Heart of the Castle

Chapter 444 Demon Attacks, Fierce Battle at the Head of the City

The joyous atmosphere brought about by the victory did not last long, and the cruel reality soon woke up the knights of the Northern Allied Forces from their joy.Under the command of Earl Ansair, they walked in all directions along the roads of Queensland City, while gathering the scattered troops, they silently counted the number of war dead.This is not an easy task. When the northern coalition forces were attacked, they were almost unprepared. Many soldiers were killed by the poison of natural disasters and plagues before their swords were unsheathed. The completely melted corpses and the black and filthy blood, bursts of ear-piercing rancid smell rushed towards us, making everyone dizzy and dizzy, and even unable to open their eyes.

Earl Ansair walked on the streets of Queensland City with a heavy face, besides the young attendant with a horn on his back, there were only Li Wei and Fleischer beside him.They walked from the west side of Queensland City to the east side, carefully observing the damage to the city walls and barriers along the way, and stopped for a long time at several gaps that were broken through by the demon army.

"This city...is too big." Earl Ansair suddenly sighed melancholy.

Li Wei silently nodded in agreement. Queensland City is the capital of Ruhr County in the Kingdom of Arthur, and it is also an important agricultural production area known as the southern granary. This city once had a population of nearly 10 in its heyday, and the vast area can be imagined.The high walls of Queensland City are also quite famous in the south of the kingdom. Although many collapsed and damaged under the onslaught of the demon army, they still have a considerable degree of defense. If the original [-] soldiers of the Northern Alliance Army were in If so, the city can be barely defended. However, after the rapid march and the double reduction of natural disasters and plagues, the number of soldiers who can continue to fight is probably less than [-]. It is simply stretched to defend such a huge city.

"Master Sheriff, after all, we have won a battle. Why do you look like you have lost?" Miss Fraser moved her steps a little uneasy, looking back and forth between Earl Ansair and Levi. Sweeping his face back and forth, "Lord Li Wei, you are the same, can't you be happier? Even if there is nothing to celebrate, you have to think about the impact on morale."

"I know, I know, after the difficult victory, I should indeed be happier, but thinking of the current bad situation, I can't be happy at all now." Earl Ansair replied a little irritably, and then he Seeing Li Wei with the same gloomy expression, "Lord Griffin, have you thought of the same question?"

"Yes, Lord Sheriff." Li Wei exhaled, and the heat was steaming like smoke in the cold night, "Although the trap set by the deceased was destroyed by us, the loss of the Northern Allied Forces was too great, and there were many wounded. They have basically lost the ability to continue fighting, and must retreat to a safe area for rest and replenishment before they can resume combat effectiveness."

"However, the demons and the dead cannot give us this chance." Earl Ansair continued, "At the dawn of tomorrow at the latest, the retreating demon army will return and firmly surround this place."

Li Wei looked towards the dark wilderness outside the city. The light of Yinyue Maya rapidly diminished as the distance extended, but the exploration technique could still help Li Wei see many faint red lights as far away as the daytime. The dot was wandering around the edge of the field of vision, flickering, it was the little devil as a scout looking at the city of Queensland dodgingly.Earl Ansair's guess was correct, the demon army did not intend to give up here, and these scouts would soon attract a large number of demon troops.

"We can't stay here, the supply troops can't keep up, and the soldiers carry very little supplies. If they are surrounded by the demon army and don't have enough food, it will be difficult for Queensland City to hold on for long." Earl Ansair said the same Holding his hand on the crenel of the city wall, he looked out, but he didn't have probing skills or similar abilities, and all he saw in front of him was the dark night.

"The source of water is also a problem." Li Wei reminded, "The legacy of the natural disaster and plague has not completely disappeared. The water source polluted by this evil ritual will not be able to drink directly for a long time."

"Then we must break out of the encirclement as soon as possible." Earl Ansair thumped the crenel with his fist. "Everything must be prepared before dawn, or it will be too late."

