After repeatedly cursing Lorraine, the Nedel people had to face the reality that war was coming soon.
Therefore, after being outraged, the people of Nidel City began to become panicked. They were like headless flies, always doing things in a panic that seemed important to them.
In order to guard against the traitors lurking in the city, Catherine promulgated a strict martial law decree at the suggestion of Belen, banning all gatherings, banquets, dances and other activities during the war.
Once a large group of people gathers at someone's home, the guards' officers and soldiers will come to the door in full force, write down everyone's name, and then drive them home.
The most affected people are the dignitaries in Nidel City. The grievances of the common people are now all concentrated on Lorraine.
They thought that the war had been going on for several months, but there had been no progress at all, and now the orcs had openly penetrated into Nadel.
These people naturally attributed all this to Lorraine's incompetence, and then they automatically ignored Lorraine's two victories at the beginning of the war, and completely forgot the arduousness of this war.
I forgot what kind of sacrifices those soldiers who crawled on the ice and lay in the snow on the front line and fought bloody battles were making in the face of the ferocious orcs that were overwhelming like locusts.
However, due to Catherine's governance, the common people had no complaints about the martial law policy she promulgated - war or not, martial law was normal, especially since Catherine also promulgated a decree to strictly control prices.
The common people in the city all applauded this decree, praising Her Highness Catherine and Miss Adele for being wise and considerate of us common people, and then sighed: Why do you think such beautiful flowers are inserted in cow dung?
Compared with ordinary people, the bigwigs in Naian have a more detailed understanding of the war. They all know the severe situation Lorraine is facing, but they are very dissatisfied with Catherine's approach of cutting off her financial resources.
National disaster wealth, war wealth, no national crisis, no war, how to get rich, and now the powerful eldest princess has directly blocked their way.
Even if they were not allowed to get rich, Her Royal Highness the Princess would not even let them escape for their lives.
The beating of sticks by the imperial guards at the city gate directly knocked out the grievances of these people.
Nobility and wealthy people have always enjoyed privileges.
They can run rampant on the streets, they can boss others around, they can bully men and dominate women, and in the face of danger, they can even enjoy the privilege of letting nobles go first.
But in front of the powerful Catherine, they could only keep their resentment in their hearts. The sticks of the Guards directly woke these people up. The person giving orders above them was not a small governor from other places, but the only one in the royal family.
Her Royal Highness the Princess.
In fact, they don't know, and they should be more grateful for this.
If Lord Lorraine were here, with his vicious heart, he would definitely let everyone run away in front of their faces, and then quietly send out his army of orc servants to rob and kill them along the way.
And he will definitely kill a few of them, kill the chickens and scare the monkeys, and let everyone know the precious value of the eternal saying "if you don't listen to the old man, you will suffer the consequences before your eyes".
And in the end, he would confiscate all the property of those families on the charge of "escape from the battle and betray the divine grace".
You must know that with Lord Lorraine's method of scraping up the land to "the sky is three feet high and the earth is seven minutes thin", I believe that even a pair of underpants will not be left to them.
Except for those who were worried about the safety of the city and worked nervously to protect Nidel, everyone else was complaining and dissatisfied.
This is easy to understand, because life is your own.
Lorraine led Naian's soldiers to win the battle, but none of the honor and wealth they gained was given to these people. Apart from cheering for victory for three minutes, they turned around and went about their business. They are Nadel people,
Not a Croni.
The Croni can be happy for half a year by repelling an orc attack.
This is also a matter of course, because everyone has kept their houses, cars, children, horses, money...
Although gatherings are restricted, at this tense moment, people always want to gather together to vent, so as to let themselves know that I am not the only one who is afraid.
Nowadays, the tavern in Nidel City has become a very popular place. Men who have nothing to do temporarily due to the lockdown gather here all day long.
There had been a lot of swearing in the tavern for two days in a row, but today the atmosphere was suddenly different.
The drinkers were still talking about the Governor of Lorraine, complaining loudly about why the Governor hadn't dealt with those damn orcs yet.
The small door of the hotel was pushed open with a clang, and several guards soldiers in armor walked in.
Seeing the soldiers coming in, the small shop instantly became quiet. After a moment of seeing the person clearly, the drinkers turned back with calm expressions and continued to say what they should say.
There were also many drinkers who stood up to greet these soldiers. It seemed that they were regular customers here.
The leader of the team was a squad leader. He threw his long sword on the table, snapped his fingers at the bartender, and said casually: "Same as usual."
Several other soldiers also leaned their spears against the wall beside them, sat down on the chairs, breathed and stretched, and asked the boss to hurry up and serve the wine.
The boss did not dare to neglect and hurriedly picked up several large oak wine glasses and a plate with dried fruits and brought them to them.
The captain stretched, looked at the plates on the table, glanced at the boss, and said, "We didn't call this."
The boss smiled and said: "This is for you."
Then he sat down in front of the captain and said with a smile: "What? I haven't been here for two days, so you took the time today?"
