Heart of the Castle

Chapter 445 Siege of heavy soldiers, Simulator Corps

The demon army moved very cautiously this time.After the Yimo reconnaissance troops failed to snatch the top position of the city, the demon general who commanded the army did not immediately swoop in and try to break through the already dilapidated walls of Queensland City in one fell swoop. Instead, he ordered to set up camp on the spot and firmly besiege Queensland City stand up.

The knights of the Northern Allied Forces climbed to the top of the city one after another, but no one dared to light the torches, for fear of exposing the fatal flaw of the current embarrassment of the city's troops.In fact, they didn't need torches for lighting, because the demon army outside the city had already lit countless bonfires, and the flames soaring into the sky even drove the night out from the wilderness near Queensland City.The fuel used by the devil seemed to be some black and yellow stones, and bursts of strong and suffocating sulfur odor floated in the direction of Queensland City, choking the people on the top of the city who could barely open their eyes.

The army of demons quickly built a simple camp around Queensland City. They didn't even cut logs from the nearby woods to build the outer wall. They just dug some big pits on the ground, and then brought the animal skin The tent is considered a camp if it is erected on it, and it seems that the possible sneak attack by the Northern Allied Forces has not been considered at all.Afterwards, these guys also started an entertainment activity, with the sound of war drums and countless grotesque demons dancing terrifyingly in the firelight. It was like a fanatical celebration and some kind of evil sacrificial ceremony. Levi saw One of the demons sent the struggling living creature to a simple altar, then ruthlessly pulled out the creature's heart with its claws, raised its head high and let out a frenzied roar, and the bright red blood dripped down its arm.

Such bloody scenes are everywhere in the demon army camp that can't be seen at a glance. The knights of the northern coalition army are heartbroken and their hands and feet are cold.A deadly silence enveloped the city of Queensland, and Li Wei even heard the teeth of someone around him knocking each other, making a rattling sound.

"Faithful disciples of the Lord of the Sky, pray with me! He who controls the thunder! Your anger tears the sky..." Archbishop Povavo's sonorous and powerful prayer sounded from another direction, like a sharp knife piercing frozen grease .The priests of the Temple of Storms then began to pray in unison, "...the one in charge of the thunder, your majesty reigns over the land. At this moment when the darkness is falling and you can't see your fingers, please help us, save us, and give us the courage to sweep away the evil in front of us." ! Golden thunder and lightning, shocking the eyes of darkness!"

A golden light pierced the night sky, accompanied by a loud roar, suppressing the noisy voices in the demon camp outside the city.Many demons stopped their frenetic dance steps, raised their heads in panic and looked towards the sky, and even the crimson sulfur flames flickered and dimmed.However, from the middle of the camp, there was a thundering sound of war drums, and the brimstone and poisonous fire spewed tongues of fire towards the sky again. The demons quickly resumed their frenzy just now, and continued to make piercing screams.

The morale of the Northern Allied Forces recovered a little because of the golden thunder and lightning. At least Li Wei couldn't hear the rattling of teeth. Still showing a worried look.

"Look, there are so many bonfires... there are tens of thousands of demons!"

"Such a big camp, it's almost impossible to run to the end!"

"Gods, why don't you send down thunderbolts and lightning, and chop these damned demons into ashes?"

Hearing the whispers coming from all around, and looking at the dignified expressions on the faces reddened by the flames, Li Wei whispered to Earl Ansair worriedly: "If the siege continues like this, there is no need to attack. , As long as two or three days, the morale of the army in the city will be dispersed."

"Two or three days? No, it won't take that long at all." Earl Ansair also lowered his voice, with unspeakable anxiety in his tone, "At dawn tomorrow, those demons will find out the number of defenders in this city Far from enough, once they attack, it will be difficult for us to defend such a long wall."

