Chapter 174: The Defense of Brandenburg — A Hasty End

Ben immediately spoke with alert: “George, I heard you were attacked in Greywood Town before, could that be a conspiracy of the Kingdom of Lucia too!”

‘Whether it is or not, we will insist it was the doing of the Kingdom of Lucia when necessary. Moreover, most of the current evidence is unfavorable to the Kingdom of Lucia.’ Of course, George would not say such shocking words.

He organized his words slightly and then said: “It was not my group that was attacked, but Greywood Town. We just entered the wrong place at the wrong time and got caught in the crossfire. Based on the known evidence, it all points to the Kingdom of Lucia. Even if they are not the masterminds, they are more or less involved. Also, previously, the daughter of the Kingdom of Lucia’s envoy to Nohan, Alexandrina Bagshaw Boltwood, used her charm and instigation to make the impulsive Sir Orff duel with that Sir Mario from the Principality of Tutka. This series of events shows that they are not here with good intentions!”

“Those guys wouldn’t have such a big appetite that they think they can deal with our Duchy of Nohan and the Kingdom of Coruz at the same time, right! Aren’t they afraid of choking to death?” Chrispian asked back.

It seemed he couldn’t quite accept this information. Because the words just now made it feel like the Kingdom of Lucia treated the Duchy of Nohan like a pushover. This was something someone who was still a hot-blooded youth clearly couldn’t identify with.

At this time, it was Greeley who came to everyone’s rescue: “I think the Kingdom of Lucia’s plan should be to create chaos, muddy the waters, and then frame the Kingdom of Coruz! If they directly caused a conflict between the two countries, I don’t think the leaders of the Kingdom of Lucia would be that stupid.”

“Although the idea was good, unfortunately, the execution was far from seamless. Instead, quite a few flaws and loopholes were revealed. And those civil officials in Karada seem to be much more capable than everyone imagined.” George said insincerely, words he didn’t even believe himself.

“Even if we know this, it’s not much use. We don’t have the conditions to participate in it yet.” Aldred saw this clearly.

Seeing this opportunity, Green immediately started to change the topic: “That’s right! Let’s stop thinking about topics so far away from our lives. Speaking of which, now that the support from Karada has arrived today, and the battle seems to have eased a lot, the South City Gate should be open, right! I don’t ask for anything else, but we should be able to have an extra meal tonight!”

Just like that, everyone’s attention was temporarily shifted to the newly arrived supply train.

When that supply train reached the walls of Brandenburg, looking at the flag fluttering there with red and white as the main colors and blue as an embellishment. The first reaction of the defenders on the city wall was that the majority of the support they had been waiting for had finally arrived.

Although Sir Akroyd, who was in charge of the shift today, trusted their identity and didn’t think there would be an enemy team faking it specifically to trick the city gate open. But the necessary procedures still had to be followed; better safe than sorry!

Another point was that the army of the Duchy of Nohan still attached great importance to procedural justice. As long as everything that should be done was done in place, if something still went wrong, the responsibility to be borne would be relatively much smaller.

Things like acting according to the situation in an emergency were not forbidden. As long as the final victory could be obtained, no one would care about the process. Winners are not blamed; this is a universal rule of the multiverse.

Of course, once you fail, you have to bear the corresponding consequences. Procedures exist because they can maximize the avoidance of possible risks. Although what is obtained through them may not be the best result, it will definitely not be the worst. This has a similar effect to the Golden Mean of ancient Tianchao.

Very soon, that pulley crane showed its power again, but this time it was not lifting any cargo, but three soldiers temporarily changed into light armor in the hanging basket. They would be lowered from the city head to the outside of the city wall through such a mechanical device to check whether the other party’s documents were complete, whether the goods were genuine, and whether there were any hostile elements mixed in.

The valley wind continued to blow, and under their influence, the hanging basket secured by two hemp ropes just swayed as it went down. The three battle-hardened soldiers standing in the basket couldn’t help but have cold sweat in their palms.

Fortunately, the creaking sound of the crane on the city head was covered by the sound of the wind before it traveled far. Otherwise, the psychological pressure on the warriors in the baskets below would have been even greater. Even so, the several craftsmen operating the crane on the city wall were also sweating cold bullets.

“Thud—” After much difficulty and swaying, the basket finally landed steadily. The soldiers inside seemed to have a tendency to have weak legs. If possible, they would absolutely not want to come a second time. After crawling out of the basket with weak hands and legs, the few of them quickly started their work.

“Welcome to Brandenburg! Comrades from afar. But according to the rules, we need to conduct a routine check.” Although the leading soldier’s legs were not yet steady, he began to perform his duties quite skillfully.

