Realm of Power

In the dark night, the late summer wind that blows in the face clearly carries a burning smell, and a heat wave rolls in. The sky has been completely dyed red, like a huge red curtain covering the top of the head, from the Empire It was already one or two o'clock in the evening from the time the military camp set off to the outskirts of Ellensburg.

"Sir, it has been confirmed that there are indeed noble armies fighting inside and outside Ellensburg. Because the roads are impassable, the internal situation in Ellensburg cannot be known." An imperial scout stopped the horse in front of Lytle, and the fire was burning in the distance. The firelight shines on the scout's body, making it look like it's stained with blood. This is the outskirts of Ellensburg.

"Okay, I get it!" Lytle took a deep breath and glanced around. Even if there was no scout to confirm the scene in front of him, he could still be sure that what Gengdrina said was the truth, because the scene in front of him was full of information. Dots of light within a radius of twenty to thirty miles almost completely enveloped the area in front of them. These were burning houses and towns. In such a huge area, even Lytle's pupils couldn't help but tighten.

Red Maple City!

When Lytle was a passionate young man, he had heard people talk about Ellensburg, but what really attracted Lytle to Ellensburg was not entirely the fortified walls of Ellensburg that had never been conquered. The name is Red Maple City, which is centered on the lake where Ellensburg is located and extends to the surrounding areas. Ellensburg has been peaceful for hundreds of years as a neutral area. Even if fights broke out among the Hokuriku nobles, they rarely affected Ellensburg. Under the peace policy of the Randolph family, Ellensburg not only had high barriers and beautiful scenery, but also this A huge peripheral urban area covering an area of ​​20 to 30 miles. This huge urban area has a population of more than 300,000 and is the economic and cultural center of the entire Hokuriku.

This is all due to the Randolph family, the controllers of Ellensburg. The ancestors of the Randolph family were originally ordered to escort the Princess of Hokuriku back to Ellensburg, and were later ordered to stay as tombkeepers, limited to Feizer's original royal order. Unable to possess more than three thousand armaments, the successors of the Randolph family devoted all their wealth and energy to developing towns.

In particular, in order to commemorate his deceased daughter, Randolph Paula Tam, the third generation of the family, ordered that the lake be planted with his daughter’s favorite Hokuriku red maple. This Hokuriku red maple is similar to other red maples in the mainland, but Because of Hokuriku's special geographical climate, the Hokuriku red maple is much smaller than the normal red maple tree, only over three meters. If the nearby houses are large enough, High enough, you can easily touch the red maple leaves as red as flames by opening the glass and reaching out. In autumn, when the wind from the lake blows through these large red maple forests, the waves are rolling like the Red Sea. It is heavy, and there are towns in the huge red maple forest that span more than 20 miles. It is a shocking experience for any traveler who comes to Ellensburg.

When he was young, Lytle once imagined that one day he could go to Ellensburg in the Northern Territory to see the beautiful red maple lake. Lytle did not expect that at first he only thought it was a fantasy. The possibility has been realized at this moment, but the scene in front of me is really not as beautiful as it is. The town is burning, and there are people running everywhere. The destructive power of the war is fully reflected here.

"The Molina family defected to the empire and have been executed!"

"Everyone who surrenders to the empire will be killed!"

"Any resident who dares to harbor imperial elements is guilty of rebellion and will be killed!"

"Any resident who dares to assist Xiali's family or refuses to open the door to be searched is guilty of treason and will be killed!" Soldiers from both factions rushed into the streets. Although Ellensburg is the center of the war between the two sides, the total area of ​​Ellensburg is It's so big, and each noble family not only stays in Ellensburg alone, but some also bring a large number of entourages.

Therefore, there are only seven or eight thousand people in Ellensburg. The other more than 10,000 noble troops are stationed in urban areas. When the unrest broke out, the commanders of both sides came from Ellensburg almost at the same time. When the order came, the soldiers from both sides immediately used Red Maple City as the battlefield. However, this war quickly turned into a chaotic battle.

