Arcane splendor begins with the throne

Chapter 150 Blackstone Castle

"Lord Bryan, this is Earl Harwin's Blackstone Castle, please come in." An old man in a plain linen robe stood in front of the city gate and said respectfully to Brian.

As the gate slowly rose, the two walked in along the lowered suspension bridge.

Brian noticed that this was a simple old castle located on a hillside. The city walls were built of thick black marble blocks, and the smoothed edges and corners were silently telling the world how many years it had gone through.

The ancient castle overlooking the Goblin Wilds is surrounded by a forked river that acts as a moat, like an isolated island.

Although the water flow of the moat is not much bigger than a small stream, adults jump in, and the deepest part is only up to the waist.

But the spacious riverbed made him realize that as long as there was enough water upstream to fill it up, the castle could immediately become a real island.

In fact, that was exactly the case, and Brian vaguely saw a huge reservoir full of river water far upstream, shining in the early morning sun.

In times of war, castles are the basis for protracted warfare.

Castles are mainly built for defense, and are often protection stations within the radiation range. In addition to serving as fortresses to prevent foreign invasion, they are also important towns for suppressing riots and looting.

A well-designed castle can be defended for a long time and effectively with fewer troops, and brings a certain period of peace to the local area.

Since ancient times, soldiers and horses have not moved, and food and grass go first, and castle wars are no exception.

Food plays a key role in the defense of the castle. Only sufficient food can ensure the long-term defense of the castle. The food stored in each castle is different, some are related to the size of the castle, some are related to the war period, and some castles are even stored during the war. of food can last for more than a year.

If the castle is surrounded by a moat, and there are sufficient food and water sources, a small number of knights who stick to the castle can resist a large number of attackers for a long time.

With enough guarding knights and sufficient food reserves, the defenders can fight for a long time with this advantage, allowing the invaders to automatically retreat when they run out of ammunition and food, disease spreads, and the morale of the army is weakened.

Brian looked around with interest, and he found extra care in the design of the castle's walls, moats, towers, and curtain walls.

Because the curtain walls and protruding towers are the main lines of resistance of the castle.When the invaders make an attack on the castle walls, or attempt to drain the water in the moat, or fill the trenches, the defenders need to arrange enough archers and crossbowmen to counterattack the invaders on the walls or arrow towers.

"The war that broke out with the Tasha people two years ago ended in Blackstone Fort." The old man told Brian as he walked:
"The Tasha people tore up the covenant, and the black army launched a surprise attack without warning. It was like breaking a bamboo all the way in the goblin wasteland, and there was a tendency to rush to the Golden Feather City. The unprepared lords had no way of resisting, so they could only break up and run away. The situation of the battle was not eased until the flames of war spread to Earl Harwin's Blackstone Castle."

"Is it because of the opening of the upstream gate to release water?" Brian said his guess.

"Yes, this is the true meaning of this lonely castle."

The old man nodded, "Once there is danger, the gate of the upstream reservoir will be opened, and the moat surrounding Blackrock Fort will be filled, turning it into an isolated island in the river.

The city wall rises high from the water, and the defenders can see everything within a few miles of the opposite bank from the tower.If they wanted to cut off the support from all parties, the attacking party had to divide their forces into two groups, place the army between the two banks of the moat, and surround the isolated fortress.Otherwise, the defenders hiding in the castle would use rafts and boats to outflank their rear, making it impossible for them to attack Golden Feather City with peace of mind. "

Brian nodded slightly. A fortress in the center surrounded by a forked river, with sufficient food and grass, was the last thing an intruder would want to see.

The blitzkrieg attack method of the Tasha people can indeed greatly slow down their attack speed in the face of the tortoise defense of this lonely castle.

In this way, the defeated army can escape into the castle, temporarily hide in the castle, rest and rest, waiting for reinforcements, retaining military strength for another war, and laying the foundation for turning defeat into victory.

If the Tasha army didn't capture the castle, it would be harassed by the castle's army, and it would even become a turning point of failure.

This is why the ancient army needed to pull out all the enemy's cities one by one before they dared to plan the next attack with peace of mind, instead of choosing to ignore those strongholds that were thankless to attack.

In fact, Brian didn't know much about the war that took place in the Goblin Wasteland two years ago. At most, he heard partial news in the tavern.

After all, good people always like to deduce and deduce things that they have never heard of based on a few words that they have heard, and they can be convincing, which makes him naturally not believe the details.

Now, on the way of handing over the task, he overheard the personal narration of the person involved, and he couldn't help but secretly nodded with interest.

"But the Tasha people are not stupid. They didn't choose to storm the Black Rock Fortress. They just spread sharp wooden fences around the river bank surrounding the castle like a vegetable garden, and then sent guards to garrison the river bank to block the fort's attack." The soldiers landed ashore, and their main force was stationed on the north bank, planning to face the reinforcements from Golden Feather City." The old man saw that Brian was very interested in these things, so he talked more and more vigorously.

