Huh?
Lampard had never expected Alexander to make such a request.
At such a critical moment, Alexander had thought first not of his own safety, but of having Lampard, the city's strongest fighter, protect the vulnerable Angela. This unexpected display immediately raised Lampard's opinion of the remarkable young man before him a few notches.
But only a few.
Alexander's decision to go out of the city and meet the enemy head-on immediately knocked Lampard's opinion of Sun Fei down by dozens of notches.
Even a fool could see that, under these circumstances, taking the initiative to attack was a stupid choice.
It would only throw away the precious lives of Chambord City's soldiers and give the enemy, who outnumbered them, were better equipped, and held an overwhelming advantage, a chance to win an easy victory in a single battle.
Lampard admitted that Alexander had shown incredible courage in the previous siege, far more than he had ever expected. But in the meat grinder of war, no amount of personal valor could solve the problem without strength above Moon Class. Lampard did not want Alexander to grow arrogant after winning just a few exchanges.
"If I launch a sneak attack, perhaps I can destroy those boulder throwers, so... you don't need to rush out to your death."
For his old friend, whose soul had already ascended to heaven, and for the kind and beautiful Angela, Lampard finally made up his mind. Even at the risk of reopening his old wounds, he would venture out and dismantle the boulder throwers that posed the greatest threat to Chambord City... He hoped the enemy had no experts guarding them.
"Uncle Lampard, this isn't just about those boulder throwers. As things stand, even if you really destroyed them, I'm afraid Chambord City still wouldn't hold out much longer... Don't worry. A fellow as afraid of death as I am would never do anything without confidence of success."
At that point, Sun Fei's expression suddenly grew grave. He stepped closer and said in a low voice, "Besides, you have to stay on the wall, because only you can make that viper hiding in the shadows wary."
Lampard's expression changed abruptly.
"You noticed too?"
A mysterious smile curved Sun Fei's lips, and he nodded almost imperceptibly. "Yes. Unfortunately, I only noticed the slightest hint, and I still can't be sure who it is... But I can feel that, in Chambord City, perhaps you're the only one who can hold him in check for the time being."
Lampard nodded.
The next moment, his gaze sharpened. He looked Sun Fei up and down, and suddenly blue Dou Qi flames flashed over his body, enveloping his entire right arm. Without a word, he stepped forward, force bursting out as he sent a lightning-fast punch at Sun Fei's chest.
Fierce pressure as immense as a mountain erupted with the punch.
No one around them had expected Chambord City's strongest fighter to suddenly attack His Majesty King Alexander, and cries of alarm rang out.
Sun Fei, however, seemed to have anticipated it and showed no fear.
Boom!
He threw a punch of his own to meet it.
There was nothing tricky about this punch. It relied entirely on pure physical strength, and not the slightest fluctuation of Dou Qi could be seen around him. Yet his fist left an afterimage in the air and blasted it apart.
Crack!
The two fists collided head-on.
A tremendous surge of force burst out like a tidal wave, whipping up a fierce whirlwind on the spot. Soldiers standing nearby were blown into shutting their eyes and staggered backward amid cries of alarm, unable even to hold on to their weapons.
The blue Dou Qi flames on Lampard's arm shattered and vanished in an instant. He swayed several times before barely managing to steady himself.
Sun Fei also stumbled back two or three steps before regaining his footing. His breathing was hurried, his fist had gone numb, and his arm ached.
"Good, not bad!"
Lampard nodded. There was a trace of relief in his gaze as he looked at Sun Fei, but even more than that was an irrepressible sense of astonishment and shock.
Chambord City's strongest fighter finally agreed to Sun Fei's decision. With a complicated expression, he said, "With that kind of strength, you can protect yourself. All right, I'll stay on the wall, and you can go out to meet them... But be careful. If things get dangerous, don't push yourself. Destroy those boulder throwers, teach the enemy a lesson, and come straight back. As long as we hold out a little longer, the Zenit Empire may get word, and reinforcements should arrive soon."
This was almost the most Lampard had said in one stretch in nearly ten years. Though it was only a few short sentences, Sun Fei could feel the deep concern between the lines.
"Mm, don't worry. I know what's at stake."
After saying that, Sun Fei bowed, then turned and walked back toward the defensive tower on the wall.
In fact, the moment Lampard had attacked, Sun Fei knew that Chambord City's strongest fighter was testing his strength. Only after reassuring himself of Sun Fei's abilities would Lampard agree to let him leave the city and face the enemy.
Their exchange also confirmed Sun Fei's earlier suspicion: a level-twelve Barbarian could defeat a Two-Star Warrior without a problem, but would struggle against a Three-Star Warrior.
