Bagration's death wasn't the end of everything. On the contrary, his heroic death ignited Mrs. Kiesler's fighting spirit.
On the other side, the Supreme King of Noska, Aislin, was also heavily injured by the combined efforts of the three Gods. After the battle ended, Aislin knelt down on one knee in pain. Before his personal guards, who were bestowed by the God of Chaos, could come to his aid, Kislöw's army attacked Aislin in anger and rage. The heavily injured Supreme King of Noska even took a few shots to his chest under the fire of the snipers before he was forcefully escorted out of the battlefield by his personal guards.
Rokossovsky once again mobilized his army to launch a counterattack. Mrs. Kiesler burned her own life force and engaged in a fierce battle with the Army of Chaos. With the reinforcements from the Southern City and the Red Sea Army, the Noska Mountain Army lost Aislin's command and fell into a state of disunity. In the end, after Mrs. Kiesler paid a price of more than 50,000 casualties, the Noska Mountain Army was repelled and expelled from Örengrád.
This extremely fierce battle was known as "Essun's Death".
December 15th, the sun rose from the horizon of Örengrád once again.
The city was still standing.
A huge funeral was held for Bagration in the city. The elderly, children, and women spontaneously came to the streets to sing praises of the great Bear God's Chosen, shed tears for him, and cried for him.
Bagration died. He used his death to ignite Mrs. Kiesler's fighting spirit. He also made the Noska people aware of Mrs. Kiesler's determination. In the firelight, the Chosen of the Bear God turned into eternity. The flames and smoke turned into Essun's face. The Bear God told Mrs. Kiesler not to give up. Reinforcements were on the way.
The morale in the city soared.
Outside the city, due to the severe injuries of the Supreme King of Northka, Valmir Aislin, the Northka Mountain Army no longer attacked. Instead, they surrounded the city and tried to force Örengrád to surrender. Aislin personally promised that if Örengrád surrendered, half of the people in the city would become Northka's slaves.
Mrs. Kiesler hung the head of the emissary on the wall as a sign of refusal. Instead, they took advantage of the fact that the Noska Mountain Army was temporarily unable to attack to repair the wall and train the new soldiers. Elder Ivanovna used her magic to create an ice wall to replace the collapsed wall.
However, just as Örengrád was about to catch his breath, bad news arrived. Due to the betrayal of the traitor Vlasov, the Chaos Inferno Cannon accurately found the location of Örengrád's grain warehouse. With the Chaos Inferno Cannon's directional bombardment, the entire grain warehouse was engulfed in flames.
Everyone in the city panicked. Rumors spread like wildfire among the refugees and the army.
Marshal Rokossovsky and the others immediately tried to calm them down, but they knew that the problem was much more serious than they imagined!
Only less than four hundred tons of grain were saved from the entire grain warehouse! Four hundred tons was at most four hundred thousand kilograms, and there were still three hundred thousand people in Örengrád! Three hundred thousand people needed at least two hundred thousand kilograms of food every day to keep themselves fed!
Now that Orenglad was surrounded by the barbarian army, it was extremely difficult to get food supplies. All the land routes were cut off, and the sea routes were blocked by the barbarian dragon boat fleet. The only thing that could get food supplies was the fish under the ice of the big lake in the port.
The defenders were in a desperate situation.
At the beginning, in the middle of November, when Örengrád was under siege, every soldier, blacksmith, and worker was given eight hundred grams of dalieba and a small amount of salt. Ordinary refugees were given four hundred grams of dalieba.
At the beginning of December, Örengrád was cut off from all supplies, and the rationing system became even stricter. Every soldier, blacksmith, and worker was only given five hundred grams of dalieba, while ordinary refugees and their families were given two hundred and fifty grams. Famine spread throughout the city.
In the middle of December, the Noska Mountain Legion's fierce attack and the burning of the grain warehouse caused the food supply in the city to be extremely tight. Even the Red Sea Army, Winged Cavalry, and Bear Cavalry could only get three hundred grams of dalieba a day. Workers and blacksmiths were given two hundred grams, while ordinary refugees and their families were only left with one hundred grams.
Moreover, the quality of the dalieba was getting worse and worse. Apart from the coarse flour, the bakery added many other things to the food, including the powder ground from beans, the powder of chestnuts and peas for livestock, and even the residue of flour that had been burnt in the hellfire, as well as the powder ground from wood chips and stones.
Hunger and exhaustion caused the entire city to fall into despair. After the Noska Mountain Legion was forced to retreat, the citizens could no longer hold on. Tens of thousands of people were bedridden due to exhaustion and malnutrition.
When it came to the 20th of the 12th month, even the worst Dalieba ration could no longer be maintained. Starvation and the bitter cold reduced the original population of three hundred thousand to two hundred and eighty thousand. The bitter cold of winter and the cruel famine gave Aisling, who was still recovering from her injuries, the hope of conquering the city. However, the stubborn resistance of the defending army made the injured Supreme King Noska give up on the idea and choose to continue the siege.
