Chapter 152

Viscount Enade stood on the high city wall, looking at the endless Allied army camp in the valley below, which looked like a black tide.

Not only was there no tension on his face, but a ferocious and confident smile appeared instead.

"Roko, oh Roko, you are still too young."

"Do you think you can take my Black Stone Castle just by relying on numbers?"

"Naive!"

He patted the solid city wall beside him.

"This castle is a war fortress that I spent three generations of my family's hard work to build!"

"Let alone your twenty thousand ragtag troops, even if you brought another hundred thousand, don't even think about stepping in here!"

Standing beside him was a man also dressed in a black robe.

It was the Deacon of the Scorpion Society who had escaped from the Dwarf Mountains.

"Deacon, everything is prepared according to your instructions," Viscount Enade said respectfully.

"Those 'good things' are hidden in the barbican behind the city gate; as long as they dare to rush in, I guarantee they won't be able to return!"

The black-robed Deacon let out a hoarse laugh.

"Very good."

"However, do not be careless."

"That Roko is much harder to deal with than we imagined."

"The pawn our organization planted beside Earl Adrian sent news that the old fox seems to have given the castle's defense map to Roko."

"What?"

Enade's expression changed instantly.

"That damn old thing! I knew he couldn't be trusted!"

"No matter."

The black-robed Deacon waved his hand.

"It's just an outdated map, it doesn't matter."

"I already had you block that secret passage."

"The current castle is an airtight iron bucket."

"Roko has no other way except to attack from the front."

"And the frontal battlefield is the burial ground we have prepared for him!"

Hearing this, Enade finally breathed a sigh of relief, and the smile on his face became cruel again.

"Then let them come!"

"I've long been unable to wait to see the desperate expression on that arrogant kid's face in front of my 'Scorpion Berserker' legion!"

Early the next morning.

"Dong! Dong! Dong!"

The dull and oppressive sound of war drums echoed in the Allied camp.

The siege had begun!

Thousands of vanguard troops composed of private soldiers from various nobles, with messy equipment, carried crude siege ladders under the shouting of officers and launched a charge toward Black Stone Castle.

Roko stood on a high slope in the rear, holding a monocular telescope, calmly observing the battlefield.

He did not let his Storm Knights join the battle immediately.

These Allied noble troops, to put it bluntly, were cannon fodder.

They were just right for testing the reality of Black Stone Castle's defenses.

"Fire arrows!"

On the city wall, Enade's commander issued an order.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

A dense rain of arrows, like dark clouds covering the sky, poured down on the charging Allied forces.

Ah!

Shrill screams rose one after another.

Countless soldiers were shot into hedgehogs by sharp arrows before they could even reach the city wall.

Blood stained the rugged mountain road red.

But this was just the beginning.

When the Allied forces finally managed to withstand the rain of arrows and reached the city wall to set up siege ladders.

Rolling logs, battering logs, boiling molten gold...

Various siege defense weapons were poured down from the city wall without hesitation.

"Boom!"

A giant rock weighing thousands of pounds was pushed down from the city wall, directly smashing a siege ladder and the dozen or so soldiers climbing on it into meat paste.

"Ah! My eyes!"

A pot of boiling molten gold was poured down, instantly turning a dozen soldiers into charcoal amidst painful wails.

From the very beginning, the battle presented a one-sided slaughter.

The Allied forces' first siege was mercilessly beaten back after suffering heavy casualties of nearly a thousand men.

The morale of the soldiers instantly plummeted to the bottom.

"Trash! A bunch of trash!"

A noble officer in charge of command whipped the soldiers who were retreating in a panic in anger.

"Whoever dares to retreat will be executed! All of you, charge! Keep charging!"

But in the face of the fear of death, any order seemed so pale and powerless.

No soldier was willing to go forward to die anymore.

Roko put down the telescope, his brow slightly furrowed.

Black Stone Castle's defenses were even stronger than he had imagined.

Moreover, Enade's garrison was well-trained and well-commanded, not at all like a mob.

