Heart of the Castle

Chapter 526 War Burns the City, Death God's Scythe

Arrows and rain are intertwined, you come and I go.

The battle intensified as the ship shield approached. Although Philmeyer's defenders had an advantage in terrain, the range of the crossbows and longbows they used was far inferior to that of the sniper archer Sir Grace. The sniper shooter who came out, let alone the alchemy marksman.The flying arrows shot up from below the city are precise and vicious, and they don't miss every suspicious target. Some people exposed their bodies to the cover of the crenel either because of recklessness or because of stupidity. The form of howling flying arrows arrived as expected, causing those guys to fall into the Eternal Night Kingdom of the Eternal Sleeping Guide with blood all over their bodies.

After this situation was repeated dozens of times, even the most proud and conceited noble knights of the royal capital did not dare to stick their heads out of the city. They saw with their own eyes that more than one knight was easily pierced by sharp arrows, as if their fighting spirit It's the same as the armor is made of parchment.The royal guards on the top of the city were so overwhelmed by the rain of arrows that they couldn't lift their heads, so they could only shrink behind the crenels of the city wall, shooting inaccurate arrows from the shooting port to fight back.

The number of arrows fired from the top of the city was five times that of the Northern Allied Forces, but the result of the battle was less than one-tenth.Whether it is a crossbow or a longbow, it is completely ineffective against the coalition forces that are slowly approaching by pushing the ship shield. They can only add some unsightly decorations on the surface of the ship shield.Most of the arrows fired at the long-range troops of the Beiling Coalition Army did not have enough range, and could only fall to a distance of tens of meters away from them. Only the crossbowmen on the two watchtowers could occasionally shoot one or two people .

This loss can be easily tolerated by the Northern Allied Forces. The ship shield continued to approach, and the wooden wheel made a rumbling sound, rolling over rocks, dead grass and bushes.Ser Lathander thought he heard the sound of an ax hacking at the gates from below, but when he listened carefully, he heard nothing.

"It's an illusion, they are still far away." Ser Lathander told himself, then closed his eyes and took a deep breath.The icy air dilutes the irritability and fear in his chest, and when he opened his eyes again, he has recovered the calmness necessary for an army commander who has experienced many battles.

"The enemy must be prevented from approaching the city gate!" He roared loudly, "Go and get the fire oil, go!"

The soldiers looked at each other, none of them willing to leave the shelter of the battlements and expose themselves to the relentless and terrible rain of arrows.Ser Lathander repeated the order again, louder this time, echoing over the walls.The soldiers who originally belonged to the fourth regiment obeyed Sir Lathander's order. They put down their useless longbows, bent their bodies and ran to the corner behind the watchtower - there were many clay pots full of kerosene piled up there. .

A wave of sharp arrows shot from below the city fell on the heads of these men, some bounced off the armor, while others tore the weaker parts.The two sergeant majors fell to the ground without saying a word, and a few others were injured, but most of them still stumbled to the place, then grabbed a can of kerosene and ran back.

"City gate!" A hoarse warning sound came from the watchtower, "The enemy is approaching the city gate!"

"My lord, the fire oil is here!" A sergeant major staggered over with two clay pots in his arms, an arrow hanging on his shoulder, and blood flowed down his arm. "What should we do now?" he asked pantingly, lying beside Ser Lathander.

Sir Lathander carefully poked his head out from between the crenels and looked down the city. The flying arrows whizzed past his ears, but he didn't use his fighting spirit to protect his head.The death of several knights just now has made Sir Lathander clear in his heart that even if he has reached the strength of dissipating fighting spirit, he can't support it for a long time under the terrible sharp arrows. If the silver-white light of the weapon is used, it can't even block an attack. Not only that, but the light inspired by the fighting energy will also turn itself into a good target for attracting flying arrows.

As expected, the first few groups of ship shields had already touched the city gate, and heavy muffled sounds could be heard from time to time.Ser Lathander didn't need to see it to guess that the warriors inside were already hacking at the gate with axes and swords.

The north gate of the king's capital, Fermeyer, was built extremely solidly. The twenty centimeter-thick oak door was covered with thick bronze, so heavy that it could only be pulled open with a winch.Ancient magical runes etched hundreds of years ago still provide a strong defense, making the gate strong enough to withstand heavy catapults and battering rams.However, these runes need to be etched on the bronze to be effective after all. Once the sharp axes and swords wear and damage them, the north gate of the king's capital will not be able to hold on for longer.

"We should have built a few log fences under the city a few days ago." Ser Lathander muttered, and then quickly retracted, a sharp arrow almost missed his helmet, making a harsh friction sound, making the He was so dizzy that he almost sat on the ground.

The sergeant major hurriedly supported him, "Commander, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, everyone is ready, let's throw the fuel!" Ser Lathander shook his head to get rid of the feeling of dizziness, and then roared at the guards on the top of the city. "Immediately, cast them all!"

