SEC Chapter 26 Fragments of the Dragon Flag
Chapter 26 Fragments of the Dragon Flag
More than a hundred years ago, the entire continent of Calradia was under the rule of the Calradia Empire.
The Calad Empire was more powerful than ever before, and the Khuzait cavalry dared not approach the border.
But all of this was ruined by one person.
Nerezes, the last emperor of the empire, launched a war that would later be known as "the folly of Nerezes."
At that time, the empire, allied with the Khergit and Aserai, fought a decisive battle against an alliance led by the Battanian savages.
The Khuzait cavalry had already detected the anomaly, but Nerezes insisted on sending his soldiers into the forest where Battania had already laid an ambush, with the obvious outcome.
The empire collapsed, its army was almost completely wiped out, and Nerezes himself died on the battlefield.
Internal strife raged within the empire, eventually leading to its split into three parts: the Northern Empire, the Southern Empire, and the Western Empire.
In this division, the "Dragon Banner," symbolizing the legitimacy of the empire, was split into three pieces and its whereabouts became unknown.
Luo Xu's thoughts returned to the cave. He took the flag cloth, and his breathing became heavy.
This is one of the essential items for the main quest. Although the location of the dragon head and flagpole is still unknown, the flag cloth itself is already quite significant.
As long as this banner is handed over to any imperial faction that desires legitimacy, the reward will be countless dinars, or even fiefdoms and titles.
If he keeps it for himself, he can use it to rally those who still harbor illusions about the empire.
The phrase "establishing himself as king" flashed through Luo Xu's mind. He took a deep breath, trying to keep his voice from trembling: "What is the origin of this banner, Bushi?"
He looked away from the flagpole, as if asking a casual question.
"I don't know either. An old soldier gave it to me." Vesemir shook his head blankly. "The old soldier was seriously wounded, and I saved him. He gave me this flag as a thank you gift. It must have been expensive."
"Mm." Luo Xu nodded gently. He carefully folded the flag cloth and tucked it into his bosom, pressing it against his chest.
He sheathed his sword, then went to the weapon rack, replenished two bags of crossbow bolts, and took off his cotton armor.
Luo Xu unfastened the leather straps on the back of his armor and put it on. It didn't fit him quite right, but it protected his chest and abdomen.
He then took a shield and a short spear.
"Let's leave here first."
The two women had already put on some clothes, and Luo Xu led the three of them out of the cave.
After turning the corner, Vesemir stared at the three corpses lying on the ground, stunned: "Did you do all of this by yourself?"
Luo Xu didn't say much, he just nodded.
Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the cave, and Vesemir and the two women immediately tensed up.
Luo Xu gripped his short spear tightly, signaling them to be quiet.
A familiar voice came from outside: "Luo Xu!"
Walter charged into the cave with his spear, and breathed a long sigh of relief upon seeing Luo Xu. Swiftfoot followed closely behind, followed by several militiamen.
"Captain," Luo Xu greeted him and spoke first, "It was my fault for acting without authorization tonight."
"You did the right thing." Walter looked at Luo Xu, whose eyes were full of blood, and patted him on the shoulder. "I was too conservative and almost missed the best opportunity."
The estrangement between the two caused by the argument vanished at that moment.
"Are there militiamen left in the village for defense?" Luo Xu asked.
"Three people were left behind, don't worry."
"Captain, all the bandits inside the camp have been eliminated, but there are still some bandits outside keeping an eye on Lantas Village."
Walter looked at the route map on the ground and nodded. "Then let's ambush them. When they return, we'll wipe them out in one fell swoop."
"There are quite a few weapons inside. Captain, go and see if you can use any of them," Luo Xu said, pointing to the cavern inside.
"Um."
Walter led the militiamen to the cave, while Rosu asked about the origins of the two women.
They were originally from the nearby village of Sagoriya, and had planned to go to Oenila to buy some necessities, but were kidnapped by these bandits and brought here.
Seeing their sorrowful expressions, Luo Xu did not inquire about the identities of the two male corpses, but simply promised to take them back after dealing with the bandits.
After Walter and his men changed their equipment, they ambushed the bandits in the bushes outside the bandit camp with Luo Xu.
After waiting for a while, a small light suddenly appeared on the mountain road.
Three bandits returning from patrol were walking towards the camp, their faces showing signs of exhaustion.
Once they entered the ambush zone, Walter gave a low shout, and everyone sprang into action instantly.
Before the three robbers could even put up a fight, they were stabbed to death by a hail of spears.
After cleaning up the scene, everyone continued to lie in ambush in the bushes.
After dealing with three groups of bandits in succession, it was already getting light.
The sound of horses' hooves came from the mountain road. Luo Xu looked closely and saw three mounted bandits rushing towards him.
"Coo coo".
This wasn't the call of a turtledove, but rather Walter deliberately made it.
Everyone switched to ranged weapons and waited for the three cavalrymen to enter firing range.
Luo Xu looked up at the sky, his eyebrows furrowing slightly.
The night had faded somewhat, and they might notice something amiss here.
Sure enough, just as the lead cavalryman entered firing range, he suddenly pulled on the reins and shouted, "There's an ambush ahead!"
The two cavalrymen behind immediately slowed down and turned around.
"Shoot quickly!" Walter was the first to stand up, raise his bow and fire.
In an instant, seven or eight arrows flew rapidly toward the three cavalrymen.
Luo Xu's crossbow bolt struck the lead cavalryman precisely in the chest, causing him to freeze and fall from his horse.
The two cavalrymen behind had one or two arrows stuck in their bodies, but none of them were fatal; their horses had already turned around.
not good!
Luo Xu grabbed his short spear, avoided Walter and his men's fire range, and rapidly approached the two cavalrymen.
"It's a ghost!" A cavalryman stared at Luo Xu's inhuman speed, his eyes filled with fear.
Luo Xu threw the short spear in his hand, and then immediately loaded a crossbow bolt.
A cavalryman's horse was struck by a short spear, and the rider and horse fell to the ground.
"drive!"
Another cavalryman kicked his spurs hard and darted forward, leaving several arrows behind him.
He glanced back and saw Luo Xu raising his crossbow at him, a chill instantly running through his body.
"Whoosh!"
He only saw a flash of cold light, followed by a sharp pain in his waist, and he lost his balance and fell off the horse.
"Ding! Your crossbow skill +1, now your crossbow skill is 8."
Luo Xu drew his sword and dispatched the three fallen cavalrymen one by one.
These are lessons learned; we can't afford to let others finish us off.
Luo Xu had lost count of how many bandits he had killed that night, so he opened the panel and glanced at it.
"【Running】20, distance to next level: 139/466."
[Long pole] 7, distance to the next level: 78/86.
[One-handed] 18, distance to next level: 77/384.
Feeling the power flowing through his body that was not of normal human origin, Luo Xu's lips gradually curved into a smile.