The bishop standing on the city wall heard the clatter of the horse's hooves. He heard the sound of the hinges as the gate was closed, and he also heard the clanking of the chains as they were turned. He shouted for the city defense army to get ready, but in his heart, he kept praying, "Close it … Close it …"
"Clang!"
The huge brass-wrapped city gate closed with a dull thud, but the sound was like music to the ears of the city guards. There were even many soldiers cheering in the surroundings.
At the same time, the galloping sound of the horse's hooves had completely reached the city gate. The knights in the lead did not slow down at all. The lances in their hands suddenly flashed, and as they sprinted, they stabbed at the gate that had just been closed and had not even had the time to put the bolt on it!
"Bang, bang, bang …"
The battle auras of more than ten advanced knights merged together, and the commotion was so great that even the soldiers on the city wall felt the tremors coming from the soles of their feet. However, the quality and defense of the gate was not something that the knights could move. Therefore, the gate with the iron bolt on it firmly resisted the enemy's attack!
"Holy Light above …"
The bishop on the city wall almost fell to the ground. He felt as if he had lost all feeling in his legs. He took a few steps forward and looked down. He saw that the army that had arrived at the bottom of the city wall had actually brought simple siege scaling ladders, and were ready to attack the city!
"Quick, call for backup! Send the news to the inner city! "
The news that the city gate was almost breached immediately spread throughout the city. However, after the alarm bell rang continuously, the cardinals in the inner city did not realize what was going on. Didn't they say that they were going to negotiate? What did they mean by ringing the bell?
Fortunately, the "Rose Cross" did not really neglect their defense just because they had not been in battle for a long time. After the alarm bell rang, the remaining troops in the outer city immediately went to the city wall as reinforcements, and at the same time, the city quickly began to gather auxiliary troops to help transport the defense supplies. However, after this operation, the shortcomings immediately became apparent …
"There are not enough guards in the Holy Cathedral!?"
The College of Cardinals exclaimed, but then they immediately realized that it was because of the decision they had just made, to send the last remaining Divine Temple Guards out of the city to participate in the 'rescue'.
Before they had the chance to express their opinions, emergency reports came from the outer city walls … The 'Viper Cross' team that was originally with Count Mirno numbered more than 2000 people. From the start, they had come with the intention of ambushing the 'Holy Cathedral'. That was why they used simple scaling ladders to put immense pressure on the walls of the Holy Cathedral.
The main reason was that the soldiers defending the city walls were too weak. Logically speaking, this kind of defense should have been handed over to the fully armed Sanctum Guards. But now, it was a group of patrolling soldiers who were not fully armored and had not received much military training. One could imagine the effect of the defense. If not for the remaining hundred or so Sanctum Guards gritting their teeth and holding on, the city walls would have been taken down by the enemy in a single move!
"Send a signal to the surrounding parishes and request for reinforcements!"
"No matter what, we must not lose the city walls at this time!"
The College of Cardinals and the Pope had the same thought. The 'Holy Cathedral' was the core city of the 'Rose Cross'. If it was destroyed so easily, it would be a huge loss of face. Both sides had been fighting for decades, but there had never been an incident where one side attacked the other's base … Because regardless of whether they succeeded or not, the price they had to pay would be unbearable.
"Why are they doing this?"
The Pope was still able to keep his composure. He immediately thought about the reason for the enemy's impulsive action. Naturally, he thought about the artifact that he had been trying so hard to suppress, the 'Viper's Kiss' …
"Is it that important to them?"
The aura of the artifact was so strong that it was difficult to suppress it. Even as the Pope, he could feel the immense power of the artifact. It was not that he had not tried to control it, but in his limited attempts, he had almost been devoured by the scepter. Thus, he did not underestimate the attraction that the 'Viper's Kiss' had on the enemy. Thus, he ordered for the defense to be strengthened, and at the same time, he called out the names of the eight College of Cardinals. He ordered, "We do not have enough manpower on the city walls. Bring all the available manpower to support them!"
The eight College of Cardinals that were called out were the strongest in the entire College of Cardinals. Their participation also meant that at least twenty Cardinals and fifty guards would enter the battlefield. This would naturally reduce the casualties and losses on the battlefield.
Although the eight College of Cardinals were old, they did not hesitate in the face of the war against the cultists. They turned and left after receiving the order.
"Half of the guards on duty in the inner city should be transferred to support the outer city walls! Take out a hundred and fifty people from the Imperial Guards to serve as reserves! "
This was the final plan to increase the number of soldiers that they had discussed. There were a total of twelve guards in the inner city. Now that half of them had been transferred out, there were only about eighty people left. And the Imperial Guards of the Church, who were far stronger than the regular guards of the Holy Cathedral, were only left with a little more than eighty people.
In other words, the defensive strength of the inner city was less than half of what it was originally.
After the Pope came to this conclusion, he frowned. He suddenly felt that the battle today was too strange. It seemed that every step was beyond his judgment, and even more so, he could not control it …
Was the "Viper Cross" really planning to attack the city like this?
Listening to the numbers reported by the soldiers, the Pope knew that the number of people attacking was less than two thousand. For a siege battle, this number was really not much. But he could only muster six to seven hundred defensive strength on the city walls. Whether or not they could defend the city depended on whether or not the support of the College of Cardinals could arrive.
After all, the characters that could enter the College of Cardinals were all pastors that had advanced to Level 25 and above. Among them, there were quite a few who were above Level 30. In terms of strength, no one was weak. When it really came to the point where he had to use all his old bones to fight, the Pope would definitely not hesitate.
The "Holy Cathedral" was the "Rose Cross"'s face. No matter what, he could not lose it!
*****
Within the city, the rushing army and Cardinals rushed from the streets to the outer city walls. The alarm bells rang again and again, and the pedestrians that were originally walking on the streets also ran back home in fear. The market that used to be a market was now almost empty, only chicken feathers and vegetable leaves were left on the ground. But the tavern that provided accommodation for the traveling merchants was still bustling with activity. At this time, the merchants from all over the world were discussing the situation outside the city. Most of them did not understand what was happening, but they were not worried that the city would fall.
After all, the "Holy Cathedral" had not been attacked or plundered to this day. To the merchants who did not understand the defense of the city, the only thing they had to worry about was whether or not their own business would be affected.
But just as they were chatting, the members of the other three merchant groups that were originally staying in the tavern were strangely silent. At first, they only thought that these people were "cowardly" and "inexperienced". But after a few groups of people ran from the streets to the outer city, this group of people suddenly stood up and collectively rushed out of the tavern!
"Eh? You guys … "
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