Chapter 55: The First Demonstration of Divine Might Two in One
One day later, the army under the Iron-Blooded Grand Duke arrived at Salos, a small city in the Greyhawk Kingdom.
This is an inconspicuous small city with a small area and a small population, but it is located on the main transportation route to the capital of the kingdom.
During the march, Allen stayed in a carriage specially prepared for him, silently thinking about ways to deal with the goddess of light and her angels.
This is a gorgeous box carriage, pulled by four black horses. The window is tightly covered by black curtains, and it is surrounded by dozens of soldiers holding sharp weapons.
This mysterious and large-scale spectacle made everyone around them curious about the identity of the passengers in the carriage.
But Allen felt a little helpless about this.
The Iron-Blooded Grand Duke forced these soldiers to his side, saying that they would act as Allen's bodyguards and ask them to ensure Allen's safety.
But in Allen's view, if there is a real danger, it will be unclear who will protect whom.
In this way, Allen sat in the carriage and followed the army all the way to the city of Salos.
According to his original plan, he planned to stay in the carriage and let the believers of the Dark Temple assist the Iron-Blooded Grand Duke's army in attacking the city.
After all, Allen has just recently enhanced the power of the followers of God, and he is very confident in the combat effectiveness of the believers.
However, when he saw the image of the angel of the goddess of light descending from the stream, he changed his mind.
…………
The Iron-Blooded Duke's army was arrayed under the city gate.
The Duke, wearing heavy armor and a scarlet cloak, led the way to the city.
Just listen to him shouting to the city gate: "Subjects of Salos, I am the Iron-Blooded Grand Duke Mayfield McNeil. If you are willing to choose to surrender and give up resistance, I can forget the guilt and grant you the rights of legal citizens of the duchy.
identity.
"I hope you will consider my proposal carefully. If you want to resist, we will not show mercy."
Although the Iron-Blooded Grand Duke looked majestic from a distance, his hoarse drake voice betrayed his age and made his aura somewhat weaker.
Hearing his words, the soldiers guarding the city of Salos smiled strangely and replied:
"You little brat who doesn't even have hair yet, you better go back and drink your mother's milk! Don't expect us to surrender in front of you!"
"Hahaha, a bastard who is younger than my son actually wants to ask me to surrender? Wake up, stop dreaming!"
"..."
Hearing the vulgar words used by the soldiers at the city gate to humiliate him, the Iron-Blooded Duke became angry and bit his lips unconsciously, and put his right hand on the hilt of his sword.
But the Duke restrained his anger, turned around, and shouted to the soldiers behind him:
"Beat the drums and attack the city!"
"Dong dong dong!"
"Dong dong dong!"
The drumming soldiers climbed onto the high platform, waving the mallets in their hands, and the big cowhide drum rumbled like bursts of thunder.
Every beat of the drum seemed to hit the hearts of the soldiers, stimulating their surging fighting spirit.
Accompanied by the sound of drums, the soldiers under the Iron-Blooded Grand Duke brought in siege equipment, such as ladders and trebuchets, in preparation for launching an attack.
At the same time, the soldiers defending the city on the wall of Salos also drew their bows and arrows, shooting at the city one after another, forming an airtight rain curtain, which made the Iron-Blooded Grand Duke's siege plan temporarily blocked.
Difficult to advance.
Usually, it is easier to defend a city than to attack it.
Although the number of troops under the Iron-Blooded Grand Duke far exceeds that of Salos's defenders, they are temporarily unable to take advantage of their numerical advantage because of the high city wall blocking the front.
However, the Duke's army came here in great strength and would not retreat just because of a wall.
So, the priests of the Dark Temple were dispatched.
They clasped their hands together and chanted prayers in unison, praying to the great god of darkness to give them strength so that they could successfully conquer the rebels in front.
Along with the low groans of the priests, wisps of black smoke appeared out of thin air in the air, and then condensed together at the waist of the city wall, turning into black silk, fluttering in the breeze, blocking the continuous stream of smoke.
rain of arrows.
Taking advantage of this period of time, the soldiers of the duchy quickly moved all the ladders and set them up on the city wall of Salos.
