Explosion

Harald sat upright on his horse, expressionless, watching his own soldiers cheering wildly on the distant city walls.

The easy capture of the outer city walls should have been a victory to celebrate, but a gloomy feeling inexplicably settled over him, preventing him from feeling happy.

"It seems... the commander of the garrison isn't too stupid after all," he thought coldly. "They realized that fighting my army head-on on this low outer wall would be suicidal, so they decisively gave up, preserving their strength to retreat to the hilltop castle. Hmph, they do know how to make choices."

He was somewhat dissatisfied that he had not been able to inflict heavy casualties on the defending troops in the siege of the city walls as he had hoped.

But on second thought, this is good too; at least it reduces the direct resistance to the siege, allowing us to concentrate all our efforts on attacking the core castle.

He raised his hand, ready to give the order to launch a full-scale attack, to take Carnford in one fell swoop and utterly crush the fortress that had humiliated him...

Just as his lips parted slightly, about to utter the command!

Boom!!!

A deafening roar, seemingly emanating from the depths of the earth, suddenly erupted from the direction of Carnford!

The sound was so loud that it drowned out all the noise on the battlefield, and the ground beneath Harald's feet seemed to tremble slightly!

Harald turned his head sharply, looked in the direction of the sound, and his pupils suddenly contracted!

He witnessed with his own eyes that the section of the outer wall of Carnford, which had been completely occupied by his warriors and even had the Sauron wolf flag planted, suddenly bulged upwards without warning near the main gate, and then exploded with a deafening roar!

A massive cloud of smoke and debris, like an erupting volcano, instantly engulfed that section of the city wall!

The figures of several Sauron soldier standing directly above the explosion point were as if grabbed by an invisible giant hand and thrown high into the air amidst the firelight and smoke, before disappearing into the billowing dust.

Countless shattered bricks and pieces of wood flew in all directions like hail, crashing down inside and outside the city walls with a crackling sound.

This is just the beginning!

Almost as soon as the echoes of the first explosion had faded, like a lit firecracker fuse, boom! boom! boom! boom!

More intense and violent explosions spread from the center outwards along the occupied section of the city wall, one after another, resounding wildly!

Each explosion was accompanied by billowing smoke, flames, and flying debris!

The entire section of the city wall seemed to transform into a giant earthen and stone dragon awakening and roaring, trembling violently and collapsing!

The scene on the city wall was horrific.

The Sauron soldier, who had been standing in close formation, preparing to attack the inner fortress, had no time to react and were blown to pieces by a series of devastating explosions from beneath their feet.

Those closest to the explosion's epicenter were instantly torn apart and buried along with the city wall bricks beneath their feet, leaving no trace of their remains!

Only fragments of weapons and Cloth Strip were thrown high into the air by the blast wave, then fell like black snowflakes, telling the story of life that had once existed there.

Those further away were also violently thrown back by the powerful shockwave, falling off the city walls or being hit by flying debris, resulting in either death or serious injury.

Screams, cries of alarm, and the sound of collapse mingled together, and the once orderly attacking formation instantly descended into extreme chaos and panic!

Harald's warhorse was startled, letting out a long, mournful neigh, rearing up and nearly throwing him off.

He gripped the reins tightly, barely managing to steady himself. The smugness and murderous intent on his face froze instantly, replaced by extreme shock, disbelief, and rage!

His mind went blank, and all he could hear was a constant buzzing sound and the faint screams and cries of his men in the distance.

What did he see? The vanguard force on which he had placed such high hopes...

His brave and valiant sons, right before his eyes, vanished in a dazzling yet cruel display of fireworks?

It took Harald a good ten seconds to snap out of his daze.

A chilling coldness instantly shot from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, causing him to shiver involuntarily.

What followed was a volcanic eruption of rage and a hint of fear that even he himself was unwilling to admit!

He watched helplessly as his elite vanguard troops, on the very walls he had "captured" with his own hands, suffered such a devastating blow just as victory seemed within their grasp!

This wasn't a battle at all; it was a premeditated trap!

The defenders of Carnford used an entire section of the city wall and their "victory" as bait to deliver such a vicious blow!

Harald's face turned ashen with extreme anger, and the veins on his forehead bulged.

I should have known! I should have known! That bastard from Carnford! That little Lord who has caused me to lose so many men time and time again!

How could he possibly abandon the city walls so easily!

This is a trap! A vicious trap that uses an entire section of the city wall as bait!

A strong sense of regret and self-blame welled up in my heart.

It was him! He was blinded by his easy "victory" and underestimated the ruthlessness and cunning of his opponent!

It was his momentary carelessness that led to the loss of these elite warriors!

More importantly, this earth-shattering explosion will have a devastating impact on the morale of the entire army!

He turned his head sharply to look at the tribal chiefs and high-ranking officers surrounding him.

They were all ashen-faced, with vacant eyes, and some were even trembling slightly!

They were equally utterly terrified by this terrifying scene, which resembled divine punishment!

These Sauron warriors, who were usually fearless, now had eyes filled with fear of the unknown power.

They were fearless in melee combat with cold weapons, but faced with a force capable of instantly obliterating an entire city wall and hundreds or thousands of people, they felt their own insignificance and powerlessness for the first time!

No matter how high one's martial arts skills or how strong one's courage, they all seem so laughable and fragile in the face of that loud bang and towering flames!

In stark contrast to the deathly silence and panic at the Sauron camp, a deafening cheer erupted from the direction of the castle Carnford Mountain!

"Long live! Long live Lord Karl!"

"Blow these sons of bitches to death!"

"Hahaha! Let's see if you still dare to be arrogant!"

Those defending soldiers who had just been fleeing in disarray were now standing on the inner fortress walls, waving their weapons and letting out joyful shouts and jeers!

Their faces beamed with excitement and pride, as if the earth-shattering explosion they had just witnessed was a glory they had personally ignited!

The cheers were like a resounding slap in the face of every Sauron soldier, and also a blow to Harald's heart!

Harald's fists clenched so tightly they cracked.

He stared intently at the distant castle that seemed to be mocking him, his chest heaving violently. Among the battlements, a young figure surrounded by numerous soldiers and banners clearly came into his eyes, burning with rage.

Although they had never met before, Harald recognized the man instantly, almost instinctively.

Lord Karl von Schmidt of Carnford! The culprit who repeatedly caused him to suffer heavy losses and thwarted his plans!

A surge of violent killing intent instantly rushed to Harald's head. He almost gritted his teeth, and the veins on the back of his hand gripping the reins bulged.

He longed to immediately lead his army forward, disregarding everything, and crush that hateful figure along with the castle he was defending!

But he understood that now was not the time to act impulsively.

The morale of the troops has been severely damaged and will need time to recover.

Blindly launching an attack will only lead to greater losses.

He took a deep breath of the scorching air thick with the smell of gunpowder, forcibly suppressing his surging anger and murderous intent. With all his might, he made his voice sound as calm and cold as possible, and issued the order:

"Order... to halt the attack for today. All units shall return to their camps, tally the casualties, and comfort the soldiers... We will discuss this further tomorrow."

Having said that, he stopped looking at the city walls that had become ruins and graveyards, abruptly turned his horse around, and, surrounded by a group of still-shaken generals, galloped silently toward the central army camp.

His silhouette, bathed in the bleak winter sunlight, appeared particularly somber and desolate.