Chapter 2: New Century (Epilogue)
The timing for the final assault was not just perceived by Karallant and the First Prince, but also by the Pope and Ye Hao.
The night before yesterday, the Pope had been informed of the First Prince’s troop strength by Ye Hao.
Although the active fighting forces within Dragonflame City had suffered heavy losses, the elite forces still held a significant advantage.
As long as Ye Hao could betray them with the Foreigners at the decisive battle, he would surely catch the First Prince completely off guard.
As for the undead, he didn’t take twenty to thirty thousand undead seriously. A Source Mage could control at most that many.
For him, Anna’s awakening was the most important matter.
Dragonflame City could not fall, not only because of the power he had hard-won, but also because Dragonflame City was Anna’s shield.
He hadn’t expected that Anna’s awakening progress would increase at a visible rate over these past three to four days.
Later, he pondered and understood that plagues were, in a way, a microcosm of war.
The great battle at the city walls three days ago, and Karallant’s constant harassment over these past three days, had all served as nourishment to accelerate Anna’s entry into the second stage of awakening.
The first stage of awakening, merely fueled by divine artifacts, was useless. Without experiencing war, she could never become the Vessel for their Lord.
He knew that this decisive battle would become the final chance, and the moment their Lord had been waiting for all along.
For their Lord’s plan, this war had to be as brutal as possible, even if it meant the annihilation of everyone.
Compared to the Old Pope, who had been plotting for his Lord all along, Ye Hao was more concerned about himself.
After being frustrated for so long, his chance to turn things around was finally within reach.
He had already gathered information about Xing Hai.
In fact, the Demi-human named Bubble was Xing Hai.
However, Xing Hai was kept in the palm of the Hellfire Lord’s hand every day, and he hadn’t found an opportunity to use the trident.
But during the general assault, amidst the chaos, the Hellfire Lord couldn’t possibly protect that Demi-human named Xing Hai forever, could he?
Ye Hao was ambitious. He not only wanted to betray them, but also to use Poseidon’s power to crush both the First Prince and the Pope under his heel.
At that time, the Lord of Eagle Territory would be nothing more than insignificant scum to be toyed with.
The twilight sky was gradually stained crimson by the lingering hues of the sunset. The moment the sunlight overlapped with a tower on the city wall, a loud horn blast echoed.
“Woo—”
The general assault had begun.
War drums thundered as the army advanced. The mingled sound of horses’ hooves and soldiers’ footsteps was dense, and the kicked-up dust swirled everywhere, even obscuring the warriors’ vision.
Xi Wei, based on the battlefield situation, assigned some missions to the Players to prevent them from wandering around and affecting the battle.
Leisurely Moment and a group of Players were tasked with pushing the siege rams.
This time, the grandeur of the battlefield surpassed the Players’ imaginations, deeply shaking their hearts.
Everywhere they looked, there were bustling soldiers. The once cool breeze turned into searing heat as it blew across the army formations.
“Brother Xian, battlefields are really that smelly…” a Player complained, covering his nose. His nostrils were filled with the earthy smell, horse manure, and the sweat odor of the soldiers.
“Indeed. I never imagined the smell would be so strong with so many people. But I heard these soldiers often don’t bathe.”
“What did you say? I can’t hear you! It’s too noisy!”
“Dong dong dong…”
The sound of the war drums grew more urgent, and everyone quickened their pace.
The horns blared. Leisurely Moment saw someone at the forefront of the formation raise a long sword and roar.
The sound, carried from afar, was already lost in the clang of armor, making it indistinct. However, the messengers waved their flags, conveying the correct orders to the army behind them.
Catapults and King of the Hill Siege Cannons fired first.
“Boom crack—”
The violent roar was like thunder exploding from a clear sky. The Players’ eardrums vibrated slightly. They stood on tiptoes, squinting to look ahead, and found that almost all the cannonballs were hitting the city walls of Dragonflame City.
This made them a little puzzled. Wouldn’t it be more efficient to use these cannonballs to attack the city gates?
Although they wanted to ask nearby soldiers for clarification, the continuous roar made it impossible for them to hear anyone speak.
“Prepare—”
A loud, powerful roar came from the front.
