Several menacing cavalrymen pushed a small man to Leon's horse. This small man was Adam's personal attendant, Mon.
Leon looked down at Meng, whose hands were tied behind his back, covered in mud, and who remained silent with his head down.
"Where did Adam go?" Leon's voice was somber, his spear poised to strike.
Meng shook his head and slowly looked up at Leon. Leon's eyes were sinister, and his white beard, sticking out from under his helmet, was trembling, clearly due to anger.
“He didn’t say anything. He told me to pick up my meals on time every day, but he ran away a few nights ago.” Meng lowered his head again after saying that.
Leon frowned slightly, then looked around. "Where's Gosa?"
The crowd exchanged bewildered glances, shocked by Meng's explanation. As for Leon's question, everyone remained silent, none daring to be the first to reveal the truth.
Leon waited a moment, then seemed to realize something, looked up at Donic's castle in the distance, and after a long while, looked at Mon in front of the horse, "Is he dead?"
Meng suddenly looked up, and then a look of fear appeared on his face. He suddenly knelt on the ground, nodding as if his whole body was trembling.
Upon hearing this, Leon nodded as if relieved, then thrust his spear forward and pierced through Meng's body.
Monk stared in shock at Leon, following the spear's trajectory. Then, his entire body went completely cold.
Leon withdrew his spear, then looked around at the men and said in a low voice, "What are you standing there for? Put on your armor, prepare your weapons, and line up! You're about to go to the battlefield, so pay attention, or... you'll all be buried with my son!" With that, he slowly rode his horse out of the camp. The soldiers watching seemed to wake from a dream, and they all returned to their tents to put on their armor and prepare their weapons.
Unbeknownst to Adam since the start of the war, Leon had been receiving a letter daily from his second son, Gossa. This letter wasn't actually requested by Leon; it was Gossa's daily report of the situation, akin to a diary. However, four days prior, this daily report had ceased. Leon knew a major problem had arisen at the front, so the next day he led six hundred-man squads, lying in ambush on the border, towards Donic Castle.
He had assumed that even if one of his sons was wounded or died, the other son would take over command and accomplish the strategic objectives of the battle. However, this was not the case. The scouts returned the previous night to tell him that a ceasefire had been in effect for at least two days, and the scouts had not been able to ascertain why no further fighting had taken place.
That's why he rushed over overnight to ask his good-for-nothing eldest son why he didn't attack.
But things took another turn for the worse; that coward had actually run away?!
Leon sat on his horse, his heart heavy with sorrow. He had already lost two sons, two sons he had once valued highly. Although both had some obvious problems, he never imagined that a task that seemed easy to him would end up like this.
"Could it be that I haven't trained them enough?" Leon regretted that he had spoiled the children too much in recent years, so much so that they hadn't had much experience on the real battlefield.
But it's not over yet, and this isn't the time for sadness. Although reluctant, she still had to completely clean up the mess left by her two sons; otherwise, things wouldn't be as simple as just losing her two sons.
However, the loss of a son can be used to create a story.
Four days later, the soldiers of the Lunlang family regrouped and launched a new attack on Donic Castle at dawn.
On the highest tower of Donic Castle, Andrew watched the soldiers slowly approaching in the distance, his heart heavy with worry. He had just received news that morning that the main force would arrive this afternoon. He had thought that four days had passed peacefully, but unexpectedly, at the last moment before reinforcements arrived, the enemy launched a fierce attack.
Andrew simply couldn't believe that the Lunlang family hadn't planted spies in the Donic family's territory. The timing was perfect; he could easily imagine the soldiers' feelings upon hearing news of the enemy's full-scale attack just as they were about to escape. What troubled him was the knowledge that his army wouldn't hold out until reinforcements arrived. Even if they did, he estimated that very few of his men would be left.
He ordered the messengers to begin relaying the message to the other soldiers in the castle, to spread the bad news to all the soldiers.
Yun Zhe and Wu Sha were practicing with their wooden swords when they saw soldiers rushing past them in droves. Yun Zhe frowned. He already knew the Lunlang family had attacked, but he also instantly suspected that the enemy had planted spies within their ranks; otherwise, they wouldn't have launched their attack at such a convenient time. Yun Zhe understood that the soldiers' morale was extremely low, a fact evident from the thoughts in the minds of the soldiers passing by. Under these circumstances, Yun Zhe considered it a miracle that the soldiers even bothered to pick up their weapons.
Usha sheathed her wooden sword, tugged at Yun Zhe's sleeve, pointed to the soldiers, and whispered, "Everyone's morale is very low."
Yun Zhe was stunned. If he hadn't been able to see through Usha's thoughts, he would have thought that Usha was also a vampire.
"Oh, why do you think that?" Yun Zhe squatted down and asked Wu Sha in a low voice.
Usa looked at Yun Zhe, her lips slightly pouting. "I can tell from the expressions on their faces. This is the expression people have when they're doing something they don't want to do but have to."
Yun Zhe chuckled. He hadn't expected this girl to understand facial expressions. Haha, she was really interesting.
Yun Zhe patted Wu Sha's head. "There's going to be a war soon. Everyone loves peace, so of course we don't like war. That's just how it is. You're right. But you'll have to hide in the basement later. Do you know the way? Do you need me to take you there?"
Usa nodded, then shook her head. "I can go by myself. I know the way." Then she glanced at Yun Zhe, tilted her head, and said cautiously, "I know you're in a hurry to leave. You don't really want to see me off, do you?"
Yun Zhe grinned awkwardly, then nodded. "You little rascal, you're right. You're not angry, are you?"
Usa thought for a moment and said softly, "A little."
Yun Zhe patted Wu Sha's head again. "But I really can't send you there this time." Yun Zhe saw soldiers drawing their bows on the high wall in the distance. "Time is too tight. I'll make it up to you after the battle."
Usa nodded. "You don't need to compensate me. I know it's urgent." With that, she grabbed the wooden sword and ran towards the basement.
Yun Zhe scratched his head, suddenly realizing that this little girl was not simple at all.
But he no longer had time to think about these issues.
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