Royal Capital Recovery Battle 1

Crystal Radiance Fortress is the capital of the Auldo Kingdom, named for the enormous crystal stones on Labusen Mountain near the city.

After several relocations by the early kings of the Rodney Dynasty, the fifth king finally established the capital here, gradually making it the political and economic center of the entire kingdom. Through the careful management of the subsequent eleven kings, the Royal Capital now has a population of over 100,000, making it one of the largest cities in the known world.

In the spring of the Sacred Calendar year 1990, the kingdom's eastern territories were harassed by the Highland barbarians. Her Highness Princess Catherine personally led troops to drive them out. After the princess's army had fully arrived in the Eastern Highlands, Duke Giles, whose fief was in the south, raised the banner of rebellion and began a rapid march north.

But worse was to come. Sir Haas, the commander of the city garrison left to guard the Royal Capital, betrayed the royal family and launched a rebellion in response to Giles in the south.

It was already noon, and the fields on both sides of the King's Road leading to the Royal Capital were still a hive of activity.

It wasn't that the farmers didn't want to rest, but the recent rebellion of the city garrison had caused chaos near the Royal Capital for a while. Everyone was afraid to go out, which delayed a lot of farm work. Now that things were a little more stable, many people were working from dawn till dusk to not miss the planting season.

Many birds chirped as they flew in from the north. People looked up and saw an army appearing at the end of the road.

Some people began to feel nervous, but they breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the flags flying in the formation.

As one team of soldiers after another passed by, dust billowed on the road. A large number of people and countless flags formed a colorful river, winding and surging towards the Royal Capital.

"Drive on—" A group of knights dressed in finery galloped past the marching soldiers, heading towards the front of the formation. Leading them was a female knight, her bright and shining golden hair moving in the wind, like golden flames dancing in the air.

As they approached the front of the formation, the knights noticed someone riding towards them and pulled on their reins, slowing their horses.

The person quickly reached the knights. Facing the leading female knight, he placed his right hand on his chest and nodded slightly: "Your Highness."

Catherine waved her hand, signaling him to dispense with the formalities, and asked, "What's the situation ahead?"

"The vanguard has already joined up with the King's army in Aulen Town. The temporary headquarters has been set up and is waiting for you to arrive."

"Good, everyone, hurry up, let's go quickly."

"Yes!" The others responded and spurred their horses, following Princess Catherine at full speed.

About half an hour later, Catherine and her party arrived at the Aulen Town government hall, which served as the temporary headquarters. As she dismounted, a female general appeared at the door and knelt on one knee at the foot of the steps.

"Your Highness!"

The female general had black hair and black eyes, and she was wearing black armor, a stark contrast to the princess's white armor.

Catherine immediately reached out and helped the female general up, then hugged her tightly, saying with relief, "Auffina, thank the Lord of Light for arranging you to be with me in this time of crisis."

"Your Highness, I swore to follow you forever."

A trace of tenderness appeared on the female general's frosty face.

"Thank you, Auffina..."

"It is my duty to serve my lord. Your Highness, the loyal lords from all over are still waiting for your summons."

"Good, I saw a lot of people and horses along the way. I didn't choose the wrong person to send you to gather the King's army."

Catherine praised as she held Auffina's hand tightly, and the two walked into the government hall together.

Seeing the princess arrive, the group inside who were in the middle of an intense discussion stood up to greet her.

Catherine walked to the main seat in the hall and sat down, signaling everyone to take their seats. Auffina sat on her right, and the others who had followed the princess also found seats.

The princess looked around the hall and nodded with satisfaction.

"After the change in the Royal Capital, my father's health is not good, so he ordered me to temporarily take charge of state affairs. This is an order personally signed by His Majesty."

The princess unfolded a scroll, which a servant immediately took with both hands and handed to the people in the hall to pass around. The edict did indeed bear the personal signature of His Majesty the King.

No one had any objection to Catherine taking charge of the country. The princess's abilities had long been well-known. She could write at the age of five and fight at the age of ten. While her peers were still diligently studying, she was able to assist the ailing King in handling various affairs, and the ministers also praised her.

