Mount and Blade System: Start from Pioneer Lords.

Chapter 240 Damon's Whereabouts

It is a consensus among everyone in Derby that this year's winter is too long and too cold.

It was only in August and September that heavy snow fell, and it has continued until now, almost May. After nearly half a year, there are only a few signs of the snow melting in the southern border.

And in the North, it's probably still as cold as winter at this moment.

This war to the south was simply to regain the title, so there was no need to completely occupy the surrounding towns, only to ensure that there were no obstacles on the road to Cologne.

Currently, there is only a city called Blackstone Castle on the road to Cologne. As long as they capture it, they can reach Cologne directly.

However, up to now in this war, there is still no sign of the main army led by Daemon, which strangely makes a lot of nobles in the North restless, fearing that the other side will have some unconventional tactics.

The Lord studied the map day and night. When he saw the sea area east of Debe, he slapped his thigh and a horrifying idea popped up in his mind: "Damn, could Damon have sailed north across the Hurricane Sea from White Harbor?!"

Derby is a coastal country with its eastern border all along the coast. Naturally, there is also a huge port in the south - White Harbor. This port can accommodate up to hundreds of merchant ships every day, and its trade routes face many countries. It can be said that it has made an indispensable contribution to the wealth of the south.

Damon's main army has not been seen until now, so the lord is wondering whether this veteran of the battlefield is going to implement a disgusting tactic of changing homes.

By then, even if Colen was conquered by them, Bailiu City with only a few thousand guards would probably not be able to withstand Damon's attack, and both sides would then be caught in an awkward situation.

Count Montvit, who was standing by, originally thought that the Lion Hunting Knight had discovered something extraordinary, but after hearing these words, he was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

"Levi, you have a really rich imagination."

"You might as well guess why the sea area managed by us, Debe, is called the Hurricane Sea."

Without waiting for Levi to reply, Meng Wei pointed to the vast sea area on the map and said seriously, "Because from January to March, a violent hurricane will suddenly appear in this sea area, with a force that can even overturn a ship with thousands of people on board. Even the most experienced captains dare not go out to sea during this period."

"All ships could only dock at the port. Sailors squandered their earnings in brothels. The captain, who was losing money every day, kept sighing in his mistress's house and praying to God that the hurricane would pass as soon as possible, otherwise his dozens of mistresses might leave him because of his bankruptcy."

"We strongly condemn these captains!" Li Wei spoke righteously, but his face was filled with envy and drooling.

"That's not the point!" Mengweit was a little helpless. The Lion Hunter Knight was a little too jumpy at times. But thinking about his age, he understood a little. After all, the stronger the man's physique, the higher his desire in that aspect: "Levi, I suggest you find some women to vent your terrible energy."

"Ahem." At this moment, the lord kept winking and reminding someone.

"Otherwise, it may not be a good thing for you to keep it in at your age. You are not those monks." Unfortunately, Mengweit continued to talk to himself.

"Lord Montwit, what are you discussing?"

I don't know when Leah, who had entered the tent, finally spoke, with a smile on her face as if she really didn't hear what was said just now.

"Haha, nothing, just passing on some experience to the younger generation, experience." Mengweit was a little embarrassed, then slapped his head, as if he remembered something, and continued: "So Levi, unless Damon dares to risk the ship being overturned by the hurricane, he will never go north by sea. Not to mention that even if those captains are killed, they will not be able to go out to sea. No one knows the dangers of the sea better than them!"

"It seems that Aunt Florina chose to send troops during this period, and she may have thought of this aspect." Leah added thoughtfully.

"So what on earth is Damon doing?" Levi tried to get some information from Montwitt, the "local".

"When the usurper came to power, we nobles who once supported Miss Leah were ostracized by him and didn't get any news at all." Mengweit said helplessly: "To be honest, if we lose this war, Wolf Island will probably have to find a new owner."

Settlement is something that every person in a high position will do, and Levi is not surprised by this.

