The river flows swiftly, and a cool breeze blows gently.
The Nine Kingdoms Allied Army gradually came to a halt about a hundred meters from the Zuli River. Their formation was somewhat scattered, the neighing of horses was chaotic, and their steps were uneven. Even the flags they had raised were crooked. The knights on horseback at the front of the formation were as proud as swans untouched by worldly affairs. Even someone with no military knowledge could tell that this was a motley crew, far inferior to the disciplined and imposing Black Armor Army that had advanced and retreated like mountains and seas. It was hard to believe that this was a regular army.
However, the Motley Army itself was extremely confident in its strength.
"One Charge and we can take Chambord City, making that foolish and arrogant King Alexander kneel and weep!" The King of Kingdom of Shenhua spurred his horse, full of vigor and ambition.
"Pass on my order: after the city falls, sell all men taller than a cartwheel in Chambord City into slavery, and teach this evil nation a lesson!" The King of Kingdom of Luneng was overjoyed. The soldiers behind him had already prepared steel cages and chains to carry the slaves.
"I'll make that damned King kneel at my feet and beg for mercy. I heard he has a pretty fiancée, hehe, maybe she can come to the Kingdom of Luneng's palace to mop the floors and wash the chamber pots for me..." The eldest Prince of Kingdom of Luneng lifted the visor of his helmet, a lewd smile appearing in his eyes.
"Ha ha ha ha!"
Upon hearing the words of the eldest Prince of Kingdom of Luneng, all the men smiled knowingly.
Even the rough soldiers behind the King raised their swords and spears and laughed; jewels, wealth, and women have always been the best hormones to encourage soldiers to fight bravely.
"However, I suggest giving Chambord City a chance. Send someone to deliver a message, demanding that they lower the drawbridge and surrender within one minute, releasing the King they have barbarically imprisoned. Otherwise, even if it means facing imperial punishment, we will make this evil nation disappear from the map of Zenit." The Red Water City glanced at the other King beside him and said unhurriedly.
The most powerful faction among the allied forces was Red Water City.
The Red Water City's former force of about six hundred men was the most well-equipped and morale-boosting of the nine teams. Among them was even a hundred-man heavy cavalry unit calling themselves the "[ Flame God Iron Hooves ]." Their riders, clad entirely in black iron armor, rode exclusively fourth-tier magical Flame Beast called Flame Beast resembled warhorses, with Jianjiao on their heads. They were said to be hybrid offspring of the sacred unicorn, naturally swift as the wind and possessing astonishing carrying capacity, making them the perfect mounts for forming a cavalry unit.
It is said that the reason why so many Flame Beast were obtained was because the previous King of Red Water City had a stroke of luck. He happened to run into a large mercenary group in distress and took advantage of their plight to buy more than forty Flame Beast cubs at a low price. After more than twenty years of careful breeding, the number of Flame Beasts has grown to more than one hundred. This is also the reason why Red Water City was able to advance to a third-class vassal state without many powerful figures in charge. It is said that even the two Prince of the Zenit Empire, Arshavin and Dominguez, who are currently fighting fiercely for the throne, have sent people to extend olive branches to Red Water City, precisely because they have their eyes on this hundred-strong [ Flame God Iron Hooves ] legion.
Each of the [ Flame God Iron Hooves ] riders weighs at least five or six hundred pounds. They can gallop like the wind. If they were to run and sprint at full speed on a plain, the frontal impact could even topple a city wall. Legend has it that this heavy cavalry is invincible in actual combat among the sixty third-class vassal states of the Zenit Empire.
Upon hearing the King Red Water City speak, although some of the other King were also indignant, might made right, and most agreed to the plan. Only the noble mage who had been terrified by the volley of arrows from Chambord City disagreed with the suggestion, clamoring to storm Chambord City Chambord City and burn it to the ground. However, this allied force was clearly disunited, each acting independently. But none of them were idiots; seeing the treacherous terrain of Chambord City, they all wanted to preserve their own strength. On the surface, they all flattered the minor noble mage from the capital, Saint Petersburg, but none of them would truly listen to him.
What the arrogant allied leaders did not expect was that before they could even send envoys to deliver a message, a loud creaking sound of iron chains being dragged came from behind. It turned out that the Chambord City side had taken the initiative to lower the drawbridge. With a deafening roar, the ten-meter-high steel bridge deck slammed heavily onto the south bank of the broken stone bridge. Amidst the billowing dust, it looked as if a terrifying, sacred dragon had suddenly descended onto the bridge.
"The drawbridge has been lowered... Could it be that they've already lost heart before the battle even begins and are about to surrender?" one King chuckled proudly.
The smoke and dust cleared.
