Two days later.
The accumulated smoke has been blown away by the wind that poured into the valley.
Elisa burned off her priest robe and snake-pattern leather armor, and tied her hair into the appearance of a Lion Territory lady. Except for the "hissing" way of speaking, everything else seemed to have nothing to do with Snake Worship Cult anymore.
She obviously didn't want to have anything to do with Snake Worship Cult anymore, probably because she was a little scared.
Elisa didn't even speak much in the past two days, and he kept hiding in his room in the manor without coming out.
Perhaps, she felt that Li Ang's attitude towards Snake Worship Cult was too fierce - as of now, all the Snake Worship Cult disciples who met Li Ang were not spared.
But for Li Ang, those who create and spread Red Death must die.
Since these Snake Worship Cult gangsters have chosen to become the public enemies of mankind, they deserve this treatment.
At this moment, in the valley, the corpses of thousands of Snake Worship Cult disciples lay scattered near the mountain walls on both sides. From a distance, they looked like earthworms emerging from the soil, crawling out countless messy traces on the soft mud at the bottom of the valley.
The bodies of several Snake Worship Cult priestesses were also leaning against the mountain wall.
It seems that before they died, they also struggled to survive.
Just like thick smoke can smoke out insects from the soil, these Snake Worship Cult disciples who were not killed by landslides or buried alive by mud and rocks were smoked out by the smoke, and then they all fell on both sides of the valley.
The infantrymen of Mettenheim and Free Legion arrived here half a day ago, just in time to clean up the battlefield.
They were cleaning up the bottom of the valley with the villagers.
In the eyes of Li Ang, corpses must be buried, otherwise when the climate warms up, it is likely to cause a plague.
It didn't take much time to clean up the corpses lying on both sides of the valley. After all, we only needed to collect the equipment of the Snake Worship Cult warriors and bury them on the spot in the valley - just dig off some of the soft floating soil on the mountain wall.
Even many pits are ready-made, and these Snake Worship Cult disciples who were killed by smoke originally crawled out of the soil.
As for those that have been buried in the soil a long time ago... of course there is no need to clean them up.
The valley floor was quickly cleared, and when everything was buried in the earth, it looked like a simple natural disaster.
However, this valley will probably no longer be a major transportation thoroughfare for a long time.
Thousands of people have been cleaning up the valley all afternoon, but they still haven't been able to clear a complete path - there are too many fallen stones, and many boulders cannot be moved at all. This valley will not be able to pass by vehicles and horses in a short time, and it is a bit difficult for people to pass through.
However, it is enough as long as his own troops can come over. Li Ang has no intention of building bridges and paving roads here to be a good person.
How to restore traffic within the Bacchus Empire... that is a matter for Emperor Marius and Justus.
Bacchus Empire's situation is actually completely under control.
Erudition City and Imperial Port have returned to normal order, and the devoured ones in Siyuan City have also been cleaned up.
However, these three major cities were severely damaged. A large number of nobles fled, countless civilians died in the war, and basically every family was in mourning.
In a short period of time, it will be difficult to restore the former prosperity.
Probably because it was expected that many nobles would return one after another during this period, several senior governors of the Bacchus Empire maintained the status quo in a tacit understanding.
Kairos devoted himself to maintaining the order of Siyuan City, Governor Justus took over the defense at Imperial Port, and General Clerion presided over the prevention and control of Red Death at Erudition City...
None of them are currently managing their own territory, but none of them intend to return to their own territory.
This may be because they don't want to mess with the nobles who returned to their territories.
Especially those nobles who are familiar with each other and can be said to have a two-point friendship...
Perhaps, both Justus and Kairos felt that those nobles who fled when the enemy was approaching and then came back to demand their property after everything calmed down were no longer worthy of their smiling faces.
The entire Bacchus Empire is probably about to enter the post-disaster reconstruction stage.
Maybe this is the situation Emperor Marius wants to see the most...
A large number of those nobles who opposed the reform died, and they would definitely not dare to talk nonsense for a while while they were still alive;
Most of the old people in the Senate who only know how to make noises on the podium have disappeared;
The powerful rebels were completely wiped out, and the Snake Worship Cult army was also buried in Fidne village;
Although Bax suffered huge losses domestically, most of its most elite capabilities were preserved.
The problem of the rebel army has also been solved. Although the fruit was plucked by Li Ang, at least it did not cause too much trouble, and Li Ang, the deliberately declared 'enemy', can block the real enemy from within for Emperor Marius.
Which lords in the entire empire are reliable and which lords are incompetent were all exposed in this turmoil.
Now, we just need to ensure a peaceful period of quiet development. In a few years, the entire country will surely be reborn and will be stronger and more united than before.
However, just when the most difficult situation had been solved, something happened to Emperor Marius himself.
