"If I remember correctly, ahead, we will first pass through a city... After passing that city, we will be within the territory of Falling Star City."
Oz, wearing glasses, flipped through a notebook in his hand.
It contained many routes and plans, and he had made many preparations for today's journey.
"City? I see it—"
A Goth person holding binoculars said upon hearing this, he saw a faint tower above the jungle.
"The last time I passed by there, the army of the Srui Kingdom had not yet invaded that city."
Oz shook his head, but then he flipped through his notebook, which had some writing on it, "But not long after I left, I received news that the army of the Srui Kingdom had already arrived there."
"Did they win?"
Oz didn't speak, but as they got closer, everyone became silent. Such a large city, yet there was no sign of life.
There was no one on the road, so the fate of this city was obvious.
"Over there, there are remnants of magic, or something similar?"
Poro suddenly twitched his nose, as if he had caught something, and his eyes were fixed on the direction of the city.
In his perception, whether it was magic, or the energy of heaven or hell, there was little difference. With the deepening study of magic and occult knowledge, Poro's perception of this type of special energy became more and more acute, like lighting a lamp of perception in the dark.
He knew that the larger and more frequent the spells cast, the more free-floating energy would be left in the air, like the waves remaining on the sea after a storm.
The trees began to thin out, revealing the plains outside the city. When the city appeared in front of everyone, everyone's carriages and horses suddenly stopped.
"Wait, those... are soldiers?!"
The person in front frowned. Not far away, in the plains below the city, there were many black dots that looked like people. Upon closer inspection, they looked like armored soldiers lying prostrate on the plains?
"No, those people seem to be dead? But who killed them?"
If those lying on the ground were on a battlefield, the bodies were arranged too neatly, as if the melee had not even started before they died in the process of charging!
The convoy approached cautiously, and it was indeed a battlefield.
The smell of rotting corpses attracted countless mosquitoes and flies, which swirled in the air.
Others searched further and found many more corpses.
And without exception, all the corpses were missing their heads, and there were no major injuries to other parts of their bodies.
"Why does it feel like these people had their heads chopped off at the same time?"
Lake crouched down and picked up a soldier's long sword. This long sword was different from the iron swords used by most kingdoms. The blade of the sword had a silver sheen.
It looked like a special silver sword, and its material composition was similar to that of the armor.
"This armor should belong to the soldiers of Falling Star City. So many people died here?!"
Looking around, there must be tens of thousands of soldiers with such deaths on this battlefield!
"If the army that died here is the army of Falling Star City, then how many soldiers does Falling Star City have now?!"
The soldiers of a city will definitely not be too many. Tens of thousands of soldiers of Falling Star City died here, so how many troops does Falling Star City have left?
Thinking of this, many people felt chills.
"Don't be afraid, Falling Star City hasn't fallen yet, these dead soldiers..."
Oz also looked at the corpses on the ground, and even used the single-handed sword in his hand to pry open a soldier's armor to check the rotting body inside, "Moreover, the battle of Falling Star City has been going on for a long time, at least it lasted until after the time these corpses appeared."
"But more importantly, who killed these soldiers?"
Lake said, she noticed that the soldiers on the side, although they had drawn their long swords, there was no trace of blood on the blades of the swords.
It was as if they died here before they could fight the enemy.
Is it magic?
The long wind blew through the weeds taller than a person. In the corpses of humans, these weeds absorbed a lot of nutrients, covering up these armored skeletons.
"Let's go."
The convoy crossed the battlefield, unable to think of any referenceable positions or answers, and everyone became much more silent.
Many people looked around unconsciously, and at the slightest sign of disturbance, they were afraid that the Srui people would rush out.
Then, before they could react, their heads would be cut off.
The ruined city was already behind them, but continuing forward, although there were no longer such large-scale army graveyards as before, the number of corpses was increasing.
They often saw overlapping corpses thrown on both sides of the road.
The muddy ground was mixed with the stinking, dried blood.
"How many people have died here..."
At first, everyone felt sad for the corpses on both sides of the road. Among those corpses, in addition to the armored soldiers, there were more civilians.
But after a while, everyone's eyes became numb.
