Chapter 454 Diffusion


    ??When Duanmuhuai followed Qildi to the square, he could see dozens of oxcarts parked in the square, and there were many guys dressed like adventurers next to them.


    “This is what we captured during our patrol today.”


    Chierdi also reported to Duanmu Huai very seriously.


    "Today we followed the patrol route and found a suspicious caravan deliberately taking the mountain path, so we stepped forward to investigate, and the other party attacked us. After defeating us, we interrogated and found out that they were slave traders and were being captured from Herman. Slaves transported elsewhere.”


    “Well, good job.”


    Duanmu Huai nodded. The prohibition of slave trade is one of the doctrines of the Inquisition. Let’s not talk about the various harms that slave trade may bring. Even the slaves themselves may also pose potential threats - after all, you are not sure about these slaves. Will she be taken to do hard labor, be a prostitute, or be sacrificed to some evil god?


    Of course, based on the experience of the Tribunal, the latter account for the majority of demand. Whenever you travel among the stars and find slave transportation, if you follow the clues and look for them, you will most likely encounter one or several people who believe in evil gods. Order...


    By the way, under the leadership of Duanmu Huai, Seth and Lisas have now classified the slave trade as illegal and began to arrest them on a large scale. In fact, this is normal. Seth currently needs to regain his strength, and of course he cannot allow his own people to be trafficked. And Lisas - well, even if Duanmu Huai asks Leah to give him the country, I am afraid the latter will not hesitate. .


    “Take a few leaders down to interrogate and check the buyer.”


    "clear."


    Duanmuhuai gave an instruction casually, and then came to the bullock cart. At this moment, the slaves had also got out of the cart. There were men and women among them, shivering and gathering together, looking uneasily at the soldiers and night guards around them.


    ?This is normal. After all, he was captured and then brought here. In addition, he was surrounded by terrifying soldiers. It is not surprising that he would feel uneasy.


    “Ah, Sir Knight!”


    Lorena, who was registering the refugees, saw Duanmuhuai appear and hurried over.


    "How about it?"


    “Yes, they were all slaves caught by slave traders in Hermann, and some of the children were even trafficked…”


    ?Speaking of this, Lorena''s expression was not very good. After all, there is no such thing in the Holy City.


    “Ask them about their plans. Those who want to go home can leave. If you need travel expenses, you can share some money directly from the slave merchants - they won’t need it anyway.”


    "yes."


    Lorena nodded, then turned back to the group of slaves and said a few words to them. Then she saw the slaves cheering excitedly, and many of them even hugged each other and cried. Then they bowed respectfully to Duanmu Huai and Lorena, then turned and left.


    But it seems that not everyone yearns for freedom.


    "Um?"


    Duanmu Huai saw a young girl standing there blankly with several little girls not far away. He frowned, then walked over.


    “Dong…dong…dong…”


    Hearing the footsteps, the girl turned around and saw Duanmuhuai. She was so frightened that her face turned pale, her legs went weak, and she sat down directly on the ground. The little girls around her also hurriedly hid behind the girl, looking uneasily at the giant walking towards them.


    Duanmuhuai was used to this kind of reaction. He walked up to the girl and stared at her.


    “Why, aren’t you going to leave?”


    "This...I..."


    Looking at Duanmuhuai, the girl''s expression looked quite nervous. She lowered her head and her voice was as low as a mosquito''s chirping.


    "say."


    ?Looking at the other person''s timid appearance, Duanmu Huai frowned and scolded him. When she heard Duanmuhuai''s scolding, the girl trembled in fright.


    "Yes, yes, I''m sorry...I...I don''t know where I should go..."


    Don’t know where to go?


    “Don’t you have a place to go back to?”


    …………”


    The girl was silent for a moment and shook her head.


    “Where are your relatives?”


    …………”


    The girl still didn''t speak.


    “This is a bit troublesome.”


    Looking at the girl in front of him, Duanmuhuai sighed helplessly, and at this time, Qildi gave some advice.


    "In that case, how about integrating her into the logistics force for the time being?"


    “Then it’s settled.”


    Duanmu Huai didn''t pay too much attention to it. The main task of the logistics force was to be responsible for chores such as laundry and cooking. Basically, everyone could do it. Since this girl has nowhere to go, it would be a good idea to simply send her to the logistics force. After making the decision, Duanmu Huai turned around and left, while the girl looked at Duanmu Huai''s figure, a hint of uneasiness flashed in her eyes.


    At the same time, the First Army Corps stronghold.


    ?Standing on the city wall, looking at the scenery in the distance, General Kriolev of the First Army looked serious.


