Siege

Inside the military camp outside Nanmu Forest, Como was carefully wiping his sword with a piece of fine silk.

After he wiped it, faint magic runes inscribed with Mithril could be seen on the blade, clearly indicating it was a magic weapon.

These days, their entire legion had been busy for over half a month due to the Earth Tyrant Bears appearing in their practical lessons. Every day at dawn, he led his troops into the forest to hunt magical beasts.

Although it was tiring, the harvested hides, bones, and meat from the magical beasts had allowed their regiment to make a substantial profit.

After cleaning and maintaining his sword, Como stood up and prepared to patrol the camp.

However, just as he stood up, this peak Silver battle qi warrior sensed a dangerous aura.

As a general on the battlefield, he trusted his instincts implicitly, knowing that a crisis was approaching.

He then drew the longsword he had just sheathed, walked to the entrance of the tent, and lifted a corner of the curtain to look outside.

At this moment, campfires crackled merrily within the camp, and off-duty soldiers huddled around them to ward off the chill of the late autumn evening.

When the soldiers outside saw Como emerge with his sword, they all immediately stood at attention.

From his tent, Como could see the forest outside the camp, which remained as dark and dangerous as ever.

He unleashed his battle qi, but the trees outside the camp only rustled a few times before the sounds of distant beasts fleeing could be heard.

Como sheathed his sword and smiled, saying:

"Sit down, everyone. When it's your turn to patrol later, you'd better be alert. You've all worked hard clearing out fierce beasts in the mountains these past few days. Once this is over, I will definitely request commendations for you from the Count."

"Moreover, with the proceeds from this batch of hunted magical beasts, you fellows will be able to have a prosperous new year."

Como's words elicited cheers from the soldiers, and they all became more spirited.

However, at that very moment, disaster struck. The whistling sound of arrows cutting through the air came from outside the camp.

Anyone who had experienced the crucible of real battle would know that this was the sound of a large number of archers firing at a single target.

Como reacted swiftly, immediately drawing the longsword at his waist, infusing it with his battle qi, and then continuously swung his sword to block the incoming arrows.

The arrows came and went quickly. The first volley passed in an instant. Como then looked at the camp, which was now filled with wails, corpses, and blood everywhere.

Judging by the number of arrows that had fallen, he guessed from experience that the enemy force numbered at least ten thousand.

The soldiers who survived the first volley scrambled out of their tents. Como then issued the best order he could under the circumstances.

He hadn't expected his battle qi release to be so wrong, and the hidden enemy was truly cunning, unaffected by his battle qi.

"All soldiers, grab your shields and seek cover to avoid the arrow rain. All surviving captains, organize your men to extinguish the nearby campfires."

Como knew that the enemy would not fire just one volley. In the darkness of the night, they were exposed targets while the enemy remained hidden.

This made them easy targets for the enemy, so they had to extinguish the light sources to prevent the enemy from locating them.

As he had predicted, another volley of whistling arrows pierced the air.

However, with Como's orders this time, not many people died in this volley.

After the arrow rain ceased, Como immediately gathered the surviving soldiers in the camp, knowing that the enemy would soon launch their main assault.

At this moment, Como summoned his adjutant.

"Wilda, based on my estimate, the enemy force is at least ten thousand strong. The soldiers currently in the camp cannot hold them off. I need you to take this news back to the city and have Count Lord prepare for battle."

"General, you can't do this! If the enemy really has that many, you'll need to command the defense of the city. So, let me stay here, and you can lead people back to the city to report."

Wilda said with a determined tone.

However, Como gave a wry smile:

"Wilda, I am a knight, and also a general. As a knight, I must advance bravely against the enemy. As a general, I must be with my soldiers.

And for the honor of my knighthood and the people of the Huidun territory, I ask you to return immediately. Otherwise, it will be too late once the enemy outside encircles us."

At this moment, Wilda was filled with inner turmoil. He knew his general's temperament very well.

