Sword of Dawn

Page 178

"...The shipbuilding skills are not enough," Byron spread his hands and said helplessly, "Shipbuilding is a technical job, and the craftsmen who know how to build ships best in the entire southern region are those in the Peibo area. The ships they built are The one in front of you. Higher technology than this... The lord is doing research, but he doesn't know when the research will yield results, and even if the research results are achieved, he doesn't know if he will build a new ship from scratch How long will it take, the enemies of Rock Fortress will not wait for us."

"Tsk..." Till smacked his lips, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't say anything, and just poked a nearby wooden pillar with the tip of his tail.

Seeing the reaction of the siren lady, Byron curled his lips secretly, and continued, "I'll show you the bottom of the cabin—it's an unfinished place."

The two came to the bottom of the "warship". In the cabin illuminated by the magic spar lamp, Till saw a metal bracket that was obviously reserved for some kind of large-scale equipment, as well as some unconnected metal brackets. In the magic net unit, she couldn't help being a little curious: "What is installed here?"

"Momentum," Byron said, "is an unresolved problem."

As soon as Tire heard the word "power", he remembered what Gawain asked him to do, and nodded immediately: "Oh—yes, your lord asked me to help solve the power problem. He said that the two ships The boat can't move by itself right now, so I need my help..."

"Yeah," Byron took the words, "Did you notice that we removed the sails on the upper deck? That's to install additional magic nets and auxiliary rune arrays, and to install water pumps and corresponding pipes, The originally reserved oarsman's position on this ship has also been squeezed out, so the ship can't be driven at all with the traditional method - as a replacement, the lord designed a kind of 'paddle' driven by a magic engine, but You saw it too—it's not even finished."

Knight Byron pointed to the vacancy in the bilge where some kind of large-scale equipment was installed, and said regretfully: "Mr. Egg has been researching for a long time, and there is no finished product yet."

Till frowned more and more as he listened, and finally couldn't help poking the nearby wood with the tip of his tail: "What kind of transformation are you doing... until the last ship didn't even have power..."

Knight Byron waved his hand: "According to the plan, there is, but it hasn't been installed yet!"

"Shouldn't this kind of thing have been designed earlier!" Tire poked his waist, "Do you know how to build a ship?"

When Byron heard this, he couldn't help sighing: "Well, how can we say that our shipbuilding technology can't keep up--traditional inland riverboats can still be built by recruiting craftsmen at high prices, but this kind of ship uses magic technology Who knows how to build a new type of boat!"

"Tsk..." Till smacked his lips again, as if he wanted to say something again, but in the end he held back and poked the wood with his tail for a while, then waved his hand, "Okay, I've read it almost, I can't understand your magic technique either... I'd better go back to sleep, just call me when I leave."

After saying these words, Miss Kraken left the cabin with a bang.

Byron turned his head and glanced at the empty "engine compartment", and couldn't help muttering: "Why don't you just pick up the slack..."

Not long after he finished speaking, he heard footsteps coming from near the stairs, and when he looked up, he saw Knight Philip walking into the cabin.

"Miss Till has left?" The young knight saw Byron standing alone in the cabin, and asked curiously, "She visited our warship?"

Byron nodded: "After a tour, I'm a bit interested in magic technology, but obviously I don't like our ship."

"Oh, then she..."

"Don't mention it, every time she doesn't wait for me to open my mouth, she immediately stops picking up. She is so vigilant and frightening," Byron said with a frustrated face, "She is really inferior to you in this respect—you are better at picking up trouble than her." powerful."

"Can you stop distracting the topic every time?" Philip frowned, and then said, "Miss Till is a foreign guest, we can't force her to help. Anyway, the lord just confessed that she has some problems with magic technology." As long as you are interested, the lord will naturally make other arrangements for the follow-up matters."

