Since Li Ang sent people to warn in advance, Long River Town closed the city gate again, and the city was also under martial law, so no losses were encountered for the time being.
The scouts of Owl Knight Order are indeed very professional. They constantly relay information back and forth, allowing Li Ang to even continuously mark the specific location of the Prophet Legion on the map.
According to the reports, Prophet Legion has now approached Long River Town all the way north, receiving many small groups of troops along the way, and its military strength is constantly expanding.
After Ols confirmed the specific movements of the Prophet Legion, he expressed that he was willing to continue to provide military information, but would not participate in the war. Owl Knight Order had less than a hundred people and could not afford to die.
The lord is not prepared to let them participate in a frontal battle - in this era, a team that can expand the spying range to three hundred miles away is extremely rare. The purpose of these night owls should be as eyes and ears.
There are enough manpower on the frontal battlefield. Ralph and Charles have arrived at Wheat Fragrance Territory with Horn Summon Ranger Corps and brought good news.
"Sir, when your order came, Baron Leofric was preparing to transport food and leave Brave Shield Fortress. He was very cooperative after knowing about Madam Bella. After receiving the letter from Lord Godric, he said that he would directly use that batch of food as ration for the coalition army. Now his troops are transporting food behind."
Charles's reports have always been detailed and reliable, and he now seems to be a decent lord.
After continuing to wait for a day and a half, Baron Leofric arrived outside Wheat Fragrance Territory carrying a large amount of food.
Nearly three hundred carriages formed a long queue, and probably only Brave Shield Fortress had so many draft horses... After all, Brave Shield Fortress's army has been facing the Jatu nomadic forces for a long time, and Brave Shield Fortress's army will also have a large number of carriages following it during battle to ensure mobility.
Leofric is a strong man in his thirties, wearing a simple but practical set of plate and chain armor. The Griffin crest on the breastplate is extremely eye-catching.
Probably because the griffin was also used as the heraldry pattern, Baron Leofric showed a certain degree of goodwill towards Li Ang, and he even directly handed over the grain to Li Ang.
"Baron Li Ang, I know you are a successful businessman, and I have seen your business near Sava Fortress. I also received Countess's letter... I will leave these grains to you. I hope we can successfully deal with those heretics."
He seems to be a very heroic man.
Of course the lord is willing to take on this job. "Thank you for your trust, Baron Leofric. If necessary in the future, we can also support each other."
Leofric laughed and nodded, "Of course, with our flags, we should also support each other!"
The lord was stunned. Is this guy implying something by mentioning Griffin banner at this time?
However, the Lord did not ask any further questions. The most important thing at hand was this joint battle.
The coalition forces completed their rendezvous by the river outside Wheat Fragrance Territory, mainly consisting of five groups of troops.
Coach Godric has five hundred soldiers under his command. The general composition is thirty knights, with more than one hundred retinues and a mixed force of two hundred people, forming a knight recruitment force of nearly four hundred people. And his own guard is led by Amy, which is an archer unit of more than one hundred people.
Brave Shield Fortress Military officer Baron Leofric, with more than twenty knights, his knights, retinues and levies formed a mixed force of three hundred people - the same traditional knight recruitment method as Godric, Leofric's own guard only has about fifty people.
Wheat Fragrance Territory Baron Li Ang, with his small army of one hundred people, Ansen's medical team and Sarah and others were also incorporated into the team.
Horn Ranger Corps Knight Commander Ralph, brought three hundred rangers, which was essentially composed of more than thirty knights and their ranger cavalry.
Fletcher Knight Charles brought more than five hundred Long River Town Sentinels, all of whom were elite archers.
But Long River Town Sentinels should also be regarded as a dozen squads - they are commanded by a dozen captains, each with some sentries, and Charles is probably one of the captains now.
The current Horn Summon Ranger Corps is actually not a unified force.
After all, Horn Summon Ranger Corps does not have Grand Commander now, and Sergeant Major Baron Heriwold, who has the highest prestige, is not here. Besides, the sentries have always acted in small teams and have not had the habit of obeying unified commands.
Of course, after discovering a large-scale enemy, they will organize themselves to fight together - just like now.
The total strength of the Alliance Army is 1,700 men. If evaluated based on the traditional number of knights, this is roughly equivalent to the strength of 150 knights, each of whom is a captain.
In fact, except for Li Ang's team of about a hundred people, all other troops can be regarded as traditional knight squads.
Godric did not hold any mobilization meeting or oath-taking ceremony, because it was completely unnecessary.
These troops are either from the surrounding Knight's Territory or Long River Town local knights. They do not need to be mobilized to defend their hometown.
After knowing that the heretics formed a large-scale legion and went to Long River Town, no one would think that the so-called Prophet Legion was just organizing a group tour.
Long River Town is, after all, a pioneering base for hundreds of years. The people here have faced wars for a long time, and their understanding of armed forces is often more simple and reliable - as long as a large-scale army appears near their hometown, it will definitely bring disaster to their hometown.
