Chapter 80: Chapter 79: The Battle at the City Gate
"Well? Did you get a clear look?" Daimon asked the Centaur scout.
"Sir, we couldn’t get close. The enemy Archers are incredibly skilled. But we heard the cries of Gnolls and the sounds of fighting. The enemy’s gate is definitely open," the Centaur scout reported.
That incredibly skilled Archer was, of course, Robson himself.
"Good! As long as the gate is open, that’s all that matters. Notify Huck. Have all the tribesmen under his command drink their Potions now and begin the charge on the gate immediately!" Daimon commanded.
Huck was one of his subordinate commanders. At Daimon’s level, the Centaurs under him were already composed of many tribes; they all just uniformly answered to Bega.
The Centaurs under Huck’s command were Daimon’s elite. As long as they could break through the gate, the city would become the Centaurs’ domain.
"Forget it, I’ll go myself. Have the others hurry up and follow!"
「...」
At that moment, by the city gate, Robson stared into the silent, dark night, his ears filled with the constant, miserable shrieks of Gnolls and the battle cries of humans.
"Sir, the Soldiers are ready. The Magic Crystal Cannon has been placed in position three," Bo Yang reported from the side.
Robson nodded. Since he dared to open the gate and lure the enemy in, he had naturally made thorough preparations.
A narrow place like the city gate was perfect for a Magic Crystal Cannon to display its power. As it happened, the protruding section of the city wall that Robson had arranged for Delhi to build some time ago also came in handy.
Robson could hardly imagine how satisfying it would be to fire this thing into a crowd of enemies.
"Sir, the preparations for the Purification Divine Art are complete, but there isn’t enough Divine Water in the fortress. We couldn’t make much," Bruce Priest said uneasily.
Divine Water was water purified with the Holy Light Technique by Priests of the Lord of Dawn. This water was generally filled with positive energy.
In the army, this water was a life-saving medicine. Of course, one couldn’t drink too much of it; once a certain limit was passed, an excess of positive energy in the body wasn’t a good thing either.
On the battlefield, it was also the best way to dispel the so-called blessings of the Beast God.
Unfortunately, too much Divine Water was consumed during the last war, and the logistics hadn’t recovered yet. This current batch was something Robson had requested from Viscount Luke some time ago.
After all, this sort of sought-after item was a rarity coveted by all human armies.
"Mm, thank you for your hard work," Robson nodded.
These were all secondary concerns. The most important thing was the performance of the Tier Five Soldiers under his command.
Of course, Robson certainly wouldn’t pin all his hopes on this small group of Soldiers. The several thousand reserve troops behind them would definitely be mobilized.
「...」
"For the Beast God! Take their heads!"
Seeing that the humans had actually thrown the gate wide open, Daimon raised his axe and roared with excitement.
As long as they charged in, he was confident that the strength of his Soldiers would be more than enough to take the fortress.
"Charge with me!"
Daimon led a few of his Extraordinary subordinates at the very front. There were a dozen or so Extraordinary beings in his army, but most of them held key positions.
This was also why Daimon dared to lead the charge. An Extraordinary Centaur was in a completely different league from a Gnoll.
The so-called Extraordinary state was, in essence, when one’s Fighting Qi or Spiritual Power reached a critical point, after which they could safely stimulate their Life Seed and sea of consciousness.
Due to their physical advantages, the threshold for the Centaur Clan to enter the Extraordinary realm was higher, but their corresponding strength was greater.
Confirming that Elimon had not been lying, Daimon took the lead, charging toward Qimo Fortress.
Staring at the gate, Daimon used his Extraordinary vision to see a group of Gnolls lying prone at the entrance, their heads thrown back as they howled at the sky.
’Gnolls?’ Daimon was stunned. It was obvious these Gnolls weren’t fighting the humans; one could say they were completely controlled by them.
’A trap?’
Daimon realized what was happening. ’No wonder things felt strange just now,’ he thought. ’It seems Elimon really has betrayed the Empire.’
’Damn it!’ Daimon cursed inwardly, already sentencing Elimon to death in his mind. He completely forgot that he himself had just sent others to their deaths.
’After all, that was letting Elimon show his loyalty to His Majesty the Beast Emperor! This is the glory of every Beastman!’
This was the Beastman Empire. The gap between high-level and low-level races was even greater than the difference between an intelligent being and a dog.
