In Fathom Harbor, the main city wall was in a mess. Many parts of the wall had collapsed due to magic, and the rubble was scattered all over the ground. Amidst the smoke and dust, the imperial soldiers in red and white battle robes stepped on the collapsed wall and swarmed in. On top of the well-preserved city wall, the troops in the same battle robes were gradually gaining the upper hand. Numerous siege ladders were hung on the battlements, and more and more red and white robes were gradually converging on the city wall through these ladders. In contrast, the green robes that represented the garrison of Fathom Harbor were losing ground. In fact, in most areas, the battle had come to an end and turned into street fighting.
The change in the situation seemed to have happened just a moment ago. Sidney summoned the Angel of Wrath, Eroma, and destroyed all the undead in the valley in one fell swoop. After that, the Coast Guards launched a counterattack and reoccupied Fort Seacliff. However, the good times did not last long. The White Legion then arrived at the battlefield and launched a strong attack. On the imperial side, the great wizard Tony from Xianian led a group of sorcerers to flatten Fort Seacliff at all costs and left a bottomless pit hundreds of square meters in size. The Coast Guards suffered heavy losses in this attack, and due to Brando's prior orders, The Shire did not allow Tónigel's sorcerers to launch a counterattack. In fact, a counterattack would have been useless as the difference in strength between the two sides was obvious.
The White Legion then launched an attack on Fathom Harbor. Although the Coast Guards, whose morale was boosted by their previous victory, resisted desperately, the huge difference in strength determined the outcome from the very beginning. The sorcerers of the empire quickly destroyed the main city wall of Fathom Harbor, and the scene that happened just now happened.
Delfien moved the position to the small monastery under the protection of the crowd. She listened to the sound of fighting on the front line and quickly realized that the Coast Guards were still unable to gain a foothold.
The empire had deployed garrison infantry to the front of the battlefield. These phalanxes of infantry advanced along every street in a formation. Looking at it, one could see a moving wall made of floating square shields. Behind the square shields, one could vaguely see the heavily armored infantry with only a pair of eyes exposed under the metal helmet. They held spears that were a few meters long and extended the spears from the gaps between the shields. It was as if a forest of spears had risen, and the densely packed spear tips were shining with cold light.
The archers of the Coast Guards were helpless against these metal fortresses. Occasionally, the sharpshooters in the army could shoot their arrows into the gaps of the shields or into the eyes. However, when the infantrymen at the front fell, the heavy-armored infantrymen at the back would immediately fill in the gaps in the square formation. The few casualties seemed like a stone thrown into the sea, not causing any waves.
Although the advance of the garrison infantry was neither too fast nor too slow, it made them feel hopeless. Forced by the situation, the Coast Guards on the western side of Fathom Harbor launched a short-range counterattack. However, the result of the counterattack was very unfavorable. The entire battle went on like a hot knife through butter. In less than a quarter of an hour, almost one-tenth of the entire squadron was left alive. Moreover, there were very few injured soldiers. Most of them had turned into cold corpses lying on both sides of the street.
Only then did everyone understand why the White Legion's garrison infantry was called the 'Dragon Spear Formation' in the Second Holy War. It was not an undeserved reputation.
On the rooftops, there were also Flame Hawk Archers of the White Legion, who wore red trimmings and white cloaks. These rangers were actually from the Red Legion. However, in the Year of the Hare, the Silver Queen intended to cultivate similar types of soldiers in the other legions. Therefore, she had transferred a large group of Flame Hawk Archers from the Red Legion to the other three legions. However, the plan did not go well because most of the Flame Hawk Archers were actually rangers. They came from the mountainous areas of Floating Cloud Hill, Anzlova, Anzeruta, and Anzelin. The other three legions mainly came from Metz, Mehotofen, Ludwig, and farmers or mountain people in the countryside of Bankel and Cloak Bay. The difference in talent and understanding of archery between the two was too big. Although many outstanding archers were trained in the end, they were still far from the original expectations.
However, after the plan was put on hold, the Silver Queen did not return the transferred Flame Hawk Archers to the Red Legion. Instead, she let them stay in the other three legions as a special organization. These Flame Hawk Archers had different experiences. Among them, the White Legion's Flame Hawk Archers had even fought against the Fanzin's Silver Flag Knight in the Alcala area during the Year of the Pillar. Therefore, there was a falcon tail feather on the left chest of their cloaks as a symbol to distinguish them from other Flame Hawk Archers. Within the White Legion, these Flame Hawk Archers were usually called 'Falconers'.
