Imperial Crown

"You must be Baron Raven. Your knight has delivered the message." The gatekeeper smiled and said, "Just keep going along the road. Our Viscount Morgan is there."

Raven's mouth twitched, and he rode slowly into the camp, whispering to Eric beside him, "Find a good place for me. Our camp can't be so messy!"

Eric nodded and took people to find a place to camp. Raven only took three guards including Volaf and went straight to the largest tent.

The strange thing is that although the periphery is so badly arranged, the camp becomes more and more orderly as you go inward. The tents are densely arranged, and there are many sandbags for fire fighting at intervals.

Simon had been waiting at the door for a long time and came up to salute: "My lord, I have delivered it."

"Thank you for your hard work, but you can't rest yet. Go to Eric first to confirm the location of our camp, and then continue to scout the enemy. I don't trust the people here." Raven ordered.

Simon took the order and retreated, and Raven lifted the curtain and walked in.

The heat and the smell of alcohol hit Raven in the face, giving him an absurd illusion - this is not a military camp, but a military-themed party!

The tent was so lively, the nobles gathered in groups of three or four, chatting and drinking, and they were wearing formal clothes instead of armor!

Perhaps to show their "generosity", some nobles grabbed the bacon and bit it, and there were even two teams of dancers dancing to the beat of the music in the middle of the tent!

On the main seat at the end of the tent was a white-haired, fat noble with a waist as thick as if he was pregnant with quintuplets. It was Viscount Morgan.

As soon as Raven came in, Morgan immediately started to greet him loudly: "Oh, this is Baron Griffith! Come in, drink the wine on the table! Although it is not as good as Angel's Tears, it is also a good thing!"

This sentence immediately attracted many people's attention to Raven.

Many of the nobles here had attended Raven's press conference before, and at least they were familiar with him, so most of them just glanced at him and stopped paying attention.

The other nobles didn't pay attention for too long, and they all turned their heads after a glance. Some of them were still secretly complaining and whispering.

This little bee looks ordinary!

Morgan didn't pay too much attention to this "newcomer" and soon turned his attention to the dancers.

Raven was even a little at a loss for a while.

"Here, Raven!" A voice sounded, and Raven turned his head to see Viscount John waving at him in the corner.

Raven turned around and told Volaf and others to wait outside the tent, and then went to Viscount John.

This is an independent space separated by several stools and wine barrels. In addition to Viscount John and Jude, there are two other barons from Snow Maple County here, namely Kate, 37 years old and Romney, 44 years old.

Their sitting posture caught Raven's attention. Viscount John sat in the innermost position. There was obviously more space on the left, but Kate and Romney were squeezed on the right, and Judra took up nearly three people's space.

Although there were some disagreements with Judra and the relationship with Viscount John was a bit awkward, these small problems were no longer a problem now that they were on the battlefield.

The nobles who also came from Xuefeng County were natural allies.

Raven moved a wine barrel and sat down, then began to greet everyone.

"You are here as expected." Viscount John smiled: "How does the Bloody Highlands taste?"

"Fortunately, I went there in winter and didn't eat much sand." Raven smiled and responded: "It's just that the loss is a bit big. We didn't bring many people this time."

"Even if there are fewer people, it's better than those bastards here." Judra took a sip of wine, with a trace of disdain and dissatisfaction on her face: "I think they have forgotten how to fight!"

Kate also pursed her lips: "We shouldn't have come to join."

After saying this, Viscount John showed a trace of embarrassment on his face, obviously he proposed to come here.

Romney spoke to John to help him out: "You can't say that. Now the outside world is so chaotic and the situation is so dangerous. It's always good to have more strength. Who would have thought that the once famous 'heavy hammer' Morgan would become like this!"

I thought I was the only one who was dissatisfied, but now it seems that the nobles from Xuefeng County have similar attitudes. Raven breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

There are still normal people!

But at the same time, he also had more doubts in his heart: "Didn't you set out two months ago? How come you have only come here now?"