The corpses on the roadside were so numerous that... anyone passing by would think they had arrived in hell!
"Northwest, there is an army of the Srui Kingdom, we need to hide."
Princess Marlene condensed her form from the shadows, reminding them.
"Northwest?"
Oz flipped through the notebook in his hand, "Is it marching or..."
"Judging from the characteristics of the shadows, it should be a patrolling army."
Princess Marlene replied without thinking.
"The third one. As expected, the Srui Kingdom has increased the blocking army. They are compressing the territory of Falling Star City step by step."
Oz once again outlined a route on the map at hand.
"Time is running out, we can't wait any longer."
"How is it?"
Princess Marlene looked to the other side, a general from Goth, "Is there any news about the message sent to Falling Star City via carrier pigeon?"
The Goth general on the side carefully took a roll of paper from the ankle of a carrier pigeon and unfolded it.
He carefully scanned it, but a trace of gloom appeared on his face:
"Falling Star City should have received the letters we sent, but none of the fifty or so carrier pigeons we sent received a reply..."
"There is no time to wait. The master of Falling Star City is the only one who has successfully resisted the main force of the Srui Kingdom - that may be our only chance of victory."
"Previously, I knew a road where the Srui Kingdom had loopholes in the arrangement of the Bluegrass Valley. We may be able to enter from there. Someone has escaped from there before."
Oz rummaged through his notebook and said hesitantly.
"Is there really a road?"
Lake thought for a while and said, "Will the Srui Kingdom leave such a road? If someone escapes, they will know, right?"
"We can only try it. We can scout first and try to cross the blockade line after confirming it."
Oz spread his hands, "After all, this is already the route with the highest chance of successful infiltration."
Bluegrass Valley is part of the mountains near Falling Star City, connecting to a very high mountain area. The terrain is complex, and the grass and trees are towering. Even if the number of troops is large, it is extremely difficult to guard such a place tightly.
And in this Bluegrass Valley, there are also many routes planned by herbalists.
"There shouldn't be many people here, let's go, the mountains are always safer than outside."
The convoy turned and proceeded along the path in the valley.
But at this moment, Poro's ears perked up. He heard an unusual rustling sound from the branches, and looked towards the shadows on the other side of the valley:
"No, it seems like - there's an ambush over there?!"
In an instant, he widened his eyes.
And in the direction Poro was looking, a glowing arrow had already shot out—
The arrowhead of this arrow looked specially made, like a hollow whistle, vibrating in mid-air against the air, making a sharp whistle!
"Tsk, did the shadow of the mountain block the shadow of the scout?"
Princess Marlene's face sank.
Although her shadow magic can view the terrain and humans in almost a large area, in such a mountainous area, it is useless for scouts who completely hide in the shadows!
At the same time as the Srui scout appeared, Poro secretly said something bad.
The shadow of the scout was covered by trees, and his body did not have a strong human sweat smell, but a strong smell of herbs—
This Srui scout even smeared special potions on his body to cover up the smell!
"Damn!"
Everyone cursed secretly. Lake didn't hesitate. When she saw the scout, she had already drawn the longbow behind her and shot the scout down.
Everyone knew it was too late.
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Not far from the bottom of the valley, the sound of the army was approaching like a tsunami. Poro could clearly hear the dense sound of horseshoes and the sharp chirping of armor, swords and swords.
"Go, we can't go this way, we'll be trapped in the valley!"
Oz also made a decisive decision. Since there was a Srui scout hiding on this road in the valley, it meant that this road had been discovered by the Srui Kingdom.
The convoy turned back from the valley.
But the speed of the Srui army was much faster than expected!
"No, if this continues, we will be caught up!"
Approaching Falling Star City, everyone already knew the true face of the Srui Kingdom. On such an important battlefield, the Srui Kingdom would not show mercy just because the passers-by were merchants or civilians.
So, everyone began to abandon the carriages and ride horses to escape the ambush.
But soon, behind them, the army of the Srui Kingdom had already appeared. The Srui military flag formed by three twisted golden lines was raised from the forest.
Arrows rained down.
"What to do?"
