Knight: Becoming King of the World

Chapter 135: Chapter 114: Ganging Up Is a Virtue

The enemy officer helplessly directed his soldiers to assemble at the Shield Carriers that had reached the ramparts, preparing to scale the walls and fight.

They never expected Henry to be so ruthless. He had completely blocked off the gate, forcing them to waste a significant amount of time and sacrifice so many soldiers for nothing.

Looking back, their Warriors raising shields to defend against the arrows from above had been nothing more than target practice for the enemy!

The enemy soldiers exchanged glances, never imagining Henry would use such a method to halt their assault.

The soldiers manning the battering ram were also dumbfounded. They had gone to great lengths to smash through the gate, only to be met with this outcome.

"What’s going on?! Why have they withdrawn from the gate?"

Soon, a light infantryman ran back and reported the situation at the gate, causing the assembled nobles to pound the wooden table in fury.

"Damn it! Does he have no sense of a nobleman’s honor?!"

As it turned out, once Henry learned the size of the enemy force, he had anticipated that they might breach the gate and had prepared accordingly.

Before the battle even began, they had hauled massive amounts of stone and earth behind the gate, using them to construct a solid, makeshift barricade.

Thus, even with the gate smashed open, the enemy couldn’t easily enter the castle.

On the ramparts, Henry watched this unfold with a smirk. He turned to Philip, who was beside him. "It seems our plan was a success. The enemy must be quite disappointed right now."

Philip nodded. "My Lord, this is going to be a major headache for the enemy. If they want to get inside the castle, they’ll have to clear those obstacles first. Now, their only option is to scale the walls and fight."

Henry’s gaze swept across the ramparts. The focus of the battle had shifted.

He turned to Philip and commanded, "Philip, take the skilled archers to the right-hand section of the wall. The pressure there isn’t heavy; you can command that front on your own."

Philip nodded, adjusted his armor, and gave Henry a salute before turning and running toward the right-hand wall with his men.

Henry watched Philip’s back disappear around a corner of the ramparts, then his gaze returned to the battlefield.

The left-hand wall, from the enemy’s perspective—the area Philip had just left—now seemed exceptionally "quiet."

Meanwhile, on the right-hand wall, the battle had reached its most feverish and intense pitch.

The Skilled Infantry were locked in fierce hand-to-hand combat with the enemy’s medium-armored soldiers on the ramparts. With the enemy’s professional soldiers now joining the fray, the Skilled Infantry’s equipment advantage vanished, leaving the two sides nearly evenly matched.

Henry could see his soldiers fighting desperately on the wall. The cold glint of swords flashed as shields crashed together. When one soldier fell, another immediately took his place and continued the fight.

Loyal. Unspeakably loyal!

On the other section of the wall, Philip had already reached his designated position.

"Archers, concentrate your fire! Suppress the enemy’s advance!" Philip bellowed.

The archers unleashed a volley of arrows upon the enemy. The assault faltered under the suppression, and their soldiers began to fall into disarray.

Most of the enemies here were lightly armored or even unarmored soldiers—the worst of the cannon fodder. Their only purpose was to split Henry’s forces.

If you don’t defend, we’ll get over the wall. If you do defend, then our goal is accomplished.

Philip picked up a long pitchfork from the ramparts. If anyone actually made it to the top, he would be the first to run them through the chest.

As long as they held out, victory would eventually be theirs.

From the attackers’ perspective, the battle had become exceptionally difficult.

They had not expected Henry’s army to be so tenacious, nor the resistance on the walls to be so fierce. This battle was proving to be far more difficult than they had anticipated.

As the fighting on the ramparts intensified, one of the enemy Knights could no longer stand by and simply watch.

Only by joining the fight himself could he guarantee a larger share of the spoils, which would in turn solidify and improve his standing under Count John.

’Since we’ve already gotten men onto the enemy’s walls, victory is just a matter of time!’

This Knight was well-equipped. He wore a lord’s thick padded coif and a type of brigandine armor unique to the steppe regions, with its distinctive cloth-covered iron plates. His shoulder, arm, and leg guards were all expertly crafted from iron plates for both flexibility and durability.

He wielded a sharp, high-quality heavy blade, whose weight and edge had made him unstoppable on previous battlefields.

The archers’ arrows were little more than a nuisance, unable to penetrate his armor.

He led his two Knight’s Squires and his most valuable Personal Guard in a brave charge toward the ramparts.

By custom, the greater the effort, the larger the share of the spoils.

Henry’s army had an exceptionally high rate of soldiers in armor. If this Knight could secure even an extra ten percent of the loot, it would be a huge boost to his power and give him more to boast about in noble circles.

When the Knight and his Squires successfully scaled the wall, their arrival immediately caused a stir among Henry’s soldiers.

The Skilled Infantry on the ramparts felt an unprecedented pressure as the Knight charged them.

