Chapter 2: New Century (Epilogue)
176: Feint Attack Mission
Xi Wei didn’t have any objections. He knew Karallant wasn’t fond of him, but even so, Karallant wouldn’t send him to his death.
This was because Karallant was a highly competent commander who wouldn’t act on personal feelings.
However, his inclusion in this operation did carry a subtle warning.
“Lord Karallant, as you know, my army is small and not exactly elite. I’m afraid…”
Viscount Fate’s lips trembled slightly.
He had grown up in the peaceful Tulip Territory and had never experienced combat, let alone a brutal siege battle.
This made him want to retreat. After all, it hadn’t been easy for him to be promoted to Great Knight.
“Viscount Fate, I am not asking for your opinion. This is an order. Since you chose to follow His Highness the Prince, combat will be an inevitable part of your journey!”
“Rally your troops and depart with me.”
With a cold snort, Karallant whipped his warhorse and returned to the front of his army.
Half an incense stick later, Karallant, leading Xi Wei and others, had broken camp and approached the city.
From a distance, under a hazy sky, a dark city stood tall. The towers on the city walls soared like the horns of a giant dragon, and the imposing city gates were shut tight, resembling the gaping maw of a ferocious beast.
Dragonflame City was rectangular in shape, constructed entirely from indestructible Elemental Obsidian.
Karallant and Xi Wei faced the south city wall.
This wall stretched over four kilometers, with reinforced spell arrays every hundred meters. It was about fifteen meters high, and the land within a mile of the city gate was barren.
The entire city was surrounded by a moat over ten meters wide, leaving only a road less than five hundred meters wide.
What is a fortress? This is what a fortress is.
If Karallant hadn’t deployed the plague, their forces would have absolutely no way of taking Dragonflame City.
Xi Wei noticed that the Pope, clad in a magnificent ceremonial robe and wearing a crown, was already standing on the city wall. They were currently outside the range of the magic cannons, so there was no need to fear a sudden attack from the Pope.
After observing the city wall for a while, Karallant turned to Xi Wei and instructed:
“Earl of Eagle, I will order the long-range trebuchets to bombard the city wall. The Pope will inevitably activate the city’s defensive shield to protect the magic cannons. At this time, all the magic power of the city wall will be diverted to the shield, rendering the magic cannons inoperable.”
“I don’t need to elaborate on the purpose of a feint attack, do I?” Karallant stared intently at Xi Wei, his sharp gaze seeming to pierce through his disguise.
“Uh… I think you should explain it to me clearly. I don’t quite understand what a feint attack means.”
Xi Wei innocently widened his azure eyes, continuing to feign ignorance.
Karallant’s heavily bearded face twitched. He was utterly disappointed in Xi Wei.
He couldn’t believe that the exceptionally talented Duke of Golden Lion had produced such an incompetent successor.
Apart from his martial prowess as a Sky Knight, he was nothing.
His mind was simply a jumble of mush.
“The purpose of this feint attack is to confuse the Pope, making him believe once again that we have ample troops but are hesitant to attack rashly due to the city walls.”
“So, you and Viscount Fate don’t need to go all out. Go to the city gate. Regardless of what you do, make the Pope feel that we have the intention of luring him out. Only then will he obediently remain within the city.”
Despite his dissatisfaction with Xi Wei, Karallant patiently explained his strategy, almost telling him exactly what to do.
In Karallant’s eyes, who was loyal to the prince,
These people would all be under the First Prince’s command in the future. He wanted to cultivate at least one capable individual.
He couldn’t handle everything personally. If he died, the First Prince would only be left with a group of incompetents who knew nothing but chasing women.
Xi Wei nodded, indicating he understood.
However, he still held Loli in his arms, showing no intention of putting her down, which further displeased Karallant, whose expression was already grim.
Karallant pursed his lips, wanting to say something but holding back. He frowned and looked at Viscount Fate, asking unhappily:
“Do you understand what I mean?”
Viscount Fate had been completely confused by Karallant’s explanation. Just as he was about to shake his head and admit he hadn’t understood, he saw Karallant’s somber expression and, out of fear, nodded.
