The Survival Rules of NPCs

Chapter 136 The Worst-Case Scenario...

"Commander, are we rushing too much?"

Deep in the southern border of the grasslands, the Silver Fox Legion, having traveled through the night, was covered in frost. The knights were all bluish-white from the cold, and even the Silver Foxes, who possessed cold resistance, looked listless after traveling for two days straight.

Both deputy commanders looked at their commander.

The commander was Bill Douglas, one of the ten legion commanders. Although he still held the title of Earl, his military achievements had reached the level of Marquis. He was waiting for the opportunity to be ranked. Everyone knew that once you reached the Marquis level, your fiefdom was the most important thing.

With Bill's military achievements, he deserves some of the best land in the Beth Empire, but those lands are already owned. To acquire them, the Duke would have to step in and eliminate those nobles who are not qualified to continue inheriting the good lands.

Once he acquires a fief, Bill will lead his family to the new territory and live a true aristocratic life.

But now, just as the fiefdom was about to be finalized, news of a tense situation at the front arrived. Among the truly anxious nobles, Bill was one of them.

Bill's family's current fiefdom is located upstream of the river, and the family castle occupies nine prime plots of land in the lush grasslands. The family is enormous, with hundreds of thousands of herders under their control. If the fiefdom had gone smoothly, they could have planned to relocate at the beginning of the year.

The reputation of the Silver Fox Knights commander had already made him a hero within the Bill family, which motivated him to risk his life for the Duke.

Just a few months ago, the family sent several private messengers, saying that the situation at the Daws border was urgent and that family members, including them, should be aware of the danger.

The family's warriors had already suffered heavy casualties at the pass, which made him extremely anxious.

Now that the Duke has finally relented and allowed them to return to support the Daus Pass, he is naturally extremely anxious.

1

1.1

Ln

The deputy commander under his command was naturally aware of this mentality, but no matter what, traveling for two consecutive nights was too strenuous. Although the Silver Fox was a mount with excellent endurance, it could not be used as an ordinary warhorse. Such high-intensity travel could damage its foundation, and it would be very difficult to recover.

Moreover, this state of mind would be very dangerous if the situation became urgent on the other side and the soldiers had not had time to rest.

"I know... you all think I went too far this time." Bill sighed and shook his head. "I just... have a bad feeling about it."

"A bad feeling?" The two deputy commanders frowned.

"Last month, every four or five days, servants from my family would come to report on the battle situation on the border of Daos. As you know, my family has a large number of personal guards serving on the border. Originally, according to the rotation system, the maximum number of warriors serving in my family this year was six thousand..."

The group nodded. The border of Daws was staffed by people sent by the various noble families of the South in rotation. In addition to the warriors trained by the families, there were also family members who served as generals in the army to maintain the stability of the border. Since the nobles enjoyed the resources, they naturally had to pay some price.

The same applies to their families.

"The intelligence brought by the people sent by the family in the last two days of last month was already shocking to me: the Southern Witch Alliance was attacking."

The intensity is very high. The clan has gradually reinforced its ranks with four to five thousand warriors, including many of its direct descendants. However, since the beginning of the month, no one has been sending me any more intelligence.

"This..." The two deputy commanders looked at each other. They had not received any information from their families, but it did sound bad.

"Either the situation has become so serious that the family has no time to send me intelligence, or the Duke has had his people intercept the family's intelligence."

"Why did Your Grace do this?" one of the vice-commanders asked, frowning.

"If a crisis breaks out at the front, it will only cause unrest among the soldiers on the outskirts of the forest. Concealing the news is to maintain morale, but I don't know the extent of the crisis, and I'm very worried... I believe you must also be worried about my family's situation?"

Seeing Bill's open and honest communication, the deputy commander also put aside his reserve and nodded.

They were also worried that if the situation at the front became critical, in order to ensure the stability of the pass, the higher-ups would only keep drawing more warriors from various families, and even some family members who should have been rotated out would be called up to fight.

Given the Duke's determination to conquer the forest, he would never send troops to reinforce the front lines if it were just a minor issue. Since he couldn't withstand the pressure and sent troops back, then I'm afraid... the front lines have reached the point of conscription.

"I remember your family, the Alger family, they live around here, right?"

Upon hearing this, the other party nodded: "To the southwest, at the middle of the river, if we go there now, it will take about two hours at high speed."