There were finally signs of chaos on the city walls.
However, at this moment, a voice was heard from behind the duke's army:
"Why bother?"
After hearing these words, many soldiers turned around and looked around. They thought it was someone speaking arrogant words, mocking their efforts to attack the city, but they found that the voice actually came from the heavily guarded vehicle, which was covered tightly with black silk cloth.
In the carriage.
"It turns out to be that mysterious master!"
"Sure enough, only a person like him could say such words in an understatement."
In the carriage, Allen quietly opened his eyes, and his pupils turned into deep black unknowingly.
Outside the carriage, the sky suddenly darkened.
Suddenly, black clouds rolled over the battlefield, the wind roared, sand and gravel rolled on the ground, and dust flew up.
At this moment, the world seemed to have turned into the underworld in an instant, with the wails of evil spirits everywhere.
Although the soldiers guarding the city wall were strong and strong, in the face of this incredible phenomenon, fear inevitably emerged in their hearts. Some even wanted to turn around and run away to escape this nightmare scene.
However, the general leading the team in Salos City quickly regained his composure and shouted sharply:
"Everyone, stay where I am! No one is allowed to move without my order! Anyone who disobeys the order will be executed!"
Looking at the gleaming sword in the general's hand, several of the city defenders who were about to escape retracted their steps, obediently returned to their original positions, and picked up their bows and arrows again.
But some people still had a sense of luck and ignored this order, quietly sneaking behind the general and trying to leave this terrible battlefield.
But this general was not a tolerant person.
He knows the importance of military discipline to an army. He always does what he says for every order he issues.
He also knows that what he is facing now is an unprecedented and terrifying enemy. However, he would rather die in the process of fighting a powerful enemy to the death than die because of chaos before the enemy takes action.
So, he raised his sword and cut off the neck of the cowardly deserter in an instant.
The deserter's head fell to the ground and rolled around a few times. His eyes were still open, with surprise and fear in his eyes.
Seeing this situation, the soldiers nearby took a breath of cold air and never dared to move even half a step away from their original positions.
If you continue to fight, you may live or die.
But if you choose to escape, you will definitely die.
Obviously, this is not a difficult multiple-choice question for them.
I heard the general raise the sword in his hand and say in a calm tone:
"Fighters of the Greyhawk Kingdom, many years ago, I, Benjamin, like you all, swore an oath under the Greyhawk flag in the royal capital.
"'Be loyal to the country, loyal to the king, uphold honor, dedicate yourself to your mission, bravely fight against powerful enemies, and protect every inch of the kingdom's territory, even if you sacrifice your life.'
“And today is the time for us to fulfill our vows.
"The rebels of that brat, the Iron-Blooded Grand Duke, have arrived at our city. They are more numerous and stronger than us, and they have many unexpected spells. It is almost impossible for us to be their opponent.
"But, warriors loyal to the king, how can we tolerate the rebels in the city we guard as if there is no one left?
"How can we tolerate that rebellious Iron-blooded Duke marching straight into the kingdom's capital?
"At this time, if we retreat and run away, what will happen to Salos? What will happen to the Greyhawk Kingdom?"
The general named Benjamin became more and more excited as he spoke. He unknowingly raised his voice and spoke loudly.
The surrounding soldiers seemed to be infected by his indignant mood, and they all tightened their weapons.
"For honor!"
"For the king!"
"For the Kingdom of Greyhawk!"
"..."
They shouted loudly, picked up their weapons, and entered the battle with a more tenacious attitude.
Their arrows were stopped by the black silk cloth, so they moved tables, chairs, and flower pots, all without explanation, to the bottom of the city wall to prevent the enemy troops from climbing up the city wall.
Some people also brought torches and lit the ladders set up on the city wall, causing many soldiers who were attacking the city to fall heavily.
This situation was somewhat beyond Allen's expectations.
He thought that after he showed a little miracle, the soldiers guarding the city would choose to retreat and surrender due to fear. When he showed his benevolent style again, he might be able to bring more people to the Dark Temple.