The leading officer in the supply team returned a military salute and then said: “Under the Grizzly Legion of the Duchy of Nohan, Karada Garrison Area, Dilgraba Squad is ordered to escort military supplies such as Longswords and Javelins here. I am Sergeant Major Cosgrove. The specific quantity and specifications of the supplies are all on this document.”

Saying this, he handed a roll of parchment to the questioning soldier.

“Thank you for your cooperation, Sergeant Major.” After taking the document from the other party’s hand, this soldier preliminarily confirmed the authenticity of the document with his own eyes using the knowledge he had learned before.

After confirming the cargo list behind the document with the two guards beside him, they began to conduct a preliminary but detailed inspection of the supply train’s cargo. The main content of this inspection was to confirm whether there were dangerous goods not on the document, such as Greek Fire or Gnome Gunpowder. To prevent this kind of siege method that suddenly erupts after entering the city gate. Of course, if the other party used spell scrolls, the effectiveness of such an inspection would not be great.

But if the other party could really spend such a high cost to use expensive scrolls with low-level Mages or Mage apprentices as cannon fodder. Then there really was no good way. Besides, just using a trick to break through the city gate didn’t mean they could fully capture Brandenburg. The defense system inside the fortress was still quite complete. And the city gate was not very big; organizing a defense temporarily was not impossible to hold.

Spell scrolls in this world could only be used by spellcasters such as Mages. In that situation, the low-level Mages or Sorcerers who released the spells would basically be focused on and killed. To be able to make spellcasters who take a long time to cultivate and cost a lot do this kind of almost suicidal attack behavior, even if they are low-level spellcasters, the difficulty is really quite huge.

It’s like those bandits who carried out suicide attacks before transmigrating; how many of them were highly educated and wealthy? For such a tall, rich, and handsome profession, having a great life not to enjoy, leaving unknown knowledge not to explore, and giving up everything to perish together with ordinary soldiers. This is obviously not very possible. Even Uncle Osama bin Laden didn’t personally go into battle shirtless! Of course, as a behind-the-scenes person, plus dealing with an enemy country, George felt quite happy about Uncle Laden’s actions at that time!

After checking all this, the several guards who found no problems had to take the hateful hanging basket back to the city wall again. After that, the decision on whether to open the city gate would be made based on their reply. This was to prevent the soldiers below from being coerced by the enemy and sending out false messages. At the same time, the time spent returning by hanging basket and the mental stimulation produced during the process had an excellent effect on low-level mental control spells.

After basically confirming that there was no error, Sir Akroyd gave an order. Twelve sturdy guards in the winch room began to laboriously turn the winches in front of them. After the sound of iron chains hitting the stone walls continued to ring out, the 15,000-pound portcullis also began to rise slowly after a slight vibration.

At the same time, there were also guards in the city gate tunnel who, after receiving the order, began to move the bolts to prepare for the opening of the city gate.

When the first supply train from Karada entered Brandenburg. Immediately, someone received them according to the regulations. At the same time, officials from the quartermaster department conducted a second inspection of the brought supplies. This time was to count the quantity of the goods and check the quality. Making early preparations for the subsequent storage work.

In short, although the brought supplies were not what Brandenburg urgently needed right now, the significance they represented was extraordinary. For a long time afterwards, supplies from Karada would be continuously transported here. Replenishing the losses that occurred during the previous battles.

With the opening of the city gate, merchants who had heard the news early lined up in a long line outside the city. Although according to regulations, these merchants selling food could not be let into the city, conducting transactions outside the city gate was still feasible. Since the rules could not be violated, finding some flexible methods was feasible.

Cart after cart of slaughtered fresh livestock, as well as a small amount of poultry, eggs, and some vegetables were transported into Brandenburg, and then empty carts were pulled back outside the city gate. Purchasing agents from various territories were outside the city wall, bargaining with those shrewd merchants. Fortunately, this was their job, so they handled it with ease.

As Green expected, tonight’s dinner added lettuce salad and roasted meat that had not been seen for several days. Especially for those who hadn’t seen green leafy vegetables for a while. This simple red cabbage salad was like an oasis in the desert!

Although the processing technique could be called clumsy, George didn’t care that much. Although it couldn’t be called wolfing down, he still ate with relish. At the dining table, only Hiren looked a bit unhappy; George, who was used to it, knew that he must have been taught a lesson by Knight Val for some reason again.

After nightfall, a certain brother came uninvited to George’s room. Facing this situation, George could only look at Green, who didn’t treat himself as an outsider at all, with a puzzled face.

After this brief silence, Green, who came with a certain purpose, took the lead in speaking: “This barbarian attack was the result of the Kingdom of Lucia meddling behind the scenes, right!”

