20 The final battle, but to whom?

"That war sharpened me and taught me a lot."

At the beginning of February 1244, the attack of the Kingdom of Just's army on the "Black Gate" north of Split entered another round of peak. Following the last battle, the Yused Kingdom army has temporarily subsided, but the remaining trebuchets are still bombarding, carrying explosive fireballs ignited by magicians, constantly harassing the soldiers inside the city walls. Even on the eve of the New Year, the intensity of the bombardment did not decrease, leaving the defenders without time to celebrate the arrival of the New Year.

The defenders were bitter and anxiously awaiting reinforcements. Alista, who was familiar with the situation on the battlefield, saw an emotion in the constant bombardment: anxiety.

Yes, the attackers are now more agitated than the defenders. After the last battle, the army of the Kingdom of Yusd lost more than 3,000 soldiers, of which more than 1,000 were killed. Paying such a great price but failing to capture the Black Gate, it is inevitable that the morale will be frustrated. Moreover, an army of this size must have consumed a lot of logistical and financial resources, and it is rumored that the finances of the Kingdom of Yousd are not optimistic, and there are frequent conflicts in the country, and their rulers must now be on pins and needles. The upper echelons are frightened, and the lower echelons are languishing, this is the current situation of the Kingdom Army of the Justid Kingdom on the opposite side.

The enemy's life was not easy, and Alista's side was not much easier because of this: the letter asking for help was not less, but there were still no reinforcements, not even a reply; The impact of the siege bombardment for more than a month was huge, and although the city wall had been repaired many times, there were still several obvious weak points, which were destined to become the enemy's key offensive targets. The slogan "If the war stops, prepare for war first" is barely visible, but it can no longer attract anyone's attention.

The supply of troops is not replenished, and the losses are increasing day by day, and even if the supplies are sufficient, they are still in danger. Nearby villages once again spontaneously organized rebels to join the defenders, and Alista was forced to loosen restrictions and let experienced volunteers guard the front line, with the bottom line still that women were not allowed to join the fighting.

There were 20,000 troops in the Kingdom of Just, and 3,800 defenders in the Kingdom of Split. Neither side killed the red eye, but both were on the verge of collapse. Alista understands that the war will soon be over, whether the attackers will be overwhelmed and forced to retreat, or the defenders will not lose the northern barrier - the final battle is coming, but to whom?

On the evening of February 10, Alysta called the wind chimes to the city walls. "Look, over there." Alista pointed to the wind chimes and looked to the plains to the north, "They're preparing for a general attack. Wind Chimes looked north, and she saw a scene similar to the previous battle—a blackened enemy army, four trebuchets being assembled. Unlike before, the enemy did not seem to intend to fight, but instead set up camp on the spot, apparently to set up camp here.

"Are they going to attack at night?" Wind Chime asked.

"No, my guess is that tomorrow they're going to launch an all-out offensive and try to take this place." Alista said, letting the tips of his fingers tremble, even as the commander-in-chief, there was no need to hide his fear, "They want to end this war, and tomorrow will be their final battle." He paused, remembering his old friend Tucker, "You people from the Demon Court have done a very good job, I beg you again, please leave ......"

Before Alista's words could be finished, Wind Chime interrupted him: "You're not right, tomorrow may not be their final battle, it may be ours." Arista thought that Wind Chimes was pulling away from the topic and avoided his own persuasion, he wanted to continue persuading, but he thought about Wind Chime's words again and again—"Our final battle." ”

"It turns out that you can also see the current situation of the Yoused Kingdom Army." Alista said admiringly to the wind chimes.

"The battlefield makes people grow, and I want to thank you for teaching me a lot." Wind Chimes responded, her eyes still fixed on the trebuchets being assembled.

"You saved my life!" Alista never forgot that it was the wind chimes that saved him from the enemy's encirclement, "but I can't guarantee that tomorrow's battle will be won, after all...... You see, they blatantly assembled siege engines, which showed that we didn't dare to go out of the city to meet the battle. ”

"They are also forced, and if they lose tomorrow, they will have no capital to fight again. Without trebuchets, our walls would have been able to be defended. Wind Chime said slowly, and at this time she seemed to have become a tactical veteran.

Alista also seemed to see some hope, and his fingers no longer trembled: "Yes, if there is no trebuchet...... Wind Chime's next words made his body shake-

"I have a way to destroy the trebuchet."

"—tell me how."

