Heart of the Castle

Chapter 852 The Bloody Battle Begins
Chief Jean Leyton of the Judgment Hammer Knights never thought that he could still see the rising sun three days after the start of the war. Seeing the eastern sky gradually change from dark blue to rose red, he felt that his eyes were a little dark. Fever, filled with gratitude to Flandara, Lord of Radiance.

However, besides this, there is still a trace of doubt in his heart that cannot be shaken off. Although he has no time to think about it during the day of bloody battle, but in the dead of night, this trace of doubt makes him toss and turn, unable to fall asleep for a long time.

The attack of the demon army was not insignificant, and the losses to the fortress defenders were not insignificant, but compared with the brutal battle imagined, it seemed that it was still a little short of fire.What puzzled Chief Layton was that even if a few abyssal lords were reluctant to act hastily because they were afraid of the legendary powerhouses on the side of the Shining Alliance, how many lord-level demon commanders would appear? .Although there are tens of thousands of defenders in Fort Tarlon, there are less than a hundred knights who have mastered fighting spirit, and only a dozen of them have reached the level of Earl with Sword.

Such a lineup is already luxurious when dealing with ordinary enemies, but it is simply not vulnerable to a full-strength blow to the demon army with hundreds of abyss lords.Although Commander Jean Layton had ordered the Sword of Condemnation and the banner of the golden sun to be raised on the top of the city for the sake of bluffing, it was obviously unreasonable to frighten the demon army so much that they dared not send strong men to challenge.

There was a sound of footsteps coming from behind, followed by the slightly tired voice of Grand Duke Zandora, "Your Excellency Jean Layton, the statistics of casualties in the past few days may not be accurate, because the pastor and The military doctors are still busy, and maybe a group of seriously injured people will enter the eternal night kingdom of the sleeper Ku Ximo later."

"No, they will gain eternal life in the bright boundary of the Lord of Glory, Flandara." Jean Leighton replied in a deep voice, and then his tone softened, "At least we must tell them that they are still alive." people."

"Sorry, I was negligent." Grand Duke Zandora nodded, and then took out a sheepskin scroll from his side, "Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief, this is the casualty statistics report, do you want to read it here?"

Chief Jean Layton turned around slowly, with deep fatigue in his eyes, "I don't look at these things, Your Excellency Grand Duke Zandora, there are too many pretentious and exaggerated words in this, send it to the rear Just show those bishops and politicians. I want to know the numbers now, how many of the defenders of the fortress died in battle, and how many were too injured to return to the battlefield in the near future."

Grand Duke Zandorah put away the scroll, thought for a while, then shook his head with a wry smile, "The situation is quite serious, Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief, the defenders of Tarlon Fortress have suffered a severe test that has not been experienced in hundreds of years. In three days of fighting, about 2000 soldiers were killed, and more than [-] were wounded, more than half of whom never went to the battlefield again."

Chief Jean Layton took a deep breath, his expression more dignified and tense than before, but it was not because of the huge number of casualties.On the contrary, he was extremely surprised by the unexpected lightness of the loss. "Your Excellency, Grand Duke Zandora, can you ensure the authenticity of this number? I don't want to report good news but not bad news because my subordinates misunderstood our ideas. After three days of fierce fighting, the defenders of Taalon Fortress The army has less than one-tenth of the loss?"

Grand Duke Zandora raised his eyes in astonishment, "Only...one-tenth?" His tone was filled with imperceptible anger, "Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief Jean Layton, do you think Tal The defenders of Long Fortress are not brave enough to fight, are there too few people who sacrificed their lives for the Lord of Radiance?"

"No, I don't mean to be disrespectful to the dead. I see every soldier fighting bravely, and every death and injury makes me feel sad." Chief Jean Leighton shook his head lightly, his eyebrows always Locked tightly, "But the strength displayed by the demon army... really doesn't match their desperate scale. Especially in this kind of siege battle where the enemy has an overwhelming advantage, the initial losses are always greater , because there are many fighters who lack skills and experience, and as time goes by, the fighters who survive will become the real elite."

Grand Duke Zandora laughed a few times with difficulty, his voice was so hoarse that he startled himself, "It won't be a problem, isn't the demon army sending out tens of thousands of troops to be repelled every now and then?" There are always countless corpses left behind. And their offensive is not insane, just the bombardment of the meteor fire rain caused the walls of tens of meters to crack or even collapse."

"The city walls are dozens of meters..." Commander Jean Leighton snorted, "Tallon Fortress originally had four walls, and then there was the strongest main castle and several towers built against the mountains. I Originally thought that the demon army would break through three of the city walls within three days, wipe out more than half of the fortress defenders, and then start a desperate fight between the fourth city wall and the main castle. Even according to the most optimistic estimate, the tower Fort Erron will also fall within a week."

Grand Duke Zandora was taken aback by this extremely pessimistic estimate, and lost his usual smile, "How could this be? We have the blessing of the Lord of Glory, Flandara, and so many elite troops. You can’t even hold on for a week? Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief Jean Layton, it’s not the right time for you to make this joke.”

