Realm of Power

The most famous thing about Lokmasu, a city in eastern Aden, is the tall tower with a spire that reaches straight into the sky. It looks far away from the towering lighthouse at Mas Bay Naval Port, forty miles away. As part of the Mas Bay defense line, Lockmasu has been stationed with 15,000 Aden troops all year round as a military force to cooperate with the Aden Navy in deterring the South China Sea. However, now, with the change of ownership of Mas Bay, the Aden Navy has been replaced. Drive out from Mars Bay, Lockmasu, a city known as the double line of defense with Mars Bay, has become the first line of defense facing Nanxi. A rapid sound of horse hooves sounded on the streets of Lockmasu. Everyone who heard this sound People immediately felt a sense of tension and depression.

Aden General Aylinde, who was in charge of Lokmasu, woke up from his stupor. He immediately raised his head from the table and asked the adjutant who had just come in, "Has there been any reply from the military department?" Due to staying up late and worrying for several consecutive nights, he He was extremely haggard and his eyes were bloodshot. The adjutant shook his head with an ugly expression. Eislund stood up with angry eyes and asked, "Didn't it say that Kaciru's 10,000 troops have already set off? Is there no news at all?"

The adjutant was silent, but shook his head: "I'm sorry, sir. Nanxi troops are everywhere outside the city. None of the cavalry we sent to contact us has returned. Our news has been cut off, and everything is in chaos!"

Ellinde stood up and walked back and forth for more than ten seconds, then stopped and asked, "The situation in the city should be fairly stable, right?"

"It's very troublesome. The nobles in the city are fleeing, which has caused a lot of turmoil among the civilians." The adjutant knew that he had made a mistake and said hurriedly: "Yes, everything is as your Excellency said. As long as the nobles in the city don't get up and make trouble, the situation in the city will be Still under control”

"It's good as long as you can be stable, it's good as long as you can be stable"

Eilinde sighed, glanced at the bleak scene outside the window, murmured to himself, and asked with a bitter tone, who would have thought that in less than half a year, the situation in Aden would change from The sky has fallen into such a low position that even the chief military officer of Lockmasu, once known as the most lucrative position, has been reduced to the point where no one cares about it.

And he, the unlucky guy, was the one who was accidentally selected. The main reason was because there was no one available in the military department. A great war in the south made countless upstarts in the military department become tainted generals of the defeated army, and he, a member of the royal capital area, The leader of the regional defense team did not participate in that big battle because his ability was too mediocre. During the war, he unexpectedly became one of the few mid-level and high-level officers in the military who had no record of defeat. Just like that, with a transfer order from the military, he, who was waiting to die in the royal capital area and then retire with honor in five years, was suddenly dismissed from the army. The commander of the garrison was promoted to the chief military officer of the Lokmasu area, which was regarded as entering the ranks of generals.

Erinnd was a mess when he came to Lockmaso

Mas Bay suddenly changed hands, and the main force of Aden's navy suffered heavy losses. Aden's naval power was completely withdrawn from the south. Without the support of the navy, the city of Lok Masu, which was specially built to echo Mas Bay, became the most important place in the war. On the front line, it's okay if it's just the Nanxi people who are ready to move. As a former military powerhouse, Lockmasu still has 8,000 Aden troops stationed here, and they are not afraid of the military pressure from the Nanxi people.

What really makes Ellinde feel uneasy is the Imperial Navy that is sweeping the sea area. The Imperial Navy sold Mas Bay to the Nansi people at a high price, and then began to sweep the islands that were originally surrendered to the Aden Navy. Soon, The sea area construction that the Aden Navy had worked hard for decades was destroyed, and some islands that resisted suffered devastating blows. The imperial navy's act of killing chickens and monkeys not only frightened the Nanxi people, but also frightened the Aden people in nearby coastal areas.

Aden Anxi, known as the largest city in Aden, was turned into ruins under the bombardment of the Imperial Navy warships. How long can Lockmasu, which is less than one-tenth of Aden Anxi in area, be able to hold on?

