I'm not a lord

Chapter 229 The End of the Crossbow
Neil leaned wearily against the blood-stained city wall, watching the enemy troops retreat in an orderly fashion below, and let out a long sigh.

The walls of Amber Harbor were very old, especially the northwest corner, which was the most dilapidated. It was only in March of this year that they were urgently reinforced, otherwise they would not have been able to withstand the siege before the rainy season.

When the rainy season ended, the Duke of the Swamp returned and launched a fierce attack on this weak point, deploying siege engines, battering rams, and nearly a thousand soldiers in each offensive.

Of course, Amber Harbor was no pushover either. The militia and citizens in the city had experienced the baptism of war and were even more adept at defending the city. For more than half a month, they were able to completely repel the Duke's offensive.

With the addition of eight hundred elite fresh troops from the south, morale in the city soared even higher.

All soldiers and civilians firmly believed that they could defend their city and repel the 'barbarians' from the west.

However, the day after the southern reinforcements arrived, the enemy's offensive suddenly became several times more ferocious without warning.

The enemy soldiers pouring out of the siege engines were all clad in two or three layers of chainmail, wearing heavy helmets and iron masks, and over their armor were green robes embroidered with golden deer emblems. They were able to withstand the arrows and spears of the defenders on the city walls and charge up the walls, as if they were all invincible war gods.

On several occasions, the formidable enemy forces were even able to occupy a small section of the city wall.

If it weren't for the valiant defense of the city and the bloody battle to recapture the city walls, Amber Harbor might have fallen today.

To boost morale, Neil, as both mayor and commander of the city's garrison, had to personally go to the front lines to direct the fight against the enemy.

Throughout the day, there were multiple urgent reports from the northwest corner of the city wall, forcing him to run around frantically and leaving him exhausted.

But the physical exhaustion was secondary; Neil's heart was too weary.

Imagine he's still directing the fight against the enemy on this side of the city wall when suddenly, a deafening battle cry erupts from the city wall to his right. He turns his head and sees a small squad of enemy soldiers using siege towers to leap onto the city wall and wipe out a section of the defending troops in the blink of an eye.

Moreover, the enemy crossbowmen were hiding behind large shields and constantly firing crossbow bolts at the city walls, trying to suppress the defending crossbowmen.

After Neil led his reserve troops in a desperate attempt to recapture the city wall, enemy troops climbed up another section of the wall not far away.

Sometimes, these crises would occur several times at once, forcing Neil to be on edge at all times.

After a day of torture, he almost had a heart attack.

As dusk fell, the enemy finally withdrew in an orderly fashion, allowing Neil to catch his breath.

He leaned against the city wall, his hand resting on his blood-stained sword. Looking back, he saw that the city wall was covered with exhausted militiamen and mercenaries.

These brave defenders, who had fought all day, sat amidst piles of corpses, and at first glance, it was impossible to tell who was dead and who was alive.

This was a bloody war he had never seen before, a land stained with blood and devoid of souls.

The battle was so intense that the defenders didn't even have time to care for the wounded or clean up the corpses; the city walls were piled high with the bodies of both their own and the enemy's.

Neil roughly estimated that the number of casualties on both the offensive and defensive sides exceeded four figures on this day alone.

This was the day with the heaviest casualties for the defending side since April.

Almost no one inside the city could have predicted that the Duke of the Swamp outside would launch a frenzied attack on the city walls.

I barely made it through today, but what about tomorrow?

Will the enemy attack the city walls as fiercely as they did today tomorrow?

What about the day after tomorrow? What will happen then?

Neil dared not think about it anymore.

The Duke of the Marsh must have deployed his most elite court cavalry today, and the enemy corpses clad in multiple layers of chainmail on the city walls must have come from this renowned and formidable army.

Neil knew very well that if Amber Harbor fell, what awaited him and the citizens would be an incredibly tragic and bloody massacre.

The court cavalry who survived the siege would inevitably unleash their pent-up rage on the city.

Just then, Neil noticed a commotion coming from the top of the city wall stairs.

It was then discovered that King Maurice had climbed the city wall to inspect the military situation.

The king's attendants carried food and wine to reward the warriors guarding the city along the way.

When it comes to appearances, Morris has never let up.

Whenever fierce fighting broke out on the city wall, he would personally go to the city wall at dusk to reward the soldiers.

A moment later, Maurice waded through the muddy river of blood and came to Neil's side.

"Neil, you've had a great day."

Morris, with a look of deep compassion, reached out to help Neil up.

Neil was so tired that he didn't want to move a single finger. He didn't stand on ceremony and let the king help him up. He even leaned towards the king and put most of his weight on him.

This almost made the pampered Morris stumble.

Although Neil was born a merchant, he spent a lot of time honing his martial arts skills in his youth. He also joined the city's swordsmanship club and trained with a swordsmanship master from the Southern Territory for more than ten years, making him exceptionally strong.