Thinking of Gawain's expectations for Tire and his dedication to "building a new type of ship", Byron couldn't help but sigh with emotion: "The lord really made an incredible plan for himself if he wanted Miss Tire, who is so lazy, to help her for a long time. The goal... But then again, why is he so obsessed with building new ships... Are the craftsmen we recruited from the Pepo area really useless?"

"The lord said that land is only the cradle of mankind, and mankind will always walk out of the cradle," Knight Philip said with a serious face, "Although I don't know exactly what he meant by this sentence, the facts have always been It all proves that the lord's judgment is almost infallible, since he said that the new type of ship is useful, it must be useful."

"Fine... Anyway, I also trust the judgment of the lord," Byron said, then raised his head and looked at the metal beam added later on the roof of the cabin-on the beam made of light alloy, hexagonal arrangement The magic runes of the ship are shining with a faint light. This thing called the "power ridge" is the main artery of the ship. It connects several decks and the magic net units in each cabin to provide the necessary power for the rainbow light device. "Regardless of whether the new ships are useful or not, I am looking forward to the upcoming use of these two ships."

Chapter 0430 They Are Here

Rock Fortress, the inner city, a group of knights and soldiers in bright armor are walking through the wide streets of the town. Above this group, the flag of the Earl of Pompeii in the Holy Spirit Plain is flying in the air, and the golden and red embroidery on the flag is shining in the sun. Glowing with eye-catching brilliance, gorgeous and stylish.

Sir Maryland stood on the city wall of the inner city, looking down at the army marching in formation, and said softly after a long time: "This is probably the last batch of assistance we can count on."

"It's better than nothing," Viscount Carroll, who was standing beside Sir Maryland, said in a deep voice. "After all, the Earl of Pompeii knows what it means once this fortress is breached."

The team entering the city was not the cavaliers sent by the royal family, but the private army of the Earl of Pompeii. The appearance of this army meant that the Earl had finally sensed from the news that had been coming in recently. The urgency of the situation made a decision.

The Rock Fortress is located on the edge of the Earl of Pompeii's territory. In name, the land where the fortress is located belongs to the Pompeii family, but in fact the fortress is directly controlled by the royal family, and all the soldiers in the fortress are also directly loyal to the king. There are also his own farms, mines, and mills around the fortress. The Earl of Pompeii has no obligation to support or support the fortress, but obviously, the earl knows very well that once the fortress is taken down by the Cecil family, his Territory will be in jeopardy.

The news that "the ancestors did not follow the ancestral system" has long been spread through the southern nobles who took refuge in the fortress. The Earl of Pompey can't guarantee that Cecil's army will stop after taking down the Rock Fortress, let alone guarantee that the fortress will be defeated. Will Cecil's army first plunder the surrounding area to make up for the loss of the war? Although at the beginning, he seemed to believe that the Cecils had nothing to do with the Rock Fortress, so he felt a little bit at ease, but Sir Maryland After a lot of hard work, he finally sent his own army to support here, and this team was the only reinforcement that Jazz Maryland could bring.

"It's completely unknown how much combat effectiveness these veteran soldiers who are pampered in the Holy Spirit Plain can display," Sir Maryland sighed, "but as you said, it's better than nothing—these people can at least operate the trebuchet, Or hide behind a wall and shoot a bow."

Viscount Carroll hesitated for a moment, but finally couldn't hold back and asked, "Is there any news from the south recently?"

"I sent three groups of spies, disguised as merchants and hunters, and only one group came back," Sir Maryland said with a sinking face. "Now I can only confirm that the Cecilians are sending troops here, but the situation further south Can't figure it out at all..."

"They really didn't give up..." Viscount Carroll's heart sank, "They will come sooner or later."

Looking at Viscount Carroll, who looked ashamed and even terrified, Sir Maryland could only sigh helplessly in his heart.

