The gray and dim sky flashed once, and then faint thunder came from the distant sky. The misty drizzle slid down like threads and fell to the earth, making everything in the field of vision hazy.
The continuous dark-colored mountains are shrouded in mist and rain, and cold waves are repeated, making the human body feel even colder in this early spring.
Since the army of the Black Rock Principality invaded the territory of Crancia, many passes have been lost. Although there are moments of successful resistance and victory, they are still in the minority.
After the Halberd Faction defeated the Bow Hunter Faction, the various mercenary leaders still failed to reach unity. Instead, they formed their own factions and fought openly and secretly.
Seeing this situation, the Frost Alliance mission simply gave up the idea of integrating them. Instead, they supported equipment, weapons, and money based on the number and strength of their subordinates, allowing them to attack Crancia from all directions.
So these Halberd sects each recruited soldiers in their territories, replenished them in large quantities, and then poured into Crancia from all corners like locusts. The complex and changeable terrain in the mountains also gave them more room to move and wander around randomly.
and plundering the frontier counties and provinces.
Ned County, Iron Felt City.
On the solid blue-grey city wall, soldiers were nervously observing the forests and mountain roads in the distance in the watchtower, always on guard against the sudden emergence of a group of enemies.
The rain fell on the stone bricks on the city wall, splashing water, and then flowed into the bottom of the city wall along the grooves on both sides.
A foot wearing black leather boots stepped on the steps, causing a splash of water. Then the latch of the thick wooden door of the observation tower was lifted, and several figures wearing bamboo hats and raincoats walked inside.
"How is the situation?" The figure took off the bamboo hat on his head and stood on the wall nearby.
"Report to Commander Bard that no trace of the enemy has been found yet."
"Yes." Bud nodded, and then walked to the wide window with a few people beside him, overlooking the gray world outside.
"It seems that there is no marching in the rain on the Black Rock side. The rain has made the mountain road muddy and difficult to travel, which can temporarily slow down the enemy's offensive." An old man beside Bard said so.
"Moreover, rainy days can also greatly weaken the effect of the musket in the opponent's hand."
"Our overall military strength is several times less than the opponent's, otherwise it would be a very good opportunity to attack." Bud said this.
After studying in the military academy for several years, he is no longer the extraordinary person he was before who was only capable of brute strength.
"Does the intelligence department estimate the number of people on the other side?" He turned his head and looked at the thin figure on the other side.
"Ahem... They don't know the exact number, but the total number is about 500,000. Many of them were recruited temporarily. They can't be called an army, but more like robbers." The figure's clothes
You can see the edges of the bandage at the collar. It seems that he was injured some time ago and has not yet healed.
"Thank you for your hard work, Xie Suo." Bud patted the player next to him on the back, and then looked towards the rainy and foggy mountains in the distance.
"Unfortunately, there are only about 180,000 defenders in all the towns here. Most of them have to defend the city to protect the villagers who have migrated in. There are only about 30,000 who can go out of the city to fight. Moreover, the mountain road is difficult to travel, and the enemy
And they are scattered in all directions, making it difficult to defeat them in one fell swoop.”
Since the Black Rock Principality's attack, several of its main elite troops have been hovering around large cities, while the rest of various small troops have been plundering and destroying local buildings and villages.
In order to protect many vulnerable villagers, local officials had to move many people to large towns for centralized protection and defend them in the city. As a result, the army was dispersed and it was difficult to leave the city to fight.
As the thunder gradually died down, the rain also slowly stopped, the sky became bright briefly, and then the sun gradually dropped into the horizon.
And just when everyone thought that Heiyan would not take any more action today, sparse footsteps and movement sounds gradually came from the mountains and forests outside the city. Then emergency bells began to ring in the city, and soldiers were summoned one by one, holding weapons.
Rush to the city wall and stand ready.
When the swaying figure slowly approached, the soldiers guarding the city saw black rock soldiers wearing scaly plate armor. They were holding temporary thick square wooden shields and approaching the city.
And with the sound of the armors of this group of people rubbing and colliding, towering siege machines also vaguely appeared at the end of the field of vision.
Although there are not many technical personnel in the Black Rock Principality, with the support of alchemists from the Frost Alliance, they took advantage of the rainy weather these days to cut down a lot of trees, and under the guidance of the alchemists, they built solid structures one by one.
The well.
This war machine is like a large mobile watchtower, with a two-story platform for hundreds of people to stand on, and the top and surroundings are covered with iron sheets to prevent shooting.
Mulun creaked and spun on the rugged road, making a gritty sound. Soldiers holding muskets stood on the well, and their height was even higher than the city wall.
"Aim and shoot!" Each archer on the city wall lit the rockets in their hands, and then fired at the huge wells approaching in the darkness.
The flames flew through the sky, leaving afterimages on the retina, and then fell on the shelter above the well. Unfortunately, it had rained recently and was extremely humid. Now these rockets could not ignite the well.
