Chapter 7 CHAPTER 7

That night, a storm hit the camp.At dawn, the sun struggled to reach the world, but the storm showed no signs of abating.Throughout the day's march, the rain did not stop. Trekking through mud in the rain, and freezing sleet at that, was sure to take a toll on morale.I've always hated mud, it feels like I've been walking in mud for centuries. We tried to find a way in the shadows without rain, but in the end we found nothing. We could walk to Amber, but we had to endure the feeling of our clothes sticking to us, and we had to listen to the thunder as a drumbeat, and we had to accept the company of lightning all the way.

The temperature plummeted the next night.In the morning the flags were frozen, and the gray sky was covered with snow, and the whole world was white.The breath I exhaled turned into wisps of white smoke, blown behind me by the wind. Except for those little furry people, the warriors lacked the equipment to withstand the severe cold.We made them march faster to avoid frostbite.Bad things happened to the big red guys, the world they lived in was a very warm place. That day, we were attacked by tigers, polar bears and wolves.Brace had killed a tiger, a beast that was fourteen feet long from the tip of its tail to its snout.

We didn't stop to camp after nightfall.Blaise urged the troops to move on and get out of the cold shadows as quickly as possible.Amber's playing card shows that it's warm, dry autumn out there, we're getting closer to reality, and the thaw will soon be over. By midnight, we had experienced mud, hail, freezing rain, warm rain, and finally arrived at a dry world. We sent orders to set up camp and set up three times as many guard posts.The troops are too tired, and this is the perfect time to attack.But there is nothing we can do, the fighters have faltered and it is no longer possible to ask them to go on.

A few hours later, the attack happened.I later learned from survivors that Julian was the leader. He led the commando to raid the weakest camp on the outskirts of the troops.If I had known it was Julian, I would have tried to control him with playing cards, but unfortunately I didn't know this until later. We lost about 2,000 men in the sudden cold winter a while ago, and it is not known how many died at Julian's hands. The team's morale took a hit, but they obeyed when we gave the order to set off. For the next day, the ambushes continued.Julian was constantly harassing our flanks, and our ranks were too large to be able to adjust to his attack every time.We also took out some of his men, but that was nothing compared to the losses.For every one of Julian's men we kill, we lose about ten of our own.

At noon we crossed the valley parallel to the coast.On our left, that is, to the north, is the Arden Forest.Amber is right in front of us.The breeze is slightly cool, full of the smell of the earth and the unique sweet taste of plants.A few leaves fell from the tree.Amber, like a gleam on the horizon, was still eighty miles away. In the afternoon, clouds gathered above us and brought a few drizzles.The sky began to thunder and lightning.Then, the wind stopped and the rain stopped, and the sun came out, baking everything on the ground dry. Not long after, there was a smell of smoke in the air.

After a while, our eyes confirmed what our noses had found: thick smoke billowed and rising. Behind us, the continuous flames began to fly up and down, up and down, devouring everything wherever they went, and kept approaching us, bringing waves of heat.At the same time, a burst of panic broke out at the end of the line and spread rapidly.Amidst the shouts one after another, the formation disintegrated, and the crowd rushed forward chaotically. We started running forward. Ashes fell like snow all around us, and the smoke grew thicker.We rushed forward desperately, but the speed of the flames was faster, constantly shortening the distance between us.The light and heat continued to drive us with a thunderous momentum. The waves of heat first hit our backs and then surrounded us.Soon the fire was near us, the trees blackened, their leaves reduced to ashes, and the smaller trees danced wildly in the heat.As far as the eye can see, the road ahead has become a burning lane of fire.

Feeling that the situation would get worse soon, everyone ran faster. We feel right. Big trees began to fall across the road.We jump over them, around them.At least, there is still a way to go now... The heat wave is starting to get suffocating.When breathing in, the lungs feel heavy.There are deer, wolves, foxes and rabbits everywhere, rushing forward and running for our lives with us, paying no heed to the presence of humans or their natural enemies.Above the smoke, the air seemed to be full of screeching birds, whose droppings were scattered all around us, but no one cared about these small details anymore.

