In the northern part of the Cannotti province of the Pompeii Empire, it was only the end of September, and it was already a scene of ice and snow.
The snow has accumulated thickly on the forest fields, and the mountains are even more frozen. The dazzling white color and the low-pressure clouds make the sky and the earth appear to be a hazy patchwork, making it look depressing and desolate.
On a dilapidated road full of large and small potholes, several knights covered in mud and snow galloped from south to north. They were passing an abandoned village that had long been deserted. Under the roadbed, dilapidated wooden houses,
Collapsed walls, abandoned boxes and clothes, and the bones of dead livestock retreated like flies.
Suddenly, there was a mournful hiss. A war horse fell to the ground due to exhaustion while running. The huge inertia caused it to roll several times in the mud. Fortunately, the knight on the horse reacted quickly and was airborne almost as soon as the horse stumbled.
He got up and escaped the disaster.
"Damn it!"
The fallen knight walked to the muddy horse and after checking it found that it had broken its leg. He could only curse and use his sword to end the horse's pain. He took off the saddle and baggage and placed them on another accompanying horse.
.
"Hurry up." The leading bearded knight lifted the hood of his cloak, revealing a somewhat anxious face, and said to the fallen knight, "We must rush to Red Earth Town within twelve prayer hours to investigate the situation. The general still has
Waiting for our return."
"Repay?" The fallen knight quickly worked on his job without looking back, "A pig can guess what's going on in Hongtu Town, why do we need to go and investigate? Let's go this time,
I’m just going to die. It’s death anyway, so what’s the rush?”
While they were talking, the other four knights also turned their horses and came back. Everyone looked at each other, their expressions a bit gloomy and ugly.
This is a scout team from the Pompeii Empire's Third Frontier Corps, which is being ordered to go to a place in the north called Red Earth Town to investigate the situation.
It has been more than three months since the demons invaded the Pompeii Empire.
When people in the southern part of the Redemption Continent only had impressions of the demons from the daily battle reports in the history books, the place was already in raging war and was devastated.
From the time they broke through the Holy City to the present, the demons have been unstoppable. During this process, the Pompeii Empire has not resisted. However, the troops invested in the early stage were only border troops and local guards in the northeast. They have taken on the enemy several times.
, suffered heavy casualties, and almost collapsed at the first touch.
Later, the empire's strategy changed. The main force of the military and the elite knights were all deployed to the west, guarding the roads leading to the capital Roman City and Vatican City, leaving only the south side open.
Everyone knows what the higher-ups are thinking. Because of this, the third legion of Pompeii's frontier army, which was originally stationed in the south, had already retreated in stride a month ago. Now the main force of the legion is already in the city of Moses in the southwest.
Only one knight brigade and two infantry battalions were left in the north.
These troops are naturally not left behind to resist the demons.
In fact, because the legion retreated south first, residents, nobles and a large number of local troops in many areas in the north did not withdraw.
The road resources here are already tight. Even if some trails around the mountain roads are included, there are only two or three roads from north to south. The largest commercial road can only carry four carriages side by side. In addition, the snow fell very early this year.
The muddy and slippery ground aggravated the congestion.
When thousands of refugees poured onto this road along the way, it became a disaster.
Even if the army has the privilege of passing, they can't go very far in one day. As for the refugees who are supporting the elderly and the young, they are even more pitiful. Not only can they walk slowly in the snow, but they also have to step down the roadbed from time to time to make way for the army. In addition, they lack clothes.
Without enough food, many old, weak, women and children would fall to the ground while walking and never get up again.
Coming all the way from south to north, this scout team saw countless frozen corpses and abandoned villages and castles.
After all, this is not a war between humans, this is a racial war.
The only purpose of both warring parties is to exterminate the other party.
Moreover, once it falls into the hands of the demons, no one knows what kind of torture they will suffer. And this unknown fear is even more terrifying than death itself.
Therefore, when the demonic troops pointed at their own town, everyone's only thought was to escape. To escape further away.
Under such circumstances, the legion naturally needs some remaining troops to help those "people in need".
Of course, with the virtue of the Pompeii Empire, these people who need help will naturally not be ordinary civilians. As far as the scouts know, there are about 600 people in need of help, all of whom are north of Red Earth Town.
The nobles and wealthy people in and around Petain City.
