"It seems that we are very lucky. Lord Justinian and the Epirus marched along the Asheos Valley. Although the terrain of the road was flattering and suitable for large armies, they would definitely be slowed down when they passed through the central swamp." Looking at the clues left by the enemy's march, Dmitry said confidently that he had served here for two years, so Dmitry was very familiar with the terrain in this area.

"That would be great, but which road should we stop them from." Justinian was not happy with the good news. The terrain of the Pindus Mountains was rugged. Although the altitude was not high, the natural barriers built by the exposed rocks have always been a headache for military strategists. Although he had promised in front of General Terendes before, the difficulties faced in completing his plan were beyond expectations. The maps Hendriel gave him were all from more than ten years ago, and they were of some use when he came here, but after he arrived here, Justinian found that many things had undergone tremendous changes.

Fortunately, Justinian had a little Dmitry who could solve this problem for him. A young officer who had long been familiar with the terrain of this area quickly pointed out a path for Justinian on the map.

"Sir, we can march from here, cross the entire mountain range and then go towards this. From the west of the Fourth Pass, we can definitely stop the Epirus from continuing to move south in the Asheos Bay." Dmitry pointed to the coordinates on the map, which was located on the east side of the Pindus Mountains and led to Agrafa. However, the road he pointed to was not marked at all on the map in Justinian's hand.

"You mean passing through the mountains in this area? But I didn't see any roads there."

Justinian was a little hesitant, it was important. If there was anything wrong, he might lose everything. He had to be cautious.

But Dmitry replied calmly: "Mr. Justinian, maps are not land. The mountain people who have lived here for thousands of years are far more familiar with every inch of land under their feet than those painters who are crafty and ink." At this point, he clenched his fists secretly. He had visited the surrounding villages in this area, and they were enthusiastic and kind. It was this way that he began to like the mountains here. Now the tyrants from Epirus have destroyed all this. The next battle he was going to fight not only for his parents but for all the innocent people who suffered disasters.

Looking at those bright eyes, Justinian was speechless for a long time. He could feel the fiery revenge and unyielding determination in the eyes of the other person in front of him, which could not be disguised.

He immediately made arrangements and ordered: "Sent to the three armies to march from the East Valley Trail and advance at full speed. Everyone is light and simple, giving up everything they can give up as much as possible. We must cross the Pindus Mountains before tonight."

With Justinian's order, the whole army was excited and echoed. The soldiers who had already made all preparations were always filled with anger. They had already sharpened these soldiers into indestructible sharp blades, and now they were just waiting for Justinian, who led their way to give them this opportunity to prove themselves.

...

...

...

As Dmitry Jr. expected, in order to facilitate the march, the Epirus army chose the old Roman Avenue beside the Asheos Valley.

But when he entered the deep valley, he regretted the broken old Dao Nicholas. Looking at the surrounding bushes, it seemed that no one had used it for a long time. Nicholas could be sure that this place had been abandoned for a long time. However, even so, he could no longer change his mind and could only order the troops to continue moving forward until the road in front of them was blocked by a muddy swamp.

"Damn it, why is this happening?" Looking at the mud at the foot of the valley, Nicholas took out his map and tore it to pieces, and roared angrily: "Why is there nothing on it? The person who draws this map should be broken into pieces!" If Nicholas knew in advance that this would be the case, he would never have left here. Now he can only take his anger on the map in his hand.

General Valus on the side said, "It's really not to blame the person who drew maps. Your Highness, this is something more than ten years ago, and the changes in the empire are far more than those that can be described in words. Since Emperor Andronica I's chaos in politics, Constantinople's finances have rarely been allocated to the place. All the water conservancy of the Asheos River has been abandoned. I believe the swamp here is the result of the damage to the dam. If we could have captured one or two villagers instead of killing them all, we could have avoided going here." Along the way, he wanted to stop the cruel behavior of His Highness. It was not enough to steal the village's food, and he had to kill them all. This was simply a robbery act. Now facing such a situation, he can really be reaped the consequences.

"Are you questioning my decision, Valus?" Nicholas said in anger when he heard the other party's intentions. "What I did is to consider the overall situation. Once the unlucky people in the enemy-occupied areas ran out to report our whereabouts, they might be leaked. Who will take this responsibility then?"

"I dare not, Your Highness." Valus lowered his head, "But what should we do now? Maybe we can let the soldiers rest for a while before finding another way out." Now the road here can no longer be walked, and the army has been moving for a long time and has not rested from beginning to end. Along the way, the general swallowed his anger and led his troops to follow Nicholas. Even he was exhausted now. He took this opportunity to ask Nicholas to agree to the army to rest.

However, the noble young man who was eager for quick success and instant benefits did not take Valus's words at all. Now he was all about his scouts before: many troops from Thessaly had gathered in Agrenion, and although there were many, they were just mobs. They did not know that their troops had gone south. In such a lack of vigilance, Nicholas seemed to see victory beckoning him at this time.

"It has reached this critical moment, and I will not allow anyone to make any mistakes. I don't care whether the dam is damaged or not. Now I don't have time to find another way out. I immediately ordered everyone to cut down the shrubs on both sides of the road and pave them on the swamp for the army to pass!" Nicholas waved the whip in his hand impatiently and slammed in the air. He ordered to force the swamp in front of him despite the exhaustion of everyone.