The forest was nearly as old as Ardyn, and it would be a sacrilege to burn it.But Eric is the Prince of Amber, and soon to be King.I guess if it were me, maybe I would do the same thing... My brows and hair were scorched, and smoke was coming from my throat like a chimney.How many people will we lose in this attack? There were still seventy miles of wooded valley between us and Amber, and if we turned back we were more than thirty miles from the end of the forest. "Brace!" I said to him out of breath, "the road will fork after two or three miles! The one on the right is closer to the Orson River, and along the river you can reach the sea! This is our only chance! The Nas Valley will be burned to the ground! The only way to save life is to go to the river!"

He nodded. We continued to run, but the fire was faster than our movements. Still, we reached a fork in the road.Along the way, we kept patting the flames on our clothes, wiped the ashes from our eyes with the back of our hands, and at the same time kept spitting and spitting the ashes out of our mouths.If there are sparks on the head, you have to quickly brush your hair. "Only a quarter mile to go," I said. I was hit several times by falling branches.All the exposed skin was burning and throbbing.The skin wrapped in the clothes was not much better.We passed a burning meadow and ran down a long slope.Running to the bottom of the slope, the river appeared in front of our eyes.Before, we thought we had done our best, but the sight in front of us let us know that we can speed up again.We plunged into the river, embracing the cold water warmly.

The current carried us downstream, and Blaise and I stayed close enough to each other not to let the twists and turns of the Orson River separate us.There were many trees growing along the river, their intertwined branches reaching above the water, like the intricate beams and pillars of a burning cathedral.Whenever they break and fall into the river, we have to turn over and dive down to the bottom of the river bed.The surrounding river water hissed, floating countless charred pieces.Behind us, escaped soldiers floated in the water, heads like long strings of coconuts. The river was dark and very cold.Our wounds ached, we trembled, and our teeth chattered.