    As a pure Hermannian soldier, Kriolev enjoyed a high reputation in the Hermannian army. He was tall and strong. Although he was past his prime, he still had an indescribable domineering attitude.


    ??And Hermann''s First Army led by him, although not the largest in number among Hermann''s armies, was the army with the most knights. And Hermann''s First Army prides itself on being invincible.


    But now……


    "grown ups."


    ?Adjutant Karl appeared behind Kriolev, and upon hearing his voice, Kriolev sighed.


    “The commander-in-chief ordered me to lead the First Army, the Second Army, and the Fifth Army to suppress the rebellion.”


    “The goal is…”


    “The Inquisition and the Fourth Legion.”


    ?In fact, this is expected. Kriolev has an unparalleled reputation in Hermann''s army. If he had not been unwilling to collude with Prime Minister Stisser, Kriolev would have been the commander-in-chief. However, it is precisely because of Kriolev''s upright character that the relationship between him and the Council headed by Stisser is extremely bad.


    “I guessed it would be like this.”


    ?Hearing the officer''s answer, Adjutant Carl sneered.


    “You know?”


    "Well, I heard that a few more guards defected just recently."


    …………”


    ?Kriolev remained silent and did not speak. In fact, there has always been no shortage of loyal people within Herman. They couldn''t tolerate Stisser''s overwhelming power and even tried to assassinate him several times. However, because Stisser had an extremely powerful steel monster as a guard, these assassinations ultimately failed.


    But this does not mean that those soldiers gave up. Therefore, when the Fourth Army rebelled and even launched the banner of "Qingjun Side", many soldiers and troops who were originally loyal to the royal family but were suppressed by Stisse fled the royal city directly. He defected to the Fourth Army.


    In fact, within the First Army, the generals have discussed similar issues several times. In the past, their unwillingness to rebel was due to their loyalty to the royal family. But now, the Fourth Army''s slogan of "clearing the emperor''s side" has also opened a window for them.


    There is actually such an operation!


    That’s right, we are not betraying the country, we are trying to disobey the emperor and punish the sycophants!


    The generals below also wrote to him more than once, asking Kriolev to learn from the Fourth Army and march directly into the royal city to kill the traitors and assist the emperor, but Kriolev refused.


    And now......


    “Obviously, the Council wants us to die.”


    The strength of the Fourth Army is not something to be afraid of, but the strength of the Inquisition has become very clear to everyone after these long investigations. Not to mention anything else, they didn''t have any methods or means just for the mechanical giant that was taller than the mountain. Although the First Army, Second Army and Fifth Army combined had a large number of people, Kriolev still had no idea how to deal with that kind of mechanical giant.


    Now for the Council, the First Army is the least trustworthy. They are even afraid that the First Army will rebel like the Fourth Army, so they simply send the First Army out to attack the Tribunal to avoid causing damage to the royal city. threaten.


    “Are we really going to go out?”


    "certainly."


    Facing the adjutant’s question, Kriolev nodded.


    "According to the commander-in-chief''s order, the First Army will mobilize 40,000 people, the Second Army will mobilize 50,000 people, and the entire Fifth Army will mobilize a total of 100,000 people. To form a joint operation, it is necessary to combine the Tribunal and the Fourth Army The legions are blocking the royal city."


    ??Stretching out his hand and pointing forward, Kriolev said calmly. He could also understand why the council was so crazy. At present, the Tribunal and the Fourth Army have occupied Guzak. Going northwest from here is the fortress of Bonn and the deputy city of Guland. In other words, once the Bonn Fortress is broken through and the city of Guland is occupied, then the Tribunal and The fourth legion came directly to the royal city.


    Although logically speaking, according to intelligence, there are currently only 20,000 people in the Fourth Army, and the total number of troops on the Tribunal seems to be less than 1,000. But the problem is that the mechanical giants of the Tribunal are too terrifying. If they can''t be stopped, they might really kill them directly into the royal city in one go.


    “Does the Council think the other party will resolve the issue quickly?”


    "Probably so. After all, the total number of opponents is less than 30,000. In addition, they have strong fire support from the Tribunal. In this case, instead of attacking steadily, a direct assault on the royal city is the most effective method. . On this point, I also agree with the Commander-in-Chief’s conjecture. Therefore, we must fight the battle head-on with the Fourth Army and the Tribunal!”


    Speaking of this, Kriolev clenched his fists.


    Then he looked at the distance of the horizon again, then turned around and walked into the fortress without looking back.


    …………”


    ?Looking at the back of his commander, Adjutant Carl sighed silently.


    As an adjutant, he could only make suggestions, and it was Kriolev himself who made the decision.


    And he made a decision...Then, the actions of the First Army were about to begin.


    (End of this chapter)