The local political officer who had expressed his intention not to intervene in the fighting between the two sides and quietly ran out of Ellensburg was dragged out of his home by the rioting soldiers. In front of him, he killed his parents, wife, and son, a total of thirty-five relatives, and finally killed him. The heavy hammer broke his back and he was still breathing. The soldiers got impatient and trampled him alive with horse hooves. Fifty-one members of the Red Maple City Sheriff's family were locked into his home and then released by the rebels. The noble soldiers who had lost control of the fire were already furious. The nobles were all in Ellensburg, and external contact had been cut off when the outbreak broke out. Therefore, the two groups of soldiers in the town were completely out of control. They saw that Wherever they went to a wealthy family or a beautiful woman, they would yell, "This is a secret base of the Imperial Army!" They immediately broke into the door, and what followed were the screams of men and the screams of women...

Because the incident broke out so suddenly, many soldiers from the family didn't know why they were fighting or who they were fighting with. Didn't we talk about fighting against the imperial army? Why did our own people suddenly start fighting? Many bewildered noble soldiers rushed into the surrounding shops and broke open the luxuriously decorated iron gates. There was no military power to protect Red Maple City. In this sudden and unexpected situation, In the face of such turmoil, she looked like a girl whose fig leaf had been torn away. The city is burning, and headless corpses are scattered in the long streets that are dyed red by the fire. Burning and killing are everywhere, houses are burned everywhere, and large areas of red maples are also scorched by the scorching heat. Set against the red maple trees planted along the street, the hell-like scene before his eyes made Lytle's The brows were knit together tightly, "Oh my God! How could this happen!" The one who made a cold voice was Gendelina, who was the guide of the army. She looked at the scene in front of her with a pale face, completely unable to believe this. It is the most prosperous Red Maple City in Hokuriku. The scorching heat blows her flaxen hair and the burning red light Her body seemed to be stained with a layer of blood. Red Maple City, the most prosperous urban area in the Hokuriku, had changed into what it looked like in just a few hours. No matter how outstanding Geng Di Ruina was, , after all, she is a girl who does not have much experience, and has not even experienced the battlefield. How can she face the cruelty of war?

But for the Imperial Army, the scene in front of them was still acceptable. It was just dead people. It was not like they had never seen it before. Outside Roxton City, more than 40,000 heads were chopped off in one go. The tragedy at that time was comparable to what they saw before them. The whole situation was much more tragic. The black imperial army was like a black line in the darkness.

The Hokuriku noble army that was plundering the town had no idea that tens of thousands of bloodshot eyes were looking at their figures at this moment. "Sir, what should we do now? In such a chaotic situation, we can't tell who is who." Who are the enemies? Who are the surrendering Hokuriku families?" An imperial general drove his war horse over and asked Lytle with a stern face.

"Distinguish? Why should we distinguish? It's already like this, do we still need to take care of these things? Terr snorted coldly, and he ordered to the imperial generals behind him, "You can swing the butcher knife on your own people, no matter whether it is or not. None of the Hokuriku families who surrendered need to stay! Go down with the order, and if any resisters are found, the plunderers will be killed on the spot. "Yes, understand." The imperial generals nodded in unison with serious faces.

, the black tide surged, the iron hooves clanged, and the black armor emerged from the periphery of the burning town like a black ghost.

"Everyone move forward. Anyone who resists will be killed on the spot."

As the orders were conveyed, in the shadowy night, the imperial army in black armor entered the city. The light cavalry were the fastest, with their swords unsheathed. The hot wind blew in their faces, mixed with the cold light of the night, and they swooped in. A soldier of the Hokuriku Noble Army who was robbing something heard a rumble from behind him. There was a loud shaking sound, and he turned his head curiously. It was like a mountain of lightning and flint flashed past. The sharp imperial sword used the power of the horse to cut off the shoulder of the noble soldier. Poof, the soldier had not had time to react. The noble soldier was cut open on the spot, and blood mixed with internal organs poured out from the incision.

"The Sixth Flag Regiment goes to the west, and the Eighth Flag Regiment goes from the east..."