Learning martial arts is expensive and time-consuming in any era, and only those from wealthy families can afford it.

Large autonomous cities all have a strong tradition of martial arts, which is why these cities can readily mobilize a sizable militia force.

Amber Harbor regularly hosts various tournaments with generous prizes, and Neil occasionally gets the urge to participate himself. So despite being the mayor, in a real tournament, even two Maurices wouldn't be a match for him.

Neil leaned on Maurice's shoulder, leaned close to his ear, and whispered:

“Your Majesty, you have seen the devastation on the city walls. I believe that Lothair must have sent out his most elite court knights.”

Morris, forcing himself to stay upright, replied in a low voice, "I think so too, but I should be able to hold on, right?"

Maurice was also quite startled at the palace today.

Bad news kept coming from the city walls, saying that enemy troops had broken through the defenses and rushed onto the walls, and that the royal palace should prepare for defense.

The palace was thrown into chaos for a while, with a large number of guards being sent to the palace walls to guard against the enemy troops that might attack at any moment.

He also secretly ordered his men to prepare ships so that if the situation became irreversible, he could flee to the south with his family, property, and confidants.

If he were to actually escape to the Southern Territory, Maurice would most likely become a puppet in the hands of King Otto III of Rui, at the mercy of others.

But that's better than death!

Duke Lothair of the Marsh said he would reserve a ducal position for him, but who knows if Lothair will keep his promise?
Once Lothair is crowned, Maurice will basically be facing death.

Moreover, he will die in a dark, unknown corner, like a silent, filthy dead rat.

However, Lady Luck still seems to be on Maurice's side.

Lothair failed to breach the city walls completely until the sun began to set.

Maurice breathed a sigh of relief and then led his entourage to the city wall to reward the troops.

He didn't have the courage to storm the city walls and fight during the height of the war, but he certainly did have the courage to win people's hearts under the guise of rewarding the troops, and quite a lot of it.

Moreover, he is the king, and the soldiers on the city wall are nominally fighting to protect him. It is both morally and logically that he has to show up on the city wall.

He was used to the severed fingers and remains scattered everywhere. What he wanted to know was whether Neil and the soldiers could hold on any longer.

"Your Majesty, to be honest, I don't know if I can hold on any longer."

Neil was genuinely bewildered; he hadn't expected the Duke of the Swamp's court cavalry to possess such terrifying combat power.

After a day of bloody fighting, not only was he exhausted, but the soldiers in the city were also inevitably worn out.

If this level of fighting continues for a few more days, the tension in Amber Harbor could snap at any moment.

Morris was displeased with this and immediately retorted, "He can use the court cavalry, but doesn't the city also have volunteers from the South? I've seen those volunteers; every single one of them is a true warrior. In terms of combat strength, they can't possibly be inferior to Lothair's court cavalry."

Neil pointed out incisively: "Your Majesty, perhaps it is because of those volunteers who appeared on the city walls that Lothair has attacked the walls like a madman. He may think that you have sided with Otto III of Rui, and if Amber Harbor is not breached soon, he will be met with a continuous stream of reinforcements from the South."

This is not difficult to deduce.

The Duke of the Swamp went mad the very next day, because the banners of the Southern Nobles had only been raised on the city walls the day before.

Anyone with normal thinking ability would naturally connect these two things.

Morris scoffed, "What a joke! How could I possibly side with Otto III? He's no different from Lothair; both are ambitious opportunists vying for the crown."

Eight hundred volunteers from the southern border was the limit that Morris could accept.

Oh, there should be less than seven hundred left now. In today's battle to defend the city, these volunteers served as reserves, supporting firefighting efforts everywhere, and also suffered heavy losses.

Neil countered, "Clotair wouldn't think that way."

As the two men spoke, Maurice took a few steps forward, tossed the weary Neil to a burly servant, and then asked:

"Then what do you think I should do? Send a messenger out of the city and tell Lothair that these Southerners came to Amber Harbor voluntarily, and not on Otto's orders?"

Neil leaned on the servant's shoulder and replied seriously, "I think it's feasible."

Morris actually did just that.

That evening, a messenger arrived at the Duke of the Marsh with a personal letter.

Lothair accepted the letter and chose to believe his illegitimate son, Maurice.

But despite his belief, he did not slacken his efforts in attacking the city.

The deployment of the court cavalry was like a crossbow bolt that would never stop until it pierced its prey.

On this one day alone, more than two hundred of the four thousand palace cavalrymen were killed or wounded.

Stopping is impossible; otherwise, who will pay for these casualties? Lothair can't afford it.

Moreover, he had already realized that the defending troops would have difficulty adapting to this intensity of attack.

"Continue the attack tomorrow. Anyone who hesitates or falters will have their head chopped off!"

Lothair was completely determined; he aimed to take Amber Harbor within two weeks.

(End of this chapter)