Then Daimon sneered. ’The human Officer in this fortress must have a screw loose. Just because he beat some Gnolls, he thinks he can stop the iron hooves of my Centaur Clan! He has no idea that the difference between the two is like that of clouds and mud.’
It wasn’t that Daimon was boasting, but while he had never commanded a large army, he had participated in plenty of Centaur Clan battles.
Ever since the Beastmen marched south, his Centaur Clan had never lost a field battle, even when outnumbered.
"For the Beast God!" Daimon let out a long roar and drank the Potion.
These things weren’t very effective for an Extraordinary being. Daimon was mainly making a gesture, showing that he stood with the soldiers and officers of the Centaur army.
As for these Centaur Soldiers, they had already received the Beast God’s blessing during their confirmation.
「...」
Daimon hadn’t even gotten close to the gate when several volleys of arrows rained down from the top of the wall. Standing on the wall were none other than Robson’s original group of Archers, now Tier Five Frankish Elite Shooters!
Although Tier Five Soldiers were still mortals, their skills were in no way inferior to those of the Extraordinary. The only thing they lacked was likely the inability to activate Fighting Qi within their bodies.
What’s more, the arrows in the hands of these Tier Five shooters were salvaged by Robson from Sunset Fortress. They were premium-quality arrows soaked in Magic Power, so their sharpness went without saying.
’Such power?’ Daimon was taken aback. What surprised him wasn’t the enemy’s arrows themselves, but the force and precision behind them.
One had to understand, Daimon was a Tier Five Extraordinary Centaur. An ordinary arrow hitting him was like a tickle. For him to even feel it, the arrow would have to be shot by an Extraordinary, at the very least.
Furthermore, according to Daimon’s judgment, most of the arrows just now had been aimed at his head.
At this point, Daimon began to realize that things might be taking a turn for the worse.
As a Tier Five Silver, Daimon could release his Fighting Qi Body Protection to sweep aside the arrows in front of him, but the other Centaurs behind him were not so lucky.
The quality of the Extraordinary Centaurs charging at the front wasn’t high to begin with. The truly powerful ones all held positions within the army; how could they be by Daimon’s side?
Amidst the enemy’s continuous rain of arrows, the low-tier Extraordinary could only rely on experience and use their weapons to defend themselves.
It wasn’t just the Tier Five Frankish Elite Shooters on the wall now. Hundreds of archers of Tier Three and above were all firing at a single point, creating a strike as dense as raindrops. Even someone in full armor would have to worry about their eyes, nose, and mouth. Trying to block a storm of arrows with just a weapon was pure fantasy.
A lucky Extraordinary Beastman might be able to defend themselves with the few pieces of iron on their body.
Although the Beastman Empire was poor, it wasn’t so poor that an Extraordinary couldn’t get their hands on iron armor. Of course, whether it was a proper fit was another matter entirely.
As for the unlucky ones, they each had their own brand of misfortune.
Right then and there, two unlucky bastards had their skulls pierced by arrows, their lives extinguished instantly.
If even the Extraordinary couldn’t defend against these arrows, what hope did the ordinary Centaur Elites behind them have?
They were indeed the elites of the Centaur Tribe, possessing the strongest physiques and the most practiced martial skills within the clan.
But so what? Even the Extraordinary couldn’t get a complete suit of iron armor to protect themselves, let alone common soldiers like them.
These so-called elites used the standard-issue leather armor of the Beastman Empire. After all, if there was one thing the Beastman Empire didn’t lack, it was leather.
In the true armies of the Beastman Empire, with the exception of specific military units like the Northern Bear Race, the rate of iron armor coverage wasn’t completely zero, but it was close. The rate of leather armor coverage, however, was unusually high.
Even many of the earth goblins could get their hands on a set of low-grade leather armor.
But Robson’s shooters held the geographical advantage and were in high morale. They were already formidable, and now, positioned high on the city walls, their power was naturally doubled.
Even though the leather armor on these Centaur Elites was high-grade, it hadn’t been soaked in Magic Power. Faced with the double blow of high-tier soldiers and high-tier equipment, it offered no defense at all.
Hearing the miserable cries of the Soldiers behind him, Daimon felt a bitter taste in his mouth. But they had already come this far. ’As long as we break through the gate! Once we’re inside, it’ll be the Centaurs’ world!’
Daimon stared intently ahead, his grip tightening on the great axe in his hand.