The captain picked up the dried fruit and threw it into his mouth. While chewing the dried fruit, he muttered vaguely: "Don't talk nonsense. The management is strict now. It's just a matter of letting others hear it. We worked twice as many overtimes.
I have been patrolling the streets for two days, and I only have half a day's rest today. I have to go back after drinking."
The boss shook his head in disbelief and said, "You are the security team, who will take care of you at this time?"
The captain scolded: "Bullshit security. Who dares to cause trouble in the city at this time? Those petty thieves have stopped taking to the streets. If they catch them, they will beheaded directly. Brothers, the tasks have been assigned. Let's start the war.
Come on, you have to go up to the city wall and fight the orcs."
Several other soldiers looked at each other and sighed, shaking their heads worriedly.
The boss was stunned for a moment and said, "You guys go up to the city wall?"
The captain nodded with a sullen face and said: "There are no soldiers in the city, and the militiamen have gone up. Because we have to patrol, we have to wait until the war starts."
A young soldier said worriedly: "This is different from catching thieves and robbers. This is really desperate. I heard that those orcs are as tall as two people and stronger than bears. I heard that they are also
Cannibal."
The captain slapped the soldier and cursed: "Look at your potential. Scare yourself. There are orcs in the city who have surrendered. Why don't I take you to have a look."
The hotel owner also patted the young soldier and said, "Don't be afraid when the fight starts. I have also been a soldier and fought with orcs. Half-orcs are strong, but they are not as evil as they say. I can stab them with a sword."
Die too."
The drinker next to him leaned over and asked in a low voice: "When will the orcs come?"
"I heard from above that it's only been a day or two." The captain raised his head and glanced at it, then said with a heavy heart.
"So soon?" The drinkers in the tavern were all listening with their ears strained, hearing that the orcs were about to come, and started talking buzzingly.
The drinker at the next table turned around and complained to the captain: "Is our defense line made of paper? There are tens of thousands of troops in the south, and the orcs can come whenever they want."
"That's right, there are rumors outside that the governor is very good at fighting. His skill in fighting allowed the orcs to hit Naian's heart."
This was followed by another round of complaints.
The captain glared at them and shouted: "Shut up, you guys don't want to live anymore, the higher ups are investigating this. Several people were arrested in the market in the past two days. I heard that they were all dragged to the market entrance and slapped directly.
Already."
His words were like a biting cold wind blowing by, instantly freezing the air in the tavern.
The drinkers suddenly shuddered.
They looked at each other carefully, then closed their mouths at the same time.
Seeing that the atmosphere suddenly changed, the boss laughed and said bravely: "It's not as serious as you said. Your superiors even issued a notice about this matter. They caught those who falsely said that the governor had lost the battle and shaken the morale of the army. What the hell?
There are all idiots, and some people say that the Governor is dead."
The captain shook his head and said: "You might as well not say it. Our boss's wife, Her Royal Highness, has a bad temper recently. She withdrew six high-ranking officials in one go yesterday. They escaped from the battle and almost had them all arrested for military law enforcement."
"
The drinkers suddenly became energetic and cursed in unison: "You deserve it~!"
"That's right, it would be best if we all evacuated."
"Robbing their homes and beheading them..."
Everyone yelled in relief, with gloating smiles on their faces.
The captain sighed, and then said: "Actually, the situation is not that bad. The governor and his more than 20,000 soldiers were doing well. They fought for two months and won several battles. I heard that they didn't lose many people.
The key is, there are too many orcs coming this time, tens of thousands of them, it would be pretty good to be able to fight like this."
The boss looked around, and then said loudly: "I'm just telling you, you guys don't know how to fight, so you are just worrying about it."
"Cut~!"
The captain smiled slightly, then picked up the wine glass and took a swig.
He closed his eyes and tasted the wine carefully. After a while, he saw that everyone was waiting impatiently, and then he continued: "There are many orcs, but we are few. I heard that old Russell
The bastard is still refusing to send reinforcements to our Naian."
"That damn old dog."
"The great traitor."
"When you die, you will howl in the fires of hell."
"No one in the temple is good, except of course our Bishop Hilmeria."
The captain spread his hands and said: "The border is six hundred miles long. Who knows where they came from. Twenty thousand people, say a lot less, say a lot more."
"What should we do now?"
"What else can we do? Just defend." The captain took another sip of wine and said: "We only have three thousand regular troops in the city and a lot of militiamen. We can have four to five thousand people. Although we can't attack, we can defend more than enough."
.
But as mentioned above, after guarding for half a month, the governor will come back with reinforcements. By then..."
As the captain spoke, he leaned down, spread his hands to make a pinching gesture, looked at everyone meaningfully, and said: "Work together inside and outside, and kill these bastards."
When everyone suddenly heard these strategic plans, they felt excited: These are high-level secrets~! I didn't expect that in this tavern, I could listen to eight paragraphs for a penny.
Everyone has a feeling of being involved in the decision-making process of being "inside of something and outside of something".
"Okay~!"
"That's how it should be."
"We have 10,000 people and they have 20,000 people. It's easy to defend the city. I'm afraid they can't attack it either."
"..."
