Early morning.
Most of the Bacchus Empire's troops have withdrawn overnight.
This is the order given by Legion Commander Governor Livius.
The two governors were held hostage by the Mettenheim Brutess and stayed in place, and they behaved quite cooperatively.
But the two governors' personal guards, a group of Imperial Guards and Shadow Infantry, are currently surrounding Justus's military tent. The first to notice something was wrong were naturally the guards who went to give the order to withdraw the troops.
After all, this kind of order is obviously unreasonable - Justus's troops have actually felt something was wrong for a long time. It's just that Justus usually has strict military orders, so they didn't dare to question their own governor during the day.
Although the personal guards still went to deliver the order for the safety of the two governors, not all Bacchus Empire lords obeyed the retreat order under such a huge advantage.
Most of the troops did evacuate, but in addition to the two governor's personal guards, Bacchus Empire still had a few troops that refused to retreat, and there were more than a thousand troops in total.
The Bacchus Empire lords who refused to retreat have now surrounded Justus's military tent. They probably wanted to solve the kidnapping case, but they still cared about the safety of the two governors and did not launch a storm.
"What? You can't control them, can you?"
Li Ang glared at the two governors.
"Your Excellency, we really can't command those lords..."
Justus said helplessly, "The empire's military system is different from yours Lionheart Kingdom... They are not our subordinates, and they can question unreasonable orders."
Livius also nodded crazily beside him. "Our troops have left now..."
The lord opened the curtain of the military tent and looked around.
The remaining more than a thousand troops are still very troublesome. Although the number is not too large, they seem to be elite soldiers...
In a sense, the guards of the two governors were arrayed outside the military tent, maybe they were guarding against the Bacchus Empire lords - their refusal to retreat was tantamount to wanting to kill the two governors...
"Whose are the two general flags?"
Li Ang couldn't remember the flags of each general. He only remembered the coat of arms of the two governors - this was because Ansen described it to him before coming here.
"Those are the two generals Agasong and Creon... They are His Majesty's cronies..."
Justus explained.
General Agathon has at least four hundred elite soldiers under his command, and there are even dozens of Iron Ring Centurion. It seems that he has brought all the elite soldiers with him.
He is also the only lord here with a cavalry - Iron Ring Centurion is actually a cavalry, but they don't ride a horse now. But their combat effectiveness is not reduced at all after dismounting.
General Clerion has about the same number of troops, and he also brings with him more than a hundred Radiant Cross Plague-Exorcist--Creon himself is a Radiant Cross Plague-Exorcist, and he is the Sergeant Major of Radiant Cross Knights.
Li Ang I have heard of the two Imperial General names Agason and Creon before - Lionheart Kingdom has captured a lot of land in recent years. These two generals are quite famous.
The two generals had nearly a thousand elite soldiers in their hands, and they were also the main force in the previous siege.
In addition, there are a dozen small lords with dozens of soldiers each, as well as Radiant Cross Knight who is dispersed to various units as military medical officers.
There is no doubt that these more than a thousand people are elites, and they can still capture White Deer Fortress, which has only more than 300 defenders left.
"Hey! Guys outside, let the two generals Agasong and Creon come over for a meeting!"
Li Ang shouted loudly in the military tent, as if he was Bacchus Empire's Legion Commander...
After a commotion, the two generals slowly came over.
But they didn't get close to the tent at all - it was obvious that this kidnapper would dare to kidnap anyone, and if he entered the tent, he might not be able to get out.
General Agathon is wearing the same outfit as Iron Ring Centurion, and Creon is also equipped with the same equipment as other Radiant Cross Plague-Exorcist. You really can't tell Li Ang without standing in the queue.
This shows that these two generals are extremely cautious and do not seem to be easy to deceive...
"Listen to the people inside, release them quickly..."
Standing more than ten meters away from the military tent, Agason started shouting.
"Stop it! General Agathon, right? Don't talk nonsense, you know this is impossible..."
The lord directly interrupted Agasong's half-sent line in the police movie, "You guys retreat to Shield Wind Fortress, and I will release the two governors."
Agasong shook his head. "You know this is impossible... You'd better release him immediately and surrender. I promise not to kill you, and will introduce you to His Majesty the Emperor - a warrior like you will be reused in the empire!"
Agasong's eloquence seems to be quite good, and he can actually return what the lord said...
But after Governor Justus heard the phrase "recommended to His Majesty the Emperor", he rolled his eyes - introduce this guy to Emperor Marius?