"A military meeting should be held immediately to announce this decision to all the lords."

Earl Ansair nodded in agreement, "Yes, a military meeting will be held immediately." Then his voice hesitated, "Levi, I hope you can... disagree with me at the military meeting."

Earl Ansair's unexpected words made Li Wei couldn't help showing a surprised expression. "Master Sheriff, what did you say? I disagree with you? Why?"

"Because my authority has been fatally bruised, if I make the proposal to break out of the siege, it may trigger the unanimous opposition of those northern lords." Earl Ansair said in a heavy voice, "This time the fall into Although there are many objective reasons for the trap of accusing the dead, the person who needs to bear the main responsibility must be me, the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces. More importantly, His Majesty's order is very clear, we must respond to the offensive of the king's army in the middle, and for them To attract the attention of the demons and the deceased. As the sheriff of the northern county and the commander of the coalition forces... I cannot make proposals that go against the king's order."

"However, with the current state of the northern coalition forces, it is impossible to complete this order!" Li Wei turned his head and retorted.

Earl Ansair smiled palely, his voice was a little dry: "I know, so I hope you will make this proposal. Fortunately, because I was worried about His Majesty's reaction, I deliberately kept a distance from you before, Now you oppose me as a hero who destroys the trap of the dead, it can be said that it is a matter of course, and you will definitely get the approval of the vast majority of the lords."

"So... Lord Sheriff, what are you going to do?"

"I will hand over the scepter to you, and I will stay and stay here. On the one hand, I will cut off the queen for you, and on the other hand... this is the responsibility I have to bear!" Earl Ansair's voice was very It was low, but it was like a thunder that both Levi and Miss Fraser couldn't help shaking their bodies.

"Earl Ansair, you can't do this..." Fleischer said hurriedly, "The trap of suing the dead is very insidious, no one has seen anything wrong before this..."

"No, Fleischer, you are wrong." Earl Ansair sighed bitterly, and turned his gaze to the young Griffin Lord. "Li Wei found me before departure and expressed his doubts about the Shadow King's request for help. Unfortunately, self-confidence—or the arrogance of being a commander—blinded my eyes...so I have to help Take responsibility for this failure!"

Levi opened his mouth to speak, but Earl Ansair stretched out his hand to stop his persuasion, "I have no choice, the Iron Ring should not be stained because of my mistake, and Levi Stone, the ring on your shoulder It's not an easy burden."

Earl Ansair's words were forceful and could not be refused.However, Li Wei still said, "Lord Sheriff, I'm afraid we can only discuss the matter of breaking out later." He stretched out his hand into the darkness outside the city, pointing at the flickering lights in the distance, "It's demons, they come here Already!"

"Bless the gods, so many are here!" The young attendant who was also looking out of the city let out a cry of surprise.Earl Ansair turned around hastily, his gaze stretched as far as he could into the darkness.At first, he only saw countless flickering light spots appearing from the horizon, as if all the stars wandering in the sky had fallen into the world.Then he recognized the true faces of those points of light, the eyes of innumerable demons.They came from all directions to encircle the city of Queensland. The team was mighty and endless, and the end could not even be seen. Only black figures like seas of clouds and locusts could be seen covering the sky and covering the sky.Earl Ansair couldn't help turning pale, and Fleischer and the young attendant turned even paler. At the same time, they felt cold hands and feet, as if all the blood had withdrawn from their hearts.

Only Li Wei's face remained unchanged. He had witnessed such a spectacular and terrifying scene on the Great Wall of Ice in the north.The army of demons surrounding the city of Queensland was no stronger than the one under General Kleinus, the lord of the abyss alchemy, but the strength that Li Wei could rely on was also insufficient.The well-equipped army organized by the power of the Castle Heart is still sticking to the north of the kingdom, and the only troops around him that he can rely on now are only twenty or so Griffin Knights such as Glenn Warm, or they can also add There are two understaffed cavalry brigades of the Upper Dirk City Guards, as well as dozens of priests and apologists from the Temple of Storms.