"I'm not joking, Grand Duke Zandora." The head of the Judgment Hammer Knights raised the heavy hammer covered in layers of blood, and slammed it on the ground at his feet, "Since the birth of the Temple of Glory, we have They have been wrestling with the darkness to the death, whether they are the dead or the abyssal demons, they are the mortal enemies of the Temple of Radiance."

"My lord Flandara, the golden light protects our bodies; my lord Flandara, the most holy and pure comforts our souls." Grand Duke Zandora followed the usual pious believers after hearing these words. The way of prayer is to bow deeply, put the left hand on the chest, and make the gesture of the sun wheel on the chest with the right hand. "Under your guidance, the guardian knights of the Temple of Radiance have been invincible and have made countless immortal feats..."

"It's enough to listen to those priests preaching these words, Grand Duke Zandora, there are only you and me here, there is no need to say anything insincere." Chief Jean Layton made a decisive gesture and interrupted Grand Duke Zandora praised endlessly, "The Temple of Glory has fought against the forces of darkness for thousands of years, and what they have accumulated is not only glorious feats? There have also been countless fiascos that cannot be announced to the ears of believers. As mentioned above, if the darkness is vulnerable before the light, how will the eternal war between the Lord of Light and the endless dark sun be fought?"

Grand Duke Zandora nodded embarrassingly, "I understand, Your Excellency Jean-Leyton, you are very different from those bishops. If those bishops were here, you might say What you say is blasphemy."

"My lord Flandara's brilliance will not be dimmed by mere incautious words, not to mention that what I say is true." Chief Jean Layton shook his head coldly, and then turned his gaze back to Qian A few meters away from the deadly pass, large groups of black and yellow poisonous sulfur gas are rising, and the terrifying roars of countless demons are polished by the echoes of the narrow valley, converging into a mind-shattering bang.

"Grand Duke Zandora, the Knights of the Hammer of Judgment have been wiped out three times in history, the last of which happened 12 years ago... that is, when the last catastrophe came." A full minute passed , let the commander-in-chief Layton look away, and whispered the unknown secret, "The Knights of the Hammer of Judgment at that time was the most powerful force among the four Knights of the Shining Temple. Even the Knights of the Sword of Condemnation, which has just taken shape, is far from being able to compare, and the head of the Hammer of Judgment is Lord Darede, a sky knight who is admired by everyone."

"I know the name of Lord Darede, the invincible God of Glory, the strongest Knight of Glory before Commander Ingram." Grand Duke Zandora nodded repeatedly, but his tone was slightly puzzled, "But didn't Lord Darede die of a disease? According to the official statement."

"Fuck his official statement!" Chief Jean Leighton cursed, his tone so strong that it seemed to set the air on fire, "Lord Darede died in a devil's surprise attack, and three hundred of the most elite Judgment Knights were here They died in that bloody battle. They died heroically, but they did not cause much trauma to each other, because the leader of the demon army that raided them was an abyss lord. I still remember the name, Charlemagne, the lord of terror. .”

"Charlemagneton...is that the legendary demon that he encountered in the war to retake the Glorious City of Fermeyer?"

"It's him. I will never forget that pair of armor burning with the flames of the abyss, as well as the hideous and insolent laughter that resounded through the sky." Chief Jean Layton thumped the stone in front of him fiercely. At the crenel, with the dull beating sound, a large piece of plaster that repaired the gap was shaken off, "The power of the abyss demon is far beyond your imagination, Grand Duke Zandora, if there is no legendary powerhouse guarding it, even if it is No matter how strong Taalon Fortress is ten times, it will be difficult to resist the violent impact of the demon army."

Grand Duke Zandora's face turned pale obviously, and his voice trembled slightly, "The Lord of Radiance, Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief, then what should we do? When will the reinforcements from the Temple of Radiance arrive? If... I mean If His Majesty Pope Nicholas decides to abandon Fort Tarlon, we... there are nearly [-] elite soldiers here, how can we safely evacuate them all?"

"His Majesty Pope Nicholas will never agree to abandon Fort Tarlon." Chief Jean Leighton said affirmatively, but there was no trace of warmth in his tone, "His decision is..."

There was a huge roar, and the city wall under his feet seemed to have received a heavy blow, or a strong earthquake, trembling several times in a row.Grand Duke Zandorah nearly fell into a somersault, and hurriedly stretched out his hand to support the battlements, "What happened?" He raised his head in confusion, looking to the left and right, and then the brass horn sounded urgently and quickly, like Sharp arrows pierced the silence of the morning.

"It's the news from the second war zone on the right. The devil launched a surprise attack, and a bastion and two towers were destroyed." Chief Jean Layton only needed to listen for a few seconds before making an accurate judgment. Then he raised his heavy two-handed hammer, and let out a loud roar.

"The Lord of Glory is above, the Hammer of Judgment, the whole army is assembled!"

Grand Duke Zandora hurriedly grabbed the arm of the head of the Hammer of Judgment Knights who was about to leave, "Your Excellency, head of the Hammer of Judgment, what should I do now?"

