Just as Odo was about to stand up and rush forward, a signalman came running up to him: "Captain, the lord is here."

Oddo nodded and stopped. After waiting for a while, he saw Wu Lai leading Caesar, Shilang and others running over.

"What's the situation?" After waving his hand to signal Oddo not to salute, Wu Lai asked while wiping the sweat off his face.

"It's not bad. There were stragglers on the cliffs on both sides ahead. They attacked the regiment in the dark, causing a bit of chaos and alarming a military camp at the foot of the mountain three or four miles ahead. The enemy numbered at least seven or eight thousand." Odo said, "Fortunately, the second regiment blocked it in time. Now I have sent the third and sixth regiments to reinforce. The fourth and fifth regiments will go according to the original plan."

"The loss of the group is very serious, right?" Wu Lai nodded and asked.

"Yes, I let the commander of the first regiment lead the retreat and send the wounded back to the other side. But please rest assured, Lord, this will not affect Samedaya's plan. I plan to take the second and third regiments to fight with the soldiers in the enemy camp first. After weakening their morale, I will let the sixth regiment lead them away." Oddo said.

"No, we have to eat them all at once. The army in this position is not a strong force and cannot withstand the attack of your division. Kill them and then catch up. Samidaya's matter will not be delayed. We just need to hurry up." Wu Lai smiled slightly and continued, "Odo, our advantage in weapons is getting weaker and weaker. We can't give the enemy a chance to grow."

"Okay, I've been waiting for you to say that, Lord." Odo patted the sword on his waist excitedly...

"Report to the division commander! The enemy troops on the cliffs on both sides have withdrawn." A signalman quickly ran to Oddo.

"Got it." Odo waved his hand and turned to Wu Lai and said, "Lord, although there are not many people harassing us on the cliff, they are very vicious, a bit like a special forces company. Their weapons are mainly wooden javelins, which are a bit inferior, but they are more than enough, so the whole group suffered a great loss."

"The terrain here is suitable for an ambush." ​​Wu Lai patted Oddo's shoulder and said, "Let's go."

"Yes!" Odo nodded, and suddenly the scenery in front of him brightened. He subconsciously looked up at the sky and saw that the clouds were dispersing and the bright double moons were already mostly visible.

"Great! Great!" Otto clenched his fists excitedly.

Wu Lai smiled slightly and turned to look at the stone beach...

…

Samedaya was once prosperous. At least three hundred years ago, it was as prosperous as the city of Hurriyet. At that time, it had a population four times that of today, with towering temples, arenas, and Lake Same, known as the Pearl of Hurriyet.

But now Sammedaia has lost its former splendor. Ever since Tianjuan annexed Hurlit, the population has been decreasing. The towering temples no longer worship Amun, and there are fewer and fewer matches in the arena because the taxes are getting heavier. People don’t have the spare money to watch the games. Even if there are, the fights are no longer interesting because the decent gladiators have gone to Hurlit City or even Tianjuan Province, because they are richer than Sammedaia, and there are much more rewards and cheers...

Lake Samy is still there, still sparkling and picturesque, but this cannot help to save Samydaya from its decline.

Therefore, Roden was very depressed. Over the past year or so, he had been feeling ashamed and uneasy about his incompetence. He felt that he was not competent as the city defender at all.

Roden did not like the title of "city defender". He felt that the title of consul sounded much better. In addition, he could not accept the Tianjuan official rank system, because this system was obviously only binding on the Hurrians and the Tianjuan people. All the Tianjuan officials in the city of Samidaya, regardless of their rank, were qualified to shout and make decisions in front of him, the Hurrian city defender. They could always find fault with this or that, or make this or that request.

Anyone would be unhappy if he was nearly 40 and was still being yelled at and treated like a naughty child by his subordinates every now and then. Roden had thought about resigning, but he never dared to do so because the situation had changed again. The person in power was no longer the emperor, but King Adolf. If he resigned at this time, it would be easily misinterpreted as his dissatisfaction with King Adolf...

At dawn, Roden and four civilian attendants rode back to the city of Samedaya, carrying the latest order in their arms - at an emergency meeting of the Ministry of Revenue, Samedaya was required to pay taxes for the next three years within this month.

This is undoubtedly an impossible task, because this is the third time the empire has done this. According to the year and including this time, the tax of Samidaia has been paid eleven years later...

What should I do? Rawdon was thinking about this question all the way.

After entering the city, the four civilian attendants said goodbye and dispersed. They were exhausted after running for most of the night, so they naturally wanted to go home early to catch up on some sleep. Thus, Roden was alone again.

After walking a short distance, the upset Roden simply dismounted and walked, holding the reins. As he walked, he was thinking about how to arrange the collection of taxes. He thought about it for a long time yesterday but couldn't come up with any good ideas, so he couldn't even sleep. Seeing Yun Sanyuelang again, he took his entourage back together. Anyway, there was no point in staying another night - the Ministry of Revenue had issued a death order this time.

Roden walked on the deserted street, letting the moonlight stretch his shadow into a long oblique line...

"Who's in front?" A sudden shout interrupted Roden's thoughts. He looked up subconsciously and saw that it was a patrol team of about 20 people. Except for the sergeant in the lead who was riding a horse, the rest were on foot.

"It's me, Roden." Roden stopped.

"The Lord Raden?" The sergeant's voice was filled with doubt. He rode his horse closer, raised his lantern to shine a light, and then laughed, "So it really is the Lord Raden. By the way, didn't you go to Hulett City?"

"I'll be back when I'm done." Roden replied. A sergeant in the garrison was far superior to him, the city defender, in terms of position, but the other party was a man favored by heaven, so Roden did not dare to ignore him.