Most of the horses ridden by several people were one in a hundred good horses, but even so, the war horses of those Srui cavalry still steadily suppressed everyone.
Poro even saw a Srui cavalryman holding something like a syringe and injecting some transparent liquid into the horse's body!
We can't go on like this.
Lake and Poro both realized this.
Otherwise, before long, these now weak and powerless feather arrows will catch up with and shoot to death those ordinary warriors one by one as the distance closes!
"Lake, take my horse and go first, I'll stop them."
Poro no longer hesitated, threw the reins of the war horse to Lake, and then turned into a shadow and escaped into the ground.
Lake did not stop him. She nodded and took the reins. She had cooperated with Poro for a long time and naturally knew Poro's abilities.
The next moment, several cyan and red vines broke out of the ground, overturning the first few cavalrymen.
Then, the grass and trees on both sides and under the feet of the Srui cavalry also rose from the ground one after another!
Those grass and trees seemed to be given animal-like life, and the roots pulled out of the soil wrapped around the hooves of the Srui cavalry like snakes.
[Circular Return: Little Ida's Flowers · Flower and Grass Dance Party]
Compared with grass and wood magic, this circular return does not consume magic power. The only limitation is the speed at which it produces effects.
The Srui cavalrymen were shocked when they saw this scene, and had to draw their swords and guns and fight with the living grass and trees.
With these "special" enemies to stop them, they had no time to care about Lake and his party.
In the bushes next to him, the magic light in Poro's eyes faded, took a deep breath, and returned to the shadows under his feet.
...
In the canopy of a tree on a low hill, Lake and Poro leaned on a branch of a tree, looking at the endless Srui military camp on the plain not far away.
Countless soldiers returned and left the camp in an orderly manner—
Those were all patrol teams.
And there is more than one such camp around Falling Star City.
"The routes previously prepared by Oz have all been blocked."
"How many soldiers did they mobilize this time? This is too many, right? Blocking such a large area..."
"They are not using faith or interests to motivate those soldiers."
Poro narrowed his eyes and said slowly, "The devil's means control the souls of so many people."
"It may be a little difficult for us to find a road from their route - they probably won't let anyone leave."
"Yes..."
"If it's the two of us and Princess Marlene, maybe we can, but it's not easy to hide it from others."
In order to find a new route, everyone decided to separate and explore the patrol patterns of the Srui Kingdom as much as possible.
Then, find a flaw as quickly as possible.
But the number and command of the Srui Kingdom are obviously not unintelligent beasts.
And the current situation is a state of "over-blocking"—
The Srui Kingdom has not released survivors for a long time.
While thinking about it, Poro narrowed his eyes, and a red light flashed, strengthening his vision, allowing him to lock on a Srui person. The armor he was wearing was more delicate and different from other soldiers - that was a Srui officer.
"The flaws in the patrol of these Srui troops are very small, and it is basically impossible for so many of us to sneak past.
But perhaps, we can create flaws."
...
Srui army, an outer camp, this is the tent where a Srui officer is located, surrounded by many fences.
A soldier lifted the tent flap and walked inside.
"Huh? Aren't you supposed to be patrolling Sector 37? Why are you back early?"
The officer looked at the soldier entering the tent, paused for a moment, and then frowned as he asked the question.
"Sir, I think we need to modify the patrol routes."
The soldier gave a military salute and stated his opinion directly.
"Are you crazy? Who authorized you to make changes?"
The officer frowned upon hearing this. "These routes were all planned by the General. What business is it of yours?!"
"I see. Don't be angry, sir."
The soldier nodded, looked at the officer again, and smiled. In his eyes, there wasn't a trace of respect for his superior. "Since that won't work, I'll just have to borrow your identity to make a suggestion to the General."
"After all, a mere soldier can't meet the General."
The officer finally realized something was wrong, but he was already unable to resist.
Because his head had been completely transformed into a yellow biscuit, and it slumped heavily onto the seat.
"Break the biscuit into smaller pieces. No one will notice someone is missing for a while."
Poro nodded and stepped forward.
Several dozen seconds later, the tent opened again, and the officer in armor walked out. He greeted the surrounding guards and walked towards the deeper parts of the camp.
(End of this chapter)
