The Old World is celebrating the Winter Veil Festival, celebrating the passing of another year.
Humans temporarily forgot about the threats of greenskins, chaos, and the undead, and focused their attention wholeheartedly on the festival.
This is not only true for humans in the old world, but also for humans in the new world.
New World, Isthmus of Lustria, Pioneer Coast, Reaver Port.
The expeditionary force from Tilea has opened up a huge port town here. The port is mainly used as a fishing port. There are many people in the town, and many troops are patrolling the five- to six-meter-high city wall.
As far as the naked eye can see, the lush tropical rainforest covers the entire sight. Even though it is the Winter Veil Festival, the average temperature here is still about 18 degrees, and it can reach over 30 degrees in summer, all year round.
The high temperature and rain made the Tyrell expeditionary force very uncomfortable.
They have been here for ten months. They have established a relatively strong colonial stronghold and ensured that they can be self-sufficient through hunting, fishing and farming. Many young soldiers can't wait to enter the forest to find the legendary ancient saint.
Endless treasures left behind.
The Tyrell Expeditionary Force consisted of dozens of large sailing ships, a total of five legions, and about 12,000 people. It spent several months traveling across the oceans and fighting with Dark Elf pirates, Tomb King pirates, vampire pirates and nature (referring to
After many battles (Storm at Sea), there were less than 8,000 people left when they landed on the pioneer coast, about 6,000 soldiers and more than 1,000 accompanying troops, including more than 800 women.
As soon as they landed on the pioneer coast of Lustria, these greedy and cunning mercenaries and levies mutinied. The armies attacked each other, snatched supplies, and brutally killed their compatriots. Their curiosity about the new world quickly grew.
Replaced by the fear of being far away from the civilized world, after several attempts to explore the forest failed to return, the remaining soldiers began to be full of fear of the forest, and the expeditionary force fell into divisions and panic all day long.
The expeditionary force soon found themselves surrounded by enemies on all sides. Northeast of their landing point, there was a barbarian tribe that believed in chaos, called Skogi. The cruel Norscan tribe settled here for unknown reasons.
The expeditionary force is eager to use these expeditionary forces to perform a sumptuous sacrificial ceremony for the dark gods.
To the northwest lies the unfathomable tropical rainforest, where all explorers will never return.
To the southeast, the green-skin tribe is moving around.
On the coastline, vampire pirates frequently attacked and plundered this expeditionary force.
After two consecutive battles, the expeditionary force's morale became very low, and it faced a shortage of supplies, and gradually fell to the brink of collapse.
At this moment, a tall human who was as handsome as the standard handsome man in myths and legends appeared in front of the soldiers of the expeditionary force. His long silver hair was smooth and beautiful without any split ends. When the expeditionary force was approaching collapse,
, this handsome man called on everyone to unite and obey his command.
His name is Fulgen.
The speech delivered by a man named Fulgrim was ridiculed by many people. Some veterans sneered and said that if you look like this, you should go sell your butt in a high-end club in Tyrell, instead of staying here to go on an expedition, a sissy with thin skin and tender flesh.
You shouldn't be here at all, go back to your mother's bed and nurse.
The handsome man named Fulgrim was neither angry nor fussy after hearing this. He just used his flawless performance to silence everyone in the expeditionary force. When a Chaos Champion of the Skogi tribe led a large group of barbarian soldiers to attack the expeditionary force.
At the camp, Fulgrim held the military flag high and killed the Chaos Champion with one sword stroke, ensuring that no barbarian successfully retreated.
On the battlefield, this handsome man's performance as if he were a god descending from heaven impressed all the soldiers who wanted to achieve something in the entire expeditionary force. No matter how dangerous the battle situation was, no matter how ferocious the barbarian attack was, Fulgan always stood at the forefront of the army holding the military flag high.
In front, this man's silver hair is flying freely on the bloody battlefield. With every blow of the long sword in his hand, he drinks the blood of several barbarian predators. His elegant posture
Even in the middle of the bloodiest battlefield, he was spotless. His eyes contained his extreme self-confidence and pride. No barbarian could block his sword. In Fulgrim's bloody battle and the urging of his eyes, due to fear and internal strife, his fighting power
The soldiers of the expeditionary force, who were low and constantly defeated, felt a shame that penetrated deep into their souls. It seemed that abandoning this person and fleeing would be a stain that could not be washed away in their lifetime.
The forgotten sense of glory and mission finally ignited in the hearts of the soldiers of the expeditionary force again. The soldiers released the roar in their hearts, turned around and strode back to the battlefield, even though the battle line often collapsed because the quality of human soldiers was far inferior to that of the barbarians.
