After the nobles finished their discussion, they returned home to begin their preparations. They planned to split their forces into three routes and attack Inan’s three territories simultaneously, hitting him so hard he wouldn’t know which way to turn. At the same time, they started pooling their funds to mass-produce the virus. After all, the ingredients were quite precious, and a single bottle would not be enough.
Hairol collected a massive amount of funds and returned home with a grin he couldn’t hide. Meanwhile, Inan received a message from the thief he had turned into a double-crosser. He narrowed his eyes. He hadn’t expected those shameless bastards to actually come up with something to counter heavy armored warriors.
Though such a thing could only be used for small-scale combat, it was a perfect counter for his heavy armored troops. At this stage, it was impossible to manufacture gas masks or anything of the sort. The best course of action was to take the initiative. He needed to strike while they only had one or two bottles of the virus to gain an advantage.
Having made up his mind, Inan ordered Luo Ling and Yuan to lead the army out overnight. Inan himself began to assemble the soldiers in Rosen, preparing for the offensive.
At 3:00 AM, Inan gathered the armies of his three territories, totaling 20,000 soldiers. He led the army directly to the nearest viscountcy. Lord Ed never expected Inan to have the audacity to start a war first. Logically, the bastard should have been playing a defensive game! Furthermore, the man hadn’t even bothered to issue a declaration of war. He had simply brought his people over without a word.
“Viscount Inan! What are you doing?” Ed shouted, desperate to stall for time so his allies could arrive with reinforcements.
Inan sat atop his horse, looking down at Ed coldly. He didn’t feel like wasting words. “Heavy armored warriors, push forward! Light shield warriors, coordinate the attack! Archers, suppress their fire!”
“Within one hour, I want this place taken!”
At Inan’s command, the army of 20,000 surged forward like a precision-engineered machine of war. The Violet heavy armored warriors marched with heavy, steady steps, wielding massive spears and shields. They looked like a moving wall of steel pressing against Ed’s defensive lines. Meanwhile, the light shield warriors pulled out javelins and threw them toward the city walls, targeting any living soul on top.
The purple javelins streaked through the night sky like meteors, whistling through the wind and striking the defenders with pinpoint accuracy.
In an instant, Ed was nearly killed. He only survived thanks to a life-saving ring given to him by Will, though it was a single-use consumable. He scrambled down from the walls, crawling and rolling in his haste. “Those bastards! Inan, I’m not finished with you!” Ed trembled with fury, his heart filled with a mixture of fear and rage.
Luo Ling led the Violet Legion in the charge, ordering the heavy armored warriors to ram the city gates with their thick shields. This was more powerful than any siege engine!
Ed heard the deafening crashes from inside the city, and his heart sank further into fear. “Quick, send men to reinforce the gates! Use boulders, use anything you can find!” he screamed, but his voice already betrayed his desperation.
However, the momentum of Inan’s army was like a tidal wave, giving Ed no room to breathe. While the heavy armored warriors battered the gates, the Violet light shield warriors were not idle. They remained vigilant for any counterattacks while continuing to hurl javelins at the defenders on the walls.
Under the repeated impacts of the Violet heavy armored warriors, the wall collapsed in a cloud of dust. The roar of battle intensified instantly. Yuan led the cavalry inside in a single file, beginning the annihilation of the enemy. The thunderous gallop of hooves echoed in the silent night, and the long blades of the cavalrymen glinted coldly in the moonlight like the scythes of the reaper.
“Wait… I surrender!” Ed cried out, seeing that all was lost. After shouting those words, he seemed to lose all his strength and collapsed to the ground.
But Inan had no intention of letting anyone here live. “Kill them all. Leave no one alive!”
Inan’s order was like a death sentence. The entire territory was instantly shrouded in a thick atmosphere of blood. The place turned into a living hell. Under Inan’s cold orders, the slaughter spread to every corner. The soldiers followed his command without mercy, harvesting lives as blood pooled into rivers.
The city’s defenses had fallen, and the invading army raged like tigers and wolves. They burned, killed, and looted. Their atrocities were too numerous to record. Some people tried to flee the disaster, but they were hunted down by the ruthless soldiers. Blades fell, and lives vanished like ants.
Ed watched everything with eyes full of horror and despair. Inan approached Ed with a warm-looking but bone-chilling smile. He looked down at Ed with eyes devoid of pity, containing only the coldness and resolve of a victor.
“Let your deaths show those bastards the price of opposing me…”
Upon hearing this, a trace of resentment flashed in Ed’s eyes, only to be quickly swallowed by deep terror. “You… do you know what you’re doing? Marquis Will won’t let you get away with this!”
Inan sneered, his eyes filled with disdain. “Whatever that old man plans to do to me, you won’t be around to see it!”
With that, he swung his longsword and took Ed’s head.
In the early hours of the morning, as the sky began to gray, Inan’s army withdrew. He did not occupy the land. When the other nobles finally gathered their forces and arrived at Ed’s territory, they witnessed the inhumane scene. The morning sun did nothing to clear the thick stench of blood.
Hairol stared with wide eyes, his face full of disbelief. “Inan… that demon, how could he…”
He had thought he was ruthless enough, but he hadn’t expected a bastard more ruthless than himself! Inan had directly led his army to wash the territory in blood. Though this would damage his reputation, the strategic significance was enormous.
Militarily, he had wiped out one of the noble coalition’s primary forces. Psychologically, he had terrified them. Looking at the scene, the legs of some of the nobles’ soldiers began to go soft.
Hairol looked around at his pale-faced soldiers, feeling both angry and anxious. “Snap out of it!” he roared, his voice echoing through the bloody ruins. “That bastard is just a lunatic, a paper tiger!”
However, the soldiers’ eyes remained filled with fear. Seeing the mountains of corpses and the rivers of blood, some soldiers could not even control their bladders.
Inan’s goal had been achieved. ‘An army’s morale can be crushed, and its commander’s heart can be broken.’
These soldiers were terrified before the battle had even begun. Once they engaged Inan in combat, panic would surely consume them.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.