Realm of Power

In the evening, the snow started to fall again, and it was white. In the falling snow,

Falcon Empire scout captain William Dennis immediately stood up in the snow, his eyes as sharp as swords as he watched the figures of the Gallic troops retreating southward slowly appearing in the distance. The first was the light cavalry with blue cloaks. It seemed that the other party was very cautious and had been driving away continuously. The six-day road was still meticulously followed by light cavalry. Both sides of the road leading to the south spread out, and only after realizing that there was no ambush did they send out a signal that everything was safe. Half an hour later, a rumble of earth came from the distance. It was the main force of Gaul's retreat to the south. In the white mist, hundreds of infantry formations holding legion flags began to appear.

The 110,000-strong army dragged wildly for more than 20 miles in northern Gaul. The Gauls deserved to have the local advantage. They chose the safest route to retreat south. There was nothing too dangerous along the way. Passing through a dangerous pass, the surrounding field of vision is wide, which is not conducive to the assault of the army. There is no big problem in terms of safety. The Gauls marched for six days, marching more than 80 miles every day, almost exhausting They rushed towards Kyoto with all their strength. Although the two sides had reached an agreement privately, both the Gallic Army and the Falcon Army knew very well that if the Gallic Army did not enter the Gaul Kyoto area for a day, the Falcon Army would not close the door to the north for a day. Road, this battle is not over. An 80,000 person or a 110,000 person, under the right circumstances, both have the ability to catch the opponent off guard and make a comeback.

There were as many as 110,000 Gallic troops in the so-called "breakout" this time. In order to prepare for a battle that might break out at any time, the soldiers were required to make wartime preparations. The soldiers marched in groups carrying their own packages and luggage. Wearing armor, with their helmets wrapped in white cloth or stripped of their rank insignia, they mingled with the infantry ranks. There was no excitement or sadness on the numb face, but only confusion about the future. This arrangement was mainly to confuse the audience so that the Falcon Army scouts who were watching nearby could not tell who was the central army of Gaul.

The 110,000-strong Gallic army dragged out behind him for nearly twenty miles.

Each infantry regiment is separated by three miles. This arrangement has advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that it can effectively avoid being encircled by the opponent's main force. The disadvantage is that unless there is any abnormal situation, all cavalry units must be sent out, and the troops must be urged to maintain a tight formation at all times. Therefore, there is currently no way to drive away the nearby Falcon Army light cavalry scouts. look.

Tielan was wearing the armor of an ordinary officer and looked around with vigilant eyes. A black line in the distance made his pupils shrink. This black line that had been following them for six days stopped at the edge of the forest. It was a flash of light. The Falcon Army's scout cavalry glows with metallic luster. These scout cavalry wore light mail armor, wore the spear-top helmets of the Falcon Emperor Corps, and carried one-meter-long crossbows behind them. They looked at the Gallic troops in the distance wriggling like ants with cold eyes. The feeling of being like a vulture perched on a cliff looking at his food made the Gallic general very unhappy.

"Sir, thirty miles ahead is Vernon from Kyoto!"

A forward cavalryman galloped over. His tone was filled with uncontrollable excitement, and his shout caused a stir in the surrounding marching troops, Vernon. The gateway city outside Gaul Kyoto, arriving at Vernon basically means entering the scope of Gaul Kyoto! As the news spread, the entire Gallic army cheered "Hail! We are home"

"What are these people cheering for?" Captain Falcon Scout looked at the Gauls who were cheering loudly, with a look of surprise on his face.

"It seems to be cheering... In front of you is Vernon from Kyoto in Gaul!" Next to him, a young scout from the northwest region who could understand Gaulish said hesitantly.

"Vernon! Vernon on the outskirts of Kyoto in Gaul! Is it finally here?"

The Falcon Scout Captain's face was stunned for a moment. He raised his face and looked deeply into the distance. Through the wind and snow that had just stopped, Yixi could see the outline of a city in the distance. The Scout Captain's hand holding the reins of the war horse trembled slightly. After a moment, he looked calm, tilted his head to a subordinate behind him, and asked in a deep voice

"Is everything ready?"

