Wizards begin by accessing the Inspiration panel.

Chapter 144 Precarious Situation

After Daenerys and Vincent rode their griffins back quickly to Earl Harris's castle in Rossby, the first thing Daenerys did was go to the Earl's study and write several letters.

Since a wizard's communication mark can only be used within a certain range, this range generally does not exceed a large city, that is, within a radius of a hundred miles.

Therefore, Daenerys was powerless to contact Hydrassil Academy across continents, let alone directly to the capital or the nearest necromancer academy, the Ignis School.

For communication via a communication mark to occur, two conditions are necessary: ​​first, the distance must be within a certain range, and there must be no powerful objects interfering in between; second, both parties must have each other's communication mark runes, otherwise, communication will not be possible.

Therefore, under the current circumstances, Daenerys has no choice but to resort to this ancient method of communication.

After Daenerys finished writing the two letters, she covered them with red clay and performed a magic trick.

The Earl's butler, who had been waiting nearby, saw that Daenerys had already written the letters, respectfully accepted the two letters, and immediately arranged for two peregrine falcons to deliver them.

The peregrine falcon is a small bird of prey with extremely fast flight speed. Although it is not a large bird of prey or an extraordinary species, it excels in its extremely fast flight speed and agile maneuvering in the air.

Moreover, as a carnivorous bird, it is not as easily captured by predators as other common birds, thus preventing the loss of mail.

However, because they prefer to eat fresh meat, keeping peregrine falcons is quite expensive, and ordinary knight families can hardly afford it. Only high-ranking noble families or wealthy merchant families keep them.

As Daenerys watched the peregrine falcon streak across the sky like a gray streak, she began to plan her second task.

She ordered Earl Harris to immediately recall all the wizarding apprentices and witchers he had sent out, and called upon all wizards and wizarding apprentices in Rossby County to assemble in the county town.

Judging from the signs she and Vincent discovered, the wizard apprentices and witchers who came to support Tulip Town should have been killed in action, and their corpses became nourishment for the enemy, being carried back into the deep rift.

Although it's unknown what the monsters do with the human corpses they bring back, it's unlikely to be anything good. The corpses of wizard apprentices are obviously more valuable than those of ordinary people, and would be more useful to the mastermind behind it all.

Therefore, in Daenerys's view, failing to urgently recall wizard apprentices and witchers would be tantamount to aiding the enemy.

Moreover, judging from Goldshire, the wizard apprentices who went to provide support have most likely been wiped out as well.

Therefore, since Daenerys already knew that the enemy's strength had definitely reached the level of a formal wizard, sending out wizard apprentices and witchers to provide support in a scattered manner would be a foolish, piecemeal tactic, and the enemy might be more than happy to do so.

In Daenerys' view, only by concentrating all the elite forces of Rossby County, striking directly at that mysterious rift, and launching a sudden, fatal blow could they possibly break the current predicament.

Simply waiting is not advisable either. Perhaps after attacking seven or eight towns, the other side has collected enough human corpses to perform some evil rituals. In that case, her coming to Rossby to provide support would be meaningless.

Therefore, she chose to take the initiative. Although there were certainly risks involved, Daenerys believed that these risks were manageable.

"But if we call back all the support teams now, what will happen to the remaining towns?" Earl Harris said after a long silence.

This topic was a bit heavy. He had never expected that the petite girl in front of him would be so decisive and ruthless. She was a white wizard, but her decisiveness was no less than that of a black wizard.

Logically speaking, although Earl Harris was reluctant to admit it, he knew that Daenerys's plan was the most suitable solution to break the deadlock.

However, from a personal perspective, the entire Rossby County was his fiefdom, and he did not want so many towns in his fiefdom to suffer heavy casualties. He hoped there could be a way to achieve the best of both worlds.

Upon hearing the Earl's question, Daenerys looked at Harris with her clear eyes and said, "This is a difficult decision, but if we don't do it, I'm afraid we will lose even more."

After a moment of silence, Earl Harris nodded. "Very well, Your Highness Daenerys, I will immediately issue the order to summon all wizarding apprentices and witchers."

-

As Richard rode his wildebeest, galloping towards Silverpine Town.

His emotions, like his own on horseback, rose and fell.

Unexpectedly, a year later, he was able to return to Silverpine Town with the strength of a third-level wizard apprentice, which was much, much faster than he had anticipated before going there.

Although Richard had considered that he had the Inspiration Panel and his improvement speed should be very fast before he went there, he only thought that he would be lucky to be able to barely advance to the second level of wizard apprentice in about a year.

To his surprise, a year later he was already a level three wizard apprentice.

