Heart of the Castle

Chapter 515 Demonstration of force, strong force to make peace

The night was as deep as ink, the clouds were flying low overhead, and the strong wind was blowing against the tall white city walls of Firmeyer, the City of Glory. Every brick seemed to have a built-in light source, shining brightly under the pale moonlight poking out from the gaps in the clouds. Light.

The history of the Kingdom of Arthur is not as plain as water. The capital of the kingdom, Fermeyer, has experienced countless wars, most of which came from the advent of evil disasters and the invasion of orcs, but there are also records from civil strife.No matter which direction it comes from, this great city stands unshakably, and fierce battles can hardly even carve marks on its white skin, so many people can't help but remember it after seeing the city and its history. It is called the City of Miracles.

A sergeant major wearing a steel breastplate and a half-face helmet on his head led a group of Royal Guard soldiers to patrol above the north gate. Half of the soldiers were equipped with shields and spears, and the other half were armed with shields and spears. A crossbow is worn at the waist.As they advanced along the city wall, they used the torches in their hands to shine out of the city from time to time. The light of the fire drove back the vast darkness, but tens of meters away, everything was dominated by darkness.

They didn't consider their own safety at all, and they didn't mind protruding their upper bodies out of the shelter of the crenellations of the city wall. The wide moat outside the city gave them an extra sense of security.

Another team of King's Guards holding high torches walked towards them, their attire was exactly the same as their number, and they looked like their reflection in a mirror.The sergeant major waved his hand to signal his subordinates to stop, then took a step forward, put his hand on the hilt of his sword, and said in a deep and powerful voice: "Password, the glory is not extinguished!"

"Gryphon breaks its wings, hey, Sergeant Major Loeb, are you tired?" The voice from the opposite side seemed a little helpless, and then a sergeant major who was also wearing a half-face helmet came over with a tired look on his face. And a dejected look. "Our two patrol areas are connected. Since last night, we have met at least ten times. I am tired of seeing your face. Is it necessary to correct the password every time?"

"At least the correct password will make you and I sober." The sergeant major named Loeb rubbed his cold and numb cheeks with his hands, and said in a dissatisfied tone: "If you walk around without saying a word all night, I am afraid that tomorrow morning, I will find that my mouth is frozen together."

The sergeant major on the opposite side nodded in deep agreement. Although the deep winter in Philmeyer is not as cold as in the northern border, it can still be called chilling, especially the city wall of the city of glory is quite high, and patrols on it In the middle of the night, the cold wind had already penetrated through the gaps between the armor and the leather lining, freezing every bone of them.

"It would be nice to have a glass of sour red wine to warm up the body and lift the spirits, and patrolling will not seem so hard."

"That's a good feeling, but now I can only think about it." Sergeant Major Loeb smacked his lips and replied, "After our strong-blooded prince became the regent, he put all his energy in dealing with women to tossing people. I heard that Sergeant Wolfe of the Fourth Regiment had his head cut off by the jailer of the Dreadfort ordered by the Regent because he drank two drinks while patrolling."

"No, we didn't suffer this before! It's better when His Majesty the Dragon King is in power. It's good to patrol at night to deal with errands. As long as you have money, even if you get drunk, no one will care about you."

Sergeant Major Loeb nodded in agreement, and opened his mouth to say something, but his body shook suddenly, a puzzled expression appeared on his face, and there was a gurgling sound in his throat, and he couldn't even say a word come out.The sergeant major standing opposite him saw clearly that a flying arrow pierced Sergeant Major Loeb's side near the outside of the city, piercing through his body, and a sharp silver-white arrow protruded from the other side, as if What he was wearing was not a breastplate made of fine steel, but a coat made of cotton cloth.

Seeing the horror in the eyes of the sergeant major on the opposite side, Sergeant Major Loeb groaned, and touched the place where the sharp pain was felt with his hands. He slipped away, and then his body swayed, rolled down the steep city wall, and fell into the vast darkness outside the city.

"Someone is attacking! Take cover, everyone take cover!" A panic-filled exclamation pierced the silence, and the two patrol teams suddenly panicked. The royal guards, who had soaked in the warm water of peace for too long, had no emergency response capabilities at all. .Some people bumped into each other in a daze, and the torches ignited each other's clothes; some raised their crossbows and fired arrows at random into the vast darkness; behind the battlement of the city wall.

They were also the survivors of the first two patrols at the north gate of Firmeyer, because just as they hid their bodies, the sharp whistling sound of arrows tearing through the air filled everyone's eardrums.In an instant, three to four hundred long arrows landed on the top of Firmeyer's city, each of which found the flesh and blood hidden under the steel and leather, and then there was a burst of miserable howls and groans.

The sniper archer Sir Grace was wearing a dark green hooded cloak, standing on a low hilly ridge overgrown with bushes to observe the results of his shooting. A silky purple awn.After the Battle of the Great Wall of Ice, Sir Grace's strength has also increased. His fighting spirit, which is unique to a sharpshooter, has been promoted to Sanhua, and the added special ability is an excellent long-sighted ability.This ability is quite similar to Li Wei's probing technique. They can see through invisibility and stealth to a certain extent, and can see farther, but they don't have the effect of probing to distinguish whether the target is an enemy or a friend. .

