The sound of a brass trumpet came from afar, breaking the peace of noon. The birds in the courtyard stopped chirping as if they had sensed something. For a moment, the castle hall seemed solemn and depressing.
Duke Wilion Borg knew it was time for the decisive battle.
He moved his eyes away from the mural of King Timothy and turned to look at an exquisite full-body armor. It was the armor passed down from his grandfather. After many repairs and polishing, every piece of the armor was soaked in oil and could almost be regarded as another layer of skin.
A line of small words was engraved on the right armguard, which was the family's admonition: "Be loyal and remember."
He wore this armor and captured the rebellious old Duke in a chaotic battle against a rain of arrows. He was then conferred the title of the new Guardian of the Eastern Region by His Majesty.
Although Timothy had fallen, his duty as a guardian would not be interrupted.
He would never let down this honor.
"Your Excellency, Prince Roland's troops are approaching Valencia. There are no traces of large firearms in the troops." A subordinate walked into the hall and reported to him.
"Very well." Wilion nodded. "Inform the others to be in position. I'll be there immediately."
"Yes, Your Excellency!"
He then took off his coat and walked to the armor. He said to his Chief Knight, Galina, "Put on the armor for me."
"Yes, Your Excellency." The woman rolled up her sleeves and began to undress him. Her calloused and rough hands were now as soft as water, gently taking off his coat and undershirt. It was hard to imagine that Galina had also used these hands to hold a spear and pierce through the enemy's armor and shield in battle.
He was intoxicated by this scene whenever he saw it.
"Do you... regret it?"
"Of course not, Your Excellency," Galina replied calmly. "When you decided to appoint a woman as your Chief Knight, I decided to follow you forever. No matter what happens, I'll do my duty."
"But this time, the enemy is stronger than before. If it's possible —" The Duke was interrupted by the sudden tightening of his belt.
"Since you know the enemy is strong, why did you refuse the covenant of the King of Dawn? It's fine if you don't agree, but you even chased the messenger out of Valencia in public. If the other side finds out, they will definitely blame you for not knowing what's good for you. "
"Tsk, let's not talk about whether the help of the City of Glow can resist the army of Prince Roland. It's already too much to ask me to provide a harbor for his troops." Wilion twitched his mouth. "His Majesty granted me the Eastern Region. What's the difference between giving it to Appen Moya and Roland Wimbledon? If I were to agree, it would be tantamount to betraying His Majesty's trust. "
"Then my answer is the same," Grina said without hesitation. "Loyalty is not a quality unique to the Borg Family. Sir, please don't mention those words again, or it will be no different from an insult to me."
Wilion was silent for a long while before he said, "Unfortunately, most of the nobles have forgotten this... I understand. Come with me. Although the opponent is strong, I will not let them take Valencia easily. I have been waiting for this battle for a long time. "
"Yes, my Lady." The female Knight chuckled.
"Bale!" He shouted the name of the clerk. "Come to me!"
Soon, a bald middle-aged man came into the hall. "My Lady, what can I do for you?"
"Remember, after a night's rest, the minions of the king-slayer Roland Wimbledon officially launch an attack on Valencia today. Wilion Borg, the Guardian of the Eastern Region, the Duke of Valencia, in the name of the late king, is determined to stop the enemy here. His Chief Knight, Grina Wien, is also with him. Their courage and loyalty are beyond doubt. May God bless them. " Wilion paused. "Of course... if you think this account is a little subjective, you can omit the last sentence."
Bale nodded and quickly wrote down the lord's statement on a notebook with a charcoal pen he carried with him. "I think there's no harm in adding it, my Lady. There is no absolutely objective record in this world. I'm the clerk of Valencia, so it's not surprising that I'm a little biased. In other words, this is part of objectivity. "
"Then keep it. But no matter what the result is, you have to record it truthfully. Do you understand?" Wilion emphasized. "It's your mission to record the cause and process of this incident in its entirety."
"Please rest assured, my Lady." The clerk bowed. "I'll make sure the world remembers this period of history."
Wilion did not say anything else. He picked up the steel sword hanging on the wall and walked out of the castle without looking back.
…
The two climbed up the watchtower on the city wall. The bonfire was already lit. Grease was boiling in the pot, giving off a pungent smell. The household soldiers were busy moving up and down the wall, moving stones and rolling logs onto the battlements.
According to the experience of the battle in King's City, Roland's most threatening means of siege was a kind of snow powder weapon called artillery. Its range was far greater than that of a catapult. Until the fall of the city, His Majesty had not been able to produce a similar product. On the day when King's City was breached, Timothy entrusted his confidant with the formula of snow powder, the principle of the weapon, and the manufacturing method to Wilion. His purpose was self-evident.
After the duke took over the project, he invested a lot of energy and money into it. He also found some ways to limit its power. For example, the artillery itself was very heavy and needed to rely on flat terrain to exert its power. In addition, the erection process was very slow and required the protection of flintlocks. In other words, it was more suitable for defense than offense.
In order to face the war that would come sooner or later, Wilion was fully prepared. In addition to widening the city wall and installing barbs, he also sent people to dig up all the roads in the suburbs and fill the farmland with river water, turning it into a swamp. He also set up many hidden stakes in the Sanwan River, making it difficult for large inland river ships with more than a mast to pass through. Two years of preparation had completely changed the surrounding environment. Now, not to mention carriages and horses, even carrying heavy objects on foot was quite difficult.
Although the cost was quite heavy — the road was cut off, which caused the prosperity of the City of Commerce to cease to exist, and the shrinking of the farmland had caused a significant drop in the population, the benefits were also obvious. At least, he did not see a single artillery in the slowly approaching enemy troops.
Obviously, the enemy had also realized that if they did not first build a road, it would be almost impossible to drag the artillery to the city wall.
Undoubtedly, the next battle was going to be a tough one.
The enemy's flintlocks were extremely fast, but there was no shelter under the city wall, and with the barbs on the wall, it was not easy to climb up. On the contrary, he had set up four catapults and two large artillery in the city, especially the latter, which could attack the enemy within a thousand steps. Under such circumstances, the outcome of the battle was still uncertain.
"They're coming," Galina warned.
As she spoke, a group of soldiers in brown clothes stepped out of the formation and surrounded the city gate. They did not move fast, but their footsteps were extraordinarily firm. Very quickly, this group of people lost their orderly formation due to the muddy ground. They scattered in twos and threes, like old farmers who were immersed in farming. In addition to the grayish-black spears on their backs, they also carried a thigh-thick barrel, but judging from the weight, it was definitely not a kind of artillery.
Wilion estimated the distance, raised the red flag and waved it down.
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