Chapter 18: Scorched Earth
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In Middle-earth, there are wars everywhere.
Bones and shards of earth and steel were mixed together, making all the land look like scorched earth.
The banner of the mutilated Northern Kingdom was still fluttering in the wind, and in the horizon, there was still the remnant sun in front of him, and there were still a few broken corpses hanging on the sparse trees.
"In the name of King Kulush of the Northern Kingdom, today is the 9th year of the offensive against the Legion of the Wailing. Just yesterday, the Howling Legion advanced another 100 miles. Three cities were captured......"
The 76-year-old general Marg and the only hundred soldiers left with him lay in the trenches, clutching their crossbows in their hands.
Another blazing stone bullet exploded in front of her, and General Marge felt that her eardrums had no reaction to it.
The simple action was repeated over and over again, lying down, rolling on its side, hiding in the pit of the next stone projectile, and then probing and shooting arrows.
General Marge's chest felt like it was about to explode, and it smelled of gunsmoke, smelling worse than horse manure.
For a brief moment, General Marge felt that everything seemed to be a dream, or just a nightmare.
He remembered a maxim of the god of war, "There is never justice in the so-called war, there are only winners, and the winners write history." β
These words rang out over and over again in his head, and he was so sad that he wanted to roar. Because more and more people surrender to the Legion of the Wailing, evil is about to overwhelm good, and evil is about to become right.
General Marg jumped out of the trench and shouted to everyone, "Warriors! We are doomed to die here! Don't be afraid, pick up your sword, and rush overβ"
Just in time, a stone bullet exploded in front of it. General Marg's habitual tinnitus also happened to flare up.
He didn't hear anything, but everyone didn't seem to hear what he was saying.
may have been infected by the strange atmosphere of General Marge, seeing a team of howling soldiers touching it, one by one the soldiers of the kingdom, jumping out of the trench and rushing towards the enemy~~~
One by one, the lives of each other turned into silent corpses on the battlefield in the next second. But no one felt the so-called honor or anything.
This war, which has lasted for ten years, is simply too long. It was so long that the soldiers were tired of the war and regarded dying as relief.
Everyone just yearns for a piece of land, a green field. There was no blood in it, only clear running water, and there was no smell of gunsmoke, preferring to smell horse manure.
There was no seeping roar of the Howling Legion. The sound of a bird is in my ears. Soldiers resist hoes and farm tools, not spears and battle flags~~~~
Even when they reached this step, several foot knights wearing the king's coat of arms still numbly beheaded all the soldiers who fled and retreated, as a punishment for those who were afraid of death who fled from the battle.
"Solid as a rock, immobile as a mountain."
This is the oath that every soldier makes to the king.
And what is called an oath, only unswerving to death is called an oath.
In general, today's Howling Legion, though still large enough. But their individual strength is no longer as good as before.
The white skull, although still emitting flames, is also a faint green. The sword plunged into their chests. The same will bleed. Chop off their heads, and they will all die.
Seeing a large number of howling soldiers, a dense and large area swept from the field of vision.
General Marg was completely disappointed, and he gave up the idea of fighting again. Quietly took two steps back. There were less than ten people around.
As a result of this battle, 35,000 of the Kingdom Legions were killed and 9,000 captured. Most of the rest fled.
15,000 Legions of the Howling were killed and about 7,000 wounded.
In the hinterland plains of the Northern Kingdom, which had become the front line, the fields and hillsides that had been verdant and green a day ago were now covered with bloody corpses, wounded, and countless mutilated limbs, and the green plains turned into a sea of blood.
In fact, the Howling Legion has powerful long-range fireteams, and wherever they cover their path, they turn into a scorched earth.
"General!??
The knight on foot, with the king's coat of arms engraved on his breastplate, looked at General Marg beside him, waiting for his final order.
"It's irretrievable, we've failed, and no amount of death will help. Let's all go......"
In an instant, General Marg seemed to be ten years old. There was a mixture of sigh and helplessness in his tone, "As the general of the last legion, I failed to live up to the king's expectations, and in the end I could not stop the advance of the Howling Legion. I shouldn't be alive. β
More than a dozen knights on foot raised their shields in their hands, and it was clear that no one obeyed the general's orders.
In the words of one of the foot knights, "General, today we may be able to take a step back, but tomorrow where can we retreat?? β
Woowoowoooo......oo
With a strange whimpering sound, a large wave of howling soldiers was approaching. Up close, people could already see that they were white skeleton faces, two balls, green fire shining in the eye sockets, looking extremely weird.
"Cry, human. In the name of the Lich King, we will ββββββ"
There was a creak, and an arrow slashed through.
There was a strange crisp sound from the thin figure in armor, and the originally low head slowly lifted, and at the same time, two green flames appeared at once, and then quickly extinguished.
An arrow hit the forehead, the skull twisted, his eyes were cold like an ancient lamp that was quickly extinguished, and his nose seemed to let out a cold snort containing slave anger, and slowly withered to the ground.
