Chapter 119 - The New Situation Before the Banquet

Chapter 119: The New Situation Before the Banquet

The evening gradually came to an end. The glittering stars accompanied the moon, dazzling their own light in the sky.

It was like a soft gauze falling on the ground, brought upon the gender night.

The wooden stick was wrapped in linen strips and soaked with oil. The Swadian light footmen of the patrol team made some simple torches and held it in their hands. They were patrolling along the outer dune of the Oasis Lookout before nightfall.

On the streets within the city walls, the same torches were lit and inserted into the specially-made notches on both sides of the walls.

The torches were brightly lit, as if it were daytime.

The entire street was clearly visible.

This made it easier for the busy peasants and peasant women to get busy with their work.

Tables and chairs were moved out of the house.

At the same time, wooden bowls and plates, as well as knives, forks, and spoons, were prepared.

The rich aroma of food permeated the air. Ten roasted golden sand gazelle were brought to the table, including sliced bread in small wicker baskets, and white salt sprinkled with a little spice on the wooden plates.

And there were tubs of cabbage soup, it was steaming hot and had a tempting smell.

It was time for dinner.

And it was a feast specially prepared to celebrate the victory.

There was also that fascinating malt liquor.

It was all goods from the Reyvadin trade caravan.

For tonight’s banquet and to celebrate the successful establishment of the fortress, including the launch of the table salt trade, Manid took the initiative to purchase 10 barrels of malt liquor. Although the price was slightly expensive which reaching to 250 denars per barrel, it had a very good relaxing effect for those who had been busy for a long time, like the soldiers and civilians who were stressed out.

Manid had already reported it, and Kant also agreed.

It was already soaked in the cold spring water, and it could be pulled up and opened when the meal began.

Taking a sip of the amber-colored liquor, the slight malt sweetness spread in his mouth along with the coolness. He swallowed it in one gulp and let out a satisfied burp. Before the satisfaction feeling gone, he used a small knife to cut a piece of roasted golden lamb, dipped it in salt, and put it in his mouth, it was very delicious.

Just thinking about it could made ones’ felt like their mouth and stomach were going to explode tonight!

Everyone’s faces were filled with joy.

Food and wine, the eternal rule of all things.

The soldiers who were off-duty also came over to help.

The malt liquors that were cold in the spring water were all scooped up and placed neatly beside the long table. The wet wine barrels had yet to be wiped clean, and a circle of water had soaked the sand and soil under their feet.

They could not waited to taste the liquor.

No one could refused the amber-like liquor flowed down their throats. It was refreshing and addicting.

However, Lord Kant, their lord had yet to come down, so no one would really drank the malt liquor, even if it was just a sip.

This was respect for the worthy lord from the bottom of their hearts.

After patrolling, the Swadian footmen returned with torches. After confirming that there were no problems, they exchanged duties with their companions, put down the burden of a busy day, and walked toward the streets in groups of three or five.

The light footmen who took over the duties stood at the city gates or the city walls as sentries.

At night, they just needed to carefully guard the city walls and the key points.

However, there were still elite Swadian footmen wearing heavy armor to form a patrol team to patrol the interior of the fortress.

The patrol was loose on the outside but tight on the inside. Safety was the first priority.

Everyone was waiting for orders on both sides of the street. Those who were familiar with each other sat together, chatting about interesting stories from the past. From time to time, they even laughed out loud. The atmosphere was very lively.

The banquet was about to begin.

As the host, Manid stood at the chair of the long table and nodded to himself when he saw the lively atmosphere.

From the looks of it, this banquet was already halfway to success.

“Has Lord Kant not come down yet?”

After Firentis had arranged for the night sentries and patrols, he quickly walked over.

However, he did not saw Kant. He could not helped but turned his head to look at the towering council hall at the side. He said to Manid somewhat helplessly, “Didn’t anyone call for Lord Kant? Perhaps he fell asleep because he was too tired.”

“No.”, Manid was also helpless. “Lord Kant told me not to call for him for dinner.”

“But, this banquet might be disappointing without Lord Kant.”, Firentis was slightly stunned, then shook his head and smiled bitterly.

This was a celebration banquet.

Currently, Oasis Lookout had held the largest banquet.

Roasted sheep, roasted meat, dried sausage, and all kinds of food were piled on the table.

There was also cabbage soup and malt liquor. They were all quite luxurious food.

In order to successfully host the banquet tonight, many spices were added to the food. For the current Oasis Lookout, this was equivalent to sumptuous banquet condiment.

But now, Lord Kant didn’t showed up.

The owner of Oasis Lookout, the Lord of Drondheim fortress, he had to show up at the banquet.

“Wait.”

Firentis’s pupils shrank.