These Falconers carefully crouched on the roofs and moved forward in groups of two or three. Although there were not many of them, they posed a great threat to the Coast Guards. In the past, whenever a captain, knight commander, or grand knight of the Coast Guards appeared, they would be attacked by unpredictable arrows. The accuracy of these arrows was so high that it almost caused the lower command of the Coast Guards to collapse.
As for the Coast Guards and White Lion Guards who were entrenched in temporary work, the Falconers used fire arrows and refraction shots to clear them out one by one. This was their specialty. The fire arrows of the Flame Hawk Archers could cause an explosion similar to the Fireball spell, and the refraction shots could be used to attack enemies who were hiding in buildings. In front of them, there was almost no fortress that could be considered solid.
If the Garrison Infantry was like a simple, unadorned heavy sword that could easily break through the enemy's defense, then the Flame Hawk Archers were like dexterous boning knives. The two sharp knives cooperated with each other and were unstoppable in the street battle.
The Coast Guards quickly lost the first and second barricades, and Erouine's White Lion Guards also encountered trouble in the first battle. Although they succeeded in stopping the White Legion's advance towards the Fossa Grand Cathedral, they also suffered the heaviest casualties since the start of the war. On Delfien's map, Fathom Harbor was almost one of three places gone in an instant. Red and white flags representing the Empire were planted in all the important streets. The aggressive combat power of the Empire made everyone present fall into silence.
Even the nobles of the Empire —
Everyone in the Empire might have heard about the pride of the Empire from the moment they were born. The legends of the four legendary legions passed down from the era of the War of the Holy Saints: the Burnett Legion, the Anderson Legion, the Oderfeiss Legion, and the Donat Legion. It was these four legions that gradually evolved into the Green, White, Red, and Black Legions. However, if one did not truly stand on the opposite side and become their opponent, one would not understand how powerful they were.
The glory of the Empire, the majesty of the Empire, and the power of the Empire were not empty words.
"What should we do?" Baron Ludwig's wrinkled face was very pale. "Should we retreat to Fathom Fortress?"
"No," Count Alcorn shook his head. "If we retreat now, it will cause a collapse in morale, and it's not time yet."
"But if we don't retreat, when that old wolf's men come again, we won't be able to hold on!"
Count Alcorn smiled bitterly. "I didn't expect that old man to be so capable."
The others looked at the prime minister's daughter in the wheelchair, as if they wanted to see if she had any solutions. However, Delfien's face was also solemn. She just nodded and agreed with the former's opinion.
The attack was really suffocating. Their previous judgment was too optimistic. The enemy had not sent in the Griffin Knight and the Silver Pegasus Knight, otherwise, they would not be able to hold on until noon. In fact, even now, the entire port's defense line could collapse at any time. The Coast Guards were like a string stretched to its limit. No one knew when it would suddenly snap.
It should be known that the White Legion was one of the four great legions of the Empire that was better at defense and field warfare. The Garrison Infantry that they were proud of was actually a powerful defensive infantry. The Earth Dragon Knights, on the other hand, could not be used in sieges at all.
"Did the Empire stop attacking the Forza Holy Cathedral?" She suddenly asked.
"Yes," the noble who brought the news immediately answered. However, he was a little uncomfortable with Delfien calling the White Legion the 'Empire'. In fact, most of the people present still saw this war as a civil war. He sorted out his emotions and replied in a somewhat incredulous tone, "It's true, Miss Delfien. I really don't know how those Erouine people did it. They seem to have repelled the legion's attack from the front."
…
The White Legion was also puzzled by the strength of the enemy in front of them. Erouine's troops were constantly shouting like a tsunami. It was as if they had gone crazy. On the other side of the street, the Knight captains of the White Legion looked at each other. They had already organized three attacks before this, but each time, they were mercilessly repelled. The death ratio of Erouine's troops to theirs was almost three to one, but the enemy continued to advance without fear or death.
The street was a mess. Both sides were so busy fighting that they didn't even have time to retrieve the corpses. Blood dyed the street red. Every stone on the street seemed to be soaked in blood, reflecting a strange light. The soldiers below had already named the street in front of them as' Blood Street '. However, Erouine's troops were still stubbornly guarding a few key streets, unwilling to take a step back. It was as if the legion would not be able to advance even an inch if they did not kill all of them.
