I was a knight in the Middle Ages

Chapter 345 The mantis stalks the cicada, but the oriole follows behind

"You can't kill me, or Lord Manster won't let you go." Aqiang's voice echoed in the silent night sky, with a hint of determination and fear. His eyes wandered around, trying to find a chance to escape, but he soon realized that such a chance no longer existed. Just when he saw that the situation was not right and was about to run away, Graya suddenly rushed forward and kicked him hard in the chest. Aqiang was kicked out like a kite with a broken string, and fell heavily to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

Struggling to get up from the ground, Aqiang rolled and crawled to find his footing again, but found that he was surrounded by people and had no way to escape. A flash of panic flashed in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by determination. Even in such a desperate situation, Aqiang's face still did not show any soft expression. Obviously, he had an unknown support behind him.

"Mannster? You are indeed a spy for the Lista bandits." At this time, Cassel, who was detained at the back, suddenly realized, with a hint of shock and anger in his voice.

No one had expected that this small bandit camp actually hid spies from the other two major forces. Alpha guessed that if the situation here was not so special, then the other party might have planted spies in every bandit camp, and the conspiracy behind this was much deeper than they imagined.

"Aren't you also a spy from Birmingham? We are just trying to prevent them from betraying us." Aqiang shouted forcefully, trying to gain some initiative by revealing the other party's identity. Although his voice was trembling a little due to the pain, his tone was very firm: "I tell you, Lord Manster doesn't care who is the boss here. After you occupy this place, as long as you pay tribute to us Lista as before, we will not care about you."

As he spoke, Aqiang looked at Reston, his eyes full of provocation and threats. Obviously, this was a reminder to Reston and his people, and also a test of their bottom line.

In the wilderness filled with smoke and murderous atmosphere, Alpha stood tall at the edge of the camp, scanning the surroundings with a sharp gaze. He raised his head slightly and looked at the looming mountains in the distance, as if to confirm that the situation around him was under control.

Then, Alpha slowly turned around and ordered in a low and powerful voice: "Reston, you lead a team to the designated location quickly and bring Andrew and the others here. Remember, you must ensure their safety. We must occupy this area as quickly as possible and cannot slack off in the slightest."

When Reston heard the order, a trace of determination flashed in his eyes, and he responded without hesitation: "Yes, Lord Apollo!" Then he turned around and strode towards his men, and began to arrange the personnel and routes for the reception in an orderly manner.

Alpha then looked at Graya and said seriously: "Graya, you are responsible for bringing Cassel and Aqiang in. They are crucial to our next action and there can be no mistakes." Graya nodded slightly, her eyes revealing firm determination, and she turned around and quickly executed the order.

At this time, Alpha looked around and saw that everyone was busy preparing. He knew that the time was ripe. The rest of the task was left to Reston and others to complete. He believed that they had enough ability and wisdom to deal with any emergency.

Thinking of this, Alpha tightened his cloak, feeling the biting cold wind outside, and couldn't help frowning. After all, it was too cold outside, and every breath seemed to make people feel the bone-chilling cold. So, he turned around decisively and walked into the camp hall with steady steps.

In the camp hall, a warm fire was burning, dispelling the severe cold outside. Alpha walked to the stove, stretched out his hand to feel the blazing temperature, and a look of relief appeared on his face. He sat in a chair, closed his eyes, and began to think about the next plan.

At the same time, after receiving Alpha's order, everyone began to perform their duties. The bandits who seemed lazy on weekdays also became unusually busy at this moment. Some of them picked up their weapons and looked around vigilantly; some began to move supplies and put various equipment and supplies in order. The captured hostages were also forced to move under the scolding of everyone.

These captives were originally innocent people, but they were captured by the bandits. Before, facing these rude and brutal bandits, they were filled with fear and despair.

However, at this moment, they showed an unexpected tenacity. The women stopped crying and begging, and their eyes revealed a look of determination. When the injured bandits tried to approach them, they did not hesitate to pick up stones, sticks and other things that could be used as weapons and fought fiercely with the bandits (beating the drowned dog).