Li Wei had to agree that there were only more than 1000 coalition fighters who could go to the city to fight, which was a little less than they expected.Moreover, several northern lords did not show up, and their men and horses disappeared without a trace. Obviously, the division within the coalition forces has reached the point where it cannot be concealed.

Butler Frederick came from behind with a cane, his old face flickered in the light of the fire, "Master Levi, oh, and the sheriff. I think the defense of this city is full of loopholes now, it should be Arrange them more carefully." He pointed with his cane to several arrow towers standing not far away, "There should be a hundred people on them, and bows and arrows can completely restrain the demon army's attack on the city gate from the side. It can prevent the Winged Demons from raiding the city again." Then the old butler pointed his staff at the opposite position, where the city wall collapsed for dozens of meters, and the gap was so big that even repairs could not be repaired. "At least two hundred people must be placed here to ensure safety."

"Oh, respected Great Master Frederick, what you said is correct." Earl Ansair spread his hands helplessly, "Arranged according to you, the defense of this city has indeed become impenetrable, but we With so many people now, it is impossible to hold the city."

Steward Frederick blinked, with a puzzled expression on his face, "Do we need to defend this place?" He turned around with his hands on the crenel, his back facing the increasingly noisy outside of the city, "Then you may be disappointed, Lord Magistrate, no matter how many people there are, they can’t keep it. The city’s granary has been destroyed by the deceased, and the food inside is contaminated by undead toxins. The same is true for the wells. Even if the toxins can be purified, the stench The taste is also difficult to drink."

Earl Ansair had already gotten the news from Li Wei, but he still felt a chill in his heart when he heard what Butler Frederick said. "Dear Grandmaster, thank you for telling me this news, I just hope you pay attention a little bit, and don't let other people hear this news." He looked at the expressionless Griffin Knights around him, and sighed softly, "I The fear is that this will tear apart an already fragile coalition."

"It's already falling apart." Steward Frederick's tone was as sharp as a knife. "At least a dozen lords did not follow the assembly order to go to the city to prepare for battle. Instead, they gathered their troops. It seems that they may open the city gates in other directions to escape at any time. .”

"This kind of behavior means betrayal!" Li Wei clenched his fist and thumped the battlements, "Your Majesty, you must not tolerate these guys who are afraid of fighting and avoiding the enemy. They have completely lost the heart in their chests." A true knight at heart!"

"I don't have the excuse or time to punish those people now." Earl Ansair said, "If it was in Dirk City, I just need to be cold-faced, and I can make these guys kneel down and beg for mercy. However, this is Queensland City , surrounded by powerful enemies on all sides, and our strength is very weak in comparison, if we punish those people and cause civil strife... the Northern Allied Forces... can no longer bear any turmoil."

Earl Ansair's scruples are indeed justified. Li Wei is fully aware of this, but he still feels bitter about it. The young griffin lord put his hand on the hilt of his sword and turned his gaze to the demon camp outside the city .If possible, he would rather have a life-and-death fight with these demons than get along with those selfish and cowardly lords and nobles.

"Since those people are unwilling to obey orders, then let them fend for themselves." Butler Frederick said, "Master Sheriff, since this place can no longer be defended, when are you going to break out?"

"If we start planning now, we should be ready to break out before noon tomorrow." Earl Ansair said, "But we have too few people now, and now we are using the cover of night to let those demons have a chance to break out." Regardless of the scruples, when the sun rises at dawn tomorrow, it will be difficult to hide this fatal weakness."

"That's why we need to organize an iron wall of defense to keep those demons at bay!" Although the voice of Butler Frederick was old, the meaning in his words was sonorous and powerful.

Earl Ansair resisted the urge to shrug, and asked the old butler softly what he thought. "So, my lord, what do you think we should do?"

"Put 100 people here, and 200 people there." The old butler said stubbornly, pointing to the gaps in the arrow tower and the city wall with his cane.

