Dust of History Chapter 31: The power of death

Ten days passed quickly.

Although he knew that he would be deprived of military power soon, the general still held the hope that the person who would take his place would still be a member of the military, and that he could continue to lead the battle. He still tried his best to do what a general should do.

Until now, the various situations of those orc troops are still unclear, and most of the troops sent out to investigate found nothing. The general even began to plan to send a vanguard of thousands of people to Oufu City to explore and attack.

Asa strongly opposed it. Only he who has experienced it personally knows how risky this action is, and it is purely death. And he knew what Oufu's strategy meant. This is delaying time. Oufu never thought about going to war with the empire from the beginning. If he doesn't let his opponent know his specific combat power, the opponent will not dare to act rashly. The situation in the capital is already obvious. The order to cease fighting and retreat It's just a matter of time.

Asa understands that his mission now is only a matter of time. Just try not to let the general send troops before His Majesty's order comes down. So these days, he tried his best to deal with the general with his mouth skills, which he was not good at. Fortunately, his rich field life and combat experience always gave him something to say and he was able to persuade the general. The key was that he had indeed experienced the amazing beast people Combat effectiveness, and I have also seen Oufu's high efficiency under the rule of Cedros. He analyzed the orcs' mobility outside the wilderness, and most importantly, their vision unaffected by darkness at night, and their hearing a hundred times more sensitive than humans. This is completely different from the situation when the general wiped out those rigid orc tribes before. The orcs will take the initiative to attack, and if they use all kinds of flexible methods to fully utilize all their advantages, the concept of battle will be completely different. Not to mention the Wyvern, which can clearly see the whereabouts of the troops at a height beyond the reach of bows and arrows. In a situation where the enemy is in the dark and we are clearly in the dark, just the uninterrupted sneak attacks at night can bring down the morale of the troops.

During the constant debate with Asa, the general's attitude towards him gradually calmed down, and he even began to show his approval and admiration. For such a young man, neither his mind nor his combat experience was commensurate with his age. As for his skills, he could tell from his intuition as a martial artist that this young man was by no means ordinary. He also did not eat and drink in the camp every day like other priests or discuss abstract theological issues with the priests. This is undoubtedly a talent who leads the army and is a natural fighter. The general wanted to ask many times why a person like him worked under the Erni family, but he didn't ask.

The messenger who conveyed the emperor's will finally arrived today. Sure enough, the general's military power was cut off, and he was finally no longer a general. Regarding the selection of the new general, the military and the Erni family refused to give in to each other. In the end, the Duke of Mrak finally got the approval of the ministers of the two factions. He will come to take over the military power soon, and the emperor ordered the general to wait here for the duke.

The general listened silently to the imperial decree, and finally he asked: "Will Duke Murak continue to fight after taking over? Will he lead the troops here to attack that orc city-state?"

"Your Majesty has decided to withdraw troops. Envoys from various countries have strongly demanded that Bishop Ronis also strongly advocated the recognition of Oufu as an independent country. I heard that Oufu will soon send envoys to discuss the peace treaty. , This battle is not just now, it may not be fought in the future. The 40,000 troops here will be distributed back to the southern border after Duke Mrak takes over, and if necessary, half of the soldiers will be disarmed and returned to the field."

The general was silent, and then he began to tremble slightly, before he spoke a few words with great effort: "The minister leads the decree."

At dusk, Asa was called out by the general. The general led him towards the outside of Bracada.

I came to a small hill outside the city, and there was no one else around. The general looked at the blood-red sunset in silence for a while, then said, "I can see these days that you are a real soldier. I want to talk to you now, regardless of political stance, purely based on A dialogue between two warriors."

The general gave Asa a powerful look, full of regret and unwillingness. "Why did you bow down to the smoky politicians of the Erni family? From you, you can see the temperament that only true fighters have. It is only through countless times of life and death, and the taste of death. The strength of a man who tramples the blood and flesh of his opponent under his feet with his hands and teeth. Then how can you endure those politicians who are as dirty as pigs? When they are playing those smoky schemes, you As a real fighter, don't you feel sick?"

"I'm not from the Erni family." Asa replied. "Bishop Ronnies sent me here."

The general was a little surprised and asked: "My lord bishop? What did he send you here for?"

"My lord bishop told me to come here to ease the situation and wait for the truce."

"Easy the situation... No wonder you have been trying to prevent me from sending troops all this time." The general didn't get angry, as if his energy had been exhausted by the decree that came today. "Then after the armistice, what will happen to us soldiers? We can fight, we can use our own flesh and blood to expand the territory of the country, and then use our own lives to protect it. But the final result, once it is peaceful, will not be People like us are needed, and it is the world of those politicians who are running around. The sword is no match for means and conspiracy. Those of us who are fighting with our lives on the front line can only be political tools. We can’t do that. It is a dirty thing, only to be squeezed out slowly, and this country will slowly fall into the hands of those pig-like nobles who spend their days and nights. What are those people? , limbs not working hard, what else do they have besides women and eating and drinking? We can crush them to death with one finger, which is as easy as killing a bedbug." The general's eyes began to glow with anger. "Why are we still being played by them? Why are the land and glory we bought with blood and flesh taken by these people?"