Two days ago, he met Maltis at Qizha Village, and then he was led by Agasong, who reacted very quickly, to flee north. When they fled to the north of Olegaburg, they met Governor Kairos.
Kairos looked like he had brought troops to meet him, so Emperor Marius and Agasong were naturally defenseless and 'protected' by a large group of troops in the middle.
"Kairos, you came just in time. There are only two hundred Adder Vanguard around Maltis. We should take this opportunity to eliminate her! Quickly lead the troops to Qizha Village, send someone to Siyuan City to pass the order, and ask Shadow Wolf Pack to also dispatch the entire army..."
Emperor Marius feels that this is the best opportunity to kill Maltis, and he can accept it even if he suffers huge losses.
"Your Majesty... you should probably take a break..."
Kairos didn't move.
His expression looked very hesitant, and the entanglement and conflicting emotions he showed were almost visible to the naked eye, but then, he finally said something that everyone could hardly believe, "Take Your Majesty to Fort Lela..."
After saying these words, Kairos looked like he had aged twenty years in an instant.
Perhaps, in order to say these words, he exhausted all his energy and courage. At this moment, he didn't even dare to look into Emperor Marius's eyes.
Obviously, this is an extremely difficult decision.
"What do you mean? Kairos, what do you want to do?"
Emperor Marius was shocked. "Are you going to rebel? No, you are not such a person..."
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty... I don't want to be like this, I don't want to... Don't worry, I will kill Maltis and ensure your safety..."
Kairos closed his eyes and sighed, then covered his teeth tightly. You could clearly see the veins beating on the side of his cheek. It was obvious that he felt very uncomfortable and was suppressing his emotions.
Several Shadow Centurion came forward and surrounded Emperor Marius.
At this moment, Marius suddenly slapped Agasong's horse on the butt with the spine of his sword, then turned around and ran away. "Agasong! Go find Justus or Alina!"
Agasong next to him had also drawn out his sword. It seemed that he wanted to protect Emperor Marius and break out of the encirclement, but his horse was suddenly slapped by Emperor Marius and ran in the other direction.
The incident happened suddenly. Kairos's men originally focused their attention on Emperor Marius, and most of them ran away after Emperor Marius.
Only a few cavalrymen responded in time and began to pursue Agasong.
But General Agathon's skill was not something that a few cavalrymen could master. The cavalrymen were cut down one after another, and Agasong even stole two more horses because of it.
Kairos's men certainly did not dare to harm Emperor Marius, and they did not seem to have any intention of killing the king.
Agasong didn't come back to save the people single-handedly. He did run away according to Marius' instructions.
At this time, Emperor Marius has been taken to Fort Lela.
At the same time, the troops sent by Kairos have also searched the area around Qizha Village several times.
But he didn't find Maltis, not even Adder Vanguard.
Two days ago, Maltis did only have two hundred Adder Vanguard with her, but it only took her ten minutes to defeat the guards of Emperor Marius and Agasong.
Then, she defeated another unit within ten minutes - a seemingly elite infantry regiment.
That was the fleet that had been fishing outside Imperial Port before.
Although the warships are in tatters and although the men in this infantry regiment are all disheveled, the infantry regiment itself is not in shabby condition.
The leading regiment commander even wore a luxurious royal pointed helmet with blue tassels on his head - this is the helmet style of Legion Commander in the Bacchus Empire regular army.
The plate and chain composite armor on his body is engraved with a circular heraldry composed of four fan patterns. The four patterns are "mountains", "iron felt", "big sword", and "heavy crossbow".
This is the logo of Mettenheim.
The infantry regiment has more than 700 people, including hundreds of Mettenheim Great Swordsman, and even at least fifty Deathmatch Swordsman. This should be a very strong regiment.
However, in front of Maltis and her Adder Vanguard, this army only lasted about ten minutes before the whole army collapsed.
In fact, these Mettenheim people are indeed very brave. Their customs and beliefs determine that they will not turn around and run for their lives easily, and they are also very effective in fighting.
But the problem is that the combat effectiveness gap between the leader of this infantry regiment and Maltis is indeed too big. After just one encounter, Maltis rushed into the formation and was captured...
Legion Commander was captured, and this army naturally collapsed.
At this time, Adder Vanguard under Maltis also had very few left.
However, Maltis didn't seem to feel any distress or reluctance at all. She still looked expressionless and put her sword on the infantry leader's neck. "... Use your ship to take us back to the Amara Continent... and take all their bodies aboard."
This was the only word the leader heard from the 'priestess' after he was captured.
After that, there was a long silence, Maltis no longer said a word, and the remaining twenty or so Adder Vanguard escorted the infantry leader onto the ship.
The infantry regiment had no choice but to carry all the Adder Vanguard bodies onto the ship.
After Kairos's army arrived at Qizha Village, the place was already empty.
