Chapter 1307, Igniting the Last Hope

Imperial calendar year 2525, midsummer, the northern border of the empire, the occupied area of ​​Ostermark province.

The town that was once used as an important dock port and sold Ostermark's high-quality timber, animal skins, and fine draft horses is now only rubble and ruins. Yankee bonfires are burning. Even in the middle of summer, this part of Ostermark is full of rubble and ruins. The cold and lonely territory still makes people feel chilly.

Several Yankees from Kurgan were sitting in the ruins of the town, lighting a fire and roasting a pig thigh. Around them, the corpses of the Empire's subjects had begun to dry after being hung for several months, and there was a strong stench. Unable to withstand the ravages of time, a long row of gallows and torture instruments stretched along the road to the south, each with an unfortunate corpse of an Imperial soldier hanging on it. The River Revsnet was still red, Although the unappetizing gray moss and taut vines had intertwined themselves with the muddy shore, suffocating the remaining flow.

The Yankees were drinking heavily, eating meat, and at the same time cursing the cowardly decisions of the Chaos Lords. They did not notice that a guy in a black cloak appeared behind them. They were still debating where to try their luck today. At that moment, a dazzling rune sword penetrated the chest of one of the unlucky guys from behind.

The man who came was very powerful, with quick steps and superb swordsmanship. In the midst of lightning and flint, he drew out his rune sword, held the hilt in his hand and thrust it forward, piercing the breastplate and piercing the Yankee's heart.

"Whoa!" The remaining Yankee picked up a throwing ax at hand. The notched ax blade was swinging in the air. The person dodged sideways, holding the rune sword in his hand tightly. The sword grid was heavily separated. He hit a Yankee on the head with his helmet on, knocking him unconscious and falling to the ground.

The visitor immediately added a sword, and the three Yankees died. Only the sound of crackling flames in the fire and the pig thighs hanging on it were left. The visitor hesitated for a moment, and looked around, as if weighing. What are you wearing?

After a few seconds, the visitor decided to sit down. He collected some leftover food from the Yankees, shook the glass bottle and found that there were still a few sips of barley wine in it. He couldn't help but drink it all in one gulp, although there was no There was too much beer aroma, but this was a great relief to the visitor's throat that was already burning and smoking. He roasted the pork leg carefully, and when he felt it was almost done, he quickly removed the roasted pork leg and the side that had not been processed in time. The two pork chops were put away and left the town secretly.

The visitor quickly came to the forest outside the town. A giant griffon was waiting for him in the forest. The griffon was in good spirits, but its wings were broken. When the visitor appeared, the griffin stretched out its arms. The paw motioned for him to hurry up.

"Old man, we are lucky, we can have a full meal today." The visitor hurriedly trotted to the side of the big griffin. He took out the food he got from the Yankees from under his backpack and cloak, and hid in the big griffon. In the trees and bushes, people were greedily gnawing on roasted pork legs, while the big griffon was devouring raw pork chops.

The hood was taken off, revealing the face of the visitor. Now his hair was messy and his beard was full of dirt. He was eating like a bad wolf. Compared to his once noble status, he looked more like a beggar.

Karl-Franz, Grand Duke of Braunschweig, Grand Prince of Reich, Elector, inheritor of Charlemagne's sacred inheritance from mountain to sea, Imperial Emperor.

He is not dead.

During the Battle of Heffengen, he was defeated at a critical moment by Valachi Harkon, the Grand Master of the Blood Dragon Knights, and fell into the middle of a large group of Chaos Warriors.

At first, he thought he was dead.

But fate did not abandon Karl Franz. Charlemagne's blessing still protected the emperor. A Chaos Champion was eager to kill him and pushed away the crowds of Chaos Warriors rushing toward him. Schwarzhammer and Helber Grid's attempt to save the Emperor had some effect - the Chaos Champion was fired upon by a volley of silver-bullet musketeers, and one bullet hit his head. The Chaos Champion fell, pinning the Emperor beneath him, and sank into the mud with him.

Karl Franz survived like this, and only woke up one day and night after the Battle of Heffengen. At this time, the Chaos army either continued to move south, or collapsed due to the death of Archaon's adjutant, Chron the Conqueror. .

The emperor survived, he alone.

He thought he was dead at first, because the poisonous air, corrupted moss vines, and infection of fatal wounds on his body would accelerate the death of any mortal.

But the silver seal of the imperial artifact proved its value. This artifact carried huge and lasting magic power. In the dark and cold night, he could feel the energy of the magical wind warming his chest, which would threaten him. The worst injuries were kept at bay, wound infections quickly receded, the noxious air was purified, the toxins spewed by corrupting moss vines were driven away, and the Emperor struggled to survive.

