Iron Powder and Spellcaster

"Recapture the southern highland fortress tonight. If you win, you will live, if you don't win, you will die."

This is the general's order.

The west wind laughed wildly and passed through the tent, sending a chill down everyone's back.

"Has the Southern Highland Fortress been recaptured?"

No one answered, and the southern highland fortress remained in the hands of the White Lions.

"Take a short rest." Sackler's tone was unquestionable: "Your mission is still to retake the Southern Highlands fortress."

After saying that, the general turned and left.

Colonel Laszlo was shot in the right leg by an arrow. He was sitting on a three-legged chair, filling his pipe with an expressionless expression, as if the matter had nothing to do with him.

Lieutenant Colonel Robert and Lieutenant Colonel Custer had livid faces, but did not speak.

The tent was as silent as death.

A hoarse voice sounded from behind Sackler: "The cannons have been destroyed. I destroyed them myself."

The general ignored him and didn't stop. He just walked out.

So many people threw their lives on the mountain, climbed up the wall like ants in the rain of bullets, and fought in the corridor that was so cramped that they couldn't turn around. All was wasted by a big shot with a single word?

"I used the molten iron technique." Winters tried his best to suppress his emotions, his body was trembling: "The White Lion can't even put a cannon ball in it."

A military family background, ten years of military school education, and one and a half years of military life have turned Winters Montagne into an "institutionalized" person.

No one saw it more clearly than Antonio Serbetti: Military schools built to imitate the structure of monasteries eventually produced batches of "ascetics" and "fanatics".

Winters had little idea of ​​what the world outside the military was like. From the moment he was born, he was placed in this system.

Loyalty, responsibility, executing orders, respecting superiors... obedience to authority is almost ingrained in his bones.

This is why he fights so "hard" for the Republic of Plato - without even realizing it.

An institutionalized person doesn't really care who the order comes from, as long as someone gives the order.

Becoming part of a larger whole - this act subconsciously brings him an irreplaceable sense of security, because this has been his life since he was a child.

In fact, it was not the Plato army that needed Winters Montagne, but Winters Montagne that needed the army.

It is like a sapling, which is put into a mold from the beginning, tied with ropes, and grows and extends in a predetermined direction.

But humans have limits, and so do institutionalized people.

The tight strings were broken one by one, and the faces of the dead warriors appeared before Winters' eyes.

They did not die for Plato, let alone Szekeli. They trusted him and loved him, and it was for him that they risked their lives to fight the barbarians. They died for him.

Winters drew his saber and shouted angrily at the general's back: "What on earth do you want me to do! Just for that shabby mountain bag! All my people are going to die there! They are all going to die there!"

Lieutenant Colonel Robert immediately reached out and grabbed Winters. His tongue was injured and he couldn't speak, and he made a vague "wow" sound anxiously.

Lieutenant Colonel Custer also grabbed Winters' other arm: "How presumptuous! You...you are drunk!"

"Don't be impulsive!" Lieutenant Colonel Jessica, who was on the marching couch, stretched out his arms in vain into the darkness, trying to stop Winters.

Colonel Laszlo lit his pipe by an oil lamp, lowered his eyelids, and smoked slowly.

"Philpott! Mihaly! Salter..." Winters called out the names of the dead one after another.

Sackler, who had already stepped out of the tent with one leg, stopped. He stood quietly for two or three seconds, then suddenly turned around and walked back to Winters.

He looked directly into the second lieutenant's eyes and asked coldly: "Do I need to tell you my deployment?"

"Fuck you!!!" Winters struggled desperately, anger burning in his eyes.

Custer and Robert were staggered by him, and Lieutenant Colonel Robert twisted off his saber.

"Winters! Don't be impulsive! Don't be like this!" Lieutenant Colonel Jessica almost begged. No, begging.

Sackler slowly wiped the saliva from his face and said shockingly: "The bridge has actually been opened!"

Everyone in the tent, including Winters, was shocked.

"The bridge deck is less than thirty meters from the other side of the river. Lieutenant Colonel Elek (engineer) thought of a way to rigidly fix the pontoon bridge to the frontmost bridge pile for the first fifteen meters. After ten meters, send people to the other side to pull The cable is fixed. For the last five meters, the water flows directly through it." Selleck looked at the other people in the tent and said word by word: "Apart from me, Arpad and Lieutenant Colonel Elek, you are the only ones who know about this. people."

Lieutenant Colonel Custer whispered: "Since the bridge has been opened, why not leave?"

"Can you leave?!" Szekler shouted: "The Hed people are guarding outside the camp, can they leave?! The White Lions have come with at least 30,000 reinforcements, and the three major tribes are connected with the tribes below to 'exhaust their eldest sons' ! Tell me, why hasn’t he launched a general attack yet?”

Without bothering his subordinates to answer, Sackler scolded him sternly: "Because he is waiting for the moment the bridge is opened! There is a retreat in front of us, and there are pursuers behind us. If we don't bother the white lion to exert its strength, we will be defeated!"

This truth was too straightforward for Winters to refute.

The bridge is hope and the spiritual pillar for the Plato people to fight against the water.

But if the bridge is really opened, it will not be a last-ditch battle, but a "surrounding of three bridges."

Waiting for the Platuan people will not be "escape", but "half-crossed and attacked".

In front of them are tens of thousands of vicious barbarians, and behind them is the only way to survive. As long as one man throws down his weapon and runs away, military morale will collapse like dominoes.

Sackler's tone was cold: "I want you to retake the Southern Highland fortress, not only for the artillery, but also to block the enemy's view and clear out the Herds in the trenches. Occupying the Southern Highlands, the enemy has an unobstructed view of the camp. We do They know everything. Tell me, can you leave?"

No one can answer this question.

Sackler spoke faster and faster: "When you attack, Arpad will lead another force to clear out the enemy troops who are attacking the camp, and the North Highland Fortress will also dispatch a brigade to reinforce you. A squadron of hussars We are already crossing the river by boat downstream. As soon as your battle starts, I will send people to build the bridge.

I want you to attract the attention of the Hurds and fight the White Lion time difference. Let him think we are still fighting for the fort, let him think the bridge is not yet repaired. Three hours! Within three hours, everyone has to cross the river!

