Under the coercion of Edville, Hebrew and Barro exchanged glances, filled with immense regret. If their armies were all to die, the title of Duke alone would not be enough to fend off other nobles’ attacks.
Had they known this would happen, they might as well have heeded Hattar’s orders and entered the capital...
But it was obviously too late now. Hebrew and Barro, unwilling as they were, had no other course of action.
Just then, Edwell’s indifferent voice rang in everyone’s ears.
"Among all of you, whoever can take the capital, or achieves the most distinguished feats, will be the next King of Hadrata!"
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Edwell’s words were like a huge stone thrown into a tranquil lake, causing the nobles present to see red.
Hebrew and Barro were no exception—this was a chance to govern an entire kingdom!
And it might be the only chance!
As nobles of the kingdom, they could attack and plunder each other’s territories and employ various underhanded tactics, but there was one line they could not cross—that was to replace the King!
Unless acknowledged by the church... to wear the crown under the witness and blessing of God!
Over a hundred years ago, the progenitor of the Bazzer family had seized the throne in this manner!
This meant that after becoming King, as long as one didn’t rebel against the church, they could pass on the crown under divine protection forever!
Now, the Bazzer King was dead, and the eldest Prince had also met a terrible end in the capital. Moreover, with Edwell’s guarantee, the succession of a new King became possible!
Thinking of this, the kingdom’s nobles were extremely excited. With the support of the church, even a minor Baron could soar to the heavens and have a chance to become King!
Hebrew immediately sprang into action, galloping to the front of the soldiers and spoke with generous fervor.
"People of God, those followers of the Evil God are right in front of you in this capital. They dare to open the gates of hell, to obliterate the entire kingdom, to let devils, disasters, and plagues roam the world...
We must not tolerate such things, these evildoers, these heretics, must pay a blood price for their sins!"
"For every enemy you slay before you, you will receive a Gold Coin. Kill a Wizard and you will be ennobled as a Knight. The first one to scale the walls will be rewarded with a thousand Gold Coins and given the title of Earl!"
Hebrew’s booming words echoed over the wilderness, swiftly mobilizing the enthusiasm of the tens of thousands strong.
"God is with us!" Hebrew shouted at the top of his voice.
"God is with us!"
The morale of the tens of thousands of soldiers soared. With their loud and thunderous shouts, it was as if the roars echoed through the heavens like thunder.
Afterward, dozens of nobles led their private troops majestically toward the capital...
The drumming became ever louder, and along with it, a multitude of Priests and Bishops sang their devout hymns.
[Great Lord of the Stars, Moon Goddess, creators of all things in the world, I beseech you to bestow your blessings, grant us light, hope, and strength...]
Amidst the ethereal hymn, a divine radiance emanated from tens of thousands of noble soldiers, their hearts filled with boundless courage and strength.
"They’re coming, they’re upon us!" The overwhelming momentum of the tens of thousands charging made even the prepared old York and others tense, but they still manned their firearms in time, waiting quietly for the enemy to come within shooting range.
Of course, the best environment for firing guns was when both sides were on the same plane, shooting in ranks, but having the high ground also provided a broader field of vision, especially since there were so many enemies this time that there was no need to worry about missing them.
The ten thousand riflemen on the walls were divided into several formations, firing in turns according to command, creating a continuous barrage.
As the first volley rang out, ranks of charging soldiers fell, and a rough estimate concluded there were as many as a thousand, making for a spectacular sight. However, just a second later, almost seventy percent of them got back up, red-eyed and shouting ’For the gods,’ they continued to charge towards the walls.
The wizards observing the battle from atop the walls all wore extremely grave expressions.
Lynn could see that these people were all protected by Divine Protection.
The last time he faced the kingdom’s army, he had seen something similar, but then, the enemies were only a few bishops and dozens of priests, who could only brainwash and bolster courage with the limited strength of their divine arts.
This time, however, it was different, as a divine shield had been bestowed upon tens of thousands, its strength probably comparable to a first-circle protective magic, unable to withstand the gunfire but significantly reducing its potency.
If it struck a harder part of the armor, it might even fail to penetrate, only knocking the target down with the force of impact.
Had the defenders been using crossbow arrows at this moment, they might have struggled even to break the shield!
"Thankfully, these shields are one-time use..." Rafael let out a sigh of relief when he saw that most of the soldiers who got back up were laid to rest after the second round of gunfire, not rising again.
But this was as if each man had an extra life.
Thinking this, Rafael turned to look at Lynn, admiring the Wizard of Magic’s foresight.
In the discussions on how to wage this war a few days ago, they had all suggested taking the offensive, relying on their equipment advantage to rout the pontifical army in the wilderness, even marching all the way into the empire’s territory.
After all, the previous two victories had come all too easily: the riflemen had annihilated numerically superior enemies with minimal casualties, as their foes could hardly mount an effective resistance---why not just steamroll everything in their path?
Only Lynn insisted on holding the city and defending, avoiding combat in the plains before they could ascertain the full extent of the enemy’s capabilities.
This was advantageous for the riflemen, true, but also extremely suitable for large-scale troop engagements and cavalry charges!
Looking at the situation now, with such massive-scale protective divine arts, the guns couldn’t fully exert their power. Had they been fighting in the wilderness, their formations might have been directly broken...
At this moment, the riflemen also realized that their enemies were extraordinary, able to withstand a gunshot without falling and continue to approach vigorously, carrying their ladders, suddenly shedding their previous arrogance.
Old York was assigned to the third wave of shooting. During the first two volleys, he observed the enemy’s movements closely with the telescope he had obtained through his battle merits.
He quickly noticed that the soldiers who died in the first round of gunfire were hit in the weaker parts of their armor or were supremely unlucky and took a bullet with their face.
So, it wasn’t that the guns in their hands couldn’t penetrate; it was that due to the double reduction by divine protection and armor, the bullets couldn’t inflict fatal damage...