He has great confidence in the fortress he is stationed in. Although he has heard many terrible stories about Cecil's army from these southern nobles who have taken refuge, he still has confidence in his fortress-in his opinion , these southern nobles were so terrified that the enemy's terrifying image had been infinitely magnified in their hearts. Sir Maryland was a man who had experienced many battlefields. He knew this kind of frightened people quite well, so he filtered After removing the exaggerated elements in these noble words, he was not intimidated by Cecil's army.

But that doesn't mean he'll take the threat he's about to face lightly.

The Cecils will not be "like gods" as described by the southern nobles, but they are definitely not a force that can be underestimated. Facing the menacing Cecil army, the Rock Fortress will surely experience a bitter battle. According to Maryland According to the deduction of the Jazz, the Cecil's "Skyfire Explosion" should not be able to break through the magic barrier of the fortress in a short period of time, but the defenders of the fortress have no way to repel those Cecils who can launch continuous magic attacks from a long distance people.

The battle should turn into a protracted confrontation, or in more depressing terms - a unilateral bombardment by the Cecilians of the Rock Fortress for an extended period of time, and the defenders of the Rock Fortress will have difficulty taking the initiative .

Sir Maryland is not afraid of protracted and hard battles. What he is really worried about is the isolation and helplessness of Rock Fortress, and the deteriorating situation in this country.

As long as this deteriorating situation does not improve for a day, no matter how long the Rock Fortress can last, it will eventually be unable to persist.

He patted Viscount Carroll on the shoulder: "Go back, we need to relax, drink two glasses of wine to soothe our nerves."

They left the city walls and came to the hall of the castle area of ​​the fortress.

As soon as he pushed open the door of the hall, Sir Maryland saw Viscount Mary Orland in a loose nightgown standing in the center of the hall with a glass of wine, talking with the maids in the hall, and not far away It was the Viscount Consco who was walking around, his face was full of anxiety, and judging from his expression, he probably drank a lot.

"Oh, sir! And my friend Viscount Carroll," said Marie Orlande, raising her glass as soon as she saw the person who pushed the door open, "to salute you—you should really try this."

"Olan, you drank too much." Carol frowned slightly, looking at this man who had become more and more misbehaving in the past few days, with a somewhat helpless tone, "And why are you wearing a nightgown in the hall?"

"This is inside the castle. Nightgowns can be worn anywhere in the castle..." Marie Olan laughed, "Don't worry, I'm quite awake..."

Viscount Consco came over and walked straight past Mari Oran, who was already a little delirious. His eyes were full of sadness, and he was congested from drinking too much for many days: "Sir, there are southern ones..."

Jazz Maryland waved his hand without waiting for the other party to finish speaking: "There is no good news."

Viscount Carroll looked disappointedly at the two friends in front of him—one was dissolute and the other was depressed. The calmness and decency of the nobility had almost disappeared from them.

Not only these two friends, but almost all the other nobles who fled from the south to the fortress together were not much better.

These viscounts and barons gathered in the banquet hall, or drilled in the bars and brothels in the city, squandering the only money left on their bodies, wasting their worthless energy, eating and drinking, almost completely invisible. A little bit of hope.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but raised his head, looking for someone in the hall, and soon, the slightly thin figure of Countess Roperney Glenn appeared in his sight.

The Viscountess just sat quietly in a corner, chatting with one of her knights in a low voice. Although she also had faint anxiety on her face, her calm look was completely different from others.

For many days, this situation also fell into Sir Maryland's eyes. The high-ranking knight looked at the situation of other nobles in the hall, and couldn't help but shook his head and muttered in a low voice: "It's not as good as a widow..."

Viscount Carroll, who was next to him, heard Sir's muttering, but couldn't hear it clearly, but just as he was about to ask, the door of the hall was pushed open again.

A knight in armor hurried into the hall. The sound of the impact of steel boots and the ground echoed in the hall. The people around fell silent and looked at the knight who suddenly ran in with suspicious eyes.

"General! General!" shouted the knight, running up to Sir Maryland. "There is a small group of refugees from outside the city—they claim to be from the Glenn region!"

Glen area?