It seemed the Scorpion Society had given him quite a bit of support.

"Master, this won't work if it continues like this."

Martina walked to his side and said softly.

"The morale of our Allied forces has already collapsed; continuing to attack by force will only increase casualties in vain."

Roko nodded.

"I know. Pass the order: sound the retreat."

"Yes."

Soon, the horn of retreat echoed across the entire battlefield.

Those soldiers who were still hesitating felt as if they had been granted amnesty and scrambled back to the camp.

On the city wall, bursts of sky-shaking mockery erupted.

Enade looked at the disheveled Allied forces below and laughed until he was doubled over.

"Did you see that, Deacon!"

"This is Roko's alliance army! They are simply a bunch of ragtag dogs!"

The black-robed Deacon, however, did not laugh.

His gaze remained locked on the figure on the high slope in the distance that had not moved at all.

"Don't be happy too soon."

"The real battle hasn't started yet."

He said hoarsely.

"Roko's trump card, his Obsidian Gold Knights, hasn't moved yet."

As if to verify his words.

Just then.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The sound of war drums echoed again in the Allied camp.

But the drumbeats this time were completely different from before.

More urgent, more powerful, and filled with a murderous aura!

Enade's smile froze instantly.

He subconsciously looked toward the Allied camp.

And then, he saw it.

He saw a scene that made his pupils shrink.

An army entirely in black was slowly marching out of the camp.

Their numbers were not large, only about five hundred men.

But every single one of them was wearing heavy Obsidian Gold heavy armor that shimmered with a metallic luster.

They were arranged in a neat, airtight formation.

Step by step, they approached Black Stone Castle.

Their forward steps were heavy and powerful, and every step seemed to tread on everyone's heart.

A cold, tangible murderous aura rushed toward them.

Vanguard Valley, Storm Knights!

"Finally, are they going to get serious?"

A trace of bloodthirsty excitement appeared on Enade's face.

"Well done!"

"Pass my order!"

"Open the city gate!"

"Let my 'Scorpion Berserker' legion go and meet them!"

"Roar!"

The castle's heavy gate, made of refined iron, slowly opened amidst a harsh grinding sound.

Immediately after.

An army, also wearing black armor but covered in ferocious bone spurs, swarmed out of the city gate!

Their numbers were also five hundred.

But every one of them exuded a violent and evil aura.

Their eyes were blood-red, filled with the desire for slaughter and destruction.

Low, inhuman hisses came from their mouths.

Scorpion Berserkers!

War machines that only knew how to kill, created by the Scorpion Society's most perfect berserk potion and the cruelest training!

Two trump card units, equally elite and equally clad in heavy armor.

Under everyone's gaze.

They crashed into each other fiercely!

"Boom!"

A deafening loud noise.

The black torrent of steel and the ferocious tide of bones crashed into each other.

It was as if two giant beasts awakened from the ancient era were engaged in the most primitive and barbaric tearing.

The battle entered a white-hot stage the moment they made contact.

"Kill!"

Hart took the lead; the giant axe in his hand was wrapped in powerful Battle Qi, carrying the power to split mountains and crack rocks, and he slashed fiercely at a Scorpion Berserker in front of him.

The berserker roared, not dodging or evading, and actually met it head-on with its arm covered in bone spurs.

"Clang!"

Sparks flew everywhere.

Hart's giant axe was actually blocked alive.

A violent force came from the axe handle, making Hart's arm slightly numb.

"What powerful strength!"

A flash of surprise crossed Hart's heart.

The strength of every one of these guys was almost not inferior to a Bronze Mid-stage Knight!

Moreover, they were fearless of death and didn't feel pain at all!

Just as he was stunned, the berserker's other hand, like a venomous snake coming out of a hole, grabbed toward his face with a sharp whistling sound.

Hart snorted coldly, his body twisting fiercely on the horse's back at an incredible angle, dodging this fatal blow.

At the same time, the giant axe in his hand swept horizontally.

"Puchi!"

The sharp axe blade instantly sliced open the berserker's throat.

