The 5,000 troops stationed here under the command of Baron Haydn faced the onslaught of over 10,000 troops from Steinbeck Fief under Clyde’s command. The warring sides fought an intense battle for Ferro. Now, soaring flames and smoke enveloped the entirety of Ferro.
With coordinates provided by flying monsters, the giant siege weapons opened fire from behind the hills. Dozens of giant mangonels operated continuously, launching burning boulders into Ferro. These attacks focused on important targets like the arsenal, granary, and so on of the defending troops. Baron Haydn, the enemy commander, nearly died in the initial bombing. A boulder had smashed the castellan residence, a primary target, into ruins.
Like a carpet bombing, the burning boulders bombed the entire town indiscriminately. This miserable sight resembled armageddon. Even Princess Natalie, the commander of the attacking party, was unable to watch it. In her heart, she considered herself lucky that the hidden monster army was on her side and that she didn’t need to worry about any “accidental: injuries from friendly forces due to her troop’s distance from the impact zone. To monsters, the distinction between enemies and allies were very clear; they didn’t have secret selfish calculations like the Human Race. The matter of “accidentally” injuring friendly forces was very unlikely to occur with a monster army.
“Natalie, we are ready to assault their position!”
“Eh, Alicia, if your former position makes you feel troubled, I can let others carry out the assault mission.”
While Princess Natalie observed the battle, Paladin Miss Alicia and her female knight regiment prepared to enter battle. Behind Alicia, her assistants, Knight Aike and Knight Ailu, wore suits of armor called “Dark Night Faith,” sponsored by Witch Ista. Heavy armor specific for Dark Knights, the complete set was forged from black gold. Wearing this armor, they seemed enveloped in darkness. As for Miss Alicia, she had an armor called “The Eye of Dark Night.” This was an exclusive armor dedicated to the fallen paladin. After wearing it, the indistinct shadows of spirits floated around her, providing her an overbearing manner.
Natalia considered the feelings of Alicia and the other members of her maiden knight regiment. When all was said and done, they had once been knights of the Human Race, and Alicia herself had been a Paladin. Now, they had to cooperate with a monster army. In addition, they had received direct long-range support from monsters, so they might feel uncomfortable. Therefore, Princess Natalie inquired whether Alicia had any problems.
“Natalie, there are no problems. I… I’m also one of Master’s people. This armor is more suitable for Princess Verly, but it seems that she is still unwilling to cooperate with Master, so I’m temporarily using it in her place.”
“Alicia, this armor was specifically made for you. There’s no need to undervalue yourself! I heard Miss Ista said that the dark armor custom-made for Verly, the Death Emissary, is ready. They are only waiting for Princess Verly to willingly submit and pledge allegiance to Master. Now, set off! Jenny and the others will support you all.”
Alicia graciously declined Princess Natalie’s good intentions. She then took out the sacred cross necklace she had once worn to symbolize her paladin status and showed it to Princess Natalie. Now, that cross necklace that had once represented holiness had been replaced by an inverted cross. This clearly showed her position. All the other beautiful knights under her also wore inverted cross necklaces. From the moment they had decided to follow Clyde, they had lost all faith in Light Church and had truly become a dark knight regiment.
After Princess Alicia signaled her resolve, Princess Natalie revealed her assault route. Afterward, she pulled out a magic communication crystal and contacted Ancient Demon King Andrisno who was commanding the giant siege weapons at the rear. She wanted to confirm the attack range of the giant mangonels to avoid accidentally squishing friendly forces. While sending the message, Princess Natalie pretended to be careless and made some exaggerated movements, revealing her blood-red inverted cross to Alicia.
Upon seeing Princess Natalie’s inverted cross necklace, Alicia felt relieved. Regarding falling into the darkness, once many people had plunged, they wouldn’t feel as ashamed. After confirming the route, Princess Alicia pulled down her helmet’s black mask, covering her entire face, with only a few small gaps for her eyes and nose. After that, she set off with her maiden knight regiment with a number of hidden shadows following. These were Miss Jenny’s scout troops who were mainly assassins.
The commander of the scouts, Assassin Miss Jenny, wore a black, skintight leather suit that perfectly outlined her slender figure. Jenny appeared beside Princess Natalie, awaiting her orders as the rest of her troops left. The commander of Steinbeck Fief was Princess Natalie, so other beauties, even those with equal status, needed to heed her arrangements.
“Natalie, we are ready! Alicia should be fine.”
“I hope so. Jenny, cooperate with their actions. Right! Pay more attention to Alicia. After all, she used to be a paladin. For knights, launching a surprise attack is unrighteous. This is the illness of all Knight professions, liking righteousness and justice!”
“I understand, Natalie. If Alicia cannot bear to strike, we assassins will make a move.”
