Chapter 936

Compared with the experience in the capital, Golovin, the reception received by Loren and his party during the journey from the capital to eboden can be called "courtesy".

As long as you see the flying golden lion with black background and the flag of the iron crown (given to him by Conrad) held by the three dragons, almost all towns, manors, fortresses and even the Legion supply stations along the way will "enthusiastically" open the warehouse and provide the most sufficient supplies with the fastest speed. All weapons, food and even wine will be promised at once;

They even offered to provide pack horses and caravans to carry the expanding logistics team, so that this team of less than 2000 people was followed by a logistics team of nearly 3000 people; Even the bain army, known for its abundant supplies, has never enjoyed such sufficient logistics - it's almost like traveling.

Even because the team was expanding and the supplies were getting more and more abundant, the merchants in the surrounding towns took the opportunity to keep up with the team, do business with the knights with their scraps, or exchange more and better drinks for the Knights' supplies.

The knights who knew they were going to fight a bad war no longer cared about their money. Some bought wine and meat and drank it when they camped at night, while others spent a lot of money to send a letter to send home the small souvenirs they bought in the imperial capital and West Saxony.

In this regard, Ike, the Earl of angry castle, chose the default, and Loren didn't want to block it. Even the demon hunters of the wings of the sky joined in.

The Byrne people have a tradition of drinking and feasting before dueling and going to the battlefield. This is also their last chance to celebrate.

For such a generous payment, all "warm and kind" local lords unanimously put forward the same conditions.

Stay only one night and get out as soon as possible!

Loren and his party did not have any idea of staying. The most important thing at present is to arrive at eboden as soon as possible and organize the local army and citizens in the city to prepare for the battle.

When he was about to leave the border of West Saxony, an imperial Legion soldiers and a flag regiment of nearly 1000 people joined Laurent's team, claiming to have been ordered by Conrad I to "escort" Duke Byrne to eboden and fight side by side with the Duke on behalf of the Emperor himself.

Well, basically, I told Loren directly that I was sent by Conrad to monitor you. By the way, I would brush the sense of existence for his Majesty in eboden, so that the residents there would not think they had been abandoned by the emperor.

Although it is basically really abandoned - even Lauren, who has the most confidence in this strategy, doesn't think he can really hold eboden. It's only a matter of time at most.

But Loren laughed.

If the other party is the army sent by Conrad, it must be the elite of duanjieshan fortress; These Legion soldiers can be said to be experts in guarding the city up and down the Empire, and they are the best marine legions.

It's not appropriate to say so, but if you step on the earth to form a square array against the enemy, or form a small square array on the city wall to scuffle with the enemy... Maybe a legion of 100 people can play a better effect than the same number of Bain knights.

Although they claimed to be "escorts", the Legion soldiers still kept a distance from the Byrne Knights' team, followed not far or near, and even remained independent when camping, never close to the Byrne Knights' tents.

With the wings of the sky, Lucian walked in front of the team as a sentry and spy to protect the queue, and kept asking about the current trend of eboden;

The Earl of Fort fury, who led the Byrne knights, escorted and protected the baggage team together with Loren, and constantly discussed how to deploy eboden.

For Loren's plan, the experienced Eckert disagreed very much - in his opinion, a free city with weak defense and a particularly large urban area, such as eboden, could not and should not be fully deployed from the beginning.

The ideal tactic should be to cooperate with the aboveground and underground transportation network extending in all directions of eboden, take several structurally solid buildings in the city as the support, put the enemy into the urban area to fight street battles, and divide and annihilate between narrow streets and buildings, so as to delay the fall time of the City as much as possible.

Even if the enemy has a million troops, the number of troops that can attack the city is extremely limited; Once dispersed throughout the city, no amount of troops can control all buildings and streets.

For the experienced Earl of Eckert, Loren has always relied on his opinion, and he is also right. If only to keep eboden, he should give up the large but weak wall of the outer defense and turn to a stronger building stronghold in the city.

But the problem is not this time.

The reason for sticking to eboden is not because the city is important - of course, she is important - but to keep the army of Azores off the imperial coastline as long as possible and ensure that their fleet can't dock.

To achieve this goal, the two walls near the sea must be garrisoned by troops; Even if you know there will be heavy casualties, you can't give up these two defense points.

The only thing to be thankful for is that there are plenty of troops this time; In addition to the 2000 knights and 1000 Legion soldiers who accompanied them, there were nearly 20000 mercenaries in eboden.

Although the mercenaries of eboden have always been known for "asking for money is better than life" and "breaking up to murder their employers", this time they are allowed to stick to their own city. Moreover, in order to keep eboden from falling, it is impossible for the free nobles in the city not to give generously, so there is no need to worry about their morale.

However, as the party gradually approached eboden and looked at the empty commercial road and the path with birds and flowers, a bad feeling gradually spread in Loren's mind.

It's too quiet.

It shouldn't be so quiet.

The Sifang Avenue from west Saxony to eboden can be said to be the busiest commercial route in the north of the Empire, second only to the gem river route.

Moreover, compared with the Baoshi river route, which specially transports tributes and supplies luxury goods to the upper class in the imperial capital, the Sifang Avenue connecting the two places is the only way for ordinary business hawkers; Two wheeled carts and trolleys carrying bags and goods, carrying billowing smoke and dust, drove to the countryside of East Saxony, lottel and eboden... Countless.

Even though he has seen the magnificence of Golovin, the prosperity of red blood castle and the camp sea of thousand tent city... Loren still remembers the original prosperity of eboden.

But now, there are few pedestrians, and the flat and spacious Sifang Avenue is like a country road in some remote place.

It shouldn't be... Although Conrad has ordered an all-out war, it was only a week ago. Dukes and imperial messengers from all over the country should have just arrived to mobilize the troops in the territory and martial law the towns and roads in the principality.

