Chapter 437, Siege of Montfort (Part 1)

On the tenth day of the siege, the undead finally launched a very fierce offensive. Led by several tomb evil spirits, several skeleton warrior legions and zombie legions launched an extremely fierce attack on the walls of Montfort Castle. The army's offensive came in waves, putting great pressure on the defenders.

At this time, Duke Fourcade personally led the knights of Montfort to patrol back and forth on the city wall. His shouts and admonitions full of fighting spirit and hope doubled the courage of the defenders. After several bloody battles on the front line, he once The undead army that barely managed to climb onto the tower was defeated by the defenders.

In particular, an expeditionary knight wearing a golden fire dragon cross helmet next to Fourcade was even more brave than ordinary people. When a bloodthirsty ghost descended from the sky and attacked the garrison on the city wall, the expeditionary knight killed it with one shot. Kill the bloodthirsty ghost.

Fourcade's personal visit to the front line inspired the morale of the entire castle. He drew his long sword: "Fire the cannon! Soldiers! Destroy the army of the undead! Victory belongs to Montfort, for the lady and the king, and for Britannia!"

Dozens of artillery on the castle fired continuously, and the sizzling sound of igniting fuses and the pungent smell of black gunpowder sounded one after another. Amidst the roar of thousands of cannons, solid bullets fell on the undead army formation, causing the entire undead army formation to be in chaos. They fell into a group, especially the tall Tomb Evils, one after another, which greatly reduced the pressure on the front line.

"For Montfort! Soldiers, fight back! Where is my trebuchet?" Fourcade went to the front line to fight in person. The Duke himself was a powerful knight of the kingdom. He swung his sword and chopped down a zombie who had just climbed onto the city. The Duke of Montfort shouted loudly: "That's a battering ram! Destroy it! Destroy it!" it!"

"Adjust the angle!" The troops of the Principality of Montfort are not fighting alone. A large number of expatriates from the Empire are very willing to help them. Due to the long-term trade between the Principality of Montfort and the Empire, the relationship between the Principality and the Empire is very good. In addition to spending a lot of money to import from the Empire In addition to a large number of obsolete old-style artillery, the imperial expatriates living here also took up arms and joined the battle. Most of them only had a scimitar and a firecracker in their hands, and a few held halberds, swords, shields and long-barreled firecrackers. Guns, they shouted angrily to release their own power. The retired engineers and musketeers from the empire and the serf archers of Britannia poured out gunpowder and arrow rain. The free militia regiments and serf infantry regiments came one at a time. Knock down the tide of undead attacks from the top of the city.

At the height of the city wall, more than a dozen giant trebuchets and artillery were aimed at the giant battering ram that was being moved by the undead. This battering ram was very simple, but it was engraved with many curses of undead magic. , under the power of Kemmler, this battering ram has been fully strengthened.

The eight-headed grave ghosts are pushing the battering ram forward. The rotten metal blessed by dark green undead magic on the tip of the hammer frightens Fourcade. He will never allow this battering ram to rush to the castle gate: "Fire, soldiers, shoot those tomb goblins in the legs!"

The soldiers on the city wall responded loudly, and the firepower of the defenders fully took care of the siege ram. Even the serf archers on the side were busy igniting the arrows in their quivers and firing them.

The Tomb Demons have rough skin and thick flesh. They cannot feel the pain at all when faced with the shooting of old-fashioned muskets and serf bows. Even if one or two Tomb Demons fall, the ones behind them will immediately replace them.

At this time, a row of artillery on the city wall opened fire, and several cannons were loaded. Except for one cannon that unfortunately exploded and completely misfired, the remaining cannons fired seven or eight projectiles at the siege ram.

"Hoo~" These black solid bullets went directly towards the siege ram, making tiny crackling sounds in the air. Kemmler, who was supervising the battle in the middle army, twisted his eyes and chanted a spell loudly: "Day of the Dead, All things wither, and all souls respond to my destiny!”

"Four Rings of Magic, Wall of Bones!"

A low wall made of countless white bones was erected in front of the battering ram. The solid bullets hit the low wall, punching several large holes in the low wall of bones. The magic bones shattered into countless pieces. fragments.

The battering ram was intact under Kemmler's protection. Kemmler was about to signal the battering ram to move forward when two stones flying from above the castle came into his sight.

The counterweight wheel of the trebuchet rotated, and the thrown boulder bypassed the wall of bones and hit hard on top of the siege ram. The simple wooden structure was smashed into pieces by the throwing of the boulder. A tomb demon was hit by a boulder on the spot and turned into a disgusting mass of flesh.

