Your Majesty's money, why don't you engrave my name on it?

Another volley of arrows rained down on the city wall. The servant quickly pressed Felix down to kneel, but he himself was struck in the back by an arrow: "Master, quick..."

"Nonsense!" Felix forcefully shook off his arm. "Go yourself! I'm a nobleman, I'm an earl, I... I'm a man! I'd rather fight them to the death and hide in the secret passage than live?!"

At least he had sent Hunter away, and regardless of whether he would receive reinforcements that might only exist in his imagination, at least his son was safe...

What is there to regret?

Before the rain of arrows had even stopped, he had already charged out with his sword, blocking the gap created by the death of a soldier.

"Don't be afraid! Do you think I'm the kind of person who would desert in the face of battle? Absolutely not! Kill them!"

Felix released his left arm, gritted his teeth, and caught a short spear thrust at him, while simultaneously slashing at his opponent with his sword. The mercenary who had scaled the city walls seemed startled by the count's sudden bravery, and in his haste, he slipped and nearly fell off the walls.

However, the mercenary was still far superior to someone like Felix. He immediately regained his balance and decisively relinquished control of the short spear. Taking advantage of the count's momentary loss of balance, he began to fight for ownership of the sword.

The two immediately tumbled to the ground, but Felix was no match for the burly mercenary and quickly fell into a disadvantageous position. His sword was still in his own hand, but the blade was getting closer and closer to his neck.

The mercenary already wore a victorious smile. He knew who his opponent was; normally, such a nobleman shouldn't be killed, but this time his employer had given orders: whoever could kill Felix would receive a large reward.

“You’d better give up now,” he grinned maliciously, pressing the sword down a third further. “I need to save my strength for my companions—”

Before the mercenary could finish speaking, he was struck hard on the back of the head, causing him to immediately roll his eyes back and fall onto Felix. The count seized the opportunity to step forward and, in the process, slit the man's throat with his sword. Only then did he realize who had saved him.

“I won’t hide, sir,” the servant gasped. “My family has been your family for five generations, and if you include my son, that’s six generations… I won’t.”

"They burned down our old home, and I had nowhere to hide."

“We’re all the same,” Felix glanced at the Moser River outside the castle before returning to the battle. “Come on, let’s drive these bastards off the walls!”

"Wait, Your Excellency!" Suddenly, a soldier raised his hand, ignoring the arrows pointing towards the distant Moser River below. "There! Something is approaching there!"

Have they even decided to launch an attack on the water? Felix gave a wry laugh, but as he looked up again, he was puzzled to see that the dark shadows on the river did not seem to be of the style of ships from Inasas—they looked long and slender and could not be equipped with any large siege weapons.

Chapter 601 Thunderclap Occurs at Sea

Ironjaw stood at the bow of the boat, shading his eyes with his hand, squinting as he watched the dilapidated castle on the riverbank getting closer and closer.

As a half-orc, her gray-green skin and prominent canines were equally striking, which in the past made it difficult for her to continue her mercenary career. But now, she could lead a 200-strong Cold Iron Guard as the "vanguard officer"—among the Ampiri, being of half-orc origin was nothing; fighting ability was the most important thing.

“Looks like we’re not too late,” she said, rubbing her chin. “I heard the lord here is called Felix? It’s amazing he’s managed to hold out for so long. I thought we were only here to collect his corpse.”

“Vanguard,” an Ampiri interrupted her mutterings, pointing towards the shore, “they’ve noticed us. Shall we say hello to them?”

"Fight! Why don't we fight?" Iron Jaw waved his hand, grabbing a round shield and a battle axe. "Girls and boys, prepare to land! We're going to go ashore!"

"Vanguard, where should we attack?" A teasing question rang out from a nearby ship. It was Ed. After Ironjaw picked up her old profession again, her adventurer companions joined in, and now this hunter was her second-in-command.