How could it be that the news came out here and the trade route was empty?

While Loren was still confused, the cavalry team in front suddenly slowed down and the whole team stopped.

Lucian, riding a pony, ran back from the front of the line with a complex expression.

"What's the matter?" the black haired wizard with eyebrows asked uneasily.

"There is a team ahead, coming this way from the direction of eboden." the grey pupil paused and said with an unspeakable expression:

"There are so many people that the road is blocked."

The dark haired wizard and the count of fury castle looked at each other.

"How many?" count Eckert asked a crucial question: "who are they?"

"Civilians, nobles, businessmen... Are all people who are running for their lives or going to go to relatives. It seems that the whole eboden knows that there is going to war here!"

Lucian shook his head and looked a little ugly: "as for how many... Please see for yourself."

Along the direction pointed by the gray pupil boy, the two people... Together with Isaac behind them, desperately looked up and looked at the distant horizon.

Then they were stunned.

People.

People... And people who can't see the edge.

There are all kinds of people, pushing cars, driving carriages or ox carts, riding caravans or traveling quads, walking... But when they gather together, there are only smoke and dust and countless stirring black spots in the sky, which flow like a dark tide!

Like a pile of scattered sand, successive ants; Chaotic, disorganized, shoulder to shoulder, desperately surpassing the people in front, or closely following the team, not daring to disperse, rolling towards the Golden Lion Flag on a black background.

"Who can tell me whether this is eboden or... The big green sea of Boye?" Isaac couldn't help but say, "this posture, this battle... I don't know which nomadic tribe was migrating!"

Count Eckert's face was suddenly startled and looked at the dark haired Wizard:

"Duke, do you say..."

"No, it shouldn't be so." Loren shook his head and denied the guess of the count of fury Castle: "if eboden has really fallen, there are definitely more refugees fleeing."

And after the refugees, I'm afraid there should be defeated troops and pursuers sent by the Azores to hunt and kill the refugees... In short, it's impossible for so many people to pass through the Sifang Avenue in such a swagger.

More importantly, he didn't believe that eboden, with nearly 20000 professional mercenaries stationed in the wizard tower, would fall so soon.

"Master corona returned to eboden first. These should be the nobles and peacekeepers who just heard of the war and wanted to escape."

Looking at the dark and magnificent team in the distance, Loren sighed and waved to the Knights behind him: "let go of the road and let them go. Also inform the Legion commander sent by the emperor not to stop these fleeing people."

Lucian gladly took command and turned away.

"Duke... The evacuation of a large number of civilians and nobles from the city will seriously weaken the urban defense of the city." count Eckert couldn't help reminding: "I know you may have some kind ideas, but the manpower and wealth needed to defend the city are not a fraction..."

"But they have begun to run. Even if we close the road now, how many people are willing to go back?" Loren shook his head. "I'm afraid we have to fight this' rebel 'before we wait for eboden."

Count Eckert paused.

"... from another point of view, it's also a good thing to evacuate civilians before the war - so that we can give up some unprotected civilian areas and concentrate more troops on key positions and lines of defense." I don't know whether it's to convince ourselves or Loren, Eckert said in a deep voice:

"At the same time, the evacuation of a large number of refugees can also reduce the consumption rate of various supplies in the city and let us persist for a longer time. Reinforcements without considering logistics problems can also come to support us faster... It can be said to kill two birds with one stone."

The dark haired wizard did not speak again, but smiled in agreement.

A quarter of an hour later, the ordered Byrne Knights scattered to both ends of the road and let the middle of the Sifang Avenue out for the refugees to pass through; The Legion soldiers in the back row did not seem to have any objection. They even took the initiative to maintain order, shunting the crowd with a shield wall to ensure smooth roads.

The refugees, who were crying with joy, hurried on their way and passed through the channels reserved by the army as fast as possible. They were lined up in a messy but orderly team and did not dare to be slighted.

Looking at the surging crowd and crowds of pedestrians, the black haired wizard sighed with emotion.

Just as the crowd gradually left and was ready to order the team to move forward, a strange figure suddenly burst into his sight.

Before he glanced, the demon hunters on the wings of the sky on both sides came forward and knocked the guy down.

"Pain... Hey, wait a minute! I'm not a bad man. I know... I know your Duke!"

"Duke Loren! Duke Loren Turin, do you remember me? I'm Locke, the owner of the old lame tavern!"

Huh?

The black haired wizard looked curiously at the ground struggling to get up and vaguely remembered that there seemed to be such a guy.

The owner of the "old lame tavern", Locke, is a little famous bard and an intelligence dealer of the night watchman. He has no less than double-digit love debt. In addition, the green hat aristocrat who wants to let him die without a burial place has changed his face by relying on Peter FASA's Alchemy.

In addition, he is also the outside line of the eboden night watchman organization, controls several irrelevant intelligence networks, and has close private contact with eboden mercenaries. Therefore, he has also been sheltered by the Bellini family who controls eboden trade and mercenary business.

When the night watchman organization of eboden fell, Loren and Edward hid from the limelight in the tavern for some time.

However, as soon as the "old acquaintance" came up, he told Loren a "big news".

"What are you talking about, eboden has fallen?!"

"No, it's not falling, it's civil strife!" the panting tavern owner waved his hand again and again, interrupted the surprised gray pupil boy, and then looked eagerly at Loren:

"The three mercenary regiments in charge of eboden's urban defense have collectively rebelled because they were in arrears with the Commission, but also occupied the urban defense and fortress, forcing the freedom Council to make up for the promised Commission."

"Duke, if you don't solve this matter quickly, eboden will not be destroyed by foreign enemies, but will die in civil strife!"