“In that case, you will follow the commands of the Earl of Eagle. Do you have any objections?”
What objections could Viscount Fate have?
One was a Marquis, the other an Earl, and both were Sky Knights. If he dared to refuse, they would tear off his limbs and throw them into the moat to feed the fish.
After giving his instructions, Karallant ordered the soldiers to lubricate the axles of the trebuchets and re-check the ropes securing the connecting parts to ensure their firmness.
Then, soldiers brought huge bluestone blocks and placed them into the trebuchets. They poured black, potent fire oil onto them, and lit the oil-soaked stones with torches. At Karallant’s command, they abruptly released the beast-sinew ropes holding back the levers.
“Clang!” Accompanied by the clatter of trebuchet parts, dozens of stones leaving red trails like falling meteors hurtled towards the city wall.
Immediately, the soldiers began to repeat the previous actions. The trebuchets had to keep firing, otherwise the troops on the feint attack mission would face the magic cannons.
As Karallant had predicted, the city wall…
A large, pale blue shield was erected, covering almost the entire city wall.
This magic shield could effectively withstand attacks below Champion Level. It only required a continuous supply of magic crystals to the spell array.
After some preparation, Xi Wei, carrying Loli and Ruo Yi, along with a group of knights and players, had arrived before the walls of Dragonflame City.
They were currently standing outside the range of arrows. Viscount Fate, with another group of knights, followed beside them.
Xi Wei looked at the Pope on the city wall, pondered for a moment, and then promptly issued a mission to the players:
【Ding!】
【Epic Campaign Mission Triggered】
【Mission Objective: Feint Attack on Dragonflame City】
【Mission Description: The Lord of Eagle Territory stands pensively before Dragonflame City, planning to find a way to enrage the Pope. However, as a knight of noble bearing, he is unsure how to proceed. Perhaps you can offer him some assistance at this moment.】
【Mission Restriction: Players of the Eagle Territory Faction】
【Mission Reward: Equipment Draw Ticket x5, Experience Points 5000】
【Randomly selecting player representatives…】
【Congratulations to Silver Rain Cold River for becoming the representative for this story mission. Please converse with the Lord of Eagle Territory.】
…
The players who received the mission were excited.
The recent mission rewards had been exceptionally generous; they now collectively had over ten draw tickets.
The players swore that once they returned to Winter City, they would thoroughly raid Enzo’s blacksmith shop.
Silver Rain Cold River, who had been named by the system, walked towards the Lord of Eagle Territory with a bewildered expression.
He couldn’t control his own body at the moment; his legs had carried him forward on their own.
“Hello there, brave foreign warrior. Is there something I can help you with?” Xi Wei smilingly examined the fortunate player named Silver Rain Cold River.
At the same time, a mission prompt popped up in Silver Rain Cold River’s field of vision:
【Please make your choice】
【A. Can’t I talk to you if there’s nothing else? Trash!】
【B. Lord of Eagle Territory, I’ve had it with you for a long time. I challenge you to a duel!】
【C. My Lord, I see you look troubled. Do you require assistance?】
Silver Rain Cold River: “…”
Here it comes, the deadly multiple-choice question!
After careful consideration, driven by a dual spirit of humanitarianism and humanism, Silver Rain Cold River chose option C. He then found that his tightly shut mouth began to speak automatically:
“My Lord, I see you look troubled. Do you require assistance?”
“Yes, I do require your help, brave warrior!” Xi Wei said solemnly, pausing before continuing:
“As you can see, we are launching a feint attack to deceive the Pope, making him believe we intend to lure him out of the city. Therefore, we need to enrage him now. Do you have any good ideas?”
As soon as Xi Wei finished speaking, another mission prompt appeared before Silver Rain Cold River’s eyes:
【Please make your choice】
【A. My Lord, please rest assured, this is simple. I’ll lead the other foreign individuals to curse beneath the city wall right away.】
【B. My Lord, we foreign individuals are well-versed in one hundred and eight ways of cursing. We can definitely enrage that old man.】
【C. My Lord, just you watch. We will definitely insult the Pope’s ancestors for eighteen generations.】
