Chapter 296: Jormungandr

As time passed bit by bit, the weather gradually turned cold, and the grass on the hillside was already covered with white frost in the morning.

Allen's camp on the hillside was also gradually taking shape under the joint efforts of the villagers and mercenaries: a trench two meters wide, dense and sharp wooden spikes, and a wall more than two meters high, deep on the outside and shallow on the inside.

Although the defensive power could not compare to the high walls of Herus Castle, it was not a problem at all to guard against small-scale enemy raids.

To ensure he had sufficient vision, Allen also built a watchtower on both the east and west sides of the hillside. Looking east, one could clearly see most of the situation on the other side of Herus Fortress, and looking west, one could monitor the forest under the hillside and that secret mountain path.

However, the enemy seemed to have no big movements, as if they had no great interest in Herus Fortress.

Not to mention the gathering of large troops, even small-scale reconnaissance was not very frequent. Allen hadn't killed any light cavalry of the Dark Cult for half a month.

In the past, as long as these scouts dressed in pitch-black attire appeared in his field of vision, Allen would fly over and slaughter them without hesitation. Slowly, the cavalry who dared to come to this side for reconnaissance became fewer and fewer.

However, although the enemy didn't make any bad moves, King Ragnar sent messengers twice in a row, bringing bad news that was enough to shake the morale of the army.

The first time, there were traces of large-scale enemy troops near Jelberg Castle. The army Ragnar gathered in Sargoth had to be sent there as support, and counter-attacking had become a joke at this time.

Being able to hold on, using human lives and depth to buy time, and praying to the gods, who didn't know if they existed, to bestow a change in the situation upon the Kingdom of Nord, was all the Ragnar Kingdom could hope for.

Of course, if Swadia and Vaegirs could see the situation clearly and react fast enough, the Kingdom of Nord would still have a glimmer of hope.

Unfortunately, the mobilization ability of the feudal system was extremely poor, and discussing such resolutions to support other countries was also full of difficulties. There was no news in a short time, so it could only be left to fate.

The only good news was that the two countries had not yet given Ragnar a definite answer, which kept a glimmer of hope for him.

The second piece of news was that a large-scale army of the Dark Cult had also appeared near Sargoth. The second army gathered by King Ragnar had to stay behind to guard the capital.

In other words, Herus Fortress had no reinforcements at all. Haringoth and Allen could only rely on the troops in their hands to resist the Dark Cult's attack.

This was not an easy thing. Although Allen brought over a thousand mercenaries, they were uneven in quality. With the blessing of the Free Knights, their combat effectiveness could barely compare with the army of the Kingdom of Nord.

Haringoth's army was not small in number, reaching over two thousand, but the quality was very poor. Except for a portion of soldiers who escaped from Kulin Castle who could be considered elites.

There were half of the soldiers in Herus Fortress who were new recruits who had just picked up weapons after being forcibly conscripted, while the most elite Temple Guards were extremely few in number.

In the first battle between the Kingdom of Nord and the Dark Cult, Haringoth's army suffered some damage. When he left Tihr, he even divided a portion of the most elite Temple Guards around him to his father, who was on the front line, Marshal Eden.

Now, Tihr had fallen, and the soldiers were either killed in battle or captured. Once the enemy completely occupied Tihr and Kulin Castle, Herus Fortress would inevitably have to face the enemy army directly.

As the temperature got lower and lower, the soldiers put on the winter clothes they had prepared early in the lining of their armor. The rivers and streams that had been flowing quietly began to show thin layers of ice on cold nights.

What was meant to come finally came. Without scouts, without vanguards, the main force of the Dark Cult suddenly appeared on the west side of Herus Castle after one night, and the pitch-black armor was boundless under the winter sun.

The other side seemed to want to give Haringoth an impressive deterrent, or had sufficient confidence in their own strength.

Therefore, both sides had no negotiations and no interaction from the beginning. The Dark Cult sent out their most elite soldiers, carrying ladders and rushing up along the narrow mountain path in front of Herus Fortress.

They wanted to break through the city walls in the first wave of attacks and let the Nord lords defending the city see how powerful the Dark Cult was.

"Fire arrows, fire arrows."

The order rang out, and countless arrows flew at extreme speed in the air. It was just that this kind of attack was nothing at all to the Python Fang armed to the teeth.