"The situation at that time was very grim. The reinforcements led by Duke Sweeter had not yet arrived. The remnant army integrated by Prince Kagadi was besieged by the black Tasha army in a valley in the upper reaches. The only thing that could be deployed The only reinforcements we have are Earl Harwin who is guarding Blackstone Castle, and his 200 knights and more than 500 soldiers. The rest are almost all militiamen and young laborers with low combat effectiveness.

So our wise Earl Harwin made a decision that was beyond everyone's expectations. He used his little army and divided it into a dozen teams of 30 people each. With flexible mobility, they bypassed the Tasha guards around the wooden fence on the river bank, and constantly harassed the supply convoy behind the enemy to attract their attention.

Three days later, Earl Harwin took advantage of the darkness and chose to take the initiative to attack. He secretly ordered more than a dozen small teams that had been dispatched in advance to gather together to form an army of nearly 500 people, and all of them raised Duke Swift's Gryphon banners, shouting the slogan that the reinforcements have arrived, killed the guards on the river bank, cleared the fence, and lured their main force to attack.

By the time the main force of the Tashas came to their senses, Earl Harwin had personally led 200 cavalry to join forces with Prince Kagadi, who was guarding the valley, and charged into the enemy camp upstream with swords and torches in hand.

In the chaotic night, countless tents were ignited, war horses neighed, soldiers trampled each other, and the Tasha army was in a mess. Their commander was very calm and made the most correct judgment at the moment. The army boarded the retreat raft prepared in advance, intending to row to the opposite bank and join the reinforcements behind them. "

Brian nodded secretly, both sides' actions and judgments were very correct.

In order to understand the current predicament, the owner of Blackstone Fort, Earl Harwin, boldly sold all 500 soldiers under his command as bait to attract the main force, and only then found a turning point for victory.

It was not at fault for the Tasha people to give the most calm retreat order and choose to preserve the strength of the main force when they had lost the opportunity.

Although they lost the opportunity to attack Golden Feather City, their army burned, killed and looted all the way in the goblin wasteland in the southern border of the Kingdom of West, which can be said to have gained a lot.

Choosing to retreat at this time is also a major victory.

However, the real turning point has only just begun, otherwise it will not be called a large-scale war that loses both sides.

"My gods, I have to admit that in such a chaotic situation, the black army of the Tasha people was able to make most of the soldiers retreat in an orderly manner. The survivors can only gnash their teeth, there is really no other way."

The old man was talking in a heavy tone, but gradually became lighter, and when he talked about excitement, he even danced and gestured to Brian.

It's a pity that Brian, who even knows a little bit of drow sign language, couldn't understand what this excited old man was gesturing to him.

From these random gestures, he probably could only guess that it was something like ordering to shoot an arrow or launch a trebuchet.

"However, that night, a strong wind suddenly blew up and created huge waves in the calm river upstream. As a result, the current became turbulent and turbulent. Waves of water were set off, and all the rafts trying to paddle to the opposite bank were swept downstream. .

At that time, I was standing on the wall of Black Rock Fort with the militiamen. After seeing the rows of rafts swimming over and the panicked soldiers, I was so excited that I mobilized all the bows and stones on the wall. He threw the machine into the water recklessly, rolling these soldiers into the river and drowning.

I witnessed with my own eyes that the raft on which the Supreme Commander of Amastacia was smashed to pieces by the catapult, and the heroic Commander Lax was dragged into the deep water by his heavy black armor. His bloated, rotting bones were found in a pile of mud.

Although the number of people in Blackstone Fort is limited, most of them are proficient in water, causing most of the soldiers to be rushed downstream and narrowly escaped with their lives. The reinforcements have been waiting here for a long time.Beside him, there are also a group of griffins hovering in the sky..."

Regarding the sudden storm in the upper reaches of the Goblin Wasteland, which happened at the turning point of the war, Brian dared to bet all his property.

Thinking of this, the figure of the old wizard Morele suddenly appeared in his mind, as well as his other identity as a wizard: Storm Druid.

At the same time, he recalled a portrait of Talos, the God of Storms, found in his laboratory.

At this point, he finally understood the whole story.

That is to say, in the Battle of the Goblin Wasteland two years ago, it was the storm summoned upstream by the old wizard Moril that really cost the black army of the Tasha people a heavy price.

This made him realize that this old wizard probably started to contact the belief of the God of Storms two years ago. As the ancient evil was temporarily deviated from his track by him, he was likely to contact the god he believed in.

At the same time, he also wanted to understand that Prince Kagadi of West, the elder brother of Princess Kearney, would suddenly die in that counterattack inexplicably.

There must be shadows of the Tasha wizards here, and they took advantage of the moment when the old wizard Morelle left temporarily to kill the prince.

That's why after the war ended, the Tasha people didn't condemn the old wizard Morele for arbitrarily overriding the agreement signed between the wizard council and the royal families of the countries to 'prohibit wizards from participating in the war'.

Because both parties violated this agreement at the same time, they naturally smashed their teeth into their stomachs and kept silent.

Brian has known for a long time that this so-called 'agreement' has become less and less effective as time goes by.

Under the guidance of the old butler, they walked into the castle.

In the center of Blackstone Castle is a huge inner fort. Around the inner fort, many well-proportioned houses, as well as stables, barracks, blacksmith shops, granaries and other buildings were built.

