Realm of Power

The left wing of the Gallic Army, the location of the 11th Regional Infantry Regiment, Hitachi Castle

Heavy rain fell from the sky, and white raindrops hit the ancient city walls. There were almost no pedestrians on the streets. As the core of the riots, there was a rare sense of order here. There was no report of any smashing. Phenomenon, on the street, patrols wearing civilian linen clothes, holding in their hands Holding sharp spears and stepping into the stagnant water on the ground, their neat steps exuded a sense of solemnity. The curious eyes of some citizens fell on these civilian guards through the cracks in the windows. There was a hint of weirdness in these people. They are not citizens of Hitachi City, and most residents have never seen these people.

Some people speculate that they are the southerners of the Rasti area who came with the refugees who were driven away from the opposite side. Everyone knows that that area is now occupied by the Falcon Demon Army, and the Rasti people there were expelled to the north in large numbers. Such people are said to There are hundreds of thousands of them, crowding the streets and streets of the city In the alley, people starve to death every day. Every morning, you can see the carriages transporting corpses filled with corpses. There are men, women, and children. The corpses are transported outside the city and burned. For more than ten days in a row, the fire of burning corpses outside the city Watching it in the night makes people feel heartbroken. The army also maintains a policy of expelling refugees. Groups of troops are deployed for defense. Hundreds of thousands of refugees come and go in various military defense areas.

For the residents of Hitachi City, the riots just felt like a particularly chaotic day. A conflict broke out in the city center for unknown reasons, and then the whole city was in a mess, with refugees everywhere. No one would pay attention to whether these refugees were there. They are all real refugees

Jacqueld, captain of the fourth squadron of the fifth flag regiment of the Central Falcon Army, was walking on the road leading to the local army station.

The entire squadron of 1,400 people, mixed in with the refugees, passed through the defense area of ​​the station almost without any hindrance.

The first thing you see when you enter the Gallic defense area is the granary on the west side of the city.

Tall round granary silos, each five or six meters high, stand one after another. They are so densely packed that I can’t even count how many there are at once.

These granaries are far higher than the residential buildings in the city and are very conspicuous. The streets of the city were sparsely populated, with Gallic soldiers and some local residents scattered in twos and threes. Looking back,

On the high city wall, officers were shouting commands loudly, and archery troops were lifting the alert outside the camp. The team came down from the walkway of the city wall.

"These guys are so annoying again!"

A Gallic sentry glanced here and turned away without caring. There were too many refugees, who could care about them?

Jakeld, dressed in dirty linen clothes, walked at the front of the team with his head lowered, and several of his subordinates kept winking at him. Indicating that now is a good opportunity to start,

Jacqueld stopped and took a look, feeling that the opportunity was indeed good now. But he endured it,

From the corner of his eyes, he saw that at the end of the team dressed as refugees, there were still nearly a third of the people who had not entered the defense zone.

He raised his head, his eyes flickering, scanning the Gauls' camp. I took the opportunity to observe. There were only four or five archers outside the camp. They were not regular Gallic troops. There were not many soldiers in the camp. Most of them should have gone out.

"The target seems completely defenseless!"

Jacqueld curled his lips subconsciously. His team set out yesterday, passed through the Gauls' sparse defense line overnight, and blended into the refugee team without any difficulty. There are many squadrons like him, although he is not sure, But the news that Jacqueld heard was that more than fifteen squadrons of Central Army elites had received orders to change their uniforms.

The order he received was to capture Hitachi City. According to intelligence, the garrison at Hitachi City was the 11th Gallic Infantry Regiment, with less than 2,000 troops. According to the combat strength of the Central Army, it was enough to handle a surprise attack.

At the gate of the military camp,

Jacqueld glanced at the almost defenseless camp gate, coughed in a low voice, and whispered "pay attention". The people behind him immediately understood. The line of refugees stopped and the entire street was blocked. Even the company was about to return to the camp. None of the Gallic archers could pass, and the originally neat queue became messy.

