Chapter 124: The Vanished Family
After leaving the square of the Ministry of War, Green and Fatty hugged each other and then got on their horses to bid farewell.
"You'll be staying in the capital for a few more days, come find me anytime to have a drink." Glin sat on his horse and smiled at Xia Ya again: "Kid, you're great. If you have time, come to the military academy to find me, I'll treat you to a drink!"
Having said that, this disheartened imperial soldier let out a hearty laugh and rode his horse away into the distance.
Looking at Green's back, Fatty seemed to sigh and shook his head: "What a pity."
He turned his head and glanced at Xia Ya: "Do you know who he is?"
He didn't wait for Xia Ya to respond, and the fatty seemed to be muttering to himself as he said in a low voice: "He graduated from the military academy at the same time as me, ranked first in our class, especially in terms of tactics and strategy. Even our teacher, Duke Minas, said that he was an outstanding talent. He participated in two wars against the Odin people. The first time, he was just a battalion officer, but he led three hundred men to launch a surprise attack on the enemy's rear lines hundreds of miles away, raiding the Odin people's logistics base. In the second war, he was already the flag bearer of the vanguard, and at the end of the war, he was in charge of covering the retreat. He led over a thousand cavalrymen to use nearly suicidal harassment tactics, forcing an entire army of Odin people to slow down their march by fifteen days! Later, he was transferred to the east to defend against the invasion of more than a dozen nomadic tribes. With less than two thousand defenders, he defended a small border town for a month! I don't even know how he did it! The city walls of that small border town were only three meters high, and there were no defensive fortifications or siege engines! No catapults, no ballistae, not even bows and arrows or food... When the reinforcements arrived, he had sixteen wounds on his body and was unconscious for over twenty days before waking up.
Xia Ya was shocked!
He had experienced war, so he immediately felt shocked from these few simple words of the fat man!
He once had a well-equipped garrison, with thousands of men and horses, facing an attack by just over 10,000 Autins, but he could barely hold on for a day, forcing him to use the strategy of single-handedly challenging Hastings to stall for time.
Two thousand men, a small border town, lacking military equipment... can they hold out for a month?!
"Duke Minas once said... if Green can be reused, if he is allowed to lead a legion, given enough time and trust, Green will definitely be able to bring out an Iron Legion that can rival the Odins Fury of Hastings! Unfortunately..."
Rour shook his head and smiled bitterly: "In those years, he was too radical, Duke Minas had saved him many times, but in the end, he couldn't help being idle. He used to be a flag officer in the 13th legion, but ultimately didn't become the general of the 13th legion. Alas..."
At this point, Rouru glanced at Xia Ya: "Among all the Eagle System generals, I may not necessarily be convinced in my heart even when facing your General Adrick, but this Green is the only one who makes me truly convinced..."
Xia Ya read the respect in Pangzi's eyes and then they mounted their horses, slowly leaving the main road in front of the military department under the escort of their followers.
On the way, Pángzi seemed to be in a low mood, and Xià Yǎ didn't say a word. It wasn't until they had walked for half an hour that Xià Yǎ suddenly looked up on horseback and asked: "Hmm, Pángzi, earlier at the military department, you guys were saluting that statue... who is that statue of?"
Fatso was taken aback, turned his head to look at Xia Ya, and couldn't help but feel a little surprised: "Huh? Kid, I thought you were a rookie, but I didn't expect you to be ignorant to this extent!! You actually don't know who he is?! Good heavens! Since you recognize Byzantine script, you must have at least read the Imperial General History!"
"......Nothing." Xia Ya shook her head honestly.
"So...?" Ruru furrowed his brow and immediately asked: "So, do you know the origin of the name of this city under your feet, Osgilia?"
Osgiliath... Xia suddenly had a thought: "Hmm, could it be... that this name came from the statue person just now? The statue person's name is actually Osgiliath? Is he the founding emperor of the Byzantine Empire?"
"He's certainly not the emperor. But although he isn't the emperor, the imperial capital still has to be named after him! Even the founding emperor himself had to give up the honor of naming the capital to him... and what's more, this decision was unanimously approved by everyone at the time! You can imagine just how great this man must have been."