For such a straightforward question that went straight to the point. George did not answer directly, but asked back with a smile: “Why do you have such an idea? Green.”

“Isn’t it obvious? Those giant catapults with a range far exceeding the past, large siege towers tall enough to climb directly onto the walls of Brandenburg, and battering rams sturdy enough to give Knights a hard time. Which of these could be made by the barbarians themselves? If there wasn’t assistance from other forces, I think the barbarians couldn’t even find craftsmen capable of making these instruments!” Greeley pointed out the doubts one by one as if listing family treasures. It could be seen that although he hadn’t received any news beforehand, it showed that he not only had talent in this area but also put in the effort.

“So you thought of the Kingdom of Lucia?” Although he was younger than the other party, George’s current performance was like a teacher guiding his student step by step.

Seeing that George did not refute his statement, Green continued his efforts: “I didn’t have this feeling before, I just felt something was wrong. Until you mentioned the Kingdom of Coruz and the Kingdom of Lucia this morning, George, and their relationship with our Nohan. And after the possible actions of the Kingdom of Lucia, I wondered if they facilitated this unprecedented barbarian invasion from the south. Since I had this idea, I realized that the number of barbarian invasions from the south in the past was at a relatively stable level, which was not accidental. Although I don’t know the reason yet, there must be something influencing all this. So, the surge in the number of barbarian invaders this time is not without reason!”

After another short moment of awkward silence, George spoke: “Although there is no direct evidence to prove that the Kingdom of Lucia is involved. But we have always held suspicions about this.”

“So my guess wasn’t wrong. George, since you knew, why didn’t you tell us earlier.” Green’s face pulled down, and his tone towards George became much heavier.

George spread his hands and said: “Before decisive evidence appears, this is just a guess, isn’t it?”

Green immediately realized the meaning. After being stunned for a moment, he smiled and said: “Then I won’t disturb you! Good night, have a good dream!”

Just as Green turned to go out, he happened to meet Hiren who was returning from outside. After nodding to each other, the two passed by.

“Speaking of which, you guys actually still have topics to talk about so late!” Hiren asked George with some doubt, turning his head.

George shrugged his shoulders and asked back: “You should just rest well and think about how to deal with Knight Val! You probably got scolded again today.”

Saying this, he took advantage of Hiren’s self-loathing to quickly wrap himself in a quilt and start pretending to sleep. Soon George fell into a deep sleep between the two of them. He hadn’t experienced such a peaceful sleep for a long time. Hiren, not far beside him, also seized the opportunity to rest after scratching his hair for a long time. But the other guards on the night shift still stuck to their posts in the cold wind and darkness. After all, the barbarians were still busy in the camp not far away; they were like a group of tireless undead, busy day and night.

On such a beautiful morning, after the heavy snow that had been raging for several days, the sky was as blue as the sea, even more crystal clear than the sea. Looking as far as the eye could see, thousands of peaks and ridges were all white, shining with a continuous silver light. The snow on the mountain tops had not melted, like silver palaces.

And in the distant barbarian camp, not a single decent tent could be seen anymore. Carts and sleds loaded with supplies were forming suitable squares and leaving towards the further north. Such a formation was much more regular than when they were attacking the city; one could imagine how much advantage they had given up before this.

In the ruins of the original camp, beside the corpses, they kept rearranging their formation, mounting their warhorses, and forming a huge combat formation to leave.

Finally, the sun finally set behind the mountains near Brandenburg, dyeing the entire sky fiery red. All the hills seemed to be stained with blood, and the originally white snow also turned red. Unlike the hills, the originally white snow was indeed dyed red by the blood of the barbarians. At this point, the Defense of Brandenburg finally ended. Except for the enemies who escaped, died in battle, or had their bodies disposed of by the barbarians themselves, there were basically no living enemies in the original camp.

George and the others on Brandenburg just watched the enemy retreat on their own. Only George was shouting on the side: “I say, since the barbarians ran away in fear, why don’t we send cavalry to go from behind and kick their butts hard! You see, if we do that, not only can we vent the anger of being cooped up in the watchtower for more than ten days. Maybe we can also get some good loot!”

But after being glared at by Knight Val, he immediately behaved himself.

Launching a rash attack to pursue the enemy army when the opponent’s main force had not suffered serious losses was originally a very risky thing. Considering that the opponent’s numbers were still several times that of our own, and their retreat was orderly, not a rout. This kind of behavior could basically be equated with a suicidal charge.

Besides, no one knew whether the barbarians were really retreating or faking it. To prevent them from launching a counterattack, even the corpses under the city could not have the gate opened to be dealt with today. Fortunately, it was winter, and those corpses wouldn’t rot and stink so quickly. For the defenders of Brandenburg, the impact was not too great.