After saying this, the four people immediately started talking at once, and then slowly Viscount John started to talk mainly, while the other three checked and supplemented the omissions.

According to Viscount John, the dozen nobles of Snow Maple County also acted together at the beginning. Due to the large number of people and most of them were infantry, it took nearly a month from the start to the crossing of Hippoc County.

But when they were about to leave Hippoc County, Viscount John and another Viscount of Snow Maple County, "Fisher", had a dispute.

Viscount John believed that in order to ensure the smooth flow of logistics routes, it would be best to continue along the main road and go directly to the outskirts of Monn City through Derby County and Harold County.

Fisher insisted on detouring eastward, passing through Wiltshire, and directly inserting into Hodges County. In this way, he could quickly penetrate into the center of the battlefield and gain the first wave of military exploits. As for supplies-the main force of the Order of the Hand of Death They are all kinds of undead creatures and have little need for food. They can collect the required materials from the destroyed land.

The two refused to give in to each other and eventually split in two. Judra, Kate and Romney chose to follow Viscount John, while more people left with Fisher.

"This is the best decision I've ever made in my life."

Kate said so, and Romney agreed.

Because they soon encountered the first wave of attacks from the Death Hand Order.

Now that I mention it, a trace of fear still appears in Kate's eyes.

The Order of the Hand of Death is dominated by undead creatures. The largest and most common skeleton soldiers are not even as effective as farmers, but there are simply too many of them.

Viscount John and his party had a total strength of about 1,800, but they faced more than 5,000 skeleton soldiers!

Although the combat effectiveness of skeletons is weak, due to their special structure, the crossbows originally equipped in large numbers by various armies are basically useless——

Skeletons have no flesh, and a considerable number of crossbow arrows will penetrate through the gaps in their bones. Only by hitting the skull or spine can the problem be truly solved.

Likewise, this caused huge trouble for the soldiers.

What's even more uncomfortable is that the Death Hand Order will also mix some elite skeletons into the skeleton soldiers. They can use fighting spirit. Although they are not as good as the real first-order extraordinary ones, they can still have an overwhelming advantage against ordinary soldiers. .

What drives these undead creatures are the necromancer troops in the Order of the Hand of Death. They usually wear black robes, smell of death all over their bodies, and are protected by elite undead creatures and warriors from the Order of the Dead.

Very inaccessible.

In that battle, the coalition of four nobles lost more than 300 people. If Viscount John hadn't seen the right opportunity, he led his own soldiers into the enemy's formation, killed a necromancer, and killed the remaining enemies. If forced to leave, the losses will be even more serious.

Later, in order to prevent the corpses from being used, the corpses of the fallen soldiers had to be burned together.

"Fortunately, I followed Viscount John." Romney took a sip of wine: "I can't even imagine what kind of pressure I would have to face if I penetrated directly into Hodges County, where the Death Hand operates most frequently. Even if I die, I won’t be able to live in peace!”

"That battle happened about twenty days ago. After that, we rested on the spot for four days, and then slowly started to move forward, with the scouts spreading further and further away." Viscount John continued: "We also encountered many things during this period. The two small groups of undead troops did not suffer much losses due to their previous experience.”

"Until three days ago, our scouts discovered this place and saw Viscount Morgan's flag..."

Lei Wen was stunned for a moment when he heard this: "May I ask, was the military camp here three days ago?"

"Yes, and more than three days." Judra said with a hint of sarcasm on his lips: "We didn't know until we arrived that Viscount Morgan had stayed here for eight days, and today is already the eleventh day!"

Raven had an incomprehensible expression on his face.

He originally thought that setting up camp and having a party in such a dangerous environment was outrageous enough, but who would have thought that Viscount Morgan would stay here and refuse to leave, and that after ten days the camp would become as chaotic as it is now? abstract!

