Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-One: Setting Out

  The oath-taking ceremony finally took place, and of the original eight cavalry regiments and twenty-two infantry regiments of the Jieliang Army, six cavalry regiments and fifteen infantry regiments arrived at the Ninth Town, accounting for more than two-thirds of the total strength. The other generals have not been seen so far, and it is unlikely that they will come, so there is no point in waiting any longer.

  The most popular Lang Ning delivered a mobilization speech, first focusing on the evil deeds of vampires and finally directing his spearhead directly at Zagunede's lair, Black Crow City. Since the split of the Beit Alliance, no one has ever launched a war against them, nor has anyone come to bully them. This time, it can be said that the entire Beit Alliance is furious, Lang Ning's words triggered a thunderous applause.

  Han Jin looked at the scene from afar, suddenly remembering something. Perhaps Knight Conard wasn't as pure as everyone thought... Before his death, he decentralized power to the battalion commanders and dispersed the legion, stationing them in different places by battalion. This caused great trouble for several leaders, who couldn't gather military power. Years after Conard's death, Lei Zhe could summon most of the troops to the Ninth Town just on his own authority. Conard's divide-and-conquer tactic had a decisive effect.

  To know, the power of the squadron leaders is granted by Konrad Knights. If they want to maintain their legitimacy and refuse to hand over their power to their superiors, then they must first maintain the honor of Konrad Knights. As long as Konrad does not fall, everything they do is right, at least giving soldiers an account, and Konrad has dispersed the troops to ensure that those squadron leaders can fully exercise their power.

  So when Lei Zhe issued the call, no matter what they thought in their hearts, they had to come! Denying Lei Zhe was equivalent to denying Konrad, denying their own legitimacy. Rather than being forced to hand over their power later, it was better to take a step ahead and rush to the Ninth Town to try their luck.

  Of course, these are words of killing the heart. Some generals have a straightforward temperament and don't have so many turns. As soon as they heard that Leizhe and Langning were gathering soldiers from various military units, they immediately brought their troops over.

  It's easy to invite the gods, but hard to send them away. For Leizhi and Lang Ning's decision, the four city masters of the White Tiger Alliance are very supportive. Leizhi is now standing alone, and such a person staying in the White Tiger Alliance will eventually become an unstable factor. Letting him go to attack Hei Ya Castle, on the one hand, puts pressure on Zachary Ned. On the other hand, it also eliminates hidden worries, which can be considered as killing two birds with one stone.

  In fact, the speeches on stage were just a formality, and an agreement or compromise had already been reached between the various generals and the four city masters. Several city masters had already prepared large quantities of supplies for the expedition, which was proof of this.

  At noon, the army finally left the ninth town. Lang Ning led four cavalry regiments to open the way in front, followed by the infantry regiment as the central army, and then two cavalry regiments and two infantry regiments protected the baggage train. It is said that there are tens of thousands of people and horses, endless and boundless. This statement is really true, Lang Ning's vanguard has already walked out of ten or more miles. But the baggage train in the back still stayed in the town.

  More than 20 days later, the army had approached the border of Hei Ya Castle. Out of caution, Lang Ning ordered the troops to camp down. Then he sent out hundreds of knights to infiltrate Hei Ya Castle for a thorough reconnaissance.

  Han Jin and others stopped at the edge of the forest, they didn't want to mix with the army because it was too inconvenient. This was a war, not a sightseeing tour. Lang Ning's requirements for the soldiers were extremely strict, even they were constrained. If they didn't obey military discipline, no one could do anything to them, but Lang Ning would lose face. If they obeyed military discipline, the camp became hell. For example, after eating, they could only hide in their own tents. Walking around the camp without reason was against military discipline. Wasn't this going to suffocate people to death?

  Michelle jumped off the giant turtle. Looking around for dry firewood, he has now become a full-time chef for Han Jin and others. After accompanying Michelle for a while, Spielberg hid alone to meditate with his eyes closed.

  These days, Stillberg has shown unprecedented enthusiasm. As soon as he is free, he will find a secluded corner and sit in a strange posture.

  "What's wrong with Stillberg recently?" Xian Ni'er couldn't help but feel curious. Although Han Jin was the most qualified to answer this question, she had just quarreled with him a few days ago. Xian Ni'er didn't dare to ask this question first and looked away from Han Jin when asking.

  "You should ask Raphael about this." Mosuke said with a raised eyebrow.

  Xian Ni'er felt a bit awkward and glared at Mo Xinkou: "I didn't ask you!"

  Han Jin wanted to laugh, but it wasn't good to really laugh out loud. He thought to himself, "So Xian Ni'er also has this side of a little woman."

