In the Oak Province, an army formed into a long snake is advancing through the mountains and forests.
They were well-equipped, with sturdy alien-blood war horses, finely crafted armor and weapons, and the carriages loaded with supplies made a clattering sound as they moved.
In addition to the scarlet rose banner that symbolized the royal family, this army also had more golden mane banners. These banners were attached to long spear shafts, with a three-bladed spear tip at the top, followed by a golden mane tassel, and finally a bear head banner with golden mane.
They are a powerful legion directly under the command of General Bazel, who is also one of the "Three Victorious Generals" who rose to prominence during the Empire's Western Expedition. His reputation is second only to that of the former "Dulce", and he is known as the "Fearless Angry Bear".
The other two of the 'Three Victorious Generals' are 'Pure Iron General Star' Darcy and 'Blood-Clashing General' Sifley.
Each of the three has its own characteristics. Darcy has an iron will, discipline and strength, and it is almost impossible to find any flaws in him. Basel is extremely ferocious when leading his troops to attack. Although it will cause a lot of casualties, he can always achieve his strategic goals and never fail.
Sifley is famous for his wisdom and courage. He tries to minimize losses and avoid ambushes, but sometimes he seems to lack offensiveness, so he is only ranked third.
The legions led by these three generals were the most solid and reassuring fulcrums on the battlefield, and were also the key to supporting morale at the end of the expedition.
However, as Darcy, the leader of the three victorious generals, was defeated and captured, the morale of the army gradually began to collapse. Then the situation took a sharp turn for the worse, and the empire was forced to surrender and sign a peace agreement.
After everything was over, Darcy was released by Clancy and used in exchange for the Empire's captured officers and soldiers. However, he was questioned and attacked by nobles from all sides in the Empire. The emperor who originally supported him had passed away, so he had to withdraw from the army and his whereabouts were unknown.
The most prestigious generals in the empire today are only Basel and Sifley. Counting further down, they are probably the veteran generals with considerable experience before the Western Expedition. However, most of these people are from various factions of the old aristocracy and are not favored by the new emperor and regent.
Among the advancing army, there was an extremely strong general riding on a pitch-black warhorse. He was as big as a bear and had an aura of majesty without being angry. He was wearing heavy golden-bronze armor and a bright yellow cloak on his back with a side emblem of a bear's head painted on it.
Looking at the knights and soldiers in this army, their cloaks and coats are all in this bright yellow color and pattern, and the style is very unified.
The barrels of the muskets they carried on their shoulders were thicker than those of ordinary firearms, and were plated with a gold-copper color, giving them a rough and powerful style. The cannons placed on the carriages were also of much larger caliber and could fire more powerful shells.
This legion, called the 'Golden-Maned Bears', is one of the empire's top legions. The various weapons in their possession are all the latest and most sophisticated creations produced by the Imperial Capital's Alchemy Workshop, and their power far exceeds that of ordinary elite legions.
They have now received orders from His Majesty the Regent to go to the south to suppress the rebellion. The departure of this army has also caused many people in the empire to keep silent again and no longer discuss things in the south.
"General, the camp ahead has been set up. We will rest there today." In the field, a knight in full-coverage armor came to report.
Basel looked at the tower spires and tall city walls revealed in the distant mountains and forests and nodded. Then he saw that the soldier seemed to be still a little hesitant, so he asked in a low voice.
"Anything else?"
"Uh, yes!" After hearing the general's words, the knight realized the mistake of hesitation he had made and immediately answered loudly.
"Not long after we set up camp, several witches came to us and offered to help us."
"Witch, why are there such people here?" Bazel sat on a heavy horse about five meters high and looked down at the knight with disdain and disgust in his eyes.
Most witches originated from the Mercury Dynasty of the First Age. Because witches were very powerful at that time, there were many female worshippers and followers in the dynasty. These people were called "witches" to distinguish them from ordinary "wizards".
Most of them are good at refining medicine, spells, and understanding secret knowledge, but with the disintegration of the Mercury Dynasty and the rise of the Magic Sequence, their status was gradually replaced by wizards. Later, many witches simply became wizards, that is, they majored in the Magic Sequence and no longer fiddled with the Undead Sequence.
Nowadays, it is difficult to see groups that call themselves witches in other places except the cold forests in the northern border of the empire, and their image has become mysterious.
In Bazel's eyes, witches are liars who deceive and play with people's hearts. These people make predictions and say that they can see fate and the future in order to make a profit.
Bazel, who came from a common family, suffered a lot from this group of people when he was a child. His mother wasted a lot of the family's money because she believed in a street fortune-telling witch.
This caused his father to often quarrel with his mother when he was a child, and also made Basel dislike women, especially witches, even more.
Seeing the anger in the general's eyes, the knight had to defend himself.
"Actually, I don't welcome such strangers into the army, but they said they have letters of recommendation from the Duke of Raven in the North, the Trey family."
The four great dukes had enormous influence in the aristocratic circle, and few people could disobey them. After hearing this, Bazel stopped holding the knight accountable.
"Let them hang out for a few days. I'm busy with military affairs and don't have time to see them."
"Yes, sir." Then, the spear-wielding knight rode his horse again and went to the front to make arrangements.
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