Forty-one fails

The battle at the gates was much inferior. Because the Paro had dealt with the terrible fighting on the walls wholeheartedly, they did not have much strength to pay attention to the progress of the Breaker. Originally, they could have poured hot oil and sparked fire to destroy the machine, but this time they didn't have the leisure to do so, because the enemy had already poured onto the walls.

The heavy gate was gradually unstable under the attack of the Breaker, and a ferocious impact finally tore a huge gap in the gate, enough for two horses to rush through the gap side by side.

The sound of drums like horses' hooves sounded so suddenly. Coalition fighters outside the city let out a cry of ecstasy when they found the city gates washed down. The soldiers who were still outside the city all rushed to the city gate.

The walls have been controlled. Ashrufat led his troops to kill the last of the recalcitrant Paro soldiers on the city walls. After completely clearing the walls of the city of enemies, he immediately commanded his troops to advance into the city. At this moment, more than a group of knights had stormed the castle, and smoke and fire were rising everywhere.

The morning mist had cleared, and blood was pouring from the walls. Dark clouds obscured the sky, but thunder rumbled, as if the gods of heaven wanted to intervene in person.

Now, both sides have lost their formation and effective command. Commanders on both sides were able to gather only a small number of troops, relying on the courage and tenacity of their soldiers to sustain the battle as a whole. Almost all the coalition soldiers had already stormed the city, and both sides of the fierce battle were red-eyed, and bestiality had replaced pity and mercy. The battle spread to every corner of the castle, echoing everywhere the wails of the wounded and the blood of the dead. No one surrendered, and no one took prisoners. On this terrible day, either live as a victor or become a ghost.

In a room high up in the castle, a man turned a deaf ear to the earth-shattering fighting outside, calmly writing on a piece of paper.

“...... There were too many knights in the enemy, too many to be true, and they were completely out of step with intelligence. This became almost the decisive factor. This makes me wonder if Thomas, the deceitful and famous, may have used some evil means to increase his own combat power......"

“...... Many people think that Duke Rudolph is the kind of person who values victory over honor, but compared to Thomas, Rudolph is obviously much inferior. At least Rudolph's 'limited' morality doesn't allow him to secretly contain dark wizards. It is true that in the military aspect, anyone should admit Thomas Thomas's ability, and his achievements in the past two years are the best proof of this. But when it comes to knightly honor, I despise him to the fullest. Thomas is an extremely hypocritical and deceitful villain. The world has been deceived by this hypocrite. Even I, if I hadn't witnessed the battle between our soldiers and zombies resurrected by dark magic, would never have believed that Thomas would have secretly contained a dark mage and used this forbidden evil power as combat power. This ability to disguise is really impressive. This is why he has always been able to easily see the cunning of military schemes, because he is the most cunning and hypocritical kind of person......"

“...... At this moment, the defeat of our army may be inevitable. I can't continue to write, and as a general, this is the time for me to be loyal to my country. I will lead the soldiers to resist the last and swear to the death!, and I pray that the gods of the Star Field will always bless the people of Paro ......."

He put down his pen, folded what he had written, carefully tied a string to the leg of a pigeon, and released it through the window. At this time, the two armies were fighting, and no one cared about such a carrier pigeon that delivered the news.

After doing all this, he grabbed his sword and a torch and walked out of the room. Underneath his room was the castle's storehouse, where all the supplies were stockpiled. He walked through a side door into the warehouse and saw several Paro soldiers busily working there, piling piles of powder kegs on top of each other.

Someone is slashing at the front entrance of the warehouse. One, two, three, a huge battle axe slashed through the latch, and a whole group of knights rushed in. These people are all enemies, Thomas's men!

The knight in the lead dropped his tomahawk, picked up a greatsword, and rushed in. But perhaps seeing the composure of the few remaining Paro soldiers, the knights stopped and looked around, fearing an ambush.

"Myrrh!" the knight suddenly let out a cry of delight, his eyes fixed on the piled up of medicine in a corner. His breastplate was inscribed with a red dragon shape, while his men's breastplates were not decorated with any ornamentation - in fact, it was immediately clear that the armor originally belonged to the Palo Knights. Bloodthirsty and frantic from the fierce battle stared at the few surviving Paros inside.

But they immediately realized how calm the Paros were for what they were doing, for they recognized the heaps of barrels containing gunpowder. These are all powder kegs!

These Paros have a calm gaze, but they are undaunted in the face of an enemy who is absolutely superior. It was the kind of look that only those who had made up their minds to die generously could have.

"I am the Count Magyar of Paro, the guard of the land, who are you, knight?" he said, his eyes fixed on the knight in front of him.

"I am Count Essrubat of St. Jean, Adjutant of General Thomas!" replied the knight in a loud voice. "Drop the torch in your hand, and I'll spare your life!"

