Arcane Journey

Chapter 145 Approval from the Female Lord
Myrcella Raul looks out of the magic mirror at the western foot of Griffon Peak.

Long ago, on this humble Griffon Hill at the junction of the Mokou Mountains and the Rocky Badlands, a small number of mountain people were settled. They built stone houses and fortifications to fend off frequent raids by wild goblins.

It is said that when the mountain people are threatened by dire threats, they will retreat to a cave in the mountain for safety.

Legend has it that this cave is so deep that it connects to the Underdark.

However, since the establishment of Mokou Town, all the mountain people have moved to the town, leaving only a pile of ruins of stone houses eroded by wind and rain.

However, at this moment, this long-forgotten ruin suddenly became extremely lively.

The female lord saw the sound of explosions one after another, and the spell scrolls and thrown objects of the defenders of Mokou Town were coming and going with the barrage of crossbows and arrows from the invaders' counterattack, and the fight was extremely fierce.

Watching this battle, she gradually became very worried.

Because she saw that the array of defenders had been forced into a U-shape, surrounded by goblins, kobolds, ferocious gnolls and a few ogres.

However, this army still resisted tenaciously, almost back to back, their front was still extremely strong, and not many enemies could break through the gap at the top of the U shape.

Although logically speaking, it was the weakest link, almost all cliffs, and the defenders were closely packed on that front with enough troops to resist any charge.

Just as the female lord Myrcella was feeling relieved, her hope was immediately challenged.

She saw hundreds of pairs of combat boots stepping on the ground on a flat grass field under the Mokou Mountains and began to prepare for formation.

The hobgoblin leader leads the soldiers in prayer with the goblin slaves and bear goblins accompanying the army.

Kneeling on the grass, they chanted Magrubie, the patron saint of goblins and hobgoblins, and bent down to kiss the ground that was still chilly in the morning.

One by one, hobgoblin priests in red robes began to preside over ancient ceremonies, smearing blood and holy oil on their faces, dedicating falcons to the hobgoblin's god of hunting and fear, cutting off the antelope's calf, and throwing it into the hobgoblin's body. In the sacred fire lit by the god of war and authority.

Hobgoblin diviners hurled bones repeatedly, and clerics placed blades in holy fire to enchant them.

The rising sun on the horizon cast a golden light on the tumultuous crowd, and the banners depicting double-headed blood axes, white-tipped flails, crossed machetes and hand axes fluttered in the breeze.

The heavily armed hobgoblin soldiers gathered neatly and orderly, looking for a place in the queue, the cavalry passed by, their weapons gleaming, some of the spotless shields were painted with hideous totems, and some were long-toothed emblems.

Suddenly there was a shout from the army massed along the foothills, and the whole horizon seemed to move, as if sprinkled with bright obsidian powder.

The hobgoblin army has appeared!

Hobgoblins are a group of intelligent races who admire military prowess. They don't care about anything other than displaying skills and strategies on the battlefield.

Hobgoblin warlords are ruthless tyrants, more interested in strategy, victory, glory, fame, and dominion than leading armies into battle.

Their only goal is to turn any civilized settlement into a Shura field, and hold a bloody sacrificial ceremony to the patron saint of the goblins they worship.

"Woo! Woo! Woo!."

The passionate battle horn sounded, like an ancient battle song, driving the well-equipped hobgoblin army to attack as if death was at home.

"Glory to the Lord!"

The hobgoblin commander shouted and rushed out of the formation, leaned down on his mount, and slowly stretched out his spear. The other cavalry also abandoned the formation and went straight to the defenders in Mokou Town.

For a moment, different versions of hobgoblin chants began to sing, louder than ever among the goblin slaves, but the chants soon sank and were drowned out by a louder hymn.

Soon the air was buzzing with hundreds of choruses, joined by trumpeters echoing the rhythm with their horns:
We come to the battlefield,

We weave death,

They crumble before our shields,

They lie down by our knives!
Their home is conquered by us,

Their descendants are enslaved by us!

When the day is over,
The gods lurk before our eyes!
Shura field!Shura field!
Victory belongs to us!

…………

And with their song the earth trembled, as if the sky were a dome of boulders.