……

It was night, and Alista gathered all the remaining soldiers. The defenders, due to heavy losses, had long since canceled their original establishment, and more than 3,000 soldiers were divided into dozens of squads, each performing his duty, and if the captain died in battle, the oldest would automatically take over, until the last man fought to the end. The soldiers, who had long since stopped expecting reinforcements, were discouraged and had desperate expressions on their faces, and anyone who saw the scene outside the city walls during the day could understand what tomorrow meant.

The light of the bonfire and torch illuminated Alista, and all the soldiers looked at him. Alista looked around at the soldiers around him, his gaze lingering for a moment in each direction, as if trying to remember what each face looked like. A moment later, he began his mobilization before the decisive battle:

"Soldiers, have a good rest tonight, eat well tomorrow morning, and sleep well! Be full! Because, this may be the last time you sleep, the last time you ......eat," the faces of several soldiers twitched, "ah—I almost forgot, this must be my last sleep and last meal, so you see, how equal the general and the soldier are at this moment! The convulsions on the soldier's face disappeared, replaced by a sense of relief. Even so, after tomorrow, I don't want to see how many casualties there are, I just want to see that the Black Gate is still in our hands! ”

"Whoa," the soldiers collectively shouted, pointing their weapons at the sky.

Alista made a "stop" gesture and continued: "The battle is to the death, and tomorrow, I will take my elite to destroy their siege engines!" The crowd of soldiers let out an exclamation, "If I can come back, I will still lead the defense, stand in the front, and I will die first!" ”

"Whoa—" There was another roar, and the reflection of the sword made the camp shine even brighter.

"Don't forget to burn me clean at cremation!" This sentence was said by Alista with a smile, which caused the soldiers to laugh for a while, "Some people complain that there are no reinforcements!" I've complained about it too, but I don't think it's an injustice to us, because tomorrow if we can win the battle, we will be the heroes of this country and the idols of all people! When you're old, you can proudly say to your children and grandchildren, 'Hey! Lao Tzu fought side by side with that coward Alista Akayi in the Black Gate, and he won more with less! There was another burst of laughter, mixed with applause.

“…… That's all I can say, no matter what tomorrow brings, dear friends, it's my honor to fight alongside you, and I'm so proud! May the God of All Sources bless you all! Alista raised his arms into fists and shouted, "Long live Spleit!" ”

"Hooray!" All the soldiers were in tears, and several captains stepped forward and patted Alista on the shoulder, signaling that he was very inspiring. Alista, on the other hand, did not respond to any encouragement or affirmation, and went straight back to the tent, where he glanced out and met the eyes of the wind chimes. Alista nodded, and the other party nodded in response, the former entered the camp to prepare for the battle, and the latter found the remaining apprentices of the Demon Court to conduct combat exercises.

The eve of the decisive battle is destined to be torturous and long, but a new day will eventually come.

At dawn, the weather on February 11, 1244 was indeed good, with the golden sun and burning fireballs coming as promised, and the walls of the Black Gate withstood the first round of slinging when the first rays of sunlight arrived. The attacking Yusd Kingdom army huddled into several groups and took turns attacking the city gates, and the defenders responded calmly, but under the suppression of trebuchets, there were flaws everywhere. Just when the attackers were fully focused on the walls, a special unit inside the walls was ready to go.

"Six giant eagles are on standby, including me." Wind Chime said to Alista, "I've practiced last night, and it's no problem to dodge enemy arrows, not to mention that their bows and crossbows are not very powerful." "This is not a light enemy, she had already noticed the lack of strength of the Yusted Kingdom Army's crossbow when the wind chime saved Alista last time.

"Okay, the six of us are also ready, I'll ride on you!" Alista said as she walked, sitting her saber on her back.

"It's uncomfortable for you to say that." Wind Chimes replied helplessly.

"Who cares so much on the battlefield, then it's useless."

The six Giant Eagles, the Apprentices of the Demon Court, will carry Alista and five other daredevils and fly directly over the battlefield to destroy the trebuchets in the enemy's rear, and whether they succeed or not, they will be cornered.

"Fly!" Alista saw the opportunity of the battlefield and gave an order.

The final battle has begun!

However, who would have thought that the final showdown between the two sides would end in an almost incredible and unimaginable way......

"Yes, Spreelet won more with less and kept the Black Goal...... Some say it's the pinnacle of magic, while others say it's a miracle guided by the God of All Sources. ”