"Fight however you want!" Ironjaw laughed loudly, and before the ship could crash into the riverbank, he leaped over and jumped towards the land. "Kill all the living things you see, except those in the castle! This is the highest order from the 'Gnawing Ones'!"

"There's no need to be afraid of dying; we're just the 'vanguard'!"

These words stung the Ampiri, who had never known death and even regarded it as an honor. They laughed and cursed, then jumped ashore, roaring battle cries, and charged at the soldiers of Inasas, including the oarsmen—who were not specifically trained to row.

"what happened?"

The king's commander was an old general with graying hair. The battle was only a matter of time, but a sudden commotion on his flank nearly tore a hole in the battle report he was preparing to write for the king. He quickly put down his quill, grabbed his sword, and rushed out of the tent to find out what had happened.

"Pirates, sir!" A junior officer rushed over to report. "Five or six small longships, with about two hundred men. They have no intention of negotiating and have already engaged us!"

"You bastard!" It was unclear who he was cursing. "Am I hopelessly deaf, or is your tongue tied in knots? What are those pirates doing in the river?!"

It's not that pirates should stay in saltwater, but when they go up the river, it's usually because there's nothing to plunder near the sea, and it's clearly not that time yet—besides, can't they see that there's a war going on here?

"Send men to stop them and try to figure out what these people are trying to do!" the old general sneered. "Also, notify our mage to break into the city as soon as possible. He's already dragged this out long enough; we don't have time for him to sleep any longer—I'm going into this castle tonight!"

"This is!"

The junior officer hesitated for a moment, caught in a dilemma, but ultimately had no choice but to salute and hurriedly ran off to relay the order.

But while the message was being conveyed, whether the mage could actually take the castle today remained to be seen.

He has no right to interfere with what the master wants to do.

On the other hand, the order to split up troops to stop the pirates was faithfully carried out, and the pressure on Felix's city walls was immediately reduced. Meanwhile, the Ampieri, who had just been ravaged by the East Inathas mercenaries led by Duncan, finally found a target to vent their anger on, and charged fearlessly into the crowd of those who came to fight.

No planning, no command, no leadership, and you don't even need to risk your life! Just cut down everyone who is different from them!

A longsword struck Ironjaw's shoulder hide armor, but only broke two layers of skin. Looking at the somewhat bewildered soldier, the orc grinned savagely, swung his left-hand leather wooden shield, and smashed him to the ground. He raised his battle axe and chopped off the head that was still bleeding from the nose.

"This is so much more fun than being an adventurer!" she laughed, rushing off to her next target without stopping. "Come on, guys, who's next?"

An archer, hidden behind a large tree, emerged, ready to shoot the unhelmeted orc to the ground. But before he could draw his bow, a stray arrow struck him between the eyebrows, killing him instantly. Meanwhile, in the distance, Ed, with one foot on the bow of the ship, calmly nocked another arrow, his eyes searching for his next target.

Asking them to slay dragons might be too much to ask, but if they're just playing their part on the battlefield, then it shouldn't be a big problem.

But on the battlefield, there are sometimes dragons, or at least something similar to dragons.

"Who on earth is causing this trouble?!" A thunderous voice rang out from the opposing army. A mage rose into the air, his eyes flashing with electricity, coldly surveying the pirates below. "Whoever you are, get out of my way! Otherwise, don't blame me for turning you all into charred corpses!"

"Then you're welcome to try!" Before the mage could finish speaking, a golden light suddenly rose from the pirate group. The light of this divine spell fell on every member of the Cold Iron Guard around them, instantly transforming into a silver-white illusory shield, which then disappeared in an instant. "Primordial Sea, let us travel freely through the storm!"

There's even a priest among these pirates?!

The mage was momentarily speechless. He then realized that there was such a possibility—most of these pirates worshipped the Primal Sea Fakus, and that incarnation was often described as a hunchbacked old man. He and his priests certainly possessed the power to resist lightning!

