Zhou Wu'an, in the castle hall, was already in utter despair when facing the Rodok Sergeant, a Tier 5 troop from the Rodok Kingdom, armed to the teeth and known as the strongest shield on the Calradia continent.
Outside, Zhang Song and Yang Di, still trapped in the Holy White Council's Holy Light Torch Tower's second-floor library, were also in extreme despair.
Even as they watched the main gate of the castle's main building being breached, large numbers of Wood Elf Sword Dancers—Wood Elf soldiers meticulously chosen and specially deployed for close-quarters decapitation missions—were being shot into porcupines by the human archers already positioned on the surrounding castle walls the moment they entered the outer and middle courtyards.
Even those who fortunately escaped into the castle's main building were basically all wounded.
Moreover, out of every ten, at least two or three Wood Elf Sword Dancers would fall on the path of their charge.
Even though these Wood Elves possessed innate keen senses, allowing them to effectively evade ranged attacks through movement, facing such a large number of human archers and crossbowmen firing simultaneously, the resulting arrow rain was truly as dense as a downpour.
These Wood Elves would still die!
So Zhang Song and Yang Di watched helplessly as Wood Elves fell in droves amidst the arrow rain; some, not fatally hit, were only severely wounded and unable to move quickly, still alive and struggling, crawling or wriggling in the arrow rain, their cries and wails stirring their hearts.
This was truly a scene of hellish despair!
“This is truly a beautiful scene.”
On the top of the balcony, Shen Mu rested one hand on the railing and gently rubbed his chin with the other.
Feeling the slight prickle of stubble on his chin, his smile grew wider: “Nothing makes a person happier than seeing their enemies die before them.”
Shen Mu sighed, then turned to Zhang Bo beside him: “Don’t you agree, Mr. Zhang Bo?”
Shen Mu's face held a teasing expression.
However, Zhang Bo's face was utterly pale at this moment, looking at the hell-like scene before him, his entire body trembled, his mind was blank, and he no longer knew what he was thinking.
Because he truly hadn't expected things to turn out this way.
If according to his plan, the Wood Elf assault team from Green Leaf Group should have smoothly entered the castle's main building by now and begun their decapitation operation.
Furthermore, Wood Elf troops from the teleportation gate would continuously pour out, and there should even be troops from the Wood Elf Plane among them.
How could things have turned into this, where these elite troops from Green Leaf Group became fish on a chopping board and cattle and sheep waiting to be slaughtered in a slaughterhouse?
Being wantonly massacred within these castle walls, in the Castle District?
“This can’t be happening, it’s simply impossible for things to turn out like this, how could this be?” Zhang Bo muttered to himself.
He even had to reach out and lean on the railing to prevent his weak body from collapsing directly to the ground.
But at present, it was immediately apparent that he was in serious trouble.
The Holy Tree Knights, constantly vigilant of their surroundings, exchanged glances, then all looked at Zhang Bo, who was leaning on the railing, muttering to himself, his face pale, covered in cold sweat, and his body weak, clearly in great distress; they watched him coldly, observing his every move.
Moreover, their hands were already on their sword hilts; if Zhang Bo dared to show any abnormal behavior, what awaited him would absolutely be their mercilessly drawn knightly swords, ready to attack.
In fact, not only these Holy Tree Knights, but also the Swadian Sergeants approaching from the front had already fixed their gaze on Zhang Bo; they too had noticed his abnormality.
However, at this moment, Shen Mu slowly raised his hand and waved it, signaling them not to be nervous.
He also waved his hand to make them relax their obvious vigilance.
After all, Shen Mu was enjoying the show right now.
Such a wonderful grand play, if Zhang Bo couldn't continue his performance, he would be very disappointed.
So he walked over and gently patted Zhang Bo's shoulder, saying, “Mr. Zhang Bo, this shouldn’t be your first time seeing such a bloody war scene, right? Why are you still so terrified? This isn’t good for your mental fortitude.”
Zhang Bo immediately shivered and came to his senses; he slowly twisted his stiff neck to look at Shen Mu beside him, his eyes wide, his blank mind unable to concentrate his thoughts to analyze what kind of being he was facing.
He merely stammered out a humble and ingratiating look, his smile still the same as before, like the most humble Blue Star Human: “Nothing, Lord Shen Mu, no, Respected Lord Shen Mu, I am indeed feeling a bit unwell after seeing such a tragic war, nothing else, it’s just my own poor mental fortitude, I’ll be fine after a short rest.”
“You’ll be fine after a short rest? That’s alright, Mr. Zhang Bo, you can stay here by my side and watch my victory.” Shen Mu’s smile grew wider at the corners of his mouth; he patted Zhang Bo’s shoulder again and returned to his position, leaning over to look down.
He watched the four or five hundred ranged archers and crossbowmen from the Mount & Blade World on the surrounding castle walls, and the four or five hundred ranged archers and crossbowmen already filling the castle's main building, all firing from their shooting positions.
Whizzing sounds appeared one after another throughout the entire space; he knew those were the shrieks of feathered arrows and crossbow bolts tearing through the air.
Each time such a shriek appeared, it represented the severe injury and death of an invading Wood Elf.
At this very moment.
Standing on this balcony, Shen Mu truly felt like an absolute monarch who controlled everything.
