dognovel Chapter 334 Close at hand
Chapter 334 Close at hand
In late autumn in León, the sky was filled with heavy clouds, with faint light, and the whole city looked even more gloomy at this time of year. The withered yellow leaves fell in the cold wind, as if foreshadowing the coming death.
Just a few days after the fall of Logronia, citizens in Leon learned of the situation there. The city went from being in chaos to being in turmoil. Some wealthy citizens looted all the food in the grain merchants' shops and ran to the carriage guild to hire carriages to carry their families and wealth.
At the west gate of the city, horse-drawn carriages poured out like a tide, their axles making dull noises on the cobblestone road. The drivers were worried and scrambled to drive the horses. The carriages were loaded with food and various belongings, which were all they could take away in panic.
Each carriage, carrying the burden of a soul, drove to the port on the west coast, trying to escape the ruthless siege. The team snaked like a snake, gradually disappearing in the hazy distance, leaving behind the desolate streets and the occasional sound of horse hooves.
In the city, Lana's officers walked through the streets and alleys, knocking on doors from house to house, the metal plates on their armor reflecting cold light in the weak sunlight. Every door slowly opened, and behind it were mostly faces mixed with astonishment and fear.
"His Majesty the King has ordered that all adult males in Leon City must serve in the army in order to resist the attack of the Mitlan people!"
An officer led the soldiers into the house of an ordinary citizen, and then looked at the adult man who was sitting on a chair eating oatmeal and spoke ruthlessly, his words were like a knife, piercing the heart. After that, two soldiers stepped forward and forcibly took the bewildered man away, and the crying sound coming from behind the door was suffocating.
The officer then looked at the elderly, women and children who stayed at home and waved his hand. The soldiers behind him distributed spears, slings and daggers to them expressionlessly. With heavy weapons in hand, the originally gentle mothers and trembling children now had helplessness and despair in their eyes?
The old men just sighed helplessly, went back to the room and moved out the box under the bed, took out a piece of leather armor and a rusty iron helmet. He put the helmet on the child's head, and then put the leather armor on the mother whose face was covered with tears. Then the three of them sat around the dining table and ate breakfast in silence. They didn't know if this would be the last morning they would spend.
Gonzalo sat in the carriage, looking out the window at the chaotic scene outside, feeling a surge of anger in his heart.
"This is nonsense!"
He cursed in his heart, his tone full of helplessness and sarcasm.
In his opinion, the situation was hopeless at this point in the war. No matter how many able-bodied men were conscripted into the army or how many weapons were distributed to the elderly, the weak, women and children, it would be of no use.
If the Midlanders' artillery really hit the city wall, no matter the unarmed old, weak, women and children, or the standing army and guards who claimed to be the guardians of the capital, they would all flee in despair at the critical moment of life and death. Life is only once, who would be willing to sacrifice their last life for a king of a fallen country who is about to be captured?
Moreover, he firmly believed that the wealthy nobles in the city must have already established secret contacts with the Mitlan people, and protected themselves in the chaos by acting as internal support. When the Mitlan army surrounded Leon, those powerful people would not hesitate to choose to start a civil war in the city and open the city gates, and then they would take the Mitlan people to capture the king they were loyal to.
Gonzalo came to the palace wall, and his irritability intensified. The scene in front of him made him feel alarmed: the guards at the gate of the wall were several times more than before, and the armor made a clanging sound in the cold wind, reflecting the metallic luster. He frowned slightly, feeling that the atmosphere was a little wrong.
As he walked over the stone steps and toward the vestibule, his eyes were involuntarily attracted by the scene in the central square. It was a formation of guards in golden armor, neat and uniform, and obviously deployed specifically to prevent enemy attacks. The eyes on the faces of each guard were as cold as ice, and their expressions seemed particularly tense, with a tense feeling that could explode at any moment permeating the air.
Gonzalo's heart sank, and he had a sense of uneasiness. He looked at the guards carefully and wondered: Are they guarding against foreign enemies or suppressing internal unrest? At this critical moment, the palace's defense was extremely tight, which inevitably made him feel a little shady.