Win and live! If you don’t win, you will die! Do you think I'm talking empty words? The army has been fighting for hundreds of miles, and less than half of the people can still lift the sword. If you bleed, others won’t? ! "

Silence, only silence in the tent.

"Remove his post! If you don't want to go, don't use him! Laszlo, I'll give you command of the Jessica Brigade!"

After saying that, Sackler turned and left, this time he did not look back.

…

After a short rest and a small amount of troops replenishment, the raiding force that had just returned to the main camp attacked again.

This time they did not go straight to the southern highlands, but first detoured northwest.

There they would join forces with Bode's group and then launch an attack on the southern highland fortress.

At the same time, another force was gathering outside the north wall of the camp, led by Arpad.

They would launch attacks on the flanks of the enemy who were attacking the south wall of the camp, driving them back and preventing them from supporting the southern highland fortress.

A silver-gray horse slowly walked out of the night.

Angelou led Qiang Luck to Winters. When he saw his owner, the horse snorted happily.

After getting closer, Qiang Yun twitched his nose in displeasure, obviously he didn't like the smell of blood on Winters.

Winters wanted to feed Qiang Yun a sugar cube. After rummaging for a while, he suddenly remembered that he didn't bring a sugar bag.

"Did you bring any candy?" Winters asked Angelou.

"Candy?" Angelou looked around for a long time with his eyes wide open, and said apologetically: "I didn't bring any with me today."

"Stop being such a spoiled brat." Winters patted the side of Qiang Yun's neck and began to check the harness.

He adjusted the chest strap to make it tight and tight; carefully inspected the underside of the saddle, leaving no straw sticks; patiently smoothed the skin between Qiang Yun and the saddle, leaving no wrinkles.

Lieutenant Colonel Custer rode his black horse over. The lieutenant colonel dismounted next to Winters and praised Qiang Luck: "What a good horse. It's a pity that it fell into the hands of your infantry section."

Winters ignored Custer.

Custer was not annoyed and asked again: "Didn't Sackler say you don't have to go?"

"I fucking volunteer!" Winters pushed back angrily.

"That's right, if you don't go, more of your people will die." Custer laughed and started talking about business: "Sackler said he was going to remove you from your post, just think of it as fart. You will be a reserve team this time. , we are pioneers.”

"What the hell?" Winters asked with his eyes.

"What that Laszlo guy means is that if we can win, you can follow up. If we fight everything, you can just withdraw." Custer said nonchalantly: "When Plato and the barbarians are fighting, we can't always give in. You Veneta guy is in the limelight.”

Winters said nothing.

Custer wanted to leave, but suddenly turned around and asked, "You kid always looks at me sideways. Do you still remember the revenge of the whip in Wolf Town?"

At Mitchell Manor, Custer whipped Winters for no apparent reason. Although he doesn't hold a grudge, he is not well-educated enough to be slapped and then turn the other cheek.

In short, Winters didn't have a good look on Custer and only maintained a reluctant politeness.

Fortunately, the two of them didn't interact much, and the number of times they met was only a handful.

"If you don't answer, does that mean you are there?" Custer asked.

"That's right!" Winters was annoyed: "Why do you whip me for no reason?"

Custer's tone was helpless: "You Veneta people are so narrow-minded! [Revenge is the greatest happiness in the world], this is what you Veneta people say, right?"

Winters didn't want to argue. He turned back and continued to arrange the harness.

Lieutenant Colonel Custer pushed further and said with a smile: "How about you give me a punch? You and I are just kidding..."

Winters turned around and delivered a right hook to the left side of Custer's face.

Custer was beaten so hard that his heels were off the ground. He stumbled down like a drunkard and spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva: "You really dare to hit me!"

Winters flicked his wrist, put on the stirrup and saddled up, then rode away.

Lieutenant Colonel Custer stood up, holding his cheek, and shouted at Winters' back: "Now it's even! We don't owe each other any more!"

…

Colonel Bode waited with his troops in the valley between the Southern Highlands and the Northern Highlands.

The troops starting from the main camp first walked northwest, crossed the trench, then turned southwest, and finally joined Bode's brigade.

According to Lieutenant Colonel Robert's order, each of the troops setting off from the camp carried three torches.

After the two sides joined forces, Colonel Bode took over the command.

The existing force is no longer enough to divide the troops into a feint attack, nor is it enough to attack the city with ants.

The only feasible plan was to attack through the gap on the west side, where Colonel Laszlo had last attacked.

White Lion did not add troops to the defenders. The reinforcements he sent were tentatively attacking the south wall of the camp.

Outside the south wall of the camp, the battle has begun.

Arpad led the 18 centuries that were still fully organized - including standing troops, auxiliary troops and engineers. Using the last light and heavy cavalry as the tip of the sword, he plunged hard into the left wing of the barbarians.

If Arpad could defeat or hold back this part of the enemy, the Southern Highlands fortress would be fighting against the remaining troops.

With the support of Bode's team, Plato still has a chance of winning.

Seeing the situation of his brother troops, Colonel Bode took the initiative to take over the vanguard job, with his chief group of the Sixth Army as the first echelon.

Colonel Laszlo's Chief Group of the Fifth Army and Lieutenant Colonel Robert's Second Group of the Sixth Army served as the second echelon.

Winters' men were in reserve.

In order to ensure the impact, Lieutenant Colonel Custer's cavalry also participated in the first wave of attacks.

Even with the addition of Bode's brigade, the total strength of the second wave of attacks was only a few thousand men.

"The fighting has already begun over at the camp! We don't need to cover up! This time we need to create momentum! To make the barbarians fearful!" Lieutenant Colonel Bode rode past in front of everyone: "Let's start the fight. Flag! Raise the torch!"

First, one or two torches were lit, and the flames spread quickly. From a distance, it looked like a giant flame python emerging from the ground.

The barbarian sentries on the southern highland fortress were so frightened that they forgot to blow the siren for a moment.

It wasn't until the flame python slowly crawled that Winters heard the sound of horns coming from the hillside.

Lieutenant Colonel Robert's intimidation tactics worked, and the Southern Highlands fortress was now in chaos.

