In the Rock Fortress City, in the mage tower used to control the focus of magic power, the fierce but short battle has ended.
The gorgeous and bright Arcane Hall, once filled with magical light, was in a mess. The burst of magical energy and the explosion caused by the attackers left shocking damage everywhere. The walls were covered with craters and the ground was torn apart by the explosion. The steel brackets used to fix the rune stones were also melted by the high temperature and turned into a pile of twisted metal skeletons paralyzed on the ground. At the entrance of the hall, the two arcane stone statues that were used to protect the hall had been turned into lifeless obsidian fragments. The pieces were scattered on the ground, and in the center of the hall, in the huge circular array, there were only some vaguely identifiable humanoid scorch marks and armor fragments left.
Sir Maryland, who rushed to the scene as quickly as possible, stood sluggishly at the entrance of the hall, looking at the tragic situation in the hall and saying nothing for a long time.
"...The fighting broke out concentratedly in the tower. There are no traces of fighting outside the tower or nearby outposts," the mage consultant said next to Sir Maryland about the clues collected so far, "The attackers' battle The method was weird and had never been seen before - it was an explosion that occurred intensively in a short period of time. There were traces of high-temperature burning and explosions everywhere. The guards seemed to be killed without even reacting - and we were still in a building. This was found next to the remains of the Obsidian Golem."
Sir Maryland looked at what the mage consultant handed over: it was a twisted and broken blade or blade, with remaining runes and symbols visible on its side. The alloy parts embedded in it, whether in terms of casting precision or design style, cannot be a product from within the Rock Fortress, nor can they look like any standard sword in Ansu.
There is only a section of the blade, and its handle is missing.
"...Equipment of the Cecil people!" A southern knight who was following over exclaimed when he saw the broken blade, and then said very fast, "General, this It is an extraordinary weapon. Its magical blade can emit extremely high heat and can instantly cut open soldiers wearing light armor. One of my followers was killed by this weapon..."
Listening to the words of this southern knight, Sir Maryland suddenly remembered another thing that had just happened: Viscount Carroll fell to death under the balcony... There were no traces of a struggle on the balcony, so he could only It was judged that Mr. Viscount slipped and fell on his own.
The banquet happened last night, and Viscount Carroll has not appeared since last night. Everyone thought that the always worried Viscount went back to rest early because he was too drunk...
p>The attack in front of us occurred inside the Mage Tower. Everyone was raided into the hall without defense and then killed. There were no signs of fighting outside...
Sisi You are in the city, and have been in the city for a long time, and even... are hiding among the guardians of the mage tower, or have gained the guardian's trust.
The troops responsible for guarding the mage tower and the inner city wall are the troops of the southern nobles. To be precise,It’s Dame Penny Grant...
A deep palpitating feeling gripped Sir Maryland’s heart, and along with this palpitating feeling gripped his heart, there was also the constant sound coming from the direction of the distant city wall. There were sounds of commotion and faint explosions.
This war... is this a war?
"There is a ghost in the city...Where is the Countess Luo Penni?!"
The knights of the guard immediately replied: "The Countess has not appeared on the city wall since this morning. ——And the personal guards she brought did not show up."
Sir Maryland immediately shouted: "Go right away..."
He didn't finish his words. An unsettling whistling sound suddenly came from the upper level of the mage tower. The whistling sound was mixed with the sound of something breaking. The other knights and soldiers present immediately looked up subconsciously, but Sir Maryland and the The mage advisors paled at the same time: they thought of the possible cause of the whistling sound.
The problem is not the Mage Tower, but something connected to the Mage Tower - the magic barrier of the Rock Fortress.
The magic barrier is connected to the walls of the fortress and every mage tower in the city. When the barrier continues to weaken, the first thing that will react is the magic crystal on the top of these towers.
He immediately led the people and rushed out of the tower.
The towering rock fortress is reverberating with whistling sounds one after another. Along with the whistling sounds, there is also a low roar that is becoming more and more obvious. It is the sound of the city shield that is constantly vibrating and crumbling. , is the sound of the air inside the shield resonating with the vibration of the city wall. The shimmering magic barrier is now covered with ripples. A pale pattern spreads from the top of the city wall to the high altitude of the fortress. When Sir Maryland rushed out By the time we reached the Mage Tower, those ripples had almost covered two-thirds of the sky.
This high-ranking knight has never faced such a desperate situation in his life, but he calmed down at this moment. He stared at the magic barrier that was disintegrating little by little, with one hand. Pressing on the hilt of the sword at his waist, he asked the mage advisor next to him in a low voice: "Master, how long can the shield last?"
"Twenty minutes, or less," the mage advisor said He replied, "I will lead the surviving battle mages up to the city wall and use our own mana to recharge the shield - maybe we can last three to five minutes longer."
"Don't waste mana. "It's useless to use manpower to fight against that kind of weapon," Jazz interrupted the mage advisor, "Let the battle mages recharge their batteries and prepare to fight in the city."