But they even brought priests?! Normal pirate raiders wouldn't be this well-prepared…

The mage had little time to think, for the next moment he saw lightning also flash in the priest's eyes. He raised his warhammer high, and a small dark cloud appeared above his head in response. As if sensing an opportunity, several soldiers immediately and tacitly surrounded the priest, preparing to kill him before he could cast his spell.

Suddenly realizing something, the monk shouted in an attempt to stop this foolish act: "Wait! Don't touch it!"

too late.

The instant the metal blade struck him, a powerful electric current radiated outwards from the scaly priest. Several who were slow to react were sent flying backwards by the electric shock, while the one who had already made his move fell straight backwards to the ground, white smoke billowing from his mouth and nose.

"How dare you attack me?!" The priest of Fakus laughed wildly, swinging his hammer as he chased after the soldiers who had been knocked back by the lightning. "The storm will surely retaliate!"

Chapter 602 Withdrawal Before the Capture

Despite the storm's protection, this was land, not sea, and the Cold Iron Guard only numbered two hundred. Although they had gained an advantage in local battles, once surrounded, their complete annihilation was only a matter of time.

Fortunately, Ironjaw and his men did not intend to defeat the enemy with such a small force. Taking advantage of the raging storm around them, they tore a path through the enemy lines and charged straight toward Moser's castle.

"Master, it looks like they're coming for us!" The servant turned to his master in a panic. "What should we do?"

"Are they reinforcements?" a knight murmured, looking at the seemingly unstoppable Ampriyans. "But why don't I see any sign of Master Hunter?"

In that brief moment of hesitation, they saw the leading orc female warrior rush to the city walls, raise her head, and roar at them:

"What are you all standing there for? Open the door and let us in!"

Ed turned and fired a volley of shots, instantly felling the two pursuers ahead. The other pirates around them also drew their hand axes and threw them, temporarily repelling the enemy's pursuit. But now they were backed against the city wall, and if they wanted to escape, they had no choice but to enter the castle.

Felix stared intently down below, and upon hearing this, he quickly waved his hand behind him: "Quick, quick, open the city gate! Go now!"

They had run out of arrows and spells to use, so what difference was there between letting these well-meaning people who came from nowhere go down there and watching them die?

However, the knight beside him hesitated for a moment: "...But sir, the city gate was sealed by a mage before. If we open it, no one will be able to lock it with magic anymore!"

They don't have enough manpower to block the city gates anymore, but they absolutely cannot afford to lose the gates; if the gates are lost, the castle will be lost!

"What nonsense are you spouting?!" Felix jumped up and slapped the knight. "With so few of us, it's just a matter of a few days earlier or later! Reinforcements have already arrived, so who cares about city gates and castles—open the gates! Let them in!"

A transparent magical barrier quickly dissipated from the inside, and with a creaking sound, the castle gate slowly rose a crack about half a person's height. Ironjaw and the others didn't hesitate, immediately throwing out two smoke bombs to force back the pursuers behind them, and taking advantage of the opening, they slipped inside one after another. As the gate slammed shut again, the rain of arrows and magic outside were also blocked.

Unfortunately, without the intervention of the arcane lock, it's likely that this gate will be bombarded to dust by the mages outside within the next few days.

"Finally!" Siti, who had been charging alongside the group, breathed a sigh of relief, her hands on her knees, too weak to move for a moment. "I thought we were going to be wiped out outside the city!"

"Don't say such dangerous things!" Iron Jaw slapped her on the back. She looked up and saw Felix, who had just come down from the city wall. "Didn't this lord let us in?"

As he spoke, the orc casually brushed away the bits of flesh that had somehow gotten stuck on his shoulder, and bowed to the other man: "Greetings, I presume you must be Earl Felix. I am Ironjaw, and these two are Ed and Siti—Lord Raslaufer asked us to give you his regards."

It turns out he really is a friend of Reslaufer!

Felix nodded hurriedly: "Good, good! I didn't expect that brat Hunter would actually bring reinforcements! But... where is he? I don't think I've seen him?"