It was several miles to swim before we left the burning woods and came to the flat, treeless seaside lowlands.This road is the most conducive to ambushes, and Julian will definitely lead the archers to shoot along the road.I told Blaise the idea.He agreed with me, but said there was nothing we could do anyway.I have to agree. The surrounding trees were burning, and we were swimming and diving, on and on. It felt like hours, but it certainly wasn't that long before the first arrows rained down on us.My fears became reality. I plunged down and swam a long way underwater.Fortunately, I was going downstream, and by the time I had to raise my head to take a breath, I had already swam a long way. While breathing, more random arrows fell around me. God knows how long this rain of arrows will last, but I'm not going to stay around to help them count the time. I took a deep breath and dived again. I dived to the bottom, groping my way among the stones. I didn't float up to the right bank of the river until I couldn't hold it anymore, exhaling my breath while floating up. I jumped out of the water, gasped, took another deep breath, and dived again without looking around. I swam until my lungs were about to explode before I floated up again. Not so lucky this time, I took an arrow in the bicep of my left arm.I managed to get to the bottom of the river, break the shaft first, and then draw the arrow.Then, I paddled under my body with my right hand and kicked my legs like a frog, trying to get out of this place as quickly as possible.I knew that the next time I emerged, I would be fully exposed to enemy fire. So I forced myself to keep going until there was a red mist in front of my eyes and a black cloud in my mind.I was in the water for at least three minutes. Unexpectedly, nothing happened the next time it surfaced.I stepped on the water and gasped for breath. I swam to the left bank and grabbed the drooping bushes. The nearby trees had thinned, and the fire did not reach here.There seemed to be no ambushes on either side of the bank, but the river was equally empty.Am I the only survivor?Seems unlikely.There were still so many people at the beginning of the march that day. I was exhausted, my body ached and every inch of my skin seemed to be burned.But even in the cold water, I still shivered all over, and maybe my whole body turned blue.If I want to survive, I can't stay in the water for too long.But I felt that I could dive a few more times, so I decided to give it a try, and then leave the cover of the river when I couldn't do it. I barely made another four dives.I feel that if I come back for the fifth time, I probably won't be able to make it again.So I hugged a stone, took a few breaths, and slowly climbed ashore. I collapsed on the ground on my back and looked around.I didn't recognize the place, but at least the fire wasn't over.There was a thick bush on the right. I crawled over it, hid in it, and fell asleep on my stomach. When I woke up, my only wish was that I hadn't woken up at all.I was in pain all over my body, dizzy and nauseous.I lay where I was again for several hours, during which time I remained semiconscious.Finally, I managed to go back to the river and drink a few swigs of water, then went back to the bushes and fell asleep. When I regained consciousness again, I still felt severe pain all over my body, but it was better than before.I walked to the river, back to the bushes, and finally confirmed that Blaise was alive through the cold playing cards. Immediately after making the connection, he asked, "Where are you?" "I don't fucking know," I replied. "It's just a stroke of luck anywhere. I guess it's the sea. I can hear the waves and smell the water." "Are you by the river?" "Ok." "Left bank or right bank?" "If you're facing the sea, it's the left bank. North." "Stay there," he told me. "I'm sending for you. I'm assembling our team, and we're two thousand now. Julian hasn't bothered us anymore. We're still gathering .” "Okay." I said and hung up. I stayed where I was, and fell asleep again by the way. I heard someone poking the bushes and immediately raised my guard.I pushed aside the branches and leaves and looked out quietly. They were three big red-skinned men. So I tidied up my equipment, brushed my clothes, stroked my hair with one hand, then stood up straight, moved my hands and feet a little, took a few deep breaths and walked out. "I'm here." I said aloud. Both had their swords in hand, and two of them seemed to startle at my voice. But they recovered quickly, saluted me with smiles, and led me back to camp.It was about two miles in all, and I walked back unaided. Blaise came over and said, "We have assembled more than 3,000 people." After speaking, he called a military doctor to help me with my wound. The night passed peacefully.That night and the next day, many soldiers staggered into the camp again.So we had about five thousand people.And Amber is within sight. We rested for another night, then set off again in the morning light. We had covered about fifteen miles before noon.We made our way along the coast without even seeing Julian. The pain from the burn gradually subsided.My legs were fine, but my shoulders and arms ached like hell. We move on.Soon it was less than forty miles from Amber.The weather was still mild, and the woods on the left had long since become a barren black ruin.The fire wiped out most of the trees in the valley, so we finally got a little bit of an advantage too, now neither Julian nor anyone else could try to set up an ambush here.If anyone comes, we can spot them from a mile away.The troops advanced another ten miles before sunset, and then bivouaced on the sand. The next day, remembering Eric's coronation, I reminded Blaise that the day was approaching.Both of us had almost completely forgotten the date, but did the math and found that there were still a few days left. We led the troops forward quickly and stopped to rest at noon.Kwell Hill was now only twenty-five miles away.At dusk, that distance was reduced to ten miles. We moved on and did not camp again until midnight.Only then did I feel alive again.I tried to swing the sword a few times, it was okay.Another day passed and I felt better. We walked all the way to the foot of Kwell Mountain.Julian is waiting for