The southern aristocrats in the hall suddenly looked subconsciously at the Countess Ropeny Grant who was sitting in the corner, and in their line of sight, the Countess also raised her head and looked at the woman standing in Maryland with astonished eyes. The knight before the jazz.

Sir Maryland saw this scene in his eyes, and then turned his head to look at the knight who reported the news: "Where are they?"

"In the barracks under the outer wall," answered the knight, "we don't let them in—and there's a troop of soldiers watching."

Sir Maryland nodded imperceptibly: This is a necessary caution.

The Cecils have obviously blocked the southern region. At least in the buffer zone between the Rock Fortress and the southern border, there are already blockades set up by the Cecils everywhere. The experienced spies sent by the fortress can't break through this layer. The blockade, people who can still escape from the southern region at this time... It is very suspicious no matter how you look at it.

"Take them to the main hall," Sir Maryland quickly made a decision, and glanced back at the southern nobles who had gradually gathered in the hall, "Ladies and gentlemen, I invite everyone to go—maybe we can finally Got a clear message from the south."

Soon, Sir Maryland and the southern nobles came to the main hall of the castle area, and shortly after they entered the hall and took their seats on the high platform, a small group of soldiers walked in with a few ragged and scarred people.

Those few people had obviously gone through an ordeal. Their clothes were tattered, their bodies were covered with dirt and bruises, and their embarrassed posture reminded the southern nobles at the scene of how they looked like not long ago. Sir Maryland also secretly sighed, Then he asked aloud, "Who are you? You were brought here from Gulen?"

Most of the ragged people looked anxious and nervous. Only one person stood in the center and kept calm. It was a tall middle-aged man. He was looking for someone in the hall, and finally his eyes fell on Countess Ropeni Glenn. The middle-aged man immediately bowed to the countess, with a choked voice: "Mistress, I finally saw you !"

Ropeni Glenn also recognized the person in front of her. She stood up from her seat and said in disbelief, "This is my housekeeper!"

"Ma'am, are you sure?" Sir Maryland looked suspiciously at the middle-aged man in ragged clothes and dirty face, "Is he really your housekeeper?"

"Of course I'm sure," Ropeni Grant responded immediately, and she scanned everyone present, "I didn't take a sip of wine!"

"Okay, I understand," Sir Maryland nodded, and looked at the middle-aged man standing at the bottom of the steps, "Mr. Steward, have you brought news from the South?!"

"They're here! Mistress, and all my lords, the Cecilians are here!" the butler said with a look of pain and fear in his tone, "They've already occupied Glenn Castle, and they've also taken Consco , Carroll area, they are coming this way!"

Chapter 0431 An Inspiring Moment

As soon as the steward of Gulenling said "they are coming", the southern nobles at the scene gasped in unison, and when he mentioned the Gulen, Consco, and Carroll areas, they were successively captured by Cecil's army. After taking control, the nobles in the southern border shook their heads and sighed with sorrowful expressions, especially Viscount Consco, who was already extremely depressed, covered his face in a gaffe, and began to curse in a low voice.

Countess Ropeni Grant broke the silence before Sir Maryland spoke. She clenched her fists and stared at the butler: "Where is my daughter? Where are the others in the castle?"

"They blew up the entire castle with a weapon called a 'big cannon'... and almost burned down half the town..." the steward said sadly, "almost no one escaped...all died... All dead..."

Ropeni Glenn's body shook twice, and then she fell backwards as if she had lost all her strength. Fortunately, one of her guards had quick eyesight and quick hands, and supported the mistress who was about to faint. The guard was beside the Viscount He whispered, "Cover your eyes."

"I know." Ropeni Grant also said softly, and then covered her face with her hands as if in grief.

Sir Maryland, on the other hand, was only slightly moved after hearing the astonishing news, and then looked at the butler in front of him who had fled from Glenland all the way to the Rock Fortress with scrutiny: "It's a sympathetic experience—but you are How did you get out? It's not close to get here from Glenn."