"Assholes, do you want to die?" the Gallic officer leading the team cursed angrily.

"It's time." Jacqueld looked panicked and glanced at his companions around him. The Central Army troops dressed as refugees silently grasped the weapons in the salute package and glanced at the generals who were unaware of the disaster. gallic soldier

"Did you hear that? If you don't get out of the way, we'll arrest them all! You bunch of untouchables!" The Gallic officer was still yelling with an arrogant look.

"Do it!" A loud whistle overwhelmed all the chaos on the street. In an instant, the swords of Central Army soldiers equipped by thousands of refugees were unsheathed at the same time. "Kill!" There was a thunderous roar, and in an instant, a storm of flesh and blood was set off.

The Central Army soldiers roared angrily and suddenly pounced on the nearby Gallic archers. The Gallic archers didn't even have time to take out their weapons. They opened their eyes wide in fear and looked at the attacking enemies, their faces turned pale. Someone was screaming, "What's going on?" Before he could get an answer, a sharp blade was thrust into his chest, stabbing him through.

"Attention, enemy attack!" Before the Gallic officer's shrill shout had finished, the sword in Jacqueld's hand flashed a bloody cold light, poof! The sword light cut open the Gallic officer's throat. The Gallic officer looked at Jacques with a bulging gaze, holding the cut part with both hands, and took a few steps back. Finally, his knees weakened. Kneel on the ground

"Go to hell!" Jacques decapitated the Gauls' head with one knife, and the bright red human blood spurted out.

"Kill, leave no one behind!" Jacques de swung the sword in his hand to the ground, and red blood beads hit the ground like arrows. The whole situation was completely dominated by the sudden attack of the Central Army, and the Gallic archers raised their hands in vain. He raised the wooden bow in his hand to block, but the Central Army soldier fiercely waved his sword and cut the man and the bow into two pieces. The distance between the two sides was too close, and there was a melee, and the Gallic archers who were not suitable for close combat were chopped down one after another. Under the violent attack of the Central Army soldiers, the archers screamed and fell to the ground one after another.

"Come in!" Jacqueld was the first to rush into the camp of the 11th Gallic Infantry Regiment. A Gallic soldier was knocked backwards by his knife and fell onto the blood-red muddy street. He was ignored. Stepped over with mercy.

The "enemy attack" sentry trembled and began to draw an arrow, but his hands were shaking and he only shot one or two arrows. The few Gallic soldiers equipped with close combat weapons tried to defend themselves, but they were quickly swallowed up by the sea of ​​thousands of central troops, disappearing like a small wave under the storm. In the huge waves, they didn't even make a bubble.

"Don't be so formal!"

Gleda, the general commander of the left wing of the Gallic Army, walked to the middle seat with a cold face and waved her hand behind her. The accompanying adjutant quickly sent the report of the riot area to each infantry commander. The infantry commanders looked at it with strange expressions. One glance,

The faces of several infantry regiment commanders involved in the defense area became ugly. They turned over the reports in their hands with pale faces, appearing absent-minded.

"Everyone has read the report. I won't talk nonsense. The order from the Legion Headquarters is that the riot must be quelled within three days! What do you think?" Gleda snorted with a gloomy face and handed over the report in her hand. The book is closed,

"It is impossible to quell the rebellion within three days!"

The infantry commanders below all lowered their heads and discussed among themselves. The rebellion was so sudden that it almost erupted into a prairie fire before they even had time to react. The riot paralyzed local affairs. Some camps have also suffered attacks, and there have even been incidents of soldiers being attacked by thugs. Now everyone in the riot areas is in danger.

The army has been placed under full martial law. But too many people participated in the riots, first a few residents in the city, and then developed to the entire region, and the garrison was mobilized. But faced with tens of thousands of mobs, the local army was helpless.

