Chapter 223 : Chapter 223
Chapter 223. A Brutal Siege and Defense
The rock walls of Windcleaver Canyon cast deep shadows as the soldiers of two Experimental Legions advanced with silent steps.
Their armor gleamed with an inhuman metallic luster, and their movements were so perfectly uniform that they seemed to be pulled by invisible strings. Even the rhythm of their breathing did not differ in the slightest.
Designation 734, the Legion Commander, stood at the very front of the formation. Beneath the skin exposed at his neck, faint purple veins could be seen pulsing. They were traces left behind by Energy Modification.
He raised his head and looked toward the distant hillside, where a tall figure stood.
“Father.”
His voice had been processed by the energy apparatus in his throat, giving it a mechanical coldness.
“I will make the name of the Experimental Legion resound throughout the continent. I will never disappoint you.”
After saying this, he turned and led the troops into the depths of the canyon. Their footsteps were soon swallowed by the wind.
On the hillside, Duke Marcus slowly withdrew his gaze, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the Family Crest embroidered on his cuff.
Sunlight fell upon his silver-gray hair, but it could not warm the chill in his eyes.
“Son?”
He gave a low, contemptuous laugh, his tone filled with disgust.
“They are nothing more than war tools that happened to develop a bit of intelligence.”
He glanced toward the direction where the Legion had disappeared. If these “experimental subjects” who had developed intelligence were not capable of precisely controlling the Energy Cores within the Legion, he would have melted them down in the forge and rebuilt them long ago.
A gust of wind swept through the canyon, lifting his cloak.
Marcus turned his head and looked toward the Kroll Royal Capital. The spires of the palace there gleamed golden beneath the sunlight.
His gaze instantly grew heated, like a wolf staring at its prey.
The Experimental Legion was merely a chess piece. What could truly allow him to climb to the peak of power was the throne in the Royal Capital, and the entire kingdom behind that throne.
He raised a hand and adjusted his collar, his fingertips brushing across a ring inlaid with Black Crystal.
It was one of the keys used to control the Experimental Legion.
“Go.”
He whispered into the empty canyon. “Go and stir up these waters. Only then can I profit from the chaos.”
The wind passed through the cracks of the canyon, producing a mournful sound, as though it were singing a silent elegy for those experimental soldiers who knew no road home.
One month later, Designation 734 had already led his Legion to the outskirts of the Land of Resilience Fortress.
The air here was filled with the stench of blood and smoke. The corpses of the Orc vanguard had piled into small hills beneath the fortress, while on the plains farther away, the dark, endless beast tide still surged like a black sea that could never be filled.
The walls of the Land of Resilience Fortress trembled day after day beneath the Orcs’ assaults, and the blood that seeped between the bricks had long since turned black.
By day, the Bone Staffs of the Orc Shamans summoned Acid Rain, corroding the walls until they were covered in countless pits.
By night, the Flame Arrows of the Troll Spear Throwers dragged red light across the night sky, like countless venomous snakes licking at the defensive works atop the walls.
Xilan stood on the Arrow Tower, gazing at the boundless beast tide outside the city. His knuckles dug pale marks into the battlements.
Seven hundred thousand defenders were being tightly pinned down by more than a million Orcs. Every day, the corpses carried down from the walls were enough to fill half the Moat.
The Private Troops brought by the nobles had become the fastest-consumed “expendables.”
Those knights in ornate armor often lost more than half their numbers before they could survive three siege assaults.
The Irregular Legions collapsed at the slightest touch. It was only because the Gold Legion’s shield formation held stubbornly at the city gate that the beast tide had not torn open a breach.
“The Experimental Legion has been placed at the Abandoned Mine on the North Slope.”
The Adjutant reported in a low voice behind him.
“Legion Commander 734 says they can enter battle at any time.”
Xilan glanced back toward the North Slope. The tents there had been disguised as Temporary Warehouses, and even their cooking smoke had been kept to an absolute minimum.
“Have them wait.”
His voice was hoarse.
“The energy fluctuations of these ‘monsters’ are too conspicuous. Releasing them now will only drive the Orcs even more mad.”
Before his words had fully fallen, a thunderous roar erupted beneath the walls.
No one knew what method the Orcs had used, but they had filled half the Moat in a single night. Dense ranks of Wolf Riders were stepping over the corpses of their companions and charging upward. The sound of their claws scraping against the walls made one’s scalp crawl.
The Legion Commander of the Gold Legion raised his bloodstained long sword and roared, “Shield formation, push forward!”
The top of the wall instantly became a blood-colored inferno. Kroll soldiers stabbed their spears through the throats of Orcs, only to be tackled by another Orc the next moment and sent rolling down from the wall.
The Mages who had just taken Recovery Potions climbed onto the wall again and began chanting spells, continuing until the Mana within their bodies was exhausted once more.
When the archers emptied their quivers, they picked up stones and hurled them down until their arms lost all strength.
Xilan cut down a giant-axe Orc that had climbed onto the wall, then turned his head to look toward the North Slope. It was still silent there, like a poisonous snake lying in wait.
When night fell, the Orcs’ assault finally slowed.
The torches on the city wall shone upon mountains of corpses, and the smell of blood was so thick that it seemed impossible to disperse.
Xilan counted the numbers and discovered that another thirty thousand defenders had been lost. Yet the beast tide outside the fortress still seemed inexhaustible, and the wolf howls coming from the darkness remained so dense that they were suffocating.
“Should we… let the Experimental Legion take the field?”
The Adjutant’s voice trembled.
“If this continues, the eight noble Legions that just arrived will not last three days.”
Xilan looked toward the mine on the North Slope, where the darkness was deeper than anywhere else.
He knew those Modified Soldiers could instantly tear apart the Orcs’ charging formation, but he feared that uncontrollable power even more.
It was like using wildfire to burn away thorns. Perhaps it could destroy the brambles, but it might also burn down his own camp.
“Wait a little longer.”
In the end, he still shook his head and turned his gaze back below the wall.
“We will talk about it when they attack the third defensive line.”
The horn atop the wall sounded once again. This time, the Orcs’ charge carried an even more frenzied momentum.
Xilan tightened his grip on the sword at his waist. As he watched the Gold Legion’s shield formation deform slightly beneath the impact, he suddenly felt that this fortress had truly become a meat grinder. Whether Orcs or Kroll soldiers, once they entered it, they could forget about coming out whole.
And that Experimental Legion hidden in the dark might be the most dangerous gear within this machine.