Chapter 414: It

"Legion warriors, the gate is open—charge in and kill!"

"Kill!"

As the gate swung open, the noble legion soldiers did not hesitate, surging toward the entrance under the shouts of their captains.

Seeing thousands of legion guards rushing toward the city gate, Mil and the others could barely contain their impatience.

"Gervas, can we go in now?"

But Gervas remained calmly waiting. "Wait a little longer!"

"Still waiting?" Mil and the others showed signs of anxiety.

"Roar! Hold back these damned humans—don't let them enter the city!"

Just as Mil and the others spoke, before Gervas could reply, a roar erupted from within the city.

"Roar! Roar! Roar! Kill!"

Soon after, countless bestial roars echoed in response.

At the sound of those roars, the advancing legion ranks instantly froze.

Then, a flood of agonized screams came from the front.

"Fall back, fall back quickly—damn it, the beastmen reinforcements have arrived!"

"Everyone, retreat! The front is blocked by beastmen!"

Piercing cries rang out from ahead; gradually, the tide of legion guards turned and fled en masse toward the rear.

Then, the scene before the city gate became visible.

There, at the gate, stood a large group of beastmen—these very creatures had blocked the legion soldiers' path and slaughtered them in heaps.

Of course, it wasn't that the legion guards lacked combat ability or couldn't break through.

The gate's interior passage was narrow, only a few meters long; the beastmen stood at the far end, holding it like a single man barring ten thousand.

Even with their numerical advantage, the legion guards could not deploy it.

Worse, crushed from behind by the press of bodies, they could not fight at all—merely shoved forward into the beastmen's stone axes and long blades.

After countless comrades were cut down, the legion guards were seized by terror and dared not advance.

The beastmen, however, did not pursue them out—they merely held the gate, preparing to close the hard-won entrance.

"This…" Mil and the others stared, chilled to the bone—they finally understood why Gervas had made them wait.

Had they charged at the front, the ground littered with corpses would have been filled with their own men.

"Gervas, the gate's been retaken by beastmen—can we still succeed tonight?" Even as fear lingered, Mil and the others grew anxious.

"Relax. The beastmen will lose—they cannot hold. Because now it's our turn to take the field!"

"Our turn? Now?" Mil and Eyn exchanged glances.

"Exactly. Attack now—how great will the glory be? How many beastman heads will we take? How dazzling will the record be?"

"Great!"

"Many!"

"Dazzling!"

No one doubted it.

"Then let's go!"

Gervas wasted no time—he led them straight toward the now-empty outer gate.

The gate passage was piled high with corpses, so the beastmen were still frantically clearing them to fully shut the gate.

That gave Gervas and the others precious time.

Of course, the legion's supreme commanders knew nothing of Gervas's plan; seeing their troops retreating, the supreme commander and the two dukes grew frantic.

"Charge! Order a full assault—no one retreats! Whoever flees, execute on the spot!" The supreme commander was desperate—the city held twenty thousand noble legion troops.

If this plan failed, the losses would be incalculable—worse than the last time the lesser nobles were annihilated.

"Hey, those guys!"

At that moment, Duke Hernade suddenly cried out.

The supreme commander frowned, but the next instant, he too spotted the unusual sight at the gate.

While the legion guards hesitated, a small noble contingent had reached the front and charged toward the gate.

"Is that Gervas and his men?" the supreme commander exclaimed.

"No banners, but no mistake—those spearmen are the unmistakable mark!" Duke Hernade gave his firm answer.

Hearing this, hope flared in the commander's eyes. "It's him! Then the gate still has hope!"

He turned back to the messenger.

"Hold the troops—don't charge yet. Wait for that small noble contingent to act. Stand by!"

"Yes, Commander!" The messenger hurried off.

Roar! Roar! Roar!

Meanwhile, Gervas's group quickly neared the gate. Seeing them approach, the beastmen inside the passage bared their fangs, snarling warnings to stay back.

"Such cute little things," Gervas smiled faintly, stepping aside.

His spearmen did the same, swiftly flanking left and right, revealing five crossbows.

Seeing the crossbows, the beastmen froze. In the next instant, fear flickered in many of their eyes.

They had seen these weapons on the battlefield just days ago.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Before they could react, several massive black streaks shot toward them.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Roar! Roar! Roar!

Instantly, the gate passage erupted in howls of agony.

The beastmen blocking the gate had negated the legion's numerical advantage.

Likewise, they themselves relied on dense formation to hold the position.

So when the crossbows fired, it was like skewering candied haws.

In the spray of blood, each crossbow bolt claimed at least four or five beastmen.

Seeing the crossbows' power, the beastmen behind recoiled, scrambling to take cover behind the gate passage.

Yet even now, Gervas gave no order to charge—he waited silently.

Only when the crossbows were reloaded for the second time did he finally give the command to advance.

But the ones leading the charge were not the spearmen—they were the crossbows again.

The effect was immediate: the beastmen hiding behind the gate passage, ready to ambush, instantly cursed their luck.

If the two-legged sheep sent soldiers charging in, they'd rush back to surround them.

But when the already-loaded crossbows appeared, they fled without hesitation.

"Damn it! No retreat! Hold the gate!"

One beastman captain, seeing his men flee, stamped his foot in rage, bellowing at them to stand their ground.

But then his hair stood on end—he saw one crossbow, drawn by his shouting, directly aimed at him.

"This…" The beastman captain's eyes widened; cold dread shot from his soles to the crown of his head.

The next instant, he tried to move.

Whoosh!

Thud!

The crossbow shuddered—a black streak shot forth, piercing straight through his body.