Lampard had thrown that punch casually, while Sun Fei had struck back with all his strength, yet he had only managed to shatter the Dou Qi flames on Lampard's arm. Sun Fei himself had been forced back several steps and lost the initiative.
I need to improve my strength as quickly as possible!
Sun Fei resolved that once Chambord City's crisis was over, he would return to the Diablo World as soon as possible to level up and grow stronger. On the war-torn Azeroth Continent, strength and power were fundamental if he wanted to survive and protect the loved ones around him.
When he returned to the wall, Brook was already waiting there with more than twenty tall, powerfully built men.
Every one of them was massive, standing over two meters tall with a bare upper body. Their lean muscles looked as though they had been cast from rock and steel, brimming with explosive power. Dark body hair grew wild over them, making them as chilling as savage beasts. Every part of them exuded a wild air; they were practically humanoid behemoths straight out of the wilderness.
These were the twenty strongmen Brook had carefully selected according to Sun Fei's instructions.
Thump, thump!
Sun Fei nodded, then suddenly pounded hard on the chest of a big fellow standing beside him. Smiling, he asked, "Warrior, tell me, what's your name?"
"Drogba, Your Majesty. My name is Didier Drogba!"
"Good. Show me how strong you are, warrior Drogba," Sun Fei said with a smile.
Drogba gave a simple, honest grin.
The burly man looked around, then turned and went to the stone wall of the defensive tower. He crouched, grabbed a ruined section of wall four or five meters square, and strained. The muscles in his arms and upper body bulged as if they were exploding, and with a heave from his waist, he actually lifted the swaying slab of wall.
Sun Fei's eyes lit up.
The slab weighed at least six or seven hundred jin, yet Drogba had lifted it in one go without much effort. Judging by how much strength he still seemed to have left, he appeared to be holding back a little. Sun Fei had to admit that the physical qualities of ordinary people on the Azeroth Continent seemed far superior to those of people on Earth in his previous life. A burly man like Drogba could have competed in the World's Strongest Man contest back then and easily crushed those world-class champions.
"Good! You truly are an invincible warrior!"
Sun Fei praised him with a laugh, then walked over and took the slab of wall from Drogba with one hand. With a slight exertion of his arm, he hurled it far to one side. It landed with a crash, kicking up a cloud of dust and sending dirt and stones flying.
That effortless feat left all twenty strongmen dumbstruck.
Drogba was generally acknowledged as the strongest among them, yet His Majesty Alexander had thrown the slab he needed both hands to lift with one hand, as if tossing a chick. What kind of strength was that? It was simply unimaginable.
The burly men were completely won over at once, and their gazes burned with fervor as they looked at Sun Fei.
That was exactly the effect Sun Fei wanted.
After entering [Barbarian Mode], the level-twelve Barbarian currently possessed at least five thousand jin of strength. This seemingly endless physical power was a Barbarian's specialty. Only by astonishing these muscular men in the field they were best at could he make these single-minded fellows devote themselves wholeheartedly to him.
"Of all my soldiers, you are the strongest when it comes to sheer strength. I just don't know whether your courage is as great as your strength." Sun Fei still wanted to goad these strongmen a little and boost their morale.
As soon as he said that, the burly men's eyes turned red. Every one of them rubbed his hands and pounded his chest, eager to prove himself.
"Haha, good! I'm going out of the city to teach those sons of bitches a lesson they'll never forget. Well? Do you dare come with me and fight our way through them a dozen times or so?" Sun Fei abruptly turned and pointed at the enemy troops below the city, coiled on the stone bridge like a giant black serpent, as he asked with murderous intent.
"Your Majesty, I've wanted to charge out and teach those cowards a lesson for ages," the big fellow Drogba shouted, waving his fist.
"Your Majesty, I want to be the vanguard! Let me charge at the front!"
"I can take down ten of them on my own. Haha, why would I be afraid of them?"
"I've already twisted off twenty-one heads. I don't mind twisting off another twenty-one."
When the big fellows heard Sun Fei's decision, they showed no fear at all. Instead, every one of them rubbed his hands, eager to have a go and seemingly ready to charge down and fight at once.
Just then-
"Your Majesty, everything you asked for is ready."
The white-haired tough guy Pierce called from a distance. He came up from below the wall with a squad of soldiers. Everyone on the wall turned toward the sound and saw more than forty soldiers following close behind Pierce, sweating profusely as they carried up set after set of imposing heavy knight armor.
There were three chapters yesterday.
Please bookmark and vote.
The thing is, I'm not sure how much I can write each day. I can't rush it, and I still have to revise.
So, if I'm in good form, there will be three chapters; if not, I can only keep it to two.
I don't dare make promises lightly, or I might break them. It's not a matter of attitude, but ability.
Thank you, brothers. Thank you for your support.