However, under the command of Fulgrim, they regrouped under the military banner again and again, and finally completely defeated the attacking barbarians.
Not a single barbarian escaped, and the chaotic bastards paid the price with blood. When all the soldiers of the expeditionary army shouted victory on the messy battlefield, they felt that they had been reborn, a fresh feeling that life had begun from now on.
It lingers in the hearts of all soldiers, and their souls seem to be purified.
The day after the war ended, the soldiers launched a rebellion and killed three mercenary captains and several of their cronies who were unwilling to obey Fulgrim's command. Thousands of people were outside Fulgrim's tent.
They chanted Fulgrim's name together and asked him to be their leader.
Fulgrim readily agreed. He organized the remaining five thousand people into a legion and named it the "Legion of Ashes". He became the legion commander. The only mercenary legion leader who was willing to surrender was named Fernand Pirazzo.
, this legendary strongman was experienced, ferocious, and extremely experienced in combat. Fulgen appointed him as the deputy commander of the army.
Since then, the Ash Legion has taken root on the pioneer coast. The flag of the Kingdom of Tyrell was torn into pieces by the soldiers and thrown to the ground. It was replaced by the image of a flaming eagle's claws. This is the new legion flag of the Ash Legion.
The new legion commander Fulgen was not in a hurry to march into the forest at the first time. Fulgan quietly said that with the current strength of the expeditionary force, even ten times the number would be enough to deliver rations to those mysterious ancient races in the forest. He
Everyone in the expeditionary force is required to gather and receive new training, cultivate farmland, raise livestock, build fishing boats for fishing, and first build the expeditionary force's camp into a town until they can ensure self-sufficiency and produce some simple weapons.
After several months, the soldiers of the Ash Legion received a completely different kind of training from before. Everyone became proficient in using swords, shields, spears and crossbows, learned to form a tight formation, and was unwilling to obey.
Soldiers, ruffians and scoundrels were all
After screening, severe punishment, education, and exile, the remaining five thousand troops began to possess strong combat effectiveness. When the green-skin tribes from the south came to harass, the legion even defeated this group of wild orcs at the cost of only a dozen injuries.
Kid Raider.
At night, the hot weather finally cooled down, and waves of salty sea breeze blew across the coast of Lustria. The experienced mercenary leader Pirazzo ended his day's patrol, and the bright moonlight fell on the ground of the pioneer coast.
, Pirazzo is already in his forties this year. The legendary high-level strength ensures that he looks young enough. The scars on his face show that this mercenary leader has experienced a lot of wars.
Pirazzo is the only one among the five mercenary group leaders who is not a mercenary noble of the Kingdom of Tilea. He is just a mercenary leader employed by Prince Milagliano "Besieger" Borgil.
After seeing Fulgen's indescribable strength and charisma, Pirazzo did not refuse to surrender like the other three mercenary captains (and one died in the ocean voyage). He immediately surrendered to Fulgen without much hesitation.
Fulgrim's allegiance.
Pirazzo never thought that he would kneel down in front of an unknown handsome man so seriously and willingly become his subordinate and fight for him.
Whenever he thinks of this, Pirazzo always smiles self-deprecatingly, and then shakes his head repeatedly, trying to throw all the stupid things he has done in the past out of his mind.
A sense of honor, a sense of responsibility, a sense of mission and even conscience, these things had long been thrown away by the fierce mercenary leader. They were thrown far away. It was Fugen who made him understand that although these things were thrown away by Pirazzo, they were still there.
If it remains in the world, it can still be picked up.
Inspired by Fulgrim, the mercenary leader picked up these things and put them back in his chest. He proudly became Fulgrim's deputy, helping him manage the territory and train the army. He became his most loyal
For Pirazzo, the appearance of Fulgrim made him understand the meaning of his life, which is to fight for Fulgrim.
The mercenary leader's leather boots stepped on the beach. These crocodile leather boots that he had carefully crafted in the past were Pirazzo's pride. After more than a year at sea, they had become tattered, but he still liked to wear these boots.
The Ashes Army has just arrived here a few months ago, and supplies are always tight.
"Sand~sand~" The sand on the beach was very soft. Pirazzo returned to the town along a path. The wooden door was half open. There were many soldiers holding crossbows on the city wall. He saw Pirazzo leading a small team.
The patrol came back and the soldiers let them in.
Most of the low wooden houses in the town were newly built after the trees were cut down. Smoke was rising from the chimneys of many wooden houses. Pirazzo smiled when he saw this: "Soldiers, you have worked hard today. Go back and have a good sleep."
Take a nap."
"Yes, deputy commander." The soldiers stood up and saluted.