He turned to look at the corner at the edge of the city wall and said in astonishment, “I don’t remember there being... That’s...”

“What?”, Manid also turned to look.

The soldiers who were still chatting had also noticed something. They all stood up and looked around with widened eyes, as if they had discovered something.

However, their eyes were filled with joy.

“Is that the arrow tower?”

Firentis’s voice burst out, and his tone was full of surprise. “There are also city walls attics?”

“That’s right.”, Manid nodded in agreement.

Everyone inside and outside of the fortress nodded in affirmation, especially the Swadian people, who were even more surprised.

The arrow tower that was made entirely of stone, as well as the city wall attics were made of solid wood, had a strong style of the Kingdom of Swadia. How could these Swasdian soldiers not reminisced and touched?

“This is Lord Kant’s miracle.”

Manid opened his mouth, everyone at the banquet cheered up instantly.

In their impression, this was a supreme power that only a god could achieve.

And they also knew it.

Lord Kant, the lord who followed by those in the land of miracles, could also do it!

Everyone’s faces were filled with joy and smiles. The appearance of these buildings represented the rise of the city defense system once again, and it was a guarantee of their safety. Especially the peasant and peasant women, they were so excited that they wept.

This meant that they had a chance to survive.

Under the enemy’s attack, they had the strength to fight back.

In the rectangular fortress, arrow towers appeared on all four corners. The height of the tower was 10 meters, which was the same as the council hall. The width of the tower was 5 meters, and it was divided into three levels. At least 30 archers could be stationed there. It was like a giant covered with thorns, guarding the fortress with its chest out.

The stone wall, which had only a concave and convex arrow-blocking wall, had changed greatly.

The most eye-catching part was its height.

The stone wall, which was 5 meters tall, had become 7 meters tall. The attic was made of wood, it was 2 meters tall. Not only did it increased the height of the wall, but it could also blocked the wind and rain, and even blocked the rain of arrows from the sky.

This was the attic where the archers were stationed. It really was developed from the normal attic where the people lived.

It not only improved the survival of the archers.

When the war had not started, it could be used as a resting place for the archers, and they could guard their posts day and night.

If the war came.

These archers pushed open the window-like shooting holes, and they could turned this attic, which was usually blocked the wind and rain, into a giant beast of death that spewed countless arrows. They could let the attacking troops know what the anger of the city defenders was.

“Wu –”

The sound of an alarm horn suddenly sounded from the top of the council hall.

The Ravenstern ranger stuck his head out from above the wall, pointed to the east and shouted loudly, “An unidentified army is approaching!”

“What?”

Firentis was slightly stunned, and there was still some doubt on his face.

But he immediately clenched his fists and shouted to the surrounding soldiers, “Everyone, get into battle status. Immediately set up a defense on the city wall. Before receiving new orders, maintain the defense on the city wall!”

“Understood!”, the soldiers on the streets who were still waiting for the banquet to begin roared in unison.

Everyone’s expressions were death serious.

This was because the unidentified troops were still heading towards the Oasis Lookout. At the moment, all they could thought of was that the expedition army of the Kingdom of Grey Mane from the Mannheim Coast was here to conquer their enemy troops!

“Wait, it doesn’t seem to be the enemy!”

At the top of the council hall, the Ravenstern ranger stuck his head out and shouted.

Looking at his comrades who were ready for battle, the ranger looked a little embarrassed, but he still shouted at them, “It seems to be the troops of the Kingdom of Vaegirs and the Kingdom of Swadia. Send someone out to take a look.”

The soldiers who were rushing towards the city wall subconsciously stopped in their tracks.

The Kingdom of Vaegirs..

And the Kingdom of Swadia?

The leader of the trade caravan, Joslin, was stunned. He was a Vaegirs.

Firentis frowned, he reprimanded the ranger, “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

The ranger replied apologetically, “Sorry, I didn’t make it clear.”

“Make it clear next time!”, Firentis snorted.

But he didn’t continue reprimanding him, he turned to the soldiers around him and ordered again, “Disarm the alarm and send a few light footmen to investigate. If it’s the troops of the Kingdom of Vaegirs and the Kingdom of Swadia, bring them here. To be able to come to the land of miracles means that they are brave warriors who are willing to follow Lord Kant and help us.”

“Yes.”, the four elite desert bandit replied and quickly ran to the stable.

After finding their own desert horses, they untied the reins and mounted the horse. They immediately ran out of the city gate and headed towards the dune on the east side.

Right behind the dune, a 100-man army was walking in an orderly formation. Other than the little noises of stepping on the sand layer and pulling out the sand, the entire army was silent. They only walked towards the direction of the Oasis Lookout.

Although the formation was tight, these 100 people were clearly divided.

50 people were Vaegirs archers.

And another 50 people were Swadian crossbowmen.