"Sir, this riot involved six cities. Nearly 180,000 people." Hepburn, the commander of the 15th Infantry Regiment, first stood up from his seat with a depressed expression and said hesitantly, "And the cause of the riot was because The grain stores in the market were closed, and citizens could not buy food. People were already starving to death on the streets. This situation was caused by some officers taking this opportunity to raise food prices and privately selling military rations at high prices. I think these problematic officers can be arrested and part of the food released, so that the mood of the mob will naturally calm down. ! Especially the senior officers involved in this matter should be dealt with more severely!"

"What a joke. The war is about to start. You don't think about how to deal with the enemy, but you are proposing to arrest officers who are loyal to the empire. Aren't you afraid of causing turmoil in the whole army before the war?" A middle-aged infantry commander with a crew cut said at the corner of his mouth He brushed it off with disdain,

The infantry commander who retorted was named Lukasted, who was the commander of the 11th Infantry Regiment in the city where the original riot originated. It is said that Lukasted relied on his relationship with the wealthy families in Kyoto to transfer a large number of infantrymen from the rear provinces. The food was sold at high prices in the Rusti area, and the food smuggled in through other channels was brutally suppressed, which eventually led to the formation of riots.

"It is because of profit-seeking people like you that there is today's rebellion!" Hepburn looked at Lucast with bright eyes.

"What do you mean by this? Lucast's face changed slightly. He realized that everyone was looking at him with playful eyes. He suddenly panicked and tapped his hand heavily on the table. "We are soldiers, soldiers. Your duty is to obey orders and eliminate dangers for the empire! If the charges are innocently placed on loyal officers, who will risk their lives to maintain the security of the empire! "

"The danger you are talking about is hundreds of thousands of ordinary civilians who are suffering from hunger and watching their relatives die every day!" Hepburn stared at Lucaste opposite him with eyes full of anger, and said through gritted teeth, "As a soldier, Don’t think about the national crisis, but take advantage of it.”

"A riot is a riot. No matter what the reason is, it has touched the bottom line of the empire." Lucast stood up with a look of contempt.

"Enough!"

Gleda interrupted the two men to continue their quarrel. She glanced coldly at the two subordinates who were looking at each other angrily, and said coldly, "Quiet the riot within three days. This is the order of the Legion Headquarters! Whether it is to investigate the riot The responsibility and who should be punished are all matters after this war, but now, we must calm the riots as soon as possible, at any cost."

"At any cost!" Hepburn's face turned slightly pale, and the infantry commanders sitting there also felt a chill in their hearts. This was a prelude to a killing spree!

Gleida glanced at everyone, paused in her voice, opened a folder in front of her, and said in a serious tone, "I am now announcing the order of the Legion Headquarters. The 4th, 7th and 11th Local Infantry Regiments have entered the riot area. In accordance with the laws of the empire, the rioters will be arrested. If there is resistance, they will be killed on the spot! Other departments will resolutely enforce the blockade of the riot area and not allow the riot to continue to expand to other areas! If there is any sign of rebellion, they will be eliminated immediately. You all understand. Already?"

"Yes!" the infantry commanders responded neatly, and the conference room rumbled with shaking voices.

"Okay, let's adjourn!" Glada finished reading the order expressionlessly and closed the document in her hand. Standing up and preparing to leave, all the infantry commanders stood up one after another. Just as they walked out of the door of the conference room, an officer from the Legion Headquarters came up from the steps below with a hurried look, holding a report in his hand.

"Sir, urgent report from the riot zone!" the officer came to Gleda and whispered with an ugly face.

"Riot area?" Glada stopped heading to her office and was surprised for a moment. The officer's face turned pale. An ominous premonition flashed through his heart. Could it be that the riot area had expanded?

"I just received a report that in the rioting Hitachi City, the 11th Local Infantry Regiment was attacked!" The officer took a deep breath. After looking around, he said cautiously, "Because it was unprepared, the 11th Infantry Regiment was rushed by the mob and the camp was overrun by the mob. It is said that a large amount of food was found that was beyond imagination!"