Although in the context of the entire empire, the local nobles of a medium-sized city are really nothing. However, the relationships between the major families in the empire are intricate, and it is inevitable that they are related to each other, and many of these nobles are affiliated with wealthy families. Therefore,
, their safety must be guaranteed.
And for the Third Army, this is also a big deal.
These nobles fled away from home, not only took all their belongings with them, but also scraped three feet of the territory before leaving. They collected every copper coin. In order to leave safely, they paid the legion a large sum of money. And if they could successfully reach the capital Roman City
If so, they will give you an extra amount.
However, now it seems that this business has gone unexpectedly. The nobles who were supposed to arrive in Moses City a long time ago are still missing. Together with the remaining troops, there are more than 3,000 living people in total, as if they were swallowed by a mysterious black hole.
Generally speaking, let alone people, there is no news at all.
The legion also released the letter falcon to try to make contact, but even the letter falcon disappeared.
Realizing the seriousness of the situation, the legion commander personally ordered a scout troop to be sent to the north for reconnaissance. There were a total of twelve scout troops, and this troop was the seventh of them.
To be honest, it was extremely unlucky to be selected among many scouts to carry out this mission. What made this team of scouts even more uneasy was that the six teams sent before did not return any news. Everyone knew that something was wrong.
, but they kept all this in their hearts along the way, until the fallen knight spoke it out at this moment.
The atmosphere was a little solemn for a while.
Starting from Moses City, the team has traveled almost thirty kilometers to the north. Another twenty kilometers further, there is a place called Wild Boar Slope, which is now the first peripheral defense line of the legion.
In other words, the area where the legion can guarantee safety now is just south of Yeboar Slope. As for what the situation is in the north and what dangers there are, no one knows. What's more, the place where this scout team is going is still far away.
Hongtu Town is at least 70 kilometers north of Yezhu Slope.
However, no matter how dangerous it is, there are military orders after all. Since they are selected, the tasks must be carried out. Otherwise, not to mention themselves, even their families will be implicated.
The Pompeii Empire punished such criminal soldiers very cruelly.
Those who disobey orders will be whipped, thieves will have their hands chopped off, and deserters will be executed. And lying about military information, a crime that may lead to more serious consequences, will directly implicate the entire family.
In addition to the execution of the main criminal himself, family members will also be sent to labor camps for hard labor. If you are more unlucky, it is not uncommon to be sent to brothels, gladiatorial arenas, or even animal cages.
"Actually, it's not that bad," the leading knight saw that something was wrong with his subordinates' mood. He immediately explained, "When the legion left, the demons were still two hundred kilometers away. Even if the nobles were three days late, they wouldn't be in trouble.
It fell into the hands of the demons. I guess they might..."
Before he finished speaking, suddenly, a shrill scream was heard not far away. Immediately, a gust of wind emerged from the ground and struck like an overwhelming mountain.
The scouts, both men and horses, could not stand in the fierce wind and staggered around.
What made their expressions change the most was that they discovered that as the strong wind appeared, a black mist like ink appeared in the forest not far away unknowingly.
Magic fog!
The scouts were frightened and pulled the reins to spin in circles.
Demonic mist is a non-toxic, but extremely rich black mist. It usually appears with the appearance of demonic armies.
Since the invasion of the Avalon continent, the demon army has often used this black mist to assist in combat. They are like a fish in water in the demonic mist, coming and going freely. Human beings are in it, although it is not said that they can't see their fingers, but their sight and mobility are also limited.
It must be severely restricted and cannot even display its strength to the fullest extent.
In addition to the battlefield, the demons also often use magic fog to conceal their whereabouts and control occupied areas. It can be said that this kind of black mist has become the symbol of the demons.
But, why does the magic mist appear here?
Just when the scouts were wondering, they suddenly heard the rapid sound of horse hoofbeats. A moment later, nearly a hundred knights rushed out from the forest at the corner of the road ahead.
These knights wore different costumes. Some were dressed as noble knights, some looked like mercenaries, and some wore the same uniforms of the Third Legion as the scouts. There were even a dozen of them, and they were clearly knights of the Holy See.
No one knows how these people got together, but now, all of them are in ragged clothes, scarred, with black and red streaks on their faces, covered with dust and blood.
As soon as they broke out of the grove, these knights beat their horses and ran wildly.
