Chapter 358: Battle of Black Mountain (Pre-war Discussion)
The morning mist in the wheat field gradually dissipated, and the morning sunlight shone obliquely from the right hand side of the church army soldiers.

On the ground, the shadows of soldiers carrying food in a disorderly manner were layered one after another, and people screamed from time to time.

At the very front of the marching team, the terrifying evil god head of the Orc Hussars was swaying, shooting a few arrows to harass them from time to time.

As Domenico approached the previous marching route, he was still blocked by the chaotic flow of people, so he had to dismount and lead the horse forward.

"You are finally back. Lord Zeranken requires commanders at all levels to gather on the mound over there." His attendant pushed away the peasant soldiers who blocked the road and stood in front of Domenico, panting.

"Come on, take me there."

Pushing his way through the column of night guards and mercenaries, Domenico tied his horse to the hitching post.

He first scooped up some cool water from the stream to wash his face, then he composed himself and climbed up the low mound.

The mound was about seven or eight meters high. Zerlaken, Archbishop of Jinhe Township, and a group of noble knights gathered at the top of the mountain.

"Are they the beastman cavalry coming to harass us?" Count Domenico asked a noble in a low voice.

"Yes." The noble stared at the quarreling Archbishop of Jinhe Township and Zelaken, turned his head and whispered, "Our spies have discovered rebels in the Black Mountain ahead."

"What are they arguing about?"

"Who knows? It seems that they mean the same thing, they are just arguing over the way of saying it." The noble chuckled sarcastically.

"Oh, what does Lord Nidsal mean?"

Because there were too many people and the road was narrow, they advanced on two parallel roads, with more than a mile of land separating the two sides.

"I don't know. I'm waiting."

"I'll go up and take a look. If Lord Nidsal sends a message, remember to notify me."

Instead of standing there like everyone else to watch the two nobles quarrel, Domenico quietly climbed a few more steps and stood on the north slope of the hill.

Stepping over a bush of myrtle, Domenico waved away the butterflies and bees, and squinted his eyes towards the direction of the Black Mountain.

The Black Mountain that lies between the wheat fields is not black at all. Instead, it is lush and green, covered with lush green sage, pale red snakeberry trees, and tall and short sour bayberry trees.

The Black Mountain gets its name from the black flint mines on the Black Mountain. The mountain ridge extends about two kilometers from southeast to northwest, with an average relative height of about 40 meters and a maximum of no more than 50 meters.

The northwest end of the ridge just connects to a tributary of the Elbe River.

Behind the hills and trees, Domenico saw the vague shadows of sails. He guessed that these Salvation Army soldiers came by boat in the early morning.

Standing on the mound, roughly level with the Saviors on the hill, Domenico could not see the faces of the people opposite him, but he could see the dazzling sunlight reflected off their helmets and spears.

After standing and watching for about five minutes, he heard shouting from behind him.

"Mr. Domenico? Has Mr. Domenico arrived?"

"Coming, coming, I'm here." Hearing the shout, Domenico hurriedly turned around and returned to the crowd.

Seeing Domenico coming down from the mountain, Zellaken said as soon as he saw him: "Lord Nidsal sent a message saying that there is no need to fight, but to go around. We should go up along the river and cut off their food supply and retreat."

The eyes of the nobles present were immediately focused on Domenico.

"Ahem, since Lord Nidsal said so, then..."

He coughed, faced the crowd, and the muscles of his eyelids twitched unnaturally.

In the direction Domenico was facing, several Kush knights with thick beards looked at each other, and one of them suddenly stood up and said, "Why don't you fight?"

"Yes, we've gone around it. What if they cut us off from behind?"

"Is it possible that Lord Nidsal is afraid? Or did the messenger not explain clearly? This courage is not like Lord Nidsal."

"Let's finish the harvest early and go home. I brought so many people here that I won't have enough time to harvest the wheat."

Under the instigation of several Kush knights, other nobles and knights began to speak out noisily. What I said before was actually of little use, mainly because the matter of the manor was too fatal.

It is now early July, the busy farming season.

After early July, rice and wheat are harvested, and by early August, soybeans must be planted before the rainy season arrives.

Unlike Horn's standing army, which had a stable income regardless of drought or flood, the Ibe Knights in Jinhe Township still operated on a manor economy, and they went to war only to serve and obtain spoils.

In order to fight this battle, they brought out nearly 10,000 armed peasants and peasant soldiers.

In addition, in order to transport food and troops, tens of thousands of civilians and various vehicles, horses, and boats were mobilized.

This resulted in varying degrees of labor shortages and transportation difficulties on various estates, making it difficult to harvest wheat, let alone sow soybeans.

There was a flood last year and everyone was suffering from famine, so they were hoping to make up for it this year.

Especially the knights whose manors were divided up by the Salvation Army were extremely anxious.

The thoughts of these nobles, big and small, are the same - fight quickly and finish it before August, otherwise they will go bankrupt!

"They are only 4,000 to 5,000 people, and we have over 10,000 people. Why should we give way?"

"Zeraken, could it be that you are cowardly and have falsely conveyed Lord Nidsal's thoughts?"

Being questioned by the nobles around him, Zellaken's face turned pale and blue.

If he was completely on Nidsal's side, it would be easier to deal with him. Unfortunately, although his territory was near the Red Copper Fortress, he was a member of the Golden River Township nobility.

"Stop arguing, stop arguing. Lord Nedsal is coming here. Everything will be clear when he arrives." Zellaken could only press down weakly.

The Archbishop of Jinhe Township shook his pale beard and said, "Don't wait for someone to come. Go and ask. We need to make a decision as soon as possible so as not to miss the opportunity."

After being booed by the nobles, Zerakken had no choice but to mount his horse himself, step over the wheat stalks in the field, and run towards Nidsal in the wheat field.

…………

"Requesting a fight?" Niedsal snorted coldly, "No! I told you to go around and not fight a positional battle."

"But won't this hurt their enthusiasm too much?" Zerlaken asked, choosing his words carefully.

Nedsal fell silent. One of the purposes of his trip was to gain command through war. It didn't seem a good idea to do nothing.

After thinking for a long time, when the horses were trotting across the field path, Niedsal raised his head. He was about to speak, but he seemed to be frozen in place.

"What are they doing?" Pointing in a direction in front of him, Nedsal's index finger was trembling.

Looking in the direction that Nidsal was pointing, Zellaken was also stunned.

In the open space between the mound and the Black Mountain, the nobles' army actually deployed themselves in a marching formation!
"I, I hurt his head!" Nidsal was so angry that he stood up from the saddle and pointed his finger forward with trembling hands, "Look for yourself! Go and ask what's going on!"

Before Zelaken, who was being bullied by both sides, could run over to ask for clarification, his servant came riding on a donkey along the bumpy dirt road.

"What's going on?" Nidsal asked the servant directly, bypassing Zelaken. "Who gave the order? Who told them to line up?"

"Reporting to the honorable Lord Nidsal, it was decided by the nobles themselves, and the Archbishop of Jinhe Township acted as guarantor."

Nidsal cursed loudly on the spot: "You old bastard! You deserve to go to hell!"

He cursed twice but stopped, forcing himself to calm down.

The battle array was ready, and these Ibe Knights insisted on fighting no matter what. Nidsal knew that it was irreversible and could only accept this fact.

"Let's go over there now and take over the command. Don't let that old man mess around."

(End of this chapter)