That fine plate armor shining with light, the full-face helmet that protected the entire head, was enough to protect the wearer. Unless the arrow could happen to shoot into that thin observation slit on the helmet, it could only make "ding-ding-dang-dang" sounds and then helplessly fall to the ground.

Ranged combat had never been the strong point of the Kingdom of Nord. The longbows in their hands didn't have the strength of the siege crossbows of the Rhodoks that could pierce gold and stone, and the arrows used were not the armor-piercing arrows specialty of the Vaegirs, so they could only deal with cannon fodder whose armor was not fine enough.

After the first wave of arrow rain, Haringoth discovered the enemy's intention to take it down in one go. In a hurry, he sent all the Royal Guards and Temple Guards to the city walls, and even sent messengers out, hoping that Allen could support him with his elites.

Only elites.

The messenger carrying the order had just walked down the city wall when the Dark Cult's army rushed to a position twenty or thirty meters away from the city wall under the arrow rain of the Nord army.

"Up, set up the ladders."

In the desperate shouts, a dozen ladders were erected high from the crowd, their iron hooks at the top shining in the sun.

"Throw!"

With a loud shout from Haringoth, hundreds of huge black dots flew towards the crowded Python Fang like raindrops. Inside were heavy throwing spears and constantly spinning and dancing throwing axes.

Unlike the soft arrows just now, these throwing weapons thrown by the Temple Guards and Royal Guards possessed absolutely powerful strength to break through the thick layer of armor on the enemy.

Even the most powerful Royal Knights of Swadia had to retreat when facing the garbage rain of the Kingdom of Nord, turning to let the cannon fodder go to consume it.

Because if they were hit while charging, it was a situation of certain death, and their expensive lives were sometimes taken away by weapons with extremely low manufacturing costs.

Amidst a "ping-pong-pong" sound, most of the Python Fang rushing at the front were hit.

Although relying on the thick enough armor on their bodies and the secret cultivation methods of the Dark Cult, these elite cultists did not immediately suffer a large number of deaths.

But the serious injuries caused by the throwing axes and spears were enough to make them lose their combat ability.

Even those ladders that were erected high, after losing the support of the soldiers, fell heavily from the air.

While creaking, they hit the city wall and the crowd, causing a commotion or smashing into pieces.

As a defensive stronghold, the city wall of Herus Fortress was too tall. The damaged ladders, due to the reduction in length, could no longer help the Python Fang climb the city wall.

The precarious castle seemed to be safe at this moment.

However, facing the throwing weapons of the Kingdom of Nord with amazing damage, the Python Fang who were still standing had no intention of retreating at all. The fanatical worship of the Dark God made them fearless of death.

The axe-hammers flying up and down in their hands resisted the lethal whistling weapons in the air.

This was a group of lunatics who had been thoroughly brainwashed by the cult. Once they stepped onto the battlefield, except for the orders from the commander, they almost didn't care about anything.

Casualties, blood, and wailing could not affect them in the slightest. Their footsteps continued to walk towards the city wall without stopping.

At this time, Haringoth, who was sweating profusely even in the severe winter, looked at the actions of these lunatics under the city wall and didn't quite understand what they were trying to do.

Could it be that the other side could climb the smooth city wall with their bare hands while wearing such heavy armor? This was simply impossible.

It was just that, just as this thought appeared in Haringoth's heart, a big man with an extremely burly figure walked out of the Python Fang team under the city wall.

Originally, the Dark Cultists who could become Python Fang had to have a burly figure of at least 1.8 or 1.9 meters, and this one was a full head taller than those around him. He was one of the three major commanders of the Dark Cult, the commander of the Python Fang Knight Order, Jormungandr.

Just after walking out of the crowd, a layer of earth-yellow Qi visible to the naked eye appeared on his body, and the large axe-hammer in his hand condensed a huge earth-yellow ball of light.

Subsequently, Jormungandr held the weapon in his hand high, kicked his feet hard, and his figure flew towards the tightly closed city gate like an arrow from a bow. The earth-yellow Qi constantly surging on his body even bounced off the throwing axes and spears thrown at him.

"BANG!!!"

A huge crashing sound rang out, and Haringoth felt the city wall beneath his feet trembling slightly.

"City gate! Guard the city gate, hurry, hurry!!"

Being able to cause such a huge movement, Haringoth, who had always had confidence in the city gate, also revealed a look of panic on his face at this time.

