Elden Ring, building a legion of ashes

Chapter 132 Breaking Down the Door

The audience hall in Stoneville.

Grek stood there, stunned, his brow furrowed.

"Kenneth Hyde?"

It took him some time to sift through his jumbled memories to find the name.

"That legal heir to Hyde Fortress? That arrogant, self-important good-for-nothing who's all talk and no action?"

"Didn't I remember him spending all his time hanging out with a bunch of the lowest demi-humans?"

Grik's face was contorted with disbelief.

Now even this kind of trash dares to lead troops to attack us?

Moreover, how did he manage to unite with those hot-tempered northern mountain demons?

A variety of questions swirled in Greke's somewhat confused mind.

Even with his slow reaction time, he could vaguely sense an unusual and dangerous aura.

"Go investigate—no, no need."

Greck waved the dozens of arms behind him in frustration.

"I want to go and see for myself what's going on!!"

As he spoke, he lifted that enormous and deformed body, like a moving mountain of flesh, and walked toward the door with a heavy rumble.

The main gate of Stoneville.

This place is where almost all of the fortress's most elite defensive forces are gathered.

Hundreds of Grik soldiers and exiled soldiers were densely deployed at various passes.

At the very front of each pass, there were rows of prisoner soldiers being used as human shields.

They were dressed in rags, with heavy iron shackles around their necks, and fire pots hanging from their waists that could explode at any moment.

Behind these prisoner soldiers were exiled soldiers, or Grik soldiers.

"They even have a task force; that's typical of Grik's style."

At this moment, Xia Tong, who had already sneaked into the tower near the city gate, sneered.

With a casual flick of his long fangs, a crossbowman, an exiled soldier who was about to give a warning, clutched his throat and collapsed to the ground.

Xia Tong sheathed her blade and, relying on the extraordinary eyesight of the Faded One, scanned the main gate fortifications below.

It must be admitted that the fortifications at the main gate of Stoneville City are among the most solid in the entire border region.

On the towering city walls above the main gate, several terrifying fire chariots were mounted.

The tank's menacing human-faced nozzles were pointed directly at the passage below, and the exile soldier controlling it behind it had a serious expression on his face, his finger tightly gripping the trigger.

As soon as an enemy shows itself, the raging flames will instantly engulf it.

On the towers surrounding the chariots, there were dozens of heavy ballistae already loaded with explosive bolts, their dark muzzles looking extremely intimidating.

On the far left tower, a soldier is struggling to adjust the nozzle angle of the flamethrower.

Suddenly, he felt a chilly breeze blowing down the back of his neck.

There were no footsteps, only the faint, sharp sound of spears piercing the air.

"Pfft!"

The spear, shrouded in black mist, pierced the soldier's back with extreme precision.

The soldier felt a chill on his chest, and then, to his horror, saw a spear tip glowing with black and gold flames emerge from his breastplate.

The bone-chilling cold made him gasp, and a strange "hoarse" sound came from his throat, but he couldn't utter a sound.

Ruthel slowly drew her spear.

Then, she kicked the sophisticated fire chariot hard with her right foot.

"Snap!"

The fragile control components shattered instantly, rendering the flame chariot completely unusable.

After doing all this, her figure once again slowly disappeared into the air like a ghost.

Ruthel's figure reappeared beside another heavy ballista dozens of meters away.

If Ruthel is a silent assassin...

So, Oreg is a precision meat grinder.

On the right side of the city wall, in the heavy firepower zone, more than a dozen heavy crossbows were deployed, forming the fiercest firepower network.

Suddenly, the air twisted violently, and a visible burst of violent airflow exploded out of thin air!

"Who goes there?!"

The three exiled soldiers responsible for loading the crossbows turned their heads in horror.

Their response was met with two greatswords of a lost knight, whipped up by a storm.

Oreg teleported with the storm, and the moment his massive body landed, he was met with an extremely brutal Storm Whirlwind Slash.

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

The sound of the sword blade slicing through armor and bone was continuous and chilling.

The three soldiers didn't even get a clear look at the enemy's face before they were shredded into pieces along with the crossbow bolts by the violent sword energy.

The heavy ballista mount shattered under the bombardment of Oreg's monstrous strength.

The aftershocks of the storm knocked a fire chariot to its side, and the fuel spilling from its nozzles instantly ignited the fuel tanks piled up nearby.

"boom--!!!"

A violent explosion rang out on the city wall, and flames shot into the sky.

The previously well-prepared defenses instantly fell into chaos.