"Sir, if what I see is that both Yilan and Lancia have surrendered to the Nanxi people, we are alone. The safest way should be to break through to the Ancuolan area immediately before the Nanxi people complete the encirclement. This is the safest." The adjutant made the suggestion cautiously, no matter from the perspective of safety. In terms of strategy and military strength, Rockmax was unable to fight back against the powerful Imperial Navy. Fortunately, Lord Eilinde allowed the civilians and nobles in the city to leave, otherwise the wealthy nobles who had been entrenched here for many years would have been Gathered in Lord Erinnd's office,

"We did not receive the order to retreat. The consequences of evacuating without authorization will be to escape and be executed." Eilinde did not agree with the adjutant's suggestion. Instead, he smiled bitterly and shook his head. He had always been regarded as a person who came to gild. However, in the face of real danger, he showed the toughness of an Aden soldier. Even the adjutant himself found it incredible. , Shangguan first ordered to evacuate the residents in the city, strengthen the city wall defenses, and burn down the fifteen miles of woodland outside the city that was once known as the Long Belt of Merlin, completely paving a wide sight line outside Lockmasu City. , as long as the Nanxi people appear ten miles outside the city, they will be immediately discovered by the sentry tower on the city wall, which shows Aelin Linde's determination.

"No need to look at me like this, I'm not as brave as you think"

Under the eyes of the adjutant, Eislinde sighed, "I am not an elite member of the kingdom. Those who are good at fighting are all in Central Asia, and it has nothing to do with bravery. I am just a regional garrison officer. The reason why I am still here I am here because I know that there is no way to retreat to Aden. Our navy has failed and our army is completely defeated in the south. , the once proud name of the Aden soldiers is now synonymous with shame, but we cannot give up like this. If we cannot defeat the sweeping empire, can we still defeat the Nanxi people if we really lose the city? If we escape, the military will immediately execute us on the spot, because Aden can no longer bear another disastrous defeat."

"In the final analysis, we are Aden soldiers! We may not be so-called famous generals, but we are soldiers, and dying in battle is our destiny, isn't it?"

"Yes, I understand." A flash of determination flashed across the adjutant's face.

Aelin Linde was parachuted in from the Royal Capital. If nothing goes wrong, Aelin Linde will be transferred back to the Royal Capital within three years. The adjutant has already sent away two of these officers, and one of them is waiting. He stayed for two years and seven months, and the other only stayed for one year and eight months. Lokmasu is nominally a city affiliated with Mas Bay, the main port of the Aden Navy. Strictly speaking, it is considered a city. On the front line battlefield, they face the threat from Nansi. But in fact, with the powerful Aden Navy, the people of Nansi can only rely on the Aden Navy. How can they pose a threat to Lockmasu, which has thousands of troops stationed there? , came to Lockmasu to serve as a military officer. Not only did he gain the honor of serving as a military officer on the front line, but he could also take advantage of the Nanxi people.

But now the situation has completely changed

The Nansi army has gathered, and the war is about to break out. However, domestic reinforcements have been unable to arrive. Even the Aden Navy, which is the strongest barrier, has shrunk to Harima, thirty miles away. Lockmasu is now an isolated city! Even if Eilinde was ordered to give up, he believed that he could use his connections in the royal capital to reduce the punishment. But this time, the adjutant unexpectedly discovered that Eilinde was determined to fight to the death!

Soldiers must be prepared to die in battle at critical moments. What Aden is lacking now is soldiers willing to die in battle!

Looking at the adjutant's back as he turned to leave, Aylinder stood in front of the window, staring at the gray sky in the distance. He did not participate in the southern war, but that did not mean that he did not understand the powerful elites known as the two armies of the royal capital. Well-equipped, with numerous famous generals, and several times the number of troops compared to the invading Imperial Army, it was a hearty victory no matter how you looked at it, but The result was a disastrous defeat. A hundred thousand troops and two armies from the royal capital were defeated by a mere 20,000 imperial troops in southern Aden. Even the land battle was defeated. As a result, even the powerful navy that had dominated the sea for decades was defeated. We failed, and the military reports changed three times a day, with various opinions. In the morning, everyone was confident about the victory of the battle, but in the afternoon, the battle reports made them doubt their lives.

Some people say that the army is greedy for life and afraid of death. Otherwise, even if it were bitten, it would have killed 20,000 imperial troops.