Asa was silent. He could feel the ups and downs in the general's heart. Although he didn't know anything about military politics, he could understand the old man's anger.

The general looked at Asa, and said slowly, word by word: "I have a request to you. This is the first time I make a request to someone else in my life. It is a request from a soldier to a soldier. Can you Do you agree?"

With the general's personality, such power, and such a person, this is probably the first time in his life to ask for help.

A once-in-a-lifetime request from an old man. A general commanding an army of tens of thousands makes a request in an equal way and recognizes the other party. Can such a request be refused?

Asa almost agreed immediately. But he didn't forget the delicate environment and tasks now, he just said: "Tell me about it."

The general was silent for a while, and said: "Didn't you notice? We were the only two present when the imperial decree was read out. And the envoy left soon after conveying the decree. These are all specially arranged by me."

"Really?" Asa frowned, he was not familiar with these. "Why is it arranged like that?"

"No one else heard the content of the imperial decree. That is to say, except for the two of us, no one knows that I no longer have the authority to command troops...Do you know why I did this?"

"I don't know." Asa waited for him to continue.

"This is a team I have led for nearly twenty years. It can be said that every general in it is my confidant. As long as I don't let them know that I have been deprived of military power, I can still mobilize them."

"What do you want to do?" Asa frowned at the general.

The general's voice slowly regained vitality and power: "Tomorrow we will march the whole army to the orc lair and kill them. As long as we raz that lair to the ground in one fell swoop, other countries will not dare to see our military might. If there is anything else to say, His Majesty the Emperor will know that we soldiers are still needed to protect the country, and those politicians will be frightened and ashamed, and dare not play tricks anymore."

Asa looked at the general in amazement, the desperate situation had turned his anger and reluctance into the fighting passion of a gambler.

"There is nothing to worry about. In history, winners and losers have always been winners and losers. As long as we can succeed, no one will dare to say anything. Bishop Ronnies will never blame you. There is no problem with the Paladins , Captain Roland is an old comrade who has fought side by side with me for many years, and he will definitely support us secretly. As long as we work together, you can command the priests and cooperate with the troops to kill those orcs. Our There are ten times as many people as them." The general's eyes began to light up, as if victory was just around the corner.

"I'm sorry, I won't do it." Asa shook his head. "I told you that there will be no good results if you send troops rashly. Also, my mission here is to stop you. I will go back and tell the other generals that your military power has been deprived."

The general's eyes dimmed, and then the anger burned inside again with a hundred times more violence.

Facing the general's eyes that seemed to kill people, Asa didn't feel the slightest fear. He just felt that the old man was a bit pitiful. He shook his head and said, "Isn't it good to stop the war? It doesn't matter who is in power? The soldiers don't need to die. , go home and go home. It’s better to live in peace than to die here.”

The general’s voice seemed to be roaring, and it seemed to be screaming: "Everyone is going to die, sooner or later. As a soldier, instead of going back to farm and sell vegetables, wait for the future to slowly linger on the bed and die , might as well die vigorously on the battlefield.”

Asa still shook his head, and still said calmly: "Even if you think that way, these tens of thousands of soldiers don't think so, and their relatives don't think so either. They all want to see their son or The husband can go back alive. General, don’t your wife and children want you to go back alive?”

The general slowly pointed to the west, where the sunset was as red as blood. His voice was trembling: "My wife and the last son died there, at the hands of the orcs."

Asa was stunned.

"Twenty-five years ago, my wife and a caravan passed through the wild highlands, but was killed and eaten by the orcs. I don't even know where to find the body." The general's fortitude He and Wei Meng are gone, only trembling sadness remains. His back against the setting sun makes him look like a broken sculpture. "More than half a year ago, my last son led a team of mercenaries to reconnaissance deep in the highlands, but there was no news. He was only twenty-five years old, and he was a brave warrior. Given time, he will definitely be a great warrior and General, do you know?"

Asa knows. Before his eyes appeared the heroic figure who was facing an ogre like a war fortress alone on the top of the barren hill.

"Let me tell you again, twenty years ago, the villages and towns around the wild highlands were attacked by orcs every year. Those wild beasts hunted humans like hunting, and captured the living people to kill and eat them. When I led the army to exterminate these beasts, I saw decorations made of human bones among their tribes. They used human skin as paper to write and wear as clothes. But now, those beasts have built cities in a big way , to negotiate with us humans. You don’t need to be a fighter, even as a person, can you allow this?”

The general's voice was no longer so passionate, only sad and a weary anger. But Asa's heart began to become restless.

No one knows that the orcs used to eat people. One of the biggest impressions of these demihumans in the past was their bloody, evil barbaric style. Compared with the chicness that passed through the mouth of the talented and generous Lord Cedros, hearing such a tragedy from an old man who lost his wife and children now is indeed bloody.

But Asa does know that sending troops out to attack is definitely a dead end. And from now on, under the leadership of Cedros, the relationship between orcs and humans will be completely different. There is no point in such a war waged purely on the hatred of the past.

