From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 657 The Crusades' Dilemma
Hidden in the building's cover, Irabes keenly noticed the decrease in the density of enemy projectiles. The once most prosperous area of ​​Juanze City was now completely engulfed in flames. Fortunately, this fortress city, designed and built by the Five Kings Mountain dwarves, was a true stone city, with even most of the houses having sturdy stone walls.

Although alchemically concocted gelatinous greases can adhere to building surfaces, they are unlikely to cause permanent damage.

Irabes poked his head out and saw a mangled giant corpse fall from the second wall of the city of Jueze, followed by the red and blue checkered sword representing the Kingdom of Montevi and the two flags with wheel-shaped five claws representing the Claw Knights.

"The giants have fallen! The commander has succeeded!" Iomede's paladins leaped from their hiding places, swinging their swords forward with all their might. "First Legion, follow me to cover the rear! The rest of you, charge towards the gate! The commander will help us open the gate!"

The Crusaders used the rugged terrain to block the demons emerging from other districts of Juanze City. The area they occupied was roughly circular, and now this irregular circular formation was opening up towards the second gate of Juanze City. A large number of paladins with their swords raised were at the forefront, determined to clear away all the demons blocking the way between the two groups.

The iron axles securing the city gates clanged loudly as the Hell Knights chanted and spun wheels inside the towers on either side of the city walls to remove the shackles from the gates.

Behind the doorway, several black-armored knights hurriedly removed the heavy bolts, preparing to welcome their comrades outside and join forces with them.

Ilinica's battle was not without its challenges, but with the blessing of mythical power, neither the delusional demons that descended from the sky nor the shadow demons that stealthily approached using the shadows could cause much damage.

After Nie Niu completed his ingenious spell, using the scattered building materials to build a stone bridge, Ilinica immediately took the lead and charged towards the demon ranged troops on the city wall.

The battle in the narrow terrain was unexpectedly arduous, but fortunately, the conditions were the same for both sides. The narrow walls could barely accommodate a fourth fully armed Hell Knight, let alone the larger demons, not to mention the numerous Ash Giants that occupied a considerable amount of space.

Only the circular siege platform for deploying ballistae was slightly more spacious.

However, all those who followed Ilinica in the breakthrough operation were elites. With insufficient battle line width, the Hell Knights, who were good at close combat, were more effective, while the ranged firepower of the Mythical Adventurers also played a crucial role.

Not to mention that the enemy troops on the city walls had just been bombarded with many rounds of magical vocals from the Queen of Chelias.

More demon and giant corpses were pushed off the city walls by the Hell Knights to make room for the ranged troops they had escorted there.

These elite archers from all corners of the land began hurling arrows at the demons on both sides of the city wall and using ballistae to threaten the enormous demons in order to relieve the pressure on their allies below the wall.

When Queen Godfrey, holding her shining holy sword aloft, was the first to step through the second city gate, the Crusader warriors erupted in cheers and shouts once again.

"Lord Doom's plan is progressing smoothly, and we will soon recapture the City of Favor!" Godfrey rode the Golden Horn across the snowy ground of the inner city. The snow, which should have been pure white, had turned into a cold muddy mess under the trampling of demons and Crusader warriors, but the golden unicorn moved freely without being affected, without even leaving a hoofprint, let alone any accidents such as stumbling.

The West Wind Horseshoe, which Ivy personally crafted in the elven city of Rivendell, is still in operation.

The area behind the second city wall of Juanze City is much smaller than the blocks that the Shengju warriors passed through. The city was expanded from a fortress built on a mountaintop, with each layer higher and smaller than the last.

Apart from a small section behind the main gate square, the only other buildings in the entire inner city are in the northeast and southwest corners: the half-collapsed temple area and the completely destroyed stable area.

“This terrain is too open…” Regil, standing atop the city wall, glanced around worriedly before descending the stairs to the inner city square to meet up with the other officers of the Crusader. “If the enemy in the fortress tries to break out, we’ll be like the jam in a sandwich.”

"Therefore, we must break through the enemy in the fortress as soon as possible and set up defenses in narrower, more defensive locations." Ashius, the commander of the Dawnblade Knights, wearing yellow and white armor, raised his arm and shouted, "Dawnblade Knights, assemble! We are the main force in this battle!"

"Where did Ivy go?" Illini asked everyone she met. "Wasn't he going to cast some kind of spell?"

"Our military advisor has headed towards the prison in Juanze City. I don't know if he can return in time before we launch our attack." Queen Gopher looked at the city gate that Irabes had closed from the inside and breathed a slight sigh of relief. "Let the First Legion rest for a while, take stock of personnel and weapons, and bandage the wounded. When the Dawnblade Knights attack the next city gate, we will need the remaining two units to take turns defending it."

The Queen's orders were quickly relayed, and with Ivy, whose military affairs had been entrusted to the Knight Commander, arriving late, the Queen of Montevie automatically assumed supreme command.

After all, the position of commander of the Holy War of Illini was granted by the Queen, so it was not unreasonable for the superior to take over the command.

But just as the First Legion soldiers, who had been fighting fiercely for a long time, laid down their weapons and took a short break, a sudden change occurred.

Many flying demons rose from behind the Fortress of Favored City. Among them were gargoyles and delusional demons who had dealt with the Crusaders several times, as well as the rarely seen Dream Demon and the Venomous Gnawing Demon, which looked like a hybrid insect.

