Heart of the Castle

Chapter 850 Blood-Stained Light of Hope

The offensive launched by the demon army began at dawn on the third day.

Accompanied by the deep chants of the Abyssal language, the scene of the doomsday judgment depicted in the Canon of Glory descended on the walls of Tarlon Fortress.It was a high-level magic meteor fire rain chanted by hundreds of abyss alchemists and abyss fire demons at the same time. They summoned a cloud of flames that covered the sky and covered the sun. These clouds were half black and half red, and tens of thousands of The black and red fireballs, as those abyssal balrogs waved their arms, the fire clouds, fireballs and smoke crashed down with wild laughter from hell.

The soldiers guarding Tarlon Fortress stared at this horrific scene, and even forgot to dodge and escape, until the deadly meteor rain fell among them.

Accompanied by deafening bangs, white-hot flames swept across hundreds of meters of the city wall, and the entire Tallon Fortress trembled amid bursts of intense explosions; several prominent towers could hardly withstand such a concentrated bombardment. First there was a terrible cracking sound, and then it shook a few times before suddenly collapsing. The defenders on the tower let out heart-piercing screams, flesh and blood mixed with boulders, and scattered towards the city.

The city wall has completely turned into a hell, the smell of burnt flesh mixed with the stench of sulfur, so choking that people can't open their eyes or breathe.Many soldiers had dropped the weapons they held tightly in their hands, hugged their heads with both hands, and shrunk their bodies into a ball on the ground.Even the bravest could only crouch down, clench their teeth, and wait for the death-and-horror shower to subside.

The meteor fire shower may only last for a few seconds, but to the defenders of Tarlon Fortress, it seems to last for a century.The blow of the first round of meteor and fire rain smashed the four thousand-man teams arranged on the front wall of Tarlon Fortress to pieces. Not too many people died directly in the explosion, but their bodies were scorched. Injured people with burning wounds and noses can be seen almost everywhere. They couldn't suppress their pain, crying, moaning and calling for help, filling the whole city with an atmosphere of extreme panic.

"My lord Flandara, what are you all in a daze for?" Commander Layton roared angrily and raised the heavy hammer in his hand. The golden sunburst badge was shining on the hammer head which was bigger than the head of an ordinary person. glow. "This small fire has scared the brave believers of Guangyao to death? Where is the stretcher team? Rescue the wounded immediately! And you, separate and count the losses immediately, let the team behind get ready, and wait until the magic attack stops. Add it immediately!"

In the midst of panic, the voice of Commander Layton was like the only life-saving straw. Those who were petrified immediately took action. Stretchers in white coats quickly ran up the city wall, and the groaning wounded Lifted it down.The treatment of the dead who were no longer breathing was much worse. They ended up in sacks in the hands of armed servants, and before that they were stripped of their breastplates, helmets and leggings.

The second round of meteor shower landed on the city wall, but the damage caused was far less than the last time.On the one hand, the defenders of the fortress had already made some psychological preparations, at least they knew where to look for cover. On the other hand, after the first round of attacks, the density of the defenders also dropped significantly.

The head of the Judgment Knights standing at the front of the city wall without any shelter was obviously an excellent target. Dozens of fireballs were shot at him. However, after the roaring flames and scorching blast disappeared, , Let Commander Layton still stand on the top of the city, there is not even a trace of scorched black on the armor, but the heavy hammer in his hand has become more dazzling, looking like a miniature golden sun.

"The unclean ones from the Abyss Demon Realm, your evil magic has no effect on the pious believers of Guangyao!" Let the head of the Layton raise his warhammer high, and let out a roar like thunder.This voice really reached the hearts of the fortress defenders, and the tension and fear on their faces faded a lot. Both eyes looked at the majestic figure standing on the top of the city, full of admiration and hope.

Chief Layton was very satisfied to see that his roar had a good effect, and after finding out that the effect of the second round of meteor shower was mediocre, the demon army didn't seem to intend to continue wasting magic and time.The sound of rumbling war drums reverberated in the middle of the cliffs of the Desperate Pass, and the blackness in front of us began to slowly approach Tarlon Fortress, coupled with the wild roars and curses issued by the demons, it was like a raging sea tide sweeping in, intending to swallow everything .

"My lord Flandara, bless these loyal believers!" The priests accompanying the army began to chant and pray loudly. Under the golden light falling from the sky, Tarlon Fortress seemed to come alive, and the knights in full armor He and the soldiers quickly rushed into the designated battle area, and many figures holding longbows also appeared behind the firing port of the tower.

Behind the crenel of one of the few intact towers on the first city wall, a tall and thin Judgment Knight stood up straight, drew a long bow that was as long as his body, and put a long arrow with a faint white light on the bowstring On the ground, beside him, dozens of archers also made the same movement.