Seeing that more than half of the light spots on the top of the city 500 meters away had disappeared under the rain of arrows, and half of the remaining light spots were rapidly dimming, Sir Grace's stern face showed a very subtle expression of satisfaction. "It's not too bad, but keep working hard." He muttered to the little monster talker in his hand, and then moved his shoulder, and the silver fir longbow slipped in his hand, and a special silver alloy armor-piercing arrow hit the bowstring immediately superior.

On the top of Firmeyer's city, after the initial panic passed, the remaining dozen or so soldiers of the two patrols, led by the sergeant major, blew their horns to signal an attack.The sound of more than a dozen horns sounding at the same time was quite loud, and the hurried notes then echoed over the north gate of Firmeyer.

The fourth regiment of the Royal Guard Army is in charge of guarding the north gate of the capital. However, because the regent Grand Duke Raul attaches great importance to the defense of the north gate, the third regiment that originally guarded the west gate and the second regiment that guarded the south gate were transferred to the third regiment. The elite centurion was used to strengthen the defense of the north gate, and a full [-] Dreadfort jailers were sent to assist in the defense.Of course, this move greatly increased the guarding strength of the north gate, but at the same time, it also increased the worries of Sir Losander, the head of the fourth regiment of the King's Guard Army.

Regardless of the consideration of balance of power or appeasement of allies, Grand Duke Raul is bound to be unable to completely hand over the command of the troops used to strengthen the guards of the North Gate to Sir Lathander, especially the murderous and unruly terror. The Fort jailer, except for the Marquis Edwin Reeves, did not listen to anyone's orders.When there were conflicts between these troops and the soldiers of the Fourth Regiment, Sir Lathander even had to send someone to the residence of Grand Duke Raul to apply for a ruling. Dissatisfied, Sir Lathander's prestige also rapidly decreased in the hearts of the soldiers of the fourth regiment.

Ser Lathander had just lain down when the horn blew. Cursing, he got up from the bed, grabbed his sword and helm, and went to the door, calling out the names of his squires.Two of his knight squires then came from the next room, one with his coat on backwards, and the other with no trousers at all.

"God of War Balud, look at your woes!" Sir Lathander cursed, and then said anxiously, "There is an enemy attack, help me put on the armor, and move quickly."

Before the armor was fully put on, his deputy, Knight Sean, came running out of the thick night on a horse. He was fully armed, holding a large wooden shield inlaid with iron nails in his left hand. "My lord, the defense area of ​​the fourth regiment has been attacked, and the two patrols at the top of the city have been disabled." Knight Sean said in a hasty tone.

"Crippled?" Ser Lathander couldn't believe his ears, "Master Sean Knight, you said our patrol team was disabled? How many enemies are there, and what method did they use to launch the attack?"

"The number of people is unknown, but it will definitely not be less than 500 people. They all use bows and arrows."

"Bows and arrows? Are you kidding me?" Ser Lathander couldn't help blurting out, "Master Sean, if our soldiers were not blind and deaf, how could hundreds of people touch the other side of the moat without noticing anything unusual? Who is the sergeant major leading the patrol? Tell him to come and give me a detailed report on the enemy's situation."

"The exact location of the enemy has not yet been figured out, because the sky is too dark, the light of the torch can only shine on the other side of the moat at most. From the angle of the bow and arrow, the enemy should be at least 200 meters away from the city wall." Sean Knight replied Said, "Now the sergeant major who organizes resistance on the top of the city belongs to the third regiment. As for the sergeant major Loeb of our fourth regiment, he was shot to death in the first round of attack, and the sharp arrow pierced through his chest armor." A, a fatal blow."

"You mean that the bow and arrow are shot from 200 meters away, hit the target on the 20-meter-high city, and can also penetrate the steel breastplate?" Sir Losander said, "You are dreaming ", but when he saw Sean Knight shaking his head frantically, he couldn't help but believe it.

"Go and gather your troops and prepare to go to the city to fight." He ordered, and then jumped on the horse led by his attendants, "I'll go to the top of the city first to see those amazing archers!"

"Master Captain, here you are." Knight Sean handed over his studded shield, but Sir Lathander smiled proudly and did not accept it. "It's enough for me to have this." He tapped his breastplate with his hand, then turned the horse's head and galloped towards the ramp leading to the top of the city.

The wind was bitter, the clouds were low, and the breath of snow could almost be smelled. The pale and dim moonlight illuminated the miserable scene above the city of Fermeyer: Feathered arrows stood everywhere, and arrow clusters even shot into the hard white stone city bricks. , Dozens of soldiers fell in a pool of blood, everyone was hit by more than one arrow, most of them were silent, only a few seriously injured were still groaning in deep despair.

"Damn the gods, what Knight Sean said is not nonsense!" Sir Lathander cursed and drew his sword in his hand, and began to regret why he hadn't taken the big wooden shield just now. "My lord, be careful!" Accompanied by a panicked warning voice, several arrows shot out from the vast night, fast and urgent, with a hissing sound of piercing the air, and flew towards Sir Lathander's chest .