At this time, a continuous fire lit up the well, and rapid and intensive shooting sounded, directly knocking down the soldiers guarding the city wall one by one.
Even though many defenders had shields in their hands, those sophisticated alchemical creations still fired powerful lead bullets into them, penetrating the hard shields and armor and killing the soldiers behind them.
"Asshole!"
When an officer guarding the city saw this scene, his eyes turned red. He picked up the long bow at hand and put a feather arrow on the string. Deep magic began to wrap around the arrow, and then it shot out, flying in the air.
It flashed past and shot into the forehead of a musketeer, killing him.
He fired arrows one after another, knocking down each musketeer, but this action also attracted the enemy's attention.
"Aim at him and shoot!"
There was a burst of shouting from the well, and then there was the sound of intensive shooting, a short blazing light flashed, and hundreds of lead bullets streaked through the atmosphere and were fired at the officer.
Most of them landed on the surrounding walls due to accuracy issues, carving out small craters, and dozens of them also hit the officer's body.
Pieces of iron flew, flesh and blood were minced, and the huge impact of the bullets made the officer tremble. He leaned against the city wall behind him and slowly slid down, falling into a pool of already dark red blood on the ground.
Scenes like this were constantly being staged on the city wall. Although a small number of crossbowmen fought back, it was difficult to cause damage due to the enemy's armor and siege machinery protection. At the same time, the Black Rock soldiers were condescending and kept taking turns shooting, alternating back and forth, relying on the powerful power of their muskets.
, killing and wounding the soldiers of Crancia.
Even though the excellent armor on Crancia's side can protect against many bullets, without the assistance of powerful offensive weapons, many soldiers can only be beaten passively. In the end, they are penetrated through the gaps and weak parts of the armor and die on the city wall.
.
Bang--
A loud noise came from under the city wall, and then bricks and stones flew, and a part of the city wall collapsed, revealing a small gap.
Relying on the explosives provided by the Frost Alliance and under the cover of Jinglan, the Black Rock soldiers on foot blew up a section of the city wall and began to pour into the city.
"Oops!!"
The senior officers commanding at the rear felt chilled, but they had no good solution at the moment. They could only send soldiers to brave the enemy's artillery fire and rush forward to block the gap.
The soldiers of Black Rock poured in from the gap with their halberds held high, and fought with the encircling Crancia soldiers. For a while, the two sides began a life-and-death tug-of-war under the city wall. The sound of musket shooting never stopped,
Small radiant balls rose up in the hands of the frost alliance mages, and then fell up and down the city wall, illuminating the enemy, while they themselves were hidden in the hazy darkness, constantly attacking the defenders on the city wall.
Screams, the sound of gold and iron, and the shattering sound of lead bullets intertwined under the orange firelight. In this cold night, both sides were red-eyed, and many defenders who were injured by lead bullets were still trying their best to kill.
As these robbers and bandits approached their homes, their sense of pain and hearing gradually became blurred in the fierce battle.
Blood flowed along the gun barrel and sword hilt, slippery, rich and sticky, but there was no room to wipe it off at this moment. Everyone could only use their remaining strength to slash at the ferocious enemy in front of them, until finally their brains and vision went blank.
He fell among the corpses piled on the ground.
Under the cover of muskets, Heiyan's soldiers began to break through the defenders' siege and slowly entered various alleys. They broke open the doors of every house, looted the property inside, and then set fire to it.
Scorching sparks floated in the city, dispelling the coldness of early spring, and cries rang out from all over the city.
Bard held a long sword and started a street fight with the enemy with the knights around him, and then shouted loudly, asking the residents in the city to retreat to the military school in the center. Although it was a school, it was also a small fortress. This
It's the only place where it's safer.
Swish——
There was a metallic trembling sound, which was the sound of armor being ripped apart. A black rock soldier slowly knelt down and fell to the ground, exposing a huge gap in his abdomen.
"Can you still hold on?" Bard put away the sword in his hand, looked at the enemies coming in the distance, and asked his comrades behind him without looking back.
"It's okay... hiss... thank you, captain." The knight endured the pain of the tearing wound and gritted his teeth and insisted. He grew up in this mountain forest since he was a child, and now in order to protect the rear
Brothers and sisters, this pain and sacrifice is nothing.
"good!"
Bud responded, he would not say any words of comfort at this moment. The reality is like this, sometimes it does not change according to people's wishes, but so what, people still have to fight hard to protect the precious things in their hearts.
“Hahaha—it’s really interesting like this.”
A mage stood on the city wall, looking at the countless fallen corpses and fighting figures below, and let out a hearty and proud laugh. Since they invaded Crancia, the opponent has been holding on to it, making it difficult for them to attack. Today is considered an attack.
Angry.
And just when he raised his staff, preparing to release several fireballs to smash into the enemy formation, a screaming sound broke through the air and disappeared in an instant.