Asa took a few deep breaths, looked at the general, and said softly, "I'm sorry."

The general's tall body trembled suddenly. Despair, loss, and pain twisted into a ball on his face, and then slowly turned into anger. The murderous intent was evident in his eyes.

As long as Asa is killed, he can still command the army, and he can still take revenge!

Looking at the general who was like an angry lion baring his fangs in front of him, Asa shook his head calmly and said, "If your wife and children are alive in heaven, they will never want you to use this 40,000 lives to avenge them. If they know that you will use these living people as sacrifices to pay homage to them, do you think they will be happy? Do you think they want you to die yourself?"

The general still stared at Asa, but gradually his eyes became blank and powerless, and his murderous aura gradually disappeared. He stood like that, and finally turned around silently, ignoring Asa again, and walked back the way he came by alone.

Under the **** sunset, the tall figure no longer has the majesty and majesty of the past, only a little staggering and weak. Watching this figure gradually go away and disappear into the setting sun, Asa now only hopes that Duke Mrak can come over quickly and retreat quickly to end all this. Let him do business with the Bishop, and then go on a trip and forget about these annoying things.

An owl stared and purred twice on a nearby branch. Hearing this sound, Asa, who has always been fond of animals, suddenly felt disgusted, and turned his head to stare at the ominous bird of prey.

At night, a hazy half moon hangs in the sky. It was a rare cloudy day in the Highlands.

The general could not sleep in bed. It was the first time he had insomnia in so many years since his first murder at the age of thirteen.

But it was completely different from the tension, inexplicable fear and excitement at that time, now he only felt tired and weak.

This is not fatigue, but the burnout and despair that really weigh on my heart. Not only can every muscle lose strength, but even the spirit is about to collapse, as if the body is just a shell, and there is no longer any vitality to drive.

Every new and old wound in the body moans together at this time. After decades of military career, he ended up with nothing. His wife and son died at the hands of the orcs, but now he can't even avenge them. And I will also leave the army under the means of those politicians, and from then on, like a useless old dog, I will spend my days eating the leftovers given by those politicians until I die of old age. Even stabbing the enemy's chest with his own broken bones like a warrior, and dying vigorously is just an extravagant hope.

Living is meaningless, and even death cannot be decent... The general closed his eyes, and in the powerless sadness and despair, he vaguely felt that he was like a puddle of mud, slowly melting away , deformed, rotten...

"Father." A deep voice woke the general up. The general opened his eyes and saw his son. The youngest, favorite, and most gifted son.

It still had the same mighty and steady face as when he was young, with a refined and dignified expression as if he had just walked out of a fierce battle. Holding a bare sword hilt in his hand, he stood there upright. The blood from a torn wound on his forehead stained his entire face red, but it still couldn't conceal his heroic expression. There is a **** hole left by some terrible weapon.

"You..." The general didn't dare to move, fearing that the image would suddenly disappear if it was disturbed. He didn't know if it was the soul of his son, or an illusion created by his own thoughts.

"Father, I followed your teachings and fought with all my strength until the end. I lost my life in the most glorious battle. My death is the most glorious destination of a soldier." He stood very mighty, He firmly held the hilt of the sword in his hand, and the terrible wound on his chest seemed to be a medal.

"Really? You are doing well, you are doing well, you are my good boy..." the general murmured.

"I saw countless innocent people who died at the hands of orcs. They all died terribly. But they also praised you, saying that you were a great hero and killed many brutal beasts to avenge them. I also saw those soldiers who died in the battle with the orcs. They all encouraged you and hoped that you would continue your fight. You have always fought to avenge those dead creatures. Maybe you are not the greatest general , but you are the greatest warrior."

"Really..." The general nodded, and a tear dripped from the eye socket that had dried up a long time ago.

The general has always hated and despised tears the most. He thought it was a sign of weakness, the last thing a warrior needed, but now he felt all the vitality of his life welling up in his heart with the tear.

"I also met my mother~IndoMTL.com~ She said that I hope to wait for you in heaven, and wait for you to meet her in the most glorious way. I also hope to see the heroic figure of my father in battle again. It's the real you." The voice gradually faded away, and the image gradually blurred. "Goodbye, my lord father, I will go first."

"My child..." The general jumped up from the bed, and the sky was already dark.

Is this just a dream? The general found that his face was really stained with tears. He wiped his face, half sat up and looked around blankly, and saw a small thing on the ground not far away, shining against the morning light.

The general walked over slowly and picked up the thing with trembling hands. This is a bare hilt, the blade seems to have been shattered by some force, leaving only a bit of damage near the hilt.

Probably because it has been exposed to the sun and rain for a long time, it is very old, even if it is thrown on the side of the road, it will not attract attention, but the general recognizes what it is. On the end of the sword hilt is a debossed pattern of the Holy Cross, which is the mark of the Holy Knight Order, and on the other side are the words 'courage' and 'glory', which the general himself carved on it.

The general pressed the hilt of the sword to his chest, as if he wanted to put the meaning into his heart, then he stood up, feeling full of strength again, and he had never been so powerful before.