The orc and her adventurer companions exchanged glances: "You don't need to worry about that. He should arrive with the third batch. Oh, of course, provided he recovers quickly enough."

To be honest, Hunter was incredibly unlucky. When he finally found out where Raslaufer was, Dopler happened to be in Ironforge; and when he arrived at Ironforge, Raslaufer had already returned to the Kingdom of Wenzel. Such a ordeal would be unbearable even for a healthy person, let alone someone already injured. If it weren't for the large number of priests and clergy present that day, he might have truly met his end.

“We are just the vanguard,” Ironjaw said, gesturing to the Frost Iron Guards on either side. “The Ampiri’s longships are light and fast, and can reach here quickly by water, even if they go around the coast. But as you can see, the downside is that there are only a handful of people.”

We inevitably lost some men during the initial charge, and now we can't even muster two hundred.

"But don't worry too much, our second batch of reinforcements should have already set off from Riha Forest and are on their way now—as long as we wait for them to arrive, we will surely be able to defend your territory."

“The Forest of Riha… the Lion Dahl’s forces?!” Felix, though caught up in the war, wasn’t oblivious to outside affairs. Upon hearing this, his eyes lit up. “You mean they’ll come to my aid too?”

To be precise, it wasn't directed at him, but it was Reslaufer's idea, so there's no difference between the two.

“But what about Lord Raslaufer? He’ll be coming with Dahl, won’t he?” Felix still couldn’t forget the man who was less a nightmare and more his savior—if he were to come along this time, he would probably be worth two hundred men in front of him.

However, the three men, including Ironjaw, couldn't offer an answer to this question. They were simply following orders, and they had no right to inquire about Raslaufer's actual plans. Fortunately, patience always provides the answer.

After two days of anxious and expectant waiting, on the third day, when Felix's wife woke the count up, insisting that he go up to the city wall again, still recovering from the night's siege, Felix could hardly believe his eyes.

There was no sign of the Lion Dahl Legion outside, but there was also no sign of the siege force—after their last unsuccessful assault last night, they hastily withdrew!

“But… I don’t understand,” Felix stared blankly at the empty tents below, with only crows circling overhead. “They… just left like that? Or were they planning to trick us into leaving the city? But they had no reason to do that!”

Both he and Tieya were very certain that if the attack from last night were to happen again, the castle would surely fall into enemy hands—why did they suddenly withdraw their troops?

The orc was about half a head taller than Felix. Standing atop the battlements, as she gazed into the distance, she finally found the answer:

"Look! That's Lord Paul's magical pet! This squeaking little thing can definitely tell us what happened!"

Chapter 603 The Second Batch of Reinforcements

This seemingly incapable, yet actually quite incapable, magical creature did indeed bring them news: the reason for the retreat of these troops along the Morsel River was nothing unusual: behind them, Erwin's adopted son's army was no more than a day and a half away.

That was no small skirmish with just a couple hundred men on Ironjaw's side. If that old general named Philia hadn't retreated in time, he would have been surrounded and killed in this place!

"What a pity, we couldn't catch him." Erwin quickly arrived at the castle and set up camp. When he heard that the other party had escaped, a look of frustration appeared on the young man's face. "I boasted to my father that I would capture this old guy who once defeated him. How am I going to explain this now?"

"What's so difficult about that? All I need to do is find out where they stopped, then I can just take some men there and bring them back."

Felix, who had just been overjoyed to welcome the heavenly soldiers, quickly looked in the direction from which the voice came, only to see a dark-skinned girl standing openly in the sunlight, her purplish-red eyes even more dazzling than her pointed ears. At that moment, the elf was casually sitting on a wooden box, her two slender legs swinging freely, causing the bone ornaments on it, of unknown origin, to clatter.