Wooββ-
Woo Woo -
A mournful trumpet sound was followed by a dense rain of arrows.
Crunchy.
The howling soldier within a distance of 300 meters felt a numb sensation in the part of the arrow, and there was a smell of burnt meat.
It doesn't hurt much at first, but after a few minutes you feel a hot pain.
Green blood splattered, and when the Weeping Soldier was hit by an arrow, he did not feel pain immediately, but slowly felt it a few seconds after being shot. And you will feel a burning sensation of burning in the wound first, and then the radioactive puncture.
In general, death from a bullet is mainly due to excessive blood loss.
With the exception of a direct arrow hitting the brain and destroying the skull, causing the Howling Soldier to die instantly, all other parts of the hit have a death process, and experience has shown that a Howling Soldier still has 30 seconds of action time after being hit by an arrow in the heart, and is fully able to resist before dying, so most archers will choose to shoot the head instead of the heart.
"General Marg! Youlan is here~~~~"
Three thousand elven archers rushed from behind the hills.
Marge seemed a little confused at first, but after looking around, her eyes suddenly became clear, and her hands clenched into fists. Raise your head and roar, "Warriors, kill!" β
Cross sword, slashed at the head of a howling soldier.
There was a crisp click, and the bones shattered inch by inch from the middle, and the green fire in the skeleton's eyes burned and flickered for a while, and then it was still dimly extinguished, and then the head lowered slightly, and the whole body fell.
The support of three thousand Wood Elf archers. The Howling Legion of 5,000 men was temporarily retreated, crushed a thousand meters away.
The blood-red sunset was fading, and the two sides were facing each other to the death, neither of them retreating. Neither side rushed to kill, nor did any of the corpses and discarded weapons on the battlefield fight. It's like the gaze of two tigers facing each other, and neither can leave the battlefield first.
"Yulan!?" Marge was a little shocked by the elves' help.
Yulan wears a green close-quarters armor. Accentuating her slender figure, her hip-length silver hair draped over her waistcoat and gently held by a silver ribbon. No matter where you go. can attract everyone's attention.
The beauty of the elves is heartwarming. Especially the Elven Queen Yulan!
In the beautiful and delicate facial features, there is a pair of purple eyes, which always reveal a natural nobility. At this moment, she looked at Marge with a pair of eyes, raised her eyebrows, and then said, "Brave general, the messenger of King Kurushh has come to the gathering place of the wood elves, let us come to the rescue. β
Yulan stretched out an arm, naturally pressed it to his chest, and bowed slightly.
The long, waterfall-like hair, with a silky sheen, flutters elastically under the gentle breeze.
Along the pointed ears, slid over the white neck, plump and long figure. There is a kind of Fengyi that cannot be said or caught.
"If you come to my aid, then the Wood Elf camp doesn't have enough strength to resist the Howling Legion...... The ending is still the same. β
Marge's cloudy eyes filled with helplessness.
"No, General Marg. A large number of reinforcements arrived, so that the evil legion besieging the Wood Elf camp had already collapsed. Yulan smiled.
It just made Marg feel unbelievable. "Reinforcements!? Do we have any reinforcements in the Northern Kingdom? Unlessβ"
Youlan nodded at Marge's puzzled gaze, in Marge's memory, she had never seen the Elf Queen, the Elven Great Sage Youlan look at her so happily.
"Marg. Not so long ago, the god of war had returned. And the first order of the god of war is to gather all the warriors of the Spartan Empire and attack this land that has been corrupted by the Weeping Legion for ten years. More than a million soldiers have arrived at the elven camp, and two hundred thousand soldiers are approaching behind us. Yes, you heard it right, it's an all-out war order! β
"A million reinforcements?"
The big surprise almost made Marg speechless.
"Not bad. From the city of mercenaries, which is just an outpost for the Spartan Empire............"
Ten years have passed, and Yulan can't remember the appearance of the god of war a little.
For ten years, the Wood Elves remained on the battlefield of Middle-earth. Fight alongside the Berserkers, as well as the Northern Kingdoms held up by Kulush and William.
"Oh my God, God of War, will King Kurushh be executed?" Margo exclaimed. At the same time, Yulan's face also changed slightly.
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Intraroyal City of the North, Cliston. A combination of a city and a military fortress.
As the premier high-level visual object in the entire northern continent, looking beyond the walls of Claston can give people a strange feeling of reverence in their psyche, just as people will feel a sense of spiritual shock and piety when they see the craggy mountains, the cascading waterfalls, and the high rolling tides.
Compared to the fortifications of the city walls ten years ago, Claiston originally had two castle parapets as concentric circles. Reinforcement has already been carried out more than once.
The inner walls are higher and higher than the outer walls, in order to give the archers on the inner walls a greater field of view and firing range, thus creating crossfire on the inner and outer walls.
It seems that Claiston has faced blows from the sky more than once.