Highly mobile demons are the Crusaders' nightmare; they can attack from any direction, forcing Crusader warriors, who can only stay on the ground, into a passive defensive situation.

"Damn it! They were prepared!" Irabes cursed, ordering the ranged units on the city wall to change their fire. "Change fire! Deputy Enforcer, please take the Hell Knights and protect our ranged units. They are our only hope of holding out!"

As the Crusaders were thrown into chaos, the gates of the Fortress of Jueze suddenly opened, revealing a burly corpse wearing tattered Crusader armor—clearly a recently resurrected undead.

The undead Crusader, dragging a greatsword, staggered to the steps of the city gate. Standing high above the Crusader's battle formation, he roared, "Gofrey... face me... or these demons will destroy you instantly..." Just as the undead warrior had said, the demons that flew out from behind the fortress began to circle in mid-air, showing no intention of diving down.

"We must never let the enemy's schemes succeed," Deputy Enforcer Regil coldly reminded us. "We should press on and storm the fortress."

“But we need Lord Doom!” Erabeth glanced at Godfrey’s expression and spoke the ruler’s thoughts. “If we can buy some time… he might be able to use a spell to destroy these demons; he has proven himself countless times…”

Gopher raised her hand to stop Erabes from continuing, and instead asked the little elephant Kuntorli, who had been mingling with the legion's ranks, "Ivy is your teacher, and you are his spellcasting assistant. Tell me, child, is his magic capable of destroying these demons?"

“Then we need to start preparing now… as soon as Professor Doom arrives, we’ll immediately cast the spell.” Kuntori had never realized he was swallowing so loudly. He tried hard to recall the spell model he’d memorized countless times. “All the casting materials are with me…”

“Alright, let’s begin preparations. Help him complete the spell’s preparations with all your might, Lord Tirabard.” Gofrey sheathed the gleaming sword and went to the front of the formation alone.

“I’m here! What do you want to say?” Godfrey asked loudly.

"Do you remember me?" The tall undead warrior's flesh had long since decayed, almost completely turning into a skeleton. His armor was tattered, as if it had been stripped from many knights of different sizes, and the inscriptions that indicated the armor's origin had faded beyond recognition.

Gao Furui stared intently for a while, hoping to discern the other person's identity from their unusual physique.

Clearly, she failed.

“I will pray for you, knight,” Godfrey said earnestly. “After we take the city of Favor, all the souls who died here will be redeemed.”

"Redemption? Your throne is built on the corpses of naive fools and adventurers thirsting for glory. Doesn't the blood of these innocents appear in your dreams, drowning you in it?" The undead warrior opened his mouth, a cold wind passing by his cheek, turning into a decaying sigh. "You don't remember me, you don't remember us... We can never find redemption again, we can only sink into the abyss..."

"No, that's not how it is. Everyone makes a second attempt..."

“There won’t be a second time!” the undead warrior shouted, interrupting Godfrey. “Do you remember Commander Westor?”

A slight commotion arose among the knights of the Dawnblade Knights. They knew the name; this hero was also a knight who worshipped Shaenri, a warrior who fought to the last moment in the City of Favor.

"The demons took him to the plaza, threw him into Shane's Healing Fountain, and then set it on fire beneath the fountain." The undead warrior's words carried a chill that was more intense than the wind blowing from the Crown of the World.

Someone in the Crusader army couldn't hold back any longer: "You will be punished by God!"

“Of course, of course…” the undead warrior raised his arm, “So even after we are executed, we will not find peace. Our corpses are dug out of the kitchen waste by demons and then assembled into this form by evil magic… And the culprit behind all this is you and your incompetent Crusaders, Queen Godfrey…”

No wonder Godfrey couldn't recognize the undead warrior in front of her; it turned out he was an undead pieced together from the undead.

The little elephant Kuntorli strode through the Crusader ranks and arrived beside Queen Godfrey: "The magic circle and materials are all set up. As soon as Professor Doom returns, we can immediately begin the spell..."

Gofrey glanced back and saw that a small hill had appeared in the middle of the Crusader army. Upon closer inspection, she realized that the hill was not made of stone, but rather a pile of loose river sand.

Around that pile of river sand, the paladins and priests of the Dawnblade Knights subtly formed a circle, protecting the sand in the middle.

Stones can be used to smash people, which is almost the most primitive weapon of mankind. But what can soft sand be used for? Do you expect a demon to stick its head in it and suffocate itself?
Godfrey knew nothing about magic, and now she had no choice but to believe.

"I am sorry for what has happened to you..." Godfrey looked at the undead warriors standing on the high platform, tears welling up in her eyes, "but if your demon commander hopes to demoralize us in this way, he has miscalculated. We will reclaim the City of Favor, right now, right here!"

"A blow to morale..." the undead warrior let out a hollow laugh. "Don't overestimate yourselves. This is just a little entertainment for the demons before their main meal."

As his words gradually dissipated in the cold wind, the demon in the sky slowly lowered its altitude, emitting strange cries that oppressed the Crusader warriors below.

New demons emerged from the city walls, metallic constructs resembling giant spiders with crimson eyes staring in different directions. Their spear-like tentacles dug deep into the walls, turning the Crusaders' defensive lines into flat ground.

“The Search Device…” Queen Godfrey recognized the infamous construct monster. “The time for a desperate fight has come! We may all perish here today, but I believe there is not a single coward among us!”

The Queen's call was answered not only by the shouts of the Crusader warriors, but also by the high-pitched roar of a dragon from the distant sky.

(End of this chapter)