Only the bodies of Imperial Knights and Iron Ring Centurion were left on the beach, as well as a few dilapidated and abandoned boats.
At this time, Li Ang was leading a huge team of more than 6,000 people to the north, preparing to return to Calundru Castle.
The main purpose of his trip south was to get rid of Snake Worship Cult who might threaten his territory. Now this matter has been completed.
Li Ang took away everyone around Fidne village. More than four thousand villagers carried the food collected from Livius and the trophies they had just obtained from Snake Worship Cult's followers. They followed Li Ang's troops. It looked like a large group of Snake Worship Cult followers...
All the property of the Livius family was also taken away - dozens of carriages containing various belongings.
Except for the mines that cannot be relocated, the area around Fidne Village is completely empty.
Unexpectedly, Goddess who had expected some chatter, no one spoke this time, which actually made Li Ang, who had been mentally prepared, somewhat uncomfortable.
Perhaps this is because he did not solve the problem in the way the gods expected... The lord sometimes feels that the gods of the Pande Continent are probably rarely seen in the world. Maybe they have not thought that the heresy can be eliminated without swords.
Taking the villagers on the road together, we still have to carry heavy loads, so the journey is naturally very slow.
But there was no need to abandon the villagers and travel lightly this time. After all, there were no battles to fight on the way.
After walking for a full week, Li Ang arrived outside Erudition City.
The large army is still marching north, Li Ang asked others to take the villagers to Calundru Castle for resettlement first.
And he himself went to Erudition City with the newly compiled 'Silver Hand' on the road.
He was going to check in with Ansen to see how the doctor's research on Red Death was going.
The main reason for bringing Silver Hand is because the gladiators among them are familiar with the environment near Erudition City. Besides, it is not appropriate to bring Noldo Elves in the city. It is precisely because of this that Li Ang did not enter the city when he lifted the siege of Erudition City.
Silver Hand currently has about three hundred people, and they can only be regarded as apprentice knight--this knighthood is currently an illegal knighthood, and their knighthood can only be recognized within the Li Ang force.
At present, all the members of Silver Hand are all fierce warriors.
It includes more than one hundred Mettenheim people and nearly two hundred gladiators.
These fighting knights were elected by the Free Legion warriors themselves - these were the people who played the greatest role in dealing with the Fear Legion and those Python Knights at the seaside, including Sigismund.
Most of the soldiers of the Free Legion climbed out of the tragic gladiatorial arena. They actually have a simple sense of honor and are willing to join the battle to fairly win the respect they deserve. They are also willing to follow and support those comrades who have made more contributions in the battle.
After all, that's what they did in the arena.
Although Li Ang said that they were all qualified to become knights, they themselves did not do so.
Only three hundred people were elected as knights, while the others were still in the Free Legion. During battle, they would serve as sergeants and follow the knights they supported.
This is the suggestion of Sigismund and the consensus of the Free Legion warriors.
Sigismund once built a team of Commoner Knights with his own hands. He knew that when too many people obtain knight status, the sense of honor and recognition brought by this status will fade.
Therefore, Silver Hand has only established a staff of 300 walking knights for the time being.
Li Ang in Erudition City issued a big hammer to each gladiator - this is the equipment that General Clerion helped them find from Radiant Cross Knights. It was also the thing that everyone felt was most lacking when they were dealing with the undead Fear Legion at the beach.
If someone had a hammer at that time, those rotten bones of Python Knights would have been knocked to pieces long ago, and they would never have been beaten so hard.
Since the purpose of Silver Hand is to eradicate evil, it is very likely that we will encounter such skeletons in the future, so one person was issued a long-handled war hammer as a standard weapon.
Anyway, these gladiators are all muscular men, and they are all suitable for swinging hammers.
As for the Mettenheim people - they all brought their own Mettenheim two-handed swords when they came back this time. There is no shortage of weapons...
Of course, the apprentice knight identity of these fierce warriors will definitely not be recognized elsewhere.
Nowhere could a group of slaves be recognized as knights...
Even under the command of Li Ang, they can only get respect, but not fiefdoms - they are not real knights, so naturally they cannot register fiefdoms.
In fact, many people can't even write their names, and even signing their names is a problem. If they were asked to register, they would only be blind...
Li Ang did not find Ansen in Erudition City. General Clerion said that Ansen went to Brettwen two days ago and never came back.
"Lord Li Ang, it is said that Brettwen has an abandoned nest of Snake Worship Cult. Ansen sent news back yesterday. He seems to have found clues related to controlling Red Death there."
General Clerion said.
In fact, Brettwen and Snake Worship Cult's nest are also known to Li Ang.
A year ago, Li Ang led a caravan to fight with Count Oden. After the caravan was robbed by Snake Worship Cult's people, Count Oden sent cavalry to chase them all the way here and burned down the Snake Worship Cult lair.