George finally had a taste of being humiliated - on a stone platform in the downtown area of ​​Salt Marsh City, his hands were tied behind his back, his feet were wearing copper shackles, and the shackles were connected to a copper chain about five or six cubits long, one end of the chain was deeply embedded in the stone wall behind him.

What humiliated George the most was that Baker, who was better than anyone else at adapting to the situation, actually hung a big sign under his neck that read: "Intent to destroy reservoir."

The words on the sign earned George a lot of criticism and malicious insults. It was thanks to the two soldiers guarding the stone platform who stopped him, otherwise it would be hard to say what would have been thrown at him.

What comforted George was that he was not the only one being put on display. In addition to his lieutenants and generals, there were three other guys who enjoyed the same treatment as him. However, after asking about their identities, George's face became gloomy. Two of these three guys were slave traders, and the other was a thief.

George felt uncomfortable being "displayed" with these guys.

Other than that, everything seemed fine. Baker's interrogation was just symbolic. He was not tortured, nor was he forced to answer. When they were escorted here and chained, the two sentries told them that they would be given food and water on time, that they could go to the bathroom every once in a while, that they could sit down and rest at noon, and that they would be taken back in the evening...

But George kept his eyes closed almost the entire time…

…

In the meeting hall of Hulett Palace, Helen stood with her hands behind her back in front of the left wall, her eyes lingering on the map hanging on the wall for a long time.

This is the latest map of the Kayiked region, showing all the towns, mountains, rivers, forests, and roads.

Behind Helen, more than twenty civil servants and military officers stood cautiously with their hands hanging down, not daring to even breathe, because Helen had already lost her temper and punished two civil servants who had said the wrong thing, and it seemed that she was still angry.

Everyone knew the reason why the emperor was angry - first, the city of Assyria was humiliated by the enemy with an extremely contemptuous attitude, and the Tianjuan Empire suffered heavy losses. Then, Kayikede, which was originally in a good situation, was also interfered by the enemy. Not only did it take away Mauritania from the Tianjuan Empire, but it also caused the Tianjuan army to suffer heavy losses again.

All this is just like when you are running excitedly towards the final victory, and suddenly a ruffian jumps out and hits you hard on the forehead with a stick, making you dizzy and frightened.

Both defeats served as a reminder to the Tianjuan Empire - the other side possessed astonishing weapons, and at the moment, it would be difficult to even resist, let alone restrain them.

After watching for a while, Helen turned back with a frosty face: "I don't care what you think. The Tianjuan Empire must fight a decisive battle with the enemy in Kayikede. If we don't annihilate the enemy before it becomes stronger, in the future, it will be the beautiful land of the Tianjuan Empire that will be destroyed!"

All the civil and military officials bowed hurriedly.

"I know very well what difficulties my country is facing right now." Helen said as she walked towards the chair. "This battle involves the fate of the gods. No matter how difficult it is, each province must do its best to raise money and food, recruit soldiers and brave men. Now let's discuss the share of the burden for each province."

All the civil and military officials nodded in agreement, but they all felt heavy in their hearts. As time went by, the hidden dangers of the rapid expansion of the Tianjuan Empire gradually became apparent. In addition to the Tianjuan Province, the burdens on the Kimo Province and the Hulite Province were already very heavy, with banditry one after another. Now they had to recruit soldiers to go to Kayikede, which might do more harm than good. However, the emperor had already said that this battle had to be fought, so what else could they do except obey?

…

At noon on the fourth day of being paraded on the stone platform, George saw Wei Huo. At the first moment, he thought he was hallucinating, but he soon determined that although the other party was wearing plain clothes and riding alone, it was definitely Wei Huo.

"Hey! Hey!" George didn't dare to call out Wei Huo's name after all, and he didn't even dare to look directly at Wei Huo, because he felt that Wei Huo must have his own intentions for dressing like this and coming alone. He just needed to let Wei Huo know a little bit of his intention, and he couldn't let the people around him notice anything unusual.

A deputy general beside George also recognized Wei Huo, but he was obviously more covert than George - he signaled Wei Huo with a series of coughs.

But the next scene made George and the deputy general dumbfounded -

Wei Huo reined in his horse and stopped, but did not look at the two of them. Instead, he smiled towards the front.