People who have faced war for a long time usually do not have any unrealistic illusions about the so-called prophets. They believe in their own swords more.
Pendor Calendar In late April of 355, White Deer Fortress Lord Godric led the combined forces to march towards Long River Town.
But as the latest military reports from Owl Knight Order continued to arrive, several barons of the Union Army faced difficulties.
Prophet Legion has camped outside Long River Town, but did not launch a direct attack.
Their total strength has exceeded 3,000, and small groups of troops have continued to come from the west to join Prophet Legion.
Those small troops were not female soldiers, but teams of knights, but in each team there was a woman with strange equipment.
According to Owl Knight Order's description, the equipment and dress of the women in the knight team are basically the same as the tall women Amy and Kloze saw at Madam Bella.
Owl Knight Order also sent back the current detailed composition of the Prophet Legion in a very professional manner.
The leaders should be three women, riding fast horses and wearing some kind of gorgeous red armor. They have about a thousand female soldiers under their command, and about two hundred of them look strange - they are all covered in black cloaks.
Owl Knight Order only had time to see these situations once, but after the Prophet Legion set up camp, he could no longer see them.
The other two thousand people were probably all brought by the knights who joined one after another. There are currently at least two hundred knights, with two thousand various troops, probably rogue knights and deserters from all over the continent.
Prophet Legion's military strength is actually not too unexpected.
The problem faced by the barons is that Prophet Legion will continue to have troops join in. This situation does not sound very good...
And they are all knights from all over the world.
You must know that just those two hundred knights are basically the entire strength of a duke - on average, each knight will bring five or six retinues and several armed soldiers. More than two hundred knights usually means a military strength of more than two thousand people.
Lionheart Kingdom's strongest legion, Lion Knight Order, actually only has three hundred Lion Knight. Adding in Lion Retainers, the total number of members is less than two thousand.
And Great Baron like Godric - he actually has the strength of Earl, but he only has fifty knights under his command.
Just the troops brought by the knights who joined Prophet Legion already exceeded the strength of the Union Army.
Therefore, the joint forces temporarily camped next to the Aier River, less than thirty miles away from Long River Town, intending to find out what was going on.
The camp location was chosen with the help of Owl Knight Order. There is a bridge nearby leading to Brave Shield Fortress in the northeast direction, and it is also the only bridge on the Aier River.
Here we can not only rescue Long River Town quickly, but also have a wide enough view and abundant water. It will not be ambushed, and it can prevent the enemy from going to the border villages and towns behind, so it is a very suitable camp.
Owl Knight Order can survive to this day probably because it is quite professional in these aspects.
In the camp, several barons were discussing countermeasures.
The lord was a little confused. "Why do troops continue to join the army of heretics? Do these people all believe in heretics? Does anyone know more about this so-called Three Prophets?"
It is actually difficult for rational people to understand the thoughts of ignorant and greedy people, and the behavior of some people is indeed unimaginable.
People like Li Ang always have the upper hand in confrontations with smart people. But when facing idiots, they often get into trouble because they cannot understand them - this is why many outstanding people are beaten up by society.
So the lord really doesn't understand why those people would rather be deserters than actively join the heretic army - and that's even when the heretics didn't attack them.
Baron Leofric replied, "I have heard rumors about Three Prophets... There are many rumors about them. It is said that they are all diviners with mysterious powers. Many people hope to get their guidance. It seems that many people have achieved success because of their guidance."
"This sounds like three fortune tellers? Or entrepreneurial mentors or something like that?"
The lord did not expect that Prophet Legion actually had such a function.
"I also know that many people have accepted their guidance - but those who succeeded because of Three Prophets's guidance have paid a heavy price. Unfortunate disasters, wives and children were separated, brothers turned against each other, blood lines were cut off... It's like a curse. The more successful people are, the more bad luck they suffer. Almost everyone who cooperates with Three Prophets will die miserably in both physical and mental pain..."
The speaker was Baron Godric. He shook his head and sighed, "Mad King... I mean the previous generation Lion King. He seemed to have cooperated with Three Prophets. Although I don't know why a king asked those witches for help, there is no doubt that the rest of his life was not very good..."
Baron Leofric also sighed and said nothing. Obviously he also knew the 'deeds' of Mad King, but he did not dare to criticize the previous generation of kings like Godric.
But their understanding of Three Prophets is limited to this - there are very few heretics in the eastern part of the kingdom, and they have not seen much of it.
And Ols can only let his Owl Knight Order detect the enemy's military strength and movements. As believers of Goddess of Order, they have always kept away from heretics and lack more understanding.
The Lord feels that continuing like this is not an option - the number of enemies is increasing and there is no definite number, and no one knows the situation of the enemy's leader. If more information cannot be obtained, this battle may be much more difficult than imagined.
