The attackers who gathered near the trebuchet were still busy reloading, and hot meteorites and sky fire fell from the sky, instantly engulfing the crowd. In the roar and smoke, the meteorite tore the trebuchet into pieces, and the rain of fire ignited the crowd and the forest. Listen to
Less than a little scream.
The attack was completely disrupted.
Lana caught up with a fleeing rider, pulled him off his horse and knocked him unconscious, preparing to keep him for detailed interrogation. There were no markings on these people, and it was impossible to tell whether they were private soldiers of local nobles or bandits.
Rana's first thought was that the daring local nobles had launched an attack.
The unknown enemy arranged five waves of attacks, from ambushes on the shore to horsemen in the distance, and even trebuchets hidden on the edge of the forest. Although their combat effectiveness was very weak, and there was almost no organization and coordination, there were many
However, this was undoubtedly a careful attack arrangement. The attackers knew the camping group's itinerary very clearly and had strong mobilization capabilities in the core area of the Verona region.
Who else could the mastermind behind the scenes be than a local noble?
Thousands of years have passed since the establishment of Beyeland, and the lords of the West have still not been fully integrated into the kingdom system. They are nominally loyal to the Duke of Verona and have a lot of autonomy. They bear some taxes for the kingdom, and also contribute to the kingdom.
The war contributed legions and auxiliary legions composed of local people, but it is difficult to say how much of the dividends from the Eastern War will be distributed.
According to Griffith, the new southern provinces will contribute a large amount of agricultural products and minerals, and the trade income of the western lords will inevitably be affected. Under such circumstances, it would be incredible if there is no separatist trend.
There is a subtle and unspoken speculation circulating among the high-ranking noble students of Homemonworth that the war hypothesis of the staff trip is aimed at the local nobles. Once Verona is weakened by internal rebellion, Byerland is ready to go.
Will look for excuses to invade.
However, bandits and rebels are not impossible. The Verona region becomes barren the further west it enters the mountains, where many free people who fled from the noble territories gathered. It was formed with some highly skilled martial arts fanatics as the core.
Rebels and bandits hide in the mountains and forests to provide protection to the free people, and from time to time they will go down the mountains to attack noble territories and manors. Recently, they have also been joined by some angry veterans, and their strength will undoubtedly increase rapidly.
The rebels may have reached some kind of agreement with the local nobles and conspired to attack the visiting Beyeland nobles.
Careful interrogation is required.
Lana nodded inwardly. Of course he knew about Griffith's little hobby. Ophelia, who was also proficient in it, also explained it to him several times. Fiona was unhappy about it for a few days.
The defeated attackers ran everywhere. Lana and Murat caught several guys who looked like leaders, tied them up and took them back to the ship.
Isius had already led people to put out the fire and reassembled the frightened sailors and city defense troops. He checked the situation of the sailboat and said to the two of them: "Good news, no one among the classmates was injured. The hull of the ship was damaged in the attack just now."
The damage is minor."
"Then we should leave here as soon as possible." Murat said immediately.
"But, there is bad news," Isius shook his head. "We have lost the captain and one-third of the sailors. The auxiliary sails, cables and rigging are seriously damaged. Although the ship can be driven, the speed will be much reduced.
This group of people came here with the purpose of delaying us."
Without further ado, everyone immediately urged the sailors to turn around, stop camping and retreat toward the old town.
The sloop, which had lost its captain and some of its rigging, became sluggish and clumsy. Even while turning, Lana felt an indescribable sense of disharmony that he had not experienced on previous voyages.
He briefly inspected the sailboat, then picked up a group of prisoners and walked to the inner cabin.
"Lana, what are you going to do?" Fiona asked, a little uneasy, "Are you going to interrogate? Let's come together."
"It's for interrogation, but you and Miss Larmour stay here," the hussar simply replied, "Griffith and Ophelia are better at this, but neither of them are here. As for me, I don't
If you are good at it, you will be rough."
…
The freshmen at Homemonworth saw Lana leaving the tied prisoners outside the door, carrying one at a time into the cabin, slamming the wooden door shut, and then the heart-rending screams filled their ears.
The prisoners, who were injured and covered in blood, cursed and insulted everyone with all kinds of swear words. Murat had to stuff a rag into each of their mouths.
Within five minutes, Rana walked out. His hands were covered with blood, but his face was very clean. The gurgling blood had seeped out from the crack in the door. After the second prisoner was carried in, he didn't know what he saw.
Screaming and screaming, desperately begging for mercy.
After a while, Lana rushed out of the cabin with a red face. He was only wearing single clothes, and his whole body was steaming like a sauna. His eyes were red and fierce, as if hell had crawled out to devour him.
The vicious human dogs swept over the captives who were kneeling on the ground. Strong hands as strong as steel grabbed the third prisoner, pulled out the rags from his mouth and threw them into the cabin.