He found his rune tooth, the Dragon Tooth Sword, under the belly of a Yankee. In the following days, he had a dozen brushes with death, and twice he was almost killed by an armed patrol. It was discovered that his wounds festered in the moist air, and he fainted more than once from hunger and lack of water. He was forced to drink salt water even though it made him vomit, and devoured the food plundered from the warehouse.

The water is poisonous and the food is poisonous. These are not problems. The power of the silver seal can purify toxins, and the continuous healing magic of the artifact gradually restores the emperor's health.

The emperor began to look for companions. He found a tortured mount in a Kurgan camp, with its wings broken and dozens of wounds on its body - the Deathclaw Great Griffin. He carefully planned a night attack. After killing more than twenty Yankee guards and rescuing the Deathclaw, the Great Griffin could no longer fly for the time being.

But it was still very powerful. Relying on the power of the silver seal, the Deathclaw recovered some of its strength. The golden pair killed the entire camp and then escaped from the Yankees. The emperor and his mount were like this. A guerrilla war of one man and one beast against Chaos began in the vast wilderness and forests of Ostermark.

At first, Karl-Franz was somewhat optimistic about the current situation. The emperor thought that maybe the situation was not that bad. He had fantasized about encountering those soldiers and towns who still insisted on resisting during the guerrilla campaign, and then uniting them. As each day passes, word will spread.

Soon he will be able to find a way to get in touch with Heilberg and Schwarzhammer. They must still be fighting somewhere. They will fight side by side again to fight against the invasion. The enemy may be extremely powerful, but this is his territory. They are his people, and the news that the Emperor is still alive will inspire all Imperial people to continue fighting. They will send troops to save him, even if the Northern Army of the Empire is almost completely wiped out, Middenheim, Aviheim, Brunn Famous cities such as Reik, Nur, and Talabheim are still alive, and the elves and dwarves cannot ignore the empire, as well as his close friend, the Sun King of Britannia.

For months, reality slapped Karl-Franz, and another, and another, until he went numb.

No more, no more resistance.

There were no imperial subjects or troops left. The invaders drove away every one of them, killed them all, or turned them all into slaves.

Over the past few months, the emperor visited and emptied out almost all the occupied villages and strongholds in Ostermark. Every hut was empty, and every row house echoed with a terrible silence. Some of the ruins could be found in some ruins. There were remnants of food, but he didn't meet any Imperials alive, not a single one.

There were only corpses, countless corpses, just ruins, broken tools and pots and pans, smashed looms, broken dung forks.

A few months later, the emperor cried. He found a safe place and burst into tears.

It was a kind of despair and powerlessness that cannot be described in words.

Since he came to the throne, Karl Franz has spent most of his life fighting to protect the empire. He can't even count how many wars he has experienced and how many times he has personally fought in battle. For thirty years, the emperor has been He urges himself with an absolute sense of responsibility and mission. This is the country he wants to protect with his life, and there are people here who rely on his protection.

Similarly, he spent his whole life teaching his people, planting food, clearing out farmland, harvesting crops, building temples, and arming himself. He spent his whole life convincing his people that as long as they persisted in resisting, the emperor's army would be defeated. will come to save them.

Did he try his best?

Yes, Karl-Franz swore that he tried his best, much harder than his grandfather and his father.

He really has given everything.

But his grandfather Leopold and father Luitpold were able to enjoy peace and prosperity, but Karl Franz could only face the largest Chaos invasion and the most tragic failure in history.

The emperor could not find a solution to the problem. He did not know what else he could do.

This is the most desperate.

"Karl, Karl, can you hear it?" At this moment, the emperor faintly heard a mysterious voice. This voice was exactly the same as the one he heard at the most critical moment in the third Battle of Blackfire Pass.

"I can hear it! I can hear it!"

"Listen, we don't have much time, Karl. Talabheim is destroyed, and most of the empire has fallen. But... there is still hope, in Solland, in Iveyland, in Wesenland and Nur, there are still organized armies in the Midden Territory and White Wolf City. Nur has repelled the siege of the Ratmen, and there is still a powerful army there... we must... return, we must defend... Middenheim is surrounded..." the voice broke off, then disappeared.

No matter how the emperor called, the voice never responded.

But that was enough for the Emperor.

Hope is still there!

The emperor held the Rune Fang tightly. The runes on the dragon tooth sword were still bright after two thousand years.

Yes, that's true.

All that we have accumulated is not in vain.

In the future too, as long as we don’t stop, the road will continue to extend.

And my resistance, Karl Franz, will never end...

…………I am the dividing line that never ends……

At the same time, the Empire and Reik led the border city of Uberserik.

An imperial messenger was crawling on the ground. There were two fatal wounds on his back and waist. The stagecoach had already fallen dead.

The loyal imperial messenger once again glanced at the document with the wax seal of the imperial cabinet's coat of arms on his chest.