"It's ridiculous. Is Grandmaster Frederick too old and his mind is confused?" Earl Ansair finally expelled this rather impolite thought from his mind, with a stiff smile on his face, patiently explained in tone. "But in this way, the guards on the city walls in other directions are too weak. The demon army is now surrounding us from all directions, and if there is a loophole in any place, they will swarm up like flies."

The old butler frowned, as if blaming the sheriff for his lack of common sense, "Of course I know, so there must be 1000 people guarding each city wall. If the number is lower than this, there will definitely be loopholes in the defense."

Earl Ansair almost shouted, "Now we only have a total of more than 1000 soldiers. Even if we gather all the lords and their men who are hiding in the city, the maximum is less than 2000." Irritated in my heart, I said, "Grandmaster Frederick, according to your arrangement, we need at least [-] troops."

"That's not okay. Even if we still have 4000 people, we can't all arrange them on the city wall. It will be too late to prepare for the breakout." Butler Frederick shook his head and said, and then Earl Ansair couldn't help it. Before revealing an angry face, he swung his cane around. "The spirit of the atmosphere, the reflection of the mirror, call, answer, both real and illusory, the simulacrum!"

Grandmaster Frederick's incantation was not long, but the effect made everyone present couldn't help but widen their eyes.Earl Ansair saw the shadows under the feet of Li Wei, Fleischer, and Grand Master Frederick began to distort and turbulent, and gradually became three-dimensional. It seemed that those shadows were trying to get up from the ground!The Griffon riders who were farther away then made surprise sounds, and several long swords left their scabbards with a clanging sound.

"Master Li Wei, what happened?" Grunworm's voice sounded, "What are these things?"

"It's something to defend the city," Grandmaster Frederick explained.

Lord Ansair could hardly speak, for right in front of his eyes, his own shadow stood up twisted.It broke free from the shackles of the ground, stretched its limbs freely in the air, and its color changed from pitch black like night to colorful.When the shadow finally stopped changing, Earl Ansair almost thought that he was facing an incomparably real mirror.

The shadow turned into another sword dancer, both temperament and appearance were lifelike. Earl Ansair could even feel the fighting energy from the same source as himself running slowly from the body of the shadow, and he even affirmed the strength of the shadow. The strength has reached the level of Dou Qi Tianhua!

"This is impossible!" Earl Ansair blurted out, "No matter how powerful the magical power is, it is impossible to create a sword-wielding earl, otherwise..." Before he finished speaking, the sword dancer in front of him The image has begun to distort and become blurred, and the strength of fighting spirit is also rapidly collapsing.

"Oh, Lord Sheriff, don't deny their existence!" Grandmaster Frederick hurried over, blocking Earl Ansair's sight, "This is group imitation, and it can only affect weak-minded opponents If you deny their existence, the effect of this magic will be greatly reduced!"

Earl Ansair took a deep breath. As far as he could see, hundreds of fully armed warriors appeared, many of whom had the same appearance and equipment as the Griffin Knight. There were three Levi's and three Fleischer's, and a dozen of himself with thin rapiers on his waist.Watching this scene that couldn't be described in words, Earl Ansair felt for the first time that the air around his body was not enough.

"Steward Frederick, are these simulacrums creating illusions or real warriors?" Li Wei was only slightly more surprised than Earl Ansair, because the young griffin lord was already familiar with Dee. All kinds of miracles created by Mr. Shi.

"It's an illusion, but if you don't have enough willpower to deny their existence, they can also be regarded as real fighters." Butler Frederick pondered for a while, "The combat power of these simulacrums... is about half of the real ones. Left and right, of course this is without being seen through."

"Half of the body? Doesn't that mean that these simulacrums can be used as powerful combat power?" Li Wei opened his mouth wide in surprise, "Even if the twelve sword dancers have only reached half of their strength, they are enough to give the devil Did the army do terrible damage?"