In view of the fact that his own bodyguard had fought against heretics, Li Ang planned to lead a team to conduct a close investigation with Owl Knight Order.
The reason why I want to go with Owl Knight Order is mainly because the lord himself is a little weak in his heart. The 'prophet' who can lure so many knights around may really know some witchcraft.
And the Owl Knights seem to be very good at saving their lives - their scouts got back such detailed information without any losses.
In fact, the leader of Owl Knight Order, Ols, expressed doubts about the lord's ability to conduct joint investigations. He said that the reason why no one among them was injured or killed while spying on military intelligence was mainly because they could see at night.
But the lord and Meitengheim muscle men are not lacking in vitamin A, and their eyesight has always been very good.
So, one dark and windy night, a small team of about twenty people took advantage of the darkness and quietly approached the huge camp outside Long River Town.
In other words, it is a 'camp group'.
Because it was composed of one large camp and hundreds of small camps - it looked very much like a particularly lively outdoor camping spot, with countless tents scattered everywhere, and piles of people gathered separately, which looked distinct.
The big camp is obviously the camp of Three Prophets, which is about four miles away from Long River Town. It is very large, but the surrounding area is covered by curtains, so you can't see what is going on inside.
It is estimated that the situation in the camp cannot be clearly seen from the Long River Town city wall, and the distance is still quite far.
Prophet Legion used a curtain to form a wall outside the camp - this was undoubtedly an extremely extravagant act, and the king had never done anything like this when he went on an expedition.
The curtains blocked the view, and only a few tall tents and goat-horned flags erected high could be seen.
Those small camps may be those knights who continued to join. They built hundreds of small camps outside the big camp, completely surrounding the big camp that was covered by curtains.
The lord watched for a while, and even at night, there were still small teams coming to camp.
Moreover, there were actually disputes among the surrounding campsites competing for positions, causing some noise in the relatively quiet night.
Ols is obviously the first time to investigate in person, and he is a little surprised to see this situation.
The Lord Lord wrapped his black cloak around his whole body and began to crawl forward.
He leaned closer and listened for a while, then crawled back. "Ols, I seem to hear them fighting for a position closer to the inside... These people don't seem to know each other, and there is no unified command... Do you have a tent with you?"
Ols was shocked. "Lord Li Ang, what are you going to do? Is this your plan..."
The lord nodded matter-of-factly. "They don't know each other, so of course we can set up a tent and sneak in to have a look..."
"This is not camping! This is the camp of the heretic army! If it is discovered..."
Ols whispered with some gritted teeth, looking at the lord like he was looking at a madman.
"Shhh... keep your voice down, I have to know why there are more and more of them! If it keeps going like this, there may be tens of thousands of them in a few days, so what's the point... Do you have a tent? Hurry, hurry!"
Li Ang glanced around the camp intently, and it seemed that he was already looking for a pit.
Ols shook his head as if shaking his head and handed the two packages to the lord. "There are only two portable tents!"
Li Ang opened it and looked at it. "It doesn't have your owl crest on it, does it?"
Ols sighed, "I'm not stupid... This is an ordinary marching tent... Lord Li Ang, I don't plan to go in with you..."
"I don't plan to let you in. You can just monitor here and contact me if anything happens. You first send someone to report a letter to Lord Godric, asking him to prepare for battle..."
After saying that, the lord stood up with a group of Meitengheim macho men and swaggered towards the camp.
As Li Ang expected, no one stopped them, and these knights seemed not to know each other at all.
Outside of this Long River Town, it really looks like it has become a special outdoor camping area.
Li Ang has just spotted a pretty good location - it is about a hundred meters to the side of the Prophet Legion camp, which is considered the "inner circle" of hundreds of small camps.
It was occupied by a relatively thin knight, and there were only seven or eight people in the camp.
The reason why I chose this place is because there are many tall trees behind it. Although it is a sparse grove, no one is camping in the woods.
The lord thinks that if he climbs the tree, he can probably see clearly the situation inside the Prophet Legion camp.
In addition, if something goes wrong, you can escape by relying on this grove - this grove forms an escape route without a camp.
There were several horses tied under the tree, probably belonging to the knight.
There was still a bonfire still burning in the small camp, and the people were sitting around it.
Among them was a tall woman, wearing a half-covered helmet, with only her eyes, chin and mouth exposed, and wearing gorgeous and revealing leather armor. She seemed to be closer to the thin knight.
The Lord gestured towards Kloze. Kloze nodded and whispered, "This woman is dressed exactly the same as the female warrior I saw at Madam Bella, but this one is not as tall."
But she was still quite tall. Li Ang looked at it and saw that the woman was half a head taller than the thin knight, at least 1.8 meters tall.
After touching the crosswort powder in his pocket and checking the equipment on his body again, feeling that nothing would be revealed, the lord walked in a circle through the woods and walked forward.
"Hey buddy, can I camp next to here?"