Their expressions looked frightened and ferocious. Before the scout knights could recover, one of the leading Holy See knights shouted at them: "Let's go! Let's go!"
As soon as the Holy See Knight finished speaking, there was a loud bang, and the scouts were shocked to see that the small forest behind them suddenly collapsed. The towering trees disappeared without a trace in an instant, as if they were struck by something.
It was as if things were devouring it, and the ground turned into a huge pit.
Also disappearing along with this forest were the four or five knights who were running at the end. The men and their horses disappeared completely like stones thrown into the water.
A chill shot up from the back to the scalp. The scouts didn't dare to delay for even a moment. They turned their horses' heads one after another and urged them desperately, trying to escape from this terrifying place.
And at this moment, another loud thunder-like sound was heard on the ground. Countless earth trees, various war horses, human bodies, and fragments of clothing and armor rose into the sky from the big pit. Immediately, a
Just a giant red insect like an earthworm emerged from the ground.
As soon as they saw this giant insect, the scouts' pupils shrank sharply.
At this time, they finally understood what happened.
"Sandworm!"
One of the scouts let out a shrill roar, and his whole face was deformed in great fear.
Sandworms and sand beasts are two terrible war beasts in the hands of the demons. These two creatures are not native to the continent of Avalon. They were brought from their original plane when the demons invaded.
, especially sandworms are the most terrifying.
Sandworms live underground and have the same appearance as earthworms, but are countless times larger. The adult body length can be up to two hundred meters and the diameter can be up to ten meters. They have a huge round mouth that can open to a diameter of more than thirty meters.
.There are five rings of extremely sharp teeth arranged in a ring in the mouth.
Whether it is rock or fine steel, as long as it is swallowed into the mouth, it will be crushed into pieces immediately.
Since the invasion of the demons, sandworms have been a nightmare for the human coalition. Driven by the demons, they can sneak from the underground to anywhere without anyone noticing. There are countless battles because of this.
This bug appeared at a critical moment and led to defeat.
Among the ten most dangerous demonic creatures rated by the human coalition, sandworms rank fifth. And if ranked in terms of the number of human casualties they cause, sandworms can rank first.
This shows how terrifying sandworms are.
Even though three hundred years have passed since the final battle, and most humans today have never seen sandworms, this horrific memory still exists in the vast history books and military books. Not to mention that we have to face the devil directly.
Even ordinary people can recognize the clan's scouts.
What frightened the scouts was not only the encounter with this legendary terrifying creature, but the most frightening thing was that the demons had already appeared here unknowingly.
You know, this is the rear of the Yezhu Slope defense line, twenty kilometers deep into the hinterland of the legion's defense area!
What's worse is that the strategy the legion has received is to keep a distance from the demons and then let go to the south. Therefore, from here to the south all the way to Moses City, except for a small number of patrols and a small number of soldiers stationed in a few small villages and towns,
, not even a decent line of defense.
Letting the demons rush into Moses City without any precautions...the consequences made the scouts shudder.
By this time, the answer to what happened in Red Earth Town was obvious, and there was no need for them to investigate anymore. Now, their remaining mission was to escape for their lives.
Only by living can you bring the news back.
Everything happened in the midst of stone fire and lightning, and these thoughts only flashed through the minds of the scouts. Turning their horses' heads, they did not hesitate to activate the twelve layers of fighting spirit and use it without reservation.
Enter it into the body of the war horse.
Amidst the wild neighing, the originally normal war horses had red eyes and their bodies doubled in size in an instant. Under the fur, the knotted muscles and winding blood vessels were clearly visible.
Following the urging of the scouts, the war horses shot out like arrows.
Because the incident happened suddenly and required time to turn around and start, the speed of the scouts was actually slower than those of the fleeing knights.
Almost as soon as they turned around and urged their horses, hundreds of knights passed by them.
"What happened?" The scouts were equipped with the best horses in the army, and soon they followed the large team. When the leading knight approached a knight wearing a ragged uniform of the Third Legion,
He quickly asked: "How did the demons get here? Where is Yezhu Slope?"
"Dead! All dead!" The knight's face was pale and his eyes were straight.