"[Hudian] Wake up!" A Hud man ran and shouted: "[Hudian] The two-legged people are coming! Don't say tens of thousands!"

One of the Hud people shouted sternly: "[Hud language] Fart! How can it be tens of thousands, at most three thousand! You are lying!"

"[Herd] Knife! My knife!"

"[Herd] Who holds my horse?"

"..."

Some Hirds were hurriedly putting on their armor, while others were leading their horses and sneaking away.

"Uukhai!" A chilling war cry came from the west side of the fortress.

The simple wooden fence was dragged down, and the black-armored cavalry rushed into the fortress wall like thunder, followed closely by the sword and shield bearers of Bode's brigade.

Lieutenant Colonel Robert and Colonel Laszlo were fighting a hundred meters outside, and their troops were also staying a hundred meters outside the wall.

Learning from the lessons learned last time, this time the Palatuan people did not rush in in one fell swoop, but instead boarded the city in batches.

Colonel Laszlo took the last drag of his cigarette, as if he wanted to suck all the contents of the pipe into his lungs.

Then, he knocked the bowl on the heel of his boot and handed the pipe to his junior, Lieutenant Colonel Robert.

"Give it to you."

"Send it to me?" Lieutenant Colonel Robert took the pipe and asked in a vague voice, "I don't smoke. Monitor?"

A rare smile appeared on Colonel Laszlo's lips: "My son gave it to me. He originally wanted to learn sculpture, but I forced him into the army..."

Robert was so surprised that he waved his hands quickly: "I can't do this...ah!"

While talking, he accidentally touched the wound. There was a sweet taste in his mouth, and he was obviously bleeding again.

"Let's go!" Colonel Laszlo pulled out his sword, stabbed the horse in the ribs, and rushed towards the fortress at the head of the horse.

The soldiers behind them shouted and charged.

Lieutenant Colonel Robert was caught off guard, so he had to put his pipe in his clothes and follow with his whip.

A hundred meters behind Robert's and Laszlo's men - out of the range of the muskets, Montagne's men were on standby.

Winters watched the battle, biting his lip anxiously.

Qiang Yun also felt Winters' emotions and stepped uneasily.

Winters was completely tired of this war. He no longer wanted to fight for the Platons, but he sincerely hoped that Colonel Bode, Colonel Laszlo, and Lieutenant Colonel Robert would win.

At the same time, Winters was also closely observing the surrounding situation, and the Dusak in his hand was thrown out as a sentinel.

Will the White Lions send a second support force? he does not know.

The people who defended the fortress before were the Chihe tribe. I don't know if they came to help. In addition to his own troops, Winters did not know whether the White Lion could mobilize troops from other tribes.

The internal decision-making process of the Hedians is completely a mystery to the Platoans.

They didn't even know who was leading this barbarian army, but everyone knew about the "White Lion". So much so that the "white lion" has been abstracted from a separate individual into the "leader of the barbarians".

Suddenly, he heard a series of hoofbeats coming from ahead.

"Who?" Heinrich asked sharply.

The visitor shouted: "It's me! Balog!"

Lieutenant Barlog was Colonel Bode's centurion.

"The barbarians can't hold on anymore!" Lieutenant Barlog rushed to Winters' side and shouted: "Colonel Bode orders your troops to attack immediately! Crush them completely!"

Winters turned around and looked at his warriors: "Do you still believe me?"

"Long live!" Ish from Ganshui Town slapped his breastplate and was the first to shout: "Blood Wolf!"

"Blood Wolf!" Even people who are not his old subordinates are shouting: "Long live!"

Mason said softly: "They are willing to follow you, even to hell, just give them the order."

Winters' eyes were sore. He pulled down his visor and pulled out his saber: "Then follow me! Charge!"

"Uukhai!"

The battle inside the fortress reached a stalemate, with the Platts gradually occupying the square, but the barbarians still firmly controlled the walls and internal buildings.

The fighting power of the Chihe tribe barbarians is far more fierce than other tribes. The Palatuan people did not have an advantage in military strength, but the Chihe tribe barbarians gradually gained a foothold.

"[Herdese] Musketeers come up to the wall! Beat their leader!" The real commander of the fortress, Captain Xun Ying [Lazhen], stood on the east wall holding a horsetail flag and shouted in command: "[Herdese] Fight those two-legged people with the most gorgeous armor! Fight those two-legged people with the biggest helmets and tassels! Don’t be afraid of hitting your own people."

The pistol cavalry instantly became the most conspicuous target, and they were shot and killed one after another.

Seeing his sons being shot dead one after another, Lieutenant Colonel Custer was furious. He raised his scimitar high, rushed up the steps on horseback, and roared towards the Swift Eagle: "You bastard! You will die!"

"[Herd] Beat him!" Swift Eagle pointed at Lieutenant Colonel Custer with a horsetail flag and shouted: "[Herd] Kill this leader!"

The dark horse was about to rush onto the rampart, and the musketeer on the opposite wall aimed at Lieutenant Colonel Custer and pressed the firing rod.

Several gunshots were fired in succession, and Lieutenant Colonel Custer's body seemed to tremble. He weakly threw his machete towards the horsetail flag, then leaned back and slipped off the horse.

After being shot twice, the black horse lost control of its rider. In pain, it jumped directly off the wall and fell into the ravine outside the wall.

"[Hedian] Good! Good!" Commander Swift Eagle laughed loudly: "[Hedian] There is a reward! A big reward!"

Suddenly, the war cry "Uukhai!" that frightened the Hedians sounded again outside the castle.

Captain Swift Eagle was frightened and shouted a warning at the top of his lungs: "[Hedian] There are two-legged people coming again! Fight them!"

The silver-gray war horse jumped up from the gap in the fortress wall, and Montagne's troops joined the battle.

Through the smoke and dust, Winters saw the horsetail flag and green feathers on the east wall at a glance.

Lieutenant Colonel Robert hugged Colonel Laszlo, who did not know whether he was alive or dead, and shouted at Winters from a distance: "Second Lieutenant Montagne! Go up to the city wall! Cut the flag!"

Senior Varga, who had a hole in his face, lay quietly next to Lieutenant Colonel Robert. God failed to protect him.