"This young lady must be... a dark elf?" Felix asked cautiously. He had always heard that these underground elves were ruthless killers. Although Leslaufer could get along well with them, he didn't have that kind of confidence. "I am Felix, a mere count. It is an honor to—"

Felix was left speechless when the dark elf opposite him raised a hand, without even glancing at him.

“Don’t tell me these things, I’m just here to have some fun,” Sylvia said casually. “Oh, by the way, we saw quite a few destroyed villages and towns on our way here, so can I assume that you won’t feel uncomfortable no matter what I do to those people? I’ve also gotten to know your surface people’s habits quite a bit over the years, and they’re not quite the same as ours.”

Upon hearing this, Felix's expression changed, and not only him, but those around him who had just escaped their confinement also showed a sorrowful expression.

"It's more than just 'destruction'?" The count smiled bitterly. "That tyrant, Jarvis, in order to ensure that no one would dare to resist his rule again, ordered General Philia to burn down every place he conquered, and to enslave all the men, women, and children, taking them back to his capital to satisfy his perverse desires—a private palace with walls stretching for kilometers. Only an empire or Emperor Richard the Great could afford such a thing!"

“Ha, slave,” Sylvia couldn’t help but laugh, “Just for this? You’re planning to rebel against your master?”

Felix felt a lump in his throat and stared wide-eyed at the member of this utterly unfamiliar race.

What do you mean by "just for this"?

“On their side, capturing people to be slaves is the norm,” Erwin could only explain helplessly. “Don’t worry about her, Your Excellency. As she herself said, she’s just out looking for fun—her mother, Madam Lilindra, has given her a lot of work as punishment for a previous accident, and she’s been driven a little crazy by it.”

"What did you say?!" Sylvia screamed through gritted teeth, grabbing Erwin's ear. "You dare say that again? I'll make sure you lose your tongue legitimately in the next battle!"

“Mistress Lilindra is nurturing me, not punishing me! I am her eldest daughter! I am destined to take over the responsibilities of the entire family in the future!”

But you've already finished all that homework. Erwin thought to himself, but didn't dare say it aloud—in a way, he quite enjoyed this treatment.

Although elves are considered adults at the age of one hundred, that is in a social sense. Their physiological maturity is not much later than that of humans. In other words, Sylvia has received more than eighty years of education. Even with all that instruction and no matter how dull her aptitude, she would have long been able to handle most of the family's affairs.

Lillendra was punishing her for her previous abduction, and the tedious and monotonous work had exhausted the still-young dark elf both physically and mentally. Sylvie had argued with her mother about this more than once, and if it weren't for Leslaufer's message reaching Rihar, Elwin even suspected that the mother and daughter might have come to blows.

It is said that in order for her family to live on the surface, the Spider Queen Rose had to take away some of their magic and blessings. If we only consider martial arts, Lillindra might not necessarily have the upper hand...

"What are you thinking? I'm asking you a question! Did you even hear me?!"

Erwin's distraction greatly displeased Sylvia, and she only stopped after Erwin begged for mercy and twisted his ear twice more.

The two sides are now in a cooperative relationship, and it is indeed a good thing that the successors of both sides can maintain a good relationship.

However, Felix did not see Raslaw or his son Hunter in this batch of players.

“Well… Lord Raslaufer is gathering his men, which will take a little time,” Elwin replied to Felix’s question. “I don’t know if you know Mr. Duncan, the head of the Eastern Inassassins mercenaries. He has analyzed the situation on your side and concluded that simply relieving you of your predicament is far from enough.”

“I heard from the Hunter brothers that when he left, you still had most of your fiefdom and a considerable army. Although you suffered repeated defeats, at least your life was not in danger. But look at this place now,” Elwin glanced at the city wall not far away, which had probably been lowered by magic, “your king is determined to kill you.”

Felix sighed: "Young man, you don't need to tell me such things. Do you think I don't know whether he wants to kill me or not, and why he wants to kill me? Why do you think I had to raise an army? I even blew up the Moser River, just to turn the tide!"