Damon's whereabouts have become a mystery in this tense situation, when the birds responsible for gathering intelligence are unable to deliver messages.

Although the snow in the south has begun to melt, the howling cold wind still hurts my face.

Cross stood on the wall of Blackstone Castle, gazing at the vast plateau outside the city. As the snow melted, the black earth was exposed.

The warm black robe on his body could not even bring him a little warmth at this moment, and his heart was as cold as the disappearing snow.

Because he knew that the melting snow would bring not only warmth, but also the Northern Army that was gathering heavily to prepare for the siege.

Behind him, a dozen nobles were looking outside the city with worried expressions.

Cross is a marquis and a staunch Daemonist. His belief is that the Lord of the South can only be a member of the pure-blooded Iseli family.

Originally, he supported Damon, the old Duke's younger brother, as the successor, especially after the death of the old Duke's only son.

But later on, it was actually inherited by Penny, the son of the old duke's second daughter.

However, after obtaining more in-depth intelligence, he clearly knew that the young duke actually had the blood of two Iselis in his body, so he felt relieved.

Because among the younger generation, no one has purer blood than him, and no one is more suitable to sit in this position!

"Hasn't there been any news from Damon yet?"

Cross spoke, his voice was calm, but anyone who knew the Marquis knew that his anger had reached its peak at this moment.

"My Lord, you have no choice but to hold on! Hold on!"

Although Cross's voice was respectful, everyone could hear the ulterior motive in it: "I really don't know what our Marshal Damon is thinking. They are just a group of civilians. If they die, they die. As long as we deal with these northerners first, we can come back and deal with them later. It's not impossible."

Most of the nobles in the south were dissatisfied with Damon's behavior during this war.

Ever since the North made it clear that it was going to march south to so-called take back everything that belonged to Miss Leah, they have been actively preparing for war, recruiting militia for training, and the blacksmith shops are brightly lit day and night to forge weapons and armor.

Therefore, an army of nearly 200,000 was assembled. As an outpost, Blackrock Fort received a large amount of logistical and soldier assistance. The main army was stationed here, and it also radiated to the surrounding towns.

An army of two hundred thousand, a dozen priests from the church, and Damon's Warcraft Cavalry Regiment are more than enough to fight not only a small battle, but even a large-scale national war.

At that time, they all had one expectation in their hearts, which was to teach these Northern idiots a lesson and let them know who is the most powerful person in Debe.

But a few months ago, bad news came from the Watch Mountains in the south. Due to the long absence of Damon, the commander of the border guards, the lizardmen in the mountains escaped again. They even united with other orc races, claiming to have 200,000 people, and jointly launched an attack on the Bone Fortress. In just three days, the Bone Fortress was in danger. Countless crows flew to Koren one after another, as if to show the urgency of the situation.

The letter was then forwarded from Cologne to Blackstone Castle.

When the North began to gather troops to march south, the army that had already been stationed in Blackrock Fort with high morale was directly disbanded by Daemon who read the letter and acted on his own, and took most of them south to stop the group of Lizardmen.

This behavior made other nobles angrily denounce the other side for being so absurd. This war clearly concerned their own power and even life, but when the Northern Army was already heading south, they chose to stop that group of lizardmen.

In the eyes of most nobles, even if the Lizardmen captured the Bone Fortress, they would only plunder some villages and towns and at most kill some civilians. This was not as important as the title war that would determine whether they would be liquidated.

Until now, there has been no news from the other party.

"At least Damon left us half of the magicians, right?" Cross laughed at himself.

As a military marquis who was over fifty years old, he had experienced many battles and was very experienced, but at this moment he still had to consider an almost unsolvable problem.

That is how to use 30,000 soldiers, 20,000 conscripted militia and seven or eight spellcasters to fight against the enemy's 200,000 troops and magicians who are several times more than their own.

He once thought about retreating to Cologne, where the city walls were more majestic and the defenses were more outstanding, but that would mean that they would no longer have any strategic depth and would have no choice but to take a gamble.