"A large amount of food beyond imagination? The station of the 11th Infantry Regiment? It couldn't be that idiot Lukaste who put all the food collected from Kyoto in the military camp!" Gleda seemed to have thought of something, and her calm face also expressed surprise. Things have changed, and His Majesty the Emperor has made a high-profile request to wealthy families to donate food to the frontline troops. The wealthy families took the opportunity to transport large quantities of grain to the front line and sell it at high prices. The large-scale smuggling of grain in the Rusty area was an open secret because the background involved many wealthy families in Kyoto, even the commander of the Sixth Army of Gaul who commanded the entire front line. Hassan Rimbaud also turned a blind eye.

"My subordinates think so too!" the officer said with an ugly face. "The Eleventh Infantry Regiment is currently launching a counterattack, but was pushed back by the mob that occupied the weapons depot. It is still in a stalemate! The Eleventh Infantry Regiment is requesting reinforcements." "

"Reinforcements? You actually have the nerve to call for reinforcements? Those stupid bastards, what kind of army does this idiot Lukaste lead!" How could Gleda react when she heard that the dignified infantry regiment was overwhelmed by a mob? It happened to fall on him. Thinking of the influence behind this incident, There was a loud noise, and Gleida also began to worry. The water in this pool was too turbid. All these grains were shipped from Kyoto. They were the wealthy families in Kyoto. Such a huge conglomerate would vent their anger over the loss of food on themselves. On the road, my development in the military world has come to an end.

"This news must be blocked, bring me Lucas!" Gretel took a deep breath to calm down. If it was just a mob, this matter would not be completely irreversible. After a while, the door of the office opened Push away from the outside

"Sir, are you looking for the younger one?" Lucaste walked in with a flattering look on his face.

"See for yourself!" Glada angrily sat on the leather chair behind the desk, threw the report she received in her hand, and hit Lukaste's disgusting face mercilessly. Although Gleda is cold, she is at least a more traditional soldier, but she pursues the concept of sacrifice in exchange for victory. Lukaste is different. The 11th Regional Infantry Regiment comes from the Kyoto area. To be able to become the local garrison officer in such a sensitive area, Lukaste relies on his background in Kyoto. As one of the few soldiers stationed in the bustling Kyoto area, There is no need for a high threshold to join the local army with mixed qualifications. Most of the soldiers and officers of the 11th Infantry Regiment are local nobles near Kyoto, children of declining nobles.

"This is?"

Lucast picked up the report with a confused look, glanced at it, and was stunned. Impossible, absolutely impossible! There were 2,000 soldiers left behind in his garrison. How could he be overwhelmed by a mob? The most damning thing was that these mobs actually discovered the food he had hidden in the military camp! It's over, dead. Thinking of the owner behind these grains, the report fell from Lukaste's hand to the ground. Lukaste's face turned ashen.

"I will give you another 3,000 reinforcements from my headquarters to handle the matter more cleanly! I don't want to hear similar reports again." Gleida took a deep breath and waved to him.

"What do you mean, sir?" Lucast asked in a daze before he could react.

Gretel looked at the completely stunned Lukaste, thinking that this idiot who had no sense of responsibility was exposing herself to the anger of Kyoto's wealthy family, and suddenly she made a low and angry voice, squeezing out from between her teeth.

"I'm not interested in whose food this food belongs to, but I don't want to be dragged to death together. Do you understand?"

"Yes, my subordinates will go back and deal with it right now!" Lucast came back to his senses, shrank his head in fright, and ran out of the office crawling.

"What an annoying guy. I hope this is just an accident!" Glada rubbed her swollen temples with both hands. She leaned on the leather armchair with her whole body tired, feeling the tolerance of the leather sofa, and slowly closed her eyes. eyes,

Outside the window, a flash of silver lightning flashed across the gloomy sky, which was a precursor to the coming rainstorm. White lines began to slide down from the sky (to be continued...)