George and the deputy general turned their heads in surprise, and saw Baker and Puya riding horses towards them.

"Dear General Wei Huo, I am Baker, the director of the Civil Affairs Bureau of Salt Marsh City, and this is our Salt Marsh City's highest military commander, Colonel Puya." Baker introduced with a smile.

"I have heard of you two for a long time." Wei Huo smiled and bowed on his horse. His eyes flashed and fell on Pu Ya. "I heard that Colonel Pu Ya was an instructor of the Salt Marsh Army?"

"General Wei Huo is right. I am." Pu Ya smiled slightly and made a gesture of invitation. "It is inconvenient to talk here. General Wei Huo, please come to my barracks for a chat."

"Okay, please lead the way." Wei Huo nodded...

George and the deputy general beside him looked at each other and saw expressions of disbelief on each other's faces.

…

After they sat down, Pu Ya smiled and said, "I just received General Wei Huo's handwritten letter yesterday, and the general arrived at Yan Marsh City today. He moved really fast."

"Colonel Puya, the situation is urgent right now, I dare not be unhappy." Wei Huo sighed softly and asked, "I want to know when I can be summoned by the Saint Wulai High Priest."

"General Wei Huo should know that the lord is not in Salt Marsh City at the moment." Pu Ya smiled and looked at Wei Huo for a moment, then said, "However, General Wei Huo, the lord predicted a few months ago that you would come to visit him in person one day."

"Oh?" A trace of surprise flashed across Wei Huo's eyes. Pu Ya's words were abrupt. If it was true, wouldn't it mean that Wu Lai had the ability of prophecy? "The lord has reserved a letter for you." Pu Ya took out something from his arms and handed it to Wei Huo.

Wei Huo took it and looked at it. It turned out to be a small flat wooden box that was two fingers wide and half an elbow long. There was a small copper buckle on one side of the wooden box to lock it. When he opened it, he saw a letter lying flat in the box, with a wax seal on it and the wax seal with Wu Lai's high priest seal on it.

After a slight hesitation, Wei Huo broke the wax seal and unfolded it. It was indeed Wu Lai's handwriting - "General Wei Huo’s Note..."

As he read, Wei Huo's brows slowly wrinkled, and his expression became more solemn. After reading it carefully twice, he hesitated and said, "General Puya, the content of the letter from the Saint Wulai High Priest is of great importance. I still need to discuss it with my tribesmen."

"General Wei Huo, don't worry." Pu Ya smiled slightly, "These are all within the Lord's expectations. General, just go back to Lunvington to discuss with the tribesmen. Once there is a result, you can come in person or send someone to come. Just let us know. The Lord has already made arrangements for what to do next."

"Okay." Wei Huo nodded, "Colonel Puya, can I meet Khufu?"

"Of course you can." Pu Ya laughed and said, "If General Wei Huo doesn't mind, I would like to be the host and invite the general and his son to taste the Greendo family's hot pot, and invite the general to visit the Salt Marsh City up close."

"I am grateful for Colonel Puya's kindness."

"You're welcome." Pu Ya said with a smile.

…

Seeing the excitement on Dett's face, Wu Lai smiled slightly and asked, "General Dett, it seems that the dual swordsman Hekru occupies a very important position in your mind." Although Dett is no longer a general but has just been transferred to the position of director of the Construction Bureau of Mauritania, Wu Lai is obviously more accustomed to calling him that.

"I guess so." Daite said with a smile, "Back then, when Heklu was still a slave gladiator of the Duncan family, I was very optimistic about him. His left-hand sword was the one I gave him at that time. After he defeated the masked assassin and seized the title of gladiator king, he not only gained freedom, but was also granted the status of a noble by Qi Yuan. However, Heklu is much more courageous than the Duncan family. When the Duncan family withdrew to Ronwenton, he did not follow them, but went to Titania to participate in the war and made many military achievements. After Titania was defeated, he fled to a small village near Assyria, where he recovered from his injuries while looking for opportunities to serve Assyria. After hearing that you, the high priest, had defended Mauritania, he came alone to join them."

"So you two are old acquaintances." Wu Lai nodded and asked, "Did he come to you directly after he arrived?"