The next second, there was a hole in Lieutenant Colonel Robert's breastplate. He touched the breastplate in disbelief and slowly fell backward.

"Climb the wall!" Winters' heart tightened suddenly as if being grasped by invisible hands. He shouted angrily: "Climb the wall! Musketeers! Shoot Hong Feiyu!"

Montagne's sword-and-shielders and musketeers bypassed the melee and attacked the steps leading up to the wall.

"[Hidden] Fight the one who rides the silver horse!" Swift Eagle also saw the centurion riding the silver-gray horse at a glance, calling to the musketeer beside him: "[Hidden] Fight his horse!"

The furious Winters fired a flying arrow at Qing Lingyu: "Shut up!"

The distance was too far and the steel nails lost their accuracy. Qing Lingyu was still fine, and more and more musketeers were turning their guns towards Winters.

"Little guy, stand still and don't move." Winters said gently to Qiang Yun.

Qiang Yun stood motionless, and the section of the fortress wall next to him was hit by lead bullets, causing dust and sawdust to fly.

Winters threw off the stirrups, stepped on the saddle, and jumped directly from the gap to the top of the wall amidst Ciel's exclamations.

Even the barbarians on the city wall were dumbfounded.

It wasn't until Winters smashed the head of a musketeer with a turning hammer that the other barbarians woke up from their dreams.

"[Herd] It's that guy!" The musketeers and archers fled away desperately: "[Herd] That guy is here again!"

"[Herd] It's him again! Do you want to come again?" Swift Eagle ordered in a hateful voice: "[Herd] Quiver Soldier! Surround and kill that armored soldier!"

The leaders of various tribes selected capable warriors to guard the big tent, and allowed them to carry quivers beside the leaders. They were called "quiver warriors".

Twenty men wearing double-layered armor and holding hammers and axes with quivers were ordered to rush towards Winters in the face of the fleeing archers and musketeers - Swift Eagle had prepared them and was waiting for this moment.

Seeing a group of wolf-like barbarians attacking Winters, Charles shouted at the top of his lungs: "Hurry and help the centurion! Human ladder! Send me up the wall!"

The battlefield was extremely noisy, but Winters seemed to be able to hear his own heartbeat. He only has one goal in his eyes, and that is the horse-tail flag and Qing Lingyu.

He raised his hand and fired two flying arrows in succession.

One shot hit the chest, and the quiver's body stagnated and he continued to rush forward.

Another shot hit the faceplate, leaving a bloody hole in the quiver's face, and he fell forward.

Winters' flying arrow technique is not powerful enough to penetrate two layers of heavy armor, and must be aimed at the weak point of the face armor at close range to kill.

The barbarians came prepared - so what?

Winters pulled the glass bottle from his gauntlet, closed his eyes, and crushed it.

His palm erupted with lightning-like light, even briefly lighting up the entire fortress.

The eyes of the quiver warriors were white at first, and then suddenly turned to darkness, and they covered their eyes and screamed one after another.

A flash spell disabled the quiver's eyesight, and Winters rushed into the quiver with a hammer.

The quiver who was facing him was hit by the hammer, and he didn't even make a sound. He leaned back and collapsed on the ground.

The second quiver was beaten until his orifices bled, but he was not killed on the spot. He shouted with the last of his strength: "[Herd] He's here!"

Even if their eyesight had not yet recovered, the other quiver warriors still followed the sound and rushed towards them.

A quiver touched Winters' armor and immediately hugged Winters around the waist, holding him as if he was going to snap him in half.

"[Herd] I've got him! Kill him!" the quiver man shouted.

After saying just one word, his brains exploded from the lysis technique.

But more quiver warriors heard the sound and rushed over, and their eyesight was gradually recovering.

Winters was already trapped in a tight siege. He knocked over the quiver in front of him and smashed the other side with a hammer.

When he swung the hammer down, an iron hammer hit him hard on the back.

Winters' body was knocked forward and fell onto the body of the quiver. The momentum was dispersed throughout his back by the plate armor, and it still hurt so much that he couldn't breathe.

He swung his arm and smashed the knee of a quiver. He twisted his body desperately and launched the disintegration technique on the ferocious barbarian in front of him.

Warm blood spurted onto his faceplate and even flew into his eyes through the bars of the observation window.

The dead Quiver lost control of his body and pressed heavily on Winters.

"Not good." Winters had only one thought in his mind.

Before he could push the corpse away from him, other quiver warriors rushed towards the corpse.

Winters' limbs and internal organs were being crushed bit by bit - this time it wasn't phantom pain, but real pain.

Under the Quiver's body, Winters roared and moaned like a dying beast.

He no longer retains magic power, and launches disintegration techniques one after another without any direction.

But it was no use, he killed the quiver warriors one by one, and the quiver warrior's body was still pressing on him like a mountain, slowly crushing him to death.

Many episodes of life come to mind.

He recalled going to visit graves with his mother when he was a child, and her mother pointed to two unfamiliar tombstones and told him that these were his parents—from then on, his mother became his aunt.

He thought of the joy he felt when he received his first wooden sword from Antonio. But from then on, he would be woken up early every day to practice swordsmanship. From then on, he hated that wooden sword.

He recalled the fight he had with Benvenuto when he first entered Lu. The children in the dock area always wanted to teach the children in the military residential area a lesson. After a few fights, everyone became good friends.

He thought of Elizabeth, who was ugly and wrinkled when she was born. Ella has become a grown-up girl.

But when Ella was just born, his heart was full of fear that his "parents" would no longer love him unconditionally. Alas, why did you think so at that time?

Finally, he thought of Anna's hair tips bathed in the sun, of Anna's raised corners of her mouth and sly eyes, and of Anna calling him "Mr. Montagne."

When did he start caring about Mademoiselle Navarre? He couldn't tell clearly, maybe it started with that slap.

"Will you forget me?" Winters slowly closed his eyes. He was really too tired. Although I am unwilling to do so, it is better to just dissipate like this.

He felt that his body was getting lighter and lighter, and suddenly a strange thought came into his mind: "I'm not going to fucking heaven, am I?"

Even he himself wanted to laugh at the idea.

No, it's the actual weight that's getting lighter... it's the weight on my body that's getting lighter.

