Elden: Ring of Calamity

Chapter 179 Changes in the Northern Territory
The Arctic Ice Field, the Flame Temple.

In the secret hall of the cardinal on the seventh floor underground, the seven flame archbishops gathered for a long time, and sat around a huge round table engraved with raging fire patterns.

The chief archbishop, Pilak, sits at the head, and the second-in-command, Hiron, sits next to him. The seven of them are all wearing the thick black iron armor exclusive to bishops, and their bloated bodies are covered with a scarlet burqa that symbolizes flames, shaped like a giant bowl. The top of his helmet burns with mixed light and shade.

From these flames alone, we can see the gap between several bishops. The flame above Pilak's head is the most blazing, almost like a crater ready to explode. Hiron is only about half of his flame, and the flames of the rest are weaker. Counting chips, the weakest one is almost a candle in the wind, as if it will go out as long as you blow one breath.

Pilak looked at all this coldly with his deep eyes, and there was a look of worry on his face covered by the iron armor. After a long silence, he opened his mouth and said: "On March 49, 20th Golden Calendar, Cardinal No. [-] of the Flame Temple Meeting, begin."

He took the lead in looking at Xilun on the left, and said, "You have always been in charge of the military affairs. Let's report on the recent turmoil in the southern region first."

Hiron nodded, took the information that had been prepared in front of him, turned over two pages, and said, "Everyone should be aware that since the end of last summer, there have been rebel tribes in the large area from the north of Lord Fortress to the town of Vinia. The harassment of the caravan along the way, judging from the records of the battle between the caravan guards and the rebels, the opposite should be the remnants of the barbarians who were lucky enough to hide in the Northern War three years ago. The main part is the mountain monster, with a small amount of mixed race , Asians, and northern refugees."

"At the last meeting, we all judged that they were just a group of rogues who did not make sense, but since the beginning of this year, the situation has gotten out of control." Hiron took out several records that had been prepared, got up and distributed them to the bishops one by one. .

"What you are seeing now is the detailed investigation report of the attack on Slovens Town a month ago. In the early morning of February [-], a large group of unknown rebels raided Slovens Town. In less than three hours Break through the defense of the city wall, capture the lord's castle, wipe out the defenders, and then launch a massacre against all the townspeople."

"It wasn't until noon on February [-]th that a small caravan that regularly traveled between Lord Fortress and Slovens Town arrived in the town, only to find the more than a thousand broken corpses that had been frozen into lumps of ice. The local lord Kathy The baron, the baroness, and two children under the age of ten in the family were all cut off limbs and nailed to the roof of Malika Church. According to the doctor's diagnosis, the whole family was injected with flavoring medicine to maintain their spirits. That is to say, they were still awake until the moment before they bled to death."

Bang—a loud bang came from across the round table.

The fifth chief bishop, Rody, slammed his fists on the table and clenched his fists, and the fire cup above his head burst into flickering flames, "It's too arrogant, it's simply too arrogant—this is a tribute to the Golden Dynasty." Provocation is a blasphemy against the law! We must take immediate action to arrest all the perpetrators involved in the case and put them on trial by fire!"

All the bishops nodded their heads in agreement after hearing the words, but Pirac on the main seat remained silent. However, the third bishop on the right, Yuno, was as calm and indifferent as him.

"It has now been confirmed that the remnants of the rebel army who harassed the caravan in the southern region and the murderers who massacred the town of Slovens are a group of people?" In the heated discussion, Yuno raised his eyelids slightly, and said in a neutral tone road.

Hiron was taken aback when he heard the words, and then replied after a while: "Since the case of Slovens did not leave anyone alive, and there are no direct witnesses, we can only infer on our own. Judging from the brutal killing behavior of the townspeople, apart from the remnants of the rebels who survived three years ago, there is no such armed group in the entire northern border, right?"

"Bishop Hiron, you are being a bit arbitrary." Yuno leaned back on the seat, tapping his fingers on the table lightly.

"Three years ago, the Flame Brothers assisted Calvin Duoris in the siege of the iron wall. You were the military chief of the temple at that time. What kind of people were the protagonists of that rebellion? You should be more knowledgeable than us." clear."

"The reason why the iron wall strategy was adopted back then was never because the northern border army lacked the strength to fight the barbarian rebels head-on, but because the northern border was too big and too cold. Whenever the dynasty mobilized a large army to deal a fatal blow to the opponent, they They will immediately get into those rugged and difficult mountain pits, and will not give the dynasty army a chance to launch a decisive battle. If the two sides collide head-on, even the most powerful mountain demon troops among the rebels will not be able to fight. Can't withstand the impact of a Rodel Knights whose number is only one-third of them, am I right?"

Xilun frowned slightly and said, "That's right."

"Then, the rebels who were still at their peak three years ago were still like this. After being killed by Duoris in the first battle, how much trouble can they cause today?"

Yuno straightened up, pressed his palm on the survey report and said, "Where is Slovens—one of the trading hubs in the southern part of the northern border, a territory run by the Cahill family for generations. I have been there more than once. There, the shortest part of the city wall of Slovens is more than eight meters, and the lord's castle is 12 meters high and two meters thick. In addition, there are [-] private soldiers of the Cahill family stationed in the town. It is the defense level of a small military fortress."

"Three years ago, if the group of rebels wanted to capture such a city quickly, at least two thousand well-equipped troops would have to fight desperately. Before being trapped to death, even those barbarians who don't know the art of war have never made such a decision."

"Think about the terrain around Slovens Town, where there are mountains and rivers, and the field ahead is difficult for even a human army with a population of more than a thousand, let alone the rebel army with trolls and hybrid fighters as the main force. If your deduction is correct, then it means that the rebel army has not weakened in the past three years, but has doubled its individual combat power several times, and has become a powerful army in the world that even our elite knights can't match?"

As soon as these words came out, the hall suddenly fell into silence.

Xilun's expression changed a few times before he gritted his teeth and said, "Then tell me, if it wasn't for the remnants of the rebels back then, who else in the northern border would have the ability to launch such an attack?"

Yuno crossed his fingers and propped his chin, and said with a slight smile, "Have you forgotten, before His Majesty Malika and His Majesty Geoffrey's troops crossed the Lode cliff, whose territory is in the entire southern part of the Northern Territory?"

Pilak, who was on the main seat, frowned when he heard this, and just about to speak, he heard Hiron slap the table and said firmly: "Impossible!"

(End of this chapter)