OBS Chapter 561: Have you finished your homework?
Chapter 561: Have you finished your homework?
As the spring of 1462 was drawing to a close, a town on the border of the province of Brun was bustling with people as usual.
This small town of only a few hundred people is located between two vast farmlands. Low houses and shops are lined on both sides of the bluestone-paved main road.
The morning mist had just dissipated, and the air was filled with the fresh scent of earth and new wheat.
In the town center square, vendors set up stalls, selling fresh fruits and vegetables, coarse bread and hand-woven daily necessities.
Farm women carrying baskets walked around, bargaining in the Yoda dialect with a strong rural accent, and occasionally bursting into hearty laughter.
Two hundred meters east of the town, a fortress stood majestically on the top of a hill. Built only a few years ago, this gray-black granite building was already covered in ivy.
Around the fortress, a barrier consisting of chevaux de frise and trenches extends from south to north, like a sleeping giant python, separating the territory of Helderland from the neighboring country of Yoda.
Farmers in the town are now busy harvesting winter wheat, rye and various beans.
The golden wheat waves undulate in the breeze, like brocade spread across the earth. Farmers hold sickles in their hands, bending over to work, sweat sliding down their bronze cheeks, gleaming in the sun.
On another piece of land, farmers were busy plowing the land, preparing to plant barley and oats. In the distance, several strong oxen were pulling wooden plows, moving slowly between the ridges, making low and powerful moos.
"boom!"
Suddenly, a burst of artillery fire was heard in the distance, and the dull roar broke the tranquility of the town.
The farmers working in the fields just raised their heads, looked in the direction of the artillery fire, and then continued to bend over and work.
For those living in the border area, this sound has long been a commonplace. It is nothing more than another war in the neighboring Yoda territory.
"It's really endless. Can't we just live our lives properly?"
An elderly farmer muttered, still waving the sickle in his hand rhythmically. They had long been accustomed to this sound, just as they were accustomed to the changing of seasons and the changes in the weather.
In the bushes near the hill, several children were lying beside the barricades, curiously looking at the looming figures in the Yoda territory opposite.
Their faces and clothes were covered with dirt and grass debris, but they could not hide the excitement and curiosity in their eyes.
"I say, you've been watching for so long, let me see it."
A boy with a brown ponytail next to him looked at the child holding the telescope and said, then he was about to reach out to take it.
"Don't move. This is my telescope. What's wrong with me looking at it for a while? Besides, the battle hasn't started yet. Right now, the Yoda army is unilaterally bombarding the rebel forces."
The child holding the telescope - a blond boy about ten years old was tightly protecting the brass telescope in his hand and retorted with a pout.
His clothes were patched but clean, and on the cuffs was embroidered a small shield pattern, the emblem of the unit his father had served in.
"Tch, what's so great about it."
The boy with brown ponytail curled his lips, but there was still a glint of desire in his eyes.
The blond boy carefully adjusted the focus of the telescope, anxiously watching the movements in Yoda's territory across from him.
"The fighting has begun! The infantry on both sides are clashing!"
He suddenly shouted excitedly, his voice trembling slightly with excitement.
As soon as they heard that a fight had started, the children immediately surrounded it, pushing and shoving each other to get a glimpse.
The blond boy looked at it for a while, then handed the telescope to a girl wearing a straw hat next to him, and said with some distress:
"Don't break it for me. This is the only one I have. It was captured from Yoda's army a few years ago."
There was a hint of pride in his tone, as if this telescope was some precious treasure.
The children scrambled to take turns using the telescope to see what was happening in the Yoda Civil War across the way.
The brass telescope was passed from hand to hand among the children, and each handover was accompanied by careful movements and impatient urging.
"I see! Yoda's soldiers are wearing black armor and red pants."
"Yoda's cavalry has also been dispatched, and some of the mercenaries on the opposite side have escaped."
The children's discussions continued one after another. After being heard by countless people, a short boy took the telescope and was about to look when he saw that it was pitch black and he could not see anything.
He looked up and saw a Helderlan soldier covering the mirror of a telescope.
"It's you guys again, have you finished your homework?!"
The soldier shouted harshly, his face tanned by the sun and his brows revealed an unquestionable majesty.
"Uncle, why is it you again?"
The boy with brown ponytail curled his lips and said dissatisfiedly.
"What uncle? I'm only 25!"
The soldier immediately retorted with a helpless smile on his face.
"You guys don't want to live anymore. What if the enemy's artillery shells hit here? Do you want me to notify your family to come and collect your bodies?"
"Don't worry, uncle. I've calculated that this place is only three or four hundred meters away from that place. Their artillery doesn't have enough range. Just stay on duty."
The blond boy puffed out his chest and spoke seriously.
"How dare you talk back! Go home quickly!"
The soldier widened his eyes in mock anger, pretending to chase the man away.
Seeing the soldier preparing to chase people away, the children immediately scattered like birds and beasts and ran down the mountain.
As they ran, they looked back, their eyes still shining with excitement, as if the previous shock had not affected their interest in the war at all.
On the battlefield a few hundred meters away, the war was already coming to an end.
Although most of the rebels were experienced mercenaries, their morale collapsed after several rounds of artillery bombardment and the flanking attacks of the Helderland Knights. The originally neat formation became chaotic, and some teams began to show signs of fleeing.
"Captain, we're losing! The Yoda infantry phalanx is pressing forward, and we brothers can't hold on any longer!"
A mercenary leader said to his leader with an anxious look on his face.
His armor was covered in dust and blood, and his voice trembled slightly with fear.
"Then...then we won't fight anymore, we surrender!"
The mercenary leader said without thinking that they had been fighting smoothly under the commission of their employer Ludwig. But for some reason, the Yoda army on the opposite side stopped fighting those peasants and gathered together to attack their mercenary group, forcing them to the border.
The war has come to this point. Forget about the balance. Just save your life first.
"No, it looks like they want to wipe us out!"
Another mercenary leader said in horror, despair revealed in his eyes.
"what!"
The mercenary leader looked around and found that no matter whether they were resisting stubbornly, fleeing, or laying down their weapons and surrendering, they would all die if they were caught up by the cavalry.
Those Yoda cavalrymen, armed with long spears and riding tall horses, shuttled across the battlefield like black lightning. Wherever they went, the rebels fell to the ground.
Suddenly, he saw the fortress of Helderland in the distance. His brain thought quickly, and in a short time, he immediately gave the order:
"Everyone, run west! That's Heldran territory, the Yoda cavalry won't dare come over!"
Immediately, a large number of mercenaries, having abandoned their armor and weapons, ran westward, desperately rushing towards the border of Helderland, as if that was their only chance of survival.
The mercenary leader ran the fastest. He rushed to the front and soon crossed the stone tablet symbolizing the border of Helderland.
The Helderland soldiers on the fortress immediately rang the alarm bells upon seeing this. The crisp and rapid sound of the bells echoed in the air, as if announcing the occurrence of some emergency. Soon, the area west of the barricades was filled with soldiers. The musketeers in the front row pointed their guns at the mercenaries, ready to shoot if they dared to cross the trench.
The muskets in the hands of the musketeers flashed with a cold metallic luster in the sunlight, as if they were ready to pull the trigger at any time.
Seeing this, the mercenary leader immediately threw away his weapon, then quickly took off his helmet, breastplate, leggings and other equipment, then opened his arms and said:
"I surrender!"