Twenty-five, peak return road turns

  Twenty-five, peak return road turns

  Continue to ask for votes, if there are more, I will update twice today.

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  The first rays of sunlight in the morning pierced through the morning fog, shining on the remaining walls and broken walls of the glorious city that had experienced a disaster. The raging fire that had raged for a night gradually subsided, leaving only a few scattered sparks still burning. In the city that had once again become ruins, there were occasional gunshots and sounds of buildings collapsing, which was the Giant Bear Army clearing out the remaining elves.

  As the city is still not very safe, Charlotte set up a large tent near the port outside the city as a temporary command center. Refugees who lost their homes were also arranged to be nearby in the markets and warehouses around the port, actually many people had escaped last night.

  The chaotic temporary camp was shrouded in mist under the morning light, with several bonfires lit on the empty ground by the river and many large pots set up. The air was filled with the aroma of porridge and stewed meat soup. As they drank the fragrant mutton soup, the survivors gazed at the city still smoking in the distance, feeling not only a sense of relief at having narrowly escaped death but also anxiety about their future lives. Those who thought of their deceased loved ones couldn't help but burst into tears.

  The breakfast in the command post was naturally more sumptuous than what the refugees outside were eating. The long table was filled with roasted meat, roasted fish, freshly baked flatbread and hot porridge, but everyone present seemed to have completely lost their appetite, staring blankly at the pile of searched soldiers' weapons, jewelry, signet rings and command tokens on the ground. These were the belongings of the officers who had died in battle last night.

  20 Zole warriors who were selected from the Governor's guard and teleported into the city with Phil, were all killed in the intense street fighting, including the captain of the guards who had followed the governor for nearly 100 years; 12 Red Robe mages, half of whom died either in the temple or were roasted alive while assembling the magic puppet, the other half also suffered serious injuries and it's unclear whether they can be rescued; Ludwig lost all his subordinates and became a lone chairman; Major Torini was shot multiple times and stabbed once, and is now hanging on to life with divine magic, his fate still uncertain.

  The losses of the civilians and soldiers are even more astonishing. Glory City originally had a population of over 300,000, but now less than 100,000 people are still alive to arrive at this refugee camp. The Giant Bear Legion has lost nearly half of its troops, with almost all of the soldiers stationed in the city being wiped out. The battle for the North Gate was also extremely bloody, and the current number of casualties has exceeded 4,000, and is still increasing as the sound of gunfire continues to echo through the city.

  The survivors were all disheveled and miserable. The Druid's beard was half burnt off, and he limped as he walked; Charlotte had a bullet wound in her left hand, and due to the lack of a pastor, she still wore bandages. Phil was covered in over a dozen cuts and scrapes, his black hair was now a mess of char, and his face was completely disfigured - he would probably need plastic surgery when they got back.

  The relics on the ground piled higher and higher, and people's faces became increasingly ugly. Finally, it was Governor Norm who broke the silence in the tent first.

  "Although mourning the dead is important, we who are alive also need to eat, you see, the soup has gone cold." Governor Nohm dipped his flatbread into the broth and began chewing loudly, at the same time asking in a somewhat muffled voice, "What's the situation now? Has it been investigated which direction Idril escaped in?"

  Charlotte put down the roasted meat that had just been stuffed into her mouth and walked to the map hanging on the side, "Currently our intelligence is very confusing, most of the elves ran east last night, but there are still many who are stubbornly resisting in the city, as for the direction of the enemy commander, we are not too clear."

  Governor Nuo furrowed his brow, "Didn't you send someone to pursue them at that time?"

  "We don't have enough manpower!" Charlotte sighed, "At that time, our military strength was barely enough to suppress the remaining elves in the city, let alone accommodate refugees and rescue the wounded. We really can't spare anyone."

  The governor nodded reluctantly, "So now, the elf army in the city has been beaten to a pulp, at least a search party should be sent."

  "It's still a bit of a problem." Charlotte shook her head, explaining, "Last night, some of the spirits weren't transported into the city, but were left on the ship. I suppose it was due to limited transmission capabilities. Now they've landed on the sandbank at the river mouth, with around 200-300 people, and are exchanging fire with our northern shore patrol team who are trying to hold them off in the water. With their warship cannons covering them, the situation is extremely unfavorable for us." He paused, "I just received a distress call myself, they're about to be overwhelmed over there."

  "That is to say, you went to rescue them first?" Governor Norm was a bit hesitant. "This seems to be somewhat adventurous. Don't you worry that Idriel will come back and attack Glorious City again? I think it's better to let the North Shore Patrol withdraw for now and wait a few days. After all, those elves can't get out of the sea, so there's no rush."