"Of course, I can guarantee that the Gauls will go crazy this time!"

The one who answered him was a subordinate with a scar on his face, grinning slightly, showing his white teeth, and said with a sly smile, "We prepared two large trucks of fuel bombs and followed these bastards for six days, just to Waiting for this moment, I really want to see the scene when half of the city wall of Vernon was lifted to the sky when it exploded. These Gauls retreating south thought that we were just monitoring them, and they would not even think that our target was actually It makes them unable to return to Kyoto at all! "

"Okay, stop talking nonsense, we have to report to His Majesty!" The scout captain waved to his subordinates, turned around on horseback and galloped away.

"Are these bastards finally willing to leave?"

Seeing the Falcon Scouts disappearing in the distance, Tie Lan waved his riding crop in an angry and hateful manner, and finally felt a little relieved in his heart.

It wasn't like he hadn't thought about immediately turning back to block the Falcon Army in Antura in the north as soon as he left the Antura area. However, the report he received made him feel like he had been splashed with cold water. The Vekia Falcon personally led five Ten thousand elite members of the Central Army were following closely thirty miles behind him, along the way The two armies seemed to be pulled by an invisible rope. Tielan stopped in front, and the Falcon Army also stopped behind. Tielan advanced, and the Falcon Army also advanced. There was a distance of thirty miles, and there were hunters along the way. With the Eagle Scouts following closely, Tie Lan had no chance of changing his march.

Under the eager gaze of the fat man, Tielan had to go all the way south until he entered Vernon, with Kyoto in sight. The morale of the entire Gallic army was immediately boosted. The soldiers and officers were all cheering that they were about to go home. Tielan also felt that the danger was finally gone. , He didn't know that the real danger had just arrived. On the other branch road where no one was paying attention, two carriages fully loaded with goods and covered with black oilcloth got the signal. Starting to turn the axle and heading towards Vernon,

"Papa"

The wheels rolled over the road still covered with snow, and the frame made a rhythmic creaking sound, like something swaying neatly from side to side. The cargo on it was piled up to two or three meters high, and the outer suit could not be seen. The thick oilcloth inside the Qingqing, although I don’t know what it is, looks very heavy, because the four horses pulling in front kept making a wheezing sound from their noses while running. The horse's hooves kicked up the broken snow on the ground, and the direction of travel was a three-way intersection on the main road of Vernon. Sitting in the driver's seat of the carriage was a burly young man, wearing a gray robe from head to toe, with a bulging waist. , there seemed to be something with no face visible, and he looked at the intersection in the distance with cold eyes.

After a while, there was the sound of rapid horse hooves on the road to his left, and three light cavalry in Gallic uniforms galloped from the side road. They were going to Vernon to deliver the news. The person in charge of Vernon, Marquis Gia, was a friend of Master Tielan. The 110,000-strong army had been trekking in the ice and snow for six consecutive days. The army needed a place to rest and recuperate, and this time it returned to Kyoto. , it is not as simple as just returning. This time Tielan brought back an army of 110,000 people. Even if such a military force is placed in Kyoto, it is still a staggeringly abundant capital. If the operation is successful, it is entirely possible to reach the level where the chief military officer also serves as the deputy minister of the Ministry of Military Affairs.

"Roger, you go and inform the city guards, Rafido. You go and inform Lord Gia. I will go ahead and ask them to clear the city gate so that the army can pass..." One of the three light cavalry The officer shouted, with golden hair. He is around twenty-five or six years old, looks quite handsome, and exudes toughness.