Immediately, his movements stopped, and his eyes looked in disbelief at the half-section of the ax blade emerging from his chest. Warm blood slipped from the ax face, and its smooth blade reflected silvery white light in the firelight.
He slowly fell down, and his previously proud face now hit the city wall filled with dust and blood. His body twitched and struggled for a while. In the end, he only heard the increasingly clear shouts of death coming from far away.
Its voice is distant and desolate, like an ancient and lonely giant beast walking on a moonlit night.
After passing through the vast grasslands and borders, groups of well-armed orc warriors finally arrived in Crancia.
Facing the city that was about to fall, the leading war chief looked up to the sky and roared, and then under his shouts and command, the orcs wearing armor and holding battle axes rushed towards the enemy formation.
The group of figures under the moon are like a noisy black ocean, and the sharp battle axes wielded among them are like the reflection of the silver moon, creating waves on this black ocean.
Their broad feet stepped heavily into the mud and wetlands, and they passed through woods, grasslands, roads, and rivers, heading straight for the enemy positions outside the city.
The musketeers who were originally shooting at the soldiers in the city had to turn their guns around and attack the orc fighting group rushing from the rear.
But the vast swarm of orcs in the mountains and fields faced the sparse shooting, which was like mosquito bites without any pain or itching. They rushed into the enemy formation with a roar, and chopped down their heavy battle axes on their heads, directly cutting each Black Rock soldier in half.
Facing these tall orcs who needed to look up, and watching their teammates die tragically on the battlefield one by one, the Black Rock defenders below the city were horrified and frightened. Many recruits fled directly, while a few veterans also continued to retreat, hoping to rely on the wells and city walls to resist
The opponent's attack.
The situation of the battle also reversed in an instant.
"Damn it!"
The high-level mage who stood on the well railing to supervise the battle and provide assistance gritted his teeth and spit out these two words.
"Send a signal and let the soldiers in the city return to defense." Although he was very unwilling to do so, he had to do this at this moment.
"Yes." A mage apprentice stretched out his arm, and then a special magic missile rose into the sky. As it flew, it made a long whistle, then bloomed in the sky, exploding into crimson sparks and streaking.
Night sky.
After seeing this signal, the Black Rock soldiers who were looting and killing wantonly in the city were very puzzled, and many people began to complain.
"What the hell, what do these mage masters think?" A soldier pulled the crying woman he had just caught in his hand, feeling resentful.
"Whatever, let's grab a handful first." Another soldier smashed open the wooden box in the house with his halberd, and then dug through the scattered things inside, looking for valuable objects.
"I worked desperately for them, not to bring trouble for myself, but to make a fortune." He muttered, then kicked over a Cranthian soldier who died next to him and started rummaging around on him.
"Look at their good armor, but they don't have any money on them."
While the city was still unaware of it, the fighting outside the city became more and more intense.
Huge fireballs emerged from the sky one after another, and then crashed into the enemy formation below under the control of the mage. The battle situation had reached this point, and they no longer cared about conserving their magic power.
But it is a pity that among these orc troops that span thousands of miles, most of the ones who can rush forward are elites. Several shamans shook their wooden sticks in the military formation, and the fireballs in the sky also broke up and turned into scattered bursts.
The sparks dissipated in the air, leaving only a gust of hot wind blowing towards the orcs.
At the foot of the well, an orc chief holding his giant sword high shouted loudly, swung the broad sword in his hand, and brought up gusts of strong wind, directly cutting off the thick supporting legs of several of them.
This improvised war machine slowly toppled over with a squeaking and grinding sound, and the musketeers on it also spilled out from the night sky like dumplings, fell into the dark enemy formation below, and were chopped into pieces by tomahawks.
.
"No!" A mage shouted in horror, preparing to fly away from the battlefield. Then he was hit by several flying axes, and rolled down the city wall with a bloody head.
"No...don't come here." A musketeer sat in a corner holding a musket, pointing at the barbaric orcs rushing in front of him. He was terrified. But he was soon overwhelmed by the black wave.
Before the Black Rock soldiers in the city were aware of it, groups of orc reinforcements entered the city. Led by their leaders, they rushed into the alleyways and excitedly and excitedly killed the Black Rock soldiers.
Compared to humans, orcs are much taller and inherently bloodthirsty and aggressive. However, they have been trapped in the grasslands for hundreds of years and have suppressed the bloodiness in their hearts. However, this war has greatly stimulated it.
Originally, many young orcs were slightly dissatisfied with joining Clancia, but now that the war has broken out, the opposition has gradually disappeared.
Instead of quietly farming and grazing, they are more eager to win glory, dignity, and everything through fighting.
Under the cold moonlight, groups of orcs from the grasslands used their brute force wantonly to defeat enemies armed with halberds and muskets, until there were no more black rock soldiers in sight.