High Priest!
Closer, closer, very close now.
The night breeze seemed to carry a damp mist, and the sound of flowing water could be heard ahead. After passing through a sparse grove of trees, everything in front of them came into view: huge Warship, ships that many of them had never seen in their entire lives. On the Agate River, they could only see medium-sized ships at most; such large Warship could probably only be deployed on the vast ocean.
The dark muzzles of cannons were aimed at the land, and the troops on the Warship were already fully prepared for battle.
Torches lit up all around, obscuring the exact number of Warship, but likely close to a hundred, as the entire river was filled with large ships. A hazy mist swirled around, and in one spot, a fog seemed to shroud the area, its contents hidden in the darkness. Yet, it appeared like a dangerous monster, silently observing everything before it, awaiting its master's summons!
Fortunately, the Agate River is as wide as the Yangtze River Yellow River; otherwise, Soren's fleet would never have been able to get in.
"Quiet."
A soft female voice rang out, as gentle as a spring breeze, reaching the ears of the others.
Then, everyone fell silent.
They themselves didn't know why. Having just experienced a Cruelty Slaughter and escape, and with panic still lingering in their hearts, they involuntarily quieted down when they heard this gentle female voice, as if their souls were being soothed by some force.
Holy Spirit Cleric Milan looked up and gazed ahead.
She saw a tall woman veiled, and she felt a familiar aura emanating from her— the Divine Power bestowed upon her by her My Lord.
However, her opponent was far more powerful!
Milan stepped forward, gently lifting the hem of her skirt, her petite figure bowing low to the woman before her in respect. "High Priest!"
The Masked Woman smiled and nodded.
The pastors from the other Church exchanged glances and quickly bowed their heads in respect. Although they didn't know who the Masked Woman was, she had calmed everyone down with just a few words, so she was clearly no ordinary person.
"Let the women and children board the boat first."
The Masked Woman glanced at the crowd before her and slowly instructed, "The men stay where they are and prepare. There is enough food on the shore; let them share it with the others."
"Sixth Fleet, prepare for battle."
"The enemy could catch up at any time. Send the Commoner into the cabin, give them a meal, and then equip the militia with weapons."
The gentle voice seemed to possess a magical power.
The crowd before her seemed to automatically part at her command, and women and children were carried one by one onto the deck and placed in the Warship's cabins. These fleeing Commoner were mostly women and children, as the elderly rarely survived the chaos of war, and then there were the militia who worshipped the God of Half-Elves. During the siege, all adult men were conscripted. Even teenage boys were forced to learn some combat skills.
"Tell the pirates to stop harassing these Commoner."
The Masked Woman turned and glanced at the pirate captain behind her, coldly saying, "These are all followers of my My Lord! You should know how Lord Soren deals with those who break the Order!"
The pirate captain, missing his left ear, grinned maliciously and nodded, saying, "Rest assured, Your Priest!"
"Anyone who dares to cause trouble, I'll skin them alive!"
Cruelty methods of rule.
Soren's rule on the South Coast was maintained through Slaughter and Order; anyone with a sound mind knows the consequences of disobeying Lord Soren's orders.
This gentleman is ruthless when it comes to killing!
Steaming hot food was distributed, some prepared in advance, others consisting of dried meat and salted fish. The food was plentiful in meat, mostly seafood; at times like these, simply filling one's stomach was enough. Being able to eat meat brought a sense of happiness to many. Even in Commoner, ordinary people like them could enjoy some meat during festivals. Judging from what was seen, the reinforcements had prepared a large amount of food, with meat making up a significant portion.
It seems our My Lord's power is truly formidable.
They're at least very rich!
The elderly bishop exchanged a glance with the priests beside him. At this moment, they disregarded all decorum, picked up a bowl of hot soup, and wolfed it down with dried meat and salted fish. Falling Leaf City had been besieged for a long time. Food was scarce in the city to begin with, and a portion had to be shared with the large number of refugees. Even the high-ranking priests had only been able to barely fill their stomachs during this period.
Eat meat?
If we set aside our moral taboos, perhaps Falling Leaf City really does have plenty of 'meat'.
The sounds of people wolfing down their food were everywhere.
At a time like this, hunger and panic should have caused some chaos, but for some reason, whenever the Masked Woman's voice rang out, everyone felt a sense of calm. They quietly Order received their food, and after filling their stomachs, they prepared for battle. A full stomach naturally gave them strength, and the arrival of reinforcements clearly restored the morale of the Temple Guard.