Now even General Valus, who had been tolerant, could not bear it. He opposed: "The soldiers have reached their limits. Please be considerate of them. Forcibly crossing the swamp will inevitably cause unnecessary casualties. As the commander, you should not ignore the entire army for your own selfish interests, Your Highness!"

"What does it mean for one's own benefit? What do you mean, General Valus?" Unexpectedly, the other party dared to oppose him, Nicholas scolded angrily.

But this time, Valus did not give in, but said to Nicholas: "If your Highness, you do this again, I will report what you have done here to His Majesty afterwards." General Epirus, who could not bear it, had to bring out the emperor's name.

But Valus did this instead angered Nicholas. In his opinion, a general dared to threaten him and simply ignored him. Then he shouted angrily: "Prevent! Take it down for me."

With a command, the surroundings were all the personal soldiers brought by Nicholas from Rusnina. They rushed to General Epirus, who was guardless, dragged down from the horse. This scene was shocking everyone, and the soldiers who were originally following Valus were also at a loss.

Looking at the subdued Valus, Nicholas looked down high above, the only thing that remained unchanged was the contempt and disdain in his eyes. As an illegitimate son, Nicholas had always had very disagreements with the generals in Epirus. He knew that his identity had always been looked down upon, so this time Valus's open resistance completely ignited the anger in his heart.

"Let's look open, Valus, the master of this army is not you but me. My father sent you as my deputy to disobey me. I have long heard that you are used to being good people in the army. You wouldn't think that this can establish prestige, right?" The young nobles mocked the old general under their feet, and their tone was full of mockery.

But Valus, who was arrested, said coldly: "It's always better than driving soldiers with swords and whips. I always believe that making soldiers awe will not mean making them afraid of their commanders. The only thing soldiers need to fear is never the enemy or anything else, but the stupidity and stubbornness of their commanders. Besides, the real master of this army is His Majesty Mikhail, and you are just a slave whom His Majesty can drive, an illegitimate son!"

"Hmph, very good, is this your answer?" Although Nicholas, who was extremely embarrassed to retort at Valus, his face was still unchanged, his heart was full of murderous intent. Nicholas suddenly thought of an idea, and he said with a smile without a smile: "Since General Valus, what you said, then let's make a bet and see what your so-called kindness is like, and can it beat the stupid and stubborn me?"

A chilling smile appeared on the corner of Nicholas's mouth, and General Valus, who was controlled and unable to move, had no chance of resistance. He didn't know what the madman in front of him wanted to do, but the heavy anxiety like death had already enveloped his heart.

...

The Epirus soldiers who were blocked by the marching road were still watching the quagmire. They didn't know how deep or wide the swamp was, and no one dared to step forward. Even though the order of the "tyrant" Nicholas came, the soldiers simply cut down some dead branches of shrubs and no longer had the next step. The exhausted soldiers only thought about this opportunity to relax for a while.

Until Nicholas brought his personal soldiers and General Valus who had been escorted over, he appeared in everyone's sight.

General Valus? What's wrong with him? The soldiers stretched their necks curiously and watched the magical scene. As the deputy commander of the entire army, the general of the army, Valus was tied to a wooden board and carried to the edge of the mud by several soldiers.

Nicholas walked over slowly, looked around the silent crowd around him and said coldly: "Why do I ask you to pave the road and build the bridge? What are you doing when you pass the mountain to open the road and build the bridge with the water? This is the responsibility of a soldier. Do you even need me to say these?"

Looking at the soldiers with cold eyes, Nicholas's violent aura made everyone in the venue shudder, and the soldiers had to pick up the branches and shrubs on the ground to prepare for work.

Nicholas openly announced: "Valus left his post without permission, shakes his morale, and dares to disobey military orders. He is unforgivable. I am commanding the army under the orders of Emperor Mikhail, and I cannot betray the law for personal gain. Now I announce the sentence of Valus to death."

A dignified general was ordered to be executed like this. All the soldiers were stunned and the crowd whispered. Many of them were soldiers under Valus, but they were slight and no one dared to stand up for a while. However, the scene that happened next shocked everyone. General Valus, whose mouth was stuffed by Bu, was thrown into the mud by several Nicholas's personal soldiers and the wooden board. The side facing the swamp was Valus himself, who wanted to drown him in the swamp alive!

Seeing the old general tied up in many flowers and unable to even struggle, he was thrown into the cold swamp. Several people in the army felt unbearable, but Nicholas's personal soldiers holding sharp blades stood beside the swamp and no one dared to step forward.

I don't know how long it took, but under the wooden board that was still moving at the beginning, there was no sound at this moment. As the general of the legion, Valus was executed in such a humiliating manner by Nicholas. The haze of fear enveloped the hearts of everyone of the Epirus soldiers, and everyone was afraid that the next person would be themselves.

Looking at the silent soldiers in front of him, Nicholas, who had a smile on his face, asked, "Do you still have any rest now, or should you hurry up immediately?"

The eyes of the hanging triangle penetrated everyone's heart like a poisonous snake. Now no one dared to disobey what Nicholas said. When the cruel nobles finished their words, the soldiers who never dared to rest took up their work and jumped into the cold and bone-breathing mud, laying wooden boards and dead branches to build a bridge for Nicholas.
Chapter completed!