Around 10:00 AM.

He was excited, though. He had long wanted to go back and see what was going on with his family. In fact, news of the tense situation at the front had already spread in the Duke's army. Many people were worried about their families. His worst-case scenario was that more than half of his family's warriors had been conscripted, and most of his family's members had probably died or been injured. Even his father, who hadn't written to him for a month, might have been drafted to the front.

After all, as an experienced old count, although he has retired, he is still a genuine high-level superhuman warrior.

"Everyone, set up camp here and rest for six hours. You will set off immediately to your family's location to scout out the situation at the front."

"This..." The man was stunned. Although he really wanted to go back and see his family, the situation at the front was tense, and if he were discovered visiting them halfway through his journey...

"Nothing will happen. The troops need a rest. The legion is full of brothers, and everyone is worried about their families. If you can bring some good news, it will actually stabilize morale."

"Alright..." The other party did not refuse upon hearing this, and immediately got up and mounted his huge silver fox: "Then I'll set off now, and if nothing unexpected happens, I should be back in four hours."

"Take care on your journey."

The other party nodded, turned around, and the silver fox, with nimble steps, carried them away, disappearing into the distance as a black dot in just a few breaths.

Office.

"Commander... is the situation at the front really that bad?" Another young deputy commander immediately looked worried.

"I even have the worst-case scenario in mind..." The leader looked into the distance with a serious expression. Although it was winter and the cattle and sheep of the grassland had been brought back to the vicinity of the castle, it would be an exaggeration to say that there was no trace of them. On the snow-covered grassland, as far as the eye could see, there were always some small tribes taking advantage of this time to let their cattle and sheep fatten up a bit.

A look of horror flashed across the deputy commander's eyes. What could be the worst-case scenario? Could Daos really have fallen?

If that's the case, and there's absolutely no disturbance, and the Duke hasn't received any news at all, that's too exaggerated, isn't it? Almost every noble family in the Southern Territory has trained skilled war eagles; it's impossible that they couldn't send any information back.

Probably not...

Bill patted his cheeks. The fall of Daws was something the Empire hadn't seen in centuries. If it really happened, it wouldn't be silent. Even the Duke, knowing the situation, wouldn't be able to stay calm and would only send two legions.

I'm probably overthinking it.

"call.

'

At this moment, the vice-commander, riding at high speed, arrived at his destination in less than an hour due to the high level of his mount.

edge.

As he walked along the road, half of his anxiety subsided.

The family chose a good location; even in winter, there was still plenty of grass under the snow and ice. Cattle and sheep were grazing in the snow, searching for grass roots. The herders were very hardworking, even in the dead of winter, and it was already evening when they had not yet driven the cattle and sheep back to their homes.

Outside the castle, the densely packed tents and lights suggested a thriving tribal community.

This put him at ease. Although his family's location was lush with water and grass, it was too close to the front line. Often, the family's cattle and sheep would be temporarily requisitioned when the front line was in dire need. Of course, they would be paid afterwards, but the trade in dairy products and wool would often miss the golden hours.

I originally thought that with the situation at the front being critical, my family's cattle and sheep might have been completely confiscated, but now it seems that at least most of them are still here.

In this situation, the situation at the front should not be as dire as some people think.

The local nobles kept sending messages back to their younger generations, putting pressure on the Duke. This was probably because a large number of elite troops had been transferred, and the border nobles felt insecure. This pressure was what kept them trying to force the Duke to recall the troops.

In this light, the young officers who couldn't contain themselves and tried to persuade the Duke died somewhat unjustly; it can only be said that the local nobles were too ignorant.

When I get back, I must warn my family that the Duke is determined to get what's in the forest.

If the Duke discovers that the situation at the front is not as tense as it seems, and that you are exaggerating the situation to bring back your elite troops, many families may suffer as a result.

Thinking of this, he quickened his pace, and his mount sped up, passing through the gate of the family fortress with ease, like a streak of light.

Upon seeing the vice commander returning on a silver fox at the entrance, they immediately bowed and saluted, and no one stopped them.

The deputy commander ignored him, anxiously warning his family that he had no time to deal with the gatekeeper.

But he didn't notice that the soldiers who bowed their heads in salute had completely black pupils!

He didn't notice that, as night fell, the eyes of the cattle and sheep on the grassland were also like those of demons, pure black with no white in them...

>