While holding the reins almost mechanically and galloping with the war horse, he subconsciously replied, "We were deceived by the demons. They are not as powerful as they appear. These sandworms suddenly appeared behind us. Petain City
The defenders had no time to retreat and were surrounded. Thirty thousand people died, including more than two hundred Holy See knights. Our Yezhu Slope defense line was destroyed overnight, and many people were killed by sandworms while they were sleeping.
have eaten."
In just a few words, the knight painted a miserable picture for the scouts.
The leading knight asked anxiously: "How many troops are there in the demon tribe and how many sandworms are there? Where did they come from? To the west, and to the Jilong Town in the northeast..."
"I don't know, these people all fled all the way from the north. Tens of thousands of people, only a few survived..." The knight only said this, and suddenly he sat down and his horse's front hooves softened and he fell down.
The speeding scouts only saw his body sink, and the next second, he was already far behind. Before he could make any reaction, the huge sandworm had already volleyed down from the sky and swallowed him up in one bite.
At the same time, the python-like body drilled into the ground as easily as drilling through tofu.
"Hurry up!"
The leading scout shouted and urged the horses to gallop. Soon, everyone rushed through the deserted village they passed through before. However, just as they ran along the road to a small hill at the entrance of the village, suddenly,
Everyone reined in their horses, their pupils shrank, and their faces were ashen.
It's not that they don't want to escape, it's that they can't escape anymore.
I saw a few thin figures slowly walking out of the woods not far away. They were not much taller than the dwarves. They had long arms dragging the ground and looked like monkeys. On their faces, they had a long
The mouth looks like a scorpion. Behind it, there is a scorpion tail.
Demons, Scorpion people!
Among the eight major races of the Demon Clan, the Scorpion Clan is the most insidious and vicious race.
Their population is small and their bodies are small and thin, but with their extremely fast speed, poisonous scorpion tails and hard skin, they still possess extremely strong combat effectiveness.
From egg-breaking to adulthood, ordinary scorpion tribesmen have to undergo a total of five molts. Each time they shed their shells, their strength will become stronger. And some scorpion tribesmen with outstanding talents can undergo up to nine molts. By this time
, their strength is enough to rival the top sanctuaries of mankind.
However, this is not the most terrifying thing about the Scorpion Tribe. The biggest reason why they are among the eight major races of the Demon Clan is because of the sandworms.
In the original plane of the demons, sandworms were just gentle creatures. They lived underground, feeding on soil and minerals, and rarely came to the surface, let alone launching attacks on other creatures.
However, when they were captured and tamed by the scorpion tribe, everything changed.
The scorpion venom of the Scorpion Tribe has a natural control and stimulating effect on sandworms. They capture the larvae and raise them from an early age. They inject scorpion venom and feed them special medicine every day, making the sandworms not only larger in shape than wild sandworms when they grow up.
Larger, more ferocious in character, and only listen to their impulses.
It can be said that scorpions and sandworms have a completely symbiotic relationship. Where there are scorpions, there are sandworms. Where there are sandworms, you will definitely see scorpions.
However, the insidiousness and cunning of the Scorpions means that they do not appear easily. Once they take the initiative, it usually means that the opponent has no way to escape.
Just like this moment, everyone saw in despair that those scorpion men were staring at themselves closely with their brown eyes that almost filled their entire eye sockets. And as they appeared, in the woods behind them, deserted
In the farmland, huge pits collapsed, and sandworms were emerging from the ground.
And further away, the soil is constantly rising.
These uplifted soils pulled out straight lines and flew towards the south. They were as fast as swordfish swimming under the water.
That's the track of the sandworm.
Countless threads are countless sandworms. And the direction they are heading towards is the defenseless city of Moses!
At this moment, there was deathly silence all around. There was only the restless neighing of war horses and the desperate gasps of people.
Finally, the extremely desperate knights drew their swords and took off their lances. Among them were several ashen-faced scouts. They knew that they had no chance to send the message back.
"kill!"
The leading scout knight rushed out first.
Then the second, the third... More than a hundred knights in ragged clothes and scarred, like a small group of ants, rose up to the upright sandworm, which was dozens of meters high, and launched the final charge.
"kill!"
This hoarse, desperate and crazy roar echoed in the dark sky and earth.
Then it gets weaker and weaker.
A few minutes later, the last sandworm bent its body and dived into the ground, leaving only a few large holes in the wilderness and the already empty village next to it.
After a while, black mist filled the air, and even this had disappeared... (To be continued.)