For the carriage that appeared at the fork in the road. The officer just glanced at it and showed little interest in continuing to look at it. This kind of mysterious-looking commercial carriage, all wrapped up, is not uncommon in Gaul. The driver does not want to reveal his true face and cover the cargo because the carriage is covered with everything. These are smuggled goods that cannot be brought to the market. Nowadays, supplies in Gaul and Kyoto are extremely scarce, prices are soaring, and smuggling is rampant due to high profits. This attack had no effect at all. In fact, everyone knows that most of the people who have the ability to smuggle items into Kyoto are backed by wealthy Kyoto families with very good backgrounds. Otherwise, these smuggled goods will only come from Kyoto controlled by these wealthy families. It is absolutely impossible to pass the district. Unless you feel that you will die quickly enough, who is going to cause trouble! The officer, who came from one of Kyoto's wealthy families, simply ignored the existence of the carriage.

The carriage swayed toward Vernon's city gate walkway, which was made of huge stones. There was a team of ten guards outside. There were also several carriages waiting at the door for inspection, and most of them were following this one. Carriages are similar. The guards are very lax in inspecting these carriages. If there is someone familiar with them, they don’t even need to inspect them.

"The army is about to pass, clear the road immediately!" The light cavalry officer came to the city gate, took out the documents representing his identity, and shouted to the guards. The city guards took a look at the officer's documents and quickly returned all the documents in one breath. After checking the carriage parked on the stone bridge outside the door, I came to the last one In front of the completely wrapped freight carriage, the guard unexpectedly found that the driver's seat was empty and the people on it were long gone. "Whose cargo is this?" the city guard shouted to all around with great dissatisfaction, but no one responded. Damn it, he must have run away out of fear of crime!" the guard muttered with an uneasy look on his face.

"Ignore it, pull the carriage into the city immediately and clear the roads! If you delay the army's entry into the city, you will be punished by death!" The officer glanced at the legion flag that appeared not far away, and urged loudly on his horse

"Yes! Yes!" The city guards were frightened and shouted quickly, "Someone come quickly and get this carriage away immediately!"

Other city guards ran over in a hurry, pulling and pushing. The heavy carriage gradually sank into the city gate walkway. When it was less than half a meter long, a fiery red arc "swooshed" with distance. The whistling sound shot towards the carriage with a gorgeous parabola from a distance.

"Watch out for arrow attacks!" the city guard screamed in fright. The other soldiers quickly lay down on the ground, not daring to move. Bang, the arrow cluster fell down with a soft sound, and the flaming arrow cluster was firmly nailed to the carriage. The oilcloth covering the cargo turned into a red volcano almost instantly.

In an instant, a huge thunder-like explosion lit up the entire city gate, and a red halo of light shot into the sky, directly lifting off the ceiling of Vernon's already narrow city road. Both sides of the city road corridor were flattened and squeezed at the same time. The balloons and bubbles swallowed up all the objects on both sides of the turbulent airflow, boom! . A series of explosions came one after another, shaking everything. The entire city wall of Vernon was shaking, and the dazzling flames seemed to illuminate the entire vast wilderness.

"This...this..."

The guards at the city gate had already been shaken by the sound like a thunderbolt from the blue.

He was knocked over by the forceful wave of air. When he got up, he saw a terrifying scene. He saw countless bricks, debris and corpses being thrown heavily into the air. What was even more exaggerated was that there were several people on the city wall. An archer was directly lifted off by the huge wave of air that swept under his feet, and fell heavily from the city wall more than ten meters high. A huge crack suddenly appeared on the old city wall that had experienced hundreds of years of wind and rain.

A Gallic general who was rushing to the city gate suddenly stopped. He was the Marquis of Gia, the person in charge of Vernon. He looked at the city gate that had collapsed in the explosion, and at the huge crack in the city wall where the black clouds were billowing. His expression changed. As ugly as it is, he gritted his teeth and said, "You bastard, this must be a premeditated attack. Block the entrance and exit of the city gate immediately. The whole army is on alert!"

"Sir, Lord Tielan's army is almost outside the city..." the adjutant next to him reminded in a low voice.