She formed her own knight order at the age of fifteen and repeatedly led troops to the highlands to drive away the large and small barbarian tribes that harassed the kingdom. No wonder she was sent to lead the troops again this time.

Catherine said loudly: "It is in times of national crisis that people's hearts can be discerned. All of you have kept your ancient oaths and assisted the royal family in times of emergency. My father will be very pleased."

Everyone present stood up and responded to the princess.

"Your Highness, the Harden Family will swear to follow the royal family to the death..."

"Heaven is my witness, the Derry Family's loyalty to the royal family has always been unwavering..."

"My Edley Family is willing to be the vanguard for Your Highness and punish Giles, the traitor!"

"Giles betrayed His Majesty the King, his crime is unforgivable, the Lord of Light will punish him."

After the lords from other regions had finished expressing their loyalty to the royal family, the meeting moved into its substantive phase: discussing how to recover Crystal Radiance Fortress.

"Your Highness, Giles's main force is being held back by Duke Dodge, and they are temporarily unable to assist the rebels in the Royal Capital. The city garrison only numbers five thousand, while we have more than forty thousand troops. There's no need to wait for the reinforcements; tomorrow, we can gather all our forces and retake the Royal Capital in one fell swoop."

"Those five thousand are the elite guarding the Royal Capital, not just conscripted farmers. It's better to be cautious."

"Are you looking down on us, the troops from other regions?"

"I absolutely didn't mean that."

"My intelligence indicates that Haas has coerced at least twenty thousand young men to defend the city for him."

"Merlin is overthinking it. What's there to worry about with a rabble? They'll scatter like wild beasts at the sight of the royal banner."

"They only need to know how to operate the siege equipment. The walls of the Royal Capital aren't like those earthen walls in the countryside that break with a single blow. It's difficult to conquer without a tenfold advantage in troops."

After an afternoon of discussion, the meeting decided that Duke Walker would lead fifteen thousand men in a feigned attack on the north gate of Crystal Radiance Fortress, while Princess Catherine would lead the main force of twenty-five thousand men to attack the east gate of Crystal Radiance Fortress.

The next day, the attack on the north gate began first.

The Royalist army started with catapults and archers. Due to accuracy issues, the catapults mainly served as psychological deterrents. The archers were the ones who truly put immense pressure on the defenders, with waves of them launching dense volleys of arrows onto the city walls.

The rebel army lacked archers, with only sporadic counterattacks. Most of them could only rely on the battlements and shields to resist the arrow rain.

Under the cover of the catapults and archers, large numbers of Royalist soldiers slowly moved siege vehicles, battering rams, and other large equipment toward the city walls.

People on the city walls were constantly hit by arrows and fell to the ground. The real city garrison soldiers were relatively calm, holding their shields to protect their bodies tightly, but the conscripted militia couldn't maintain such composure, especially when someone next to them was hit by an arrow.

One militiaman finally couldn't take it anymore. With one person on his left and one on his right either dead or wounded, he figured the next arrow would be aimed at him. Taking advantage of the lull before the next volley of arrows, he left his defensive position and quietly moved toward the ramp leading up to the city wall.

"I need to get out of this damned place."

That was the only thought in his mind.

He saw the entrance to the ramp, and no one was guarding it. Just as the militiaman was about to rejoice, a sharp pain suddenly struck his chest and back. Looking down, he saw a bloody spearhead protruding from his chest. Before he could figure out what had happened, his consciousness gradually blurred, and he fell forward onto the city wall.

The city garrison officer behind him, with red eyes, pulled out his spear and hysterically shouted at the others, "That's what happens to deserters who abandon their posts! Kill them without mercy!!!"

Just then...

"Bang!" A loud collision sound came, the sound of a siege vehicle hitting the city wall.

"Kill—"

A large number of Royalist soldiers shouted, their voices shaking the sky, as they rushed up the ladders on the siege vehicles.

"Prepare the oil! Shield bearers forward!"

The rebel side was also on high alert.

"Wooo—"

Both sides sounded their horns in unison, signaling the official start of the Royal Capital defense battle.

I'm not very good at describing war scenes, so please bear with it, dear readers.