Black blood gushed out.

But the berserker seemed unaffected, continuing to attack Hart crazily.

"Damn it!"

Hart cursed angrily, and his Battle Qi erupted again.

The giant axe in his hand turned into afterimages, instantly hacking the berserker into several pieces.

However, more berserkers were already swarming up like a tide.

The same scene was playing out in every corner of the battlefield.

The knights of the Storm Knights, although well-equipped and well-trained.

But when facing these monsters that were powerful, fearless of death, and couldn't even be killed instantly by attacks to vital points.

They felt tricky for the first time.

Their formation, under the impact of the Scorpion Berserker legion like mad dogs.

Was actually contained alive.

Both sides fell into the most tragic and scorching battle.

The clanging sound of swords colliding, the cracking sound of bones breaking, the angry roars of the soldiers, and the inhuman hisses of the berserkers.

Interwove into a symphony of blood and fire.

On the city wall, Enade looked at the battle situation below, a smug smile on his face.

"Hahahaha!"

"Did you see that, Roko!"

"Is this your trump card unit? In front of my Scorpion Berserkers, they are vulnerable!"

"In less than half an hour, they will be torn to pieces by my warriors!"

On the slope in the rear.

Roko's expression remained calm.

But Martina and Fula beside him were already so nervous that their palms were sweating.

"Master, the situation is not good!"

Martina said urgently.

"Those monsters are too weird! Our knights are suffering casualties!"

"We must find a way to reinforce them!"

Roko shook his head.

"No need."

His gaze swept over the chaotic battlefield and landed on Hart and the others.

"This is a battle that belongs to them."

"And it is also a battle that they must win themselves."

"If they can't even overcome this little difficulty, they don't deserve to be my Storm Knights!"

His voice was cold and cruel.

But Martina heard a different meaning in his voice.

She followed Roko's gaze.

Only to see, on the tragic battlefield.

Those Storm Knights who were originally a bit flustered had already quickly stabilized their footing after experiencing the initial impact.

They formed small combat units in groups of three or five.

Defense, parry, counterattack—

Their coordination was becoming more and more tacit.

They no longer sought one-hit kills, but used their well-equipped armor and skilled combat techniques to constantly consume the enemy's stamina.

Searching for the true weaknesses of the enemies.

"Puchi!"

A knight used his shield to resist the claws of the berserker opposite him alive.

The huge force made him retreat three steps.

But his two companions beside him struck with their swords from both sides at the same time.

Two longswords accurately pierced into the gaps under the berserker's armpits where there were no bone spurs.

"Roar!"

The berserker let out a painful hiss, and its movements showed a slight, imperceptible stagnation.

Now!

The knight in front seized this opportunity and stepped forward fiercely.

The longsword in his hand stabbed fiercely into the berserker's lower jaw from bottom to top.

The sword tip pierced through the top of the skull!

This time, the berserker finally stopped moving, and its huge body collapsed to the ground with a boom.

Victory!

The three knights looked at each other, seeing a trace of joy in each other's eyes.

They had found the way to deal with these monsters!

Soon, this efficient three-man combat mode was quickly replicated across the entire battlefield.

The casualties of the Storm Knights began to decrease sharply.

And the Scorpion Berserkers began to fall in droves.

The situation on the battlefield was tilting toward the Storm Knights at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"How can this be!"

On the city wall, Enade's smile froze on his face.

He couldn't believe his eyes.

His invincible Scorpion Berserker legion, which he was so proud of.

Was actually being suppressed?

"Trash! A bunch of trash!"

He roared in anger.

"Deacon! What the hell is going on!"

The black-robed Deacon's face also turned somewhat ugly.

"I—I don't know either."

"The combat literacy and coordination of these knights far exceed my imagination."

"Moreover, their will is too firm!"

Just then.

On the battlefield, a sudden change occurred!

Roko, who had been commanding from the center, suddenly moved.

He flipped onto his horse, alone, one rider.

He charged toward that most tragic meat-grinder battlefield.