The foundation of a Church is definitely not simple.
Many of the surviving priests were close to high-ranking, and most of the Temple Guard survived the first round of siege were now professionals of rank three or above.
Among them are quite a few specially advanced Temple Knight.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to withstand Orc army ten times their size for so long.
Praise be to our My Lord!
Praise be to our My Lord!
Praise be to our My Lord!
A chorus of praise and prayers arose, and as the flame of hope was rekindled, many people couldn't help but kneel down in devout prayer and praise.
The Masked Woman smiled as she observed everything before her!
She seemed to be the center of everything; whenever anyone's gaze fell upon her, a gentle breeze would involuntarily caress their soul.
soon.
Everyone boarded the Warship, where the retreating elite pirates appeared before them.
The priests and Temple Guard went up to the deck, and the Commoner were settled in the cabins. The whole process was quite Order, and there was no panic at all.
Soren's figure appeared in the darkness.
He looked at the Masked Woman before him and smiled slightly, then said sternly, "Prepare for battle! Load your ammunition!"
"The Orc army is catching up."
Yugin arrived very quickly.
Orc Warrior had a clear physical advantage over humans. After all the Commoner were settled in the ship's cabins, the vast Orc army came into the lookout's view.
"Dig a hole!"
The Old Sea Dog stood on the lookout tower, holding Monocular, and muttered, "So many enemies! If they dare to charge up, how many can we kill with a single shot?"
They were pirates.
Although coastal areas were also subject to restrictions imposed by the Church, the control over Alchemy weapons was not as strict.
Almost every Warship was equipped with cannons, and although they used solid shot, the destructive power was still considerable for ordinary Warrior. The disaster brought by the Arcane Empire led many Church forces to strictly control Alchemy Craft, but there were fewer restrictions in areas where pirates were active. Soren's artillery power was probably among the greatest in the entire Material Plane. In naval battles, the destructive power might not be that great, but in dense land-based battles, a single shot could clear a bloody path.
"Come on, come on!"
Scarface emerged with a sinister grin. He had a wound on his left arm, inflicted by a Orc Swordmaster. Fortunately, his opponent had only recently advanced in rank. Scarface had also carefully prepared a poisoned Hand Crossbow (using the venom of the natives), otherwise he might have been killed by the enemy. The fact that a Orc Swordmaster was hidden within the battle formation, and how he had almost been ambushed, was terrifying. Scarface grinned again, took out two iron balls linked together by a chain, and personally loaded them into the cannon barrel, chuckling, "Load these in! Using these cannonballs will make the firing much more satisfying!"
The enemy is getting closer and closer.
Because they were busy getting Commoner onto the ship at the beginning, the pirates certainly didn't have time to retreat.
So after Soren gave the order, the Giant immediately led his Elite Pirate to form a battle line on the riverbank, and then waited expectantly for the enemy to charge.
It's fine if they don't dare to come up.
If they dare to come up here, these hundreds of cannons will teach them a lesson they won't forget in no time!
Yugin stopped in his tracks.
It stared at the rows of Warship ahead, its expression turning quite grim.
Pirate!
It had once traversed the continent, so it was impossible for it to be unfamiliar with pirate Warship. Although there were no pirate flags on the Warship, it could recognize at a glance that all these enemies were pirates.
One cannon after another.
Although Yugin himself scoffed at these inferior Alchemy weapons and wouldn't even give them a second thought, he was well aware of the damage they could inflict on ordinary Warrior. Their clumsy barrels and slow firing rates made them utterly useless in many battles, but in the face of a large-scale military conflict, their destructive power was astonishing!
Falling Leaf City also has cannons.
But what the Half-Elf were proud of were their excellent archers; the dozens of cannons mounted on the city gates were nothing but decorations, completely on a different level from the dark, gaping cannon muzzles in front of them.
Cannons were standard equipment for pirates!
Whether it's the skill of the gunners, the number of cannons, or the power of the artillery fire, coastal areas are far superior to inland areas.
If we launch a forced attack...
They'll probably have to withstand a round of artillery fire!
[Note: The Druid Church abhors Alchemy Craft, believing it disrupts the harmony of nature. They consider the wounds left in nature that have taken millennia to heal to be the result of the Arcane Empire's research into Alchemy Craft. Therefore, wherever the Druid Church is active, the control over Alchemy Craft is extremely strict.] (To be continued~^~)