Blade and Poetry

Under my leadership, the Ninth Army fought on the southern front for nearly a year.

I think Odd's suggestion applies to me: a general should not bring too much emotion before the battle.I am learning to be the calmest one on the battlefield, gradually let go of the indignation against the enemy, and only care about the gains and losses in the war; just like Peterson in the past, deal with all the variables well, turn the tide when the plan goes wrong, and become my soldier Our vanguard, but also their backing-although when we walked back to the camp tired and sweaty after our victory, there was always a group of soldiers hanging shoulder to shoulder and joking with me, complaining together that I should "run slowly" point".

Even my two lieutenants said the same.They say I don't seem to tire at all, that I fight like some kind of bird of prey that catches rabbits.

Because of running around all year round, people in many towns on the southern line are already familiar with us.Under the defense of the soldiers, they took root in the city with peace of mind, and the damage caused by the few street battles was quickly repaired.Families with whom we had close dealings could already call individual soldiers by name; they called me "Sir Karl," and they always filled our armaments with provisions and medicines.Several business tycoons in Song Country also contributed large sums of money to the local military industry, including Xiaohuaniao's family.

In the past, I rarely had the opportunity to use the inheritance left by my grandfather, and even less after I joined the army.I contacted Redmonton Jr. and asked him to propose a sum for me to donate a small hospital to the town of Hoftas in the name of Shaw Carr.

On the battlefield, the situation in the south of Columbus is getting better and better.In 860, Queen Ward, who was rarely involved in international disputes, also sent troops to help Columdunan.The alliance of Pu, India and Asia completely disintegrated in March, and Ward's reinforcements blocked the India-Sea-Atlanta line, preventing the invaders from landing on the southeast coast of Columbus.

The pressure on the southern battlefield eased accordingly.I took advantage of this time to ask for a day off, went to the "Shaw Carr" hospital in Hoftas for a while, and then sneaked back to the academy to meet some old people.

Odd has been communicating with me in private, but Lando has met me for the first time in a long time—she was so happy that she seemed to want to drag us around the academy.The radical factions of the East and West Courts also seemed less confrontational in the face of the war. Most of them were busy writing small papers on the current situation, and held several private seminars between the two houses.Lando said that Coleman was busier than me, and that the No.15 Army was under enormous pressure, and he never had time to come back.In Coleman's letter there was a hint of concern about my situation, but no real reason.

In the early morning when there were few people, the three of us wandered around the corner of the college where we had met, and I went to see old Mr. Smith.Due to his sensitive status as a member of the Medicine and Stone Department of the Magic Society, I have not written to this old gentleman with whom I have a close relationship, in case it has to be checked.Whether the Medicine and Stone Department stationed in Hoftas knew about the process of my escape from house arrest is still unknown to me; but I firmly believe that the old man himself will not be against me.

I took off the ring and quietly went to Mr. Smith's apartment and knocked on the door.I thought he was awake all the time at this time, and sure enough, he heard footsteps inside the door very quickly.The door was opened a thin crack by someone first, and then it was swung wide open immediately, revealing the familiar face behind me.He was wearing a plain coat that he put on in a hurry, and the lines on his face that were not good at expressing emotions became lively for a while.

I told him that I was reporting to the army and had been involved in a war recently.I said a lot about my apologies for not being able to visit him, interspersed with a lot of military anecdotes, and showed him gifts from other cities until I made him happy.The countertops in his house are still messy; he's moving the jars aside as he listens to me.He bent down and groped in the door of the cupboard under the stage, and a large spoon appeared in his hand, and he dug something into the biscuit mold one by one.

He is using his magic power to burn snacks for me.But for the sake of speed, those biscuits were baked half burnt and half white.He ended up slathering the tops of the biscuits with a generous layer of butter and filling them all over a large plate.Under his eager gaze, I bit down half a piece, and couldn't help coughing because of the taste.

I glanced at the bag of biscuit mix in the cabinet—it looked freshly opened, but dust had accumulated on the packaging.

Fortunately it didn't expire.So we emptied all the biscuits with tea, messy countertops, and Hoftas morning air.

He has never been very supportive of my choice to join the army instead of studying in the inner court, but at this time he may have decided that he will not persuade me back. He just told me to be careful during wartime and remember to protect my heart.

I was still brooding over Professor Lane's last days, and it suddenly occurred to me that since Mr. Smith worked in the Department of Medicine and Stone, he might be able to give me a different answer.

"A magician's heart is damaged, so there must be no cure?" I asked him, "It is said that ordinary hospitals have developed a new method-there have been cases of broken hearts that have been repaired."

"They can save ordinary people. I have seen their proposals, and the success rate is very high, which can be regarded as a good innovation." Mr. Smith said, "But the principles of magicians or swordsmen are different. Ordinary people's With a broken heart, the primary problem to be solved is nothing more than bleeding, and the problem faced by people with magic power is the rapid loss of magic power. Their deep magic power is stored in the heart to support the operation of the body's internal systems. If you want to rescue a heart ruptured For a magician, the premise is to stop the bleeding, clean up, and transfuse him, and at the same time inject a large amount of magic power into it, so that he can repair it."

