Chapter 611: Volume 16: Mists and Illusions, - 4: The Performance Begins
The rough cold wind swept across the wasteland, bringing with it howls and roars, as all the Iron Cross Corps Soldiers defending atop the City Wall felt a twofold chill that involuntarily made them want to wrap their leather armors tighter around themselves. The charging Minotaur soldiers were not undisciplined and swarming up as they had in the past—this time they clearly came prepared, and their display was frightening.
Although their formation appeared somewhat disorganized, it was, after all, roughly structured—far from the chaotic sprints of old days, and most importantly, these Minotaur soldiers were no longer holding up the crudest ladders to initiate their attack. Instead, they stopped at a distance from the City Wall, dozens of Battering rams divided into several attack points, seemingly the Beastmen also wanted to leverage their numerical advantage to attack multiple positions at once, putting the Iron Cross Corps in a situation where they couldn’t defend everywhere simultaneously.
Feltermites felt a bitterness in his mouth. When had these Beastmen become so cunning? The aimless charges of yesteryear had been replaced by an attack formation that was beginning to take shape, coupled with the awe-inspiring Battering rams, Feltermites felt an increasing sense of helpless sinking within. However, it wasn’t time to despair yet; that somewhat eerie Mage had become Feltermites’ only hope.
"Mr. Cawendi, the Beastmen’s assault is about to begin. Can you tell me why they’re concentrating their Battering rams together?" Seeing the Beastmen begin their charge, the Iron Cross Corps Soldiers on the City Wall were already prepared under the command of the officers, the Trebuchets had started to unravel their tarpaulins to load the rocks, the Crossbowmen had already inhaled and drawn their bows, just waiting for the Beastmen to come into range before striking them a head-on blow. However, Feltermites knew that they couldn’t stop the impact of the Battering rams pushed by the Beastmen, these weapons specialized for attacking fortifications made of Magic Metal and Heavy metal were extremely fierce, hard rocks often shattered after several blows. The only way to counter it was to completely destroy it, but now, with the Beastmen’s cautious protection, achieving this purpose depended on the Mage’s magic.
"Hmm, it’s simple. If the Beastmen spread out their attack, we will have no way out. I and the two Magicians can’t cover so many Battering rams. Usually, just three to five rams given enough time can break through a segment of the City Wall, so rather than being broken through piece by piece, it’s better to let them break through in one place; attract more rams to amplify their results. I’m going to give the Beastmen a profound lesson right here." The pale-faced Mage, even when smiling, possessed an indescribably eerie manner that sent chills down Feltermites’ spine. He didn’t explicitly tell Feltermites what he was planning to do, but at this moment, Feltermites had no choice but to fully trust him. Having come this far, it was time to go for broke.
The heavy footsteps and laborious breathing quickly became rapid as the Minotaur soldiers, encouraged by the high-pitched beats of the Millennium Python Skin Drum, began to run. Each step pressed deep marks into the ground, and the Minotaur soldiers, half a head taller than Mortals and selected from the strongest of the Cow Tribe, donned simple leather armor, a helmet with horns, and armed with a scimitar or assault spear, became the standard equipment for the Minotaur soldiers. The running Minotaur soldiers resembled a moving stronghold, and when tens of thousands charged at you, anyone would feel the terror of being crushed into powder.
"Swoosh swoosh rustle rustle", scores of longbow arrows whizzed into the air, forming a dense mesh of feather-like net, blanketing down over the rushing Beast Warriors. The rough Round Shields were held tightly to protect vital areas of the body, but the dense volley of arrows still took down some of the brave Minotaur soldiers, those hit in the legs, arms, waist, and back struggled painfully on the ground; some reckless ones simply snapped off or pulled out the arrows, with bulging red eyes, they roared and continued to charge forward. The Great War had finally begun.
The Trebuchets began to focus their strength on hitting the Battering ram attack direction, but the Beastmen’s vine nets served as excellent protection. When it became clear that the Trebuchets couldn’t inflict substantial damage on the Battering rams, Feltermites decisively commanded to stop targeting the rams, shifting instead to strike areas around the Trebuchets where the Minotaur soldiers were crowded together, which immediately had a significant effect. Though the Minotaur soldiers were incredibly strong, each giant stone the size of a basin fell caused several to cry out in pain and collapse; such a physical attack that the body couldn’t block had almost no better defense than to dodge.