Then maybe His Majesty the Emperor will be kidnapped by him...
"If that's the case, it seems that we can't reach an agreement... Two governors, I think these two generals don't seem to take you seriously..."
The lord felt that Agasong was obviously not easy to deal with, so he turned on the mode of sowing discord.
But General Agathon outside showed no response and seemed unaffected by this provocation.
"There are quite a few factions in your empire... Could they be planning to kill you and then take your place..."
Li Ang frowned and mocked, raising his voice.
Agason was still unaffected, but the two governor's guards were obviously a little worried - they turned around, turned their backs to the military tent, and began to stare at the two generals' troops with vigilance.
These one hundred Imperial Guards and Shadow Infantry seem to have become the protectors of the kidnappers...
"We don't mean that... We just don't believe you will release them... Moreover, we cannot retreat without the order of His Majesty the Emperor or Lord Kairos!"
The speaker is General Clerion.
In fact, like Agason, he was very calm and had not said a word before.
But now that he saw that the two governor's personal guards seemed to have been fooled, he finally couldn't help but explain.
Li Ang poked his head out and took a look, and saw that the two generals were not standing together, and their troops seemed to be clearly separated on both sides.
The lord asked Governor Justus thoughtfully, "The two generals don't seem to have a very good relationship?"
Justus closed his eyes and did not answer.
But Li Ang already understood--the governor didn't dare to talk to him, so he probably guessed it right.
"So, the two generals don't trust me... How about this? I'll give you a chance. The two generals can discuss it and see which one of you comes in and takes away one of my hostages..."
"Look, this is a good deal, right? The general is replaced by the governor! Moreover, this proves that I will indeed release people! I always keep my word!"
The deal is quite cost-effective, and it also comes with a gift - sowing discord.
Agasong and Creon looked at each other, but neither of them spoke.
But both of them took a step back and retreated to their own troops.
It seems that Li Ang's provocation is useful after all...
Both Agasong and Creon realized that if the negotiations continued like this, the kidnappers might turn the matter into a political struggle.
So they didn't plan to talk to each other, lest they start doing it later...
"General Agathon, General Clerion, you really don't plan to retreat?... Do you think if I release the two governors, will you be retaliated against in the future? Hahaha..."
Li Ang laughed crazily in the tent, "... Two generals, get out of the way! I don't care whether you retreat or not. I will now bring the two governors into White Deer Fortress to entertain them..."
The two generals probably did have some intention of sitting back and watching the two governors die, but obviously they did not dare to admit this in public - no one could be 100% sure of the other person's thoughts, which was the meaning of calling them together for a 'meeting'.
And Li Ang directly stated "will there be retaliation", the two generals will be more hesitant - saving the governor may be equal to harming themselves, and forcing the governor to death may cause another general to use this as an excuse to attack them...
War is never the goal, politics is.
Anyone who can become a general understands that political struggle is the most severe war, and no one will easily trust any "friendly army".
Since Li Ang doesn't care whether they retreat or not, then standing still is the best choice, at least it will achieve nothing.
The military tent was opened, and Li Ang slowly moved out with his men.
The strong men held two governors in the inner circle with big swords, and ten Lion Knight were on the outside as retinues. Everyone was very nervous - they were surrounded by an army of more than a thousand people.
Only Li Ang looked as normal and said hello to the two Imperial General: "Two generals, hurry up and make way!"
No one moved or spoke.
After the two sides faced off for half a minute, Li Ang sighed, "Okay, I think it might be better to kill one governor... Two governors and one governor, leaving only one might be more valuable..."
Kloze asked angrily, "Sir, which one do you want to kill?"
The lord didn't even turn around. "Whatever!"
Seeing Kloze's big sword really raised, Agasong and Creon almost shouted at the same time, "Stop!"
The two generals finally gave way.
It seems that they really don't have a good relationship.
Governor-level consuls have too much life and death implications. Even if they are Emperor Marius's cronies, they cannot afford such a responsibility.
If they have a good relationship, they may take a desperate risk and swarm them, kill Li Ang's team, kill two governors, and then capture White Deer Fortress.
After that, just report to Emperor Marius that "the two governors fought bravely and took the lead and died heroically." Emperor Marius might even let them become governors...
But if their relationship is not good, then it is different. Both people will worry that the other will use the excuse of "killing two governors" to engage in political struggle and harm themselves...
So, as if being sent off along the way, Li Ang led his twenty or so trembling men and slowly moved towards White Deer Fortress.
In just a few hundred meters, it seems like a century has passed.