Some people also say that the military command was stupid and gave victory to the empire in vain. However, as a regional officer who reads the military newspaper every day, there is only one thing in his mind. Everyone is a soldier. Since they are soldiers, why is it like this? This is still Did someone hit you? Not to mention the famous double armies of the capital, even a hundred thousand pigs couldn't fight like this! The most frustrating thing is that I can't do anything but watch! There is no other way but to yell at your pig teammates twice!

And Eilinde, who was in charge of logistics work for the regional garrison at that time, will never forget it.

In the morning light, war horses roared into the wind, accompanied by the clang of weapons and the rumble of chariots.

On the road leading from the southern mountain pass, Eislinde led the local garrison to maintain order and saw a scene he would never forget: an endless flow of people like a long dragon, rolling in from the east and heading west. The south has been completely defeated. Slaves are burning and killing everywhere. The big noble estates can't stand it, let alone the common people of Aden.

The only way to survive is to go north and enter the mountain pass.

Some people are driving carriages loaded with large and small boxes, some are panting and carrying all their belongings, some are empty and carrying nothing, a poor old man is driving two sheep and staggering; a woman is holding a child in one hand and carrying a heavy basket in the other. The luggage trudged hard on the cold snow and fell. The hungry children howled in their arms and the mother sobbed. People kept passing by, but no one reached out to help. The tragic defeat in the southern war not only destroyed the pride of the people of Aden, but also made the hearts of the people of Aden selfish and numb. Out of confusion and sluggishness: having lost our home, our land, and our loved ones, what will our future be like?

Mixed in among the civilians were a large number of soldiers.

The seriously wounded soldier was lying unconscious on the stretcher on the roadside, crying: "Mom, mom!" The soldier with an injured leg was limping and cursing while walking on crutches. His companions had already abandoned him; The muddy and bloody soldiers sat in the snow and kept pleading loudly, "I am the fifth army! Does anyone know where our army is?! Please, take me away! My leg is broken! Please!"

People strode past him, and no one stopped. Until his vocal cords were torn and he could no longer scream, he cried silently, grabbing the grass exposed on the snow with his hands, struggling to move and crawl like an insect. Some soldiers from both armies of the royal capital were already very ashamed. He took off his helmet with red tassels floating around, pretended to be a civilian and walked away with his head hanging down. Seeing these defeated troops, Aelin Linde was stunned.

Are these still two armies in the royal capital?

Not long ago, the mighty armies of the royal capital walked past me with their helmets on their heads and their armors shining coldly, singing war songs on their lips. They were full of confidence and even their eyes were shining with arrogance. The Holy Word will end the war in half a month. It has only been half a month to kill all the imperial troops invading from the south. Their clothes are in rags and covered with mud. They are more like a group of beggars than soldiers. If there is anything to be said for these embarrassing guys, it means that it is not just a few of them who are embarrassed, there are thousands of such soldiers, but in them, we can no longer see the Aden soldiers who once dominated the world. In glory, an officer rode on a tall horse and shouted, "Make way quickly! Don't block Lord Rasfei's movement!" The soldiers showed no reaction.

"Didn't you hear that?" The officer was furious and whipped him randomly. As a result, the angry soldiers turned around and pushed the officer and his horse into the mud.

"Kill him. If the officer hadn't escaped first, we wouldn't be in such misery. Beat him to death." The screams echoed for a long time. Aelin Linde seemed to have not seen it and looked to the other side. "You should fight to death." In the south, why come back?”

"Sir, the Nanse army has moved. Just an hour ago, 5,000 Nanse Ramta Bang's light infantry crossed the border." The adjutant came over again with a hurried look.

Eilinde came to his senses from the scene in his mind. He was just an ordinary soldier. He had never even seen the battlefield in a real sense. He believed that if he evacuated, the military would not hold him accountable. But can I really leave like this? It was easy to retreat, but he knew very well that once he gave up Lockmasu, it would not only open the eastern gate of the Kingdom of Aden, but also the ambitions of the southern countries. The tentative attacks of the southern countries, which were not very determined at first, would be It will immediately turn into a full-scale invasion of Aden! The domestic situation in Aden was simply incapable of resisting. Thinking of the defeat of more than 100,000 troops in the southern battlefield, but very few generals of the kingdom who died in the battle, Aylinde said to himself: If Aden needs a general who is willing to die in battle! You start with me! "