These low-ranking officers of the White Legion had experienced countless battles, but they had never fought such a fierce battle. The heavy infantry on the front line had almost lost a few men. In fact, at least three squads had been completely crippled and retreated from the front line.
The 'Falconers' on the roof had also encountered opponents, and their situation was even worse. The opponents they encountered were much stronger than Erouine's infantry. It was a group of rangers, mostly made up of sharp-eared elven soldiers. Not only did the enemy have amazing shooting skills, but their ability to hide their whereabouts was also terrifying. When the Falconers first discovered them, they were still unaware of the fact that the enemy was close to 30 feet away from them. In the end, they were shot intensively from a distance that was almost a roof away, causing the entire team to be almost wiped out.
The White Legion soldiers at the back wanted to chase after them, but the elven archers had already spread out their cloaks and jumped to other rooftops far away. They then turned back and sniped at them for a while. In the end, the heavy infantry at the front line suffered heavy losses, and several Knight captains died.
Almost half of the White Legion's casualties were attributed to the elven archers. Later, the White Legion commander had no choice but to mobilize the nearby 'Falconer' squadrons in this direction, which finally relieved some of the pressure.
However, it only relieved some of the pressure. Although the 'Falconers' that had gathered far outnumbered the elven archers, they were still being suppressed. After being ambushed countless times, the 'Red Legion' archers finally realized that the enemy could actually hide.
The 'Falconers' on the rooftops were suppressed to the point that they did not dare to show their heads. At this point, the battle had already reached a stalemate. No matter how fearless the White Legion was, it was impossible for them to rashly advance without any cover. Not to mention that Erouine's people on the opposite side were ready to fight to the death, even if they were to show their reckless momentum, they might not be able to break through in a short period of time. Moreover, among the heavy infantry on the front line, there were not that many Knight commanders who could snipe the enemy's elven archers.
"The enemy should be Erouine's White Lion Legion." After a moment of silence, a Knight finally could not help but speak. "Their fighting spirit is a little beyond my expectations. I'm now very curious how Anzeruta's irregular army gained the upper hand in the battle with these guys on the highlands."
"No, that's not a pure White Lion Legion. They have White Lion shawls on their shoulders, which is obviously different from the other White Lions. Perhaps it's a special organization similar to our 'Falconers'. Did you notice that their attire is very similar to the White Lion Infantry recorded in history? "
"But no matter what, the truly powerful ones are the elven archers," another Knight said with a frown. "Where did they come from? We have never heard of such a ranger unit in Wohnde. Their abilities are too unique, it's impossible for them to be unknown. It's obvious that urban warfare is not their main battlefield. This ranger unit is the true king of jungle warfare. "
"Could it be the Wind Elves?"
"No, it's the Tree Elves. But the Tree Elves' forest archers are not like this. Their performance in urban warfare is far worse than this ranger unit."
"Well, no matter who they are, at least I can be sure that this ranger unit will be famous after today."
The first Knight looked at his companions who were at a loss of what to do and frowned. He waved his hand and said, "You've gone off-topic. What we need to discuss now is, what should we do next? Our superiors have asked us to cooperate with the attack from the south and take down the Fossa Sanctum within an hour. But these Erouine people seem to have gone crazy. The others won't listen to our explanation. They will only laugh at us for not being able to deal with a group of country bumpkins. "
"This problem is not easy to solve. If these people are considered country bumpkins, then I can't help but doubt our combat power."
"You should indeed review your performance." At this time, a dignified voice interrupted. All the knights present couldn't help but tremble when they heard this voice. They turned around and respectfully saluted the person who interrupted, "Sir!"
The person who walked into the circle was the commander of this unit, Sir Lucius. He looked at his subordinates with a serious face and replied, "There's no need to discuss. The orders have been given."
"What? The superiors are willing to provide us with air support, my Lord?"
"No," Sir Lucius replied simply. "This is an order from Duke Ambunaar. He ordered us to stop the attack immediately and return to the Golden Needle Valley to await further orders."
"What!? Why? Taking down Fahrtan Port is right in front of us? "
"There's no why. The attack has been blocked. Do you see the Buga fleet? This is an order. Execute it immediately. "
"Yes —" The Knight was silent for a moment, but they still nodded.
…
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