After a sigh, Rour's face was filled with reverence and nostalgia: "Osgiliath, the founding hero of our Byzantine Empire, the first marshal of the empire! The supreme commander of the imperial army! It can be said that he single-handedly conquered the entire territory of the Byzantine Empire! Originally, Byzantium was just a small country in the southern coastal area. In Osgiliath's more than 30 years of conquest, it became such a large empire! He is a truly invincible commander, a great military leader! He is also the military god that our Byzantine Empire's soldiers dare not forget! After the establishment of the empire, Duke Osgiliath became the first marshal of the empire and was enfeoffed as a duke. He and his descendants guarded the empire for nearly 400 years! In those 400 years, the Osgiliath family almost became the military god's house of the empire! Almost every generation of dukes in their family were commanders of the imperial army, and they were all the most outstanding generals of their time! In those 400 years, the Osgiliath family had a high reputation in the imperial army. However, this family was always loyal to the empire, even when there were occasionally foolish emperors who suspected the family, but the family never betrayed the empire and loyally guarded it for 400 years!
Xia Ya frowned: "Four hundred years...... So you mean......"
"The House of Ausgilia, now extinct." Rour's expression was tinged with a sense of melancholy and sorrow: "This great family seemed to have been cursed from the very beginning. The family's population never flourished, each generation's duke being the only male heir, as if heaven had bestowed upon this family the greatest honor and most outstanding military talent, but deprived them of prosperity in reproduction. In the four hundred years since the founding of the empire, thanks to the existence of the Ausgilia family, even when faced with the greatest crisis, there was always a military god who stood up to defend the empire. But finally, at the age of 400, the last Duke of Ausgilia in the family passed away, dying at the young age of 39, but he did not leave behind a son, only a single daughter. Originally, the emperor had ordered that if the duke's daughter gave birth to a male heir, she could inherit the title of Duke of Ausgilia, but unfortunately, the duke's daughter remained childless for her entire life... This glorious family was thus severed from its bloodline..."
Here is the translation:
"Speaking of this, Rour suddenly smiled and said slowly: 'There's a legend that says the Osgiliath family was actually an envoy sent down by the gods, their mission being to protect the Byzantine Empire. After four hundred years, they completed their task and were summoned away from this world by the heavens, so there are no descendants of the Osgiliath family left in the mortal realm...'"
Xia Ya heard this and couldn't help but sigh for a while.
The fatty suddenly changed his tone, speaking warmly with a smile: "I'm surprised that you haven't heard of this famous legend? Even in Wildfire Town, it's impossible for no one to know about this story... even across the entire continent, the name of Duke Osgerlia has been passed down for thousands of years..."
He paused for a moment, then suddenly slapped his forehead: "Ah! I know!" The fat man laughed and said: "The Duke of Osgiliath had a nickname in the past. It is said that the first Duke of Osgiliath, also known as the founding marshal, loved tulips... So after the country was founded and the duke was conferred, the family crest was set to be a tulip blooming in flames, and later, all the Dukes of Osgiliath were called 'Tulip Dukes' by the entire continent. Their family was also known as the 'Tulip Family'.
Xia Ya's eyes lit up, and she couldn't help but feel a little excited, exclaiming: "Ah! Duke of Tulip, the Tulip family!! I've never heard of the name Osgeria, but the name Tulip, I used to hear it all the time from those traveling bards in Wildfire Town! Legend has it that Duke Tulip was invincible in battle, and they say he's the guardian deity of the Empire!"
Xia Ya said, a "so it was him" expression appeared on his face. Although he had already gone far away from the army department, he couldn't help but turn around on horseback and gaze in the direction of the army department, with a hint of reverence in his eyes.
Originally, Pongzi planned to send Xia Ya back to her residence to wait, but Xia Ya said she still had things to attend to outside. Pongzi was a bit worried: "You'd best stay at your residence now, the Emperor's summons could arrive at any moment..."
Xia Ya's face was very serious, and he shook his head: "I... really have something to do. I... I'm going to Kevin's house to take a look!" As he spoke, a hint of sadness appeared on Xia Ya's face.
He said, and then he whispered something to the fat man. The fat man's face showed a hint of understanding, gazed at Xia Ya for a moment, and said in a deep voice: "Yes, this matter is indeed urgent! Alright, you go quickly and come back quickly! Yes, your identity is special now, I'll let the guards follow you."