Many new believers emerged.
But Allen did not expect that this daunting miracle would actually inspire the fighting spirit of the soldiers defending the city.
"It's really troublesome." He shook his head silently.
To be honest, Allen didn't want too many people to die in this battle.
Because he has already regarded the residents of Payne's plane as his potential believers.
At the same time, the Iron-Blooded Grand Duke at the front of the army also frowned slightly.
Although the absolute strength gap between the two sides is obvious, and the stubborn enemies on the city wall are unlikely to change the outcome of this battle, the Duke does not want his troops to suffer too much losses.
The Iron-Blooded Grand Duke began to consider whether to discuss with High Priest Delphi to let the Dark Temple reveal some of its trump cards in order to achieve a quick victory.
Just as the battle situation was temporarily at a stalemate, a thunder suddenly sounded across the sky.
Everyone looked up and saw a purple-red lightning piercing the sky, as if a ferocious scar had opened in the sky and was gushing blood.
Then, the door of the mysterious black carriage behind the Iron-blooded Duke's team suddenly opened.
The soldiers escorting him were stunned.
However, before they could react, Allen had already strode out of the carriage.
Black mist surged at his toes and condensed into suspended steps, supporting him to walk in the air, passing over the heads of tens of thousands of troops, and then slowly landed in front of the army array.
Time seems to have suddenly stopped at this moment.
Even this battlefield filled with smoke seemed to suddenly become quiet.
The Iron-Blooded Grand Duke next to him couldn't help but be stunned for a while, unable to guess what Allen would do next.
As for General Benjamin and the soldiers around him on the city wall, they were also surprised by the sudden appearance of this mysterious man in black.
Although they didn't know Allen's identity, they had an ominous premonition when they saw the suspended stairs.
Then, Allen raised his right hand and held it in the air. The black mist swirled around his arm, and then condensed into a long bow half a man's height and an arrow on the string.
This is a dull black feathered arrow, which looks ordinary and has nothing out of the ordinary.
Allen narrowed his eyes slightly.
Then he gently released the bow string, and the black feather arrow flew straight towards the city of Salos, lightly hitting the city gate, and then fell to the ground as lightly as a goose feather.
Nothing happened.
At first glance, it seems that this is a blow that is noisy but small.
Even General Benjamin on the city wall laughed a few times, with a mocking look on his face and said, "It's nothing more than that."
However, in the blink of an eye, General Benjamin's smile froze on his face.
I saw that the seemingly indestructible city gate made of metal suddenly melted into liquid, like the melting of ice on a snow-capped mountain, or like a candle melting in a fire.
Quietly, Allen broke open the gate of Saros on his own.
The Iron-Blooded Grand Duke also seized this rare opportunity and ordered to march towards the city.
As a result, the Duke's army marched in neat steps, like an overwhelming tide, pouring into the city of Saros through the broken city gate.
The sound of the drums was like thunder, and the roar shook the sky.
An hour later, Saros fell.
…………
In the afternoon, Allen stood quietly on the top of the Saros city wall, overlooking the newly conquered city.
At this time, the dark clouds dispersed, the clear blue sky was revealed again, and the golden sunshine scattered on the ground, dispelling the fear in people's hearts.
In the city, the Iron-Blooded Grand Duke and his troops are dealing with the aftermath, such as persuading surrender, settling prisoners, settling civilians, etc., while High Priest Delphi and others are also seizing the opportunity to preach to the residents of Saros.
But Allen doesn't need to worry about these things.
He was thinking about why the angels of the Goddess of Light did not take action in this battle, but remained indifferent and watched as the city of Saros fell into the control of the Iron-Blooded Grand Duke.
Could it be that the goddess of light is quietly brewing an unknown conspiracy?
However, before Allen could figure out the matter, he saw the high priest Delphi escorting a person to him.
The man's body was covered in scars, his clothes were full of blood, his right arm was broken off, and his sleeves were empty.
He raised his head and looked at Allen, his eyes full of resentment.
"This man is the general who defended the city of Saros, Benjamin," Delphi introduced, "He refuses to surrender."