Chapter 132: Refugees Who Arrived Before the War
The scorching sun was burning in the sky.
The sun’s mighty power enveloped the Nahrin Desert, as if even the air was about to be burned up.
It was noon.
But just north of sentry oasis, among the continuous dunes, a squadron of ten desert bandits roamed on their horses, spears clutched in their hands, their leather s.h.i.+elds strapped to their left arm.
It was obvious that this patrol had prepared them for battle.
”Harrumph…”
This was the sound of the desert horses snorting in annoyance.
The sun in the desert was already quite strong. It was noon now, and the temperature was soaring rapidly.
With a tap on the horse’s belly, the ten desert bandits shook the reins and turned the horses’ necks, ready to return the way they had come and finish their patrol deep into the desert.
Their patrol was serious and careful.
Make sure there was no problem in this area before they choose to leave.
However, they didn’t know that right at the tribal ruins, the expedition army from the Kingdom of Greymane had already sent an advance team, which was the 300 powerful Jackal pirates, and successfully trekked there.
And took over the well in tribal ruins and worked together to extract more groundwater.
The news did not come through.
Kant did not set up a sentry post or posthouse in the tribal ruins.
But the system had given a warning. The ”Drondheim” fortress was ready, all troops were on standby, ready to meet any enemy troops may appear at any time.
The Desert bandits rode back to the Sentry Oasis.
The ruling hall with a height of 10 meters and the arrow tower with four corners were the first to enter the eye.
Then there was the seven-metre-high wall reinforced with lofts.
The awe-inspiring defense had been completed. Soldiers stood on the entire city defense, from the arrow towers to the attic, or to the top of the ruling hall, the archers were all vigilantly scanning the area they were in charge of.
No army would be able to approach the sentry oasis quietly.
The archer’s eyesight was always very good.
The city gate opened slowly.
Ten Swadian light infantry walked out with spears.
Not far away, the desert bandits who had spread out to scout and patrol had all returned, and under the supervision of these light infantry, were walking into the heart of the fort with their desert horses.
The ” Drondheim” fortress had been placed under high martial law.
The management was extremely strict.
This was a good habit brought upon the Caradian land.
Martial law was common in fortresses and towns during the chaos of the war.
Not only did entering the fort require queuing up on foot, rather than riding in on horseback, but any soldier or civilian who wanted to go out had to ask for permission from their superiors in advance.
This was to prevent spies from giving away internal information.
Although it was impossible for the current “Drondheim”to have spies, this habit was still maintained.
It was always good to be strict.
The aroma of cooking began to spread, and lunch was ready.
Strong peasant women carried their lunches to the wall with wicker baskets on their backs. The crossbow men would take their meals and rest in groups to ensure that the guard level did not decrease.
So did the infantry and cavalry in the tents already raised under the walls.
Inside the ruling hall.
Kant sat in his chair eating the food on the table in front of him.
Manide and Firentis sat on opposite sides of the long table, also eating.
A hearty lunch was delivered from the kitchen, consisting mainly of toast and fried mutton chops, with a side dish of fried eggs and stewed gruel of mince and wheat, and, for dessert, honey-covered croutons.
The trio’s lunches, sprinkled with increasingly rare spices, were delicious.
But Kant looked calm.
Although he was skillfully eating the lamb chops with a knife and fork, he asked: ”Have you noticed anything unusual recently?”
”No,” Firentis replied.
”Everything is normal,” Manide replied.
Kant’s eyes twitched: ”This is really not good news.”
The discovery of the enemy meant that he had already grasped the enemy’s movements.
And the fact that he had not discovered the enemy all this time also meant that the enemy was still out of his grasp and in an unknown state, which made Kant anxious, and even the delicious lunch could not feel the taste of it at all.
Firentis frowned: ”Lord, why don’t I lead a team to investigate further?”
”It’s too dangerous.” Kant overruled his proposal.
Swallowing the mutton chop he was chewing, Kant said in a low voice: ”Perhaps it will take some time for our enemies to reach the sentry oasis with his troops. After all, it is still two days’ ride from the natural salt mines.”
”On foot, it will take three days,” Manide added.
Kant nodded: ”That’s it.”
There was silence in the hall.
Kant raised his head again: ”But we have to make preparations.”
Manide and Firentis looked up at him.
”If I remember correctly,” Kant narrowed his eyes slightly and said, ”My fellow countrymen should have done all the work in the morning, bringing in the contents of the whole agricultural and pastoral areas.”
”Yes.” Manide nodded.
Kant was talking about Achnatherum splendens, which could be used as green fodder, as well as chicken nests, beehives and so on.
