Chapter 11 Chapter 9 Cheers to Victory!

On a certain day a week after the challenge, that is, on the day that was negotiated and decided by representatives of the various factions of the two warring countries, the battle between Merilon and Saraken officially began. Early in the morning, before dawn, Prince Garrod and his entourage arrived at the battlefield of Glory and set up a war chess sandboard.His enemy, the Emperor Xavier, and his entourage arrived at about the same time, doing the same thing miles away. The Glory Sand Field is located near the center of Simharon. It is a large piece of land, quite flat, full of bushes and covered with thick and flat green lawns.The battlefield of glory has been left since ancient times and is used as a place to settle disputes between nations. No one will come here for other reasons.This battleground is consecrated by prayers and blood - the latter an unintended consequence of the "Iron Wars."

Warfare in Simharon, both before and after, was conducted in a civilized manner, befitting the high-level, magically gifted belligerents (as opposed to the low-level dead who were left behind in the Old World) .The main feature of Battlegrounds of Honor is the use of the war chess sandbox, which is made of holy stones from Mount Sacred Mountain, and the holy stones are marbles taken from around the holy well, the source of all magic power in the world.The war chess sandboards are placed at both ends of the glory battlefield. Each war chess sandboard is a square, nine feet long and nine feet wide. When the battlefield is not in use, these two flat and uncharacteristic war chess sandboards will be placed On the ground, carefully guarded by some druids.The war chess boards are well maintained, the grass around them is neatly manicured, and under the protection of charms, all animals and birds cannot defile the war chess boards.

On this day of the battle, as far as what happened, the leaders of the two warring parties, accompanied by nobles, fire generals, and high-level catalyst saints, arrived at the scene of the war chess sand table one by one. When the first ray of light shines on this battlefield, the ceremony of launching the war and blessing ceremony will be held. Prince Jarod and his Cardinal Radisovik stood at the front of the war chess table, facing north.His companions—the nobles of Saraken's most noble nobles—also gathered around the war chess table, nine on each side.Standing beside each nobleman is their own catalyst saint.Under the command of Prince Garrod, the cardinal began the prayer ceremony.

"Almighty Emin." He prayed devoutly, and at the same time, he was sensitively aware that these words he said were being repeated by Bishop Vanya several miles away. "Forgive us this war and bless us! We fight to find honor in your eyes! We fight to punish an enemy who broke your commandments and brought chaos and conflict to our peaceful land! Therefore, Emin, please grant us justice and victory!" Immediately afterwards, in case Emin would forget the enemy's aggression, his vain attempt to enslave them, and other heinous crimes he had committed, he sent Sa Laken told Merilon's distress and the enemy's crimes one by one (the same is true on the other side of the battlefield).

"Give us victory today, Emin!" Radisovik continued to pray earnestly. "We, Saraken, promise that we will make the peasants who live under the bondage and slavery of the cruel nobles of Merilon live a happy life." (“We, Merilon, promise to destroy the evil artisans who have put the people of Saraken in dire straits.”) ("We, Saraken, promise to destroy the magic dome surrounding Merilon, and let it see the sunshine and air you bestowed.") ("We Merilon will bring wisdom and culture to the people of Saraken, and keep their entire city well protected under the magical dome.")

("We Saraken will undo the villain who ruled Merilon.") ("We Merilon will undo the villain who ruled Saraken.") ("—and bring down its heretical bishop.") ("—and bring down its heretical bishop.") ("...finally in Emin's name we will bring peace to Simharon, amen.") When the celebration reached here, many spectators had arrived one after another, and their strange flying carriages shone above their heads.As Cardinal Radisovik concluded his prayer service, he had a strange, fleeting vision: Emin was there too, sitting somewhere above them, drinking a glass of wine and gnawing on a large chicken leg.This hallucination took him by surprise, and he immediately dismissed it, and inwardly begged Emin to forgive his blasphemous thoughts.