"What if I say no?" he replied with a smile. From the voice, he could hear that the knight opposite him was still very young, and he didn't know which nobleman's son he was. "I have been ordered by the king to garrison this place, and I have the great responsibility of resisting the enemy and defending the land. As a knight, you should defend this duty with your life. How can I steal my life and tarnish the glory of the knight when the castle has fallen today?

Without hesitation, he shoved the torch in his hand into a powder keg.

It was an earth-shattering sound.

A considerable part of the entire castle was built with this loud noise. Rubble rained down from the sky, and a huge wave of air blew down many warriors who were still fighting fiercely. All the people who were in the warehouse, all disappeared. Specifically, the place that had once been a warehouse, along with everything on it, disappeared with this loud noise.

Except for one figure.

"Master, fortunately, I turned on the protective energy field in time...... Carrie said in her mind. "Master, what's wrong with you?"

"'Myrrh'...... General Thomas ...... "Ashrufat's lips moved, looking at the dusty sky. Then his knees could no longer support his body and he fell to his knees uncontrollably.

It's all over!

......

In Thomas's battle against Wolf's Mouth Castle, anyone can cite ten reasons why Thomas must win. First of all, Thomas is the second time to attack this castle, and he is familiar with it. Secondly, the Paro's hastily arranged defenses were very imperfect, and even the trenches outside the city had not been dug properly. Again, a large part of the Paro soldiers in the castle were defeated, demoralized, and unworthy of battle. Also, Thomas has a secret weapon, several siege towers that can be formed overnight......

But even the most demanding of men admit that it was a remarkable feat to be able to quickly conquer the castle, which was still intact in two days, with a force of force that was not clearly superior. According to some reliable accounts, the resistance of the Paros was unusually stubborn, and the coalition forces paid a great price. In the end, Thomas stepped on the blood corpse of the enemy and planted his flying snake banner on the highest part of the castle. The corpses of soldiers on both sides covered every corner of the castle.

But in the end, it turned out that it was worth the cost. More than 20,000 Paro soldiers were completely annihilated, which was also the most resistant strength of the Paro people.

Some believe that it was this battle that left Thomas badly wounded. But there are also those who believe that Thomas has been injured before. This detail is difficult to verify. Because it is well known that if the main general is wounded in war, he will inevitably try to conceal the wound so as not to shake the morale of the army, and Thomas will certainly not be an exception.

However, according to the most common opinion, Thomas had been injured more than once before, and even had been unable to serve for a while, leaving all affairs to the lieutenant. This also shows from the side how bloody and cruel the battle experienced by this general. The fall of Wolf's Mouth Castle can be said to have drawn a successful end to Thomas's conquest. The Paros no longer have an army, and now the native of Paro is exposed to Thomas like an unprotected lamb.

So far, Thomas's achievements have reached the point of "no one before him", if not "no one has come after", at least it has reached the point of "no one before". His deeds are praised everywhere, and his name is recorded in history as the greatest general, forever remembered and remembered.

According to folklore or some wild history of unknown origin, Thomas and the Paros have a deep hatred. Legend has it that Paro's Assassins took advantage of his absence to kill the entire Thomas family. Otherwise, there is no way to explain what he was doing in the territory of Paro. Leaving a small army to defend the castle, Thomas led the combined forces of St. Jean and Cassilos to invade the territory of Paro, burning and plundering, and reducing at least two provinces to ruins. Unfortunately, the knights of Casillos were more than happy to do so, as they hated the Paros just as much. And the militiamen, who have no honor to speak of, are even more happy.

Of course, the more orthodox version is that Thomas is not responsible for these things. Because at this moment, his health has collapsed, and it is no longer him who commands the army. In this year, Thomas has gone through one of the most glorious journeys of his life. But no matter how much ambition is still hidden in this old man's heart, how much pursuit of honor and victory there is, no matter how young his mentality is, his body is over eighty years old after all. Repeated fierce battles, multiple wounds, and arduous marches all finally exhausted the most potential of his life. Like a meteor, he lit up the entire night sky, but also fell quickly......

—Excerpt from "History of the Styghian Wars"

Now the sun is setting on a grassy clearing. Spring has arrived, the grass and trees have returned to green, and thousands of trees with broad tops, thick and short branches, and branches protruding far away are blooming tender green, covering this verdant green with knotted arms. In some places, they intersect with the various undergrowths, so close to each other that they cut off the light of the setting sun, while in other places they retreat from each other, carving out a narrow boulevard in the intricate intervals, which is a sight to behold.

Thomas reclined in a chair and looked out at the beautiful landscape. This is the heart of Paro, just a short distance from the coalition barracks. Eshurufat and Leo, his two lieutenants, accompanied him by his side. He was covered with a luxurious blanket that he had obtained as a trophy, and a calm smile appeared on his thin face.

The war is over.

Yesterday, Princess Irina's messenger arrived in the army on a Pegasus and brought the news. Princess Irina has signed a contract with Paro. Although the exact contents of the treaty are unknown, there is no doubt that the peace treaty must have been extremely harsh on Paro.

Author's note: The war part is finally finished, and now it's the turn to clean up the aftermath......