The layout of the town was planned by the legion commander himself. He led the expeditionary force... It can no longer be called an expeditionary force. Ever since Fulgrim appeared and led the soldiers to unite, the soldiers had long forgotten about the Kingdom of Tilea.
Everyone firmly believes that only by following the command of the legion commander can they have an extremely bright future.
The two-story wooden house in the center of the town is the largest house in the entire town. This house is carefully designed to be airy and full of elegant art. Fulgen lives here.
The sound of some lutes could be heard faintly in the house, making the cool winter night feel more comfortable. The sound of the lutes was graceful and graceful, revealing the infinite recollection of past glory and a new kind of power.
Pirazzo knocked on the door: "Legion Commander? I am Pirazzo. I have something to discuss with you."
"Fernando? Please come in."
"Gulu." The door was pushed open.
A handsome man who is almost too handsome to be human is sitting in the middle of the room. The firewood pile on the ground is still burning. There is a large iron pot on the fire, which is boiling milky white fish soup. Fulgen, the leader of the Ash Legion
Sitting behind the iron pot, he held a lute, plucked the strings, and sang. A golden double-headed eagle pattern appeared on the wall behind the hall, as if golden wings were spread behind Fokgen himself.
.
So sacred, so majestic, even every time he saw it, Pirazzo had the urge to worship the person in front of him. Pirazzo, who had been wallowing among the dead for twenty years, felt this way, the mercenary leader thought to himself
No wonder the soldiers worshiped their leader so much.
Seeing Pirazzo come in, Forgan continued to play the instrument gracefully. It took him more than ten seconds to bring this beautiful nocturne to a successful conclusion, and then he put the lute next to him: "My
Deputy Commander, have you had dinner?"
"not yet."
"Then let's eat together." Fulgen smiled slightly, which flattered the mercenary leader. The legion commander always had a half-smile expression on his face. No one knew what he was thinking: "Okay."
He took the earthenware bowl from the table next to him, and each of them filled a bowl. The fish soup made of plump Longli fish and abalone was very nutritious. Fugen, who was very tall, filled a bowl with a big spoon, and then changed it.
He eats with a small spoon. Even in such a wilderness, far away from civilization, he still maintains aristocratic elegance and impeccability.
Pirazzo looked at the golden double-headed eagle pattern on the wall behind him, and then at Fulgen, thinking that the person in front of him must be some noble noble of the empire, and it must be a noble noble above the duke level. He must be unwilling to accept it.
Being manipulated by his family, he went out on an expedition incognito, hoping to start a career of his own.
It must be.
"What does my deputy commander want from me?" After taking a few bites, Fulgen put down the bowl and spoon, and his long silver hair fell smoothly from his ears.
"Legion Commander, I think we can enter the forest to explore." Pirazzo whispered: "The soldiers' training has been very effective, and the time has come."
"Does my deputy commander think the time has come?" Fulgrim was still smiling.
"Yes..." For some reason, Pirazzo felt very unconfident, especially in front of Forgan. In order to cover up his lack of confidence, Pirazzo emphasized: "I think the combat effectiveness of the army is sufficient."
"Have you ever had any contact with the primitive races in the forest?" Fulgrim asked.
"No, the first person who came into contact with these primitive races was a famous navigator named Leonardo. When he came to explore Lustria, he saw this race that we have become lizard people, and they were fighting against each other.
The army of the dark elves fought, and that was the first time it was confirmed that there was indeed an ancient race in the forest." Pirazzo explained: "There is a lot of gold and treasures in the forest, and Leonardo took advantage of the lizard.
When humans and dark elves were at war, they sneaked into one of their ruins and stole a wooden box of wealth. After returning to Tyrell, the explorer showed off his harvest to everyone, which made the kingdom determined to form
Expeditionary force, but there was no news after the expeditionary force went there several times, and only a few lucky ones came back with a fortune. Just like this, a hundred or two hundred years have passed, and we are already the fifth batch of expeditionary force."
"Well...I see, then why do you think that our combat power is enough to fight these ancient races?" Fulgan just asked without answering: "Our most important task is to develop colonies here."
"But we need an excuse to unite and unite the morale of the army. We need to have a goal. The soldiers all think that the forest is full of gold. They need gold, and so do we. We need a large sum of money to return home in glory and call for more
People are coming to the New World, and we need backup. An army of five thousand people can't do much in this crisis-ridden place." Pirazzo advised: "Colonization is important, and more importantly, wealth."
"That's it." Fulgan kept smiling: "In that case, let the soldiers prepare to set off once the Winter Veil Festival is over."
"Yes!" Pirazzo knew that Fulgen had agreed to this plan. The mercenary leader breathed a sigh of relief and asked what he had always doubted: "Legion Commander, are you... a descendant of a great noble of the empire?"