Origin Player.

Chapter 669 Siege
The next morning.

The golden robe has already left.

After a night of lavish feasting, the Earl's castle was left in disarray, with cups and plates scattered everywhere.

By noon, Norlund informed the warriors that the Thorn King's army was about to arrive.

"A thousand professional soldiers are on their way right now."

"Leading them is the great swordsman, Blue."

"This is equivalent to the entire army of an earl. We are fortunate to have the honor of challenging a powerful enemy."

“By defeating them, we will have the opportunity to capture York, the core city built by several ancient earls, which holds endless wealth, and Augustus and the elven warriors will stand with us.”

The Viking warriors were initially full of enthusiasm, but when they heard that the elves would be joining the battle, they immediately scoffed. Faced with the attack from the humans of the continent of Truth, the elves were weakened by repeated escapes and had no choice but to split into dozens of tribes and wander around. In Viking culture, they were simply cowardly to the extreme.

"The latter served as a vassal army!" Norlund added.

“Are elves fit to be a vassal army?” Enzo muttered to himself.

"Barely," Torenos commented.

“Nobody expects them to fight to the death,” Renn sighed. He preferred the dwarves of the Truth Continent as allies, since those dwarves were greedy and loved money.

After Norend finished his introduction and the scene calmed down a bit, a large group of elves walked in through the main gate: thirty archers, thirty swordsmen, and thirty knights. Their equipment was somewhat tattered, but unlike ordinary elves, these elves' faces were filled with hatred.

The leading elven sorceress was tall and slender, with fair skin and delicate features, yet she exuded a world-weary air. She was almost as tall as a Viking warrior, with cascading silver hair, and held a longbow in her hand.

“I am Vilt, the disciple of the Golden-Robed Sorcerer.”

“My Thorn tribe was once the master of this land. You need not doubt our hatred for the Thorn royal family. According to information from the court, Count Iris is in the king’s army. If we can capture him, we will have the opportunity to share this county with you Vikings, not just the wealth, but the land.”

The soldiers were all talking about it.

Compared to the barren lands of the North, the Continent of Truth is incredibly fertile. Moreover, the North is getting colder and colder, so establishing a base here for colonization is more meaningful than plundering gold and silver.

“I don’t think the king will compromise,” Norrend said.

“Of course he will,” said the elven sorceress Vilt. “The Wessex Empire has begun its expansion again, and the main forces of the three northern kingdoms are in the south. The King of Thorns is much more likely to compromise than we thought. He even desperately needs to swallow up the territories of his vassals to recover.”

Vilte's eyes were firm. According to the golden-robed mentor, the Wessex Empire was in a period of great turmoil. In order to divert attention from the conflict, the war that would sweep across the continent of Truth was about to start again. The kings of the North had long anticipated this. The kings, led by King Ragnar, had formed an alliance and were preparing to launch a surprise attack on the empire's capital, which was weak in troops, from the sea in the spring after the new year.

Norlund fell silent. As a lowly warrior captain under a baron, he knew far too little.

Jiang He walked out of the castle, with Zhuang Ya following closely behind.

"Ten men, come with me on horseback."

Upon hearing this, Torenos immediately stood up. Norlund ordered Enzo and Renn to stay behind, while he selected several Viking warriors to follow. Vilt looked at the two great warriors in front of her with a gleam in her eyes. The golden-robed mentor had said that the man named Augustus definitely possessed terrifying power hidden within him.

The discussion and exchange came to an abrupt end.

The Vikings and Elven Knights mounted their horses, and if they went out at this time, their target was most likely related to the King's army.

But before everyone's eyes, a magnificent gray eight-legged warhorse suddenly appeared, completely shattering the calm. Its long, thick legs, smooth, silky mane, and ferocious, demonic head made it seem as if a myth had descended.

The soldiers were all dumbfounded.

Even Norland was stunned and stood frozen in place.

Enzo rubbed his eyes hard, the green ghost trembling with fervor. This was the legendary Slybnir, Odin's mythical mount as he roamed the Nine Realms.

Jiang He casually said, "When I returned from Valhalla, I fell into the depths of the sea, where I saw a giant serpent that covered the seabed and stretched endlessly. The serpent's head attacked me, but Odin sent out His steed, so I was eventually freed."

The Green Ghost stopped joking and said devoutly, "So the storm that struck when I met you was Thor battling Jormungandr. You are an invincible warrior of the gods!"

"Warrior of God!"

A notification sound rang in Jiang He's ear.

[Hint: You have obtained the tattoo title "Warrior of God"]
The warriors shouted at the top of their lungs, their faces flushed with excitement. Augustus had proven the existence of Valhalla, and that warriors could indeed go to Valhalla after death.

