BXBX NOVEL Chapter 43 - 43: The Fall of Ice City_1
There had been a dispute over the initiation of the Saint’s Edge between the quartermaster and Leonardo.
“Chairman Silver Coin is deeply investigating the enemy’s camp, starting now will put him in danger,” said the quartermaster.
Leonardo waved his hand, nonchalantly saying, “Don’t worry, he’s well into his nineties, he can protect himself, and if he does meet with misfortune, consider it a sacrifice for the light.”
The quartermaster understood all too well the meaning behind his words, ‘if he dies in his nineties, it’s no great loss’ Making light of someone else’s life was not Leonardo’s first time, the quartermaster had grown accustomed to his indifference, he changed the subject and said:
“But, we have not yet traced the source of the Holy Essence Liquid, in case something unexpected happens, we could lose this supply.”
The quartermaster couldn’t understand why Leonardo had suddenly changed his mind. If they couldn’t secure the supply, it would be better to maintain the status quo. At least they could still make a nine-fold profit, diluted, turned over to fourteen or fifteen times was no problem.
“What could go wrong? Capture someone and interrogate under torture, you can always find out. Given the large quantity and high purity of the Essence Liquid, there must be a large primordial Holy Mushroom Forest, it’s more than what three to five hundred people could handle, catch three to five and you’ll find out,” Leonardo said with seeming indifference.
“But…” the quartermaster wanted to say something, then received the latest news from Silver Coin. There was a periodic storm in that place, affecting the entire abyss, all creatures couldn’t survive in the storm, they must find a place to take cover, it was a huge disruption to the continuity of the war.
“So, what about all your worries? Purifying the abyss, eliminating heretics, spreading light, conveying the gospel, isn’t this the goal of our Saint’s Edge Legion? With the holy edge, we cleanse the filth. If people are sacrificed for this, it is their glory, go!” Leonardo was clearly losing patience.
The quartermaster dared not say anything more, he meekly turned his head and left.
Lazily lying there for quite some time, Leonardo pulled out his Saint’s Edge Badge, the intricate symbol on it was slowly blinking.
The Saint’s Edge Badge is the ultimate symbol of power within the Saint’s Edge Army, each symbol on it has its own meaning. The symbol that was now blinking was called the Highest Mobilization Order. When this symbol appears, the Saint’s Edge Army must be prepared for full mobilization, ready for battle at any time.
Ever since he took the position of Paladin in the Saint’s Edge Army, Leonardo didn’t think this symbol would one day light up. Originally, he spent a lot of money to be transferred to the Saint’s Edge Army. On paper, he was assigned to guard the abyss, but he considered it retirement.
The Saint’s Edge Army was stationed in the remote countryside, far from the centre of power. The only advantage was getting some abyss specialities and playing with country girls. He finally found a way to make money, and before he could take advantage of it, he received the mobilization order. What a joke.
Leonardo had no patience to wait. He needed to seize this opportunity to make as much money as possible. He didn’t know what this mobilization order meant. If it was too dangerous, he thought he’d better find another place.
But bribes always need money, and making money is the most straightforward way. As for a few more deaths? They’re just commoners. It doesn’t matter. The mission of the Saint’s Edge Army is to cleanse the abyss. To sacrifice for the mission is their glory.
When Feilin dragged Ange to the new area of the Underground City, thousands of wailing refugees were what met Ange’s eyes.
The Saint’s Edge Army that had been thrown in only numbered a hundred. With the combined efforts of two saints, a hundred armed Saint’s Edge Army members suddenly appeared in front of the gates of Ice City, at Isthmus Square. Prior to this, the 150 tons of grain and Silver Coin and his two men were also sent to the same location.
Delivery requires more stringent spatial requirements than a Teleportation
Array. Near Ice City, the Isthmap Square is the most suitable.
When the food was sent, Ice City was prepared. The weapons and personnel were all ready, in case of any accident. But when Anne and Lan left in the morning, because they were with Silver Coin, they didn’t think the enemy would launch an attack, so they didn’t raise the alert level.