"Viscount Morgan..." Raven rubbed his temples: "Oh, I remembered it. In the 'Border Battle' thirty years ago, Viscount Morgan was not trapped in an isolated city by himself and resisted Insa with half an army. Are the 20,000 elite heroes of the empire enough for a month?”

"Yes, that's him." The sarcasm on Judra's face became even stronger: "If it weren't for his name, we wouldn't have come to join him."

Viscount John gave a wry smile: "Viscount Morgan is the Sheriff of Shippok County. In addition to his past military exploits, he has a high prestige. There are not only people from Xuefeng County here, but also the nobles here, as well as Shippok County, Essex County, etc." It can be said that more than half of the nobles from the five northwest counties of Nord province are here."

Raven still couldn't understand: "But... no matter how many people there are, they won't make the camp look like this, right?"

"War is the best way to temper the army." Viscount John sighed: "The days of stability have been too long, and this is what it is like."

Romney shook his head: "Now the Iron Legion is stationed on the Bloody Highlands, blocking the largest horse thieves above. Those who can sneak down from above are small forces. We in Xuefeng County can digest it." Most of the nobles in the Nord province have no chance of actual combat. "

"I was still envious before, why are our fiefdoms so remote and often attacked by horse thieves? The cost of buying and selling materials is 30% to 50% higher than that of mainland nobles." Judra said with a hint of schadenfreude on his face: "Now I I’m not envious at all, at least we can still fight!”

Raven's face showed a hint of surprise, followed by a wry smile.

Neighbors are all weak, which is of course a good thing, but when we need to face the enemy together, it is not the case.

Pig teammates are much scarier than god opponents.

Mentioning the Order of the Hand of Death again, everyone was worried. Raven turned around, opened his Eyes of Truth and scanned the audience, his expression becoming more and more solemn.

A stable life affects not only soldiers, but also nobles.

There were more than 30 nobles present, and quite a few of them were only at the first level. Those who reached the second level could be counted on two hands, and there was only one at the third level. This made Viscount John, a fourth-level extraordinary person, even more precious.

And Viscount Morgan...

When Raven's eyes fell on him, he was shocked.

This old veteran who had achieved his destiny in his prime, his body was empty, without a trace of energy -

He was just an ordinary person!

The doubts in Raven's heart melted away like boiling soup pouring snow.

He finally understood why Viscount Morgan stopped here and why he allowed the nobles who came later to make the camp like this.

It was not that he wanted to do this, but he had to do it.

As a hero thirty years ago, Morgan's reputation and title came from the war, so he could not escape this war at all.

He gathered so many people here just to cover up the fact that he was already very weak.

These nobles present were his shield, but also his shackles.

The nobles from the five northwestern counties of Xuefeng County, Hippoc County, Essex County, Hampshire, and Savery County gathered here, and it was impossible for them to unite.

If Morgan had even the strength of the third level, he could temporarily unite these people, but he didn't. He could only spend his time here, but couldn't tell other nobles how to set up camp.

Because he didn't dare, he was afraid that someone would expose his bloated skin.

Raven's brows were getting tighter and tighter - the nobles were not fools, even if there was no Eye of Truth, I'm afraid someone would guess the truth.

But no one spoke first.

Everyone knew the story of the King's New Clothes, but no one wanted to be the kid who told the truth.

Raven wouldn't either.

But this didn't mean he had to accept this fact.

"Viscount John." As soon as Raven spoke, Viscount John shook his head slightly and looked outside.

Raven nodded and walked out of the tent first. After a while, Viscount John also walked out.

"Viscount John, I think we can't stay here any longer." Raven said straight to the point:

"It's better for us, the nobles of Xuefeng County, to march alone."

"This camp has been set up for more than ten days. Even if the people of the Death Hand Cult are blind, they should have seen that there has been no movement for so long. It is very likely that they are organizing a large-scale attack."

"If we continue to stay here, we will only become the target of the enemy."

Raven stared into Viscount John's eyes, waiting for his response.

...