Finally, two days after Roland triggered this incident, the soldiers on the outermost alert finally discovered the surging refugee army.
"Your Highness, a flare has been raised from the northeast!" A soldier came in to report.
"Northeast? What a coincidence! We've perfectly crossed the Centaur territory..." Roland smiled as he twirled the hilt of his sword. The system was truly considerate! Was it okay to ride on the face of this wave of refugees?
"Notify the troops! Otherwise it will be troublesome if they are accidentally injured! After all, the Tuput Forest is less than 20 miles away from us." Old man Radil said on the side.
"Well, go and notify them. If a fight breaks out, both sides will suffer losses. Try to avoid these unnecessary losses." Roland nodded. He didn't want the centaurs and refugees to clash head-on. That scene... is too exciting!
"Prepare for battle! Prepare for battle!" Marcus was shouting and directing the soldiers to carry various supplies for defending the city on the top of the city not far away. Although no one wanted to use them, they were absolutely indispensable.
"Really... do we have to do this? They are our people too..." Nyx looked at the busy defenders on the city wall with guilt, as if all this was her fault.
"It's not your fault, dear... We have no choice. I am responsible for the residents of this city. We have no right to sacrifice these already happy people in order to save them from suffering. They are not wrong! But... I am the king! I need to prepare for the worst... I'm sorry... My Highness the Grand Duke." Roland gave Nyx a gentle hug and kiss, then tightened his cloak and walked towards the top of the city.
Nyx stood quietly at the foot of the city, looking at the man standing on the city wall and gazing into the distance. She could feel the pressure he was carrying. He was carrying the hope of a country, and he had to carry this country on his not-so-broad back.
"I have to shoulder this half of the country, I have to protect this city wall..." Roland sighed as he stroked the bricks covered with magic patterns, and looked towards the northeast.
"Oh God! Retreat! Get out of here!" The soldiers retreating in front called out to everyone they met behind them. When they saw that there was an old man picking mushrooms with a basket on his back, a knight who was accompanying him showed a shocked expression.
"Old man, the refugees are coming! It's too dangerous to stay here! I'll take you away!" The knight came running, picked up the old man and put him on the horse's back without caring whether the old man could react or not.
…
"Have all the people outside the city retreated?" Renault paced anxiously on the city wall, holding his sword.
"Sir, we are gathering the crowd! They should be here soon!" A soldier came out.
"Almost there? We're lucky if it's demolished by the refugees! Throw out all the people in the city who can ride horses! Make sure that all those who are working and patrolling outside are brought back without exception!" Renault roared as he slapped the city wall.
"Yes..." The soldiers nodded and left quickly.
"Your Highness!" Renault noticed Roland behind him and bowed quickly.
"Don't worry. What's the situation? Are the residents safe?" Roland asked immediately.
"Some residents are still working outside. I have sent all the mobile forces to pick them up." Renault said with a stiff face.
"And what are they doing? Why are they running so far?" Roland's mind exploded instantly. They were measuring the distance for nothing, right?
"By the way, the reconnaissance team discovered that there are at least 5,000 refugees! They are poorly clothed and well-fed, and are skinny, but there are also some imperial soldiers among them. It is reported that their armor is worn out, and their weapons are broken... They must have been used for many years." Renault continued to share the information.
"There really are soldiers?" Roland was stunned for a moment. He could even encounter such a big "easter egg"... He should go ask if there is a lottery in Middle-earth and place two bets.
"Yes! A large number of Stream Infantry! There should be other types of troops as well, but our people can only identify the Stream Soldiers because their distinctive infantry chain mail is so easy to identify." Renault sighed and told Roland the truth.
"Fuck..." Roland suddenly said something sweet, maybe there might be a bigger surprise waiting for him later?
"Are there any knights..." Roland suddenly said this.
"..." Renault and Roland stared at each other for a long time without saying a word.
Finally, Renault couldn't help himself. He said to Roland awkwardly, "Your Highness, I think as a knight you should have some confidence in your profession... What kind of knight would be reduced to wandering and begging with refugees..."
Seeing Renault's expression getting weirder, Roland quickly explained, "I'm just saying what if... what if your family falls on hard times..."
Roland actually hoped that there would be some knights among them, which meant that Roland could get some knights for free. Since there was no proper knight training camp in River Rapids, there was no way to replenish knights for Roland. Apart from Rohan and Gondor, which had knight training camps to replenish fresh blood for their own knight orders, there should be no organized knight orders in the entire Middle-earth. Roland's current knight system was distorted and unreasonable, and had no ability to replenish any knights. He could only wait for God to wake up from ordinary people, or for the system to open its eyes and sign them out. As for the system mall... looking at the wealth values ending in round numbers, Roland decisively closed the page and left.
"Open the city gate! Open the city gate quickly! Let us in!" Flying dust spread across the road, and a hurried team rushed towards the city gate.
"Open the city gate! It's our knights!" Renault shouted hurriedly below as he saw the knights arriving before him.
"It's like there's a ground dragon chasing them." Roland curled his lips and said helplessly as he looked at the obviously frightened team.
…
"Boom!" The city gate slammed shut, and the thick and heavy gate bolt was stuck tightly on it.
"There is no one left! We are the last... wave! The refugees are not far behind! Oh my God! They are so crazy!" The knight walked up breathlessly, saluted and reported to everyone.
"Okay, go down and rest!" Looking at the knight who was panting and sweating profusely, Roland waved his hand to indicate that he could rest.
…
"Be prepared! They're coming with ill intentions! Although they are our people, we can't let our guard down! If they take over the city... we will all be sinners of Lagrande!" Roland said in a deep voice, his solemn gaze sweeping over everyone present.
"Don't worry, everything will be fine. After all, they are our people and they won't be too radical." Renault comforted.
"I hope so..." Roland said worriedly.
…
"Here it comes..." someone suddenly shouted.
A black "tide" surged rapidly over the horizon, a mighty roar and a roar of people! The "tide" that instantly covered the ground startled everyone.
"Oh my God!" Roland lost his voice.
"Dragon God!" Radil couldn't help but clench his staff.
"Oh my god..." Caslo opened his dragon eyes in an instant and saw more clearly than anyone else. In front of him was actually a row of... Stream Infantry?
"Get down! Defend! They are armed!" Caslo waved his hand and hid behind the breastwork.
Although the original green color of the tattered linen robes could no longer be seen, the tattered chain mail and equally worn leather armor still revealed their identities... the former Torrent Infantry!
"Why didn't they raise our flag..." a soldier murmured.
"They may no longer be the people we know..." Renault was stunned for a moment and said slowly.
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－－
Another day to look forward to Abe's seventh day
.