"Massive," I repeated, "how much exactly?"

"Theoretically speaking, it is a magic number that cannot be achieved by a single person," he said, "and it cannot be completed by multiple people working together. If the process of inputting magic power is slightly stagnant, patients with a ruptured heart will be very dangerous."

"Then what about the containers that store magic power?" I recalled my limited medical knowledge and asked, "Is there such a thing that can be used in medical treatment?"

"Let's put it this way," he frowned, "even if there is a miracle, there is a magic power carrier whose explosive power is different from ordinary people, there is currently no feasible channel to let magic power into the depths of people's hearts. Attracting magic power, the heart will suffer even greater damage."

Mr. Smith probably didn't know about the fact that I was searched by the magic society. He was still the same as before, only talking a lot when giving admonitions and teachings.He opened up a space for me in his half house, half laboratory, let me rest here for a long time, and then gave him his private collection, and gave me a few bottles of magical potions with marked functions— —They are not oral medicines, but act on external objects; he asked me to use them for self-defense.

From the current point of view, the morale of the southern part of Galundu has been boosted and the lost ground has been regained one after another, but the Puguo military has not yet shown signs of resignation to decadence. Instead, it has shown a crazy fighting spirit like a trapped beast.It can be seen that their formation is no longer as orderly as before, and their strategic intentions no longer reflect obvious plans, and they have begun to bet on their last resort.

The "Iron Mask Army" is just a new army that has emerged from Puguo recently.According to the messenger, the army only had about 3000 people, and they were wearing a set of flexible heavy armor that had never been seen before.The invulnerable battle armor armed them from head to toe, making them almost invincible.

I heard its name only ten or so days before the holiday; I actually dealt with it only a few days after returning from the holiday.At that time, I was preparing for the barbecue plan during the march with the small captains of the Ninth Army.Unexpectedly, before the pine branches were erected, a new mission arrived in a hurry.

"You Bingcheng?" One of my assistants, Marcus McLaughton, touched the head of the carrier pigeon on his shoulder, "Where is this on the southern line?"

"The letter said it was the main battlefield," another deputy, Feli Asion, continued, "so it's the northern line. And Aegean's head is about to be bald by you, Marcus."

With that said, Fei Li saluted me, and ran to the distance to deliver the order according to my instructions.Marcus let go of his hand rather unwillingly, and Aegean pecked his side face affectionately.

"You Bingcheng is a good place." I flicked the command in my hand, "A small town at the extreme north, full of magic, and the city wall covered with ice is a symbolic feature. There are few people in the city. It is more like a fortress than a city." large warehouse."

Marcus poked his head around me. "A warehouse for what, sir?"

"It's hard to say." I shrugged. "There are too many state secrets, and I don't have the authority to know - just take care of them. It's the first time you face the Iron Mask, have you thought about what to do?"

Marcus's smile disappeared, and he wrinkled his eyebrows: "The biggest advantage of the Iron Mask lies in the special armor. Reckless fighting is definitely not advisable. If you must fight head-on, you can try to catch a living first, and find out The mechanism of the armor starts with the word "demolition". Or just use the method of siege to cut off their rushing forwards and backup supplies, lock them in one place and consume them by themselves, and naturally they can win without fighting."

I met Marcus' expectant gaze, and I couldn't help but think of the young man two years ago.He was the son of a merchant, and at that time he insisted on joining the passing Ninth Army. He suffered a lot in order to meet the standards, and in the end he also showed a rare combat talent in the tempering.

I thought about his strategy for a moment, and I didn't comment on it, so I just said:

"Marcus, do you want to be a commander?"

"Of course!" He yelled without hesitation, and then shook his back, as if he had realized something, "I won't take the position of the chief."

"Never mind," I said to him, "the commander will give it to you when you're done."

"Sir Carl," Marcus immediately changed his words, "I don't even remember what I said just now. My head suddenly hurts..."

"Recently the situation is good. I think this battle has reached this point, and Puguo probably won't win." I said, "The old chief is overworked, and he decided it's time to experience and experience you young people."

"What are you talking about?" Marcus said with righteous indignation, "Everyone knows that Shaw Carl is the youngest second-rank officer in Columbus. He is a strong mage who can use a knife, and he is called a devil on the southern front by the enemy!"

"One of our princes is already a third-rank officer," I paused, "and what's the name 'Devil on the Southern Front'?"

"Ah! Fei Li told me not to say it," the young man put his hand on the back of his head, "Anyway, the enemies on the southern front are afraid of us, and they call us nicknames as they run... I also heard it by accident... It's a bad word, after all, the chief of the Ninth Army is invincible!"

He first consciously reflected on his mistakes, and smiled at me flatteringly.

I frightened him with my gaze. "Ferry's back—it's your job. We're leaving soon."

Marcus turned his head frequently as he walked, looking at me earnestly and embarrassedly.

