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"Tell me, what's going on?"
In the castle hall, Carter, Echo, and Iron Axe stood in a row, and Roland sat in the main seat and asked with a little dissatisfaction.
Discipline, discipline! How many times have I emphasized that the army should have iron discipline! Let alone seeing the chief, even if he saw the king, he should not be moved. If there is a real request, he can write a report. He was so optimistic about Iron Axe. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh. In the final analysis, it was because of the lack of cultural quality and the inability to thoroughly understand the meaning of discipline.
"Your Highness," Iron Axe couldn't help but want to kneel down as soon as he opened his mouth, but Roland stopped him when his knees were half bent.
"Stand up and talk!"
"...Yes," the latter swallowed and said, "Lord Silver Moon is the chief of the clan I served when I was in Iron Sand City." "
No, Kabago, I'm not the chief..." Echo waved his hand and said hurriedly.
"No, you are," Iron Axe retorted. "After your father and brother died, according to Mojin custom, you became the patriarch of the Osha clan from that moment on. I heard that they sold you to the Bluewater Port, but I didn't find you there. I thought you were...dead."
"But I--"
Roland interrupted Echo's words, "Come one by one, Iron Axe, you speak first."
"Yes, Your Highness."
...
This story is not complicated, and Roland quickly understood the general course of events.
Echo was originally a member of the Osha clan in Iron Sand City. Her real name was Zhuoer Silver Moon, and her father was the patriarch of the Osha clan.
The Sand People are not a whole, and the population that Iron Sand City can accommodate is limited. Therefore, every three years, each clan must have a sacred duel in the Burning Land. Only the six winning clans can obtain the right to live in the city, while the other clans either live outside the city or gather in the Green Sea. Although these settlements also have water sources, wild beasts and sandstorms will pose a great threat to the Sand People. Therefore, every time there is a sacred duel, the warriors of each clan spare no effort.
However, the Osha Clan was defeated in the duel by the Ironwhip Clan, who used insidious means behind the scenes. Not only that, the clan leader was killed and the clan was exiled to the Endless Cape. As the daughter of the clan leader, the drow Silvermoon, also known as Echo, was sold to the slave traders in the Bluewater Port as a high-quality slave because of her outstanding appearance.
Iron Axe was adopted by the Osha Clan because of his mixed-blood identity, but no Sand People would regard him as a true Mokin, so he was not sentenced to exile. Instead, because of his high martial arts skills, he was favored by other clans and wanted to recruit him. Iron Axe was grateful for the clan leader's care for him for many years, and he wanted to save Echo, so he rejected other clans without hesitation. After a series of arduous journeys, he finally arrived at the Bluewater Port, but he didn't know that Echo had been sold to the capital of Graycastle.
Later, one of them was rescued by a witch and became a member of the Mutual Aid Society; the other went to the Western Border of Graycastle in despair. Until today, the two unexpectedly met again in Border Town.
"What are you going to do then?" Roland pondered for a moment, "Return to the extreme south with Echo and revive the Aosha clan?"
"No, Your Highness," Tigui knelt on one knee and said, "I have sworn to the Three Gods that I will serve you forever for the rest of my life. I was just too excited when I saw Lord Silver Moon at that time, and I couldn't control my emotions. Please punish me."
"What about you?" The prince looked at Echo, "Do you want to avenge your people?"
Echo also knelt down and said, "I thought about revenge when I awakened as a witch, but now I don't have such an idea anymore." She bit her lip, "Please let me stay here, I have nowhere to go."
"I understand, stand up," Roland said calmly, "You don't have to be like this, I haven't said anything yet." He paused for a moment, then changed the subject, "In fact, it's not impossible to help you get revenge."
"What?" Tigui widened his eyes, as if he couldn't believe his ears. Echo didn't react much. It was obvious that she really had no hope of returning to Iron Sand City.
"Of course not now." Roland waved his hand. This was not a whim. In Iron Axe's description of the Far South, he heard some very interesting things. The land was hot and dry, and the environment was strange and varied. In particular, the orange fire that erupted from the ground could burn for decades without extinguishing. A huge ground fault can often be seen near the orange fire. At the bottom of the fault, the black Styx River flows endlessly.
