Attack and Defense (4)

The addition of these heavily armored infantrymen caused considerable trouble for the defenders of Taiwei Four. The militiamen's short swords struggled to inflict damage on them despite their heavy armor, and their wooden spear shafts snapped when thrust against the breastplates. The Valantian heavy infantry, however, were merely knocked off balance and forced back a few steps by the spear thrusts.

The militiamen had to swarm them to restrict their movement before they could be killed. One Valantian heavy infantryman ducked and used his shield to push up a charging militiaman, then thrust his short sword upwards, throwing the militiaman behind him. He then sidestepped to block a militiaman's short sword with his shield, while his own short sword pierced through a gap in the shield, killing the militiaman.

But immediately after, he was impaled in the crook of his left knee by a militiaman charging from behind. The spear tip pierced the chainmail and sunk into flesh and blood. These heavily armored infantrymen were actually elite cavalry from Valantis. To facilitate riding, their leg armor was relatively thin and soft, which now served as their weak point.

The Valantian elite cried out in pain, his knee involuntarily bending. Militiamen on either side quickly seized the opportunity, rushing forward to firmly control his arms and immobilize his head. The Valantian elite struggled intensely but to little avail, forced to watch as the militiamen in front of him thrust a spear through the Y-shaped opening of his helmet.

The spear pierced his eye and entered his brain. Blood gushed from his helmet. The militiamen released him, letting the body fall limply to the ground, then picked up their weapons and resumed searching for targets.

The Vigilia knights handled these Valantian elites with relative ease. As the top-tier troops of the Vigilia Kingdom, they had long been engaged in combat with countries like Swadia. To counter their heavy infantry, they were each equipped with armor-piercing weapons like war picks, two-headed warhammers, and spiked maces.

The war pick, in particular, was known by these soldiers as a "can opener" – especially effective against targets fully encased in thick plate armor. The war pick could easily penetrate their proud armor, creating holes in them or even smashing through their heads.

Blunt weapons like warhammers and maces were also quite effective against heavy infantry. While they couldn't penetrate the armor to cause external wounds, the impact force from a direct hit by a heavy two-handed warhammer to a vital spot was something the armor couldn't mitigate. Even without external wounds, their internal organs would be shattered by the blunt force. If the head was directly struck, not only would the helmet deform, but the skull within would also be crushed.

A Nord Royal Guard, wielding a battle axe with both hands, attacked from the left, but was blocked by a Valantian soldier's sword. The Valantian soldier was about to attack the Nord guard with the sharp edge of his shield when the Nord warrior shifted his grip and pulled, using the curved hook at the bottom of the axe blade to disarm the Valantian of his sword. The Nord then grabbed the Valantian soldier's head with his large hand and violently slammed him against the city wall.

The Valantian soldier's helmet had a fastening device and wasn't dislodged, but the immense shock dazed him momentarily, and his shield clattered to the ground. He stood unsteadily, swaying. The Nord, without hesitation, seized the opportunity and repeatedly struck the same spot on his chest with the battle axe, each blow forcing him back against the wall.

During the third heavy blow, the breastplate finally gave way, cracking open. The Nord then swung his battle axe again, striking the opening and embedding it deeply into his chest. The Valantian soldier spat out a large mouthful of blood, his limbs went limp, and he ceased to move. However, his body remained stuck on the battle axe, not falling.

A slave soldier took the opportunity to launch a surprise attack while the Nord guard was pulling his axe from the corpse. He struck the Nord guard's back with a sword. The short sword successfully cut through the chainmail but was then blocked, only inflicting a shallow wound. Instead of being severely injured, the Nord guard's fighting spirit was ignited. With a roar, the Nord guard forcefully pulled out his battle axe, turned, and kicked the slave soldier, sending him flying backward more than two meters before he crashed down below the city wall.

The Valantians fought fiercely, and the defenders of Taiwei Four resisted with all their might. A war of attrition unfolded on the city walls, but the defenders held the advantage of position, and the Valantians were unable to establish a foothold on the wall for a prolonged period.

It was then that Ronan noticed another drawbridge being raised on the west wall. A large group of burly men, clad in fur armor, with bare arms and horned helmets, wielding greatswords and massive axes, suddenly surged forth. The western defenders seemed on the verge of being overwhelmed by this sudden assault.

"Mario!" Ronan shouted back at Mario. Mario turned his head, saw the situation on the west wall, and quickly rallied his Elf archers to unleash an arrow volley at the group of burly men. Ronan also led his subordinates to quickly move towards that direction to provide support.

The Elf archers were well-protected, with only a few sustaining injuries during the exchange of fire with the enemy. When Ronan reached the west wall, a significant portion of the area had already been occupied by the enemy. The defense of the west was managed by the Phantom Feather clan. At that moment, Inella, under the protection of her subordinates, was continuously chanting incantations and waving her staff, shooting out ice shards.

However, her skill was mediocre, or rather, in this era where the gods were hidden and magic had waned, the destructive power of most mages, barring a few Archmages, was average. Mages now served more useful purposes in other areas, such as the Soul-searching technique mastered by the Orc warlock Guldan, which could acquire a great deal of useful intelligence.

Inella's spells failed to stop the fierce onslaught of these burly men, who were over 1.9 meters tall on average. Her guards had already engaged the burly men in combat. The Elf guards were clearly more skilled. These elves, clad in green light armor and wielding slender swords, were fast and agile, but their speed and footwork were not effectively utilized on the city wall. Under the assault of the horned helmet strongmen, casualties quickly mounted.

These horned helmet strongmen lacked the heavy armor of the elite Valantian soldiers, allowing Ronan to once again wield his greatsword with abandon. Using the sharp guard of his greatsword, he fiercely stabbed into the kidney of a horned helmet strongman who was locked in combat with an Elf guard. The horned helmet strongman went numb all over, his movements faltering. The Elf guard seized the opportunity and thrust his sword through his throat.

The horned helmet strongman clutched his neck and slowly collapsed. Without time to offer thanks, Ronan and the Elf guard immediately turned to face new enemies.

Ronan raised his greatsword, blocking a battle axe swung by an enemy, then used his greatsword to hook the battle axe and pull. Appearances could be deceiving; although Ronan was not as large as the towering barbarian before him, his strength surpassed the opponent's. The enemy had not anticipated Ronan's strength and stumbled forward, nearly dropping his weapon.

Ronan inwardly shook his head. He had learned this disarming technique from the Nord guards, but it was clearly still lacking. Ronan drew his sword, spun, and delivered a diagonal upward slash from the left, opening a long gash across the enemy's back, severing his spine. He was certainly not going to survive.