a sword, leaving only a thin stubble.

Behind him were all the surviving soldiers, including those wounded who could still move.

"You're right, we really have no food." Fowler smiled and whispered to Lancha:

"But we don't want to be a beast that eats its own kind."

After that, he drew the long sword from his waist:

"Let's go!!"

The wind king in the sky cried.

This is a battle whose outcome is already determined.

If it is a high mountain with Thorn Ridge behind it, then it can still insist on defense; but if it is a decisive battle with the Eagle Army on the flat ground, it is simply to die.

Every soldier under Fowler knows it.

But their steps did not hesitate at all.

Lancha followed these soldiers down the Thorn Ridge with an unspeakable mood, watching them rush towards the iron-clad Eagle Army.

It's like an egg hitting a stone.

But the process of the battle was longer than Lancha expected.

This is the cruelty he has only seen in his life.

The soldiers under Fowler's command, one by one, seemed to have no idea what fear was.

If the weapon was broken, they would use their hands and feet, and if the hands and feet were broken, they would use their teeth, even if they could only leave a little dent on the heavy armor.

They were unwilling to give up the fight until they were completely dead.

This was an enemy the Eagle Army had never faced before. They were poorly equipped, but their tenacity was the first they had seen since entering the Principality of Eivor.

The battle with absolute advantage lasted from dawn to afternoon.

Blood and internal organs covered the ground.

Until Viscount Fowler, who rushed to the front line, died in battle.

He was the last one to die. He would rather die than surrender, and was shot through the throat.

In this battle, Viscount Fowler led the way, and his armor was damaged and almost intact. He was hit by 41 arrows and 11 knife and arrow wounds.

Until his death, his body was still in a fighting posture, and there was no wound on his back.

After the war, the crowd separated, and Raven walked to Fowler's body.

Lancha, who was in shackles, also came over and lowered his head, not knowing what to say at this time.

"Viscount Fowler, what did I tell you?" Raven suddenly asked.

Lancha raised his head and took a deep breath.

Perhaps stimulated by the smell of blood, his eyes were a little red, but he still clearly recounted the conversation between himself and Fowler.

After listening, Raven was silent for a while:

"Something is more important than life...?"

Unexpectedly, there are people in this world who have such awareness.

If Raven heard this sentence from somewhere else, he would only find it ridiculous.

These days, the slogans shouted by the nobles are getting louder and louder, but they themselves don't believe it.

And Fowler, he practiced his beliefs with his own life.

Looking at his standing corpse, Raven wanted to ask a question.

For Eivor, is it worth it?

But in the end, he just sighed and let this sentence blow away in the wind.

"Clean up the battlefield." Raven raised his hand to call the hyenas:

"These soldiers are warriors. Don't desecrate their bodies. Burn them and bury them together."

"As for Fowler..."

"Have someone take care of his remains, hire local merchants, and send his body back home with gifts."

The hyenas retreated and began to organize auxiliary soldiers to clean up the battlefield.

The logic of the soldiers was very simple. They respected warriors, even if they were opponents.

Especially the officers. Many of them had participated in the conquest of the Bloody Highlands. This time facing the opponents reminded them of their past selves.

In just over ten days, a huge tomb was erected under the Thorn Ridge.

The regulations of this tomb are quite simple. It is just a small hill surrounded by a large number of stones.

At the door, there is a stone tablet with their epitaph engraved on it:

"Warriors who fought loyally for honor and dignity, rest here forever."

"Born great, but died of the cowardice of the Eivor nobles."

Raven personally engraved the last stroke of the epitaph, and then set off

heading for the city of Bolan.

…