The terrible winter and the snowstorm seemed to indicate that the end of Örengrád was near. Even the commanders of the Hilavik Group could only choose to lie down for long periods of time to conserve their energy when there was no military situation. Apart from black bread, the only meat available was the fish under the ice. These meat were all handed over to the Red Sea Army, Bear Cavalry, Winged Cavalry, and Snipers.
The Noskas never gave up on finding any weakness. Every day, the Chaos Hellfire would bombard the city. Many Chaos Champions, Barbarian Champions, and Chaos Warriors who were eager to make a name for themselves would immediately rush up and try to find a chance to breach the city. However, Mrs. Kiesler didn't give them any chance. After a few days, the Noskas paid the price of more than two thousand casualties, Aisling announced that no one was allowed to attack the city walls without orders.
The Red Sea Army dragged thousands of corpses from the streets every day. Many Mrs. Kiesler went crazy from hunger and tried to devour the corpses. Marshal Rokossovsky and Marshal Kuznetsov issued a cruel order that all of these people must be executed. If they wanted to defend Örengrád, they couldn't tolerate any mental or physical corruption. Eating the corpses of their comrades was one of the most serious crimes.
However, there was no shortage of ammunition. Örengrád had to thank the chief engineer of the Kirov factory, Kalashnikov, and Duma, who represented Voroshilov. Kalashnikov had stored enough gunpowder and ore for Örengrád to use for half a year. As for Duma, who represented Voroshilov, he was relatively honest and didn't know much about the production of firearms. Thus, he entrusted the material storage to the chief engineer. This allowed the factory to always operate at full capacity and the army to always have enough ammunition.
Despite all the efforts of the defenders, it seemed that the end of Örengrád was near.
By the 25th of December, there was no food supply for the city's civilians. Two thousand people died of hunger every day. The 24th had the highest number, which was four thousand.
The Ice Witch Elder Ivanovna wrote in despair in her diary: "Our Queen Tsar Katarina never understood the living conditions of her people. She always thought that if her royal estate could produce 1,500 kilograms of grain per hectare, then all of Kislöw could produce 1,500 kilograms of grain per hectare. She foolishly chose to take away every sword and all the grain in the granary from Örengrád, leaving despair and famine in the city. Rokossovsky tried to save Örengrád, but it was too late."
"It looks like everything has come to an end. It's too painful. People can lose their lives at any time. The refugees start to lose interest in everything, and then they slowly fall to the ground in a trance. They always like to say that they're just a little tired and want to rest for a while, but many people … never stand up again."
"This happens every day in Örengrád, and many people who are dying of hunger don't even notice that the people around them are gone forever."
"But if you want to make us yield like this, then the answer of the Sons of Kislöw is — never!"
Such a cruel war could not make the people of Örengrád yield.
At the same time, Örengrád's determination and great sacrifices were not in vain.
The city miraculously stood tall in the face of the destructive tide of Chaos, greatly boosting the morale of the Old World, and buying time for the Empire and Brittany to mobilize. It also delayed Motekin's southward march. The 120,000 Chaos troops personally led by Motekin were attacked by the cold and snowstorm when they crossed Kislöw's border, and were forced to slow down. In addition, Örengrád's unexpected failure to conquer the city caused Motekin to worry about the risk of being flanked, so he could not move southward at full speed. This bought precious time for the Old World.
"I have to praise the city of Örengrád from the bottom of my heart. They bought time for the Empire to a large extent. The barbarians took eight days to break through all the border defenses in the north of Kislöw, but in Örengrád, they only blew up a small section of the city wall and a few buildings. The Chaos took 20 days to drive Tsar Katarina and her army out of Kislöw, but in Örengrád, they only broke through a few streets."
— Boris Todbringer, Kurfürst White Wolf.
The Empire, which had been mobilized, began to try to break the siege of Örengrád.
Nord's Claw Fleet carried out an operation. The Nords divided their fleet into several groups to lure Noska's Dragon Boat Fleet and took the opportunity to send a small group of cargo ships to Örengrád. Although more than 60% of the cargo ships were destroyed by the Dragon Boat Fleet and Nord suffered hundreds of casualties, about 30 tons of food was still sent into the city.
On the south side of the road, General Middleton of Auster gathered his army and launched a fierce attack on the Noska army on the south bank of Örengrád. A small gap was opened in the encirclement of the Noska army. After holding on for a few hours, the army lost more than 50% of its forces and was finally wiped out. However, Auster still took the opportunity to use sleds to send more than 50 tons of food into Örengrád.
For the first time, Örengrád felt that the old world had not abandoned them. The food that was urgently sent into the city made Rokossovsky see hope again. The food supply began to recover. The soldiers and workers were given 500 grams of rye bread a day while the civilians were given 300 grams.
