"Shawei isn't as … as …"
"That bad?
I think so. "
Many smiled at Sylvia. Sylvia lowered her head slightly and didn't explain anything. She only held Many's hand tighter.
The two walked to the hotel where they were previously. The carriage was already prepared. The team heading to Dashiell's official teleportation circle was ready. They boarded the carriage. Empress Flora was already waiting for them.
"How is it?"
"Let's watch the show."
Many had the same gentle smile that Flora would never forget. She helped Sylvia to sit by the side while she sat by the window.
"Dashiell … This ancient city might change her appearance forever."
It sounded like a prophecy, but it also sounded like a sigh.
Flora smiled at Sylvia. The latter gently combed her hair as if she was sorting out her unsettled thoughts. The two important women looked at the man who didn't say a word.
The latter looked out of the window as if he was trying hard to remember everything in front of him.
…
The Lord of Oditore returned just in time. When he saw the grim expression on the Red Dragon Carolina's face, he knew what he was about to face.
"The forest in the east hasn't been peaceful lately."
A simple message was enough to keep the entire Oditore busy. It meant that the Abyss Army from the Velen Kingdom was about to reach Oditore!
The troll army was ready to go. Oditore didn't just have an ordinary city wall to defend against enemies.
There were more than three building complexes extending from the castle. These complexes were surrounded by more or less towers and bunkers. These modern fortifications formed a strategic depth around the periphery of Fortress Oditore like a dam that buffered the flood. It was these tall buildings that gave the people unimaginable confidence and morale.
However, the lord seemed to be unusually relaxed in the past few days after he returned to the castle.
He appeared in the Saint Sophia Cathedral and listened to the teachings of the angel Becky with the ordinary believers. He prayed devoutly and went up to the podium in Oditore Square with the permission of the patriarch. He gave a short and lively speech to the people.
These things made more people become believers. But as for whether they believed in the God of Light or simply worshiped Sir Overlord, no one knew.
Athena's figure often appeared on the city wall these days. Even on moonlit nights, her pure white figure often appeared on the city wall, like a lighthouse that calmed the nerves of the civilians who were nervous about the impending battle.
"This isn't the battle you imagined."
Many made the following promises to Her Majesty. The empress believed his words 200% and didn't spend any effort on Oditore's political affairs. Instead, she focused her work on Sirius who had been through a lot.
Three days had passed, and the calm Oditore welcomed the Abyss Army in the distance, just as he had expected.
However, when the scouts looked into the distance, they found the scene unbelievable. It wasn't because the Abyss Army was huge, but because the number of Abyss Army was … a little too small.
The expected scene of a massive army covering the entire continent didn't appear. Instead, an army of about 3,000 soldiers emerged from the Azura Forest and charged towards Oditore leisurely.
Is this the attack of the Abyss Army?
Even the trolls who strictly followed orders were stunned when they saw this scene. After years of fighting, they were used to fighting one against ten or even one against a hundred. But why were these guys … fewer than Oditore's soldiers?!
The abnormal situation didn't make the soldiers relax. Instead, it made them even more vigilant. In this world where strength was everything, it wasn't the first time that a person destroyed a city. A majestic city like Sirius became a lamb waiting to be slaughtered in the hands of a dragon patriarch. Not only once, but twice!
The Count's presence on the city walls made everyone even more alert. Strategic Depth felt unusually oppressive when they looked down from the top of Oditore's city walls. The blockhouses and towers along the way were enough to give them headaches against the enemy's attack, not to mention the "weapons of mass destruction" on the city walls that had super long range.
Weapons of mass destruction. That was how many people commented on Daugen's modified Vulcan cannons. After the dwarf returned from Rockhammer Castle, he and his dwarven brothers worked even harder. Now, the city wall and the towers in the distance were equipped with the most advanced war machines on the continent.
…
Three thousand soldiers marched towards Oditore Castle in an orderly manner. From the fluttering flag, many people recognized that this was the army of the Central Continent's Monarch Sakamento. His army looked solemn, unlike the immature recruits under Carter's command. But no matter how well-trained they were, these soldiers couldn't pose any threat to Oditore.
As expected, before they could get within a kilometer of Oditore's city wall, the towers a few hundred meters away from the castle wall fired!