us with all his troops.Many of Kane's crew are now also converted into infantry, fighting in conjunction with Julian's forces. As before the Battle of Chancellorsville, Brace addressed the soldiers.Then we rushed towards them. After the complete defeat of Julian, we were left with about three thousand men.Of course, Julian himself escaped. But we won.We had a big celebration that night. We won. But by then, I was terrified.I told Blaise how I felt.There are only 3,000 people, but they must fight against Kwell Mountain. I lost the fleet, and Blaise lost more than ninety-eight percent of his men.I don't think that's anything to celebrate. I feel bad. The next day we started climbing Kewell Mountain.A ladder leads directly to the top of the mountain, and the width at the foot of the mountain can accommodate two people side by side.But it narrows quickly, forcing us to march in single file. We went up a hundred yards, two hundred yards, three hundred yards. There was a strong wind blowing at sea, and we struggled to stand firm.The wind kept whipping us. After that, about two hundred people disappeared. We struggle to keep going.It started to rain, and the steep mountain road became more slippery.After a quarter of the distance, the enemy lined up in a column, condescending, and launched an attack on us.The first few people shot arrows at the vanguard on our side, and two of them fell down the mountain.Two steps later, another person fell down. This lasted for more than an hour, and we walked a third of the way.On our side, Blaise and the people ahead of me were running out.Fortunately, our big red-skinned soldiers are stronger than Eric's soldiers.We'd hear the sound of weapons colliding, and the next thing a man would fall screaming down a hill.Sometimes it's red-skinned, and occasionally it's hairy, but most of the time, the people who fell off the cliff are dressed in Eric's colors. We came to the middle of the mountain, and every step we took had to go through a battle.Once at the top of the hill, we will see the wide staircase we saw in Rima, and Rima's staircase is its mirror image.The stairs lead us to the Great Arch, Amber's Eastern Gate. There were about fifty men left before us.Then it became forty, thirty, twenty, a dozen... Now that we're two-thirds of the way up, the stairs begin to wind up and down the front of Kwell Hill.Few people go up the mountain from this staircase on the east, it is almost a decoration.Our plan was to walk through the scorched valley, then go around it, climb up for a while, take the western mountain road to the summit, and finally enter the city from the back of Amber.But Fire and Julian messed up our plans.We can no longer go around the back to reach the summit.Now it's either a frontal attack or nothing.And we refuse to accept the ending of nothing. Three more Eric's men fell, and we advanced four steps.Then we also lost a soldier, and our vanguard fell into a bottomless valley. The fierce sea breeze made the skin ache, and at the foot of the mountain, many large carrion birds were chewing on the corpses.The sun finally broke through the clouds.It seems that the confrontation between the two sides made Eric temporarily give up playing with the weather. At the cost of one soldier, we have advanced six steps. Sad, how weird and crazy... Blaise is ahead of me and it will be his turn soon.Then there's me, if he dies. There were six other people in front of him. ten steps... There are five left. We move forward slowly.Looking back, until the end of sight, there are bloodstains on every step, symbolizing our indomitable fighting spirit. Four enemies were killed before the fifth man went down, taking us to another turn. Forward, upward, the next soldier fights his opponent with swords in both hands.He knew he was in a crusade, and every blow he struck was filled with ferocity.He eliminated three enemies before dying in battle. The one behind him didn't have that kind of enthusiasm, or the swordsmanship that was so good.He immediately fell down the mountain.There are two left. Blaise drew his longsword emblazoned with gold patterns, the blade gleaming in the sun. "Soon, brother," he said, "we'll see how they stand against the Prince of Amber in a moment." "Hopefully against only one prince." He laughed at my answer. I reckon we're three-quarters of the way through, and it's finally Blaise's turn. He jumped up and knocked his first opponent down the hill.The point of his sword went through the throat of the second man, and the blade of his sword struck the man behind him on the head, throwing him off balance.He fought a few sword fights with the fourth man, and quickly finished him off. While watching the battle in front of me, I continued to move forward.My sword is in hand, ready. He was strong, stronger than I remembered him.He kept advancing like a whirlwind, the gleaming sword seemed to come to life.They fell before him--what a state of affairs, my friend.No matter how much you dislike Brace, his performance that day proved that he was worthy of the title of Prince of Amber.I don't know how long he can last. He holds a dagger in his left hand, and this dagger will come in handy every time he fights in close quarters.The dagger remained in the throat of the eleventh victim. Our enemies crowded the mountain roads so far as the eye could see, they must have stretched all the way to the top platform.Hope it won't be my turn.I almost believe it won't be my turn. Three more fell past me, and we came to a small ledge, followed by a turn.He cleared the platform and continued his upward attack.For half an hour I watched him, and watched his enemies die.The people behind me murmured in awe.I almost thought he could make it to the top of the mountain. He used all available killing methods.He uses his cloak to block the opponent's sword and block the opponent's line of sight; he trips the enemy; he even grabs the opponent's wrist and wrings it hard. Yet another platform.There were bloodstains on his sleeves, but he was always smiling, and those who were about to confront him were pale.This works in his favor.Perhaps, my existence has also deepened the enemy's fear, making them lose their courage and become more sluggish.I was later told that they had heard about my performance in the naval battle. Blaise