The allied forces were astonished to find that squads of Chambord City soldiers marched in orderly formation from the bridge to the shore, beginning to deploy. At the forefront were twenty shield bearers, two in a row carrying three-meter-high iron tower shields. Their steps were heavy, each step leaving a deep footprint. Looking at the tower shields that resembled giant steel gates, the nine King and the soldiers behind them who had been shouting merrily just moments before shivered, suddenly feeling the Sun's chill.
Following the twenty soldiers carrying exaggerated shields were fifty archers.
Compared to the previous twenty tower shield soldiers who were somewhat intimidating, these fifty archers were not particularly remarkable. They didn't even have complete armor; instead, they wore strange, tight-fitting cloth garments. The shoulders of their longbows were covered with worn-out, shiny animal hides. The longbows on their backs were slightly larger than ordinary longbows, and each archer had Number One quiver containing less than a hundred arrows.
"Such a small number of archers are not even enough to fill a tooth gap. If each of my soldiers swings their swords once, they will all die... Haha, what a pathetic sixth-class vassal state, Chambord City! How dare you even show it off!" The eldest Prince of Kingdom of Luneng curled his lip in disdain, while the soldiers behind him laughed and banged their swords in agreement.
On the opposite side, the deployment of Chambord City continued.
Following the archers were more than thirty burly men, still without armor, their tattered cloth armor looking rather shabby. Compared to the well-armored allied soldiers, they were like nobles and beggars. However, the weapons in the hands of these giants were terrifying—each wielding a two-meter-long axe with an exaggerated blade as big as a door panel. The axe blades gleamed coldly in the autumn afternoon sun. The shape of these axes was truly exaggerated. If the axe body was indeed made entirely of black iron, a single axe would weigh at least three or four hundred pounds. Ordinary soldiers would have to exert all their strength just to lift such an axe, let alone use it to kill enemies.
"Oh, how could that be? It must be wood that's been carved and painted with black and silver dye. It's fake, it must be fake!" The Black Water King was terrified, muttering to himself, a little delirious.
His opinion was echoed by everyone around him, even the arrogant wind mage who had started off scoffed, "It's definitely fake. Only a fool would be fooled by their costume. Haha, I bet even those dozen or so tower shields from before were fake, probably just made of nailed-together wood!"
That being said, the morale of the allied forces had clearly been affected by Chambord City's fierce appearance. It was as if a wildly burning flame had been doused with cold water. At least at this moment, no one was clamoring to Charge anymore, and they were all hesitating in place.
Behind the burly men wielding giant axes followed a 50-man infantry square.
This formation was finally a bit more organized, though it paled in comparison to its predecessors. The weapons they carried were a chaotic mix: some held broken knives, others wielded long sticks of varying thicknesses, some carried rusty two-handed swords, some held wooden-handled axes, and others carried blacksmith's flat-bottomed hammers... The formation was also somewhat disorganized, and the soldiers were of varying heights and not particularly strong. They didn't look like soldiers who had come to fight, but rather like uncouth farmers who had come to the riverbank to watch the spectacle.
"Haha, look, they've finally been exposed! This is the true level of little Chambord City!" someone sneered.
"They're just a bunch of farmers... To fight an enemy like that is an insult to my army and soldiers!"
"A country like this has no reason to exist..."
The allied leaders quickly regained their optimism, becoming smug and watching the performance in Chambord City like a clown.
Just then, another change occurred on the bridge—
A group of about twenty men slowly moved out in a cone formation. Each of them wore heavy knight's armor covering every part of their body. The heavy armor made the soldiers stagger and move with great difficulty. They took one step and rested three steps, looking like they were panting heavily. The heavy armor had not yet provided protection for its masters, but had already exhausted them.
"Oh my god, I think their King, who's got water in his head, must be insane. He actually sent infantrymen out wearing heavy cavalry armor..." The King of Red Water City laughed loudly. He looked at the hundred-plus heavily armored cavalrymen behind him, their laughter filled with disdain, like a grandly dressed Sun-Rank Venerable seeing a beggar pretending to be a master in front of him. "[ Thunder God Iron Hooves ] can turn these two-legged knights into a pile of scrap metal in the blink of an eye!"
"What a pity about those twenty-odd sets of heavy knight armor. They looked pretty good. They're all mine!" The King of Kingdom of Shenhua was envious. Anyone could see that those armors were good stuff. If they were equipped on knights, they could definitely arm a powerful elite cavalry squad.
"Whoever grabs it first gets to keep it!"
The other King' eyes lit up; how could they easily give away such a prize?
Unbeknownst to them, King Sun Fei, who had rushed to the scene upon hearing Red Water City news, was also drooling and shouting, "Hahaha, wonderful! A whole hundred Flame Beast! They're all mine! Hahaha, they're all mine! Issue my order: make sure to get them alive... These King are so generous! I only asked them to pay me some gold coins, and they've actually delivered equipment to my doorstep!"
Second update. The electricity came a little late, and I'm currently frantically typing for you guys. Please click and vote to comfort me.