When the two saints walked into the square and began the positioning ceremony, the guards of the Ice City didn’t know what was happening. By the time they received feedback, a flash of intense light exploded, and a hundred fully armed Saint’s Edge Army members had appeared in the middle of the square.
Facing the fully armed enemies, the guards knew what to do without having to report back. They quickly turned the crossbow in preparation for firing, then they witnessed a very professional siege.
Ten heavily armored shield bearers, tall and robust, held shields taller than themselves and stood in the front line of the team. They hitched left and right to link with the adjacent shields, plunging the sharp bottom ends into the ground, ensuring a firm support.
Ten priests cast Holy Shields on the heavy shields and semi-transparent shields started to float on the surface of the heavy shields.
Two Paladins stabbed their swords into the ground, kneeling on one knee, clutching the hilt with both hands. A glow radiated from their bodies, illuminating everyone with tiny twinkling stars where the light reached.
The Devoted Aura improves the defensive power of the team members within its range.
With the reinforcement of the heavy shields, Holy Shields, and Devoted Aura, the whole team stood firm as a fortress.
The rest of the crew began to prepare, among them, eight Paladins summoned their own war horses. Only Paladins have the ability to summon war horses, and there are only ten Paladins in this team, which means a maximum of ten cavalry.
Hummm! Hummm! Hummm! Three bowstring sounds were heard and two thick city defense crossbow arrows got nailed into the heavy shields while one missed. The arrowheads of the hit crossbow arrows shattered and their shafts split into hundreds of pieces of wood splinters.
The Holy Shield on the surface of the heavy shield wall broke first, then the crossbow arrows fell onto the heavy shields. Behind the shield wall, the heavily armored shield bearers and the shield bearers on both sides who were hit, spit out a mouthful of blood as though struck by lightning.
The priest immediately began the healing. First, an emergency Healing Spell was cast to suppress the internal injuries, and then the Grace of Holy Light was cast to slowly heal even more damage.
Among the eight Paladins who had summoned their war horses, there was one whose cape was red. He loudly ordered: “Shield wall, advance!”
The shield bearers lifted their shields, and with slow and heavy steps, they advanced step by step, in perfect coordination.
“Hallelu – Messiah – Poxia – Sisma – Amara -” All members of the team chanted the hymn in perfect harmony. This three-tone hymn coordinated everyone’s steps, keeping them in sync. The shield wall was perfectly seamless.
The content of the hymn was something like ‘Praise the Lord, who gives us clothes, and food, and keeps disaster and disease at bay’.
Seeing that the crossbow arrows were strung and ready to be launched, the Red Cloaked Holy Knight shouted: “Halt! Shields up!”
The crossbowmen on the wall didn’t know what to do, whether to shoot or not.
Seeing that the crossbow arrows were ready but not launched, the Red Cloaked Holy Knight immediately changed his command: “Shield wall! Advance alternately.”
The shield wall was then divided into two halves. Half of the wall stood still while the other half moved forward a certain distance, halted, then let the other half advance. The team gradually approached the city wall in this alternating manner.
Chaos ensued on the city wall, they had never witnessed such a professional
attack before.
Due to the Resting Wind, this world had not seen large-scale wars in over a thousand years. Consequently, regular offensive and defensive wars were virtually non-existent. The defensive ability of Ice City compared to that of Saint’s Edge Army was akin to comparing village militiamen with a regular army.
As they got close to bow-and-arrow distance, the Red Cloaked Knight waved his hand: “Crossbowmen, keep them down.”
About half of the entire team carried crossbows, launching fifty arrows in one wave, cycling through the shots. The city guards were so suppressed they could not even lift their heads.
The Red Cloaked Knight climbed onto his horse, lined up to lead, and with every step forward, the holy light on their bodies got brighter. The eight Paladins, with the Red Cloaked Holy Knight at the helm, managed to give an imposing aura of a vast formidable army. An intangible force surged amongst them, culminating into a rallying cry that echoed through the heavens and earth: “Holy! Charge!”
The power of the eight Paladins came together, crashing onto the city gate. Wood splinters flew everywhere; Ice City had been breached..