A circular tower was built at each of the four corners of the inner circle, and the elaborately designed tower and gatehouse were able to hold on independently even when the enemy attacked the inner wall. Today, it looks like three corners have been turned into ruins.
Claston's tall walls were surrounded by a huge lake that surrounded the castle as a moat. It's a pity that in the face of attacks from the sky, there is no use in the slightest.
In general, the city is a fortress. It provides a solid defense for its lord lord, which has resisted countless attacks by the Winged Spirits, and is where the kings of the Northern Kingdom now live.
Claiston is not big, but the 100,000 civilians staying in Clareston at the moment seem a little crowded.
The bard described such a life in these words about the different classes: "The rich live in the cities, the poor live in huts, and the God of life makes them high and low, arranging their wealth and poverty." β
In Aaron's eyes. Today's Claston, just like he first arrived ten years ago, is facing all kinds of negative data such as hygiene, law and order, and crowding.
The only difference from the last time was that we were shrouded in the fog of war. No one in the city is terrified. On the contrary, they seemed very numb, as if they had long been used to it. Moreover, in the entire fortress city with a population of 100,000, the elderly, women and children occupy more than half. Not to mention adult men, even children who are taller than half the height of adults are rare.
Ten years of war had turned the fortress of Clareston into the most populous city in the Northern Kingdom.
More northerners. Either they have fled to the Spartan Empire, migrated to hidden wildernesses, deep mountains, or died in battle on a scorched earth.
The council hall is made of white marble.
"God of War, your warrior...... Kurush. β
Although Kurush's head has an extra crown on his head that makes Aaron feel uncomfortable.
But looking closely, you can see that these eyes were very arrogant at the last moment, but at this moment there is only humility and reverence, and even hazy mist.
There seemed to be no focus in these golden pupils.
The flaxen-colored hair was already mixed with many white strands, as well as the three bear paw marks on the wrists, which were neatly arranged in a zigzag shape, and they had not been erased.
"King of the North, Ivan. Kurush. Williams. Loyalty is 9 stars, and command is 8 stars. As the king of the north, this person has absolute loyalty and strong combat enthusiasm, and has unique experience and command ability to coordinate the overall situation. β
The reaction of the data illustrates a problem.
Although Kulush was crowned king without permission, his loyalty does not seem to have changed in the slightest.
Aaron watched his combat power, but it didn't seem to be much of an improvement compared to ten years ago. "Personal charisma, 10 stars for weapon mastery, 9 stars for infantry combat, and 8 stars for general potential. For the battlefield of foot combat, he has unique experience and methods. This man will fight for honor and conquest. β
Aaron stood in front of Kurush, suddenly reached out and removed the crown from his head, and then looked at everyone in shock. The king's crown, like a piece of bread, fell into the hands of Count William.
"Ten years ago, Kulush, as a general of half a million Imperial Legions, left the Empire without permission and remained in the north to be crowned king, which was a blasphemy against the oath. NowγDeprive Kurushh of all honorary titles, as a hoplite, immediately report to the front-line regiments. β¦β¦ William is crowned King of the Northern Kingdom! β
Hearing the order of the god of war, two Templars immediately dragged Kurushh out of the council chamber.
Then, Aaron lifted his boots and quickly left the chamber.
During this period, apart from punishing Kulush, he did not say a word to William, not even a single glance.
Kurush's Confessions; "For ten years, I have not fulfilled my mission to protect the empire, and I am not a good general. 500,000 Northern legions, all killed, and I'm not a good king. I am willing to accept the punishment of the god of war for me, as an infantryman, one day, on the battlefield to the death! β
William's Confessions; "The will of the god of war cannot be disobeyed. He founded the Northern Kingdom privately, but lost most of the northern territory. I'm afraid I won't be able to get back the crown of King Kurush......"
The following is a period of psychological activity of the god of war;
"Although, in a sense, Alice and Selena can only be regarded as siblings of this body."
"But the two bastards, without saying hello, married them."
This made Aaron feel very unpleasant. Although it is just unhappiness, the unhappiness of the god of war is often very different from the unhappiness of ordinary people.
In Aaron's memory, Alice had long hair like a waterfall and a light melon seed face, like a gentle cloud floating in front of Aaron's eyes.
Alice's whole body is full of girlish innocence and youthful demeanor.
Now, she has become a neglected queen, and her eyes are full of sadness and sadness.
"Kurush, this bastard, has actually married sixteen wives one after another. In his eyes, there is no majesty of the god of war. Even if he wins over the hearts of the people and attracts the nobles to hand over the soldiers to him, he can't even marry a noble lady in her forties, who is simply unconscionable and hungry. β
Selena, as the wife of Count William.
She still has long silver hair like seaweed, typical of Reinhardt blood.
Her eyes, like herself, were also silver, and there wasn't much sadness in them, and from the attributes, William was very good to her.
But this is by no means a good reason to marry a god of war girl. (To be continued......)