The Empire's army was still working hard. The armies of Hocke, Auster, and Nords once again launched Operation Shalia. Thousands of Empire soldiers and Nords set up a transportation route through the coniferous forest to the south of Örengrád. They held on for three days before being chased out of Örengrád. However, more than 200 tons of food and more than 10 tons of meat, salt, sugar, and vegetables had already been sent into Örengrád.
At the end of December, the reinforcements from the old world gave Örengrád a new lease of life. Even though the population of the city had decreased from 400,000 to 230,000, the Noska Mountain Army outside the city had started to scatter due to the cold. Many of the Noska Mountain Army had left their original positions and entered the forest to the northeast of Örengrád to avoid the cold. Their encampment and encirclement gradually became lax, and their morale dropped. Their formation gradually scattered. Even King Aislin's camp in the forest of Örengrád started to let down his guard.
The barbarians were really annoyed. Aislin himself was injured, and he was tired of it. The Noska Mountain Army was gradually losing control in his hands.
Rokossovsky, who was in the city, quickly realized that there was an opportunity. The Bear Cavalry had a keen sense of smell and felt that he had grasped onto something.
Just as Mrs. Kiesler was desperately trying to find an opportunity to escape, the rumbling sound of ironclad warships came from Kislöw Bay.
With the help of ironclad warship Enterprise, the Brittany Sea God Fleet broke through the blockade of the Noska Dragon Fleet and successfully arrived in Örengrád!
… I am the section dividing line that will never yield … …
Back to the 15th of December, when the Örengrád Army and the Noska Mountain Army were engaged in a bloody battle.
Old World, border area between Brittany and the Empire, Cullona Road.
The first wave of knights, more than 30,000 men, had been assembled. They set off from Cullona and advanced towards Marienburg.
Thousands of flags, thousands of tents, gorgeous armor that reflected the light, and hundreds of rows of lances with decorations at the top of the lances fluttered in the wind. The coats of arms of dukes, marquises, counts, barons, and knights fluttered in the cold winter wind.
It was as if this place had turned into a knight's assembly.
The northern nobles of Brittany and the knights of the Duchy of Bastogne had set up camp here.
The arrogant knights all gathered under Laing's Holy Grail Family coat of arms. The Knight King Laing rode the pure-blooded elven warhorse Grape in the lead. Beside him was the Witch of the Lake Goddess, Morgiana, who rode the unicorn Hillfain. Behind him were the ten Grail Knights of the Grail Knights stationed in Cullona, the eight Grail Knights of Morgiana's Grail Guards, and the twelve Grail Knights of the Red Dragon Knights. On both sides of Laing were the commanders and the wizards who accompanied the army.
The Royal Regent, Duke Berchemund of the Red Dragon Kingdom, Duke Hagan of Gisoleiox, Sorceress Veronica of the Sorceress Assembly, and Aurora and Teresa of MI7 rode behind them.
“MakewayfortheKing！”
“Makeway！”
"Make way for the Fair Witch!"
The King and the Witch of the Lake Goddess rode side by side into the camp. Laing looked relaxed, while Morgiana looked cold.
“Mylord！” The Old Guard had already set up camp. Raymond, the commander of the Halberd Battalion, stood at the side of the road and saluted Laing. The King raised his hand.
“Hailtoyou，sire！” The cheers grew louder and louder. The appearance of the Knight King caused the Brittany army to erupt into a huge wave of cheers.
Veronica, who was riding behind Laing, and the eyes of the witches behind her were shining brightly. This was especially true for Veronica, whose eyes were filled with little stars. She enjoyed this feeling the most.
On the other hand, Aurora and Theresa found it hard to calm down. The mother and daughter who did not participate in the Eight Peaks Mountain Expedition finally realized how powerful this man was. His every move affected the hearts of countless people. Everyone worshipped and respected him, waiting for him to lead Brittania from one victory to the next.
"Veronica, Teresa!" Laing turned his head and smiled. "How do you feel?"
"Not bad, dear," Veronica said sweetly. "I like it!"
"Laing, are we going to camp here today?" Theresa, on the other hand, was concerned about the current situation. "Mother and I will set up camp next to your tent."
"Yes, we are going to the other side of the Old World this time." Laing laughed. Knight King then turned to Morgiana and said, "I'll have to trouble you to arrange dinner tonight, Morgiana. I'll go check out the situation nearby."
"Okay, how many people do you plan to invite?" As soon as Morgiana looked at Ryan, the ice and snow on her face thawed. Her face was flushed red. She had been pestering Ryan to "repay his debt" every day during the march. She felt very satisfied and was in a particularly good mood recently.
"Invite the dukes, as well as Veronica, Theresa, and Aurora to the main tent for a meal."
"Got it."
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