"Fire the arrows! There is no need to aim, there are as many demons as dark clouds, and you will not miss the target if you shoot casually!" The judgment knight yelled loudly, and at the same time let go of the bowstring. Between the eyes of a horned warlord.The horned demon warlord let out a terrible scream, and fell down suddenly. When his heavy body was dying, he even tripped several companions.

Hundreds of arrows poured down from several towers, and then hundreds more. The archers quickly raised their bows and arrows, and the third wave of arrows rained down on the heads of the swarming demon army almost without a pause. Then retreat quickly, and let the crenels open for the companions who are ready.

The rain of arrows is continuous, but the effect is not very good. If the demon army is compared to a red and black turbid stream, then these arrows are like small pebbles thrown on the turbid stream. to stop—or just slow down—the turbidity current's progress.

The long arrows shot by the Knights of Judgment have the power of light, which can easily tear the tough skin of demons, but ordinary archers do not have this ability. Although the arrows they use are also made of carefully forged high-quality steel, unless they hit The key point of the devil, otherwise it will only arouse the anger and madness of these strong guys.

A distance of 500 meters may take a minute or two for human troops attacking the city on foot, but for abyssal demons with strong physical fitness and muscles, the time must be shortened to more than half.But after a few heartbeats, the guards on the city wall could clearly see the ferocious faces of the demons running in front, and hear their vicious curses in vulgar abyssal language.

"Don't panic, those idiots won't come up at all!" A martial art master with an antler helmet on his head stepped on the crenel, waving a long sword in his hand and shouted loudly, "The walls of Tarlon Fortress are 20 meters high. Even if they can jump again, can they jump to a height of 20 meters? We just need to stand on the safe city wall and throw stones on the heads of those idiots below..."

Before he finished speaking, a big black iron hook whizzed and flew from under the city, just hooked on the antler on the left side of the martial arts chief's helmet. "Oh, damn it!" The Martial Artist hurriedly raised his wrist, trying to untie the strap that fixed the helmet.But it was too late, the next moment, his body suddenly disappeared between the crenels of the city wall, and the soldiers could only hear a long scream coming from the direction below the city.

Immediately afterwards, more large iron hooks flew up to the top of the city. Each iron hook created three claws with barbs, and a strong rope was dragged behind them.Some of the iron hooks didn't catch anything and slid down again, but most of them were hooked on the crenels or edges of the city wall, and the claws were immediately embedded deeply in the crevices of the stones.

"Cut, cut quickly!" Another martial arts chief came to his senses, shouted loudly, swung his long sword, and slashed at the rope behind the iron hook. The rope was made of a special material and was very tough. Unexpectedly, a sword failed to cut it off immediately, and it took another sword to completely break it.

Although the fortress guards slashed like crazy, there were too many iron hooks, and many demons successfully climbed to the top of the city with the rope behind the iron hooks.The roar of the horned demon warlord, the roar of the hellhound, and the wild laughter of the berserk demon mixed together, forming a deafening echo.

Let Captain Layton show a brave and fearless smile, and raise the heavy hammer with both hands. "The Hammer of Judgment belongs to the Knights! Prepare to fight!"

Two hours later, the demons left thousands of corpses and receded like a tide.Grand Duke Zandora in military uniform quickly climbed up the city wall and came behind Commander Jean Leighton.The Prince Regent's complexion was a little pale, and his breathing was a little unsteady, but his courage to come to the front line in person was impressive.In particular, he did not bring a large number of guards and entourage as usual, and only an ordinary-looking guard knight followed behind him.

"Your Excellency, Commander Layton, you were so heroic just now." Grand Duke Zandora said loudly, "You are powerful and wonderful. You charged at the place where the battle was most intense and smashed it to pieces with that huge war hammer." Skulls of demons, smashing their bones, blasting them all off the city wall, the place they pass is like a wind blowing withered leaves, no demon can stand in front of you for even a second..."

"I didn't expect you to have the qualifications of a bard, Your Excellency Grand Duke Zandora." Although he was not without complacency, Chief Layton interrupted in a rough voice, "All glory belongs to me." Lord Flandara, rather than you personally writing a heroic epic for me, I hope that there will be no problems with the supply of supplies and the rotation of reinforcements."

"Of course there is no problem, I promise." Grand Duke Zandora patted his chest and said, "Because of your wise and decisive handling the day before yesterday, there is no chaotic sound in Tarlon Fortress, Earl Carrivac and the deputy commander The cooperation of the Earl of Guanbulen is perfect, and the troops that originally belonged to the kingdoms of Deldes and Sigis have also been reorganized to complement each other, and the combat effectiveness has been further enhanced."

Finally, a self-confident smile appeared on the indifferent face of Chief Layton, "Then I will live up to what I did yesterday... How is Prince Locke now? Have you woken up?"