"Hmph! Good luck." Kemmler snorted coldly. He shook his head and turned to leave the Central Army. Mathhubad watched the whole process without saying a word. When he saw Kemmler leaving, he also turned and left.

The high city walls were filled with cries of victory. Fourcade and his bodyguard knights immediately mounted their horses and launched a charge on the city wall. Relying on the textbook knight's charge, the defenders finally fought back and relied on simple wooden ladders. The skeleton warriors and zombies climbed onto the city tower. As the last skeleton warrior was defeated and thrown off the city wall, the Tomb Legion, which lost its battering ram, was forced to withdraw its troops.

Montfort Castle was once again defended, and after suffering the casualties of hundreds of serf infantry and a dozen knights, the Tomb Legion slowly retreated.

"Thank you, Kalad. Without your help, perhaps the castle gate would have been lost." Looking at the retreating undead army, Duke Fourcade said to an expedition knight standing next to him: "Can you Rush to the rescue of Montfort in time, and on behalf of the entire principality, I am forever grateful for your kindness."

"Fighting evil is a duty." Expeditionary Knight Kalad has been walking on the road to the Holy Grail for more than a year. This powerful expeditionary knight rode his own elf war horse and set out from Britannia. The most important thing for this expeditionary knight is Contributions include:

He fought against the four-armed bull demon and the Cyclops in Reikland, led an army to kill a Goblin Shaman in Wesen, beheaded a bipedal flying dragon in a duel, and single-handedly defeated two greenskins in the Blackfire Pass in Iveyland. Warlord, single-handedly killed a Necromancer in Stirland, a Bile Troll and a Champion of Nurgle in Ostermark.

After that, Kalad went north to Kislev. He and Kislev's Bear Cavalry Legion fought against the Chaos Marauders in the north. He single-handedly defeated five barbarian tribal chiefs and raised the alarm for barbarian plunder. Immediately after he marched westward to Oster and Nordland, and slaughtered two beastman tribes, Kalad, who was summoned by Francois, returned to Britannia, preparing to join Ryan and Francois in their attack on the Blackstone Stronghold. war.

Along the way, Kalad has made numerous military exploits and gained honors.

On the way, he received a dream from the Lake Fairy. The goddess told him that the Tomb Legion was surrounding the Montfort Castle. Calader rushed without stopping and immediately came to support Duke Fourcade.

"The siege has lasted for ten days, and we still haven't heard any news of reinforcements." Duke Fourcade is a middle-aged man in his fifties. Of course, he is also a kingdom knight with legendary strength. Seeing the retreat of the undead, the Duke himself Standing at the top of the city, he looked at a gap in the wall.

That was the gap made by Kemmler's spell. There, a piece of the wall's surface was blown down by undead magic, and the originally white wall turned black and bubbled.

Duke Fourcade did not choose to let the Saint Monastery send the Lady of the Lake God and the Prophet of the Lake God to help him. He chose to hire wizards from the Royal Wizarding Academy of the Empire. This light wizard brought his apprentices to the city wall. He chanted spells and repaired the city wall. The wind of light Hexi blew away the undead magic and rolled up the rubble. Montfort's craftsmen immediately stepped forward to repair the gaps in the city wall.

"Reinforcements will come." Kalad walked beside Fourcade and whispered: "Please understand, my Duke, last year's Chaos invasion severely depleted the armies of the northern principalities. We need to organize It is not that easy to build a large army. As you know, His Excellency Duke Hagen of Gisoleaux lives in Curona all year round. It would take him a lot of time just to rush back to the territory to gather an army."

"I know that northerners can't count on it, but what about the arrogant southerners? What about Berhemond and his Brotherhood of the Red Dragon? What about François and his Brotherhood of Champion Knights of Quinaris? How can I just watch Are you alone? And the lady's divine champion? Ryan Macado? I have asked them for help, but they haven't come yet. If they don't come, the castle will fall." Duke Fourcade of Montfort was a little irritable at first. He said quietly, but he soon sighed in a low voice: "The food ration has been halved, my friend Kalad, but even so, the food rations for tens of thousands of people still make it difficult for this castle to support it. Plus my private storage room, The food reserves can last for another twenty days to about a month at most, which is still the most optimistic estimate! I can wait, but my subjects cannot wait."

The Principality of Montfort basically relies on grazing to harvest food. This principality imports a large amount of food from the Empire and other principalities in Britannia every year to maintain its supply. However, the Axebit Pass has been destroyed recently, and the trade routes cannot be restored for the time being. The castle's grain reserves are Not much, and now it's even worse with the influx of tens of thousands of refugees.

