Imperial Crown

"I'll do it!"

Wesdon was the first to raise his hand, his face glowing with excitement.

Three thousand gold coins is not a small amount, and such a good thing is not something you can encounter at any time!

But since it is a good thing, of course he is not the only one who is willing to do it.

"Master Weisdon, you should take a break, you are not extraordinary yet." Gore half teased and half seriously: "Let me do it, I am the earth fighting spirit, it is not easy to die!"

"Come on, your earth fighting spirit is too weak, if you want to be the vanguard, it has to be me!" Link raised his palm and lit up a layer of fire: "Flame fighting spirit, the power is much stronger than yours!"

"Don't fight with me." Mosing Gan was not willing to lag behind: "Earth flames are all the same, anyway, they are all attached to weapons, and it is my life The fighting spirit is strong and powerful, and even the blood-eyed warhorse can stop. I have to be the vanguard!"

Link glanced at him: "You? Forget it, have you recovered from the previous injury? Don't spit blood while riding a horse!"

"Who are you looking down on?" Mosingan pounded his chest hard: "I ate five pieces of black bread and three pieces of bacon at night!"

He is a first-level extraordinary, and has been strengthened by Raven. He fainted before because of injuries, and more because of exhaustion caused by exhaustion of fighting spirit.

Now he took a bottle of healing potion and ate a lot, and his body has almost recovered.

Only Simon was not as enthusiastic as they showed.

He looked at Weisdong with a complicated expression: "I am a guilty person. I am alive now thanks to the generosity of the Baron. I am the most suitable person to take this position."

"Vanguard, after all, is too dangerous."

When this sentence came out, the faces of the other people became a little subtle, but Weisdong became more and more excited in the atmosphere of scrambling: "It's dangerous, where is the safe place on the battlefield?"

"Well, okay!" Eric coughed heavily: "I know you all want to take this position very much, but this time it is called vanguard, and it also needs to take into account luring the enemy. In order to preserve strength, only one of you can go."

Here he pondered for a moment: "So, for fairness, let's draw lots to decide, how about it?"

Of course no one objected.

Seeing that no one objected, Eric took out a blank piece of parchment, cut it into five pieces with a knife, then turned his back and picked up a charcoal pencil and drew a few strokes. Soon, he put five crumpled paper balls in front of everyone: "Among these five paper balls, only one has a mark left by the charcoal pencil. Whoever draws it will be the pioneer."

"Let's start!"

As soon as the voice fell, four arms reached in and took away their respective paper balls.

Simon finally picked up the remaining paper ball.

Weisdong did not notice this detail. He was completely immersed in whether he could become a pioneer.

He felt his throat itchy, his mouth dry, and his palms sweating. He kept swallowing saliva, holding the paper ball with his chin, and unfolding it little by little.

Finally, the paper ball was flattened.

Looking at the black circle on it, Weisdong waved his arms excitedly:

"Great! It's me!"

"Tsk——" Mosingan crumpled the parchment in his hand into a ball again and threw it into the fire with force.

The remaining three did the same thing. Gore said sourly, "Oh, bad luck!"

Wesdon smiled with his teeth showing: "Hey, don't be angry. When I come back to collect the bounty, I will treat you to a good meal and go to Monen City for a tour!"

"That will cost a lot of money." Link said, "Are you really willing to spend it?"

"Of course!" Wesdon nodded vigorously.

Money is of course a good thing, but the most important thing is that he hopes to be recognized by others.

He had a good result in the battle yesterday, but his performance in the early stage was still too poor. This time, as a pioneer, he must impress everyone!

"Okay, now that it has been decided, let's talk about the specific tactical arrangements." Eric poked the fire with a stick to make the fire brighter.

"At dawn tomorrow, we will set off in two teams."

"Wesdon, you lead all the soldiers of the second and third squads of each brigade to ride on war horses first, and I and Gore will lead the remaining soldiers to support you five kilometers behind."

Wesdon was a little excited, but a little hesitant: "But... I haven't led troops independently yet."

"It doesn't matter, the captains of these troops will follow you, you just need to protect the flag." Eric revealed all the details he had prepared: "And if there is no difficulty, how can there be a reward of 3,000 gold coins."

Wesdon smiled and nodded.

"You have to do two things." Eric looked at Weisdong and raised two fingers in turn: "Hold on, then run!"