Evidently oblivious to his surroundings, Prince Jarod, fascinated by the presence of his guests, nudged his catalyst saint, oblivious to the fact that the celebration was not yet complete.The cardinal jumped up, sending his own life-force to his loyal sovereign, and each of the accompanying catalyst saints also gave their own life-force to their master.Most of the mages assembled were Albanaras, but among them were also two Sihanas, a Kenhana, and a sorcerer, the Blacksmith, who was now the leader of his people.Each mage lowered his head, respectfully accepting the power of life sent by his catalyst saint.Then, under another order from Garrod, the mages began to use the received power of life to activate the war chess sandbox.

This huge slab of marble rock began to flash layers of blue light. The mages slowly raised their hands, and the war chess sandboard gradually lifted off the ground.Under the guidance of the mage, it rose higher and higher until it was four feet above the ground.Prince Jarod waved his hand, and the mage immediately stopped chanting.The war chess sandboard hovers in mid-air at a convenient position for combat command; its flat and smooth surface scatters dazzling light in the sun. Prince Jarod had been floating in the sky and did not participate in the casting of the spell. Until then, he put his hands on the war chess sand table and chanted a ritual song as old as the rock on the war chess sand table.This is exactly the initiation ceremony.He gave an order, and some small magic dolls—models of the real people who participated in this battle—found their counterparts on the war chess sandboard while their corresponding real combat dolls were in their positions on the battlefield of glory. the corresponding location.

The first to appear were the Warlords of Fire and their Catalyst Saints, taking their positions on the war chess sandboard that had been divided into hexagons to make moving pieces easier.When Prince Jarod arranged the dolls on the war chess sandboard, he occasionally asked others for their opinions, but mainly he made his own decisions-for example, asking a certain fire general to move a few squares north, or moving the A puppet who accidentally wandered into enemy territory is called back. After Garald arranged the Warlords of Fire to his satisfaction, he then began to place Sihana - the mage who controlled the weather - and arranged them at different intervals around the war chess table (determined by long-standing traditions).At last, when all was ready, he set to work the armies, those men or magical beings who would be ruled by the Warlord of Fire.

Troops of ferocious centaurs—captured from the Badlands and now under the control of Dukexis—rushed into the Field of Glory.The centaur team and the wizards fight together, and each centaur is controlled by a fire warrior. The fire warriors can control themselves, or follow the prince's direct command and unified arrangement.The Winged Messengers stood beside Jarod, always ready to convey orders to everyone on the ground. Along with the centaurs came giants—these mutants also lived in the wilderness like the centaurs.However, unlike centaurs, who are born to kill, giants are actually gentle creatures with the IQ of infants.Normally docile, giants can become violent and irritable when subjected to electric shocks or other painful stimuli.By this method, the giant was also caught up on the battlefield.

