Arrows flew up and down the city walls like raindrops, and deafening battle cries filled the entire battlefield.
The Magic Crystal Cannons roared one after another. Every time they fired, a brilliant firework would explode among the Glorious Sun Legion below the city walls, followed by a series of screams.
The trebuchets continued to hurl boulders at the towering city wall, bombarding the flickering divine barrier, making it even more shaky and on the verge of collapse.
Below the city walls, ladders and siege towers were pushed up to the city walls by the imperial soldiers. The soldiers had already started climbing up the ladders and siege towers like ants …
A fierce battle had already broken out on the city walls. The Maple Moon Free Territory's guards and Elven players roared as they fought the imperial soldiers who had climbed up the city walls. A fierce tug-of-war unfolded at the city walls.
The gray city walls had been dyed dark red by the endless flow of blood.
This was Augus City, the gateway to the north of the Maple Moon Free Territory.
It had been five days since Joseph gave the order to attack the city. In these five days, the Northern Legion had been attacking Augus City day and night, bringing great pressure to the defenders.
Over the past five days, the defending army of Augus City had suffered heavy casualties under the continuous attacks of the 700,000 strong army. Out of the 20,000 defenders, more than 6,000 had died in battle, and countless more had been injured.
Of the 10,000 players who helped defend the city, more than 3,000 had died and returned to the Elven Forest, unable to participate in the battle again.
There was no other way. The imperial army was simply too large, and there was no lack of experienced veterans among them.
Although there were no heavy siege troops in the entire army, the siege towers and light trebuchets that were temporarily assembled were still a great threat to the defenders of the city.
What was worse was that the continuous battle had exhausted the defenders of Augus City.
Even if the players were full of energy, many of them were mentally exhausted after such a long period of high-intensity combat.
Commander Arthur had already started recruiting new volunteers from the city.
There were many civilians who signed up enthusiastically. In order to protect their homes, everyone's enthusiasm was very high.
However, this was just a drop in the bucket.
This was because most of the new volunteers were civilians who did not have Extraordinary powers.
When faced with this professional allied army formed by the private soldiers of the nobles, they had no power to fight back at all.
Although Augus City was barely able to hold on, anyone could see that the situation in the Maple Moon Free Territory was not optimistic.
"Your Excellency Dumby, how long until our reinforcements arrive?"
On the tower of the city wall, Arthur asked while breathing heavily as he cut down an imperial soldier who was trying to climb up the city wall through the dense rain of arrows.
Beside him, the all-star Dumby, who was the commander of the city defense, was no longer as calm as he had been a few days ago. His body was covered in blood, and he looked quite battered.
"Soon. Let's hold on a little longer. The other party will panic."
All Star Dumby said.
Arthur still wanted to say something.
But looking at the Elven Warriors who were fighting a bloody battle and seeing the exhaustion in their eyes, he swallowed his words.
He clenched his teeth and shouted to the warriors of Maple Moon Territory around him.
"Hold on, everyone! Our reinforcements will be here soon!"
The pressure on Augus City grew.
On the other hand, as the attacking side, the pressure on the empire's army was no less than that of the Maple Moon Free Territory.
Looking at the city that had not been taken down after days of strong attacks, Joseph's expression became more and more unpleasant.
He had never imagined that a small Augus City would be so tenacious and so difficult to take down.
Yes, the defenders of Augus City had suffered heavy losses.
But as the attacking side, as the side that was forcefully attacking the city, the empire's side had suffered even more losses.
In just a few days, the Northern Army had lost more than 50,000 soldiers because of the siege. If not for the pressure from the great aristocrats, some soldiers, and even some small aristocrats who had participated in the battle, might have rebelled and retreated.
The originally high morale had been weakened by the repeated attacks. The grievances brought about by the high casualties had gradually spread among the army, shaking the cohesion of the entire Northern Army.
Joseph knew very well that if he could not take down this city in a short time, the people's hearts and morale that he had painstakingly gathered would be scattered.
This was the disadvantage of the aristocratic allied army.
At the end of the day, everyone had gathered together for the rich rewards of the Great Sage Battle. In reality, everyone had their own ulterior motives, and the degree of unity was not very high.