The city gate of Herus Fortress was spliced together from logs half a meter thick. In order to increase the strength, a layer of iron skin was wrapped on the surface. It was impossible for anyone to destroy it head-on.

It was just that now, Haringoth no longer had this confidence, and what was even worse was that the chaos caused by the previous wave of throwing weapons had subsided, and those enemies with fine armor had erected a few more ladders again.

And most of the Royal Guards and Temple Guards had just received the order to support the city gate.

This was the disadvantage of not having enough elites compared to the other side. Once they blossomed at multiple points, they would be stretched thin and broken through by the enemy at one point.

"Hasn't Commander Allen's support arrived yet? I need his help now..."

"BANG~~~" "CRACK"

Before Haringoth could finish his words, another huge sound directly interrupted his words, and the sound of the city gate breaking made his eyes split with rage.

Now, Haringoth finally understood why Tihr, with its tall city and thick walls, didn't even hold out for half a month before being easily broken by the Dark Cult.

Facing this kind of monster that didn't look like a human, it would be a ghost if they could hold it.

"BANG~~~" "CREAK"

Facing Jormungandr's third attack with great force, the scarred city gate could still persist, but the three door bolts that held the gate broke with a bang.

Just as the Temple Guards and Royal Guards who received the order arrived at the city gate tunnel, Jormungandr, tall, burly, and covered in blood, was looking at them with a ferocious grin while holding a hideous and terrifying axe-hammer.

A dozen or so broken corpses on the ground seemed to have suffered a violent storm. They were the Nord warriors who originally looked after the city gate. In front of Jormungandr, they didn't even persist for a few minutes.

And the Python Fang, who had long been prepared, had already arrived behind their commander.

"Up, stop them."

Olaf, who had fled all the way from Kulin Castle to Herus Fortress, looked at the tragic scene before him and sternly commanded the Nord elites beside him, while he himself held the Nord Royal Shield in his left hand and a short-handled battle axe in his right, rushing straight towards Jormungandr.

In Herus Fortress, besides Haringoth who was commanding the battle on the city wall, the strongest was himself. Expecting the Temple Guards to stop this monster before him was simply an impossible thing.

Azure Qi permeated and filled Olaf's whole body. The steel axe embedded with gems turned into a white light and slashed towards the figure that looked like a demon god before him.

Looking at the enemy rushing towards him, the axe-hammer in Jormungandr's hand brought out a whistling sound in the air. With a "bang," Olaf's figure flew back, knocking down several Royal Guards before he barely stopped, and that Nord Royal Shield had been smashed into pieces, and his left arm was twisted into an extremely strange shape.

"Ha, trash."

Looking at Olaf who had already fainted, Jormungandr mocked in a muffled voice, not even bothering to chase and kill this opponent who was far behind him, but instead swung the powerful axe-hammer in his hand and slashed at the Nord people who were fighting desperately with his subordinates.

It was still more important to break through the city gate as soon as possible. Behind him, endless soldiers were waiting to enter the castle, plunder here, slaughter here, and occupy here.

Every time the axe-hammer danced, a Nord Royal Guard spat blood. Every time the whistling sound rang out, a Temple Guard had his tendons broken and bones fractured. These top-tier soldiers of the Kingdom of Nord had no resistance at all in front of Jormungandr.

Those Python Fang who invaded the city gate, with the help of their own commander, broke through the desperate obstruction of the Nord people all the way, like splitting bamboo.

The crooked corpses paved the road, and the blood flowed like a small stream. At this time, more Nord warriors had arrived at the city gate tunnel under Haringoth's order.

It was just that, looking at the scene like purgatory before them, their legs were like they were filled with lead, and moving forward even one step was a delusion.

However, Jormungandr, who caused all this, had a carefree, arrogant smile on his face, and with the Python Fang under his command, he approached the Nord people who were shivering but still not retreating step by step.

They didn't have the courage to go forward, but they weren't cowardly enough to turn around and flee. There was a kind of tenacity in the bones of the Nord people that was fearless of death.

"BOOM"

A thunderbolt like a silver tree tore through the sky and slashed towards Jormungandr, whose body was surging with yellow light.

With a loud "CRACK," countless lightning bolts exploded, followed by dozens of screams.

The enemy's pace of attack stopped. ===== CHAPTER 297 =====