Allen, who had returned to the old apple tree, passed the gem with Odega's soul to Merlin. "The death of the body is not the end of the journey, but the underworld is not a good place to go. There are still many mysteries of the soul. Some people hope to obtain eternal life by splitting their soul, and some people's souls have indeed obtained eternal life. This road is mysterious and unfathomable, and you need to constantly explore it. Odega's soul will accompany you in this gem until you have a sufficient understanding of soul magic. Perhaps you will be able to safely release him. "
Merlin gripped the gemstone tightly. Although his mouth was actually full of oil, he still nodded with a determined expression. The opportunity to release Odega was indeed very tempting. Moreover, as a little Wizard who was not even a beginner, Merlin was still completely unclear about the classification of black and white magic. He still did not know the meaning behind it.
With a responsible attitude towards his own apprentice, he did not turn Odega into a death knight. Instead, he planned to use this opportunity to guide his own apprentice. He could not let Merlin walk on the path of a pure light wizard …
And on this morning, although the sacrifice made by the victor of the duel with Norman puzzled others, it was exceptionally noble.
Tolfe, who was within the shield wall formation, had his nose red. Tears flowed out from his eyes uncontrollably. Several knights carried Odega, who had sacrificed himself heroically, on their shoulders and brought him back to the camp. All the things that Odega had done for their hometown, Crowhurst Village, and for England, appeared in the hearts of every Anglo-Saxon militia.
"Odega, you are the bravest man in our county. Every Englishman who swore an oath will avenge your unfortunate death." Leocliff said with resentment and grief. "Let the Norman beasts come!"
Of course, they would.
The Normans, who had an overwhelming advantage in numbers, once again fired arrows at the Britons. Only the knights and the rich were fully equipped with armor. The poor peasant militia could only rely on the shields distributed by the kingdom to protect themselves.
The Normans rode on horses and ran on foot. They swarmed forward and launched a general attack.
Tolfe, who had tried his best to hide in the back of the shield wall, held the mentality of revenge for Odega. He passed through the crowd and walked to the front of the army. The soldiers at the front were the most dangerous. They had to guard against attacks from the ground and arrows from above.
However, the shield wall formation used by the English originated from the Roman era. This meant that even if the Normans were fully armed, they would not be able to quickly launch a fatal attack. Moreover, they had the advantage of the hillside. In order to protect their homeland from the invasion of the Normans, they used spears, tree trunks, stones and a series of things they could get their hands on to throw at the enemies on the swamp below the hillside.
King Harold had his own thoughts. What he wanted to do. was to defend the shield wall and allow the Normans to attack. He wanted them to tirelessly charge up the hillside. If he could hold the line until night, then he would have a high chance of victory. The Normans would be exhausted. He had called reinforcements reinforcements from the surrounding area......
In fact, William had already known about Harold's plan from the reports of the Norman scouts. The stalemate had also made him painfully aware that other than breaking through the shield wall and obtaining victory before nightfall, he had no other choice. He had never considered the possibility of giving up. The bastard Duke had only continued to launch attacks.
By noon, the battle had reached a stalemate. After three hours of repeated attacks, the Normans were still unable to make any breakthroughs.
At this time, without any warning, the entire flank of William's army began to turn around and flee. The well-trained Normandy army fled just like that.
A rumor spread among the dying soldiers. One of the militiamen came up to Leocliff and said, "Their duke is dead. He was killed. Spread the news."
"Their leader is dead. Spread the news." Leofrick's eyes were covered with joy as he said to Tofei.
"Their duke is dead." Tofei was both sad and happy. He could finally avenge Odegar. "Oh, how sweet the taste of victory will be. How bitter the Norman invaders will taste."
"Chase them into the sea. For Odegar." Leofrick rushed to the front. He could not wait to avenge Odegar.
The Viking mercenaries who were familiar with the tactics of the Norman army knew that this was actually a time-tested tactic of the Normans. Their goal was to mislead their enemies into thinking that victory was within their grasp. Then, they would let down their guard and the shield wall would be full of flaws. Hence, they quickly extended their arms to stop the Normans. Many of them were so anxious that they shouted, "Come back …"
"They're escaping!" Due to the continuous recruitment, many of the militiamen were fighting for the first time. Seeing the situation before them, they could not help but feel excited.
"Don't mess up the formation. The battle is not over yet!" As veterans of the battlefield, King Harold's personal guards and the vikings attempted to stop the militia from getting agitated. However, under such circumstances, the militia were clearly overwhelmed by the spectacle before them. Similar to their previous opponents, they wouldn't listen to any of them.