Outside the "mountain of corpses", Charles stabbed the still alive Quiver into the back of the head, and Heinrich and the other warriors frantically ripped open the Quiver's body.

Beneath the pile of corpses they found Centurion Montagne.

Ciel took off his helmet with trembling hands, and Winters seemed to be smiling under the iron helmet.

"Why are you doing this?" Ciel punched Winters' breastplate with a cry in his voice: "You still have us! Why do you always have to go up alone! You still have us!"

Winters smiled even wider.

The others scrambled to help the centurion up.

"That's right." Winters said with a smile, "I still have you."

"Bang! Bang!" A series of gunshots were heard not far away, and both the living and the dead were beaten to pieces.

Swift Eagle shouted ecstatically: "[Hidden] Beat him to death!"

Winters felt a heat in his abdomen, and he subconsciously reached out to touch it, but only touched the steel plate - the wound was under the armor.

He sat on the corpse of the quiver, trying to hold himself up.

"Char!" Winters pointed at the Qing Lingyu: "Slay the general and capture the flag for me!"

"You take care of the centurion." Charles shouted at Heinrich, who nodded heavily.

Charles grabbed the military flag, raised his saber high, and shouted loudly: "Follow me!"

The soldiers at the top of the wall let out a thunderous war cry and followed Ciel towards the horse-tailed flag.

Seeing all the quiver warriors die miserably in battle, the barbarians on the wall were heartbroken and fled one after another.

Yes, Ciel was right. Winters still had them and could still count on them.

Winters leaned against the parapet, watching Ciel and the other warriors charge forward to the horse-tail flag and slash the flagpole with a single blow.

And that Qing Lingyu pulled out his own feathers and fled to no one knows where.

The Palatine military flag replaced the horse-tail banner, and the Palatine people in the fortress became more popular.

But Barbarian's backbone seemed to have been ripped out, and he no longer had that ferocious energy.

"Get out of the way and let them out!" Colonel Bode yelled and ordered.

The soldiers guarding the gap retreated to both sides, leaving a way to escape. At this point, Barbarian completely lost his will to resist.

At first, one barbarian dropped his weapon and ran away. In the blink of an eye, all the barbarians were defeated.

"Long live!" the Plato soldiers cheered: "Long live!"

But soon no one shouted anymore, and fear appeared on the faces of even the brave Plato soldiers.

The rumble of horse hooves came from the northwest and southwest, and everyone knew what it meant.

"The barbarians are coming!" Angelou rode Ryzhik into the fortress and warned everyone: "The barbarians are coming."

There were several Dusacs following Angelou, but the number was far less than the Dussacs sent out by Winters.

"Block the door." Colonel Bode shouted at the top of his lungs: "Seal the gap!"

The Plato soldiers who came to their senses moved everything at hand to the gap in the fortress wall - even corpses.

Angelou found Winters and saw tears in his eyes when he saw the centurion's appearance.

"Why are you crying? I'm not dead yet." Winters glanced weakly at the ponyboy and asked, "Where are the others?"

"We were scattered. They should have returned to the main camp. The barbarians who attacked the main camp were defeated and have been driven out of the trench by General Arpad."

Suddenly, the sound of war horses neighing came from the gap, and a straw-yellow war horse jumped into the gap that had not been blocked. Immediately afterwards, three more riders filed in.

"It's a barbarian!" Some Plato soldiers shouted in fear. More Plato soldiers took up arms.

Four reckless horsemen quickly surrounded and killed them. The war horses were also stabbed to death and carried to the gap to serve as roadblocks.

Heinrich helped Winters sit against the wall. He gave the latter a sip of strong liquor from the flask - the usual method of analgesia.

Then the two men took off Winters' breastplate, and Charles took the lead bullets. The lead was not penetrated deeply into the body and did not damage the abdominal organs. It was removed with only two daggers.

"How is he?" Colonel Bode came to Winters and asked Heinrich and Charles.

"I'm fine." Winters tried his best to smile.

After a brief cleaning, Ciel began to suture the wound. He had never done this work before, so he sewed crookedly and shed tears while sewing.

"Hold on." Colonel Bode took the bottle, took a sip, and said to Winters, "It's just you and me now."

Winters' head was so dizzy that he didn't understand what the other party was saying for a moment.

Colonel Bode took another sip and returned the flask to Winters: "There is also Robert, but he only has one breath left."

The rumble of horse hooves stopped outside the castle.

A soldier came to report to Colonel Bode: "Sir, there is a barbarian outside who can speak our language. He said he wants to talk to the 'commander'."

"He can talk if he wants to?" Colonel Bode scolded angrily.

"He said his name is Yassin." The soldier added: "Just mention this name to you."

…

The gate creaked up, and the two riders walked out of the fortress side by side, holding torches.

Almost all the Platoans knew that they faced an enemy called the "White Lion", but few knew about "Yasin".

But Colonel Bird knew it, and so did Winters.

Winters forced himself to be helped onto his horse. He must see this enemy.

On the hillside, a rider on a red-armored black horse also held a torch, waiting for them.

In the concept of the Platuan people, "White Lion" has gradually become an abstract code name, which represents the image of an extremely vicious, extremely strong, barbarian among barbarians - if not this, how could "White Lion" be? Bringing so much suffering to the Platuan people.

Compared with this image, the red-armored black horse rider looks a bit... ordinary.

That pair of red armor Winters was a bit familiar, because some of the armor plates on it were the wrong color, and they were obviously new ones.

"Are you the White Lion?" Lieutenant Colonel Bode asked.

The red-armored rider laughed and replied in Common with a slight accent: "Yes."

"Then can you lift up your helmet and let me have a look?" Winters asked sincerely: "I want to see what the famous white lion looks like."

The red-armored rider laughed again, seemingly not offended. He untied the ropes, loosened the neck brace, took off the helmet, and said gently: "That's what it looks like."

The last time Winters fought the White Lion, the two were less than a hundred meters apart and he was armed with two cannons.

Of course, the White Lion probably doesn't agree with the description of "fighting". It's obvious that he doesn't even know who Winters Montagne is.

This was Winters' first opportunity to observe his enemy face to face.

Under the helmet is a pair of brown eyes and a somewhat ordinary face.