Of course, not wanting to attract too much attention, Richard did not take the promotion test for third-level wizard apprentice at the Ignis School, nor did he put on the special mark that symbolized a third-level wizard apprentice. Instead, he used the special effect of Rodrigo's meditation to conceal his breath and dynamically adjusted the intensity of his aura according to the actual situation.

Therefore, Richard still looks like an ordinary wizard apprentice.

I wonder how my father, mother, and older brother are doing. Oh, and my little maid, Serena.

Richard couldn't help but smile when he thought of Serena, recalling how she looked on the verge of tears when they parted.

However, his little maid Serena must be very happy to see him suddenly return!

Thinking of this, Richard's lips curled up even higher.

At the speed of the wildebeest, Richard would arrive at Silverpine Town in about half an hour. In high spirits, he looked at the scenery on both sides of the road and felt completely different.

Not far ahead, on the right side of the road, there was a lake as clear as a sapphire.

The lake is not large, but various tall and short shrubs grow around it. A little further away from the lake, there is a forest of silver pines, which are known as the silver pines. Each silver pine is tall and straight, with needle-like leaves that are silvery-green all year round.

This lake, not far from Silver Pine Town, is named Green Pine Lake by the town's residents because the silvery-green pines are reflected in the clear, dark green lake surface year-round, giving it an overall green appearance.

Now, in Richard's eyes, this lake called Green Pine Lake, nestled beside a lush silver pine forest, is a beautiful scene that is like an eternal sapphire etched in his memory, evoking his longing for his hometown and family.

Strangely, Richard didn't see any of the gentle animals that usually drank water at the edge of Green Pine Lake, such as rabbits and deer, which made him frown.

Could it be that some ferocious beast has appeared in Silverpine Forest recently, causing even small animals to be hunted down to near extinction?

That shouldn't be happening!

As they drew closer to Silverpine Town, Richard, who was deep in thought on his wildebeest, keenly sensed a hint of blood.

This immediately gave him a jolt. The smell of blood was faint, but his keen sense of smell wouldn't be wrong; it must be because it was a bit far away from him.

But the direction from which the smell of blood was coming was Silverpine Town, his hometown, the location of his family's fiefdom.

Richard looked up, stared ahead, and immediately frowned slightly.

Seemingly sensing something was amiss, Richard immediately clamped his legs around the wildebeest's sides, urging it to run faster.

The closer Richard got to Silverpine Town, the more his brows furrowed and his complexion worsened, as the stench of blood grew stronger.

You see, Richard was a veteran of many battles, so he quickly realized that the smell of blood was so strong that it wouldn't be this strong even if dozens of people had died!

Richard immediately lashed out with his whip, striking the wildebeest's rump hard!

"Neigh!"

The wildebeest, in pain, let out a high-pitched neigh and immediately took off, increasing its speed by 30% as it began to run at full speed!

"I hope nothing bad happens, otherwise, whoever it is will face my wrath!" Richard gripped the reins tightly, his heart no longer at peace.

-

Yinsong Town.

Clavel Castle.

Seeing another gigantic mutant crab demon approaching from the back gate of the castle, the old baron knew that dealing with just one was already a feat they were doing with all their might, and that was only thanks to the castle's advantageous terrain and the massive crossbow bolts they had gathered.

At this moment, there were no more giant crossbow bolts or extra manpower to deal with the mutated demon.

If half of the front gate's defenses were diverted to guard the back gate, the likely outcome would be that neither the front nor the back gate could be held, and the defending forces would suffer heavy losses.

Therefore, the experienced old baron, after a moment's thought, immediately made a decision and shouted, "Everyone, retreat to the inner fortress!"

Immediately afterwards, dozens of guards shouted in unison, "Everyone retreat to the inner fort!"

Clavel Castle, built over a century, consumed a great deal of manpower and resources of the Clavel family. Although it did not have the grandeur of those hereditary earl castles with moats and drawbridges, it is still a classic concentric castle.

The most distinctive feature of concentric castles is that they have two walls, an inner castle and an outer castle. The outer castle wall is only three meters high, but the inner castle wall is as high as six meters, and the whole structure is built of strip-shaped stones.

Therefore, although the inner fortress area is much smaller, its sturdiness is a level higher than that of the outer fortress. At the same time, this is also the last line of defense for the Clavel family.

If they can hold out, there is a deep well and a cellar in the inner fortress area. The cellar stores enough wheat, smoked meat, pickled fish, and dried radishes to feed at least a thousand people for half a year. The old baron is still confident that they can hold out until reinforcements from the Kingdom of Heron arrive!