reached the next platform, eliminated the enemies above, turned the corner, and began climbing.I didn't expect him to last so long.I don't think I can do this level.The swordsmanship and stamina Blaise was showing me now were the most breathtaking miracles since Benedict held the passage at Ardine against the invasion of Gnessy's Moon Knights. Still, I could see that he was starting to tire.It would be great if I could help him and give him a little respite. But this is impossible.So I followed him closely, watching him with trepidation, worried all the time, lest what I saw before my eyes was his final blow. I know he is getting weaker and weaker.We were now less than a hundred feet from the summit. I suddenly felt a brotherly affection for him.Blaise is my brother and treats me well.I guess he didn't think he'd make it all the way to the top of the mountain, but he kept fighting...in fact, he was giving me a chance to win the throne. He killed three more people.Each time, his sword was slower.The fourth took him a full five minutes.I guess the next one will be his last opponent. I guessed wrong. As he killed the man, I shifted my sword to my left hand, drew my dagger with my right hand, and threw it. The dagger sank deep into the next man's throat, only the hilt sticking out.With two galloping steps, Blaise snapped another foe's tendon, throwing him down the hill. Then he swung his sword upwards, slicing the belly of the next enemy. I stepped forward quickly, following behind him, getting ready. But he doesn't need me just yet. He burst out with a new force and took advantage of the momentum to kill two more people.I asked for a dagger, and somewhere behind me someone handed me a dagger. I was ready to stop, and when he became sluggish again, I threw the dagger at the fellow he was fighting. The man was thrusting when the dagger flew past, the blade missed him, but the hilt hit his head.Blaise took the opportunity to push him on the shoulder, and he stumbled and fell down the hill.The enemy behind immediately jumped down. Although he was pierced by Blaise's sword, he also hit Blaise's shoulder.Both of them fell down the mountain. My left hand subconsciously reaches for my belt.I don't think I knew what I was doing at the time, and only realized after I was done that I had made a decision in a thousandth of a second.The moment he fell, Blaise seemed to be stuck in the air.Just then, with my left hand reaching for my belt, I grabbed the cards and threw them at Blaise—my muscles and senses were sharpened at that moment—and I yelled at him: "Catch it, idiot!" He caught it. I didn't have time to see what happened next, it was my turn to dodge and attack. Then came the final leg of the Kwell tour. To make a long story short, one sentence will suffice: I reached the top of the mountain.Out of breath, my men surged up and occupied the top of Kwell Hill. We reorganized the formation and charged forward. It took a full hour to get to the Gateway Arch. We stormed in, into Amber. Don't know where Erik is, but he sure didn't expect us to be able to fight all the way here. Where's Blaise?Where is he?Can he find a chance to use the poker to escape before landing?I guess I'll never know the answer. From the very beginning, we underestimated the strength of our opponents.Now, we are clearly at a numerical disadvantage, and the only thing we can do is fight, and fight to the last moment.How could I be so stupid as to throw my cards at Blaise?I know his own cards are not on him.As for me, it must be because I have lived in the shadow earth for too long and have been influenced by them that I behaved like that.Originally, if the situation was not good, I could use them to escape. The situation is indeed not good. The fighting continued well into the evening, and we were left with only a small group. We were surrounded within a thousand yards of Amber, far from the palace.We were completely on the defensive, soldiers died one by one.We have failed utterly. Rivera or Deirdre will definitely help me.Why should I throw away the playing cards? I killed another enemy to get this question out of my head. The sun was setting and darkness was covering the sky.Our numbers have been reduced to a few hundred, and we are still so far away from the palace. That's when I saw Eric and heard his roar of orders.If only I could pounce on him! But I can't. I may surrender.The valor of my warriors exceeds my imagination, and I hope that those who remain survive. But no one asked us to surrender, no one came to accept surrender.Eric wouldn't hear me even if I yelled as hard as I could.He is commanding the army from afar.So we just had to keep fighting, my men down to a hundred. Let me keep it simple. They killed everyone but me. For me they cast some nets and some blunt arrows. Finally, I fell to the ground, and they beat me with sticks and tied me into a big rice dumpling.Then, all thoughts vanished except for one nightmarish thought that gripped me tightly and wouldn't let go no matter what— we lose. I awoke to find myself thrown in a dungeon deep underground in Amber.It's a pity that I should have been able to advance so far, all the way into the dungeon. I'm still alive, which means Eric thinks I'm still useful.Lying on the damp straw, I saw the rack and the ropes, the brazier and the tongs, and I had a premonition of the insult to come. How long have I been unconscious?I have no idea. I groped carefully in the cell, hoping to find a tool to kill myself.Unfortunately there is nothing. All the wounds are like a sun burning mercilessly, and I am exhausted. I lay down and fell asleep again. I woke up, still no one.No one to buy, no one to torture. Moreover, there is nothing to eat. I wrapped my cloak tightly, lay on the ground, and began to recall the recent events, since I woke up in the green forest and refused the nurse to give me an injection.Maybe it would have been better if I hadn't said no at the time. I know what despair feels like. Eric will soon be crowned King of Amber.Might as well have been crowned. But sleep is so sweet, and I am so tired. Only then did I really have a chance to take a good rest and forget the pain all over my body. The cell was really dark, stuffy, smelly, and damp.

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