As if they had seen the dawn of victory, the English began to pursue.
"Their duke is dead! He's dead! " Leocliffe was completely immersed in the ecstasy of victory and the excitement of avenging Odegar. He and some of the militiamen rushed down the mountain. Harold's orders were temporarily not transmitted. Furthermore, the militiamen were obviously disdainful of the Viking mercenaries' warning. Many of them followed Leocliffe's footsteps and raised their weapons to kill. The originally tight shield wall began to show signs of weakness.
Seeing this, Tofei also followed the footsteps of his best friend. However, he was stopped by a Viking who grabbed his collar from behind.
"This is a trick of the Normans." Although he already knew the outcome, Allen could not help but sigh. The English had still walked down the path of fate.
Merlin's little hand tugged at Allen's collar as he made a silent request.
"I'm sorry, my apprentice. I've already seen their fate through divination. Leocliffe is destined to die on the battlefield." Allen lowered his head to look at Merlin and explained. Now, he did not intend to take the risk of directly interfering with the fate of those who had divined the outcome — at least, the fate of those who were alive.
Merlin's eyes dimmed. He nodded obediently and lowered his head. He did not dare to look at the battlefield anymore. He also did not dare to beg his mentor. He knew that if possible, his mentor would be willing to fulfill some of his requests even though he appeared to be a little 'weird'. Furthermore, his mentor had already advised them before.
Allen rubbed Merlin's little head. "I will turn his soul into a soul gem. As long as you study soul magic diligently, you will be able to save Leocliffe when you become strong in the future. Besides, I can promise you that I will make sure that your brother-in-law, Tofei, is safe. "
The situation on the battlefield came as a great surprise to William, who had executed his plan. That was because among the Norman army, a shocking rumor had spread. The rumor was that this was not a ruse to deceive the enemy, and that William had really died on the battlefield. In this era, the death of a commander usually signified the complete defeat of the war. The morale of the army began to slacken. Seeing that the militia who had rushed down the hill had tasted the sweetness of victory, more of the English militia began to dive down the hill.
The English militia fell into a brief moment of victory. They seemed to have killed their way to the top. Leocliffe raised his dagger high and stabbed it into the back of a Norman deserter. He raised both his arms in excitement and cheered for his victory.
The Norman Duke had no choice but to take off his helmet and face his subordinates. After that, he began to circle around his army and shouted, "Look at me! Can you recognize me? I'm still alive! Blessed by the Lord! The Normans are determined to win! "
William had experienced countless battles. He knew that in this situation, he had to face everyone and raise the morale of the army. That was quite effective. For the Normans, this unexpected temporary defeat had been turned into a bigger scam by their own liege. He had lured more of the English militia away from the protection of the slope and the swamp.
Duke William was not dead yet. Soon, the Norman cavalry made use of their fatal advantage for the first time. They quickly rushed into the scattered English militia. Knowing that he had fallen into their trap, Leocliff did not try to retreat like the rest of the militia. He turned his head and looked at the hill behind him with tears in his eyes. After making sure that his best friend had not foolishly rushed down the hill like him, he nodded his head in satisfaction. After that, he threw down his shield and raised his spear with both hands. Bravely, he launched a counter-charge towards the Norman cavalry. He was trying to buy time for the militia that he, as the captain of the squad, had brought down the hill.
Leocliffe's heart was no longer afraid of death. He only felt that if it was Odegar who he hated so much, he would be more than happy to do the same.
When Merlin returned to the battlefield, everything seemed to have entered into slow motion. He watched with his own eyes as the warrior from his hometown who had sworn an oath to protect him raised his spear and took out two charging Norman knights with an unimaginable skill. After that, he was pierced by the lance of the third Norman knight. The lance pierced right through Leocliff's throat. The newly appointed captain of the militia fell on his back. Blood flowed out from the wound between his neck and his head where there was still some flesh and skin attached to his neck.
Toffee was completely stunned on the slope. His best friend had died. Countless brave English soldiers like him had died at the foot of the hill.
The Norman infantrymen, who had been defeated by the rumors, turned around and defeated the English soldiers who were rushing down the hill – without the protection of the shield wall, the militia, who were only armed with shields and crude weapons, were no match for the well-trained and heavily armed Normans.
Allen, who had teleported next to Toffee and turned him into a soul gem, spoke to him in a gentler tone than usual. "You were once a cowardly farmer from Crowhurst Village. Now, you are a brave warrior from Crowhurst Village. Merlin himself will bless you."
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