Wesdong was a little confused: "How long will you hold on?"

"Hold on until you can't hold on anymore!" Eric's voice became deeper and more serious:

"The most important goal of this battle is to hook Heleti out of the scorpion nest, the farther the better!"

"From yesterday's situation, Heleti can be said to be cunning and treacherous. If you go up with the mentality of holding on for a while and then leaving, then he will definitely realize that there is a trick and will never follow."

"So this time, you have to grit your teeth and show the courage to fight to the death!"

"Our manpower and materials are limited. This will be the last chance. If you cannot complete the mission, not only will our group be wiped out here, but the Baron's operation will also likely fail!"

At this point, Eric stared into Vesdon's eyes: "So I ask you one last time, can you do this as a pioneer?"

"Yes!" Vesdon nodded vigorously.

The heavier the responsibility, the greater the credit!

"Then it's up to you." Eric took out a bottle of potion from the package behind him: "Take this bottle of healing potion, just in case."

"Okay!" Weston took the potion and put it in his pocket.

Everyone except Vesdon himself knew that this bottle of potion was just a comfort.

The situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly. If you are seriously injured, how can you have time to drink potion?

What's more, in the fierce battle, it is difficult to keep such fragile items intact.

Just like the dead Jose, he also had a healing potion in his bag, but when his body was picked up, the bottle of potion had been broken at some point.

"Let's all go and rest before it's dawn." Eric ordered: "Tomorrow will be the last battle!"

Everyone nodded and returned to their respective positions.

Vesdon looked excited and had already begun to draft the speech before departure.

Goyle, Link and Mosingan were arming themselves and preparing to eat something more.

Only Simon didn't move.

After everyone moved away, he spoke in a low voice with a gloomy expression:

"I carry out your orders, but that doesn't mean I agree with them."

After saying that, he stood up and left.

Eric seemed not to hear, staring into the fire without saying a word.

In winter, the dark nights in the Bloody Highlands are always very long, but even the longest nights always have sunshine.

It's dawn.

The breakfast was richer than ever since entering the Bloody Highlands, but this did not make the soldiers of the Eagle Army happy, and an uneasy atmosphere quietly flowed.

When the gathering drum sounded, they stood neatly in a square formation wearing their own equipment, but this square formation was much smaller than before.

After the last battle, with a reduction of twenty-seven people, each team was not full.

Among them, the second group of sword and shield soldiers suffered the most serious losses. They accounted for thirteen people, nearly half of the twenty-seven people lost in battle.

The smallest loss was among the crossbowmen of the third group, which only lost five people.

The first battalion of pikemen lost nine men.

"Today is not a defensive operation, but an offensive mission." Eric looked around the audience seriously: "The first team, the second and third teams; the second team, the second and third teams; the third team, the second team , The third team, come out!"

In the tense atmosphere, the soldiers whose names were called walked out under the leadership of their respective squad leaders.

Now there are forty-nine people on the queue, which has reached two-thirds of the remaining personnel.

"Today, you will join Master Weston as the vanguard and take the lead in attacking the Scorpion Nest. Everyone must obey his command!"

Upon hearing this order, even the highly disciplined Eagle Army soldiers changed their expressions, and some of them had a trace of fear on their faces.

Even in a defensive battle with strict tactical arrangements, during the stalemate stage, the battle loss ratio between the two sides was close to 1:1. Now that they are actively seeking field battles, with Vesdon, a rookie, as the commander, they are simply sending themselves to death!

Seeing his morale wavering, Eric showed a trace of cruelty in his eyes:

"Have you forgotten how the Baron dealt with the deserters before leaving?"

This sentence immediately extinguished the luck in many people's hearts.

The screams of the unlucky man who was burned to death by magic were an important source of nightmares for many people in the early stage of the march.

"If the Baron can do it, I can do it too!!" Eric's gaze swept over these soldiers like a tiger:

"Become a deserter and die in my hands, and your family will be ostracized and ridiculed; or move forward, victory is a hero, and even if you die, there will be eagles to adopt and protect your family!"

"You choose for yourself!"

The selected soldiers looked at each other, their expressions gradually becoming firm.

If they die here in battle, their families will still be able to receive pensions. Everyone is deeply aware of the generosity of the Baron; but if they are executed as deserters, their families will not only not be able to receive half a copper, but will also be deprived of all their money. People despise and ridicule.

