Chapter 868: The Battle of Rhein City
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Approximately two days later.
At the junction point of the Kingdom of Helius and Icor, the Crusader's Gateway, stood lines of countless soldiers. The noon sun shone so brightly that they could barely open their eyes.
"What do they mean by this?"
Above the gateway, the old bishop looked forward at the great army of Icor, approximately three hundred meters away from them. His eyebrows were knitted tight, and he suddenly spoke thus. He could see the mages flying about in the local army, as well as Cannons of Holy Light being packed up tightly together. While being an enormous pressure on them, it was also causing them to feel extremely confused.
Because… this army had already been right outside the Crusader's Gateway for almost two days.
They had not tried to attack, nor had they sent messengers to declare their intentions. It was a time of civil strife in the Kingdom of Helius, but the great army of Icor had come to the borders as though they were talking a leisurely walk, before stationing themselves there, and glaring at them without moving an inch.
How could the Church not be worried?
The royal army had been hurriedly assembled, and rushed to the borders, to prepare for the possibility of Icor's sudden attack. The Church had also sent large numbers of priests and five bishops over here to assist with the defense.
"I don't know," the Holy Knight on the side answered with a frown, "we've sent three messengers there, only… None of them has returned. We don't know whether they've been killed or detained."
"An ambiguous attitude, being deliberately mysterious… I think that they won't really attack," one of the priests who stood with him at the gateway suddenly spoke.
"His Highness the Pope also doesn't think that they would attack," the old bishop sighed, saying, "only… we are forced to take precautions. No one knows where that devil is now, if he suddenly appears amongst the army of Icor, the Crusader's Gateway would instantly fall."
Hearing that, the others could not help but look fretful as well.
They were, more or less, being dragged down here.
Ever since the announcement of the Princess' succession to the throne, the civil strife in the Kingdom of Helius had erupted like a blowout. They knew that there must be someone in there making things difficult for them, but in the long run, everyone had been kept on the run constantly, making it even more difficult to stabilize the situation.
However, right then, another Holy Knight was suddenly running along the stairway, up to the top of the gates. He halted in front of the old bishop, clutching his knees and panting as he spoke,
"Not, not good…"
Everyone there immediately turned their heads, looking at the messenger Holy Knight with startled and uncertain expressions. The old bishop hurriedly asked, "What is it? What's not good?"
"News just came… Half an hour ago, the devil led an army in a surprise attack on Rhein City!"
For a moment, everyone was stunned right on the spot, speechless.
At the same time…
It was noon in Rhein City, but the skies were filled with dark clouds. Not a ray of sunlight could be seen.
"Attack!"
Battle cries that rose straight to the skies, mixed with the clanging sounds of soldiers and weapons clashing, filled half of the streets in Rhein City. Looking down from the sky, tightly packed soldiers could be seen, as well as broken limbs spread across the ground and dazzling flashes of Holy Light and magic… The flames of war were ablaze. The civilians could only hide in their wardrobes and under their beds in their houses, praying that they would not be affected by the war.
From the clothing of the two parties battling in the city, one could clearly see that one of them were soldiers of the royal army, and the other… looked a bit like bandits.
"Hmph… bandits? Do you really think we can't tell you apart?"
In the skies, a bishop, leading a team of priests, was in battle with a group of mages. The leading bishop fixed his sight on the mages who wore shabby and torn clothing, only to see familiar shadows from amongst them.
Traces of the Academy of Magic.
This was definitely not a bunch of local mages who mingled with bandits.
"Where's the devil? Where has he gone to hide? What on earth are you trying to do?" Thinking about the frighteningly powerful fellow who was likely to be hiding close by them, all the bishop could feel was his hairs standing on end, and could not help but ask harshly.
"Guess," from within the team of mages, Lara let out a soft laugh. Black shadows encircled her entire body as she spoke.
The bishop immediately fumed, "Hmph, don't be so happy yet, His Highness the Pope will be rushing over right away!"
Hearing that, Joanna's eyes lit up, and another ball of flames sprang out from her hands with a whoosh. "Come, then! I haven't had enough fun fighting him the last time!"
"You… wild and arrogant fellow, get through us first before talking!"
Saying that, runes lit up in the bishop's eyes, and the priests behind him went into formation. Holy Light gradually surged out from the top of their heads, gathering together and becoming more and more dazzling.
Seeing that, all the mages spread out their arms as well. Joanna and Lara, as they leaders, turned their heads to exchange looks, the corners of their mouths twitching upwards slightly.
"There's not much time. Let's finish this fight quickly."
Joanna said thus. Lara nodded.
In the next second, black shadows and flames rose up high and intertwined with each other, like a pair of twin snakes converging their bodies. A strong magic oscillation rippled out from the sky.
Meanwhile.
"This should be the final outpost."
In a remote street in Rhein City, Benjamin suddenly walked out from a courtyard. Turning back, he cast a glance at the bloodshed in the house as he murmured to himself. There were a dozen dead bodies in the room. All of them were wearing ordinary carpenter garments, but Benjamin was very certain that they were priests.
To be more accurate, they should be production priests.
He had led the great army near Rhein City, and finally launched the surprise attack and invaded the city, all for these group of priests who represented the production of the Church. Merely destroying the outposts would definitely not going to be a big impact; the Church could easily rebuild them, but as for technical talents… That was not going to be as easy.
There were too many outposts such as this one hidden in Rhein City, and the time they had was extremely precious. Because of that, Benjamin could only take action by killing upon sight. There was no way to capture any prisoners alive.
It was very obvious that they could not really conquer Rhein City; aid for the enemy would arrive very soon. They had to destroy the outposts that needed to be destroyed, and loot what needed to be looted. It was necessary to withdraw swiftly.
Along the way, he had encountered several difficulties. Almost every outpost had the protection of a powerful Holy Barrier. Despite Benjamin's power, quite some effort had to be expended before they could be broken. However, it was still alright as the battle had begun, so no one could bother him. Thus, the plan was smoothly executed by him.
"En, it's the last one, that's right. If you're willing, we can hit the gongs and withdraw the troops now," the System said lazily. "But… don't you still need to make a trip to the church?"
"I know."
Benjamin nodded, speaking in his heart as he flew at top speed towards the church of Rhein City.
Other than St. Peter's Cathedral, the church of Rhein City could be considered to be the largest in the entire kingdom. Although the gates of the city had been breached and there was chaos in the city, but by the time Benjamin arrived, he could still see the massive crowds of people gathering outside the church.
He could not help but frown.
So many people… How long would the extermination take him?
Furthermore, he realized that there were not only the members of the church amongst these people, but also common folk who had run to the church seeking refuge. Because the defense of the church was definitely the most secure, the general public, wanting only to find the safest spot, had all come running here and ended up forming this crowded sight.
However, the blueprint that Morris had requested for was hidden in the underground of the church.
"Stop with the nonsense, just dash in for the kill directly," the System said casually, "there might be a lot of people, but by the looks of the thickness of this barrier, it should not hinder you for too long."
Benjamin hid behind the corner of a street, observing the church as he rubbed his chin. He suddenly shook his head.
"...No, I have a better plan."