Everlasting City Fall (3)

The sky was dark. It was deep in the night, and besides the half-full moon radiating a small glow, there was not much to see. However, Each army belonging to the Elderwood Alliance had been ordered to double the number of scouts.

Being a scout was not the same as being a footsoldier. Although the risks of dying in a battlefield were lower, the death rate was not much lower, due to the enemy usually taking out the scouts first. Still, countless soldiers would volunteer to scout, for it was a profession that enabled soldiers to accumulate merits quite fast.

Discovering a surprise attack could, for instance, result in an instant promotion in their respective lord's army.

When Arthur doubled the number of scouts, most soldiers rejoiced.

And it had proved effective.

'Soldiers...400...500, perhaps. They are so numerous', a scout suddenly thought to himself.

Giving off the signal, a torch was lit up.

As soon as the signal was seen, the army began preparing.

"BATTLE FORMATION! HALEFIRE SOLDIERS, RAISE YOUR SHIELDS AND BLOCK THEIR CHARGE!", Baron Halefire shouted like a lion, immediately raising the morale of his men. It was obvious that despite his inexperience, his charisma and bloodline allowed him to act like a proud veteran general.

Count Elderwood, still furious about Arthur Landragon's behaviour, decided to shift his anger towards the enemy, rather than his allies. Thoughts of betrayal crossed his mind, but the scene of Arthur's beheading of Mila Lark was still engraved in his mind. In the end, he decided against it, even if it meant releasing a wild beast in the wild.

Of course, Count Elderwood had thought of many opportunities to get rid of a growing power in the Southern Gate Region. He had connections in the Royal Family, and since Arthur took the lead in the war, he might as well pin the 'crimes' committed against Everlasting City population against him. Instead of advising his men not to commit atrocities, he encouraged plunders and burning of the city.

His men might not be the strongest, but they were by far the most numerous, even after suffering two losses against the Lark Army. In the end, number was a big factor.

The scene unfolding before him was magnificent, however.

Horsemen who had left Everlasting City were stopped by the huge trench dug by the Elderwood Alliance Engineers and soldiers, but as they descended from their horses to cross it, some would slip and break their legs. Arthur had used a mixture of water and oil, allowing the mud to be much more slippery than usual.

Those who managed to cross the trench, would then suffer greatly from traps.

"AHHHHH!", a scream of a Lark Army soldier reverberated in the eerie silence of the night, as he fell in a huge hole camouflaged below wild herbs

*SPLASH*

A second one marched on metal spikes hidden among the wild herbs, scratching his leg and crippling his movement. However, in an army, if you stopped moving at once, you would be pushed, impaling his leg further in the iron spikes.

Those traps were very numerous, for Arthur had more than one month to prepare them all. All of it served two purposes: weakening the enemy forces, and blasting their morale.

Of course, all of it was a prelude.

John, the [Golen Demon], swung his sword down as he shouted: "FIRE"

Fifteen ballistae shot at once. The 1-meter-long bolts whistled as they crossed the plains, accurately striking the Lark Army. Those who were directly shot by the bolt would die. Those next to the area of impact would suffer great psychological damage, and shards of wood would injure them slightly.

It was a horrific massacre.

By the time the Lark Army reached the Halefire Defensive formation, they were already surrounded.

Ice arrows descended at once, each striking the Lark Acolytes accurately. Knight-level archers who followed Arthur were shooting arrows towards the acolytes. Arthur had identified them all thanks to his ring, making it very convenient.

Due to the outrageous assassinations of the acolytes, the latter did not dare casting offensive spells, preferring defensive ones for the sake of survival. However, this was a mistake, for Arthur's Ice Arrow could deal nearly 40 degrees of damage, which was so powerful that it could not be blocked by a mere low-grade rank 0 spell cast by a beginner rank acolyte.

Baron Lark, seeing that his army would get massacred without dealing any meagre amount of damage to his enemies, screamed: "STOP THIS MADNESS! I SURRENDER! BUT SPARE MY MEN AND MY CITY!"

Soldiers dropped their weapons.

Arthur smiled: "I will spare your men and your city, but I won't spare you"

*SPLASH*

[You have killed [Level 12 - Baron Lark]. You have earned 620 EXP]

[Congratulations! You have completed a mission!]

[You have received 5000 EXP]

[Southern Gate Region Reputation Gain]

[Elderwood Household Reputation Gain]

[Landragon Household Reputation Gain]

[Halefire Household Reputation Gain]

[Palford Household Reputation Gain]

[You have received 20 Spell Proficiency Points]

[You have received 10 Skill Points]

[Your name spreads through the Porfield Kingdom...]

[Landragon Household Reputation reached the threshold [Famous] in the Porfield Kingdom]

[Nobles gain an interest in the Landragon fief...]

[Merchants view the Landragon fief as a safe place. Market will bloom]