Gonzalo pushed open the heavy palace door and walked into the corridor. The scene in front of him shocked him. Usually this corridor was quiet and solemn, but now it was broken by a fierce discussion. The ministers and nobles gathered around, spitting and looking nervous. The original noble and elegant demeanor was completely shattered by an urgent atmosphere and scattered.
"It's only been a few days and Logronia is already lost."
"Mitran's army will soon besiege Leon."
"Can you send more special envoys to various places to ask for help? At least don't let the Midlanders act rashly."
"The outside of the city has been in chaos for a long time, not to mention the outside of Leon. Now that His Majesty has sorted out the preparations for war in the city, it's already good enough."
Gonzalo glanced out of the corner of his eye and immediately locked onto the center of the crowd - General Schneider. He had just returned from the front line, his face was pale, and although his armor had been taken off, a layer of dust and frost was still visible on his body.
Under normal circumstances, after such a great defeat, this general would have become the laughing stock of everyone, falling into endless isolation and ridicule. However, at this time, he became the focus of everyone. The dignitaries around him put aside their high-handed attitudes and rushed to ask Schneider about the situation of the Midland army - how many troops they had, when they would attack, and even more urgently discussed whether the Midland army would plunder and massacre after the capture.
Schneider caught sight of Gonzalo through the gaps in the crowd surrounding him. He suddenly pushed aside the nobles who were blocking his way and walked towards Gonzalo. As his tall figure passed through those anxious faces, the air seemed to become thinner.
"Gonzalo, I didn't expect that you, who was serving as ambassador to the Kingdom of Nice, would come back."
Although Schneider's voice sounded a little tired, it revealed a long-lost intimacy.
Gonzalo shook his head helplessly, frowning, as if angry at the chaos before him.
"I clearly said that we cannot go to war with Midland. Now it seems that Lana will be destroyed soon."
Schneider was hurt by these words. He was silent for a moment, and a hint of determination flashed in his eyes:
"So, are you willing to join me in resisting the Mitlan army?"
Gonzalo shook his head with a slightly bitter smile on his face:
"Schneider, stop joking. I'm only thirty years old. I still have a long life ahead of me. I don't want to die."
Schneider couldn't help but smile when he heard this, with a long-lost joke in his tone:
"If you were really afraid of death, then with your intelligence, you would have been able to conclude that the Lana Kingdom was at a disadvantage in the war based on intelligence long before the king summoned you, and find a suitable reason to delay the king's recall order."
At this moment, the door of the parliament hall suddenly opened, and ministers and nobles poured in like a tide. The noisy sound seemed to lift the roof of the entire palace. Gonzalo and Schneider faced each other, and the tension in their hearts intensified. At this moment, King Lana was already sitting on the throne, his brows knitted, his face sad, as if he was struggling with a heavy mission.
However, when he looked at Schneider, there seemed to be some hope in his eyes.
"Schneider, what chance do we have of winning the war against the Midland army now?"
The king's voice was low and almost without strength, as if he had lost the energy to even ask the question.
Schneider took a deep breath, stood up straight, and looked determined:
"If we fight outside the city, there is no hope; and if we defend the city, even if we have enough food, we can only hold out until next spring."
He paused for a moment and glanced at the dignitaries present.
"At the moment, it seems that the only way to drive the Midlanders away is to hope that the severe winter weather will come."
After hearing Schneider's words, the tension in the king's heart finally broke. His expression instantly turned from gloomy to utter despair. He slumped on the throne, losing his former dignity and demeanor.
At this moment, the Foreign Minister stood up and broke the heavy atmosphere:
"Why not summon the Yoda ambassador stationed in the Lana Kingdom and find a way to have him write a letter to Emperor Yoda for help, and have him deploy heavy troops on the border between Mitlan and Yoda, so as to put pressure on the King of Mitlan and force them to withdraw their troops from Lana."
A glimmer of hope seemed to flash in King Rana's eyes again. He quickly opened his eyes wide and nodded:
"Okay, summon Ambassador Yoda immediately!"
As soon as the order was issued, the atmosphere in the palace seemed to regain some vitality. However, not long after, a soldier rushed in from outside the council hall, his face full of panic, his steps seemed to be trembling. Before the king could ask, he knelt on one knee and said in a trembling voice:
"Your Majesty, Ambassador Yoda's residence is already empty and the furniture has been moved out. It is obvious that he has fled."