Chapter 167: Chapter 146: Call It High Efficiency
Henry paid no mind to the Lizardmen’s hateful glares. Pity and hesitation would only bring death.
His tall figure stood firm in the gateway, an unshakeable pillar steadying the defensive line. His presence gave the Heavy Armor Soldiers immense confidence. They rallied tightly around him, forming a human bulwark.
The Giant Lizards and Lizardman Warriors tried to charge again, but each time, they were ruthlessly repelled by Henry and the Heavy Armor Soldiers.
Henry’s armor was spattered with the blood of the Lizardmen, but he felt no discomfort. Instead, his face was flushed, and he grew ever more excited.
"Hold the line!"
Under Henry’s leadership, the Heavy Armor Soldiers unleashed astonishing combat prowess.
That was the way of soldiers. When a man of far greater status, identity, or rank charged at the very front, fighting tooth and nail, it would vastly bolster their fighting spirit and unlock their physical potential.
They constantly attacked the Lizardmen attempting to breach the gate with spears and battle-axes. Though the Giant Lizards and Lizardman Warriors were ferocious, they could not advance a single step against the steadfast defense of Henry and the Heavy Armor Soldiers.
The battle on the walls was just as fierce. Spirit Lizard Warriors and Spirit Lizard Scouts repeatedly tried to seize the ramparts, but the Skilled Infantry and Militia tenaciously held them back.
They formed a defensive line with shields and Long Swords, constantly repelling the Lizardmen’s assaults. Though soldiers fell from time to time, fresh men immediately filled the gaps, ensuring the walls would not be lost.
If those Spirit Lizards actually managed to wipe out the Skilled Infantry and Militia, the Third Prince’s Personal Guard stationed at the arrow towers—the Imperial Legion’s infantry—would show them what a second phase of battle truly meant!
The battle raged for several hours until the sky began to lighten. The stench of blood on the battlefield grew ever thicker.
Though the Lizardmen’s assault was ferocious, they could never break through the city gate against the steadfast defense of Henry and his soldiers.
Finally, after paying a heavy price, the Lizardmen were forced to retreat, leaving the ground littered with their dead.
Henry stood in the gateway, watching the Lizardmen’s retreating backs. ’This is only a temporary victory. The war is far from over.’
He turned to look at the soldiers around him. Their surging fighting spirit couldn’t hide their exhausted bodies. If they expended too much of their stamina, they would be at a disadvantage in the battles to come.
The first ray of dawn pierced the darkness. The soldiers of Hobia had finally fought through the night until daybreak!
The Lizardmen’s assault had been ferocious, but after failing to break through, they had been forced into a temporary retreat. They had not gone far.
Below the walls, the soldiers remained on high alert, knowing the Lizardmen could attack again at any moment.
On the walls, soldiers began the grim task of collecting the bodies of their comrades. They carefully carried the remains of their fallen brothers from the battlefield, preparing for a final farewell.
At the city gate, soldiers cleaned up the dismembered remains of their comrades. Their eyes were filled with sorrow, but also a deepening hatred for the Lizardmen.
As for the Lizardmen corpses, the soldiers decapitated them and piled the bodies in the gateway.
When the bodies of the Imperial soldiers were laid out in Hobia’s central square, the entire city fell silent.
Over four thousand bodies... In a single night, more than four thousand lives had been extinguished in the brutal battle.
The very air in the square seemed to freeze. Only the whispering of wind-blown dust mourned for these brave warriors.
Judging by the attire of the more than four thousand dead, the Militia had suffered the heaviest casualties. They were the common folk of Hobia and its surrounding towns.
They had died defending their homes!
The people of the Empire were strange. They could accept ruthlessly killing their own kind in civil strife, but they could not accept an Alien Race slaughtering them.
And how many Lizardmen had they killed in return? In the hearts of these warriors, no number would ever be enough to quell their rage and sorrow.
Invaders of Caladia’s lands deserve only death!
Flames of vengeance flickered in the soldiers’ eyes. They gripped their weapons tightly, ready to throw themselves back into the fray at a moment’s notice.
The Third Prince stood on a high platform in the square, his face weary and his eyes ringed with dark circles. His gaze swept over the face of every soldier, and he saw the resolve and determination in their eyes.
These soldiers were Hobia’s strongest shield. As long as they stood, Hobia would never fall.
"Today, we are here to mourn our countrymen, but our hearts are filled with anger and a thirst for vengeance."
The Third Prince’s voice was quiet, yet in the silence, his words reached every ear.
"We will not let their sacrifice be in vain! We will consecrate our warriors’ memory with the blood of the Lizardmen!"
The soldiers roared in response, their voices merging into a powerful wave of sound!
"Soldiers! Between the reserves on the walls, in the square, and in the garrison camp, we still have more than thirty thousand warriors! Do not be afraid! Do not grieve! We will use the weapons in our hands to claim dignity and honor for our fallen!"
"KILL! KILL! KILL!"
The Third Prince immediately began arranging for the reserves who had rested through the night to relieve the warriors who had fought a bloody battle from dusk till dawn.