"ah!!!"
The prisoner screamed in the cabin, as if he had seen a terrifying giant beast. His hands and feet were tied, but he was squirming crazily, crawling out like a caterpillar.
"No!" The crawling prisoner burst into tears, "I said..."
Lana smiled ferociously and kicked him into the cabin, closing the wooden door with a bang.
When it was the turn of the fourth prisoner, Fiona finally couldn't bear it any longer. She stood up and stood between Rana and the prisoner. The prisoners who had not yet been captured all begged for mercy.
"kindness?"
Lana was as ferocious as a giant black wolf. Not only Fiona, but even several people present seemed to see a solemn, unreal and dark aura that was embodied in fangs and a pair of terrifying eyes.
The aristocratic girl's mind went blank as she trembled and stood frozen on the spot. Her Shutoral grabbed the next prisoner and brought him into the cabin.
Each torture process lasted no more than five minutes, and Rana would soon come out and grab another one.
The screams in the cabin lasted for a full half hour.
Professor Witzleben came to see what was going on here once and left in a hurry without saying anything.
Soon, Lana returned to the upper lounge, where professors and classmates were gathering to discuss routes and countermeasures.
Lana has restrained his terrifying and ferocious aura, and has wiped his hands and face clean. His breath is calm, and his resolute and majestic face even has a calm and relaxed smile. With his clothes neatly dressed again, he has a steady pace and a compelling momentum.
.
Huh~ I understand Griffith a little bit. Lana opened a small blood-stained notebook and reported to the people present:
"It has been identified that the people who attacked us came from a nearby rebel army led by Lance. They were originally fighting the coalition forces headed by Viscount Tretter, but the battle had subsided the day before, and Lance's troops passed through the coalition forces
The defense zone is heading towards this area.
"Their number is no less than 3,000, and some horse thieves and retired legionnaires have joined their ranks. This rebel army is trying to block the retreat of several teams, including us, and local nobles to the old town.
"I don't know where they got their trebuchet. Lance sent someone to send this heavy weapon and specified the location and time of the ambush, but he didn't tell them the source of the intelligence."
"..."
This shocking news left everyone stunned. If they hadn't witnessed Rana's horrific torture, everyone would have doubted that he had been deceived.
No, there are still people who question it. Berthier frowned and asked: "Lana, are you beating too hard? Leading questions and torture will make the prisoner try to make up the answer you want to hear, so as to quickly
relief."
"I didn't ask any questions, M. Berthier," Lannes replied calmly, "I only said one sentence to each of them, 'You say'."
Berthier was stunned for a while before he understood what Lana meant. He couldn't help but look at Fiona, who lowered her head and said nothing.
"Go on," said Professor Witzleben, as if it was no big deal, "have you noticed that the ship is leaning five degrees?"
The second half of his sentence was not a question, it was just a statement of facts.
Sonia was horrified and hurriedly asked someone to check the bottom cabin. Soon, the sailors replied that a lot of river water had poured in there, and the bottom of the ship might have been damaged, and they were trying to seal it.
"It should have happened during the battle. A group of people dived into the water and sabotaged the bottom of the ship. It seems that the ambush they arranged was more than five rounds." The professor's expression was calm and relaxed, as if he was not the one sitting on this broken ship. "If
When the condition of the ship cannot be maintained, we disembark and walk to the nearby castle."
…
Tributaries from the mountains to the west and north converge into the Vero River, which is hundreds of miles long, and then flows into the Sea of Tranquility in the east. The very fertile plain nourished by this great river is called the Vero Plain and is the richest in the area.
area.
The manor of Baron Bate is located on the banks of the Vero River. The contemporary baron is Jerry Bate, and his family has been reproducing here for countless generations. The ancient ancestors of the baron once resisted the war of conquest of Bayerland. After
After years of getting along with each other, the baron and other local nobles have forgotten their hatred and become loyal good friends of the kingdom.
A river flows from north to south through the east side of the manor, then turns west, turns left near the south gate of the manor, and flows south again to join the Vero River. The small river is named after the lord's family, called the Beit River. The abundant river water brings
Due to the prosperous agriculture, there are endless fields and farms as far as the eye can see. It produces good wheat, and the radishes are crisp and delicious. Together with wheat porridge, they have become the staple food of the locals. Wine and rose essential oil are also very famous and are expensive.
of goods.
There were 7 or 8 spearmen holding shields guarding the entrance of the manor, and a team leader carrying a sword led the guard. The guards looked nervous and looked at the black mountain forest to the north.
This morning, a messenger from afar reported that a terrifying rebel army broke through the defenses of the viscount's army, looted the estates of the two barons they passed by, killed several feudal knights, and was rushing towards the territory of Baron Bethe.