When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

As many mountain nobles had expected, the raid on Mollietti ended in less than an hour.

After cleaning up the battlefield, the Thousand River Valley army didn't dare linger and quickly retreated.

Otherwise, if they were caught by the Imperial Decree Legion in their current state, they would likely suffer heavy losses to escape.

But it must be said that this battle stabilized morale.

One battle cleared 6,000 enemy soldiers, captured two earls, nine barons, and 380 extraordinary knights.

Although it wasn't a decisive victory, it was a good initial response.

Having witnessed the power of a series of clockwork weapons, the mountain nobles gave up any thoughts of resistance.

They were now only grateful, grateful that this technology wasn't unique to Horn, and grateful that clockwork cannons were also in the hands of civilized people.

Mollietti raided Komita Town in the morning and returned near Green City as the sun set.

The autumn sunset carried the scent of cooking smoke.

Riding on horseback, Mollietti looked at the spire of the distant town clock tower and unconsciously frowned.

Returning in triumph and suppressing the mountain nobles were both exciting things, but why did combining them make her feel so uneasy?

"Your Highness, look!" Lannes on the hillside suddenly shouted at Mollietti.

Leaving the group, Mollietti rode her warhorse up the hillside and saw the main road outside the town.

The road was crowded with carts and donkey carts loaded with luggage, and the citizens were carrying packages, heading towards the forests and mountains.

Looking closer, everyone's face was filled with fear and anxiety.

They crowded on the roadside, chickens, ducks, cattle, and sheep were squawking, and even a small friction could trigger a shouting match or even a fight.

But this fighting wouldn't last long; both sides would quickly cease and continue on their way.

"What happened?"

Mollietti ignored Lannes and instead looked towards the more distant river.

The sound of oars and sails came from the river, and she took out her telescope and looked towards the Nauan River.

In the distance, the number and density of ships on the Nauan River were much greater than before.

The ships were riding very low in the water, not only were their holds full of cargo, but their decks were also full of people.

What happened?

Could it be that Green City had been captured?

Impossible. Even if Mollietti was attacking outside, there were still thousands of defenders and Herman in the city.

There were also two military settlements nearby that could enter the city to provide assistance at any time.

Most importantly, although Iron Gate Town was captured, giving the enemy a supply and transport center, they would still need some time to digest the wide swaths of land on both sides of the river.

With these fortresses, attacking Thousand River Valley would either mean directly attacking Green City from the start, or first eliminating its wings.

Not to mention the Laya people, even if Mollietti or Horn adopted Raoul's strategy, it would be at least three weeks later.

But this fleeing didn't seem fake, so what exactly happened? Rumors, riots, or plague?

Soon, Lannes threw the green-clad man at Mollietti's feet.

"Amian!" The veins on Mollietti's forehead throbbed. "You're supposed to be in the city handling government affairs, what are you doing here?"

This municipal official was an old retainer left behind by Mollietti's father.

Mollietti trusted him quite a bit; she had read his mind several times before, and he seemed quite loyal.

"I, I... I didn't." The municipal official didn't have time to defend himself before Mollietti lifted him off the ground, his face turning increasingly pale.

He said he didn't, but she clearly intercepted the words "escape" and "Green City is doomed" from his thoughts.

"What happened? Speak!"

His upper and lower teeth chattering, Amian looked left and right at the other mountain nobles who had curiously run over, and stammered, "This afternoon, terrible news came from the northern Thousand River Valley: the important town of Qila Fort was captured."

"What?!" The mountain nobles had just arrived and heard such terrible news, so shocked that they almost fell off their horses.

Hotam County was flat and had nothing to defend.

That's why Mollietti wanted to build fortresses everywhere, blocking the key waterways and gaining enough time for Thousand River Valley, trying to keep the enemy outside the national borders as much as possible.

But this first batch of reinforcements hadn't even reached Green City yet, and several key fortresses had already been captured?

The new-style bastion forts in Upper Reiff County had withstood the Gravel Plain people for a year without any progress.

The Laya people had only been here for a little over a week, and they had actually captured several bastion forts in a row.

Wasn't that several tens of thousands of gold pounds a year wasted?

"Impossible!" A mountain knight rode his horse and held his sword across Amian's neck, his veins bulging. "You're lying!"

Lannes used his leather sword sheath to press down his steel sword, which prevented Amian from wetting his pants.

"The other small fortresses don't count; the Laya people launched a surprise attack, and it's understandable that they weren't prepared." Lannes stared into the official's eyes. "Qila Fort, what happened?"

It was forgivable for small fortresses to be surrendered by local nobles seizing the opportunity.

But Qila Fort, such a key town, was as solid as iron and the chances of it being opened and surrendered by an internal traitor or noble were slim.

"It is said that it was subverted, and it is also said that a traitorous noble opened the city gate, and there is also, there is..."

"There is what?"

The municipal official licked his chapped lips: "They say, a group of extraordinary knights swam twenty kilometers through the river, went around to the rear of the fortress, and raided the castle."

"Swimming twenty kilometers with a ninth-stage breathing technique is somewhat possible, but a group of ninth-stage breathing techniques would condescend to do this?" Lannes looked at Mollietti.

Mollietti remained noncommittal: "Continue."

Stealing a glance at Mollietti's expression, the official swallowed a mouthful of saliva: "The Laya army shouted the slogan... 'Kill the Grand Duke, still owe grain,' and the villages and towns along the way surrendered at the mere sight of them.

The same is true in the south; the Laya people used captured clockwork cannons operated by surrendered soldiers to break through key towns.

Now, from Iron Gate Town to Green City, there is no defense, and local nobles will actively provide logistics such as grain and supplies.

Green City is surrounded on three sides, leaving only the Nauan River to the east as an escape route, so the townspeople in the nearby towns naturally want to flee!"

"Are you one of them?" Mollietti's eyes were incomparably dangerous.

Amian's head instantly accelerated, shaking like a rattle drum: "No, no, no, I was persuading them to go back, I absolutely had no intention of escaping."

"Then what is the package on your body for?"

"All dry food, after all, you have to eat outside." Amian laughed awkwardly twice.

Mollietti was about to ask again when suddenly she heard something in Amian's thoughts, and her pupils suddenly dilated.

"Amian, I ask you, since the fortresses have been captured, what about the mountain military settlements near the fortresses?"

"This..."

"Speak."

Feeling his collar getting tighter and tighter, Amian quickly said with a weeping face: "Those damned Laya people, incited the plains people, to, to slaughter the military settlements..."

As soon as Amian finished speaking, he felt his collar loosen and fell to the ground with a thud.

Looking up again, he saw Mollietti's face was incomparably gloomy.

"Lannes, you lead the army; the rest of you, follow me back to the city immediately."