Leisurely Moment saw, in front of the Players.
The archers, hidden behind neatly arranged shields, raised their bows and arrows. After a commanding “Fire!” that echoed across the field, they shot arrows with tips burning fiercely.
After the first volley, during the pause to nock new arrows, the second line of archers moved up to shoot. A sky full of arrows, like dark clouds, blotted out the sun.
Suddenly, a charge sound came from the front again. Tens of thousands of soldiers roared in unison.
Their roars shook the heavens, like a monstrous tsunami. The “charge” that the Lords spoke of was the first wave of that tsunami.
The Players surged forward with the human tide, and the majestic walls of Dragonflame City gradually became clear.
They discovered that the siege cannons, which they thought had missed, were all striking the same spot on the city wall.
The once sturdy Elemental Obsidian walls had already been hit by the continuous bombardment of the siege cannons, creating a noticeable breach.
The Players clearly felt it.
At this moment, the army’s morale reached its peak. The city walls grew closer. Huge scaling ladders and the siege rams that the Players were responsible for were also ordered into action.
“Attack!”
Karallant’s roar sounded from the front, this time clearly reaching the Players’ ears.
The Lords raised their long swords, and commands infused with Qi erupted one after another.
Amidst the deafening roars, the Players were filled with excitement, as if they had become one with this era at that moment.
“Holy crap! Holy crap! Isn’t this more exciting than anything else?”
“Brothers, charge! Urah!”
The Players’ faces were flushed with excitement, and they strove to push the siege rams forward.
Mages in the legion began to cast shields on the Players, and warriors charging nearby also held up their shields and moved to block in front of the Players.
Sharp arrows screeched as they, along with magic skills, rained down from the city walls.
The garrison of Dragonflame City finally abandoned maintaining their defensive shields.
The Destruction-class Magic Cannons began to operate at this moment. Although many Magic Cannons were smashed by catapults, more Magic Cannons had already launched their first volleys.
“Disperse! Disperse!”
Warriors occasionally shouted warnings to their comrades in front. The smarter ones had already found cover and thrown themselves to the ground.
“Buzz—”
The strange humming sound of the Destruction-class Magic Cannons echoed.
The Players felt the ground beneath them shake. The roar came along the ground, kicking up a large amount of dust. Three scaling ladders and seven siege rams were torn apart by the Magic Cannons.
After a brief period of deafness, the sounds of killing gradually filled their ears, and the entire wilderness was filled with the grating sound of clashing swords and blades.
Amidst the deafening roar were cries and wails. The air was filled with the smell of blood and gunpowder. Sky Knights and Great Knights had already led elites onto the city walls.
Leisurely Moment and the Players nearby were undoubtedly lucky.
A Magic Cannon that had been aimed at them was precisely smashed by a large stone thrown by a catapult, which allowed their siege ram to be preserved.
However, the garrison on the city walls was still preventing them from approaching.
The shields of the soldiers before them blocked the incoming arrows and magic skills for the Players.
The “ding ding dong” sounds made the Players’ hearts ache.
Occasionally, a warrior would be blown away by the enemy’s magic, or pierced through by a sharp arrow from a gap.
But as soon as one soldier fell, new soldiers would immediately step up to protect the siege ram.
Under the guidance of the leading soldier, Leisurely Moment and a team of Players finally arrived in front of the city gate of Dragonflame City.
Following the leading soldier’s command, “Prepare!! Ram!” the Players, along with the soldiers who had lowered their shields, pushed the ram, which had been enhanced with Haste and Sharpness spells, fiercely against the city gate.
This ram was not comparable to the one used to attack Rhode City. The materials alone were of a much higher grade, and the ramming corner was sharper. To allow more people to exert force, this ram was also longer and wider.
After one ram, there was no effect. Under the command of the leading soldier, the Players rammed the city gate of Dragonflame City again.
“Prepare! Ram!”
The siege ram hit for a long time, but the city gate remained as still as ever, only shedding a few fragments.
The Players were dumbfounded. This was completely different from what they had imagined, but the surrounding soldiers appeared accustomed to it.
If the city gate could be opened so easily, it wouldn’t be called a city gate.