Sir Lathander slid off the horse without thinking, and at the same time the long sword swung a fan-shaped arc in front of him, and the two arrows were swept down by the sword light one after another, but the strong force carried by the arrows made the sword light slightly stagnate.The third arrow then took advantage of the void and hit the forehead of Ser Lathander's mount. It was so powerful that most of the arrow shaft penetrated into the skull.

The horse neighed and fell dead, Ser Lathander barely avoiding the hooves of his mount's dying struggle.He half-kneeled on the ground, leaning on the long sword in his hand, and gasped in shock. Just as he was about to thank the person who reminded him, he saw the horrified eyes of the sergeant major.

"grown ups……"

Sir Lathander turned his body suddenly, and the long sword drew a fierce sword light with the movement of turning around. This sword even made Sir Lathander feel complacent for a moment, because he thought that no matter the angle or strength, it was too weak. It is said to be the pinnacle level among title knights.

However, this peak sword was not able to stop the silvery white light that shot towards him.Sir Lathander felt that what he cut was not a flying arrow, but a spear tightly held in the hands of a knight charging towards him. The shattered battle energy scattered like light rain, and Sir Lathander groaned , the armor on the knee of his right leg exploded, and the whole person rolled to the ground immediately.

After all, his sword still had some effect. If the flying arrow hadn't been diverted from that small angle, then the flying arrow would just hit his heart, and one leg would change one life. For Sir Lathander, The business was actually profitable.

Seeing that the biggest spot of light above Firmeyer's north gate had only dimmed a bit and was blocked by the crenels of the city wall, it was no longer so easy to shoot at, Sir Grace couldn't help but let out a "tsk". "It's really lucky for him to miss." Then he continued to run briskly forward, and after dozens of steps, he came to the position of the long-range troops formed by the alchemy marksman and his sniper shooters.

"Sir Grace, after three rounds of covering attacks, the remnant enemy at the head of the city has hardly hindered us. The first phase of the mission has been completed as planned. Please give me instructions."

Sir Grace narrowed his eyes and used his farsightedness to make a final confirmation, then nodded and said, "Okay, according to Mr. Levi's request for us to show our strength to the fullest, now proceed to the second phase of the task, and prepare for the blazing glue!"

The sharpshooter and the sniper shooter untied a silver metal tube engraved with runes from their waists, and then unscrewed the plug at one end, dipping the cluster of arrows in it.When it was pulled out, the arrow cluster was covered with some extremely thick black and yellow paste, and after only being exposed to the air for a few seconds, it immediately burned blazingly.

Sir Grace also made a rocket dipped in hot glue, and put it on the bowstring, "Target, the watchtower on the right side of the north gate, shoot!"

Following an order, hundreds of rockets shot towards the tall wooden building. One rocket was like a burning star, cutting through the twilight, leaving behind fiery red trails like ribbons, which lasted for a long time. scattered.

Some rockets were nailed to the wooden wall on the outer wall of the watchtower, and the fiery glue soon bloomed a fiery red flower on it, and the petals were expanding and getting bigger every moment; more rockets shot into the From the window hole and the shooting port of the watchtower, a thin curl of smoke rose, and there were continuous exclamations. Several crossbowmen wearing iron helmets appeared behind the window, raised their crossbows, and fired at the rocket in a chaotic manner. Direction shot.

The range of the crossbow is about 150 meters, but after adding the height of Firmeyer's head, it is already a certain threat to alchemy marksmen and sniper shooters who set up positions at 220 meters.Fortunately, the darkness made it impossible for the crossbowmen to aim, but the gradually burning flames at the top of the city exposed them all to the vision of alchemy marksmen and sniper shooters.

Another round of rockets fell like a rain of burning fire. The fire became more intense and burst out of the top of the watchtower. Thick smoke billowed from every shooting port. A crossbowman couldn't bear the smoke, Suddenly jumped up from the window, trying to escape from this doomed building.However, just as he stepped over the window frame with one leg, he was shot in the center by a sharp arrow, uttered a scream, and fell backward into the raging fire.

There were bursts of screams from the watchtower on the right side of the north gate, and the sound became less and less, and finally fell silent, leaving only the crackling sound of burning flames.Seeing this scene helplessly, the crossbowmen in the watchtower on the left were so frightened that they almost went crazy. They didn't wait for the group of terrifying sharpshooters to shoot their rockets, and rushed out of the watchtower like a group of ants whose nest had exploded.A man who looked like a sergeant major yelled at them to go back to fight, and even cut down the crossbowman running in front with the long sword in his hand, but instead of successfully threatening him, he was killed by more than a dozen crossbows. They all pointed to it.

"If you want to die, go yourself!"

Following this venting roar, the sound of sharp arrows piercing into the flesh sounded, and the sergeant major had suffered at least a dozen arrows on his body, and before he could even utter a final scream, he fell in a pool of his own blood among.

With a loud noise like thunder, the watchtower collapsed amidst the flames, setting off a pillar of fire more than ten meters high. Thick smoke, sparks mixed with ashes shot straight into the sky, and the fierce flames made Firme red. The night sky over the northern half of the city.

(End of this chapter)