Bain stepped forward to block the Knight’s assault.

Bain’s armor and weapons were of good quality, making him look no different from a proper noble Knight. But against this particular Knight, Bain’s combat skills proved inadequate.

The enemy’s two Knight’s Squires were not to be underestimated either. They followed closely behind the Knight, forming a small fighting unit.

The Knight swung his heavy blade. Despite Bain’s considerable Swordsmanship, he could only barely parry the Knight’s powerful strikes. Each clash put him under immense pressure.

The two Knight’s Squires fanned out, using battle-axes and Double-bladed Spears to land quick, precise strikes on Henry’s men.

Their attacks were as swift and deadly as a viper’s strike.

The battle on the ramparts descended into chaos. The enemy pushed forward relentlessly, forcing Henry’s soldiers back. The situation was becoming precarious.

Under Edmund’s heavy assault, Bain began searching for an opening to counterattack. He knew he couldn’t defeat this Knight on his own; he had to wait for reinforcements to deliver a fatal blow.

’Have I not been eating enough? I need to eat more, lift more giant rocks, and build up my strength!’

Feeling the shock travel up his sword blade from each impact, Bain decided he needed to get stronger.

The battle raged on atop the wall, every second a test of will and stamina for the soldiers on both sides.

Although the Knight, his Squires, and his dozen or so Personal Guards were formidable, they knew their advantage would dwindle over time if they couldn’t secure a swift victory.

After all, their numbers on the wall were limited, while the defenders ultimately held a localized numerical advantage.

"Kill!"

Hearing the shout, Bain immediately raised his shield and fell back. Just then, several Heavy Armor Soldiers charged out from his flanks, driving the enemy back. It was Selas, Roland, and three other Knight’s Squires.

Henry had been observing Bain from afar. Seeing that Bain was reaching his limit and would soon be in real danger if the fight continued, he had immediately dispatched the other Knight’s Squires to support him.

’I’ll definitely be fighting on multiple fronts in the future. If these men can’t fight a battle without me holding their hands, am I just going to be a glorified troubleshooter?’

’In that case, who’s the real master here?’

Selas, Roland, and the others charged onto the wall from a nearby arrow tower, their arrival immediately stabilizing the line.

Selas wielded a knightly sword while Roland swung a battle-axe. They fought shoulder-to-shoulder with Bain, forming an unbreakable line of defense.

Though the enemy Knight was formidable, his assault was effectively halted by the combined strength of Henry’s Knight’s Squires.

The Knight fell back, and his Personal Guard formed a shield wall to protect him.

The Knight was speechless. ’Are they targeting me specifically? If I hadn’t come up here, they wouldn’t have sent out so many Heavy Armor Soldiers!’

The Skilled Infantry let out hoarse battle cries, their morale renewed. They brandished their weapons and fought the enemy with even greater ferocity.

Bain, Selas, Roland, and the other three squires faced the formidable Knight and his Personal Guard, quickly forming a tight combat formation.

"Got any strength left?"

Bain nodded. "Of course..."

The six of them shared a wicked grin, revealing a side of them that had no regard for chivalry. They didn’t opt for an honorable one-on-one duel but instead chose a more practical tactic.

There on the rampart, they used their superior numbers to mercilessly swarm the enemy Knight.

Selas and Roland attacked first, flanking the enemy Knight from the left and right to split his focus.

Bain seized the opening to charge from the front, his knightly sword aimed straight for his opponent’s vitals, forcing the Knight onto the defensive.

The other three Knight’s Squires focused on tying up the enemy’s own Squires, forming a line with their shields and weapons to cut off any support.

The Senior Infantry, following close behind, turned the enemy’s Personal Guard into lambs for the slaughter.

Despite his valor, the enemy Knight’s situation became dire as he was swarmed by the six squires. Meanwhile, his Personal Guard fell one by one under the fierce assault of the Senior Infantry and their One-Handed Staves.

The six squires’ relentless assault gave the Knight no room to breathe, gradually wearing him down.

Finally, the six squires succeeded in killing all of the Knight’s men and capturing the nobleman himself.

Henry’s soldiers on the ramparts erupted in a deafening cheer, their morale soaring.

The Knight’s Chest Armor was pried off, and his left leg had been shattered by a savage kick from Bain. Now he lay on the ground like a dead dog, paralyzed and unable to move.

The enemy soldiers who witnessed this scene suffered a severe blow to their morale.

The attackers began to retreat from the walls, their assault completely broken. An enemy horn sounded the retreat, ending the day’s attack.

The defending soldiers roared with laughter at the retreating enemy, making all sorts of crude gestures to mock them.

From a distance, Henry locked gazes with three Barons and a Knight from the enemy command. Though he couldn’t make out their expressions, he could feel their cold hostility.

The battle had ended for now, but the enemy had not withdrawn. Their numbers were still vast. If they refused to give up, the fight would have to continue.