"What's going on, why don't you care about this! Who can guarantee that this attack was not planned by Tie Lan!" Marquis Gia seemed to have been greatly stimulated, his face was almost deformed, and he roared angrily, "Can A weapon with such power must be a weapon of the Falcon Empire, and the return of Tielan's army is unclear, and the situation in the north is deteriorating. If he has betrayed the empire and joined the Falcon Empire, it will be the same if we open the city gate. Exposed the entire Kyoto to the enemy! "

"Then now..." the adjutant looked at a loss.

"The whole army is ready for war. Before we find out, no matter who is outside the city gate, we must stop it!" Marquis Gia punched the wall decisively, following the order. Woohoo! The sound of trombones representing total war readiness echoed in the sky over Vernon,

"Is this a city-wide alert?"

Tie Lan was riding on a war horse, looking at the Vernon city wall that was beginning to collapse in large areas with a straight line of black smoke rising in the distance. He was also dumbfounded. The horn sound coming from Vernon in the distance indicated that the other party listed him as the enemy without even asking!

"Asshole, are Vernon's troops crazy?" When the generals of the Kyoto Army heard Vernon's war cry, they all yelled angrily from behind. "I worked my butt off to come back from the north. Is this how I was treated?" ?”

"Just hit it in. I don't believe that even a little Vernon can stop us." Someone shouted extremely arrogantly. Vernon's garrison only had 5,000 men, while our retreating troops numbered 110,000. These people who don't know the rules should be given a proper lesson! "

"Okay, everyone, please be quiet. I think this is just a misunderstanding! There is no need to cause such trouble." Tielan was relatively calm. He looked at his excited subordinates, raised his hand and said slowly, "Marquis Gia is a A cautious person by nature, Vernon as Kyoto The gateway to the north. In such emergencies, it is relatively normal behavior to close the city gates, restrict entry, and put the entire army on alert. You don't need to make such a fuss. You must believe that we are all for the empire. Honored and strives endlessly”

"Then what should we do now? If we can't enter the city, will the 110,000-strong army camp out in the city tonight? The weather is so cold now, and the army has suffered serious attrition. Every night is a torture for our soldiers." A general said with a look on his face He couldn't bear to ask, "Moreover, there are fifty thousand Falcon troops behind us, of which there are more than twenty thousand cavalry troops. The enemy is eyeing us all the way. In this case, who can sleep?"

"It shouldn't be that bad. We have already arrived at Vernon on the outskirts of Kyoto. Does the other side still dare to take military action?" A general said that it shouldn't be that bad. Before he finished speaking, everyone heard a rush. The sound of horse hooves sounded from far to near. It was a scout cavalry coming, and the horses were not yet ready. When they stopped, the cavalryman jumped down from his horse, panting, knelt down on one knee in front of Tielan and said, "The situation is not good. The Falcon cavalry behind us suddenly pushed into our army's 20-mile warning red line. Our army's scouts have been defeated by surprise! The enemy is running towards the rear of our army."

"What! 20,000 Falcon Cavalry are charging towards the rear of our army!"

Tie Lan was stunned when he heard this. He was completely dumbfounded. The gates of Vernon City were closed in front of him, and the Falcon Cavalry came in force from behind. Tie Lan suddenly felt that he was like a mouse that got into a tube, unable to move forward. , Retrograde can lead to retreat! For a moment, he even felt that the other party had no intention of letting go of his 110,000-strong army from the beginning. It was just that the other party could endure it until they were about to enter Gaul and Kyoto before taking action. This thought was really heartwarming to think about. Feeling sick and feeling cold.

"Gather immediately and prepare to fight!" Tielan turned around in high spirits, glanced at his subordinates, and shouted 0000000

"Woo!" The 110,000-strong Gallic army outside the city began to disperse, with countless spears raised, shields like the sea, and armor like scales.

"Asshole, report to Kyoto immediately, Vernon urgently requests reinforcements, Tielan led the army to rebel!?" Standing on the wall of Vernon, Marquis Jia looked at the murderous troops below and shuddered with fear. Tielan really had a problem, he only had 5,000 people, and they were the garrison, while the other side was the elite troops of the empire, (To be continued...)