"Of course it's impossible, Master Levi. The weakness of simulacra is that they are very afraid of magical attacks, because the strong energy fluctuations of offensive magic will directly destroy the energy structure of these simulacrums, thereby directly destroying them." Steward Frederick Shrugging his shoulders, "These simulacra may cause some confusion to the enemy, but they will soon be wiped out by the flame arrows of the fire-throwing monster or the self-destruction of the horned demon warlord."

Regardless of the combat effectiveness of these simulacrums, one major problem plaguing the Allied forces in the North has been solved.

For the sake of confidentiality, Earl Ansair ordered the soldiers of the northern coalition guarding the city to withdraw in batches, leaving only the Griffin Knights led by Li Wei and his own city guards on the city wall.Steward Frederick used the group imitation technique a few more times, and then his face turned pale. Obviously, the consumption of this spell was quite huge, and even the grand master found it unbearable.Li Wei and Fleischer hurriedly supported Butler Frederick, and left together along the ramp under the cover of night, leaving all the guard work to these magically created soldiers.

After the Earl of Ansair returned to the station of the City Guard, the first thing he did was to order the knights of the City Guard to summon the lords of the Northern Alliance Army separately. He could have chosen to blow the assembly horn and give up those who did not come Lords attending the meeting.But after thinking about it, Earl Ansair decided to use this more laborious method.

The losses of the Northern Allied Forces have been severe enough, and the county governor still hopes to save as many remaining forces as possible.

It took a lot of time to gather these lords and nobles. Although some people came in a hurry, many people did not arrive due to various reasons, and they did not gather until late at night.

The military meeting was held in the small square in front of the Temple of the Earth. Several tables were assembled into a huge desk, covered with sheepskin maps of the Kingdom of Arthur and the four southern counties. Pinned down to keep out the night winds.The soldiers of the City Guards stood around the square with torches in their hands, and at the same time lit several bonfires, illuminating the venue brightly.Earl Ansair sat at the head of the meeting, and on the left side sat the Archbishop of the Temple of Storms Povavo with a serious face like a stone sculpture. The right side was originally the seat of Baron Hanuk, the commander of the barracks, but now he was seated by a griffin. Lord Viscount Livingston.

This did not surprise other people. When rushing to rescue Queensland City, Lord Baron Hanuk was in charge of leading the convoy to follow the order, and now it is obviously impossible to arrive here on time.Wanting to break through the camp of the demon army with the help of the hundreds of guard cavalry in the convoy is even more incredible than defending Queensland City.

The rest of the lords and nobles of the Northern Allied Forces sat on both sides of the table, and their eyes rarely focused on the map. Instead, they all looked at the face of Earl Ansair, trying to find out from his expression. Give clues about the situation of the battle.However, the county sheriff has already deeply pressed his anxiety into the bottom of his heart, and the expression on his face is very calm.

"Sir Kebal of the Anjou family, Sir Tang En of the Raymond family, and Lord Seedorf of Longshan Castle, why didn't they arrive?" Seeing that most of the people were already seated, Earl Ansair asked the guards beside him. The knight asked.

"The knight who notified these lords has returned. Sir Tang En was seriously injured this morning. Although he was treated by the priest's magical treatment, he is still unable to get up; Sir Kebal and Lord Seedorf refused to attend the meeting, and Say you..." The knight hesitated for a moment, his voice became low and thin, and even Levi, who was sitting next to Earl Ansair, could hardly hear him clearly. "...You are no longer worthy to hold the commanding scepter of the Northern Allied Forces."

"In this case, let's not wait for them, let's start the meeting." Earl Ansair raised his chin and smiled coldly, and then said, "Everyone, the northern coalition forces are now in a very disadvantageous situation, but we absolutely Don't be discouraged, because things are far from the worst. The king's army is advancing rapidly in the middle, and the main force of the demon army has been attracted here. As long as we can stick to Queensland City and share the pressure for His Majesty, We will definitely be able to win the final victory!"

(End of this chapter)