The deafening roar caused several elves to take a few steps back. Although they were a different race, they had heard of the Odin faith in the North.

The twelve-man battle group rode away from the castle.

The Viking warriors immediately hosted a banquet for the elves, after all, the warriors of the gods riding Odin's mount had already acknowledged these guys.

……

The Thorn Kingdom is located in the western part of the Truth Continent.

The territory is roughly composed of ten earls, including the capital city and York, with four major cities. Among them, the Earl of Iris, located on the west coast, is half covered by forests, the other half of which is the fertile Iris Plain, and is surrounded by mountains on the edge.

This place has always been a "country within a country".

For this reason, the Thorn King specifically ordered the construction of a fortified city—York—in the mountains as a check on the Iris Territory. As long as York was controlled, the lord of the Iris Territory would not be able to leave. And those in charge of managing York were usually earls of the Philon family.

Dusk fell over Yorkshire.

Inside the cathedral, the King's Army's top officials gathered together.

The Blue Swordsman sat at the head of the table, leisurely sipping his red tea.

Count Iris slammed his fist on the table and roared, "Why haven't you marched in yet? The Vikings are ravaging my lands! You are cowards! Cowards who are afraid to even face a thirty-man warband!"

The ten soldiers whispered amongst themselves, pointing and gossiping about the count without any restraint. It was said that the count had borrowed from every noble in the court to hire an assassin, and was now infamous.

The Blue Swordsman, unconcerned, said, "My Lord Earl, your barons have all refused your summons. You should be secretly grateful that His Majesty the King is willing to send troops. A hundred years ago, according to the laws of lords, a lord who couldn't defend his territory would lose his noble title. You were born in a good time." Earl Iris blushed and waved his hand dismissively, "Don't think I don't know! The prince of the Golden Oak Kingdom is on his way. The Thorn King wants to sell my territory to that prince in exchange for ownership of the Northern Fortress. If you don't send troops, I'll have to see the Pope!"

Upon hearing this, the sergeants' expressions changed slightly.

Selling out the interests of vassals to nobles of other countries is hardly an honorable thing. The prince "possesses" Iris Territory, and the Thorn Kingdom "occupies" the Northern Fortress. In this back and forth, not only does the process of acquiring territory become legitimate, but the king can also gain military merit and increase his prestige.

The Blue Swordsman put down his teacup, his voice growing colder. "What nonsense are you spouting? I had planned to send troops out tomorrow anyway. What Prince's Fortress? You are insulting His Majesty's honor. Please, Earl, watch your words."

"Hmph." Count Iris snorted coldly and sat back down in her original seat.

Lord Philon, the Lord of York, spoke up to comfort them, saying, "Since we are going to war tomorrow, why do you two have to act like enemies? My fiancée will be here soon to host the march banquet for everyone."

"It is an honor to have Princess Thorn visit." The Blue Swordsman regained his composure. Princess Thorn had an ordinary appearance, and her face was covered with scars from the former queen's private torture, making her quite ugly. But a princess is a princess. She had the blood of the Wessex royal family, and her noble status was among the highest in the continent of Truth.

Count Iris sneered, "The princess is probably here for Prince Alfred. Anyone who didn't know better would think her fiancé was a prince."

"Iris!" Philomber's eyes blazed as he roared.

The soldiers chuckled softly. It was no secret that Princess Thorn was pregnant out of wedlock, and her marriage to Earl Philon was out of necessity. As for the claim that she was favored because of her bravery, that was just a "good story."

The Blue Swordsman said, "Alright, let's prepare the banquet. Otherwise, the two of you can have a duel and see if you can make the Vikings laugh themselves to death, which would save me the trouble of leading the army to reclaim Iris Territory."

The two counts held back. Count Iris was eager to reclaim his territory, and Count Philon was unwilling to have a group of Vikings standing next to his bed. The two had the same interests at the moment, which was the biggest reason why they could meet in the cathedral.

……

The night ends.

A troop of cavalry traveled through the forest, guided by elven knights, and successfully arrived at the dense woods beneath York.

Vilte looked up at the city wall. There were twelve soldiers on patrol, spaced several dozen meters apart. Behind them were braziers. If they pulled a long rope nearby, the torches would fall into the braziers to ignite the fuel and thus announce the enemy situation to the whole city.

“It would only take half a day to get from here to the Earl’s Castle at full speed,” Norlund said. “But if we mobilize our forces to attack the castle, we’ll probably suffer heavy casualties. My suggestion is to hold the castle and wait for the enemy to come out, while we harass them along the way.”

"No need to mobilize manpower."

Jiang He dismounted, and the eight-legged warhorse disappeared.

"I can take on the city by myself. You all stay here and block this gate."