These women showed no mercy to the bandits. They knew that in this cruel world, being kind to the enemy was cruel to oneself. Therefore, they mercilessly attacked the enemies who tried to violate them until they were knocked down one by one. The injured bandits struggled in pain on the ground, screaming. The women ended their lives without any hesitation.

Alpha didn't know what was happening outside. He sat in the camp hall, quietly waiting for news. Even if he knew all this, he probably wouldn't stop it. After all, these bandit gangs have long lost their humanity. They usually burn, kill, rob, and commit all kinds of evil. If they are left here, it will only bring more disasters to this land. Alpha knows that in order to restore peace to this land, these evil forces must be completely eradicated.

"Tell me, what is your plan?" Alpha's eyes were fixed on Cassel, revealing a hint of urgency and seriousness. At this moment, although he was wary of the existence of mountain bandits, he was more concerned about the Birmingham Army than those mobs. After all, the mission of the Birmingham Army this time was crucial, which was to do everything possible to stop these refugees from moving forward.

"Lord Apollo, do you want these refugees to leave here? This is simply impossible." Cassel raised his head slightly, looked at Alpha firmly, and spoke with an unquestionable certainty. He continued, "You have to know that the Birmingham Army is only the vanguard of the military. Even if they are annihilated, so what? Behind them, there is the entire military as a backing, which is an extremely powerful force.

Moreover, in addition to the military, there is also the power of the Holy See. You know the influence of the Holy See in this land. They will never let these refugees go easily, so it is impossible for these refugees to leave here. "Cassell seemed to have seen the situation very thoroughly. He knew that this matter was an impossible task from the beginning.

Alpha couldn't help but frown when he heard Cassel's words. His brows were tightly knitted together, as if he was thinking about something extremely complicated. He began to reflect on his previous way of thinking, and realized that he had only considered the attitude of the Venetian officials, but ignored the powerful existence of the Holy See. What exactly is the Holy See's intention in treating these refugees? This question is like a mystery, lingering in his mind, making him confused.

"The Holy See? What do they need these refugees for?" Alpha's voice was filled with doubt. Although he was also a knight of the Holy See, he didn't know much about the Holy See. He only had a vague understanding of many things about the Holy See. In his impression, the Holy See should be sacred and solemn, but now these words from Cassel's mouth made him doubt the true face of the Holy See.

"In fact, the Church is the real devil. They eat people without leaving any bones." Cassel's eyes were burning with anger, and hatred almost burst out of his eyes. He took a deep breath and continued, "The Church and the Italian Empire's high-level officials colluded with each other. They did not just forcibly requisition all the food of the people, but also made the people lose the basic guarantee of survival. In this situation, the people who can't survive will choose to flee." Cassel's voice was a little trembling, perhaps he recalled those tragic scenes in the past, and perhaps he had also been ruthlessly exploited and crushed, so he empathized with the experience of these people.

"The authorities will never allow these refugees to leave." Cassel's eyes revealed helplessness and sadness. "They are afraid that if all the people flee, there will be no one to work for them next year. At the same time, the Vatican has also issued orders to the officials, and they need a large number of knights to serve them. In order to complete the Vatican's orders, the officials arrested these refugees and sent them to the Vatican as knights." Cassel's explanation made Alpha even more confused.

Alpha could understand that the Church needed a large number of knights. After all, the holy war was imminent and they needed enough strength to deal with the enemy. But what was the point of letting these ordinary people serve as knights?

In a holy war, the number of people is not the key to victory or defeat. With their superb skills and rich experience, senior knights can fully play a huge role by fighting against hundreds of people. So why did the Church go to such great lengths to capture these ordinary people to serve as knights? This question was like a fog, shrouding Alpha's mind, and he could not find the answer.

"It's impossible that the Holy See doesn't know the difference between regular knights and ordinary people pretending to be knights. What's the point of them doing this?" Alpha asked loudly. Such imposters would probably be discovered at the first moment.