"No, he was detained at the checkpoint and reported my name." Dai Te explained, "The officer on duty at the checkpoint sent someone to me to verify the situation. I went there and found that it was indeed him. However, the officer on duty said that no one can enter Mauritania without your personal approval, the High Priest. So I came to find you."

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Wu Lai smiled slightly and said, "General Date, you should know that there are two conditions for entering Muritania. One is to make sure you have no connection with the enemy, and the other is to have skills that can be put to use. In your opinion, does this Haikru meet the requirements?"

"Your Excellency the High Priest, Hekru talents are rare and certainly meet the requirements." Dai Te said quickly.

After pondering for a while, Wu Lai nodded: "Okay, I'll sign this."

"Thank you, High Priest." Dai Te quickly handed the prepared note to Wu Lai and said, "That Haiklu told me that he hopes to have the honor of being summoned by you."

"He is thoughtful." Wu Lai smiled slightly, took the approval slip and signed and stamped it, and said, "Okay, when you go to the checkpoint to get the person over, bring him to me."

"Okay, I believe he will be able to make great achievements for the high priest." Date nodded with a smile.

"I hope so." Wu Lai raised the corner of his mouth slightly.

…

When Heklu saw Date galloping towards him with a smile on his face, he breathed a sigh of relief...

Part of what Daite told Woolley was correct, that is, when the Duncan family withdrew from Rovington, Hekru did not follow the Duncan family back to Rovington, but went to Titania to fight in his personal capacity. The Duncan family did not interfere too much with Hekru's choice. On the one hand, they had already granted Hekru freedom and noble status, so Hekru had the right to fight or do other things. On the other hand, when they withdrew, they had already made plans to draw a clear line with Assyria and establish their own faction. There was no need for Hekru to earn cheers and glory for the Duncan family in the arena.

It is somewhat exaggerated to say that Heklu had made many military achievements. His strong personal close combat ability only meant that he had more chances of survival on the battlefield than others. It did not mean that he would definitely win. In fact, Heklu only participated in four street battles and killed more than a hundred enemy soldiers before ending his military career - he was captured.

After being captured, Heklu was imprisoned for a period of time after his identity was identified. After the fall of Titania and the conquest of Assyria and Annan by Ye Renwu, he became a slave again and was secretly taken to Assyria as one of the trophies presented to Ye Renwu by the Tianjuan Army.

As soon as Hekru saw Ye Renwu, he took the initiative to swear an oath of allegiance with blood, which made Ye Renwu suspicious for a long time. She even wondered if Hekru had developed a slave mentality after years of slavery, or if he had a cowardly heart under his brave and fearless appearance. It was not until one day when Hekru told her the truth that she believed Hekru was serious.

The reason why Heklu acted like this was because he was concerned about the safety of his wife and children. Before joining the war, he had placed his wife and children in a small town near Assyria. He joined the war to gain glory for his family.

Ye Renwu could naturally understand that a man could give up everything for his family, including his dignity. After thinking it over again and again, she ordered people to bring Haiklu's wife and children to reunite with him, because she felt that keeping someone like Haiklu might be useful, rather than just watching him fight for entertainment.

Of course, while the Haikru family was reunited, they all lost their freedom—they were placed under house arrest together in the backyard of the Night Blade Dance mansion.

Hekru came to Speartania just to use Night Blade Dance.

When Heikulu received the notice from Night Blade Dance, he hesitated, and then Night Blade Dance said two sentences to him: "If you don't go, you will put your wife and children to death. If you go, no matter what the result is, your wife and children will have lifelong peace and protection."

"Really?" Heklu frowned.

"I swear to the almighty and supreme Goddess Luo that what I just said to you is absolutely true." Ye Renwu's expression was very serious.

"Okay, I'll go." Haiklu nodded heavily...

…

"Oh, Heklu, the greatest gladiator king of Assyria, I have good news for you. High Priest Saint Woolley is willing to summon you, and right away. Come, follow me." While waving at Heklu, Dai Te handed the note to the officer on duty who came up to him.

"That's great, thank you General Date." A smile appeared on Heklu's face.

"No, don't call me that in the future. I'm no longer a general. Even in Muritania, the title of general no longer exists. You can call me director." Dat said with a laugh.

Director? What's that title? Haiklu was stunned...