Eagle Flag of Epirus

"It seems that we are very lucky, Lord Justinian, the Epirus marched along the Aseos Valley. Although the road is flatter, it is suitable for the passage of the army, but when they pass through the central swamp Time will definitely be slowed down.” Looking at the traces of the enemy’s march, little Dmitry said confidently. He has served here for two years, so Dmitry is familiar with the terrain in this area. but.

"That would be great, but which road should we take to stop them." Justinian was not pleased by the good news. The terrain of the Pindus Mountains is rugged, although the altitude is not high, but it is bare. The natural barrier that Iwa built has always been a headache for military strategists. Although he had promised before General Terendez, the difficulties to complete his plan exceeded expectations. The maps that Hendry gave him were all more than ten years ago, and they were still useful when they came before, but after arriving here, Justinian found that many things had undergone tremendous changes.

But fortunately, there is little Dmitry beside Justinian who can solve this problem for him. The young officer who had already known the terrain of this area soon pointed out a way for Justinian on the map.

"My lord, we can march from here, cross the entire mountain range, and then head here. From the west of the fourth mountain pass, we must stop the Epirus from continuing southward at the Aseos Bay." Dmitry Pointed to the coordinates on the map, which was on the east side of the Pindus Mountains leading to Agrafa, but the road he pointed to was not marked on the map in Justinian's hands at all.

"You mean passing through the mountains in this area? But I didn't see any roads there."

Justinillo hesitated a bit, the matter was important, and if there was any difference, he might lose all the games, so he had to be cautious.

But Dmitry replied calmly: "Master Justinian, the map is not the land. The mountain people who have lived here for thousands of years are far more familiar with every inch of land under their feet than the literary painters. "Speaking of this, he clenched his fist secretly. He had been to the surrounding villages in this area as a guest. They were warm and kind, and it was this way that he began to like the mountains here. But now the tyrants from Epirus have destroyed all of this. The next battle he will fight is not only for his parents but also for all the innocents who have suffered.

Looking at those bright eyes, Justinian was speechless for a long time. He could feel the fiery feeling of revenge and unyielding determination in the opponent's eyes, which could not be disguised.

He immediately made the deployment and ordered: "Send the three armies, march from the East Valley Trail, and advance at full speed. Everyone should be light and simple, and give up everything that can be given up as much as possible. Before tonight, we must cross Pindus. Mountains."

With Justinian’s command, the whole army responded with excitement. The soldiers who had already prepared everything had been holding a breath in their hearts. The trekking through the mountains and rivers had already sharpened these soldiers into indestructible blades, and now they just wait. Justinian, who led them, gave them this opportunity to prove themselves.

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As expected by Little Dmitry, in order to facilitate the march, the Epirus army chose to march on the Old Roman Avenue along the Aseos Valley.

But when he entered the deep valley, Nicholas already regretted looking at the dilapidated old road. Looking at the surrounding bushes, it seemed that no one had used it for a long time. Nicholas can be sure that this place has been abandoned for a long time. However, even so, he could not change his mind, and could only order the troops to move forward until the road in front of them was blocked by a muddy swamp.

"Damn it, how could this be?" Looking at the mud at the foot of the valley, Nicholas furiously took out his map and tore it to pieces, and roared angrily: "Why is there nothing on it? Should be broken into pieces!" If Nicholas knew in advance that this would be the case, he would not go here anyway, and now he can only anger the map in his hand.

General Wallus on the side said: "This is really not to blame the man who drew the map, Your Highness, after all, this is something more than ten years ago, and the changes in the empire are far more than words can describe, since Andronica I Since the emperor’s rebellion, Constantinople’s finances have rarely been allocated. The water conservancy of the Aseos River has been completely abandoned. Presumably the marshes here are the result of the damage of the dam. If we could catch one or two in the first place. If a villager was not killed, he would have avoided going here.” He wanted to stop the cruel actions of this highness all the way before. It was not enough to **** the food from the village, and he had to kill them all. This is simply a robbery action. It can be said to be self-defeating in such a situation.

"Are you questioning my decision, Valous?" Calling his name, Nicholas heard the other party's intention, and said angrily. "What I did was to consider the overall situation. Once the spoilers in the enemy-occupied area run out to report our whereabouts, they may be leaked out. Who will take the responsibility then?"

"Don't dare, Your Highness." Valus lowered his head, "Just what should we do now? Maybe we can let the soldiers rest for a while before looking for another way out." The road here is no longer possible. , And the army marched for a long time without rest from beginning to end. On the way, the general swallowed his anger and led the crowd to follow Nicholas. Even he was exhausted now. Taking this opportunity, he once again asked Nicholas to agree to the rest of the army.

However, the noble son who was eager for quick success did not take Valous's words into his heart. Now he is all about the report from his previous scouts: Many troops from Thessaly have assembled in Agrinion. The number is large but not enough. It was a mob, they didn't know that their army had gone south, and in such a lack of vigilance, Nicholas seemed to see victory beckoning him at this time.

"I have already reached this point. I will not allow anyone to make any mistakes. I don't care if the dam is damaged or not. I don't have the time to find another way out. I immediately ordered everyone to cut down the shrubs on both sides of the road and spread them on the swamp. Pass to the army!" Nicholas waved the whip in his hand impatiently and bounced in the air. Regardless of the exhaustion of everyone, he still ordered to force through the swamp in front of him.