But he still reminded him: ”Lord Kant, the five acres of date palm tree on our north side are still unfelled. If the enemy does come, we will not be able to cut them down in a short time.”
”There is no time…”
Kant put the lamb chops in his mouth, looked at Firentis beside him and said calmly: ”Then burn them all.”
”Got it.” Firentis nodded.
They will not leave anything behind to help the enemy with the possibility of a siege.
Although the troops in the fortress were well-equipped and well-trained veterans, Kant was not sure in his mind if he would be able to have the advantage in close combat when faced with the strong Jackals who had mail armor and two-handed battle axes.
The battle for the city wall could begin only after the enemy had exhausted themselves.
If they wanted to fight for the city wall at the very beginning…
It meant that the soldiers stationed in the fortress were too lax to give up so obvious a weakness and a vital point to the Jackals, which was absolutely unacceptable to Kant.
”In that case,” Kant ordered, ”Ask all the civilians to cut down all the date palm tree in the afternoon.”
”Got it.” Manide nodded.
But with some reluctance on his face, he hesitated: “The date trees are in flower, the bees can still gather honey, and the dates can be produced in a month at most.”
”Cut it down.” Kant repeated, shaking his head.
This was something that could not be helped.
To be safe, they had to lose something.
Just like the date palm tree in these five acres of land, if they succeeded in harvesting it, they would obtain 240 baskets of dates.
If the caravan of Zhivardin had bought the dates, the total value of the 240 baskets would have been 12,000 dinars, which was more than the village mine balance in Kant today. It is a huge amount!
The most important thing was that, mixed with honey, Kant could brew a large amount of date palm sugar.
This kind of product that could bring sweetness and satisfy the tongue was also a luxury that the n.o.ble families in the dukedom of Leo, who could only rely on fruit and honey to obtain sweetness, were pa.s.sionate about and pursued!
Even turning dates into candied fruit could sell at a high profit!
In the Kingdom of Lion, which lacked seasonings.
The value of salt, sugar, and spices often represented a huge sum of money.
Kant chuckled. Although there was still regret in his eyes, he still said calmly: ”We will get more date groves in the future. This is just a trade-off for the sake of war.”
”Yes.” Firentis and Manide nodded.
Lunch was over soon.
Manide was the first to leave. He had to arrange for the peasant to cut down the date palm tree and try to complete the work before nightfall.
After reporting the arrangements for the city defense, Firentis also took leave.
They are both very busy.
The most leisurely, perhaps, was the Lord Kant, who spent much of his day inspecting the various points of the fort, or listening to reports from both, making final decisions, and making arrangements for himself.
It was just like cutting down the date palm forest.
As a Lord, he did not have to put in all his effort, but he had to grasp the overall situation.
This was Kant’s creed.
With the sweep of the logging axe, large patches of date palm tree were cut down.
After a simple renovation in the agricultural area, the thickest trunk was carried into the fortress, carefully placed against the walls and tents were made of linen to protect the straight logs from the sun.
After all, the main trunk of the date palm tree was the high-quality wood.
The material was sufficient to make beams and planks, as well as gun and arrow shafts, and the leaves were collected and used as fuel in the sugar mills.
The whole body of the date tree is made of usable materials.
Today pa.s.sed quickly.
The civilians and soldiers fell asleep after a busy day.
However, on the city walls and arrow towers, there were the archers on guard to ensure that they would not be attacked at night.
Caution was necessary.
But the next morning, at dawn, there was a loud noise.
The whole sentinel oasis was rapidly transformed into a state of combat readiness.
Even Kant was awakened by the sound of the guards knocking on the door. He quickly dressed and asked: “What’s the matter? What’s going on? Is the enemy attacking?”
”No, Lord Kant.”
The guard’s tone was serious. He said seriously at the door way: ”There are refugees coming.”
”Refugees?” Kant frowned.
After dressing on, he walked out of the room quickly without having time to wash.
But instead of going down to the ruling hall, they ascended the stairs to the top floor, where 20 rangers of Ravenstern, with their bows in their hands and looking eastward, greeted Kant with a salute.
”Well, what’s going on?” Kant came to the concave arrow-blocking wall.
Just to the east, behind the dunes, close to 300 refugees were gathering in fear.
40 desert bandits, holding spears and riding horses back and forth, were watching the refugees as closely as ferocious desert vultures were watching the poor little quails.
Kant couldn’t help but frown: ”Refugees really?”
PS: I realized that I haven’t thanked everyone for their rewards for many days. Recently, you have given me a lot of rewards. I will resume the plot rhythm first and thank you all after the plot rhythm of the story is smooth. After adjusting the outline, it was indeed not so awkward to write.