I waved him away: "Go and show Feili what I just said."

Marcus immediately forgot his melancholy, and ran towards Ferry excitedly: "Hey, Ferry, you don't know, just now Chief Karl said he would give me the commander!"

Fei Li exchanged a few words with him, walked to my side, and reported to me the current preparations in the army.You Bingcheng has responded to our plan and started construction according to our arrangement.If we can arrive at Youbing City before dark, we will be able to catch up with Pu Guo Iron Face Army [-]% of the time.

"Sir, I know what Marcus just said was not a joke," Ferry said, "When did you think of leaving?"

"A long time ago." I said, "I have no preference for command or not. The reason why I am still in office is that those who can do more work-don't laugh, you have not escaped my eyes, Feli Asion. I mean Yes: If you are able to do it, this job can be done by you."

"I have no interest in the position of commander of the Ninth Army," Ferry said. "Marcus likes to lead troops to fight. His sense of war is much keener than mine-but I don't think he is very attached to that position." .”

"I understand that you don't want to, so I didn't suggest the same to you." I said, "But whether you are a commander or not, this is the time to really train you. Write me a brief analysis based on intelligence. I fight guerrilla , will not play a decisive role in this battle; divide your troops and try to be alone. Marcus leads the enemy, and you lead people to backtrack. If you have a better distribution method, you can overthrow me .”

"No problem, sir." Ferry saluted me, "but..."

"You're thinking too much," I said, noticing the way he looked. "You're just as good as Marcus—could my eyes still be wrong?"

"Yes!" Ferry said loudly with a serious face, "I will definitely complete the task I received."

It is not as cold as I imagined near the ice city.The solid ice that covered the high walls was slightly blue, more like the crystallization of magic than condensed water.The sky here is bleakly blank, without the favor of the sun, it seems to look the same no matter how far apart.Several miles away, there are countless similar small towns with different functions. There are streams flowing between the towns, and above the streams are ice floes that come and go.

According to the agreement, our soldiers and horses did not enter Youbing City.The people who set up an ambush took several scouts who came to explore the way into the net, and Marcus led people to lure the Iron Mask into the established route.

I rode on the side of the road on a horse.On the road is a gift that I have already prepared for them - a large magic circle completed with the strength of several magic consultants, and it only needs to add the last bit of texture to take effect smoothly.A group of horses' hooves approached in the dark; I heard the signal of three cracks of the whip, and knew that the one who beat the head was Marcus.His soldiers and horses crossed the unactivated teleportation array and merged with me.

"As planned?" I heard Marcus whisper.

"Yes. Their forward group should know where to go best." I said, "I'm going to try to make a division and mess up their plans a little bit."

"Compared to your 'tactical preset three points', I actually haven't figured out the so-called 'enemy's purpose'." Marcus whispered again, "Why did the Bishop of Puguo order someone to visit the Bingcheng? He clearly knew Even if those people gain something, it is impossible for them to return with a full reward under our siege."

"Galenno hates to death, and he has lost his mind; if he can't get it, he wants to destroy it as much as possible." I replied briefly, looking in the direction they came from, "Okay, be quiet—they are coming Already!"

This is a new wave of hooves.There is no moon rising in the dark night outside Youbing City, and the hazy light above the sky is not enough to illuminate people's shadows.Those raiders were like a group of ghosts converging into a dense fog, and even the sound of horseshoes seemed much lighter than usual.Marcus took the lanyard I handed him—he'd snap me back to my spot after I'd dismounted from my horse and plunged into the broken formation where the enemy had been.

In a blink of an eye, the group of people had already approached us; but their pace seemed to slow down, and only three to five people broke into the formation at this moment.

The first man got off his horse at the same moment.My horseshoe just took a step forward, half of my body was still hovering on one side, and suddenly I felt a strong force tearing me off.

I rolled with the iron-faced soldier who was pulling my forearm, and was dragged into the formation by that force.His cold blade moved so fast that it would not fall off my neck.I used my left hand to hold the metal arm desperately, moved my body, estimated my position at the moment, stuffed my right hand under my body, and tried my best to replenish the runes smoothly according to my memory.

That man seemed to be a close hand, he used his heavy body to effectively restrain my joints.My left arm was sore from fighting against him, and my chest was heavy, but I still made a counterattack posture.Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him make a gesture, causing the remaining few participants to retreat as well.

My men stood still on one side, his men cautiously occupied the other side, and the corner here was strangely empty, only me and that man were left.

He seemed to have realized something at this moment, retracted the saber gesture, and turned to catch my hiding right hand, but it was a step too late—the magic circle was declared completed and completely lit up within three seconds after landing on the ground. up.

The iron mask on his face was reflected brightly by the light, and it only sank in a black horizontal gap between his eyes.I grinned, and instead tightly wrapped my legs around half of his body, I dragged him and was thrown into the traps I set by the formation.

"It's not very useful to be on guard against the magical aura in advance," I thought, and finally glanced at Marcus and the others. "After all, this is a single teleportation array."