  "Raphael has taught his magic to Stilberg, didn't you know?" Sasuke intervened in a timely manner as the good guy, otherwise Xanthe would have blown up in no time.

  Xian Ni'er involuntarily cast her gaze towards Han Jin, due to their different experiences, everyone's focus was also different. In the eyes of Mo Xinkuo and Sa Suo, Stilberg was just lucky, how magical Han Jin's magic was, it was clear to everyone.

  But Xian Ni'er, who had been through many battles, realized the importance of this. If even an ordinary person like Stilberg could learn Han Jin's magic, how terrifying would an army composed of people with special magic be?

  "Raphael, can everyone learn magic from you?" Xanthe finally broke the silence between them.

  "It's not possible." Han Jin hastily shook his head. Not to mention here, even in that world, it was not permissible to impart the Tao without restraint.

  "What a pity." Xian Ni'er let out a soft sigh.

  "What's wrong? Are you also thinking of learning magic?" Mosuke said.

  Just then, Han Jin suddenly laughed and said: "Are you coming out yourself, or should I drag you out?"

  Everyone was stunned, and then they saw Leizhe's figure emerge from the air. He asked in surprise: "How did you find me?"

  "Look behind you."

  "What's behind?" Lei Zhe turned his head to look at the grass he had just walked through, and shrugged involuntarily.

  "Lei Zhe, you're the commander, what are you doing running over to our place?" Mo Xinko said.

  "It's too boring there, I'm the captain, and I have to set an example, being stifled all day is driving me crazy." Lei Zhe smiled wryly: "Right, I want to discuss something with you guys."

  "What's wrong?"

  "Lang Ning set the goal of the first battle at Nuremberg in Hei Ya Castle." Lei Zhe took out a map, spread it on the ground, and pointed to say: "This is Nuremberg, about fifty miles away from us. Nuremberg is the third largest city within the territory of Zagunede. If we can occupy this place, it will have a huge impact! Zagunede has a notorious reputation, although the soldiers are willing to attack Hei Ya Castle with us, they still have some fear in their hearts. We need to think of ways to boost morale."

  "Are you saying we're going to take Nuremberg with just a few of us?" Mosken asked.

  "No, I haven't gone mad," Lei Zhe smiled and said: "We just went to scout out the situation."

  "I just saw a number of knights heading towards the border, aren't they going for reconnaissance?"

  "They can't get inside Nuremberg." Lai Zhe shook his head and said.

  "Would Lang Ning agree to let you go on an adventure?" Han Jin asked.

  "He can't even reach my head." Lei Zhe smiled and said, "I think there's no great danger. The most fearsome people in Black Crow City are Zagunede, and the two vampire kings, Caroline and Betty, but they've all fled to the underground city now. What's left shouldn't be a threat to us."

  "It's been over twenty days since we set out, hasn't it?" Sasori added, "I think Zakuneid already knew we were going to attack Black Crow Castle. Do you think he'll do nothing and let us occupy the castle?"

  "On this point, I tend to agree with Lang Ning's opinion. Zha Gu Nede is not unwilling to do it, but rather unable to do it. Protecting the underground city is his foundation." Xian Ni Er said.

  "I disagree." Sasou shook his head, "You think Zaganos' mind is too broad! I think he will at least try it out! Since Zaganos became the lord, he has been launching wars outward, and no one has truly threatened Zaganos' Black Crow Castle. Do you dare to guarantee that Zaganos doesn't have other hidden powers?"

  "War is not a legend story." Xanthe said: "If Zagunede really had another army, he would have used it long ago, what's the point of keeping it?"

  "But..." Sasori continued to argue.

  "You both make sense." Lei Zhe hastily said: "So, we must first sneak into Nuremberg, carefully investigate, and then make a decision."

  "Alright," said Han Jin slowly: "You all stay here, give me the map, I'll go to Nuremberg tonight and take a look around, I'll be back before tomorrow evening."

  "This... how can this be?" Lei Zhe was really anxious, if he let Han Jin go alone, wouldn't it become a situation where he came specifically to bully Han Jin and force him to volunteer?

  "What's wrong with that?"

  "Let's all go together!" said Mo Xinkai.

  "You think it's going to a bar to have fun?" Han Jin glared at Mo Xinkuo: "No matter what happens, I can take care of myself. If you all go, then I won't guarantee anything."

  Mo Xinkuo was stunned for a moment, Han Jin's words made sense. If they went together and something unexpected happened, they could only force their way out. But if Han Jin went alone, he would have more freedom, at least he could use that special magic to escape.

  "Raphael, I'm a real thief, you say... it's really hurtful to my self-esteem." Lei Zhe said with a bitter smile.

  "Alright, you don't have to fight over it anymore, just wait for my news tomorrow." Han Jin smiled.