The defenders were horrified to discover that the enemy had appeared like a ghost directly in the very heart of their defensive line!

On the city wall, a military officer dressed in noble attire had a drastic change in expression.

He stared at the two figures who appeared and disappeared like ghosts inside the defensive line, and cold sweat instantly soaked his back.

The storm rising from one of the swords reminded him of the legendary knight from Storm City, but he wasn't sure.

The other headless knight, wielding an eclipse shield and a flaming spear, terrified him even more.

This characteristic is possessed only by the Temple Knights who guard the soulless demigods.

If he is a Temple Knight, why would he be here? And why would he attack the Golden Clan's army?

The military affairs officer shook his head, forcibly dispelling the chaotic thoughts in his mind.

However, he soon discovered that these two menacing figures were specifically targeting his long-range firepower.

In just over ten minutes, a third of the fire chariots and heavy ballistae on the city wall were lost!

However, something even more terrifying was yet to come.

A Grek soldier who was operating a heavy ballista was suddenly hugged tightly by his comrade behind him.

The latter pulled out a short dagger from somewhere and plunged it straight into his throat.

Blood spurted out, and his wide eyes were filled with terror and confusion.

Only before his consciousness faded did he realize that his familiar companion's pupils had somehow turned the colorless appearance characteristic of the Faded Ones.

The same scene was playing out simultaneously at various strongholds along the defensive line.

Two exiled soldiers were raising their shields to defend themselves when they suddenly felt a sharp pain in their lower back and abdomen.

The comrade who was providing cover behind him drew his long sword and slashed fiercely at his own man.

The two exiled soldiers tried to fight back, but were horrified to discover that their opponent's strength and speed far exceeded those of ordinary people!

"Pfft!"

One of them felt a sharp pain in his chest as a spear burning with black and gold flames pierced through his back.

Ruthel slowly drew her spear, and after exchanging a glance with the disguised Faded One with the colorless pupils in front of her, her figure disappeared again.

"There's a mole! There's a mole! It's one of the 'Faded Ones'!"

A knight named Grek, who was clearly a minor leader, shouted in an attempt to stabilize the situation.

"Everyone, come here! Form a battle formation! Hurry up!"

The panicked ordinary soldiers around them seemed to have found their leader and rushed towards the knight.

In an instant, more than twenty soldiers gathered at his feet.

However, just when everyone thought it was safe...

The knight Grek's lips curled into a strange smile, and for some reason, he pulled out a light crossbow from his back.

Instead of shooting at the enemy, he instantly fired at the mountain of oil supply boxes at his feet!

"laugh"

The rocket pierced the fragile wooden crate in an instant.

"BOOM!!!"

Huge fireballs soared into the air, and these wooden boxes filled with kerosene became the perfect explosives.

The shockwave from the explosion, carrying flames and splinters, spread indiscriminately in all directions.

"Aaaaaah!!!"

The screams instantly merged into one.

The soldiers who rushed over didn't even have time to react before they were blown to pieces or burned alive.

"Damn it! Damn it!"

The military affairs officer felt like his head was about to explode.

He then realized that the Knight Grek who had been giving orders was actually a Faded One in disguise!

That explosion instantly wiped out more than twenty of his elite troops!

"Those despicable faders! So insidious! Such a vile and shameless bastard!"

As the scene descended into complete chaos, most of the ranged weapons that posed the greatest threat to the siege forces were cleaned up by Xia Tong's two ashes and the lurking Faded Ones.

The time was right.

Xia Tong immediately went to the top of the tower above the main gate and took out the specially made horn that she had prepared in advance.

He took a deep breath, puffed out his cheeks, and blew with all his might.

"Waaah!"

""

"Waaah!"

"Waaah"

Unlike the deep, resonant sound of ordinary horns, this horn has an extremely sharp and high-pitched tone with strong penetrating power, enough to cover the entire battlefield.

Ahead of Tongcheng Tunnel.

Kenneth Hyde was overjoyed when he heard the agreed-upon signal ring three times in a row.

He jumped up excitedly, disregarding his aristocratic manners, and patted the thick calf of the mountain demon leader next to him.

"Let's go! Attack!"

Upon seeing Kenneth Hyde give the order, the giant troll leader stomped heavily on the ground.

He took a deep breath and let out a deafening roar, then waved his hand sharply at his people behind him.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

It was as if the earth was shaking.

Dozens of massive figures burst forth from the shadows of the city tunnel, charging toward the main gate of Stoneville with unparalleled momentum.