Then he turned. He turned his head and looked at his most trusted subordinate, the knight of the guard who had followed him for many years.
This Guards Knight should be one of the most capable people in the Rock Fortress besides him.
The city shield can last for twenty minutes. After the shield is destroyed, there is still the south city wall. The metal-poured south city wall will face the Cecil people's "sky fire explosion" to the end.It can last for dozens of minutes at least. Even if the Cecil people let the "sky fire" fall over the city wall and fall into the city, it will only destroy the surface facilities within the second city wall, and the main runes of the magic focus and magic barrier are buried Underground.
There is still something he can do before the wall collapses completely.
“Guard this city,” the knight said to his knights. “In addition, find Ropenny Grant and her missing guards. They are most likely to have betrayed them. Once these are confirmed, , they must be dealt with before they cause more damage."
The guard knight's eyes widened: "General, what are you going to do?"
"I used to use it. I swore an oath in the name of my family to defend the Rock Fortress to the death. Now is the time for me to fulfill my oath." Sir Maryland pressed the hilt of his sword, and every word was clear and powerful. "If I succeed, the Cecil people's attack may be over. Stop, if I fail, your allegiance will end - you take the survivors out of the north gate, go to the royal capital, and tell the Prince of Wales... the entire story of the fall of Rock Fortress."
"General! I will go out with you!" the knight of the guard said immediately, "I also swore that I will always follow you on the battlefield. Running away in the face of battle is not what a knight should do, let alone what a noble should do. "The noble war is over!" Sir Maryland stared at the guard knight's face, and then his tone slowed down, "...the noble war is over."
...
The knights who still had the courage stood up, and a group of knights, led by the fortress commander, began to rush to the gate of the south city wall. Sir Maryland was riding on his deeply trusted war horse. Watching the city gate getting closer and closer in front of him.
The magic barrier outside the city wall has reached a critical state of collapse. Large ripples of chaos are wandering around, and magic pores have even appeared in some areas. In those places where the barrier is damaged, uncontrolled mana flow seems to It jumped on the city wall like lightning, causing chaos wherever it passed.
Groups of southern knights and noble soldiers escaped from the city wall, with some southern nobles mixed in among them.
They were shouting and ecstatic on the city wall just a moment ago.
Looking at these unbearable guys, a thought suddenly came to Sir Maryland’s mind:
Why did he accept these guys in the first place?
When did the nobles of this country...when did they become such guys?
Although he wanted to ignore them, Sir Maryland couldn't help but stop. He pulled the reins in front of a group of panicked southern knights and shouted loudly: "Ladies and gentlemen--if you still... If you have a little sense of honor as a noble and a knight, you should at least maintain order in the city! The Rock Fortress hasn’t fallen yet!”
Afterwards, he didn’t care how many people heard his words. , turned the horse's head and rushed forward.
The city hides the destruction caused by enemy infiltrationTroops, they may cause greater losses at any time.
After losing the commander, the order in the fortress may fall into greater chaos.
The top commander of the fortress should not leave the fortress easily under such circumstances.
The Maryland Jazz know all this.
However, someone must stop those two ships and the two terrible weapons carried on those two ships.
Ordinary soldiers and slightly weaker knights will die if they go out. Only a high-level knight like him can attack under the cover of the knights. I am afraid there is a little hope - this is powerful personal combat power. value and usefulness.
The city gate opened, and a pungent burnt smell hit his face.
That is the unique smell produced when high-intensity arcane energy stirs in the air and decomposes certain substances in the air.
The knights raised their heads and looked up at the two beams of light directly above them with shock and a little fear.
In this position and angle, they appear even more terrifying - the pure arcane light is pouring on the crumbling magic barrier like two long rivers of light, and it is like the majestic aurora that is pouring over this shaky magic barrier. The city was crushed bit by bit.
The Second Dynasty of Anzu used countless manpower and material resources to build the rock fortress, which embodies the highest magical skills of the royal family at that time. It has stood on this land for a century and is now under the impact of the arcane torrent. Little by little towards the end.
This fortress was used to defend the Cecil family, but in the past century, the Cecil family had never fought back once.
Many people did not suddenly realize this until this moment - this was just the Cecil family's first attack since the establishment of the Rock Fortress.
"Don't look up, look forward!" Sir Maryland raised his long sword high, and then pointed the sword at the Whitewater River, "Don't stop!!"
Knight They pulled down their masks and began to accelerate slowly along with Sir Maryland's horse.
The vast majority of them will not complete this attack alive. In fact, even if they make it to the Whitewater River alive, most of them will not be of use: the two ships are located on the river. In the center, the knight who is the king of land is helpless when facing the warship floating in the middle of the water.
But as a high-level knight, Sir Maryland can - high-level extraordinary people have countless ways to ignore the little "terrain trouble" of the White Water River. As long as the distance is close enough, a high-level knight is enough. Stop the magic devices on those two ships.
The knights began to charge.