"A little disappointed, aren't you?" the brown-eyed owner asked.

"A bit." Winters couldn't hide his disappointment.

The white lion laughed heartily.

Winters suddenly realized that this distance was within the effective killing range of his flying arrow technique... The white lion was not wearing a helmet now.

But he didn't make any move because he was too tired. The battle just now had exhausted his "magic", and it was too despicable to do so.

Colonel Bode coughed lightly and said, "Are you here to persuade us to surrender? If so, please come back."

"No." White Lion shook his head slightly: "I just want to see what Plato's warriors look like."

He nodded in greeting and rode away.

A bonfire set up by the Hud people could be seen a hundred meters away. They squatted, jumped up, kicked the ground around the bonfire, and beat their chests and legs vigorously, which seemed to be an intense dance.

"Barbarians are barbarians." Colonel Bode curled his lips disdainfully: "Beasts."

Winters couldn't admit it. He said softly: "That's...the Dance of the River Styx."

…

The White Lion may have other plans, but Colonel Bode doesn't mind, he just wants to delay time.

After this brief meeting, the White Lion did not immediately attack. But it was his business not to attack, and the Platoans were leaving.

As soon as he returned to the fortress, Colonel Bode immediately began to arrange a retreat: "Blow up the gunpowder magazine! Leave all the torches! Light everything you can! Take away the military flags...take away all the military flags. Oh! Draw two false flags for him to hang." !”

Winters stood on the south wall of the fortress, quietly looking at the River Styx.

It was difficult for him to see if anyone was crossing the bridge - the moonlight was so dim.

Although he could see something the size of an ant moving on the bridge, it did not mean that the bridge was open. It was probably the engineers building the bridge.

Being in the north and south highlands, what can really be seen at a glance is the Palato Camp.

Although the camp has implemented complete blackout, there is not a trace of light.

But Winters could still make out faint signs of troop movement.

Sackler's retreat plan was extremely decisive: the tents would not be dismantled, the camps would not be burned, the mules and horses would be taken away, and the carts would be thrown away. Everyone would cross the river with only weapons, ammunition, blankets and all dry food.

After crossing the Styx River, we were only a hundred kilometers away from the Plato border. It was easy to walk twenty kilometers a day with light equipment, and it was not difficult to walk thirty kilometers a day gritted our teeth.

The dry food was probably not enough, and Winters estimated that Sackler was counting on some supplies to be sent from the mainland.

There are signs of troop activity in the Palato Camp, which means that Sackler's plan has been successful and the troops are crossing the river in an orderly manner.

No longer needing to keep secrets, Colonel Bode stood on the south wall and called all the officers and soldiers before him.

"I have good news for everyone!" Colonel Bode glanced at everyone with bright eyes: "The bridge has been completed! It is now possible to cross the river!"

There was an uproar in the small square in the fortress. Not only the soldiers were stunned, but even the centurions were stunned.

Colonel Bode pressed his hands down and signaled everyone to be quiet: "Without our desperate fight, the bridge would not have been completed! If we had not retaken the fortress! The bridge would not have been completed! Tonight, everyone here is a hero! Everyone deserves to be rewarded! I will ask the headquarters for credit for everyone! Money! Land! They will all be there!"

The emotions of the officers and soldiers evolved from surprise to joy, and their morale was extremely high.

Colonel Bode waved his hand: "Put on your weapons and raise the military flag! We triumph!"

The officers and soldiers dispersed in a hurry and prepared to retreat.

Winters smiled bitterly and said to Colonel Bode: "I don't know whether I should admire you or be afraid of you."

"Weaving baskets is all about closing the knots." Colonel Bode said disapprovingly: "I'm afraid that the morale of the army will be weakened at the last moment, so we have to get everyone to work hard."

Winters coughed and nodded.

"How's your injury?" Colonel Bode asked with a smile, "Can you ride a horse? I'll arrange for someone to carry you back?"

"Don't worry, I can ride." Winters has gradually adapted to the pain of the wound - after all, it is still slightly inferior to the phantom pain.

Colonel Bode suddenly took Winters' arm and asked very affectionately: "Winters, are you engaged? I have a daughter who is considerate and pleasant, and she is pretty, but she is a bit young - but you Don’t be in a hurry! You are satisfied with the trousseau package..."

Winters wanted to ask loudly: Where the hell is this going?

But Colonel Bode was so eloquent that he couldn't get a word in.

In this hell, he would rather take another shot, pass out, and be done with it.

Suddenly, Colonel Bode's words stopped abruptly. He looked to the west alertly, his pupils suddenly dilated.

Winters seized the opportunity and was about to say, "I'm engaged!" But he heard it too.

It was the sound of hooves, the sound of thousands of war horses.

It's barely audible at first, but becomes increasingly clear.

Horse racing at night is very dangerous, and running with thousands of horses together is even more dangerous, unless they have a compelling reason.

"Go!" Colonel Bode said in horror, "Leave now!"

Winters immediately used a loudspeaker to help convey the order: "Every centurion, listen to the order! Set off immediately!"

"Let everyone follow the military flag closely! Don't fall behind!"

The voice of amplified magic resounded through the fortress: "Follow the military flag! Don't fall behind!"

The gate on the east side of the fortress rose "creepingly".

Colonel Bode put the military flag into Winters' hand: "Let's go quickly! You open the way! I will take the rear! Take everyone with me!"

Winters didn't talk nonsense. He summoned Qiang Luck, put on the stirrup and saddle, raised the military flag high, and shouted: "Follow me! Fight back!"

There is no mistake, the barbarian's general attack is coming.

The White Lion may really just want to meet the enemy who took back the fortress.

Winters didn't know when he discovered the unusual movement in Plato's camp. It is possible that when he arrived at the Southern Highlands with the Akahe tribe, he had already noticed the situation at the bridge.

The reason why he did not launch an attack on the Southern Highlands was because he was waiting for the large force of the Herd coalition.

The troops had completely lost their structure, and everyone rushed out of the fortress. Winters rode up and held the military flag high, and everyone else was running wildly following the military flag.

The outer trenches have been filled in in several places and the earthen walls have been dug down - the barbarians who previously attacked Plato's camp came in from those places.