A mixed army of goblins and bear goblins, under the leadership of the hobgoblin commander, formed a tight arrow formation as the vanguard, like an avalanche, and rushed straight to the east flank of the defense line.

The front line in Mokou Town fluctuated under the impact, but amidst the chaos and crowding, a sharp sword was held high above everyone, and a cry overwhelmed all other voices.

Facing the overwhelming momentum of the hobgoblin army, the young warrior Lando overcame his inner fear, his wild long hair fluttering in the wind, and devoted himself to the battle.

When the sharp sword in his hand flitted through the air, he was suddenly engulfed by the scorching flames.

Seeing this situation, Lando was both surprised and delighted, and immediately realized that his nearly 20 days of practice under the old sword master Baleris had finally paid off at this moment.

On this occasion, he actually mastered the energy of qi, and also successfully learned the moves from the desert wind sect's swordsmanship.

"When you have mastered the most basic moves of Mokou swordsmanship, it means that you have successfully mastered the sword of the sage among the nine swords."

"The sword of the sage is a veteran of physical skills, a master of martial arts moves, a sword mage who understands the path to the highest, and can unlock various powerful abilities."

"If you perform enough to satisfy me, I will consider holding a dragon blood baptism for you and becoming a dragon vein warlock like Salo."

Lando's mind quickly recalled the words and promises that the lord had told him.

Without the slightest hesitation, he grasped the flaming long sword tightly, ignoring the short goblins around him, and went straight to the burly and majestic bear goblin.

His weapon turned into flames, which burst into blinding flashes with the movement of his arms.

A stream of blood splattered!

Whenever Lando swung the flame sword powerfully and swept across, an enemy fell to the ground and died in the burning flames.

Even when he was attacked insidiously by the enemy, his stern face did not reveal the slightest pain, and his resolute resistance was not hindered in the slightest.

Those goblin bears who managed to escape Lando's first furious attack immediately scattered and fled.

Their commanders, too, panicked, and the blade-like battle formation collapsed into a fleeing mob.

The first wave of the hobgoblin army was repelled, and the fighting was short and furious.

Although the warriors of the hobgoblin race fought fiercely like devils and mercenaries, they, the defenders in charge of defense here, stubbornly resisted their charge.

No one fell into the hands of hobgoblins alive, and they had no choice but to die in the face of cruel hobgoblins.

Lando saw his friend Tuka lying dead on the ground, two goblins stabbed him with a dagger, they tried to drag him away from the barricade, but they couldn't stand up again, because Tuka also had a dagger .

Although the number of enemy troops was twice as large as them, Lando believed that the lord placed them here definitely not to send them to their deaths.

After all, once this place is lost, the five villages surrounded by wooden piles will be completely exposed to the sight of the hobgoblins, and countless slaves who have just regained their freedom will be massacred.

Hobgoblin armies can even take down the defenseless town of Mokou in one go.

Moreover, as the guardian of Mokou Town, he never took a step back, just like his brother faced the flames of the Red Dragon ten years ago during the Red Dragon Rebellion.

Because his elder brother was also the captain of the Mokou Town Defense Team, this was his duty.

Lando unconsciously recalled the words of his good friend, the young purple dragon knight Alek:

"Protecting civilians from being hung from trees, being stabbed with swords and slowly bleeding to death, protecting beautiful girls from being tied to stakes, having their legs spread apart, and protecting children from being massacred and thrown into The well, even the cats in the burning barn, which are about to be burned to death, are worth protecting. I got this sword to protect the people of Cormyr Kingdom and Mokou Town, because they don’t have swords and don’t know magic. No one has taught them how to fight, and they are vulnerable and helpless in the face of the invasion of evil creatures."

The hobgoblins didn't give them any respite, and the second wave quickly organized and charged again to the desperation of the defenders.

Lando saw his uncle Zander was stabbed by three spears and fell to the ground.

"Lando!" He yelled vaguely, "You should know what to do."

Lando cleanly dealt with another hobgoblin and turned around.

"Farewell, uncle." He pointed the tip of the sword at the bottom of his uncle's breastbone and stabbed hard. "Maybe we can meet in hell soon!"

With just a moment's breath, the hobgoblin's third wave of cavalry rushed to the ruins again.

"Many people will praise this group of brave warriors." The female lord Myrcella, who was sitting on the sidelines in the tower, said to herself.