He knew that the Yankees had not discovered the request for help.

Yes, the Imperial Cabinet sent five couriers to deliver letters at the same time, and five identical letters asking for help were handed into their hands. Four of the couriers were intercepted and killed while crossing the extremely dangerous Reikwald Forest, and he was the only one. The people managed to pass through the creep carpet, the black forest, the interception of several Yankee tribes, and the pursuit of the Skaven, and arrived near Uberserik.

Unfortunately, when approaching the town, he was also discovered by several Yankees from the Bell Pine Forest tribe. The stagecoach fell to death, and he could only escape on his legs. The Yankees used throwing axes and javelins to leave marks on his body. A fatal wound.

The messenger finally escaped from his pursuers and fled into the city.

The scene in front of him made him extremely desperate. Uberserik was obviously attacked by the Chaos tribe. Part of the entire city had been destroyed, but fortunately the other part was still there.

The information must be sent, the message for help must be sent!

The messenger crawled hard on the ground, blood staining the stone road on the block, until he came to the door of a building called the Red Moon Tavern. He knocked hard on the door of the tavern. This was his last strength. Then he lay down on the doorstep.

Darkness gradually fell into his sight, and the messenger slowly closed his eyes. Before he died, the sincere and cheerful smile of Emperor Karl-Franz appeared in his mind.

The evil moon of Mosribu hangs high, and the storm of chaos sweeps across the earth.

The door of the tavern opened, and the tavern owner Lorna Franz ran out: "Are you? From Braunschweig?"

The messenger said the last words of his life. He sent the blood-stained request for help to the boss Loner: "For the empire..."

The people in the tavern came out and carried the messenger inside.

Empire captain Markus Kruber shook his head: "Charlemagne, he is dead."

The drake voice of Charlemagne's Templar Victor Salzpyre screamed: "Another warrior has fallen! I swear, the Yankees and the God of Darkness will pay the price for this!"

Ranger Kerilian played with the arrows behind her: "What happened to the short-lived ghost?"

The dwarf ranger Badin Gorex was very sentimental: "This is a good job, good guy."

Fire wizard Sienna Fognathas sighed: "I am really thinking about returning to Brunswick after this is over."

"Okay, everyone, you have a new mission." The tavern owner took out the request for help and looked at it for a few times before his expression changed drastically: "This matter is related to the survival of the old world. Since we have encountered it, we have no choice but to shoulder the responsibility!"

"Understood!" the five heroes shouted together.

A few hours later, in Uberserik, the Tower of Ludwig the Savior, among the corpses of the plague coalition all over the place, the five small forces rushed all the way to the tower and blew the giant horn.

"Dudududu~"

"Beep beep beep beep!"

"Dudududududududu~"

A powerful horn sounded.

"It's the sound of a trumpet. The trumpet of the Tower of the Savior has been blown!"

"Light the beacon! Light the beacon immediately!!!" At the hidden imperial sentry tower on the Gray Mountains, several border guards heard the sound of Uberserik's horn. They took out torches and lit the firewood pile without any hesitation. .

Pillars of fire soared into the sky.

Loner, the owner of the Red Moon Tavern, stood by the window on the third floor of the tavern, staring into the distance: "Tal is up there!"

"Hope still exists."

The flames at Talkhov Outpost were the first to burst into flames.

Through mountains and sea of ​​clouds.

Travel through storms and stars.

Star-like pillars of fire are burning in the majestic peaks of the Gray Mountains!

The flame of hope lights up the last hope on the top of the snow-capped peaks.

Dalaro Twin Peaks Outpost.

Eternal Heart Outpost.

Monrefort Outpost.

Mount Doom Outpost.

Iceheart Outpost.

Even in the haze of the storm, the light of the beacon tower is still so bright. It spans the night, the sky, the stars, and the peaks.

From Helmgart to Montfort, from Gisoleaux to the Pale Lady Mountains, from Hartmont Castle to the capital Curona!

Marshal Callard, who was eating lunch in a manor near the capital, holding a large ox tube bone in his hand and chewing on the chewy beef, inadvertently raised his head and saw the beacon burning on Hartmont Castle at a glance!

Kalad was stunned for a moment. He immediately realized what he was doing, took two deep breaths, immediately got on his horse, and rushed straight to the palace of Corona.

At this time, the headquarters of the Britannia High Command was having an informal meeting. Present were Ryan, Morgiana, Sulia, Berhemond, Francois, Beria, Katalin, etc. People, they are discussing the possibility of supporting Middenheim.

"Boom!" The door of the hall was directly knocked open by brute force. Kalad rushed in. The marshal shouted at everyone present: "The Gray Mountains! It's the Gray Mountains. The beacon fire in the Gray Mountains is lit! Your Majesty, everyone!"

"The Empire asks for our help, Braunschweig asks for our help!!!"

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