Norlund's expression changed upon hearing this, and he quickly said, "The King's Army has over a thousand men, and there are countless captains, plus Blue Swordsmen in command. Augustus, I admit that you might not be a match for them in a one-on-one fight, but your Blood Qi is limited!"

Violet was even more blunt, saying coldly, "Don't joke around."

Jiang He remained noncommittal and walked slowly forward. When he raised his head, his eyes had become pitch black. The all-encompassing magic eye of the sub-legendary level was somewhat limited in the Ice Sea World, but the entire layout of York City was still fully displayed in his eyes.

On the city wall, whenever a soldier lowered his gaze, Jiang He could dodge in time. With the mind of an immortal god beyond mythology activated, he had ample time to avoid the soldiers' gaze, whether he moved or stopped.

Like a ghost in the night, Jiang He walked openly towards the city wall under the watchful eyes of everyone.

The Green Ghost murmured in admiration, "He truly is blessed by the gods."

Vilte's eyes widened in astonishment. Even the most skilled elven assassins would not dare to approach so blatantly.

When Jiang He arrived at the foot of the city wall, he reached out and touched the wall. The power of his authority was released, allowing him to gently crush the bricks into powder. Then he began to climb. Zhuang Ya hugged Jiang He's neck, her smooth chin resting on his shoulder, and gradually turned back into a small white snake.

Snapped!
He braced his palms against the battlements.

A very faint sound made the soldiers in front of the battlements prick up their ears. In an instant, a dark figure leaped onto the city wall and kicked out fiercely the moment it touched the ground. Before the soldiers could even raise their round shields, they felt an unbearable pain in their throats. A powerful iron hand crushed their throats, neck bones, and even flesh together.

The crisp sound traveled out.

Dozens of meters away, two soldiers turned around. Jiang He's dragon spear materialized in his hand, then quickly extended, the spear tip like a venomous snake piercing the throat of the soldier on the left. With a gentle twist, it severed the vocal cords, making it difficult for him to even utter a final whimper, and blood silently seeped into the cracks in the stone.

At the same time, Jiang He reached out his right hand and made a grasping motion in the air. The sub-legendary level blood control bestowed by the Blood Kingdom Tyrant erupted. The blood of the two soldiers on the right froze on their bodies, and blood gushed from their mouths, noses and eyes like a fountain. They immediately fell to the ground and died. One of the soldiers didn't even hear a sound and lost consciousness in a daze.

Jiang He's eyes burst forth with chaotic light, killing two more people. The soldiers who were annihilated by the chaos were left without a trace.

In the blink of an eye, six elite soldiers died.

Jiang He's rich and comprehensive abilities allowed him to handle all kinds of situations. The dragon spear extended again, piercing and killing two people. A jet-black longbow materialized, and four arrows were fired in succession. The thorny arrows pierced directly through the target's forehead without leaving any flight trajectory.

The entire guard team was wiped out.

Jiang He stood on the city wall, the winter wind was cold, and the bonfire in front of the cathedral in the city center was clearly visible in the night. As the banquet was in progress, he stepped down from the city wall and, following the gaze of the All-Seeing Demon Eye, went straight into the military camp on the south side of the city.

Unlike the nobles and high-ranking officers of the royal army who were enjoying a banquet, the military camp was filled with the sound of snoring. Elite spearmen were huddled together on communal beds, fast asleep, with their armor and weapons neatly hanging on the walls.

Jiang He, holding a silver spear, strolled leisurely. The spearhead, like a venomous snake, precisely pierced a soldier's forehead, instantly shattering his brain. The soldier next to him rolled over, and before he could even open his eyes, his throat was slit open, blood splattering onto the pillow. A third person was gently pressed on the chest by the spear shaft; his ribs collapsed, his heart shattered, and he couldn't even utter a muffled groan.

This was a silent harvest.

Jiang He moved among the beds, easily taking a life with each strike. Some soldiers died in their sleep, while others had just opened their eyes when a cold spearhead pierced their eye sockets. Some soldiers who hadn't slept at all suffered even more tragically, paralyzed by the All-Encompassing Demon Eye and forced to watch their deaths in terror.

In just a quarter of an hour, blood gradually soaked the bed, dripping onto the ground and gathering into small streams.

Of the entire military camp, all sixty elite spearmen perished.

Thorns spread out, piercing flesh and releasing a gluttonous black light, drawing back the extraordinary factors. Jiang He sat at the tent entrance, with countless thorns growing behind him, as if they were one with the military camp, resembling a ghost and appearing extremely eerie.

However, strictly speaking, his success today is largely due to the "support" of countless living beings.

"Seventy-two people."

"The hero still has over 100,000 energy remaining."

(End of this chapter)