Tens of thousands of Imperial troops rushed into the flaming battlefield in front of them. The torrent of black armored steel moved forward unstoppably. There were no enemies left standing behind them. The Hokuriku noble army did not expect that the Imperial troops would kill people. They They also looted property in the city, and robbed and wreaked havoc everywhere in small groups. In addition, the entire command system was completely paralyzed. By the time they discovered the large influx of Imperial troops in front of them, the Hokuriku noble troops who were still wandering around the city were completely scattered. Seeing the Imperial troops coming like a black tide, some panicked and took action. Weapons, some were crawling around in embarrassment, and more people just turned around and ran away,

In the midst of this chaos, an imperial cavalry galloped directly towards the stone bridge connecting Ellensburg. In the direction of the stone bridge, hundreds of soldiers wearing the armor of the Siali family were waiting solemnly, and everything was bright and clear. The bayonet blocked the bridge. A middle-aged general wearing heavy armor stood in front, squinting and staring at the burning town in the distance.

From the beginning of the turmoil, the Xiali family quickly cut off the only access stone bridge, and used the entire Red Maple City to hold back the troops of other families. Now those families in Ellensburg would not even dare to beat them to death. They thought that the Xiali family would sacrifice the entire Red Maple City to hold back their army. Just when they were desperately looking forward to rescue, their army was raging in Hongmaple City.

"Sir, such a red maple city, just like this...isn't it a pity?" Some people expressed regret to the general who led the team. The wealth of the red maple city is famous throughout the Hokuriku, otherwise it would not attract other nobles. The army was in chaos and looting, but they just watched helplessly, feeling itchy in their hearts.

"Tell everyone to cheer up and don't be tempted by the small profits in front of you. As long as you can take control of Ellensburg, the century-old wealth of the Randolph family alone is enough to be worth a Red Maple City, not to mention just these The head of the family is in hand, it’s up to us to decide how much ransom they want. In the end, not all of what they ate in Red Maple City will be ours. When the time comes, the rewards from the head of the family will be yours!”

Just as the general's voice fell, a row of black shadows penetrated the town area in front, and a faint rumbling sound, like the rolling waves, became louder and louder, and the sound expanded into a muffled thunder rolling against the ground. Come on, for a moment it feels like you are unsteady.

"Ride... the cavalry!"

Some soldiers screamed in fear. Before they could see the true face of the shadows, rows of cold black armors, dark red illuminated by the flames on both sides of the street, were like rows of leaping steel rushing against the coast. Coming, the imperial cavalry rushed in like the wind, and the noble soldiers of the Xiali family were knocked away and squeezed. On the already narrow bridge entrance, bright red people Blood spattered from the galloping horses. Many soldiers who hadn't noticed it could only feel their eyes dazzled. The imperial sword had cut across their infantry armor with a sharp edge, and the sound of tearing was mixed with the metal and metal. In the collision of flesh and blood, he rushed directly to the bridge entrance almost immediately. Flesh and blood flew everywhere, and the sound of horse hooves covered up all the sounds in the world.

A wave of blood rolled over, and no one expected that the other party would directly attack the narrow bridge entrance with a powerful war horse. The general of the Xiali family's short flaxen hair stood up like stubbles. Although he was shocked, he reacted quickly Coming over, the heavy sword in his hand slashed violently, and an imperial war horse was struck by the sword. Hitting the front, the imperial cavalry above was thrown heavily into the lake next to it. He was a famous warrior of the Xiali family, a great knight captain known for his stubborn temper and arrogance. After briefly blocking him, he shouted loudly Shouting, "Everyone, please don't retreat. Even if you die, you will die at the bridge entrance."

"The bridge entrance was attacked, send a signal, we need reinforcements!" At the same time, he also shouted to a messenger shooter behind him. The shooter immediately pulled out an arrow cluster, wrapped the front end with oilcloth, put it on a torch and lit it, high The tall one was raised diagonally upwards in the distance, the bowstring was loosened, and a little red line flew out, and the figure a hundred meters away The scene quickly opened as the red line opened, and in the direction of the town, groups of armored knights were seen swarming like ant colonies. The number could not be seen, just like a cold light projected down. I don't know how many armored knights followed, and the fire was raging. Murderous intent rose into the sky, and the goals of both sides were focused on this stone bridge at this moment.

"Dismount and move forward on foot!" Because the entrance to the stone bridge was too narrow, the cavalry rushing in from the front tore the hole open, but could not make any further progress. The imperial officer leading the team simply ordered the entire team to dismount and pick up their horses. The cavalrymen with shields and sabers rushed forward, like bloodthirsty beasts, crushing all living creatures in front of them.