Gomir City was on the right track, and Arthur and Chelsea, who were free, strolled around for a few days.
In the north, less than 1,000 kilometers away from the territory, tens of thousands of Empire soldiers were struggling on the line of life and death.
The Warrior of the North, Numaseka, was the prince of the Darcy Kingdom established by the northern minorities. He was a commander and rarely lost wherever he pointed his spear. He was deeply trusted by his own people and was a great threat to the Empire.
Since winter arrived, the foreign races around the empire had begun their annual winter hunt. The local armies of the empire were unable to resist, and the central army was busy dealing with them. The scattered revolutionary army waited for an opportunity to revolt, and chaos continued throughout the empire.
Sika, who had been using the fortress cities as his stronghold and constantly encroaching on the dynasty's territory with his elite troops, suddenly changed his usual behavior. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers came out in full force and invaded the dynasty.
Empire Calendar Year 1098, December 8
The 20,000 cavalrymen of the northern races suddenly arrived. In just half a day, Ida City, the frontlines of the empire's defense of the northern races, was breached. The defenders in the city were all wiped out, and the people were slaughtered.
The next morning, the hastily assembled border guards only lasted for fifteen minutes before the Darcy Cavalry broke through their defense line. Behind the cavalry, several Darcy Infantry charged in, and the northern border guards of the Empire were instantly beaten to a pulp and fled in all directions.
On a boundless snowfield, empire-standard weapons and equipment were scattered everywhere, no longer as bright as before. The disheveled soldiers of the dynasty fled south in groups of three to five. The sound of horse hooves was dull on the lonely snowy plains behind them. Groups of Darcy cavalrymen laughed as they shot their arrows at the Empire's soldiers who were trying to escape. When blood sprayed out, they roared in joy.
The sky gradually darkened, and the Darcy Cavalry reluctantly returned to the camp. The night sky was like a giant beast's mouth that was wide open, and it was terrifyingly dark.
Hundreds of miles away from the base camp of the foreign races in the north, Bern City was still brightly lit.
"There are already a large number of fleeing soldiers?”Locke looked at the night sky in the north and asked his bodyguard.
"Yes, General."
"Gather them and regroup. Even if they only have wooden sticks in their hands, they must fight. Let our soldiers act as military policemen. Whoever dares to escape will be killed on the spot. If there is one, kill one. If there are a thousand, kill a thousand.”Locke waved the iron whip in his hand with hatred, his face filled with hostility.
They were not good at fighting, but their leg muscles were abnormally developed. Once they were engaged in battle, they would take advantage of the situation and flee to Bern City. They had also brought the news of the invasion of the foreign races at the northern border.
The frenzied influx of hundreds of thousands of Darcy's soldiers shocked Locke, but he was a brave general. Abandoning the city and fleeing was definitely not his choice.
As soon as he received the news, Locke, who was stationed in Bern City, sent his own troops to put the prefect under house arrest. With the excuse of war, the military took over Bern City. Not only that, he also quickly organized his men to prepare for the upcoming battle to the death.
"How many armor-piercing soldiers are there in the city now, and how many residents are there?”Locke asked a hunched middle-aged man behind him.
Hearing Locke's question, the middle-aged man's body trembled and he subconsciously shrank his neck. His already hunched body seemed even shorter.
He was originally the registrar of Bern City, and he was sent to this remote place to mingle day by day. After receiving the news that the foreign tribes in the north had called, he decided to run away without much hesitation. It was not a pity to lose a small official position. It was just a change of place to live.
However, just as he was about to pack up and run away, a few soldiers broke into his house and tied him up in front of Locke.
It turned out that Locke wanted him to count the more and more scattered soldiers that were pouring into the city so that he could complete the reorganization in an orderly manner. With a knife to his neck, what else could he say? He could only brace himself and agree. However, as he worked, he realized that all the civil officials in the city had been placed under house arrest. Sometimes, his power as a small household registration officer was no less than that of a prefect before military control. He was addicted to power and rushed around the city without stopping. He was not perfunctory and was extremely diligent. It was also because of him that all the preparations could be carried out in an orderly manner.
"General…General…since this morning, there are already 14845 soldiers and 14214 households in the city, totaling 45425 people.”The middle-aged man stuttered as he replied. However, when it came to his job, his mouth became much smoother.
"We have already gathered nearly ten thousand soldiers.”Locke frowned deeply. Just this number alone was enough to know how completely defeated the front line was. However, he immediately laughed mockingly. Fortunately, the border guards had retreated enough, so he had more soldiers to use. How ironic.
"Go and get busy. Collect all the flammable oil in the city. The more stones you can use to smash people, the better.”He knew that most of the border guards who had retreated had abandoned their equipment, and there wasn't much in the city's arsenal, so he didn't force them.
"Sigh, I understand, General." The middle-aged man sighed and left. He obviously didn't think much of defending the city, but since things had come to this, he couldn't withdraw. He had to do his best and leave it to fate.
After arranging everything, Locke personally went around to check. The reinforcement and repair work of the city wall was burning the midnight oil, and it was in full swing. The cleaning and dredging of the moat was also making progress. Bern City was close to the border, and when the city was built, it was considered to resist foreign enemies. There was a moat that was not too wide.
After checking all the areas, Lockhart didn't feel tired at all as he looked at the sky that had already revealed the white of a fish belly.
The fleeing border guards slowed down the advance of the Darcy Army. According to the scouts at the front, there were at most five more days before the Darcy Vanguard Army, which had cleared up the defeated army, would arrive at the only road leading to the Empire's hinterland. A bloody battle was about to begin!
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]