On the city walls of Ferro, Baron Haydn, the commander of the defending troops, looked deathly pale. Steinbeck Fief had already sent an assault force with a knight in black armor galloping at their head. The defending troops shot arrows that filled the sky but were unable to stop the approach of the black knight regiment. Even burning arrows were useless, bouncing off the heavy armor of the black knights. They wouldn’t even create a spark, let alone any damage.
“What’s going on? How did Steinbeck Fief’s militia composed of country bumpkins obtain a heavy knight regiment? What’s more is that their defensive power is comparable to the heavy black knight regiment used by the Augusta Empire, and their leader is at least on the level of a paladin…”
“Your Excellency Baron Haydn, there have still been no movements from Joyce Fortress. Viscount Aaron still hasn’t made a move.”
“Does that man want to kill me? I… didn’t I embezzle only a small portion of the funds? So stingy, truly worthy of being a direct subordinate of Marquis Charles! Use all our bows and arrows! Since we cannot stop their knight regiment, shoot their infantry! We must hold on…”
Baron Haydn’s presence gave the defending troops the courage to follow his commands and counterattack by relying on the wooden arrow towers. They used a rain of arrows to halt the advance of Steinbeck Fief’s infantry troops. The defenses of the maiden knight regiment under Alicia was too high. Their arrows were useless against them, so they could only change their targets to less elite troops. Baron Haydn had used most of the funds on his personal enjoyment, so he had only equipped his soldiers with longbows. He hadn’t even spent any money on slightly more expensive crossbows. Therefore, he suffered a big loss when he encountered a heavy knight regiment since he lacked any weapons with the punch to pierce their armor.
Baron Haydn planned to delay for time. Since Ferro was in readily apparent chaos with soaring flames visible from miles away, Marquis Charles in the rear wouldn’t sit by and ignore it unless he were blind. He couldn’t count on Viscount Aaron in Joyce Fortress next door. If he waited for the Viscount’s reinforcements, he would be a corpse before they came.
Joyce Fortress, the nearest place to Ferro
Viscount Aaron stood above the fortress with a solemn expression while surveying the path leading to Ferro. Through the shroud black mist he could see faint, strange shadows, but he had no way to determine whether they were specters. After all, the area outside the black mist was still under the light of day. Beneath the bright sunlight, the specters rarely moved about openly.
Viscount Aaron wore an exquisite set of silver armor with a special armband that symbolized his status as a high-leveled knight. He had shoulder-length golden hair and a handsome face. Compared to Baron Haydn’s grandiose style, his style was more in accordance with a true aristocrat’s. Now, his blue eyes observed that black mist, pondering its origins.
When Ferro had lit its beacon fire, Viscount Aaron had immediately noticed it and had truly intended to immediately send troops to aid Baron Haydn. Although he disliked Baron Haydn’s behavior, facing major matters, Viscount Aaron was very clear on when principle had to bend. However, the obstruction of this mysterious black mist had left him helpless.
“Your Excellency Viscount Aaron, the fifth batch of scout troops sent to investigate the situation still has not returned. Should we arrange for a sixth batch to be sent off?”
“No, we don’t have enough scouts to waste them like this. That idiot Haydn! I told him long ago to build a few connecting passages, but that fool did nothing. Even though His Excellency Marquis Charles gave him a lot of funds, he didn’t build even a single escape path! Now…”
Viscount Aaron revealed his hate at iron for not becoming steel. The baron was truly too useless. To investigate Ferro’s situation, he had dispatched five teams of scouts in rapid succession. None had returned with any new after entering the black mist. Changing their path would get nowhere because no other route had been built. In addition, detouring would take more time. Even if he rushed to Ferro after completing a new path, the Baron’s corpse might have already cooled.
“If this continues, I’ll be unworthy of Marquis Charles’s trust in me. Notify all our soldiers to prepare to set out to support Ferro.”
“But, Your Excellency Viscount Aaron, the situation inside the black mist is still unclear! Without knowing anything, isn’t it too reckless to set out with our entire army?”
“We don’t have the time! There is no time to investigate the situation inside the black mist; we must take a risk. I will lead the vanguard troops. If there are any abnormalities, you all must retreat. You will be responsible for bringing up the rear. It doesn’t matter whether Baron Haydn dies, but Ferro cannot be lost.”
Clyde and Princess Saras observed the war from atop a hill. The army of Steinbeck Fief had already charged towards Ferro. The maiden knight regiment had assumed the vanguard and led the way to the city gates under the suppression of arrows relying on their strong defensive armor. As long as they broke through the city gates, the defending troops of Ferro wouldn’t have any other fortifications for defense. Once the city walls were breached, control over Ferro would change hands. The Baron had truly been foolish for depending on only this small wall.
“Lord Clyde, Alicia and the others will force open the gate soon. There’s no need to worry.”
“Saras, tell Princess Natalie to make them pay attention to their safety. If it is too dangerous, she can ask Andrisno to arrange for monsters to replace them. Baron Haydn, that fellow still hasn’t slipped out from the city walls… Perhaps, he has a trump card to put up a last-ditch struggle.”