After a brief inspection of the castle's defense lines, Duke Fourcade and Calard stood on the observation deck overlooking the Montfort Principality and the peaks of the Gray Mountains. Surprisingly, the defenders and refugees always maintained a strong fighting spirit. Morale is high, and many Montfort people believe that the Lake Fairy is watching the battle. In order to defend their homeland, the refugees take up arms on their own initiative and vow to fight the undead to the end.

The people of Montfort are always so special, this is what the expedition knight Kalad thought in his mind as he looked at the resolute Duke Fourcade.

Basically all the land in the Principality of Montfort is within the Gray Mountains, so the citizens here are almost all skilled climbers. After experiencing the threat of green skin attacks on the territory and the harsh environment for many years, the character of the Montfort people gradually became Stubborn and tough, they welcome all fellow humans and outsiders, but are very hostile to all non-human races, including elves, halflings, and dwarves, which is also reflected in Duke Fourcade himself.

Duke Fourcade is a staunch human supremacist. He insists that only humans are the race destined to rule all peoples. Therefore, he is very hostile to dwarves, halflings, and elves. He has ordered the expulsion of dwarves more than once. Leaving the country and burning the elves as chaos mutants. Of course, Ryan's taking in a large number of dwarves and elves caused serious dissatisfaction with Forcade. He had repeatedly suggested that King Richard punish Ryan because of Ryan's role as the lady's divine choice. The champion must ensure "purity".

Purity in all senses, generally speaking, Duke Fourcade does not hate Ryan as a person, but hates his ways, hates him associating with dwarves and elves. As the divinely chosen champion of the Lake Fairy, he spends all day with What's wrong with having pointy ears and a short stout guy?

On the other hand, Duke Fourcade was a very friendly person to his subjects. He established a workhouse system, reduced taxes for hard-working serfs, and cooperated with the Temple of the Goddess of Mercy to provide regular free medical care (only for a limited number of species). Common diseases), he welcomes all human compatriots to settle here. He not only tolerates the Church of Justice's aggressive preaching here and establishes the largest temple of the Church of Justice in Britannia, but also often personally leads the army to protect the safety of the people. Therefore, in In the defensive city, all the people in the territory are willing to fight for him, including the expatriates of the empire.

Sometimes people are so complicated.

At this time, the Duke's butler arrived. The butler wearing a beret whispered: "My Duke, the refugees have changed."

"What's the change?" As the sky grew dark, Duke Fourcade turned around suddenly. Kalad was also shocked after hearing this.

The lower area of ​​Montfort Castle is now crowded with people. A large number of refugees gather together to spend their days. The smell of human body odor and feces spreads in the lower area and residential areas. They can barely survive by relying on the suppression of many armies. In order to maintain order, if there is a riot at this time, the defense of the castle will be devastating.

"A rumor has emerged among the refugees, which has boosted their morale." The butler swallowed a mouthful of saliva and continued: "There are rumors among the refugees that the lady's chosen champion, Earl Ryan Macado and His Excellency Duke Francois of Winford are visiting An unprecedentedly large army has been gathered. This supporting army will eliminate all the undead once and for all. This rumor has spread from the lower levels to the upper levels. My Duke, even many knights now believe it."

There are approximately more than 2,300 registered knights in the entire Principality of Montfort, of which approximately 1,500 are in the castle.

Duke Fourcade wanted to denounce the inexplicability of this rumor at first, but the Duke himself immediately realized that he and his people needed this kind of rumor. Even if it might be a lie, the Duke still wanted to use it.

So Fourcade nodded: "I know, don't worry about it, just leave it like that."

"Yes." The butler withdrew.

The Duke himself was still worried. He hesitated and asked, as if he was grasping at the last straw like a drowning man: "Will Sir Ryan come to support me?"

"It will definitely happen." Kalad's eyes were full of confidence: "He has saved the kingdom from danger several times."

"Ha~ I hope so." Fourcade suddenly laughed, and he forced a smile: "Fortunately, I chose to attend his wedding and toast with him, so I probably didn't offend him too much."

"Your Excellency Ryan is not that kind of person." Kalad shook his head. He couldn't say much about this matter.

"Go and rest, this is just a tentative attack, the undead's attack will be more intense!"

"Um."

…………

Early in the morning, in the town of Jean, Earl of Glamorgan.

Ryan and Belega stood on the high platform together, looking at the gray sky.

The troops have been assembled.

Undead, Kemmler, Mathubad, Mousilon, Montfort, Ryan turned his thoughts around, he turned around, Belega nodded to him, motioning for him to give the order.

"All troops set off!"

updated! Looking for a guaranteed monthly pass in the new month, I am willing to do anything (nothing).