He took a clay pot from the sergeant major beside him, stuffed it into a cloth strip, and lit it next to the torch.The cloth strips soaked in the fire oil immediately burned violently, emitting a large amount of pungent black smoke.Sir Lathander stood up amidst the lingering black smoke, and smashed the burning oil tank towards the ship shield in front of the city gate.The tank flew 20 meters roaring, and then exploded into a red and yellow flame on top of a set of ship shields.

Sir Lathander's actions played a considerable role in boosting morale. The soldiers around him followed his example, lit the clay pots in their hands, and then stood up and threw them around the city.

Hundreds of clay pots filled with fire oil flew down the city, and then exploded like overripe fruit.Flames and black smoke then filled the city gate, swallowing several groups of ship shields in front, and the wet raw hide and the wooden frame below were burned violently under the action of the fire oil, which looked like it was made of wax. same.

The screams soared into the sky, and several northern soldiers covered in fire wailed and rushed out of the burning ship shield, fell to the ground and rolled wildly, and more people had been burned to death under the collapsed ship shield.The rest of the ship shields that were not on fire hurriedly retreated, leaving behind the burning wreckage.Now the entire north gate is surrounded by raging fire and black smoke. Even if the northern soldiers are made of ice and steel, they don't even think about approaching the city gate.

Seeing this scene, there were cheers from all over the city, but there was no happy expression on Ser Lathander's face. "Retreat without chaos, and the morale of the army is not damaged." He muttered to himself, and at the same time looked out of the city, with hesitation in his eyes, "The flame of fierce fire oil can't last long, and it will also affect the gate. It caused a considerable amount of damage, so there is no way to use it multiple times, what will we use next to resist the follow-up attacks of the Northern Allied Forces?"

Ser Lathander groaned, and put his hands on the boulders of the crenel.He didn't feel much when he got up, but after repelling the attack of the ship's shield, Ser Lathander felt a terrible pain in his injured knee, which made it almost difficult for him to stand upright.

The defenders at the top of the city shouted happily, some hugging each other, jumping and jumping; some shouted, ready to drop more cans of fire oil, and continue to expand the burning area.However, Sir Lathander looked down at the city steadfastly, and as dots of silver light appeared from behind the bushes and rocks, a gleam of fear gradually appeared in his eyes.

Sir Lathander suddenly turned his head and roared sharply, "Get down! Get down!" However, the voice could hardly penetrate the noise of the city. Only a few soldiers around him obeyed the command of the Lord Commander of the North Gate, and more people He had been dazzled by the victory just now, and didn't care about his orders at all.

Then they paid the price for their greed. A dense rain of arrows swept across the city. This time, the northern allied forces replaced the arrows with silver alloy armor-piercing arrows that could pierce rocks. Even the back of the city wall crenels was not absolutely safe.Dozens of defenders were killed by arrows on the spot. To make matters worse, two of them were holding ignited canisters of fuel oil!

As the oil tank slammed to the ground, the red and yellow flames roared and spread, and more flaming oil tanks exploded, debris and burning liquid droplets flew in the air. among.

"Damn the gods!" Ser Lathander cursed, and rolled to the side for some distance. Fortunately, most of the fire oil had already hit the city, and the fire was fierce but could not last.When Sir Lathander got up from the ground again, he was left with a messy city and hundreds of charred corpses.

The horn sounded again, this time although the tone was lower, but it was continuous, as if playing a lament.The White Wolf flag of the middle camp of the Northern Alliance began to move forward slowly, followed by dozens of mottled flags. More than 300 white wolf guards are located in the center of the array, slowly urging their horses forward, one after another the strong horn bows are held firmly in the hands of these elite soldiers, and the mace arrows are aimed at the top of the city; A lot of soldiers ran beside, holding tomahawks and spears in their hands, holding up their oak shields, rushing like waves!

After the ship shield offensive was thwarted, the Northern Allied Forces finally launched a full-scale offensive. Except for the Griffin Knights who were still standing in place as the general reserve, almost all the troops went into battle at once.

This offensive was obviously much stronger, but Sir Losander was slightly relieved.The most taboo thing about defending the city is that you can only be beaten but not fight back. The damage to morale is far greater than the loss of casualties. The long-range troops of the Northern Alliance Army are obviously much stronger than the Royal Guards.If they can spend a long time covering the city with arrows, Ser Lathander is almost certain that the defenders of the north gate will collapse completely.

Compared with just now, although the general offensive launched by the northern coalition forces is more grandiose, it is not invulnerable. Although their soldiers are well equipped, they wear thick leather armor or chain mail, and hold half a shield in their hands. A shield for the body, but only leather leggings for the legs, and the face and arms are also exposed.The dense arrows shot from the top of the city can obviously give them an effective blow.

"If they are stupid enough to storm the capital like this," Sir Lathander calculated silently, "the loss will be at least five to one, or even bigger." This result made him quite relieved, as if his knees had also changed It's not so painful anymore.