But she is very clear that the premise must be that the defender wins.

Once the hobgoblin armies have conquered, all heroic deeds and heroic words will be buried.

She really wanted to help this group of tenacious defenders at this moment, but thinking that her enemies, the Hand of the High King Hajhorna and the Prince of Shadows Desud from the City of Shadows, were definitely waiting for her to show up in secret, she forced Let go of the impulse that came up in my heart.

It is often said in the world that one wizard is equal to a thousand soldiers on the battlefield, and ten thousand sinners in hell.

"Zhenta Forest Society." The female lord forced herself to calm down, watched the army of hobgoblins from the Mokou Mountains, and guessed their mastermind behind the scenes.

At the same time, she realized that the enemies facing Mokou Town were by no means as simple as the City of Shadows.

The people of the Zhentalin Society are also waiting for the opportunity, and when the two sides are in a stalemate, stab Mokou Town in the back and gain the right to rule the town.

A town located at the crossroads of the desert was actually involved in the struggle of three powerful forces at the same time.

"It can't be like that."

The female lord secretly made up her mind that even if Mokou Town fell, the war would not fail.

All the strength of the Kingdom of Cormyr will be devoted to the struggle against the City of Shadows and the Zhentarim.

She will go to Crag Hold, Tiffindun, the Vale, to Suzar and Mazenbe in the south, and even recall Azen V's army from the Dragon Coast expedition.

Combine all forces to recapture Mokou Town, the gate that can protect the northern border of the kingdom.

"This war will not be lost." The female lord reminded herself, she looked down at the resolutely defending warriors below, they stubbornly resisted the hobgoblin's charge and fought bloody battles.

They have been killed by arrows, spears and swords, and they have never taken a step back.

The young warrior with the flaming sword was covered in blood from head to toe.

He raised his sword, turned around sharply, flicked his long black hair, and stood among the enemies, with his back arched, his eyes full of ferociousness, and he looked like a demon.

He roared so fiercely that the hobgoblins backed away in terror.

At this moment, there was a commotion behind the victorious hobgoblin army, and a large group of ferocious female tarantulas larger than heavy war horses appeared without warning.

On the backs of the hundreds of female tarantulas that appeared, all were riding a fully armed gray dwarf warrior.

The female wolf spider used its sticky eight legs to easily step on the originally roadless cliffs, like a black noise waterfall, rushing straight into the foggy bushes, like ominous shadows slipping through the air.

Under the shadow of the jungle, these dark dwellers don't have to worry about direct sunlight.

Accompanied by the birds startled from their nests, they flapped their wings and flew into the sky.

The gray dwarf warriors on the tarantula's back took out their heavy crossbows one after another, pulled the trigger, and poured out every deadly arrow.

The rain of crossbow arrows hit like a storm, drawing a trajectory almost parallel to the ground, like a swarm of locusts pounced on the shields and armor of the hobgoblin army.

The neighing of horses and the exclamation of soldiers merged into a nightmarish noise.

The hobgoblin who was hit by the arrow fell off his horse, and unconsciously shattered the tip of his tongue. The knight who fell off the horse rolled on the ground, screamed, and stretched his hands to the sky. The injured mount wandered not far away.

The horses that fell to the ground danced their hooves in vain, overturning the hobgoblin knights, and many warriors broke their leg bones and even their spines immediately.

"Our reinforcements are here! For the Kingdom of Cormyr, for the town of Mokou, let's fight!" Lando reached out to wipe off the blood on his face, raised his flaming long sword, and shouted loudly.

The defenders of Mokou Town no longer panic and despair, they reorganize the remaining manpower, cooperate with the incoming reinforcements to launch a thunder sprint, and the sudden rise of the same hatred and hatred unites all thoughts into a terrible will.

Fear dissipated at a frantic speed, turned into a forward momentum, and merged with the excitement in my heart.

Mounds, ruins, undergrowth, and dead goblin bones flashed under their feet, followed by a collision, spears piercing shields and armor, and sawdust flying everywhere.

Suddenly, the ground under their feet became still and became extremely solid, and wailing and shouting echoed in the air.

Cavola cavalrymen from the Underdark put away their heavy crossbows, everyone held a hammer, rushed into the panicked group of hobgoblins, wrestled and slashed. flesh.

