Being a knight is not easy

Chapter 211 Catapult

“I never believed him from beginning to end, otherwise I wouldn’t have had Solo keep an eye on him.”

Before the words were finished, a muffled sound suddenly came from afar.

Viscount Rhein looked up sharply and saw a wisp of dust rising from the direction of the Shadow Path.

That was dust kicked up by the passing army.

Through the telescope, Westin's bear-striped cloak fluttered in the wind, followed by thirty knights, each of whose armor was stained with blood, a disheveled sight befitting a vanguard.

“Soren, take two hundred men to meet them.” The viscount licked his lips. “Remember, have them send five men over to verify their identities first.” He paused, his gaze sweeping over the neatly arranged catapults outside the tent. “If they dare to play tricks, these ‘gifts’ will be sent to Leo.”

After the legendary knight left, Viscount Rhine walked to the map and traced his finger across the border between Shadow Path and Poplar Valley.

There were three intersecting sword marks drawn there with colored pen; he had marked it as a "trap zone."

He recalled the defense map Westin had presented, and the secret message written on it: "There is a tunnel under the north city wall." A cold smile crept onto his lips—he was certainly not foolish enough to trust a traitor, but using a traitor's "loyalty" to test the enemy was the perfect pawn.

At the same time, the sound of war drums suddenly came from the direction of Baiyang Valley.

Viscount Rhine's scouts on winged horses reported that the war cavalry of Wilke Territory were advancing along the main road, led by Viscount Wilke's chief knight, Iton.

The Viscount stared at the moving blue flag marker on the map, pressing his finger heavily on the "Vanguard Camp" location: "They've come after all! Pass on my order to have the Second Legion intercept them and keep Ito at the entrance of Poplar Valley! Once I've dealt with Westin, I'll send a legendary expert to kill Ito."

Deep within the Shadow Path, Robin hid among the warriors disguised as Allied knights, listening to the distant sound of war drums and secretly calculating the time.

He estimated that Viscount Rhein's central camp was currently poorly defended, with only two hundred personal guards led by Soren remaining to guard it.

This was exactly the opportunity he had been waiting for.

"The central army camp is just ahead!" Sir Rael, playing the role of Westin, suddenly lowered his voice, cold sweat beading on his bear-patterned helmet. "My lord, that Sauron fellow is watching us!"

Robin gripped the Dragon Slayer Spear tightly, the dragon scales on his arm rising up like living creatures.

He saw that Sauron's greatsword was already drawn, the life force drawing cold arcs in the morning mist, while the catapult behind him was slowly turning, its huge slingshots wrapped with stones the size of human heads.

"Proceed according to plan." Robin's voice came through his helmet visor, cold and hard like metal. "When Sauron speaks, tell him the vanguard was attacked, and only a few of us managed to break through."

Before he could finish speaking, Sauron suddenly roared, "Halt! Take off your helmet!" His greatsword was pointed at Westin, the Force pulsating in the man's throat. "I want to see if Lord Westin has any guts!"

The air solidified instantly.

Robin's pupils contracted sharply.

Sauron's life force had locked onto Westin's throat; the slightest movement would trigger a fatal blow.

He quietly reached for the quiver at his waist, but just then he heard the sound of horses' hooves behind him.

"Lord Soren!" The sound of the lieutenant's hooves broke through the mist as over a hundred infantrymen charged down the ridge on the right, their shields still speckled with fresh mud. "The Viscount has ordered the immediate execution of the traitor Westin and the swift reinforcement of Poplar Valley!"

The legendary knight's pupils contracted sharply.

He saw the right hand of the knight on the left of the "Westin" reaching for the quiver at his waist, a gesture clearly that of an archer. Sauron's greatsword instinctively drew a phantom of the Holy Shield, but just as the sword was about to strike, he heard the hum of the bowstring vibrating.

Robin's armor-piercing arrow tore through the mist, its triangular blade spinning as it sliced ​​through Sauron's breastplate.

Catalyzed by the arrow's tail rune, the life force erupted into a dragon-shaped phantom. The moment it collided with the milky-white light of the Holy Shield, the air emitted a shrill whistling sound like shattering glass.

Spiderweb-like cracks appeared on Sauron's breastplate. He staggered and knelt on one knee, seeing Robin tear off his blood-stained bear-patterned helmet, his black hair flashing like lightning in the morning mist.

"Who are you?!" Sauron's roar was swallowed up by the blast wave.

Andisu's warriors leaped from the cliff on the left, their crossbow bolts trailing flames as they pierced the fog, thirty bolts simultaneously striking the allied catapults.

Purple mandala flames soared into the sky, and the wooden frame of the catapult made a boiling sound as the oil boiled in the high temperature, and soon burst into flames.

These arrows are magical rockets made from wind chimes.

Screams echoed throughout the canyon.

The warriors, disguised as allied soldiers, tore off their bear-patterned cloaks, revealing their breastplates underneath, and a volley of crossbow bolts was deployed twenty paces away.

Robin had already nocked his second arrow. He watched Sauron try to get up and couldn't help but sneer.

“Sauron, look behind you.” Robin’s voice was as cold as ice.

The legendary knight turned around, his pupils contracting in shock. Unbeknownst to him, the cliffs on both sides of the canyon were now filled with warriors wielding crossbows, aiming at them.

"You knew all along." Sauron's voice was interrupted by a cough, as the earth-based life force contained in Robin's arrow continued to surge into his body, causing unbearable burning pain.

“From the moment Westin stepped into the Shadow Path, every step you took was within my calculations.”

Robin shot an arrow through his head.

Even as he died, Sauron couldn't understand why he, a legendary knight at the pinnacle of power, was so utterly vulnerable in front of Robin.

The shouts of battle outside the tent seemed to come through a curtain of water, indistinct and distant, until Baron Rockefeller burst open the tent door, the hem of his bear-striped cloak sweeping over a wine jug on the table.

"Westin has betrayed us!" The baron's diamond lapel pin hung askew on his collar, and his usually sleek, curly hair was now covered in bits of grass. "He killed Sauron, burned the catapults, and is marching on the camp!"

Viscount Rhein's quill fell to the ground with a "thud," the ink stain spreading into a hideous black spot on the parchment map.

He stared at the baron's torn shirt, a metallic taste rising in his throat. He then realized with a start that the shouts of battle had already shaken the tent flaps, and that he had been deafened by the perfume and candlelight.

“Impossible, he only has thirty-odd knights.” The viscount’s voice trembled with self-consolation as his fingers searched futilely for reinforcements on the map, only to find that the Second Legion’s blue flag was still trapped at the entrance to Poplar Valley. “Quickly, summon my personal guards.”

Before the words were finished, the mournful neighing of warhorses suddenly came from outside the tent.

Viscount Rhine saw through the gaps in the tent flaps that his personal guard knights were being tossed into the air like straws.

Andisu's rock-hard battle axe swung like a windmill, each strike sending up a spray of blood, while the crossbowmen of the war cavalry wove a death barrage behind him, pinning the noble knights who tried to break through to the ground.

(End of this chapter)