When the unique sound of the Vulcan cannons being fired, a three-foot-high wave of blood suddenly rose from the army that was in siege formation on the distant ground!
The four towers had a prismatic structure and were abnormally sturdy and had superb defensive capabilities. They were about thirty meters tall and had a thick and solid base. At the top, there was only a single Vulcan cannon raging downwards. All the enemies could see was a six-barreled machine gun spitting out fatal sparks, and all around them were welded protective steel plates. Some of the enemies tried to resist with bows and arrows, but they were only bounced off by the fine steel plates forged by the dwarves, not even leaving a few marks on them.
The existence of this weapon was to give one or two soldiers more vitality than a company of soldiers.
This sentence was the original intention of the inventor of the Vulcan machine gun, which was also the creator of the Gatling gun. However, when the creator said this sentence, it was during the First World War, the era of hot weapons.
In a sense, many of the manufactured military equipment was many years ahead of this world. The confrontation between cold weapons and hot weapons was always dramatic. Of course, it also revealed the tragedy of an era.
Just like how the Polish cavalry raised their sabers and charged towards the German tanks on horseback. At this moment, although the soldiers of the Abyss marched orderly and had strong individual strength, they were completely helpless in the face of the destructive weapons that they couldn't hit.
The covering fire of the four Vulcan cannons and the concentrated fire of the Tyke 15 crossbow bolts after the enemy advanced a few hundred meters. This army didn't even cause any substantial damage to Oditore before they were completely annihilated!
They died without any hesitation. The soldiers in the strategic position were not even attacked by the siege weapons. Because all the wooden siege weapons that wanted to get close to the tower would be turned into a pile of wooden debris in less than three seconds after being targeted by the Vulcan cannons.
This army came and died in a strange way, as if it was a "gift" that Sakamento deliberately sent to them.
When the Vulcan cannons stopped firing, less than 500 of the 3,000 soldiers were still alive.
What made these desperate soldiers even more desperate was not the more terrifying enemies with more powerful weapons, but the "enemies" that rushed out of Oditore's walls. They were also the soldiers of the Abyss Race!
These were the ten thousand or so Abyssal Race soldiers who had returned to the Rosslorien Continent from the Central Continent. Coincidentally, these soldiers who had been in Earl Carlin's territory once again met their 'compatriots' in such a manner …
No one would have thought that the soldiers who used to live in the same continent and the same country would face each other in a hostile manner at this time.
Facing this situation, the soldiers who were ready to fight to the death with their weapons completely lost the will to continue fighting.
Countless weapons fell to the ground. At this moment, they had no faith to continue fighting. Facing the defenseless soldiers, the Abyss Race soldiers who were now citizens of the Empire of Saint Reims carried out their lord's order.
More than 500 surviving soldiers became captives. There wasn't a bloody scene like in the Abyss Battlefield where all the defeated soldiers died. But even so, the horrifying scene of flesh and blood on the battlefield left a permanent psychological shadow in these soldiers.
They were the elite soldiers of the central continent. But under the lord's order, they continued to step on this road of death without hesitation.
No one knew how terrible the political environment of the central continent's rule was. Or in other words … It seemed that there was almost no one in the entire Roslorian Continent who understood the lord of the central continent better than Many.
His cruelty, his cruelty, his viciousness, or perhaps his ambition.
…
Many looked at the scene in front of them and ordered the soldiers to clean up the battlefield. Then, they disappeared from the tower.
"An easy victory?"
Flora's meeting with many people in the Count's Mansion was not overly formal. The Empress directly and gently hugged her lover. No matter how dangerous the battle was, no matter how confident he was in winning the battle or even if he could come back alive from the battlefield, Flora would pray to all the gods from the bottom of her heart for his safe return.
In this chaotic world, only her heart would never change.
"As expected."
Many's arms tightened. Flora let out a soft moan. Her body was a little weak, but she quickly recovered. She smiled and waited for Many to tell her about the battle at the frontline.
Before this, she had never stepped out of the Count's Mansion. Carolina's barrier had burned more than a dozen assassins who tried to get close to the mansion into charred charcoal.
"Sakamento. He doesn't want much, but he definitely doesn't want less."
Many was a little lost in thought. She remembered the content of the 'negotiation' between Emperor Sakamento and herself. She sighed and looked into the distance.