The butler showed an embarrassing and sad expression: "I'm really ashamed to say it...it was the Cecil who took the initiative to let me go..."

"The Cecils let you go?" asked Sir Maryland in surprise. "Why?"

"They're at war," said Countess Roperney Grant, who seemed to have forcibly calmed down from her grief. Her eyes were red and stared at Sir Maryland's. "They're declaring war! They're showing off! They're deliberately trying to let us know what's going on in the south." Things, let us know that our family business accumulated over hundreds of years has been completely destroyed by them! They are going to completely destroy us!"

Sir Maryland looked at the lady who could be described as powerful in front of him, and looked at the lady who was able to lead the last surviving southern noble all the way to the Rock Fortress. He saw that the eyes of this lady were burning This is exactly the state of people who only think about revenge after losing everything. He couldn't help being moved by this: "Ma'am, what happened to you makes me righteous, please rest assured, we will fight with Sebastian." The Silers fought—this fortress is where we meet them!"

His words were firm and powerful, but there were almost no responses from the southern nobles at the scene. Most of them have not yet woken up from the shocking news brought by the steward, and a small number of people are already immersed in the fear of the upcoming Cecilians. Viscount Mary Orland suddenly stood up and waved his arms excitedly: "We can't wait to die here! This city can't stop the fire from the sky!"

Other nobles in the southern border started to commotion, and many people began to respond. Mary Olan took this opportunity and hurriedly said to Sir Maryland: "Sir, please work harder and let Earl Pompeii open the northern gate. We are going to take refuge in the Holy Spirit Plain. Just do it!"

Sir Maryland's complexion was uglier than ever before, and he could hardly conceal the contempt in his eyes. The people in front of him who were completely frightened were no longer worthy of being called nobles. The swords of the soldiers are as bad as the poor who kneel on their knees-it's this kind of time, and they still want to escape?

They thought that the little gold and silver left in their pockets would be enough for them to eat white bread for a few days in the Holy Spirit Plain?

But before Sir Maryland could speak, Ropeney Grant had already stood up. The lady glared at everyone at the scene almost viciously, her voice carried a forward momentum: "Where are your bones? Have they all been dissolved by alcohol?" ?!"

Except for her, the southern nobles who fled here were all men, but none of these men dared to raise their heads and look at Luo Peini at this moment. Looking at the eyes that were shifted away with guilt, Luo Peini Glenn couldn't help raising her voice: "What are you afraid of? Do you really have no courage left? Don't forget that this is the Rock Fortress, a fortress with a magic barrier! Aren't you still talking about it in the banquet hall of the fortress this morning, saying that this place is indestructible? To watch Cecil turn his back on his back from the top of the city—why do you forget all this now?"

"Ms. Gulen... Viscountess, what are we going to use to fight those Cecilians?" A southern nobleman finally couldn't help but said, "We went to the battlefield to add to the chaos, and we left here to avoid messing with the people of the Rock Fortress. trouble……"

"What nonsense!" Luo Peini stared at this cowardly southern nobleman, "You all think so too? Have you forgotten that when you fled here, there were thousands of people around you——until now, Those loyal knights and soldiers are still waiting for your orders in the city! They haven't run away, why are you running?

"Now the Rock Fortress is short of manpower. We should concentrate all our strength. We have a strong city wall and a magic barrier. It's okay to move the stone bullets of the trebuchet behind the barrier, right? Help guard the mage tower It’s always okay with the arrow tower, right?”

Sir Maryland looked at the impassioned Countess Lo Penny, and suddenly his heart lit up in astonishment—these southern nobles who have suffered so much...Although most of them are cowardly and powerless, they are also a little bit of strength.

To be honest, he had some expectations before he arrived, thinking that the Cecils would not come to attack here. After all, the Rock Fortress theoretically already belongs to the land outside the southern border, and Duke Gawain Cecil has no reason to attack here. , but ever since he learned about the deeds of "the ancestors did not abide by the ancestral system", he has become more and more regretful about taking in these useless southern nobles. A lot of things have been collected, and he probably has already figured out a way to drive most of these people out.