This time, Manzi still went to those places.

Barbarian is rushing to the camp, and Winters is also leading people to rush to the camp. The situation is like a race.

However, the barbarian cavalry discovered the "two-legged man" running from the mountain to the camp, and immediately several red feathers led the cavalry to kill them.

The Hurd cavalry roared strangely, brandished their scimitars, straightened their spears, and charged towards the flank of the "Two-Legged Man".

Winters was anxious and angry. He used the flagpole as a spear and stabbed the barbarian knight rushing from the right: "Anyone who blocks me will die!"

The barbarian was immediately thrown off his horse and thrown heavily. Winters' jaws were shattered and his arms were numb from the shock.

Winters continued to gallop toward the camp with a rare stab in the horse's ribs.

On the hillside less than a kilometer long, the Plato soldiers ran fast and slow, and finally formed a line.

The barbarians came from the flank and dashed the Plato soldiers to pieces almost instantly.

The disorganized Plato soldiers were like a piece of loose sand, unable to withstand the charge at all.

The Platoans fighting on their own were chopped down and stabbed to death one after another, and screams and calls for help were heard from everywhere.

Ishi in Ganshui Town was separated from the others, and he was the only one left at the moment.

On the hillside more than ten meters away, a ferocious barbarian chopped off the entire left shoulder of a Palatine with just one blow.

Ish couldn't identify the person who was hacked, so he ran down the mountain desperately, praying desperately that the other person wouldn't find him.

But the barbarian still found him and rushed towards him with a strange scream, his sharp scimitar raised high.

Ish waved his side sword in despair, and the moment he crossed paths with the barbarian, he closed his eyes.

Nothing happened. The barbarian smiled and passed by Ish, then turned around and charged towards him again.

She was actually teasing him!

Shame, anger, despair...Ish stared hard, holding the side sword with both hands and pointed it at the barbarian.

"Come on!!" Ish cried and cursed: "I will fight with you!"

The barbarian suppressed his smile, raised the scimitar to his back, and rushed towards the lonely Ish at full speed.

The hot breath from the war horse, the barbarian's helmet feathers, the curved blade... these things are getting closer and closer in Ish's field of vision.

Ish refused to evade, holding the sword with both hands and pointing directly at the barbarian's horse, shouting at the top of his lungs: "Lord! Forgive me! Protect my soul from falling..."

The moment the war horse rushed in front of Ish, Barbarian suddenly disappeared.

The war horse passed by Ish in a thrilling manner and disappeared without a trace.

Ishi looked again and saw that the barbarian was nailed to the ground by a military flag. The spear point of the military flag penetrated the barbarian's right rib and came out from the left rib.

A silver-gray horse broke through the night, followed by several figures.

Just seeing this war horse, Ish's eyes filled with tears: "Centurion!"

Ish pulled out the military flag from the corpse of the barbarian and ran to hand it to the centurion.

"Follow me!" Winters took the military flag and continued to gallop up the hillside.

Ish wiped away his tears and followed Winters' back as he ran up the hillside.

Winters rushed to the edge of the camp like lightning. Turning around suddenly, he found that all his people were gone.

The speed of strong luck is too fast, leaving everyone far behind.

He immediately turned back and fought his way back.

Wherever there was a cry for help, he went, and more and more people followed him.

In fact, he was not good at mounted combat, and the military flag was not a weapon he was familiar with. The laceration from the tiger's mouth made him so painful that he could hardly hold the weapon.

He immediately faced off more than a dozen times, and he always relied on his height, long arms, sturdy armor, and strong luck to defeat his opponents.

He heard Ish shouting behind him: "Sir! Wait for us!"

Winters reined in his horse and lay on Qiang Yun's neck, panting desperately.

He was reaching his limits, both physically and mentally.

"The stitches in the abdomen must have been torn open." He thought: "The blood has already flowed into the pants."

Ciel, Ish and other warriors caught up: "Where are we going now?"

Winters vaguely heard someone shouting to his right.

They were shouting: "Centurion Montagne! Save us!"

Winters pointed with a military flag in the direction of the shout: "Go there!"

A barbarian light cavalry holding a spear was circling two Plato soldiers back to back.

He was so tired that his reflexes became sluggish. As he picked the other man off his horse, the other man also picked him off his horse.

Winters felt like he was gliding through the air for a moment, then slammed to the ground.

His strong breastplate was dented by the huge impact.

His soldiers protected him. Charles begged with tears in his eyes: "Let's go! Let's cross the river! Let's go!"

Winters had burned away, leaving only a few ashes.

He looked at the faces around him. Tears slid down his cheeks and fell on the wasteland soaked in his blood.

He seemed to have put down all the burdens and said softly: "Okay, cross the river, let's go home."

The soldiers scrambled to help him up.

"Bridge!" Angelou trembled all over and shouted in horror: "Bridge!"

Angelou hugged Winters and cried loudly: "Centurion! They burned the bridge!"

This little Dussac, who has lived a hard life all his life, has never cried so desperately and sadly in his life.

Looking around, everyone present almost collapsed to the ground.

At the foot of the hillside and on the River Styx, the bridge had turned into a sea of ​​flames.

Several explosions were heard, pieces of wood were lifted into the sky, and several splashes of water rose from the Styx.

The Palatuan people who had not yet had time to cross the river gathered on the river beach and screamed heartbreakingly.

So that's it... Winters understood, he understood it all.

The last remaining ashes began to burn, and Winters slapped Angelou hard in the face and yelled, "Why are you crying!"

Angelou shuddered, stopped crying, and sobbed slightly.

It seemed to be extremely cold, and Winters' body couldn't stop shivering. He started laughing, laughing loudly, a shrill, staccato laugh, and he said, "Fuck it."

After saying this, he began to cough violently again, as if he wanted to cough out his lungs. His chest heaved, and every cough brought out blood.

No one knew what to say, and everyone stood beside Winters.

By the River Styx, the last resistance of the camp disappeared. The barbarians invaded the camp and began burning, killing and looting.

Winters and others have been surrounded by Hurd barbarians.

After stopping his coughing, Wen Tesla held Ciel's hand and asked, "Do you remember where we hid the raft?"

Ciel nodded desperately.

