The raging flames turned the siege-ladder carts into fire dragons. The flames leaped higher than a person, making it impossible for ordinary people to approach, let alone walk across them.
But the pirates seemed completely unafraid of the flames. They charged straight into the fire until one after another, they became living torches and slid off the plank walkway.
Such a shocking sight was something those rookies found impossible to imagine!
The scorching waves of heat reddened their faces and made it impossible to open their eyes. The nauseating stench of burning flesh shot straight into their skulls, while the figures that had charged onto the walkway only to be burned and twisted before falling...
The entire scene formed a three-dimensional image that chilled them to the bone. It was as if someone had driven an ice blade straight into their hearts, leaving them trembling with indescribable fear.
The veterans of the Northern Legion were still holding up well, though every one of them wore an ugly expression. Every single one of the heavy cavalrymen from Tervain Village bent over and vomited.
Fortunately, the fire attack had been highly effective. Although those warriors charging the walkway appeared fearless of death, they were ultimately useless.
"Don't think that's all they've got. Don't let your guard down. The real battle hasn't even begun. These are only slaves."
Indeed, Old Adam had not fought the people of the County of Tervain for the first time. He knew the pirates' tactics very well.
The most profitable business of these pirates was neither maritime trade nor robbery. It was the slave trade.
Whenever they fought an enemy, they would certainly send slaves into battle first. The slaves had been drugged until they could no longer speak and had lost their sense of pain. Their minds had become numb, and they knew only to obey orders and charge to their deaths.
These people would clear every trap and break through every obstacle for the Swedes, giving them a smooth path forward so they could raise their curved blades and destroy every beautiful thing in their way.
Although the burning oil burned fiercely, it could not last long. The wooden siege equipment, which had been specially treated against fire, burned brightly but soon went out.
Moreover, once the flames were extinguished, the equipment's overall structure and load-bearing strength had not been damaged too severely. It had not lost its ability to support a siege.
Some of the slaves inside the siege-ladder carts remained. Taking advantage of the flames going out, they surged forward again in a dark mass.
"Spears! Hold them back!"
"Don't stick your bodies out! Those damned pirates are frighteningly accurate with their arrows!"
The veterans had ample experience. They shouted as they raised their spears, letting the heavy cavalrymen pass behind them. They thrust their weapons through the gaps in the parapet and savagely stabbed at the slaves charging toward the battlements.
Because every opening in the parapet had been designed with an inward-flaring shape, the opening on the outside was small, while the inside had a large bevel that made it easier to turn sideways and attack through the firing slit.
Every merlon offered an angle of attack approaching 170 degrees. They could attack from below, but arrows could not pass through the gaps between the merlons and strike the defenders hiding behind the wall.
Therefore, as long as these veterans did not expose their heads, they theoretically could not be injured at all.
The spears easily pierced the slaves, who wore nothing but loincloths. These numb slaves were wounded and fell in their numbness. Aside from the muffled, indistinct sounds that escaped their throats, they left no other words or trace of information in this world.
"The pirates are coming up! Prepare the burning oil!"
Once the slaves had been exhausted, pirates wearing leather or chain armor charged up the plank walkway, holding large, hide-covered round shields a meter in diameter over their heads.
"The fighting is pretty intense," Ergons said to Pastor Bolton. "It looks like they can hold out for a while. We need to hurry. Have you really decided to be the one who reveals the divine before everyone?"
Pastor Ramses Bolton nodded, his gaze turning resolute. "Of course I have. I also understand what it would mean for someone who could truly use the Holy Light to appear in the current climate. The road ahead is destined to be filled with thorns, but I am willing to sacrifice everything for the Holy Light."
The pastor's face seemed to glow with genuine light. He called over Village Chief Selvant and loudly addressed all the villagers gathered around them. "We are about to leave this place, and the way we leave will be something you see only once in your lives. I must tell you that Sir Tervalin's absolute devotion to the Holy Light moved it to grant us this assistance. You must not spread what happened today. Otherwise, you will suffer the Holy Light's punishment.
"Baron Housen will be responsible for ensuring this matter is carried out."
"Is what he said true?" one of the court knights gathered beside the Baron asked instinctively.
No one could answer his question.
They had said they would give the people below half an hour to gather everything, but the great nobles merely waited suspiciously.
Words this absurd could not be spoken lightly. If they said them and failed to accomplish it, the consequences would be enormous.
But if they truly accomplished it, the consequences would be just as enormous.
The pastor issued the same warning to all the nobles and soldiers. Then, after confirming that everything was ready, he made a perfunctory wave of his arm.
"Whoosh!"
A burst of golden light erupted from the village's northern gate. Its dazzling radiance was almost brighter than the sun. The villagers surrounding the sudden phenomenon were blinded and immediately fell into a panic.
But when their vision returned, the army before them had vanished.
"My heavens! The Holy Light above!"
The village chief was stunned, and the villagers were dumbfounded. After one villager shouted those words, everyone fell to their knees and bowed deeply toward the empty ground, not daring to look directly at it.
"Whoosh!"
Behind the besieging camp, the golden light—far dimmer than it had been at departure—shattered the morning mist. In an instant, they had gone from Tewain Village to Tervain Village.
From the Baron to the laborers, everyone understood that they had been relocated in that golden light.
Those familiar with the fortifications around Tervain Village widened their eyes in shock. They wanted to speak, but it felt as if something had blocked their throats, leaving them unable to say a word.
Ergons hurriedly stepped forward and stopped them from making a commotion. "Uncle, we've arrived at the battlefield where the siege is underway. The enemy outnumbers us several times over. What do we do now?"
The Baron had begun to recover from his astonishment. Knowing this was a critical moment, he suppressed the soldiers who were preparing to throw themselves at the pastor and wail. Then he looked at the camp ahead with utter contempt.
"Pirates? A bunch of impoverished islanders who need local collaborators to prepare their weapons, armor, and supplies before invading another country. What can they possibly do?"
That single sentence defined this seemingly "grand" battle.
"All knights, mount up! Prepare to charge the enemy's fighting forces. Infantry and support troops, prepare to seize the enemy's baggage and prisoners!"
His extremely brutish attitude and complete contempt for the enemy might have seemed absurd, but they could also inspire the knights' sense of honor.
Ergons quickly calculated their numbers. He had twelve men, seven of them landed knights including himself, and the Baron had seventeen court knights. If the Baron joined the battle personally, they would have a full thirty-seven knights.
A charge formed by thirty-seven knights was absolutely more than the three hundred or so infantrymen besieging the city could withstand.
You dared to attack my village. It's time to show you what it means for divine soldiers to descend from heaven.
All the knights mounted their horses. Under the Baron's lead, they controlled their mounts at a slow trot and began cautiously increasing their force.
The 133 infantry and support troops also set down the baggage under the leadership of the three stewards, took up their spears, and advanced steadily behind the cavalry.
The horses slowly trotted forward. With several hundred meters still separating them from the besieging camp, they did not hurry to accelerate. The camp was a full three miles from the manor's thick wooden walls. Even if the battle was raging here, those people might not hear it over there.
The Baron immediately recognized the flag flying in the camp. It bore the emblem of two crossed pirate cutlasses and belonged to the Swedish family.
The silver design represented a cadet branch, while gold was the color of the main branch. He now knew who had come.
"That Viscount Tervain bastard, that filthy pirate! Once I capture him, I'll arrange for five hundred farmers to take turns having their way with him!"
After saying this, he dug both heels into his horse's flanks. The horse accelerated, and the group of knights grew faster and faster as they plunged into the besieging camp!
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