Upon hearing the old baron's order, the Clavel family guards, the Silverpine Town security force, and some strong young men from Silverpine Town who were originally defending the city walls began to retreat to the inner fortress, while the guards stationed at the outer fortress gate began to retreat through the tunnels between the outer and inner fortresses.

Led by Livy and Knight Rollins, the guards fought and retreated, crossing a makeshift wooden bridge from the outer fortress wall, killing small monsters as they made their way to the inner fortress wall.

Under the cover of archers and large crossbow bolts from the D-shaped towers at the four corners of the inner fortress, the guards retreated to the inner fortress walls after losing only a small number of men.

So when the mutant crab demon's giant pincers forcefully knocked open the outer gate, what appeared before it was another sturdy castle.

This immediately enraged it, and it roared loudly.

Now, it must breach another gate in order to conquer this area.

However, during the battle just now, its sturdy carapace had been cracked in several places by the heavy crossbow bolts, which made it hesitate. But thinking of its master's request, the mutant crab demon raised its pair of incomparably powerful giant pincers and began to attack the inner fortress gate.

Seeing this, the old baron on the fortified inner fortress shouted, "Throw rolling stones! Prepare the oil!"

Instantly, dozens of huge round stones were pushed out by the guards from the high crenellations of the inner fortress wall, and with the help of gravity, they slammed into the besieging monsters.

The smaller monsters, crowded together at the foot of the city wall, saw the huge rocks falling but had no chance to dodge and were instantly smashed into mincemeat!

The mutant crab demon, although it smashed several rolling stones with its giant pincers, was still repelled by several other rolling stones. After all, its sturdy shell was not invincible, and it was still very difficult to withstand rolling stones weighing hundreds of kilograms.

The old baron thought for a moment, then quickly turned and shouted to Livy, who was shooting arrows, "Son! You must immediately go with Lord Duane to find your mother and children. Hurry up and go to the third level of the inner fortress cellar, and take the secret passage to Rossby City."

"Father, please let me stay and fight alongside you!" Upon hearing this, Li Wei immediately refused the old baron's request.

Having received knightly training from his family since childhood, he was not afraid of sacrifice. On the contrary, in Li Wei's eyes, such desertion in the face of battle was no different from betrayal!

"No, child, your battlefield is yet to come. The road to Rossby is not without obstacles. You and Lord Duane will escort women and children to Rossby. This will be a difficult task. Are you a coward who is unwilling to take on this responsibility?"

The old baron spoke his last words in an extremely high tone!

Faced with his father's glaring eyes, Li Wei hesitated for a moment, but ultimately remained silent.

Indeed, fighting to the death against a powerful enemy is a kind of heroism, but daring to take on a difficult task is another kind of heroism.

Escorting women and children is the hope for Silverpine Town's future. With them, Silverpine Town can surely be rebuilt. As long as the children can safely reach Rossby City, even if the guards die in battle, they will be willing to do so to see their own children escape alive!

To be honest, Levi himself wasn't confident about leading these unarmed women and children, who had no fighting ability whatsoever, through the blockade of monsters along the way, and safely reaching Rossby City!

But that's precisely why it proves that what my father said was right. This is a difficult task with great significance, and if I don't dare to do it, I'm a coward!

Having figured it out, Li Wei immediately straightened his face and said, "Father, I will certainly not fail your trust!"

The old baron nodded approvingly, patted Li Wei's broad shoulder, and said, "Hurry up and retreat immediately. We'll draw the monster army's attention, making your escape much easier! Go now, and call Lord Duan to come along!"

"Remember to express our gratitude on behalf of the Clavel family to Lord Duane for his contributions!"

"Hmm!" After giving the old baron one last look, Levi turned and rushed towards the inner fort square without looking back, starting to organize the children and some women to enter the cellar.

"Pour the oil! Throw the torches!" Knight Rollins shouted.

The massive boulder attack had inflicted great damage on the monsters, but the number of boulders was limited, and once they were all used up, the monsters quickly swarmed back in.

The mutant crab demon, in particular, was enormous and had just suffered quite a bit, with the rolling stones causing considerable damage. This enraged it greatly. Seeing that the rolling stones on the human city wall had run out, it roared loudly and launched another fierce attack on the inner fortress gate.

"Swish, swish, swish!"

As the oil was poured, a large number of small monsters at the foot of the city wall were now covered in thick layers of oil.

But they don't know what these things are, and they just think that the human's "pouring water" attack is meaningless.

But the next second, they found out what was on them!

"boom!"

As dozens of torches were thrown, they ignited the oil on the bodies of the monsters at the foot of the city wall. Instantly, the monsters' screams of agony filled the air, including the usually invincible mutant crab demon, which was now also screaming and groaning as it was burned.