Then came dragons, griffins, and a host of magical beasts, including some magically created beasts for battle: giant rats six feet tall when standing on hind legs, and giant cats that specialized in attacking giant rats Wait, it all depends on the creativity and skill level of the mage who made them.Especially dangerous are the doppelgangers—men and women transformed by spellcasting into ferocious animals—who even retain human intelligence and skills. The last one in place is Zeldara, who is located at the edge of the war chess sandboard, that is, the druids teach witch doctors. Once anyone on either side is injured, they will rush to treat them immediately. When Prince Jarod deployed, he saw that the army of the enemy Emperor Xavier was also taking position on the opposite war chess table one by one.Prince Jarod carefully studied the deployment of the enemy's troops, and knew that his opponent was doing the same thing now. Occasionally, he would make some corresponding changes according to Xavier's formation, moving this area for a while, and moving it for a while. Move that piece, but he doesn't allow himself to be influenced too much by what he sees.His strategy has already been decided, he is very confident in it, and he is very confident in his fire generals and his people. Finally, everything is ready.Now look down at the wargame sandbox - filled with mages, sorcerers, catalyst saints, snarling centaurs, grinning giants, soaring dragons, howling shapeshifters and many other combatants, all In place—Prince Jarod smiled with pride and satisfaction.Then he raised his hand, and suddenly a glass of wine appeared in his hand, and he happily toasted people. His guests immediately imitated raising their wine glasses high in the air, and many of the audience enjoying the toast gathered above the war chess sand table, and they couldn't wait for the start of the battle. "Cheers to victory!" Jarod yelled. "Today belongs to us!" Everyone had already drank, and the nobles still greeted each other, especially when they greeted the prince, they were full of pride.Jarod had never looked so handsome and dignified as he did today.He was wearing a set of pure white battle robes with red and gold borders—this is the battle robe of the leader of the Warlord of Fire, his face was flushed with excitement, and his clear eyes were shining with the belief that his career was honorable, correct and sincere , also shining with the desire to defeat the enemy.He raised the wine glass again and poured red wine into the glass with magic.Seeing this scene, Radisovik could not help but tremble all over with the bright red blood flowing from the wound.He hastily made a gesture to ward off evil, wondering why he kept being bothered by these disturbing unpleasant thoughts. "Cheers to our secret weapon!" Jarod said, turning to toast the demon artisans. "Cheers to our secret weapon!" The others echoed, and all turned their attention to the blacksmith in unison.The blacksmith, flustered with pride and dizziness, gulped down the wine and choked, and the baron standing next to him had to slap him hard on the back. Now people are starting to focus on the part of the wargame table that is covered by a magical cloud. Emperor Xavier also has a place on his game board that is covered by a cloud of fog.Although the rules of war require that most of the troops of the warring parties be made public, they also allow the warring parties to hide part of their troops as war reserves. It is these reserves that can determine which side the balance of war will tilt.The fiery warlords on both sides—Jarrod and Xavier—set their sights on these cloud-shrouded squares, from their position on the war chess board, reports from spies, and a host of other factors. Infer what the other party's threat is hidden in the clouds. Xavier knew that the enemy was hiding an army of witchcraft craftsmen, but what weapons would they use?How are they going to attack?The burning question is: did they carry the Dark Stone? Jarod was sure that there would be a sorcerer with a dark sword hidden under the clouds of Xavier.The Prince puts one of his most valiant Firelords at the head of an army equipped with special weapons, and they have only one order to carry out - take the Dark Sword at any cost! Jarod would have been astonished to know that Xavier had also given an army to one of his greatest Firelords, and had given the same order. Take the Dark Sword. Another Legion is also searching for the Dark Sword. Prompted by the fear of the prophecy, the order of the Dukes of Bishops gathered for a secret meeting on the eve of the battle. They met in the deepest caves in the world, and these caves are located Not even the kings and emperors knew anything about it. In the eternal night in the cave, no one could see the faces of these men in black; in a silence deeper than darkness, they gathered around the nine-pointed star set in the stone floor.One of the members of the religious group flew into the sky, all of which cannot be seen with the naked eye, and can only be seen with the mind.She flew up and asked a question. "Is the Dark Sword in Saraken's army?" "Not here." From one side of the cave came the voices of many people in unison. "Is the Dark Sword in Malilong's army?" "Not here." Again, this time there were many voices answering from the other side. "Has anyone in this world seen Joram the dead man, or Saryon?" "Yes." Only one voice said this time, and the voice came from the back of the circle of people. The sorceress disbanded the secret meeting immediately, and the shadows slipped quietly into the night and returned to their posts.Only one did not go.The sorceress summoned him. "Where is Joram now?" "I don't know, the Dark Sword covered him well." "But someone saw him. Who saw it? Where did you get the news?" A person's name takes shape in the person's mind.He didn't speak, maybe he was afraid of letting Hei Ye know the secret. And the witch warlock probed his thoughts and nodded with satisfaction. The man looked suspicious. "Is this source reliable?" "Absolutely," replied the sorceress.