The marching war drums beat a series of thunderous drumbeats, and the soldiers of the Northern Allied Forces began to march forward quickly, shouting loudly as they ran. Shouts of "Long live the Guardians of the North!" "Fight for Liveston!" and "Lord Cedric is coming!"The defenders on the top of the city responded immediately, "Long live the Kingdom of Arthur!" "Long live His Royal Highness the Regent!" "Kill all the rebels!" The voices also echoed endlessly under the sky.

However, Sir Lathander felt that his own voice sounded a little lacking in confidence and a little uneasy.This didn't surprise him. After all, what the regent, Grand Duke Raul, had done was already contrary to the motto of knights. When the disaster came, he didn't even leave the high walls of the king's capital. He is an out-and-out anti-magic hero.

"If there is a choice... Maybe I should stand under the city, even if..." Sir Lathander forced this thought out of his mind, and then raised his sword high, the sharp blade was pale and cold The vindictive light. "If there is no if, I can only choose to fight!" He defended himself in a low voice. "Everyone prepares, nocks the arrow, draws the bow..."

A series of clear and brutal chirping sounds sounded from above, and then the sky seemed to dim for a moment, as if the sun was blocked by something.Sir Lathander's "shoot the arrow" command got stuck in his throat before he could say it, and he immediately raised his head and looked up. The sky was blue and clear, and the golden sun at noon shone on the ground, shaking him so much that he could barely open his eyes. Eye.

Nothing seemed to be seen.

But Sir Lathander still felt extremely uneasy, his heart throbbed as if being grabbed by something, and his intuition, which had experienced many battles, made him feel a horrifying shudder, as if a catastrophe was about to happen advent.

The soldiers of the Royal Guard Army on the top of the city cast strange eyes on their commander.Sir Lathander has conquered the hearts of these soldiers with a series of accurate orders, and now they will definitely carry out the orders of the Lord Commander of the North Gate. However, this time, Sir Lathander looked up silently, as if There are more terrifying things in the sky than the roaring northern coalition forces.

For some unknown reason, the long-range troops outside the city stopped shooting at this time, and the lack of flying arrows whistling through the air from the very beginning made many defenders of Firmeyer's north gate even feel a little I can't get used to it.

So they all looked up at the sky too, trying to find out what had caught Ser Lathander's attention. "What's that?" A crossbowman with the sharpest eyes suddenly called out, pointing his finger in the direction of the sun, "Look carefully, what are those black spots?"

Everyone looked at the soldier's fingers, and they found many tiny black spots flying from the direction of the sun.The noon sun was dazzling, and many people felt their eyes sore, and even shed hot tears, and curses suddenly rang out from the top of the city.

Only a few people were smart enough to think of the origin of the Griffon Lord's name, and their faces quickly turned pale. "That's a griffin!" shouted a shrill voice that changed its tune, and the voice cut through the air like a steel wire. "Retreat, run, run!" the noble knight then screamed, putting his suggestion into practice.

Sir Lathander strode up to the noble knight, pointed his long sword straight at the opponent's chest, "You want to give up your duties and run away?" He asked sharply, "Then I have the right to give Your punishment of beheading and death!"

"Get out of the way quickly! Ser Lathander, if you still want to live!" the noble knight gritted his teeth and said without even looking at the long sword that was about to stab his chest, "The ace of the Griffin Lord is It's coming! Get out of the way!"

"I don't care what the trump card is or not, are you still a knight of the King's Guard Army? If so, this is your battlefield!" Sir Lathander said fiercely.

"It's not anymore!" the noble knight snorted, tore off the knight badge on his chest and threw it on the ground, then he strode forward and pushed it casually with his hand, even his arm was cut open by the sword. don't care.Ser Lathander was taken aback by the action of the noble knight, and his long sword was involuntarily deflected.The man passed him by, and immediately ran towards the ramp of the city wall without looking back.

Immediately afterwards, more than a dozen people rushed down the city, most of them were noble children of the royal capital, each of them was paler than Milk, and one guy even stumbled while rushing down the ramp, even The man with the armor fell down.Seeing such an embarrassing scene, Sir Lathander couldn't help spitting on the ground half puzzled and half disgusted, "These trash, what are they so scared of!"

Ser Lathander didn't have to wait long to understand what those royal noble knights were afraid of.

A violent gust of wind fell from the sky, accompanied by a burst of crazy screams and screams that made the scalp tingle, "Little monster, powerful, powerful!" followed by countless fist-sized brown-black balls like a hailstorm It fell down with crackling noises, and a strange spark burned behind each ball.

"What fell?" The defenders on the top of the city felt a little strange, and a particularly curious soldier even reached out to catch a ball.He was lucky, a brown-black ball just happened to land in his arms, and he saw that the sparks were emitted from a cotton thread, and the cotton thread was rapidly shortening with a hissing sound, and retracted in the blink of an eye. into the ball.

There was a loud bang, followed by a suffocating gust of wind, and the curious soldier was torn apart by the explosion, blood and flesh almost spattering Ser Lathander's frightened cheeks.Then there were hundreds of equally violent explosions, and countless flames intertwined into a dazzling sea of ​​flames at the top of the North Gate of Firmeyer.

(End of this chapter)