Countless small monsters have died from being trampled by their companions.

The area around the mutant crab demon was like mud, filled with the corpses of monsters it had trampled to death!

This immediately brought a sigh of relief to everyone defending the city wall! It seemed that this wave of monster attacks had been successfully repelled.

The old baron's mood calmed down a bit. It seemed that the possibility of holding the inner castle and waiting for the kingdom's reinforcements had greatly increased!

However, at this moment, the archer at the top of the tower suddenly changed his expression and shouted loudly to the old baron, "Your Excellency, look over there!"

In the western sky, a large, dark cloud was flying in at great speed, and it was estimated that it would soon reach the sky above Clavel Castle.

"Oh no! Flying monsters!" the old baron exclaimed in alarm, turning to shout towards the inner fortress square from the city wall, "Take cover! Flying monsters!"

"Quickly! Inside the tower!" the old baron decided immediately, and dozens of guards shouted in unison, "Inside the tower!"

He hadn't expected that his side would be forced to defend only four towers so quickly, and that the enemy would even have flying monsters to support their attack. If they continued to defend the inner fortress walls, the diving attacks of the flying monsters would quickly cause heavy casualties to their defenders.

However, abandoning the defenses on the city walls now would be like drinking poison to quench thirst.

Because once the two mutant crab demons breach the inner gate, and all sorts of monsters flood in like a tidal wave, there will be no food or fresh water. The defensive forces, divided into four towers, will also be wiped out one by one, leaving them with only defeat and destruction.

But the old baron was thinking that if he died a little later, he could continue to hold back the monster army and reduce the risk for the evacuating children and Li Wei.

However, at this moment, in the center of the inner castle grounds, although the children of Silverpine Town had been taken to the castle cellar by Li Wei and Duane, there were still hundreds of women and elderly people who had not had time to escape.

As a large, dark swarm of flying monsters arrived above Clavel Castle, they were commanded by several extremely unpleasant cries.

Immediately, hundreds of blood vultures, led by more than ten human-faced demon birds, launched a swooping attack, slaughtering the unarmed humans in the inner fortress square!

Every now and then, an elderly person would be pierced by the blood vulture's sharp talons, and with the flapping of its wings, which have a wingspan of three or four meters, it would lift the elderly person high into the air, carry them to mid-air, and then slam them down hard. With each desperate scream, a human would die.

In less than five minutes, less than 30% of the people in the inner square managed to escape; the majority were massacred.

The guards and able-bodied men holding the fort in the four towers tried several times to rush out to rescue them, but after several attempts, they could not break through the blockade of the aerial monsters. Even if they managed to reach the inner fort square, they could not carry out the rescue.

So all they could do was roar and use their bows and arrows to flank the fleeing crowd in the square.

Meanwhile, the inner city gates were breached, and two wounded mutant crab demons, leading a large number of small monsters, broke through the last line of defense that the Clavel family had built up over a hundred years ago.

-

Meanwhile, Richard had reached the last hillside. Once he crossed this hillside, he would be able to see Silverpine Town.

But when Richard rode his wildebeest to the top of the hill, what came into view was thick smoke, the dilapidated Clavel Castle under siege by monsters, and the ruins of Silverpine Town.

The fact that human shouts of killing were almost inaudible meant something Richard knew all too well.

Richard was shocked and his vision went black!

Does that mean my family members are all gone?

Instantly, Richard's eyes widened in fury!

He had only one thought in his mind: to kill all the monsters in front of him.

Richard immediately waved his mutated summoning staff, and a nearly three-meter-tall abomination was summoned, charging towards the horde of monsters surrounding the Clavel family castle.

Richard swiftly removed the griffin wings from his back, activated his secret technique Rapid Fire, and launched an attack on the monster before him.

Although the special effects of the Griffin Wings have been used up today, its top-tier sorcery artifacts are inherently powerful. Coupled with Richard's archery skills reaching their limit, the arrows he shoots are as fast as lightning, as if he were holding a Gatling gun.

The sounds of "whoosh whoosh whoosh!" echoed continuously, and the monsters around Richard began to be killed in large numbers.

On Richard's journey to his family castle, the monster army melted away like ice being doused with hot water, instantly clearing a path.

It wasn't until Richard rushed to the foot of the family's outer fortress that he realized that although the outer fortress had been breached, he could still clearly see arrows being fired intermittently from the four inner fortress towers, as the monsters fought back.

This made him feel so happy he almost cried.

There is still resistance in the family castle; he should still have time!

(End of this chapter)