Whether it was the orange fire or the Styx River, Roland felt that this was oil, and it was oil flowing in the open air. There was no need to repeat how important this black liquid was to industry. Half of the modern wars were caused by it. The rise and fall of oil prices could affect the rise and fall of a number of countries and even change the world's pattern. If he could intervene in the Far South through the affairs of the Aosha clan, he might be able to get a stable source of oil.
However, Roland had no time to care about the dispute in the remote area, so he had to leave an introduction first and then perform a set of "since ancient times" drama later.
"When I ascend the throne, I will consider seeking justice for you." Roland stopped Iron Axe who wanted to kneel again, "But your behavior today violated the discipline of the First Army. I will put you in solitary confinement for two days and reflect on yourself."
"Yes, Your Highness," Iron Axe replied excitedly.
"Then the training will continue," Roland said to the chief knight, "and you will be responsible for the next parade."
Carter nodded in agreement.
Brian thought that today's training would end here, but everyone was still sitting in the practice field, and no one left alone.
Because before Carter left with the prince, the order was to rest on the spot, not to disband.
If it was the patrol he was in before, such a scene would be unimaginable.
"Sir Knight, do you think Lord Iron Axe will come again?" Nail, who was in the same group, came up and asked, "His behavior just now really scared me."
"I've told you so many times not to call me Sir," Brian corrected, "In the First Army, you should call me the team leader. His Highness said that you should address me by my rank." After being canonized as a knight by the fourth prince, his status in the team suddenly became much higher. Others didn't dare to talk to him. Only Nail, a little man who transferred from the mine to the army, often came up to him to chat. According to Nail, not to mention the knight, he even talked to His Highness Roland himself at close range.
"Your Highness shouldn't blame him too much for this kind of thing," Although he said so, Brian was unsure. He once saw a tragedy where a civilian accidentally bumped into the previous lord's carriage and was stabbed to death by the guards on the spot. Iron Axe was a foreigner, and kneeling down to a woman in front of the prince and calling her "chief" was inappropriate.
"I guess so," Nail nodded repeatedly, "I have personally spoken to His Royal Highness the Prince, and he and those nobles, well," he scratched his head, as if thinking about how to express it, "look similar, but feel completely different."
Brian didn't want anything to happen to Iron Axe. After more than a month of collective training, he had already admired this foreigner. Especially when he taught everyone how to set up tents during field training, his superb skills and tireless teaching benefited everyone. In the eyes of the knights, Iron Axe was even more suitable to be the commander of the First Army than Cartranis.
"They are coming," Nail pushed Brian's arm, "Huh, it seems that Lord Iron Axe is not seen."
Before he could think about it, Carter had ordered everyone to line up and stand in neat groups according to the previously divided groups. Then His Highness Roland stepped forward and gave a lecture: "The woman next to me is a witch named Echo, and she is also Iron Axe's long-lost relative. Iron Axe has been sentenced to two days of confinement according to the regulations for disrupting the formation and violating military discipline. I reiterate that you are regular soldiers, and the most important thing for a soldier is to obey orders and abide by discipline. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Your Highness," Brian said loudly along with the others. Hearing the result of Iron Axe's treatment, he also breathed a sigh of relief. Nail beside him secretly made a face at him.
"The next training will be assisted by Echo. Her ability is to simulate various sounds, including musical instruments, horns and drums. The marching song she will play next will be the command for your actions. Everyone will march to the drum beats and try to keep the team in the same line." At this point, His Highness paused, "On the battlefield, Echo will stand behind you. She is the flag of the First Army and the soul of the Musketeers. You must do everything you can to protect her. Then everyone should familiarize yourself with the tune first."
What is a marching song? Brian was confused when he heard it. Is it a song that someone occasionally plays and sings in the tavern? Is that kind of soft song suitable for commanding everyone to move forward?
However, when the melody he had never heard of sounded from Echo's mouth, he almost instantly understood what His Highness meant. The rhythmic drum beats made him want to move his feet, and the brisk melody aroused his desire for battle.
The so-called marching song is a "war song" that inspires people on the battlefield and motivates everyone to keep moving forward.