"I don't know about this, but it's the truth. I was captured by them and then I escaped." Cassel didn't know much about the inside story, but he did it all himself.

"Lord Apollo, we have completely occupied the camp. Should we pick up Brother Anthony and the others now?" Andrew led the soldiers to quickly occupy the camp. The camp was now very safe.

"It's not the right time yet. Anthony can't leave. There are two bandit camps ahead of us, and the large number of refugees can't hide from their eyes at all." Alpha is now thinking about whether it is really possible to let the refugees leave. After all, the more he knows now, the more worried Alpha becomes.

"Cassell, do you have any plans for the two bandit camps ahead?" Alpha wanted to take over the three camps ahead at this moment, so that the refugees could arrive here safely, and at the same time, it could also effectively prevent the Birmingham army and bandits from looting the people.

"We have a plan, but we are short of manpower. Our focus is on the six camps at the back. The four camps in the front have no external aid at all, otherwise you wouldn't have gotten there first." Cassel was very dissatisfied with this. After all, they were fighting against the bandits, but they didn't expect to be outmaneuvered by these people from behind.

"Okay, Andrew, you take your men to take over the second camp, and Graham and Reston, you two take over the first camp." Alpha was ready to continue to stay in the third camp to prevent anyone from spying.

"Yes." Everyone immediately took the order. Each of them brought hundreds of soldiers. In fact, most of them were civilians holding long sticks, but in order to survive, everyone would try their best.

On the mountain road filled with smoke and dust, Andrew and Graya led their teams, marching with firm and rapid steps, and finally arrived at the towering mountain gate of the mountain stronghold. At this time, the shouting and killing sounds coming from inside the mountain stronghold had gradually become sparse, and the intensity of the battle had obviously weakened. All signs showed that the battle inside the mountain stronghold was nearing its end.

However, this seemingly calm situation actually concealed the ingenious arrangement carefully planned by the two. They had already memorized the unique code that Cassel and the others had agreed upon for the Birmingham Army. It was a special signal, like a beacon guiding the direction in the darkness. When the people outside accurately received the code sent by Cassel, a tacit understanding instantly flowed between them. With this code, they successfully established close contact with the people inside the camp.

After some clever maneuvers and communication, the gate of the camp slowly opened in front of everyone's surprised eyes. The heavy gate that was originally tightly closed seemed to have lost all its resistance at this moment and was easily opened. Andrew and Graya led the team to enter one after another. When they really saw the situation inside the camp, they couldn't help but be slightly startled.

The scene in front of them was a mess, with corpses of bandits lying everywhere, and blood flowing on the ground, gathering into shocking pools of blood. Obviously, there had just been a fierce battle here. For Andrew and Graya's team, the mission at this moment couldn't be clearer, they were simply here to clean up the mess left by the battle.

At the same time, in another camp not far from here, Alpha was facing a huge problem. Although they had successfully occupied three bandit camps with their strong strength and careful planning, which should have been a cause for celebration, the problems that followed were like a heavy mountain that weighed him down, making him breathless.

Because they had to control these three camps at the same time, their available manpower was inevitably dispersed. Each camp required a certain number of personnel to garrison and manage to ensure the safety and stability of the camp. This resulted in them being particularly short of manpower when facing other tasks.

Moreover, although this operation rescued a large number of refugees, the number of refugees is very large. However, among this large number of refugees, there are not many people who can really serve them and provide effective help. Most of these refugees are physically and mentally exhausted and need time to recover and adjust.

Faced with these thorny problems, Alpha did not choose to shoulder them alone. He knew the wisdom and ability of his two capable men, brothers Andrew and Anthony. So, Alpha handed all these matters to them without reservation, letting them think about the response strategies. Alpha himself chose to stay in the third camp to guard it.

At this critical moment, whether the three hard-won camps can be defended and whether the situation can be gradually stabilized depends on Anthony's decision and actions. For Alpha, he seems to be more like a hands-off boss at this moment, throwing all the problems to the Anthony brothers.