The hobgoblins fell one by one, at the feet of the furious defenders, under the hideous mouthparts and eight creepy legs of the female tarantula.

The defeated hobgoblins began to retreat from the forest slaughterhouse in dismay, fleeing the battlefield.

But the eight-legged tarantula leaped even faster, and the gray dwarf chased after it, raining arrows and arrows at the same time.

All of a sudden, the wailing sounded one after another.

Lando, who was chasing after the enemy, suddenly locked on to a conspicuous target.

He picked up a long spear, jumped onto the back of a roadside horse that had lost its owner and was calmly gnawing on the turf, kicked the spurs, and urged the horse to give chase.

Lando's roar was clearly audible in the din, and the long spear made of fine steel in his hand was engulfed in flames, and flew away through the air wrapped in scorching heat.

The spear pierced the hobgoblin leader's back, and flames engulfed him.

With a wail, he fell off his horse, circling the dance of death and fell among his followers, trampled into a puddle of mud by the galloping iron hooves.

The female lord of Araby City leaned back on her seat, showing a relieved smile.

She can still recall that when she insisted not to pursue the seal ring of the purple dragon, and sent the purple dragon knight and battle mage to Mokou Town, her advisory group, the city council, and colleagues in other cities in the kingdom thought her The approach is too reckless, even like a stupid gambler.

Bryan is a half-elf whose identity is unknown, and he is not qualified to have the purple dragon seal ring that symbolizes noble status.

Whether it is power or strength, he is not worth her investment.

But no one thought of it, including herself.

This strange purple dragon seal ring holder, relying on his own strength alone, was able to incorporate forces as quickly as possible, instigated the Dragon Skeleton Mercenary Group, and took away Mokou from under the eyes of the City of Shadows and the Zhentarim Society. Town, also received the full support of the Church of the God of Knowledge and the Church of the Mother Earth.

As the lord of Araby City and the guardian of the northern border of the Kingdom of Cormyr, Myrcella has long known that the freedom and rights of the kingdom are not only possessed by the sheer size and power of her city.

In her view, this is more like strength from unity.

Any city, including the Argent League in the North and the Lords' Council in the Sword Coast, has this power.

Otherwise, the values ​​they advocate will become meaningless and self-serving.

The Kingdom of Cormyr has thus gained a good reputation as a generous kingdom, a forest kingdom that resists oppression, and a kind country worth protecting.

Because in the face of any war, the purple dragon knight and the battle mage will eagerly invest in it, they are not a problem, never have been a problem.

Recalling a soul spar given to her by the Bryantol people, Myrcella gradually realized that the real problem lies in those nobles who hide comfortably in the castle, and those political leaders who live too comfortably.

It seemed to her now that it was as clear and transparent as crystal.

She knew the kindness of the lord of Mokou Town who dared to abolish slaves, and also knew the value of hope for the freed civilians in Mokou Town.

They are worth protecting, and Myrcella believes that even if the entire Kingdom of Cormyr is involved in the war, it is worth it for these people.

For, in the end, it will be a great asset to the kingdom of Cormyr in the annals of history to come, and it is Brann's generosity that will make his city a great place.

That would be the biggest difference from many humble kingdoms.

But what about her city now?

Myrcella wondered, she was beginning to see the cancer growing in her own camp.

She made up her mind to pull out these cancerous tumors completely.

However, now is not the time.

The army of Shadow City is about to fight the defenders of Mokou Town, and she must play her own role well.

"I didn't expect that the prophecy spell that I was so proud of would eventually lose to Hesaiah's intuition as a woman."

Myrcella recalled the dispute between her stubborn and distant sister and herself, and finally admitted it convincingly.

And she once predicted Brian's past at the cost of consuming her life, although she failed, as if he didn't exist in the world at all.

However, it was unexpectedly learned that this mysterious half-elf was inextricably linked to the Ennook Desert.

"Is he a descendant of the Netherese?"

She didn't think about it anymore, and walked quickly to the closet in the room, put on a mage robe with exquisite patterns, took out a staff with a star sapphire inlaid on the top, whispered a few strings of spells, and a star magic circle appeared on the soles of her feet , disappeared in the mage tower in place.

(End of this chapter)