Some people poured cold water on them and muttered: "It's not that easy. The governor brings people back and the south is left alone?"
"I asked you why you are so stupid. The city of Croni is more important than the city of Nadel."
"Of course it's our Neidr, this is the capital. Our governor will definitely protect Neidl first."
The boss sighed and said, "I hope so."
At this time, a dull and confused sound was heard outside.
The sound continued and got louder and louder.
All the drinkers raised their heads and wondered: "What is this sound?"
The drunkard with good intentions opened the door of the tavern.
In an instant, a rapid and dull "Woo-Woo" horn sounded into the tavern.
The captain was stunned for a moment, then his face changed drastically, he smashed the wine glass in his hand on the table and shouted: "No, this is a bugle sound."
The expressions of the soldiers also changed.
The captain grabbed the long sword on the table and shouted: "The orcs are coming, go and assemble quickly."
The soldiers hurriedly picked up their weapons and followed the captain and rushed outside.
People on the street who heard the urgent bugle were stunned. Just as they were asking each other what happened, a group of soldiers ran wildly along the street, shouting: "Get out of the way, get out of the way."
Behind the soldiers are militiamen without uniforms.
They were wearing all kinds of armors and had all kinds of weapons in their hands, including swords, guns and hammers. They were running through the streets in a hurry.
There was a chaos among the common people, and they all quickly hid in their homes. The timid ones hid under the bed, chanted sutras, and prayed for blessings from the gods and Buddhas in the sky. The bolder ones opened the door a crack, and looked through the
Looking out from the crack in the door is a lively scene.
Not long after, a carriage closely protected by the Imperial Guards quickly passed through the street and headed towards the city gate.
Catherine and Adele looked silently at the street outside the car window, their ears filled with the sound of "woo-woo" murderous bugles.
Lorena looked at the serious Catherine and Adele and said: "Hey, you two, don't act like little old ladies. They are already two days late, which means we have two extra days to prepare. We should be happy.
"
Adele held the corners of her lips and gave a bitter smile, saying: "What's the difference? It's just that we brought in two more carts of grain."
Luo Linna rolled her eyes at them and said: "Hey, let me tell you, even if you don't have confidence in yourself, you should have some confidence in Lorraine. Not to mention that his plan was executed very smoothly."
Catherine shook her head and said: "In the past, Lorraine was always there during the war. We just had to take care of ourselves. Now, we have to do everything by ourselves. How can I feel at ease? I am always worried that something will be missed."
Lorena glanced at her and comforted her: "Nicole, you have done a good enough job. If there is anything else you can't do well, it would be impossible for someone else to do it well."
Catherine sighed lowly and said, "I hope so."
The carriage quickly arrived at the headquarters at the city gate. The guards opened the door, and the three of them jumped out. They saw Hilmeria hurriedly approaching.
Behind Hilmeria were more than a hundred priests from the temple.
These priests knew very well that they were about to join the battle, and they were all fully armed, with chainmail armor on their bodies, staffs in their hands, and long swords at their waists.
The four girls nodded slightly and walked quickly to the top of the city.
Sheriff Ignatz, who was supervising the city defense, was waiting on the city wall. When he saw Catherine and the others coming up, he hurriedly saluted and said urgently: "Your Highness, the enemy fleet has appeared and is moving up the river at this moment."
Catherine said "hmm" and walked to the city wall and looked west.
On the far horizontal line of the Beni River, there is a row of several black spots floating, which are the orc transport ships.
Catherine stared at the transport ship in the distance and asked: "Are the city defense preparations complete?"
Ignatz bowed again and said in a deep voice: "Yes, Your Highness, all the personnel are already in place. Everyone has been waiting for a few days. This time, we have mages and priests. I believe we can block these half-hearted people."
Orcs, until the Governor comes back."
Catherine said calmly: "Very good."
Then Catherine turned to look at Ignatz and said: "Tell the soldiers to fight the enemy bravely. After victory, I will reward them heavily."
"Yes, Your Highness."
A soldier quickly ran up to Ignatz and gasped: "Sir, there is a very strange orc troop outside the east gate."
Ignatz was startled and asked anxiously: "Is it the enemy's forward?"
"No, sir, they are flying our flag."
Catherine frowned at first, then became happy and said, "Let's go and have a look."
Everyone crossed the city again and rushed to the east gate. They saw the soldiers on the city wall with their crossbows open and nervously guarding a team of orcs outside the city.
Most of this team stayed outside the range of bows and arrows. The people in front were holding an eagle flag of the Ruman Empire. Only a few orcs were in front of the city gate, shouting at the officers on the city.
Catherine glanced down, and it was Galba, the prophet of the Aquitan tribe.
At this moment, he was anxiously explaining his identity loudly.
Catherine smiled slightly and said: "They are Aquitaine, let them in."
Ignatz waved his hand and ordered the city gate to be opened to admit the orcs into the city.
After the prophet Galba entered the city, he saw that the people above were Catherine and Adele. He hurriedly came up to salute and said: "Your Highness, Miss Adele."
Catherine pointed at the more than a thousand people below and said, "What's going on?"