"It seems you have made a decision." Eric noticed the subtle change in morale: "Then get ready to go!"

After saying that, he turned around and winked, and Vesdon stepped forward.

Vesdon originally had a lot to say, but when he saw those resolute and determined eyes, he still felt unprecedented pressure and immediately forgot all about the words he had prepared.

"I...will rush to the front."

Weston swallowed:

"Mount!"

The selected Eagle Army mounted their horses and, under the leadership of Vesdon, charged into the bloody highlands in the morning light.

The galloping sound of nearly fifty war horses was quite majestic, and coupled with the flying Griffith family battle flag behind Vesdon, it immediately attracted the attention of nearby scouts.

A few stayed to continue observing their movements, while others immediately left on horseback and rushed towards the scorpion nest.

According to Eric's instructions, Vesdon led the team at a slow pace, trying to save horsepower, but the goal was clear and firm.

Looking at the Scorpion Nest scouts patrolling a hundred meters away, Vesdon roared with all his strength:

"Go back and tell your so-called 'Sand King'!"

"I, the Baron of the Eagle Territory, Raven Orta Griffith is here!"

"Isn't he afraid to come out to me!? Then I will go find him and stuff his head into his own ass!"

Half an hour later, Heleti listened to the scout's report with a rather strange expression:

"Did he really say that?"

"Exactly!" The scout lowered his head: "And it is indeed heading towards the scorpion nest."

"Haha, arrogant." Heleti looked at Eugene: "Tell me, what tricks are they playing?"

Eugene thought for a moment and then raised his head: "The only answer I can think of is to lure you out."

"As for the specific reason why I want to lead you out, I... can't judge."

"What's so hard to judge?" Heleti snorted: "Either they think they can defeat me head-on in a field battle and kill me! Or, they want to attack the Scorpion Nest while I'm away."

"Lord Sand King, you are really wise." Eugene praised him, and then put forward his own opinion: "So, it is better to ignore them this time."

"Ignore? That's not okay!" Heleti stood up and walked down the platform step by step: "I must accept this battle."

Eugene looked stunned: "Sir, there are obviously risks involved, but why..."

"That's why I said, you are not a horse thief!" Heleti clicked his tongue:

"Why do you think I have the name 'Sand King' and why do I have such a huge force? Is it just because of my third-level strength?"

"Wrong! Big mistake!"

"The horse thieves have taken refuge in me because I can lead them from one victory to another, so that they will always be the killing party instead of the killed party!"

"Following me means following wealth and stability!"

"However, in just one battle, we lost nearly eighty brothers."

Heleti looked at Eugene with a deep look in his eyes: "Your response is correct. The enemy's strength is not yet clear. I really shouldn't act rashly."

"But now, the person who killed so many of my brothers has actually knocked on the door and almost spit in my face. Do you think I can stay behind closed doors?"

"...Can't." Eugene responded.

Heleti raised her voice: "That's right, you can't!"

Under the morning light, Heleti put on his helmet upright: "Give me an order to leave twenty people in the main camp and ten people in each sub-camp. The rest will assemble immediately and set off with me!"

"I need to remind everyone one more time."

"The dignity of the Sand King cannot be desecrated!"

The door opened with a bang, and in the Scorpion Nest Square, the horse thieves gathered like a swarm of bees.

Their armors are all different, their weapons are all kinds of strange, and their words and deeds are even more undisciplined.

But among this army that was "made in all nations", there was a group of unique horse thieves.

There are twelve of them in total. Each one of them is wearing a set of enchanted plate armor. Under his crotch is a first-order Warcraft blood-eyed war horse. The weapons on his waist, the shield behind him, and even the riding bow behind him are all enchanted. arms.

This is the real elite of Heleti, his personal soldiers "Scorpion Claw Guards".

Riding on his mount, Heleti held the enchanted spear "Sandstorm" in his hand and slowly rode forward.

The chaotic horse thieves opened a clear path, and everyone bowed down to pay high respect to the "Sand King".

The Scorpion Claws were the first to follow him, followed closely by Eugene, and then the other horse thieves.

The city gate slowly opened. Heleti looked back on his horse, smiled slightly, raised his arms and waved vigorously, and was the first to rush out of the city gate on horseback.

Immediately afterwards.

The thunder of hooves!

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