But at that very moment, the sound of a horn from the walls shattered the morning’s tranquility. The sentries on the ramparts blew the alarm once more.
The Lizardmen were attacking again!
Damn it all, who knew these alien creatures could recover their fighting strength so quickly?
It had only been two hours since they had stopped fighting. How could they possibly organize another attack already?
The soldiers of Hobia had no time to ponder the question. They had to immediately rush to the walls and the gate to prepare for battle.
The soldiers who hadn’t fought the previous night quickly assembled, grabbed their weapons, and ran for the walls and the gate.
The exhausted soldiers filed into the garrison camp, collapsing to the ground and falling asleep instantly. Only the muffled groans of the wounded could be heard.
"Prepare for battle!" The officers’ voices echoed along the walls.
The Lizardman army appeared in sight once more. Their numbers seemed much smaller than during the night, but they were still a massive host.
Before ascending the wall, the Third Prince looked toward the city gate at Henry, who stood ready with his great axe, and nodded deeply.
According to the officers’ reports, Henry alone had killed at least fifteen Giant Lizards and over seventy Lizardman Warriors.
To put that in perspective...
Roughly speaking, Henry’s kill count was equivalent to that of one hundred Heavy Armor Soldiers!
By now, who in the desert didn’t know of the power, terror, and savagery of the Lizardmen? This was a truly fearsome battle record, enough to make Henry’s name famous throughout the desert and his might renowned across the entire vast southern region.
Over two months of war, the four Legions had already suffered over ten thousand casualties, and these reinforcements would eventually have to leave.
’Henry must be mine; I absolutely cannot let anyone else snatch him away! If he joins my faction, my entire power base in the south will support my bid for the throne!’
Henry was oblivious to the Third Prince’s scheming thoughts on the wall. All he knew was that the battle had erupted once more!
If the Lizardmen’s charge was a tidal wave, then the soldiers of Hobia were a sturdy dam. No matter how turbulent the waves, they could not break the defensive line.
Facing a Giant Lizard charging at the head of the pack, Henry advanced instead of retreating. With a great roar, his axe whistled through the air and slammed viciously into the creature’s head.
The Giant Lizard’s hard scales cracked under Henry’s immense strength. The axe blade bit deep into its skull, and with a shrill cry, the beast crashed to the ground.
After a full night of fighting, Henry had found the Lizardmen’s weak points, allowing him to dispatch them with greater ease and efficiency.
Spirit Lizard Warriors and Spirit Lizard Scouts attempted to circle behind Henry for a cowardly sneak attack, but they soon discovered his reaction speed far surpassed their imagination.
The marks left on Henry’s armor by the Spirit Lizard Warriors’ Javelins and the Spirit Lizard Scouts’ short swords were insignificant compared to the damage his great axe inflicted upon them.
Henry’s armor was already caked in Lizardman blood. It covered his body, his face, and even trickled from the seams of his plate.
The sight made Henry look like a War God who had just walked out of hell, an awe-inspiring and terrifying figure.
The anger and hatred in the Lizardmen’s eyes gradually faded, replaced by awe and fear.
They began to fall back, no longer daring to approach Henry.
Henry sensed the fear in the Lizardmen’s eyes. He knew it was a sign of the enemy’s morale breaking!
’Now is the perfect time to counterattack!’
Henry raised his great axe high and let out a heaven-shaking war cry. The sound was like a thunderclap, shocking every Lizardman and soldier to the core.
"Charge with me!" Henry’s voice echoed in the gateway as he led the charge out of the city.
Those three simple words were all it took for the Heavy Armor Soldiers to fall in behind him, gathering at his back and joining the charge.
The Lizardmen were thrown into disarray by the sudden counter-charge. Their morale, already wavering with fear, shattered completely. Henry and his Heavy Armor Soldiers were like a sharp Long Sword, thrusting straight into the heart of the Lizardman army.
Henry’s great axe scythed through the Lizardmen, claiming one life after another.
Lizardman Warriors and Giant Lizards fell one after another under their assault, while the more fragile Spirit Lizard Warriors and Scouts were made into mincemeat by the Heavy Armor Soldiers.
Under Henry’s lead, the battle at the foot of the wall had turned into a slaughter.
The Lizardman chieftains tried to rally their forces, but the Lizardmen’s fear could not be dispelled by orders. They began to abandon the attack, fighting only to save their own lives.
Henry snorted. ’These are the firstborn of the Ancient Saint? How are they so pathetic? Were they crossbred with Dark Elves or something?’
Henry and his soldiers did not let this opportunity pass. They pursued them relentlessly, driving the Lizardmen out of the gateway and even chasing them for some distance.
The soldiers on the walls witnessed the heroic actions of Henry and the Heavy Armor Soldiers. Seeing their comrades not only hold the gate but charge out of it, routing the Lizardmen, invigorated them beyond measure.
A new strength surged through their bodies, as if the roars from the battlefield and the courage of their comrades had granted them renewed vigor.
"They’ve charged out! We can’t fall behind!" With fanatical light in their eyes, the soldiers on the walls attacked the Spirit Lizard Warriors with even greater ferocity.
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