  "But what about those four ships, they're a nuisance, what if the wind changes and they go upstream?" Charlotte argued, "Besides, I'm just moving the artillery from the camp to near the battlefield, letting them provide covering fire from the south bank, the main force is still in Glorious City and hasn't moved. Once we've eliminated that small group of enemies, the cavalry on the north bank can join in the pursuit, making the deployment much more secure. There are at least over a thousand fleeing elves!"

  "Hold on." Fili spat out the half-eaten roasted fish, and finally thought of what last night's unease might be about. "At least a thousand of the fleeing spirits are still there, our infantry and cavalry are in Glorious City, and the artillery has just been transferred again. How many people are left in our camp now?"

  "I reckon... probably still four or five hundred, mostly just militia..." Charlotte's eyes widened for a moment before she quickly regained her composure. "You mean they're going to launch a surprise attack on our main camp? Idriel wouldn't be that crazy, would he?"

  But others who heard it were frightened pale, other elf generals would be fine, but Idriel? Liriaton was known for his crazy use of troops, the North Pole Port War a few months ago, the summer fleet's advance into the inland and the recent night raid on Glory City were all actions that only madmen could do, now another sneak attack on the main camp is nothing.

  "Charlotte, recall all the cavalry that still has strength to defend!" Governor Norm thought for a moment, then threw the biscuit into the soup bowl, stood up and gave a loud order, "Even if it's a white run, we can't give Idriel an opportunity!"

  "Yes!"

  When Charlotte ran out, Governor Nomm was about to continue enjoying his breakfast, but he picked up the food and put it down again, apparently still uneasy, making everyone lose their appetite. Finally, he put down the pancake in his hand and stood up.

  "Mr. Vinnie." The governor walked up to the Great Druid and asked in a querying tone, "I know you're extremely tired now, but I'd like to ask you to summon a few birds to fly to the main camp first to check on the situation. Of course, if it's difficult, don't force yourself at all."

  The druid nodded his bear head quickly, dropped the food and was about to cast a spell. But at this moment, the door curtain of the tent was suddenly lifted, and a panicked soldier stumbled in.

  "Report, enemy forces are raiding our artillery position!"

  ****

  When the cavalry rushed to the upstream riverbank artillery position, the short and fierce battle had basically ended. The ground was filled with the bodies of artillerymen and logistics soldiers lying horizontally and vertically. A few wounded men were groaning and curled up in blood and mud, but more had died from excessive blood loss. The spirited soldiers who were destroying the artillery saw the cavalry approaching and immediately turned around and jumped into the river, swimming towards a warship parked on the sandy beach on the opposite bank. The enraged cavalry followed suit, jumping off their horses to shoot at the water surface, but were beaten back by the ship's cannon fire, and could only retreat in disarray from the range of the ship's guns.

  Looking at the row upon row of field guns being pushed into the river or having their barrels blown up, gazing out at the distant military camp where the green leaf flag of the Kingdom of El'goroth fluttered in the wind, Governor Nohm slammed his whip to the ground in anger.

  "Not only did you steal our camp, but also destroyed our cannons! Idriel, you're really ruthless!"

  Charlotte was also both embarrassed and angry, knowing that he had messed things up again. The destruction of the artillery and his own misarrangement, which did not arrange enough protection forces, were closely related, but it was obviously not the time to regret now. "Uh, sir, what should we do now?"

  "What's good? You're the legion commander, how come you're asking me?" Governor Norm was still visibly angry, scolding him harshly without thinking about how he had been interfering with military affairs all day.

  It suddenly occurred to me that I was the legion commander, and how I was forced to attack yesterday. Charlotte secretly resented it, but didn't dare to show it, after all, the position of legion commander was temporary, his regular job was still under the governor, and the relationship with his superiors couldn't be too awkward. Besides, he was also wrong this time, there was nothing good to retort.

  Fortunately, the subsequent arrival of infantry successfully interrupted Governor Norm's lengthy speech. Under Charlotte's command, several military mages covered the artillery positions with fog, and the surviving gunners were given a bottle of healing potion and propped up to guide the infantry in operating the undamaged cannons, which were then loaded onto carts and pulled away. Meanwhile, the elves in the distant military camp remained completely still, only welcoming a few brave cavalrymen who tried to charge over with a hail of grape shot.

  "Let's go, it seems this battle will last for a while." When the whole army began to retreat, Governor Norm gazed at the green leaf flag fluttering above the military camp for a long time, finally sighed softly and led his horse towards the direction of Glory City.