This way, it was fine if they fought a smooth battle, but if they met a tough opponent, Joseph did not think that this huge army would be able to unleash the combat power they should have.
"Augus City has always been known for being easy to defend and difficult to attack. In history, only the elves used airships to successfully take down this city from the air. However, we don't have airship technology, and the aerial griffins are not suitable for attacking a city with a divine spell barrier … Therefore, the attack will naturally be more difficult."
Beside Joseph, the middle-aged aristocrat Roland sighed.
The young duke's expression became even more unpleasant.
As the middle-aged aristocrat spoke, he glanced at the army that was besieging the city and continued shaking his head.
"However, this is not the most important thing. The most important thing is that after these few days of siege, everyone has realized how difficult it is to take down this city. Now, many of the great aristocrats have begun to choose to conserve their strength."
"Only the small aristocrats have been pushed out, and are forcing themselves to go forward …"
"But they are not strong to begin with. If we continue to fight like this, we will only drag on for a longer time."
"Lord Duke, we have to let the great aristocrats send their elites. Only the elites of the great aristocrats can take down this city in a short time!"
The middle-aged aristocrat spoke with a serious expression.
Hearing this, Joseph nodded slightly, his eyes flashing.
His gaze wandered among the aristocrats behind him. Many of them who met his gaze subconsciously lowered their heads.
When Joseph's gaze finally landed on one of them, he stopped.
"Earl Meath, I heard that you brought 70,000 men to this holy war. However, I don't seem to have seen your army go out to battle these few days."
The skinny Earl Meath's expression changed instantly.
His gaze flickered, and he was about to explain, but was quickly stopped by Joseph's next sentence.
"Earl Meath, if I remember correctly, Augus City originally belonged to the western territory. As the former lord of the western territory, shouldn't you set an example if you wish to reclaim this land? Or are you planning to give up on reclaiming the nearby territory? "
"No! Lord Duke, Augus City has been a part of the western territory since ancient times! It is the legal territory of the Meath family! "
Earl Meath subconsciously retorted.
"Then set an example. There are many aristocrats from the western territory participating in this war. In the next wave of attack, the great aristocrats of the western territory will be the vanguard."
Joseph said.
With that said, he took a deep look at the pale Earl Meath.
"Don't think about preserving your strength anymore. Otherwise, even if we manage to conquer this place in the end, I will report to the council and ask them to reclaim your authority! "
Earl Meath's expression was conflicted.
After a while, he finally sighed dejectedly.
"I understand, Lord Duke."
"Then hurry up and get ready. The next large-scale attack will begin in an hour."
Joseph said with satisfaction.
With that, the young duke left, leaving behind Earl Meath's expression.
"Lord Duke, are we … are we really going to be the main force in the next attack?"
A great aristocrat from the western territory asked.
"We can only go. Since Duke Rosen has already said so, we have no choice but to go."
Earl Meath sighed.
He looked at the hesitant vassal nobles around him and sneered.
"Alright, don't fret. After a few days of exhaustion, Augus City's strength has weakened significantly. Although we might suffer a greater loss if we attack, it won't be as difficult as it was at the beginning."
With that, he looked deeply at the vassal nobles.
"Don't hide anymore. I know you fellows have secretly brought better siege equipment. Take them out later. Otherwise, when the war is over, I will report to the council and strip him of his title!"
… …
"Hmph, I knew it. These selfish fools have been hiding their elites all along. They don't want to contribute at all!"
Half an hour later, Joseph snorted angrily and cursed when he saw the three Magic Crystal Cannons being pushed out by the nobles of the western territory led by Earl Meath.
"Not good! It's the heavy magic crystal cannons! "
On the city walls, Commander Arthur's expression changed slightly when he saw the siege cannons from the empire's side.
Augus City's defensive divine spell barrier was already on the verge of collapse.
If it was blasted a few times by the heavy magic crystal cannons, it might completely collapse.
When that happened, the ordinary city walls would no longer be able to defend against the heavy cannons, which were more destructive than a Gold-ranked sorcerer and comparable to a legendary spell …
The defenders were on high alert. Outside the camp, more than 150,000 elite nobles of the Western Territory slowly gathered and prepared to launch an attack on Augus City.