As for the other troops of the Northern Allied Forces, after witnessing the poor performance of those outside Queensland, Li Wei completely took their combat effectiveness out of calculation.Leaving aside those poorly equipped militiamen, even noble knights who are well equipped and possess fighting spirit power have no fighting power to speak of.When things go well, they may still be able to exert the strength equivalent to elite cavalry. Once they are in danger, the cowardice of these people is enough to make their opponents feel ashamed for them.

Earl Ansair took a deep breath, and quickly recovered from the shock of seeing the demon army suddenly. "This is the worst possible situation!" he murmured to himself, and then turned to the equally astonished young squire beside him, and ordered him loudly, "Blow the assembly horn, order the whole army, and prepare to go to the city and fight!"

Immediately, the sound of the horn resounded over the sky of Queensland City again, the sound was anxious and high-pitched, and a series of short notes seemed to be urging something.The city of Queensland, which had been silent not long ago, suddenly fell into panic. Many people were suddenly awakened from sleep, their faces pale, especially those camps of the northern lords who were the most chaotic. The sound of chaotic footsteps resounded through the streets. Running around like headless chickens in the night.

Grunwalm was awakened from his sleep by the sound of the horn, his eyes had not yet opened, and his hand had already touched the hilt of the sword under the blanket, which made him feel a little more at ease, and then he pulled out half of the sword , The milky white light suddenly illuminated a corner of the house.

Grunwalm originally thought that his reaction was fast enough, but not far from the door of the house where he was, several swordsmen were already standing there in full armor, as if they hadn't taken off their armor to rest at all. The two-handed giant sword shone with a light green light under the silver moonlight.

Grunworm immediately jumped up from the bed, grabbed the belt and fastened it to his body, and nervously held the long sword and looked out.What made him slightly relieved was that the other griffin riders in the same room were not ready. They also just woke up from a dream and got up in a panic.

"By gods, this horn is blown like crazy!" complained a rough voice.

"Yeah, what happened?" Another naked knight holding a half-face helmet in his hand also said in surprise, the cold wind blowing in from outside the door made him shiver , and then suddenly realized that he put the helmet on his bare buttocks, and quickly rushed back into the shadows.

"Everyone, our troubles are coming." Butler Frederick—Grun Worm already knew that this handsome old man was a great magister, but he still let others call him by that name— Leaning on a carved wooden cane, he stood at the window and looked out, then turned his head and told them with a solemn face, "This is a battle assembly order, which came from the direction of the city gate. It seems that the demon army has surrounded here. I thought they would arrive at dawn tomorrow at the earliest."

The arrival of the demon army was much faster than the flustered northern coalition forces in the city. When the fastest-prepared griffin knights had just arrived near the city gate, the sound of wings flapping by the Winged Demon Annihilator could be heard in the sky.

The winged demon reconnaissance unit is the fastest unit in the demon army. Their task is to forcibly occupy the top of the city near the city gate when the humans in Queensland City have no time to react.The eyes of those winged demons are very sharp, and they can see at a glance that there are only four human figures on the top of the city. It is a good time for a strong attack. The easy-to-handle middle-aged nobleman swooped down, followed by more than a dozen Winged Demons, and rushed to the other people on the top of the wall.

Li Wei, who was wearing light armor, was flanked by two winged demons. They attacked from the front and back, trying to make Li Wei flustered.However, the young griffin lord has dealt with this flexible enemy several times, and he is familiar with the weakness of the winged demon.He dodged suddenly, causing the two unprepared Winged Demons to almost collide with each other, and then the knight sword suddenly thrust out, cutting the bat wing on the left side of a Winged Demon.The Winged Demon screamed and backed away, and now there was only one enemy in front of Li Wei. The silver-white sword light swung down continuously. The Winged Demon barely parried a few times with its hard and sharp claws, but was pierced into the throat by Li Wei's sword .