After they walked through a narrow corridor from the door, the old butler led him to the reception hall of the inner castle.

The fire from the fireplace radiates light and heat, making the interior spacious and bright.

One wall of the hall is covered with weapons, including steel shields, crossed swords, javelins and hook knives, heavy swords and long-handled axes.Another wall is occupied by a huge fireplace, above which hangs a row of motley portraits.

The wall facing the door was filled with game trophies—the heads of elk and stag, their horns casting wild shadows on the grinning faces of boars, bears, and lynxes, and dire hawks with disheveled and mutilated feathers below.A complete pair of black steel armor was placed in the most conspicuous place, with the emblem of the black rose engraved on it.

"This was seized from the second prince of the Amastaxia Kingdom. As for his body, it has been eaten away by crows on the city wall." The old man said to Brian, and stuffed a log into the fireplace. .

"During the raid two years ago, the prince was shot off his horse by Earl Harwin before he boarded the raft to escape, and stayed in our Kingdom of West forever."

"Lord Bryan, sit down wherever you want. I'm really sorry. Earl Harwin is still training those boys at this time. I have sent someone to the training ground to notify you in advance. Please wait patiently for a while." The old man bowed to Bryan He bowed and said respectfully.

"It's okay." Brian said without paying attention.

He came here only to take the reward for killing the leader of the Wolf Man, and had no intention of dating the Earl of Blackstone Castle.

After all, his destination was Abrera in Amastacia, and the city of wizards in the Ecebra Desert, before returning to his territory, Longshou Port.

And his status as the princess' fiancé meant that he was destined not to have close friendships with the nobles of the Kingdom of West.

Not long after, Brian suddenly heard the sound of horseshoes in the castle.

The sound came from far to near, and after a while, it came outside the gate of the inner castle.

The next moment, with the dull sound of landing, the door was pushed open loudly.

He saw two knights wearing exquisite bright silver full-body armor walking in from outside one after another.

The armor's insignia is a pure black iron sword thrust into the shattered earth.

Behind the knights, there were two young men who seemed to be followers.

The knight walking in the front took off his helmet and handed it to the servant beside him.

This is an elderly knight who is old and thin, but very strong in spirit. His long silver-gray hair almost turns dark orange against the firelight in the fireplace.

The other knight looked very young, and his eyebrows were somewhat similar to the old knight.

Walking on the shiny marble floor with metal boots, making a crisp sound, the old knight walking in the front took off his armored gloves and looked at Brian with a smile, "Duke Zilong of Tigrila , Your Excellency, long time no see, welcome to Blackstone Castle as a guest."

"Bryan, not your lord, Lord Harwin."

Bryan shook the old knight's hand, "As for being a guest, let's avoid it. In your Kingdom of West, I will disturb you for a while as an adventurer, and I will leave immediately."

"Well, Brian, I don't want any misunderstanding between us." Earl Harwin was taken aback, showing a hearty smile: "I can only express my regrets about this, but my proposal remains the same. .”

"My decision will not change. After all, the weather is very good today. I hope to spend this pleasant time on the road." Brian once again rejected the earl's kindness.

"Hurry up?" The old earl frowned and asked, "Your Excellency Brian, forgive me for asking, where are you planning to go?"

"There's nothing to hide. I'm going to the city of Abrera in Amastacia." Brian replied.

"Abrera?" The old count gave him a strange look, he pondered for a moment, and then pointedly said: "Then you have to pay attention to safety, the recent Amastacia is very chaotic."

"I see, thank you for letting me know." Brian recalled the other party's words and expressed his gratitude. Then he stopped talking and went straight to the topic:
"Earl Harwin, the task you entrusted to me has been completed. All the underground caverns of the gnolls have been scouted. This is a simple map I drew. I hope it will help you in the future."

After speaking, he took out a parchment scroll and handed it over.

"Under the witness of the gods in the sky, on behalf of all the villages in the Goblin Wasteland, I would like to express my gratitude to Your Excellency Brian." Earl Harwin took the map and bowed slightly to Brian without checking it.

Brian accepted the other party's thanks with peace of mind.

Because he knew very well that as the prince of Tigrila and the Duke of Longshou Port, his noble status made him understand how to be modest and proud when dealing with others.

If he is overly humble or overly proud of the earl of the King of West in front of him, it will cause contempt and disdain in the other party's heart, so he must grasp this 'degree' well.

"Yate, go to the barracks to gather people and get those boys ready. It's time for them to see blood and destroy this group of wolf men living in seclusion in the cave."

The young knight glanced at his father in surprise, and involuntarily glanced at the simple map in his hand.

He suddenly felt that his father, who has always been cautious, was so impulsive today. He didn't even confirm the authenticity of the map, so he directly prepared to attack the wolf man who was raging in the wasteland.
"That's unnecessary." Brian called to stop the young knight.

The old earl looked at him thoughtfully with his shrewd eyes, and then he was taken aback for a moment, and a faint smile could not help but float on the corner of his mouth.

The young knight's eyes were full of puzzlement.

"While scouting the Jackal Cave, I cleaned up all the Jackals there." Brian shrugged and said calmly.

…………

(End of this chapter)