"Oh, so that's how it is. It seems that everything is the will of the gods." The sergeant suddenly said something out of the blue.

"Excuse me..." Roden frowned.

"Goodbye, Roden City Guard." The sergeant waved his hand, "It will be dawn soon."

"Goodbye." Roden was stunned and hesitated for a moment, then he jumped on the horse. After running a few steps, he heard a series of laughter.

Roden suddenly had a bad feeling...

…

Wu Lai's face was quite solemn. Although the city of Samedaya was in sight, the enemy had obviously made preparations. The city gates were closed, and the city walls facing them were densely packed with soldiers. There were also many wooden stakes and barricades placed on the roads outside the city.

"Lord, how could this happen?" Pu Tong asked with a frown. Although the army arrived half a day later than expected, they took the secluded mountain paths and jungles along the way, and the scouts sent out did not find any situation. But looking at the scene in front of them, it was obvious that the city of Samedaya had been prepared.

"It must be the small group of troops that attacked the 1st Division last night who tipped them off." Wu Lai put down the telescope.

"Don't worry, lord, as for these bastards, as long as we catch them, I promise to cut them into pieces." Pu Tong patted his chest and chewed the grass leaves in his mouth even faster.

"I believe you can do it, but now is not the time to discuss this, Putong, what is our combat objective?" Wu Lai asked.

"How could I forget what the lord said? Our combat goal is to continuously attack the Tianjuan Army, eliminate their manpower, and encourage and help the Hurlites and Kimos to break away from Tianjuan's rule." Pu Tong replied.

"That's right. The battle last night cannot be considered the first battle. The attack on Sameday can be considered the first battle. Victory in a field battle can shock the enemy, but it is not as easy to undermine morale as capturing their city. Therefore, no matter how well prepared Sameday is, we must take it." Wu Lai said.

"Lord, I was thinking that since they have made preparations, they must have informed the armies in Hulit City and White Shield Pass." Pu Tong reminded tentatively.

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"I've taken all this into consideration." Wu Lai nodded. "Odo hasn't caught up yet, so now we only have the Sixth Division and the Fourth and Fifth Regiments of the First Division. We're a little short of manpower, but we can fight. Besides, the enemy is ready. If we don't show up, it will only boost their morale. So you must organize the army immediately and take the Sixth Division around to the right side of Samedaya and station close to the horse trail."

"Lord, this is a risky move." Pu Tong suddenly became excited.

"It looks like it, but it's not." Wu Lai laughed. "Hulit's troops are not strong enough, and Baidun Pass is more than 200 miles away. If Hulit wants to attack you, it will take at least a day and a night, not to mention Baidun Pass. It will be good if we can send the message tomorrow morning."

"That's right. I thought the lord was planning to besiege the city and attack the reinforcements. It was all a false alarm." Pu Tong shrugged.

"Why be so happy for nothing? You block the horse path, and then send a regiment of soldiers to ambush you in three directions. Then make some noise to attract the enemy's attention. I will take action as soon as it gets dark. The defenders are so small that we can easily drag them out of the way. Then we can put some explosives on them and blast a few holes. Then the battle will be easier to fight."

"Okay, I'll listen to you, Lord." Pu Tong laughed, "It's still easier to fight with you, Lord. I don't have to think about anything, just do what you're told."

"Remember not to harass ordinary people. Anyone who violates the rules will be severely punished," Wu Lai added.

"Yes! Lord, I will assemble the army and set off now." Pu Tong stood at attention.

"Go." Wu Lai nodded, watched Pu Tong leave, turned around and waved at Shi Lang.

"May I ask what your lordship wants?"

"Take your men to check on the situation with Commander Oddo right away," Wu Lai said.

"yes!"

…

When Pu Tong led the Sixth Division and rushed past the city of Samedaya in a wild and cool manner, Lugaras, who was standing behind an arrow nest on the city wall, frowned even more tightly.

Lugaras was the commander of the garrison in Samedaya City, a member of the Simon family, the fourth most prestigious family in Tianjuan. He was one of Tianjuan's titled generals, and the only titled general who did not stay in the main army.

The reason why he didn't stay in the main army was that Lugaras had no interest in fighting. He got his status as a general thanks to his family, not because of his own abilities. To be more precise, apart from his handsome looks and eloquence, Lugaras had basically no other strengths.

But Lugaras felt that it was enough, because his favorite thing to do was to hook up with women. I have to point out here that Lugaras is only interested in married women, and he has maintained this hobby since he was eleven years old.

The biggest battle Lugaras had ever participated in was the Battle of White Shield Mountain. During the general attack on White Shield Pass by the Tianjuan Army, Lugaras unexpectedly captured four generals of Hulit alive. After the war, his title was not only upgraded by two levels, but Emperor Helen also allowed him to freely choose his legion or station. What everyone did not expect was that Lugaras actually asked to be stationed in Samedaya, which had just been captured...

"Sebanda... General." Lugaras really didn't know how to address Sebanda, but he was grateful to Sebanda from the bottom of his heart. If it weren't for Sebanda's timely warning, this fierce army outside the city might have already attacked Samedaya, which had always been lax in defense.

"What do you think we should do now?" asked Lugaras.

Saibanda was delighted, but he quickly said, "General, you are the commander of Samedaya, and everything here should be decided by you."

If I knew how to make the decision, why would I ask you? Lugaras was startled. Just as he was about to say something, the guards behind him reported: "General, the Roden City Guards are here."

"Let him come over." Lugaras nodded and swallowed back the words he had just prepared.

What was Rawdon doing here at this time? Lugaras wondered to himself.