"When I was in the logging team, I made a few rafts and hid them in the bridge forest." Winters told the others: "We will attack the bridge forest. Anyone who dares to stop us will be killed! After crossing the river, we will be safe. If I die in battle, you will follow Ciel to find me. If Ciel also dies in battle, you will search in the bridge forest."

Winters stood up holding the military flag: "Let's go!"

Another Platoon man escaped from the hillside. He saw the Platoon flag in Winters' hand from a distance and called for help anxiously: "Colonel Bode was intercepted by barbarians!"

Winters stretched out his hand to pull the reins of Luck: "I'm going to rescue Colonel Bode."

"Let's go together!" Charles and Angelo helped Winters get lucky.

"No! You go and secure the raft! I will meet you. Charles, Angelou, take everyone back!" Winters patted Qiang Yun's neck gently: "Little guy, take me to find Colonel Bode.”

Strong luck spread its wings, carrying Winters Montagne and disappearing into the night.

…

Some people say, "After a war, there will be heavy rain." However, this sentence does not always come true.

This time there was no heavy rain.

The dark clouds parted, revealing a blue sky. The sun shines on people's bodies, bringing a touch of warmth.

Only the corpses scattered across the wasteland, the fragments of the pontoon washed ashore, and the dark red blood stains on the withered grass proved that a battle had occurred last night.

The fighting has ended, and the tribesmen are looking for trophies or skinning corpses in the camp.

Gold and silver are good things, as are armor, weapons, and horses. The Huds waste nothing.

The little lion rode through the battlefield and stared at the remaining bridge piles in the river in fascination.

"Little lion, hurry up!" A guard ran over to tell the news: "There is an excellent horse at the foot of the hillside! The fire-warmer is training it!"

The little lion smiled and asked: "The fire-warmer is taming, why did you ask me to go?"

The guard replied slyly: "The horses there are very bad-tempered! If the fire-heater can't be tamed, wouldn't it be ours if we tame him?"

The little lion laughed loudly: "Okay! Go and have a look."

I rode down the hillside and saw the horse.

The little lion had to admit that it was indeed a good horse, which made him a little excited.

The silver-gray horse circled a place and screamed.

The roaster was trying to lasso the horse. Every time he threw the rope, the horse lowered its head and ducked away.

The fire-warmer tried to approach the horse and take its reins, but the horse turned and kicked him.

It was difficult for the fire-warmer to deal with the horse alone, and he refused to call on others to help, so he could only stand in a stalemate.

"What a good horse!" the little lion said to the roaster.

"Yes! I recognize this horse." The fire-warmer replied: "Its original owner killed my Balatuer. This horse is here, and that man must have died in the battle last night."

[Note: Bala Tuer is the honorific title for warrior in Khedic, and has a similar meaning to "champion" in Continental]

There were more and more Hurds around, and the silver-gray horse became more and more anxious. It whined and circled in small circles.

The little lion listened quietly for a while and said softly: "It seems sad."

"Horses have spirituality. How can they not feel sad when their master dies?" The man who roasted the fire disagreed.

The little lion asked again: "Why doesn't it run?"

"I don't know either."

The little lion narrowed his brown eyes and observed, and suddenly said: "It seems to be protecting something!"

After saying that, the little lion walked forward.

"Be careful, don't get kicked by it." The fire-warmer reminded casually.

The fire-warmer didn't think the lion cub could tame the horse by himself. He was actually quite happy to have another person come to tame the horse.

The little lion didn't talk. He tried his best to relax his body, moved slowly, and said softly to the horse: "Don't worry, don't worry, I'm not hostile."

The horse stared at the little lion warily, but refused to leave.

When he got closer, the little lion discovered that the horse was pacing around a military flag.

He also noticed that there were two arrows stuck in the horse's chest, and the tails of the arrows had been broken - which made him very regretful.

The little lion has come close to a position that the roaster has never been close to, which makes the roaster's face a little confused. He slowly raised the military flag, revealing a body.

The surrounding Hud people exclaimed.

There were two bullet holes in the body's breastplate, one in the abdomen and one in the heart.

You may survive if you are shot in the abdomen, but you will definitely die if you are shot in the heart.

"You are sad that he died, I know." The little lion slowly approached the horse: "Let me pull out the arrow for you."

The silver-gray horse's eyes seemed to be crying. He lowered his neck and slowly nestled on the little lion's shoulder.

The little lion gently stroked the horse with his left hand, held the arrow handle with his right hand, and pulled it out ruthlessly.

The horse screamed for the last time and then collapsed. Its voice spread across the battlefield, and every war horse followed it with a mournful cry.

The little lion looked at the corpse on the ground and said softly: "Your life is not in vain if you have such a partner."

He suddenly wanted to see what the owner of the horse looked like, so he squatted down and took off the helmet of the corpse. He was stunned.

The surrounding Hud people were at a loss and didn't know what the little lion was doing.

The little lion couldn't believe his eyes. He was completely panicked: "[Common Language] How could it be you! Hestas? How could you die here!"

Others could not understand what the little lion was saying, but they had never seen the little lion look so panicked.

"No! No!" the little lion muttered: "You're still breathing!"

He put his hand to the "corpse's" nostrils to confirm that he was still breathing weakly.

He quickly took off the breastplate of "Hestas". There was blood on the bullet wound on the abdomen, but there was nothing on the "gunshot wound" on the heart - the hip flask blocked the fatal blow.

"Someone is coming!" The little lion shouted happily: "Someone is coming quickly!"

I finally finished "The End" within one chapter! This chapter can explain a lot of doubts and connect the previous foreshadowing.

After the finale, "the war is over"!

If everyone would stop scolding me, I would really appreciate it... I was crying while writing, and the tears couldn't stop flowing.

The next volume will be easier... I swear.

The character's behavior will match his personality. Winters has a mixture of kindness and violence, just like a double helix, with one chain being fire and the other being clouds.

And he was desperate to get home.

Thanks to book friends for reading, subscribing, recommending votes, monthly votes, tips and comments. I wrote this chapter from 6 o'clock last night to 9:30 this morning. I couldn't stand it any longer, so I went to bed first.

If there are typos, please wait until I wake up before correcting them.