And now...

If the Cecilians are really coming, then these useless southern nobles should also pay some price for the asylum they received.

He looked at Countess Ropeni, who was trying to call on the southern nobles to arm themselves to defend the fortress—this countess was the only one among the southern nobles he admired besides Viscount Carroll, and now this lady had just been stuffed The Syl has taken everything away, and her vengeance is unwavering, which makes her a good help.

So he stood up and said, "Ma'am—would you help me defend this fortress?"

Luo Peini turned around, with a trace of enthusiasm in her eyes: "Yes, sir, of course I am willing-as long as I can defeat those Cecils, I am willing to do my best!"

At this moment, Viscount Carroll, who has been silent by the side, also stood up at the right time. He looked around at the shaken southern nobles, and raised his hands: "Gentlemen, you should feel ashamed. Your courage has added up at this moment. Not as good as the Countess of Glenn. Don't forget, we are accepting the protection of the Rock Fortress. When the fortress is in crisis, it is our duty to stand up. I am willing to respond to the call of the Countess—even though I have only Two knights and dozens of soldiers, but I will also stand on the city wall and defend this fortress to the last moment!"

After the first person stood up, more people were finally encouraged. These people whose minds were almost completely destroyed in the shelling of the Broken Stone Ridge and the pursuit of the southern border actually squeezed out a little courage at this moment, and began to rise one after another. They all responded, and they all wanted to bring their few dozen or so hundreds of followers to stand on the city wall, live and die with the fortress, a posture of resisting the Cecils until the last moment—even though some of them Many people will regret it after leaving this hall, even after shouting those passionate words, but at least they are encouraged to stand up at this moment.

As far as the nobles are concerned, as long as they stand up at this moment, it is difficult for them to sit back.

Ropeney Grant watched this scene with satisfaction, and Sir Maryland also watched this scene with satisfaction, and the latter couldn't help but nodded—these southern nobles and their remaining entourage may not be of much use power, but they can at least alleviate some of the shortage of manpower, among other things, at least it is always possible to let those nobles who know magic to recharge the mage tower, and with these people, Rock Fortress can last longer time.

Maybe they can persist until the situation in the kingdom improves.

He never doubted that his fortress could withstand the attack of the Cecils, he was just worried that this protracted defensive battle would drag down the isolated and helpless Rock Fortress.

After the admirable dame had succeeded in inspiring the southern nobles, and seemed to once again become the leader of these troubled nobles (she was their leader last time when she led them to flee the southern border), Lord Maryland treated her Said: "Ms. Gu Lan, your brave act is really a manifestation of the noble spirit. I hope you can integrate the manpower of the southern nobles and let you lead them. I will arrange for you to guard and maintain the inner magic tower of the fortress. and the second city wall, I suppose the gentlemen present have no problem with that either?"

The southern nobles at the scene agreed one after another.

Afterwards, Sir Maryland called his own soldiers and began to arrange for the defense of the fortress: "First, clear out the scattered farms in the south of the fortress...all of them will be withdrawn to the city, and the rest will be burned directly, and the wells will be filled to death...

"Clear all the woods on the edge of the hilly land in the south, burn or cut down all the trees, and leave nothing to block the view.

"The patrol team has doubled..."

After leaving the main hall, Ropeni Grant walked with her butler.

Sir Maryland has no time to pay attention to trivial matters. Ropeney Grant wants to take her own people to find a place to rest, and this is exactly what she wants.

She looked at her ragged butler, and those cronies who "fleeed out" with the butler. The ragged clothes on these people are real, the mud and oil stains are real, and the scars under the ragged clothes... It's also true.

When there were no outsiders around, she said softly: "You have worked hard."

"It's our pleasure."

"How's it going?"