Before the Winged Demon's body fell to the ground, the Winged Demon whose wings had been cut just now roared and rushed up. The anger made its face twisted even more frighteningly, and an ominous black magic light shone on its claws.Li Wei unhurriedly got out of this reckless sprint, and then added a kick to the side, kicking the Winged Demon that had lost its ability to fly from the top of the wall, and the tragic hissing sound cut through the wall. The night sky finally ended after a heavy crash.

"Li Wei, be careful!" Miss Frasier's changed tone of warning sounded, and at the same time, a foul-smelling wind came down violently from behind her head, and Li Wei rushed forward without thinking, and at the same time, the knight's sword slammed After the last flick, the feeling of scratching the tough leather came from the hand.The ear-piercing scream unique to the Winged Demon Annihilator rang out immediately, accompanied by the hot, stinky liquid spilling all over Li Wei's head.

Two more Winged Monsters screamed and rushed forward, Fleischer rushed forward, the silver-white sword light intercepted one, and the sound of the sword's edge colliding with the Winged Demon's sharp claws was dense.The other one bypassed the battle group and rushed towards Li Wei, but the young griffin lord had already got up from the ground, stabbed the winged demon's belly with his sword, and forced it to spread its wings again from the top of the city. rise.

On the other hand, Earl Ansair's record has increased to five Winged Demons, and one Winged Demon Annihilator was pierced through a large hole in his wing by his thin thorn sword, and glides crookedly towards the city and landed.However, since he had to face much more Winged Demons than Li Wei and Fleisher, he didn't have time to protect the young attendant holding the horn.When the Winged Demons finally hovered in the sky in fear and did not dare to fall, Earl Ansair looked back and found that his unfortunate attendant had fallen beside the crenel of the city wall, the long sword in his hand stabbed deeply. It entered the chest of a Winged Demon, while one of the Winged Demon's sharp claws was tightly clasped on the attendant's face, and blood and brains were gurgling out along the five sharp claw tips.

Earl Ansair sighed softly, walked over and took off the horn from the neck of the young attendant, the short and powerful notes sounded like an explosion at the top of the city, causing the Winged Demons who were still in shock to fly away for a certain distance before turning back He looked at Earl Ansair, who was half-stained in blood and standing on the top of the city.

The first batch of reinforcements came to the top of the city, led by the young knight Grun Worm, the sword in his hand was shining with the light of milk glass; The alchemy swordsman in the two-color thick coat; Mr. Dish, who still uses the name of Frederick Steward, was the last of these people to climb to the top of the city, but as soon as he stood firm, he pointed the wooden carved staff in his hand into the air. pointed.

"The extension of light, weaving the silk thread of the blue sky, soaking in the color of death!"

Following the sound of a short incantation, a turquoise light shot out from the carved wooden staff, directly piercing the hesitant Winged Demons gathered in the air.However, the speed of this ray of light was not very fast, and the winged demons immediately flapped their wings and spread out, while swearing and laughing at the city head viciously.

It was too early for them to be proud. Mr. Dish smiled slightly, and with a shake of his cane, the ray of light suddenly burst into pieces. Countless green light spots shot out in all directions like an emerald shower, and there was a weird scream The sound kept ringing.As long as it is stuck to its body by an insignificant spot of light, the Winged Demon will scream and fall down after a few heartbeats, its body completely turning into a lifeless pale color.

This blow wiped out more than twenty Winged Demons and Winged Demons Annihilator, plus those that Earl Ansair and Levi wiped out at the top of the city, half of the Winged Demons' reconnaissance troops of the demon army had already been lost. At the same time, more and more figures appeared near the city gate, and the chance of seizing the top of the city has completely disappeared.These menacing winged demons had no choice but to fly away despondently while wailing and cursing piercingly.

(End of this chapter)