"Ah, this is exactly the unfortunate thing I want to find time to tell you." Grand Duke Zandora lowered his eyes, and there was a sense of pity and pain in his tone, "Maybe it has something to do with lack of exercise and illness. Prince Locke's body is too weak, although the broken arm stopped bleeding after the priest's timely treatment, but he never woke up from the coma, and even started to have a high fever late last night."

Let the head of Layton show a stunned expression on his face, "Have a high fever? Lord of Glory, Forendara, it is a troublesome thing." He sighed, "His Excellency Grand Duke Zandora , I cut off Prince Locke's arm just to punish him for running away, not to kill him. King Herren of the Kingdom of Sigis only has such an adult son. If Prince Locke dies in Tarlon Fortress, Then it is not a good thing for the Glory Alliance. Please send someone to find Bishop Gonza or Bishop Leos, and let one of them go to rescue Prince Locke immediately."

"I'm afraid you don't need to bother the two bishops." Grand Duke Zandora spread his hands with a wry smile, "Prince Locke is no longer within the reach of mortals. May his soul enjoy peace in the realm of light."

Chief Layton frowned even tighter, "You mean, Prince Locke is dead? Died of a high fever after a severed arm?"

"That's right." Grand Duke Zandora nodded and said, "This morning... when the demon army started to attack, Earl Carrivac visited Prince Locke for the last time. Wake up in the middle of the night, but it seems that the fever is not so severe. But just now, the servant serving Prince Locke came to report that Prince Locke had stopped breathing."

Commander Layton punched the wall with his fist, and at the same time cursed something fiercely. When those eyes burning with anger stared at Grand Duke Zandora, the latter's body tensed up involuntarily. Because he thought that he and Earl Carrivak conspired to kill Prince Locke, and the head of the Hammer of Judgment Knights had seen through it.

"This guy died at an inappropriate time." "His Excellency Grand Duke Zandora, I will personally explain this matter to King Heron of the Kingdom of Sigis, and you don't need to worry about it any longer. By the way, I will also tell Karivak Earl, as long as Tarlon Fortress can hold out for half a month, the Glory Temple will guarantee that his status and power will not be damaged, even if King Harren is dissatisfied with him."

"That's really great. Let your Excellency, Commander Layton, hope that this time you can let those filthy abyssal demons taste the power." Grand Duke Zandora said in a low voice with some uneasiness, and then looked back at the station. The ordinary-looking guard behind him.

This was already the third time that the regent of Deldes made such an action in one day. Although his guard looked ordinary, he still attracted the attention of Chief Leighton. "His Excellency Grand Duke Zandora, why don't you introduce this to me..."

When Commander Layton said this, he hesitated for a moment. He didn't know whether it was better to call this person "your guard" or "your friend". .

Grand Duke Zandora suddenly raised his head back, his expression actually looked a little embarrassed, and the words he said faltered, "Ah, this one, he is... this..."

"I'm just a guard of His Excellency Grand Duke Zandora." The ordinary-looking guard nodded slightly, his tone neither humble nor overbearing, and his movements were calm and composed. "Master Layton, please don't worry too much."

It's not just a random guard who can talk so eloquently in front of the head of the Judgment Knights, at least not reaching or exceeding the strength of the earl with the sword, it is difficult to do this.Let the sense of majesty unique to the superiors in Chief Layton be greatly enhanced by his status as a clergyman, and it can even make many ordinary team leaders who directly face him lose their breath.

"I don't think you are an ordinary guard." Chief Layton shook his head, "May I ask your name?"

"Before I followed Your Excellency Grand Duke Zandora, I had sworn to give up my past name." The guard refused calmly but resolutely.

"Then there must be a title." Chief Jean Layton insisted.

The guard pondered for a while, "If necessary, you can just call me a drifter."

"Wanderer..." Chief Layton had a hint of doubt in his heart, but he didn't think too much about it, because at this moment, the drumming sounded again in the desperate pass opposite Tarlon Fortress, Several elite demon teams were called out and swarmed towards the city wall.

"Ready to fight, they are coming, ready to fight!" The ruling knights roared and waved their warhammers, boosting the morale of the fortress defenders; the priests of Guangyao began to cast a new round of light magic. The light flickered on the city wall, and the defenders of the fortress began to cheer chaotically, and leaned out from behind the crenel.

Chief Layton decided to put his doubts to the bottom of his heart for the time being, "Your Excellency Zandora's safety is entrusted to you, Drifter." He glanced at the guard meaningfully and did not wait for the other party's answer. , turned around, and strode towards the outside of the city wall, and the majestic roar of the head of the regiment reverberated in the air.

"The Lord of Glory, devout believers, let us once again fight side by side, and cut off the disgusting tentacles of the darkness!"

"Long live the Lord of Glory!" Thousands of voices echoed from the walls of the fortress and from under the walls, "Long live the invincible Judgment Knights!"

(End of this chapter)