A group of rebels holding shields and long knives, trotting along three long ladders, rushed toward the low wall of Baron Bethe's manor.

 The floods have gradually receded, and although the ground is muddy, it is still much more convenient than a group of people crowded on a raft.

Several defending militiamen discovered them and immediately fired arrows. The leader of the rebel army used his shield to block the attack, and the arrow was nailed to the center of the shield with a muffled sound.

The ditch outside the manor has long been silted up. The floodwaters were coated with mud and sand, and the branches washed away again, turning the remaining ditch into a quagmire. The rebel leader's calf sank into the mud without paying attention.

"Oops!"

In this moment of delay, Murat stepped out, grabbed a throwing spear and threw it from the wall of the mansion, piercing the wooden shield and nailing the rebel leader to the ground.

 …

"Today is March 21. From last night to now, the rebels launched six attacks of 200 people, one of which stormed the wall. The rebels dispatched fallen mages to carry out long-range attacks, causing damage to our walls and defenses.

A big threat.

"The northern wall has completely collapsed. We set fire there, temporarily blocking the rebel attack; the western wall is also damaged in many places. We used roof beams to top it, but the foundation is unstable and may collapse at any time. Murat led

The militiamen fought them off. Two of the militiamen were killed and four wounded.

“Since the flood has receded and the defensive area has become larger, I suggest that everyone retreat to the castle and shrink the defense line.”

Nona, who was covered in mud and blood, wiped the black hair stuck to the corner of her mouth and marked the location on the map. Her delicate face looked very tired because she had no time to rest. Her eye circles were as dark as the black and white in the mountains of the East.

Like a bear.

 After reporting the current war situation, she raised her head and looked around at the crowd of Homemworth students sitting around the table.

They have been besieged here for three days, and the attacks from morning to night have almost overwhelmed these boys and girls from the capital. Since the misfortune of Professor Witzleben who led the team, the owner of the manor, Baron Bethe, seems to have aged overnight.

Ten years old.

Moreover, food was beginning to run out. It was very difficult for this small manor to provide decent and fine food for so many noble students.

“How is the situation over there with Fiona?” Sonia knocked on the echo crystal, and the signal was intermittent. Occasionally she would have nightmares when she fell asleep, worried that something might happen to Fiona.

"There is no news. If something bad happens to them, the rebels will let us know," Nona said calmly. "Miss Fiona has to go to the towns to the east to organize reinforcements. Regular communications will be sent."

 There was silence in the hall of the Baronial Palace.

Several girls who were traveling with him were curled up in the corner like kittens. Berthier and several boys had bandages on their foreheads and hands, listlessly maintaining their wands.

“Everyone, we should consider evacuating everyone to the castle.” Sonia said to everyone.

 But no one paid attention to her. Continuous fighting and low morale had made it impossible to make even the most basic decisions.

Nona reluctantly saluted Sonia, the only one who could still maintain her attention, and turned back to the front line.

Having to find a way to cheer everyone up. Should she sing a song and dance? Or tell a joke? Sonia puffed up her chest and started thinking hard.

At this time, Dedeus came back from the manor dejectedly. Kurala, like Rana, was injured and still couldn't get up, so he went to the messy manor to rummage through the cabinets, looking for a hen to stew for her.

.

　Judging from the way he came back empty-handed, he probably didn't find it.

 Sonia walked out of the castle to see if she could find anything.

　　The battle that just ended has left Beit Manor even more dilapidated, with charred houses and muddy mud everywhere. Several militiamen fell in the far corner, while others hurried past and turned a blind eye.

From time to time, the longbowmen of the rebels would shoot down a wave of arrows. At first, everyone carefully avoided it, but later, exhaustion made everyone numb, and they no longer even thought about hiding. They lowered their heads and stared at the arrows and death.

Stroll in.

Old White, the baron's butler, sat on a stone, banging his pipe, and looked blankly at the noble lady approaching.

 “Hello, Mr. White.”

"Hello, pretty lady."

Seeing that the housekeeper was still interested in talking, Sonia asked politely: "Are there any hens in the manor?"

Old White replied, "Miss, our chickens are as abundant as magic."

 That's great. Sonia was very happy but still corrected her seriously: "Sir, magic can't make a hen."

 The housekeeper sighed: "Then we don't have any hens anymore."

 At this time, several servants came with dinner.

 After all the beef, mutton, bacon, white bread, and capons in the manor were eaten by everyone in the blink of an eye, Baron Bate no longer had to worry about entertaining.

Dinner consists of cabbage and radish simmered in water until soft, with a little shredded pork added and a thin layer of gravy. This dish is easy to make, sticky and glutinous, and is very popular among locals.

Sonia had it once last night. Although the baron praised the dish, Sonia still felt that it tasted like the tea she used for divination, which was weird.

Griffith said that the tea I made tasted like the vomit of a mountain monster. Looking at it this way, it really looks like it. Griffith is really annoying, ugh...