At this time, even General Wallus, who has been tolerant, could not see it. He objected: "The soldiers have reached their limit. Please be considerate of them. Forcibly crossing the swamp will inevitably cause unnecessary casualties. As you The commander should not disregard the whole army for his own benefit, Your Highness!"

"What is self-interest? What do you mean, General Valous?" Nicholas scolded angrily when he never expected that the other party would dare to oppose him.

But this time, Valus did not back down any more, but said to Nicholas: "If you do this again, your highness, I will report to your majesty what you have done here afterwards." The unbearable Epiru General Si had to move out the name of the emperor.

But Wallus's doing so angered Nicholas. In his opinion, a general dared to threaten him so as not to put him in his eyes. Then he shouted angrily: "Presumptuous! Take it for me."

With an order, the soldiers Nicholas had brought from Rusni were all around, and they swarmed to drag the unsuspecting General Epirus off the horse. This scene stunned everyone, and the soldiers who had been following Wallus were also shocked.

Looking at the subdued Valous, Nicholas looked down from above, the only constant was the contempt and disdain in his eyes. As an illegitimate child, Nicholas had always had a very difficult relationship with the generals in Epirus. He knew that his identity had always been looked down upon, so this time Valous's open rebellion against him completely ignited his anger.

"Keep your eyes open, Valus, the master of this army is not you but me. My father sent you as my deputy instead of letting you defy me. I have long heard that you are used to being good people in the army. , Don't you think that this can build prestige?" The young noble ridiculed the old general at his feet, ridiculing his tone.

But Valus, who was arrested, said coldly: "That's better than using swords and whips to drive soldiers. I will always believe that letting soldiers be in awe is not equivalent to making them fear their officers. The only thing soldiers need to fear is never. The enemy or whatever, but the stupidity and self-serving of his own superior. Moreover, the real master of this army is His Majesty Mikhail, and you are just a slave driven by His Majesty, bastard!"

"Huh, great, is this your answer?" Although Nicholas, who was extremely ashamed of Valous's retort, didn't change his face, his heart was full of murderous intent. Nicholas suddenly thought of an idea, and saw him smiling and saying, "Since you said that, General Valous, then let us make a bet to see what your so-called kindness is. Can I beat the stupid and self-serving me?"

A shuddering smile was raised at the corner of Nicholas’ mouth, and General Valous, who was restrained to death and unable to move, had no possibility of resisting. He didn’t know what the lunatic in front of him wanted to do, but the heavy anxiety of death was already Shrouded in his heart.

...

The soldiers of Epirus who were obstructed by the swamp still looked at a muddy swamp at a loss. They didn't know how deep and wide the swamp was, and no one dared to step forward. Even if the "tyrant" Nicholas received an order, the soldiers only cut down some shrubs and dead branches and had no next action. The exhausted soldiers just thought about this opportunity to relax for a while.

Until Nicholas brought his soldiers and General Valous who had been escorted over, appeared in the sight of everyone.

General Wallus? What's up with him? The soldiers craned their necks curiously and watched this magical scene-as the deputy commander of the entire army, Legion General Valous was tied to a wooden board and carried to the edge of the mud by several soldiers.

Nicholas walked over slowly, looked around at the silent crowd, and said coldly: "I asked you to pave the roads and build bridges all in a daze? What are you doing? It is the duty of soldiers to make roads and bridges when you encounter mountains. Do I still need to talk about these?"

Looking at the soldiers with gloomy eyes, Nicholas' tyrannical aura made everyone in the field shudder. The soldiers had to pick up the branches and shrubs on the ground to prepare for work.

Just listen to Nicholas publicly announce: "Valus resigned without authorization, shakes the military's heart, dares to disobey the military order, the crime is unforgivable, I am ordered by Emperor Mikhail to command the army not to swindle the law for personal gain, and now I pronounce Valus to death. "

A dignified general was ordered to be executed in this way. All the soldiers were dumbfounded, and the crowd was whispering. Many of them were soldiers under Valous's command, but they were quiet, and no one dared to stand up for a while, but what happened next was Let everyone be shocked. I saw General Wallus, whose mouth was gagged by the cloth, was thrown into the mud by some of Nicholas’s soldiers along with the plank, and the side facing the swamp was Wallus himself, which was to drown him alive. In the swamp!

Watching the old general who was **** by the Big Five Flowers, unable to even struggle, he was thrown into the icy swamp~www.ltnovel.com~ Several people in the army couldn't bear it, but Nicholas's soldier who was holding a sharp blade stood on the edge of the swamp. One dare to step forward.

I don’t know how long it took. At first, there was no sound under the wooden planks that were still moving. As a legionary general, Valous was put to death by Nicholas in such a humiliating way. A haze of fear enveloped the soldiers of Epirus. In a person's heart, everyone is afraid that the next person will be themselves.

Looking at the silent soldiers in front of him, Nicholas, who even had a smile on his face, asked, "Do you still have anyone to rest now, or do you want to hurry?"

The eyes of the hanging triangle penetrate everyone's heart like a poisonous snake. Now no one dared to defy what Nicholas said. When the cruel voice of the nobleman just fell, the soldiers who never dared to rest took up their hands. His work jumped into the icy mud and laid wooden boards with dead branches to make a bridge for Nicholas.

The horse jumped on the wooden plank that bound General Wallus, standing firmly on the edge of the swamp, Nicholas sneered at Wallus, who he could no longer see under his feet, and mocked: "I see all this in front of me. Well, Wallus, fear is the best tool to use at any time. It seems that I won the bet between us."

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