So although holding on to Blackrock Castle is not the best solution, it is the only option at the moment.

Some time ago, he chose to send three spellcasters to support the town of Kalia in order to disrupt the enemy's vision. He also strictly prohibited the news of Damon's southward movement from being known to the enemy, so as to know that the defense force in the south was now empty.

"Although our marshal did something stupid, we can't accuse him of doing anything wrong." Cross said calmly, "At least he showed the spirit of chivalry."

If he were to consider it necessary to make some trade-offs in order to win the war from the perspective of a commander-in-chief, he would not hesitate to give up the civilians on the border in order to choose victory in the battle for the title.

But if he were to consider himself as a marquis and a noble, he would certainly not allow the orcs to invade his territory and massacre the civilians in his fiefdom.

"Yes, sir." The noble who had just responded felt a little ashamed, but it was fleeting.

"What we have to do next is to hold on to Blackstone Castle." At this point, the gray-haired old man Cross smiled and said, "I hope that before I die, I can get support from my former disciple."

"You will definitely be able to lead us to hold on."

The nobles behind him all showed hopeful eyes.

This old marquis is the only marquis in the southern territory, and he has countless legendary stories.

When he was young, he was just a baron heir and graduated from the military academy of the royal court.

However, after graduation, he did not choose to inherit his father's title, but chose to join Damon's father's army, and could even be regarded as Damon's military teacher.

The most famous battle was when he defeated nearly 10,000 Lizardman rebels with only 800 soldiers.

They even captured a legion commander of the Holy Sith Kingdom alive in a conflict, which put an end to the war that was about to begin.

It is not an exaggeration to say that if the other side had not refused the war by claiming to be too old, the position of marshal would definitely have belonged to this marquis.

His current status is entirely due to these countless military achievements.

Although those Lizardmen were not as elite as the Northern Army, their numbers were not more than ten times as many as the Lizardmen, but only less than five times. They also occupied the city defense side, and their main general was the militarily skilled Earl Cross.

In the eyes of these nobles, there is still a chance to defend Blackstone Castle.

"Let's go. It won't take long for the enemy to attack the city. We can still spend some time in peace." Marquis Cross turned and left, revealing his fine plate armor and sword from his black robe.
"How to counter the opponent's spellcaster is a difficult problem. We need to think about it carefully."

……

Outside Blackstone Castle, a dozen black dots stood on high ground and looked at the city in front of them.

Levi stood on Beifeng's head, holding a telescope in his hand, observing the city wall opposite.

Although Blackstone Castle is not as strong as Cologne and White River Castle, its black walls that are nearly thirteen blades high can definitely be called a strong city.

"Brother-in-law, do you think we can take down this city?"

Mir looked at the tall walls of Blackstone Castle with a worried look on his face.

As a "countryside militia" roaming in the wilderness, Gaoya Fort had only fought field battles and had only seen city walls a few times. Now, attacking the city was like a young girl getting into a bridal sedan, and it was the first time for them to do so.

"With so many of us, we can take it down even if we sacrifice our lives, not to mention that those ice and snow priests are not pushovers."

Levi replied casually, staring at a team on the enemy's city wall through a telescope.

They were several clergymen from the Church of Mother Earth, and the lord even saw a few old acquaintances among them.

It was the three spellcasters who were in the town of Kalia. Unexpectedly, they escaped here.

They were obviously praying for the soldiers and encouraging them. After all, they had a spellcaster on their side. Even if they did nothing, just standing there could boost the morale of the soldiers.

"The military manual says that if you have ten times the enemy's force, you can besiege a city, and if you have five times the force, you can attack a city. Our force is roughly five times the force."

The Lord added another sentence.

Since the priests of the Ice and Snow Church used magic snowbirds to fly over Blackrock Castle for reconnaissance every day, it was no longer a secret to them how many defenders there were in the city.

(End of this chapter)