Although he was sometimes fierce and impolite, he was an arrogant knight at heart, so he knew his general would never leave here alive.

Finally, with tears in his eyes, he led a small contingent to break through the rear of the camp.

Not long after he led his men away, he and those who had escaped saw a spectacular sight, or at least something remarkable.

An Undead Knight led tens of thousands of Undead Skeletons charging towards the camp, followed by the sounds of brutal slaughter.

Amidst the sounds of battle, Wilda could hear his general urging him to leave quickly.

At this moment, Wilda understood the urgency of the situation. He wiped away his tears and, with his men, galloped on horseback towards Huidun City.

Inside Huidun Academy, after Tofis reported the possibility of an Alchemist appearing to Huidun, Huidun, who had been quietly listening to the report, let out a stern voice:

"What did you say? An Alchemist has come to our place?"

"This, this is not yet confirmed, but a man who died at the city gate said so. And the situation is urgent right now, so I..."

Tofis was intimidated into a state of meekness by Huidun.

Huidun also knew the gravity of the matter. Even if it was just hearsay, he had to report it to him.

Huidun's exclamation outside also disturbed Chen Cheng and Professor Pempes, who were discussing inside.

"What's going on with Huidun?"

Pempes asked, frowning at this moment.

Huidun, outside, also felt a heavy weight pressing on his chest. He waved to Tofis, telling him to go back first, and he also needed to inform Professor Pempes about the matter.

Because if an Alchemist truly arrived, dealing with them would require a powerful individual like Professor Pempes. This was a sign of how seriously they took these lawless individuals.

At the same time, Alchemists had peculiar methods, and only someone with a domain, like Pempes, could directly find their weakness and strike a fatal blow.

Huidun pushed open the door, and then Chen Cheng and the other person saw that Huidun, who had been fine just moments ago, now had a worried expression on his face.

"Professor and Brown, the administrator Tofis just informed me that it's suspected an Alchemist has arrived here."

Upon hearing this, both Pempes and Chen Cheng were startled. Alchemists were a group that was essentially hunted everywhere on the continent.

As soon as they were discovered, every effort had to be made to eliminate them.

Especially now, everything evil, terrifying, and corrupt was a strong representative label for this group.

It could be said that in the various stories told by wandering bards, these individuals accounted for over eighty percent of the final villains.

It could be said that once Alchemists appeared in a place, that place could no longer expect any peaceful days, and some Alchemists would even cause irreparable disaster to a region to test their magic.

Before this, when Chen Cheng heard about this group, he thought they were a group of researchers like himself, and he had even considered finding people like them for help.

However, after later reading about their deeds, these guys turned into a bunch of mad scientists in his eyes. They broke through the bottom line of morality and could torture and kill tens of thousands of ordinary people for their research.

At that time, these people became the most dangerous elements in Chen Cheng's eyes.

Because he knew that if certain research truly crossed the line, then truly terrifying demons would descend upon the human world.

After listening, Pempes frowned, then immediately stood up and said:

"This matter is of great importance, I need to go discuss it with that guy Adolf.

You and Brown go and examine that corpse now. Perhaps you can find something from it."

After speaking, Pempes reached out and beckoned, and his magic staff flew into his hand. Then, with a gentle tap on the ground with the staff, he disappeared before Huidun and the other person.

At this moment, amidst the fear and tension, Chen Cheng also felt a little excited. This was the first time he could truly witness these legendary evil mages – Alchemists.

Perhaps after killing these mad scientists, their remaining research notes, filled with sin, could serve as a reference.

The two also collected the research materials laid on the ground, then went out and headed towards the city gate.

Meanwhile, in the church's priest's residence within the city, Father Haodos, who had just been appointed as a priest by Bishop Jamir, received a request from the government to examine a corpse.

If it were in the past, he would have at most ordered a monk to help with such a matter.

However, when he took office, the monk by Bishop Jamir's side had told him that if the government sought his help, he hoped he would personally handle it.

Therefore, he didn't put on any airs and directly agreed to the request.