The giant leader, who was at the forefront, carried a specially made giant metal shield in his left hand.

That could no longer be called a shield; it was practically a mobile metal wall.

As the leader of the troll tribe that had been entrenched in Nymgford for a long time, it knew all too well the firepower of the fortress's main gate.

This place was originally filled with war chariots that could breathe fire and dragons, as well as powerful explosive ballistae.

But as it raced all the way to the main gate, apart from a few crossbow bolts striking the shield with a "clanging" sound, the expected sea of ​​fire did not appear.

We arrived at the main gate.

The towering mountain demon leader turned sideways, using the massive metal shield wall as a shield in front of him, and slammed it against the heavy gate.

"Bang--!!!"

With a loud crash, stone chips rained down from above the main gate.

However, the main gate of Stoneville was made of some kind of wood, and its hardness was comparable to that of gold and iron.

Furthermore, the sharp oak pieces below are deeply embedded in the grooves in the ground, as stable as Mount Tai.

The giant leader rammed the gate several times, but apart from shaking off some dust, the gate remained completely unmoved.

It exhaled a long breath, white hot air exhaled from its nostrils, and then decided to implement the plan that Xia Tong had originally devised.

Immediately afterward, the giant leader stepped aside, and seven or eight of his tribesmen who were already prepared followed.

Together they were carrying a giant log as thick as their own waist.

This battering ram was made from a piece of wood that they had searched for a long time in the misty forest, and the front end had been whittled into a sharp cone shape.

"Heave-ho! Heave-ho!"

The giants roared in unison, lifting their massive battering rams and slamming them against the impregnable gate in front of them.

"Bang-!!!"

With the first impact, several pieces of rubble fell from the city gate.

On the gate, which was harder than gold and iron, a barely perceptible crack finally appeared.

"Boom!"

With the second impact, the cracks widened rapidly, making a teeth-grinding "crunch" sound like ice breaking.

Just then, the city's garrison finally reacted.

A surviving flamethrower opened fire behind the gate.

The raging fire dragon spewed outwards through the gaps in the gate's bars.

The giant leader reacted swiftly, stepping forward in an instant to block the massive metal shield wall in front of the battering ram.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh—"

""

Flames licked the shield's surface relentlessly, scorching the metal until it was scalding hot, emitting a sizzling sound and puffs of white smoke.

Fortunately, the shield wall is thick enough that the heat transmitted to the back is still within a tolerable range, and the handles are only slightly warm.

Behind the giants were 80 Morn City assassins clad in black robes and fine armor.

They were fully equipped, carrying powerful crossbows, long swords at their waists, and shields in their hands.

At this moment, they all raised their crossbows and fired precise shots at the defenders above the city gate who were trying to fight back.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Arrows rained down from below, reaping the lives of any enemies who dared to show their faces.

"boom!"

At the same time, another explosive crossbow bolt, carrying enormous kinetic energy, was fired from the firing port inside the gate.

The arrow pierced through the gap in the gate and crashed to the ground.

"Bang!"

A scorching wave of fire instantly erupted from the ground.

Two trolls responsible for carrying the battering ram were struck in the legs by shards, and blood gushed out immediately.

In their intense pain, they swayed, and the massive battering ram nearly slipped from their grasp and fell to the ground.

Upon seeing this, the mountain demon leader roared and threw the giant shield in his hand to one of his tribesmen behind him.

Then it took a step forward, grabbed the end of the battering ram, and took the place of its injured companion.

"Drink it!!!"

It and its kin behind it unleashed a deafening roar and launched another deadly attack.

"BOOM!!!"

It was accompanied by a deafening roar.

The already overburdened gate was severely bent due to the violent impact, and a terrifying hole was torn open in the middle, with only a few broken logs barely holding it together.

"Again!"

It was another full-force impact.

"Clang!!!"

The heavy gate collapsed completely, crashing inward with tremendous inertia.

As the gate swung open, the thirty or forty giant trolls behind them roared in victory and filed in.

"Rush! Rinse them all!"

Kenneth Hyde stood before the black-robed soldiers, facing the cold arrows that could be shot at any moment, without flinching in the slightest.

He clutched a holy mark tightly in his hand, and his body radiated a golden light.

As a legitimate nobleman of the Golden Dynasty, he was quite adept at using some basic protective prayers.

Behind the giant, a black torrent of elite armored soldiers and a legion of demi-humans emitting sharp, eerie laughs instantly converged into an unstoppable wave, charging fiercely into the open main gate!