"Stay here, yes, you must stay with that guard of yours." Chief Jean Leighton said without turning his head, "Your Excellency, Grand Duke Zandora, the next battle will naturally be ours to honor the guards." The knights deal with it, even if you and your people go to the front line, they won’t be of much help, if you are still safe and sound when I eliminate those demons, it will be the greatest support and help to me.”

After saying this, Commander Jean Layton strode forward without hesitation. The heavy hammer was held high in his hands, and the golden sunburst emblem greeted the rising dawn, blooming a breathtaking light. Awe-inspiring light.

Grand Duke Zandora looked at the tall figure who looked like a giant descending from the world, and the expression on his face suddenly became very strange. "He shouldn't have died like this..." the regent of Deldes said in a voice that only he could hear, "At least he shouldn't have died here."

A hand was suddenly placed on Grand Duke Zandora's shoulder, "Then he won't die." A familiar voice sounded from behind him, with a firm tone, as if what he said would definitely become a fact.

The battle that took place in the early morning of the fourth day was much more intense than the previous few days. A new terror befell the defenders of Tarlon Fortress, but a large part of them did not leave the battlefield with this terror, but Close your eyes forever.The demon army finally used their war weapons, and it was the most deterrent among them. When four commander's wheels as tall as castles appeared in the sight of the defenders of Tarlon Fortress, the city wall sent out The cry was like a roaring wave, mixed with horror and disbelief.Some soldiers couldn't even hold the weapons in their hands. The "clang" sound of knives, guns, shields, bows and arrows fell from all directions, and the impatient knights and martial arts masters couldn't help cursing.

But for Chief Jean Layton and the hundreds of elite Judgment Knights under his command, this is just a scene that should have appeared long ago. "Are you finally going to fight seriously?" Commander-in-Chief Jean Layton muttered in a low voice, and then pointed at the commander Lungong who was slowly advancing forward with his warhammer, "All alchemy ballistas, fire rapidly, three times in a row A round of attack! Catapults, get your tar barrels ready, and throw them immediately after hearing the order!"

In the next moment, more than a dozen alchemy ballistas fired two-meter-long giant crossbow guns at the same time. The sound of tearing the air was like a sharp howl, which made people want to cover their ears.These crossbow guns are precious and powerful magic items, not only made of alchemical silver (alchemy silver alloy) with the ability to break magic, but also engraved with countless small light runes on the surface.Even the Commander's Palace with considerable defensive capabilities, after being hit continuously, the outer wall was blasted into several huge gaps, and at the same time, there were many screams of demons from inside.

"It's now, the tar barrels...launch!"

Horns blared, and more than twenty wooden barrels full of tar were thrown into the sky by giant catapults, and then they crossed a distance of hundreds of meters and hit the front commander's wheel palace. With the sound of cracking, viscous tar immediately flowed out and dripped down along the outer wall, dyeing the entire wheel palace black and red.One of the barrels was lucky enough to hit the opening on the top of the wheel palace, and the tar droplets that exploded fell on the demons, causing bursts of vicious curses.

Hearing the demon's cursing, Chief Jean Layton laughed out loud, cursed back in a more rough tone, and then ordered the flag bearer to wave the flag, sending out the signal that he had prepared for a long time.

"Change the rocket! Light it up, launch!" The bow captain shouted, and took out a special arrow from the quiver. The tip of the arrow was wrapped with cotton wool soaked in kerosene, and the stable wings at the tail were longer than ordinary arrows. .The archers put the cotton wool close to the torch and lit it, then took aim, and shot at the commander's wheel palace which was less than a hundred meters away from the city wall.

Captain Bow and Arrow is a rare sharpshooter, both skill and luck are commendable, the rocket he shot accurately hit a horned demon warlord half body protruding from the breach in the commander's wheel palace.The guy's whole body was covered with oil stains. Although the rocket only pierced his thick skin, a bright flame burst out, almost blowing half of the Horned Demon Warlord's head to pieces.

Within a second, the horned demon warlord turned into a screaming and struggling fireball, and fell into the commander's wheel palace, and then more rockets flew through the air, leaving a line of fire in the sky .The black oil on the outer wall of the commander's wheel palace immediately burned violently, and a large amount of suffocating thick black smoke rose into the sky, and was blown towards the direction of the death pass by the morning wind.The demon howled horribly again, but this time, apart from anger and bloodthirsty, there was pain and despair in the howl.

Seeing that the first commander's wheel palace has turned into a huge torch that towers above the sky, Chief Jean Layton once again held up his warhammer, "The glory of the Lord of Radiance, Flandara, is glorious because of your bravery! Soldiers, keep shooting, do not stop!"

Cheers rose to the sky. Although there are three Commander's Wheel Palaces approaching, the defenders of Tarlon Fortress have found courage from the burning and crackling Wheel Palace, and the Alchemy Ballista fired a deadly crossbow again. guns, and new barrels of tar were fitted to the throwing arms of the catapults.

(End of this chapter)