Sonia thought about the real vomit, and hurriedly covered her mouth and turned away. Fortunately, she didn't eat much, so there was nothing to vomit.

The servants brought the pot of rotten meat and vegetables into the castle hall, and the already gloomy atmosphere became even more solemn.

 It's as heavy as a pot of vomit.

"Gentlemen and ladies, come and eat!" When the baron saw the rice coming, he immediately cheered up and happily scooped a large spoonful of it for himself. It was sticky and slurry, and he poured it into the bowl.

.

Bertier covered his eyes and turned away.

“Everyone, please pay attention!” Sonia suddenly clapped her hands, “I want to announce two decisions.

“First, I will shrink all the garrison and retreat to the castle; second, from now on we will eat rotten meat and vegetable paste for every meal!”

 “Why do you eat rotten meat and vegetables with every meal!”

 Everyone shouted together.

“Great,” Sonia said happily, “I knew everyone had no problem with retreating to the castle.”

　　　…”

The current situation is even worse than what happened in the Whispering Forest last year. Although it was dangerous that time, at least no one died, especially no professor who was shot in half next to him.

Reinforcements may arrive soon, but everyone huddled in the castle is on the verge of collapse.

 Sonia felt that she had to take action. At this moment, a voice interrupted her thoughts.

“Miss Larmore’s idea makes sense. The wall has been soaked in water for so long and the foundation has become soft. It will be too late to reduce the force until it is breached.” This was a familiar but unfamiliar voice.

Sonia turned her head in confusion, and found that Viscount Isius de Crozier, who had gone to rest in the room to feel unwell, returned to the hall.

He wore a silver mask that covered his forehead, eyes and upper half of his face. His figure seemed to have become taller and straighter, his voice was calm and charming, and his temperament seemed to have suddenly matured.

“Viscount, are you feeling better? What’s wrong with your face?” Murat immediately cheered up when he saw his lord finally left the room.

"It's okay, I'm a little allergic to the water and soil here," Isius waved his hand, stood upright in the middle of the hall, and glanced around everyone present, "I just used the magic spell 'Atmospheric Mirror' to observe the rebels

Although they are large in number, the terrain has been torn apart by flooding, and our reinforcements are constantly destroying their strongholds. It won't be long before the rebel siege collapses. Therefore, the top priority is to stabilize our defense line.

"

He seems to have changed? Sonia looked at her familiar classmates in confusion. She knew that Isius was particularly fond of military affairs, but he had never been on the battlefield and was very weak...

 The Isius in front of him seemed to be a different person, with a mature and confident temperament.

The silver mask looked like it had just been made of silver. Under the mask, Isius's eyes were mysterious and distant, but there was a sharpness that could not be concealed. This kind of eyes was very rare among students in the Magic Department, but it was quite rare.

It's quite similar to Shutoral's eyes.

By the way, it's a bit like Griffith, with a cold light shining like a blade! Sonia felt that she had grasped the key, but she couldn't explain what was going on. Griffith warned him to be careful, but again

How to guard against it?

Seeing no response from everyone, Isius said directly to the slovenly baron: "Your Excellency Bet, this is your territory. Please summon the villagers and militia to enter the castle."

"Yes, I will make arrangements right away," Baron Bethe stood up. "I will first collect the remaining supplies in the manor, and then summon the militia to retreat to the castle."

“Thank you very much.” Isius watched the baron walk out of the hall, and then used mercury to outline a magic circle on the long table.

“This is the Mirror of the Atmosphere?” Sonia asked after seeing the magic circle, “This is an advanced course, and it consumes a lot of dust crystals.”

"Yes, we can grasp the whole battlefield from high altitude. Although it is not clear and the range is limited, we can also have a general understanding of the environment we are in." Isius asked everyone to sit down around the magic circle, "We

Let's take a look. This morning, I noticed that Fiona broke through the blockade and landed on the east coast."

 “Fiona succeeded?!” Hearing this, everyone cheered.

"Not only was it successful, but a friendly force joined her and annihilated 24 elite rebel soldiers on the shore." Isius paused and turned to look at Sonia, "Judging from the style of throwing spears and combat skills,

, it should be Griffith."

 Griffith is safe and sound! And he has also reunited with Fiona! Sonia was happy to calm down her excited chest.

“So, what are they going to do next?” The others also became more excited, “When will they come to rescue us?”

“Let’s take a look, it seems interesting.” Isius waved his wand, and a condensed mirror appeared on the long table, showing the situation near the manor.

“Griffith gathered a small army and successively captured the rebel camp in the north and the outpost in the east, and also used trebuchets to severely damage the rebel camp in the south.

“Hundreds of enemies collapsed under his attack. Look here, this high ground is the rebel camp blocking our northeast, which has been routed by Griffith’s attack.”

As Isius spoke, he moved the mirror image to project the river bank area not far from the manor:
To be continued...