Earl Meath was dressed in full armour, standing at the back of the army command center.
Looking at the army in front of him, he took a deep breath, his gaze gradually becoming resolute.
However, at this moment, a bloodstained and battered noble knight suddenly rushed over from behind. He shouted in panic as he ran towards Thales, "My Lord, I'm sorry.
"Earl Meath, Earl Meath!"
Earl Meath slowly turned his head and was slightly taken aback.
"Robert, why are you here?"
He recognised him as one of the personal knights he had left behind to guard Morning Star City.
"Earl Meath, it's … it's bad! Morning Star City has been breached by the elves! "
The knight named Robert gasped for breath.
"What did you say?!"
Earl Meath's eyes widened in disbelief.
"It's true … It's true … Elves, many elves suddenly appeared … They even brought a lot of magic crystal cannons … They breached the city in less than two hours …"
The knight trembled as he spoke, a trace of fear still remaining in his eyes.
Hearing this, Earl Meath was dumbfounded.
"It's gone, everything's gone. The elves have ransacked the entire Morning Star City, and even distributed all the wealth of the nobles to the commoners …" The personal knight continued.
There was even a hint of sobbing in his voice.
Hearing this, Earl Meath only felt a gush of blood rush to his head, almost causing him to faint.
Morning Star City was the core capital of the Meath family.
The wealth of Morning Star City was basically the accumulated wealth of the family over hundreds of years.
It was only after a while that he recovered and gritted his teeth.
"These cunning and shameless elves!"
"Wait … Not good!"
As if he had thought of something, Earl Meath's expression changed greatly.
He hurriedly grabbed the personal knight's clothes, his eyes red as he asked.
"Where's the Countess? Where's little Phyllis and Miya? "
"The Countess and the rest were rather lucky. Coincidentally, they went to the castle in the countryside for a holiday a week ago and escaped the calamity. They should have returned to Lasalle Stronghold by now."
The personal knight replied.
Hearing this, Earl Meath heaved a sigh of relief.
Lasalle was the second largest city in the Western Territory, and also the main city of the Meath family. It was a city built around a stronghold, and was easier to defend than Morning Star City.
The last bit of the Meath family's wealth was there.
However, at the next moment, following the personal knight's words, his heart leapt to his throat.
However … However, the elves seem to have received news, and it's said that they're already marching towards Lasalle Stronghold! "
At this moment, Earl Meath's face was completely pale.
His expression changed several times, and he clenched his teeth, raised his sword, and roared.
"Pass down my orders, all troops, retreat, retreat! Return to the Western Territory! Return to the Western Territory now! Return to the Western Territory! Return to Lasalle Stronghold! "
Hearing this, the other nobles of the Western Territory looked at each other.
"No, we can't do this, Earl Meath. We're already prepared to attack the city, we can't retreat now!"
"That's right! It's too late to rush back now. What we should do now is to attack Augus City and recoup our losses as much as possible! "
The nobles of the Western Territory tried to persuade him.
The sunk cost of attacking the city was already too great.
Although they didn't want to attack by force, since they had already drawn their bows, there was no turning back.
Now, not many of them were willing to leave.
As for the elves?
Heh, they weren't the ones being attacked, but their lord, or their lord's lord.
Not only were they worried, many of the nobles were even gloating, and almost had mockery written all over their faces.
Earl Meath had forcefully dragged everyone into the battle before the start of the war, and many of the nobles were rather dissatisfied.
At this moment, many of them felt a sense of satisfaction in their hearts, 'Heaven's will be merciful, who will be spared by the heavens?'
However, in the next second, the personal knight brought even more explosive news.
"My lords, it's not just Morning Star City. The elves seem to have obtained a map of the nobles' territories in the Western Territory. They've scattered their forces, and are attacking many of your castles and towns! They're even using the banner of 'attacking the nobles, dividing the wealth'! Several of your manors and castles have already been torn down by them! "
The expressions of the nobles of the Western Territory who were secretly mocking Earl Meath instantly froze on their faces.
Their gazes gradually became dull.
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