Watching the dense downpour of arrows target the Wood Elves who had already rushed into the castle walls, becoming living targets, wantonly shot and slaughtered on the spot by his own Mount & Blade Soldiers who were waiting for them, the smile on his lips curled higher and higher, becoming more and more excited.
Because the archers and crossbowmen appearing on the castle walls were the support troops he had exchanged as rewards after completing previous stage missions.
The archers and crossbowmen appearing in the castle's main building also appeared in the same way.
Of course, that also included the Rodok Sergeants.
This time, he had obtained 100 Rodok Sergeants, the strongest defensive infantry from the mount & blade Calradia continent.
And also the strongest heavily armored shield and pike infantry.
If the strongest combat infantry were the Tier 6 troops from the Nords, and the only Tier 6 Nord Royal Guard, then the strongest defensive infantry was undoubtedly the Rodok Sergeant, a Tier 5 troop from the Rodok Kingdom.
Clad in heavy chainmail, with a velvet robe undershirt, an additional belted leather robe on top, a Rodok face helmet comparable to a bucket helm, gauntlet-style chainmail gloves, and chainmail boots on their feet.
Just this attire made them formidable beings of the double heavy armor type.
Ordinary hunting bows or crossbows, as well as bows or crossbows with slightly lower draw weights, were unable to harm them.
In fact, even armor-piercing javelins would struggle against these two layers of armor, especially when they were wearing sweat-absorbing and breathable velvet robes underneath.
Furthermore, the Rodok Sergeants wore the heaviest broadshields on their left hands, which were genuinely the strongest in terms of defense on the Calradia continent.
These heavy broadshields, made from the finest, sturdy wood of the Rodok Mountainous Region, and reinforced with iron plating and embedded iron nails at the edges, stood there not like shields, but like small sections of a castle wall's barrier.
In terms of defensive effectiveness, these wooden heavy broadshields were basically comparable to the steel round shields often equipped by Mamluks.
However, steel round shields are small round shields used by cavalry.
And the heavy broadshield is the strongest shield for infantry.
In fact, this type of heavy broadshield in the Rodok Kingdom is not only equipped by Rodok Sergeants, these top-tier heavy infantry.
Even their top-tier Rodok Sharpshooters also equip this heavy broadshield.
After all, among the two unavoidable top-tier archer types, Vigia Sharpshooters are renowned for their fast firing speed and precise archery.
Rodok Sharpshooters are known for their extremely precise archery and destructive power.
And among these two top-tier troop types, the Vigia Sharpshooters' close-quarters combat, due to the two-handed great axes frequently used by the Vigia Kingdom, also makes their melee prowess not to be underestimated.
And Rodok Sharpshooters, due to their equipped broadshields and Rodok war blades, also possess extremely strong defensive capabilities.
But back to the main topic.
The reason Shen Mu directly arranged the Rodok Sergeants he had drawn on the first-floor platform was that when he built this Rodok Castle, his primary consideration was for enemies, after entering the castle hall and enduring rounds of firepower from the small balconies on both sides, to finally discover the passages leading to the first and second floors.
If a pike square composed of a team of heavily armored infantry with extremely strong defenses were deployed there, it would be akin to despair for the attacking enemies.
Just like now.
“Warriors of the Rodok Kingdom! Stand firm in your faith! Now is the time for Respected Lord Shen Mu to need your service!”
Just as many more Rodok Sergeants arrived one after another, finally forming a 100-man Rodok Sergeant pike square, Manid's voice boomed out.
This was why Manid, after going to the east castle wall, immediately returned to the Castle District and disappeared; in fact, he was hidden on the second floor, waiting for these soldiers summoned by Shen Mu to arrive so he could give more detailed commands, and this was also a task Shen Mu had pre-arranged for Manid.
Now, Manid had not only directed the archers and crossbowmen to their firing positions on the first floor, inside the private rooms, to continuously unleash a barrage of firepower on the Wood Elves charging below.
He had also arranged these 100 Rodok Sergeants, renowned throughout the Calradia continent, into a pike square here, so that any enemy attempting to attack the second floor would experience just how terrifying these Rodok Sergeants' broadshields and halberds truly were!
Just like now, Manid watched the Wood Elves who had charged onto this small platform, seeing them all with dumbfounded and utterly despairing expressions, the smile on his lips uncontainable.
“For the Rodok Kingdom! For Respected Lord Shen Mu!”
Facing these Wood Elves, this latest batch of Rodok Sergeants from the Calradia continent, who had already endured countless battles and whose minds had been tempered as resilient as the stones in the Rodok Mountainous Region, now let out a unified roar.
The sound was like rolling thunder, making the Wood Elves instantly react, their eyes filled with a look of grim determination.
Including the members of the Blue Star Humans' Green Leaf Group Security Department, their eyes also held a fierce and determined glint.
“Brothers, Green Leaf Group has always taken good care of us. Now, I don’t want to say anything else; now is the time to pledge loyalty to Green Leaf Group. We’ve enjoyed such good lives for so many years, and our standard of living hasn’t dropped since the apocalypse arrived. Now is the time to repay our gratitude.”
Zhou Wu'an slowly gripped the Wood Elf longsword in his hand and raised it above his head, turning to look at his Security Department members, with whom he had spent day and night, and their Wood Elf Sword Dancer followers.
He spoke slowly, then bravely charged towards the dense pike square, intending to use his own body as the first sacrifice to break through the pike square before them!
Because Zhou Wu'an knew very well that against such a terrifying pike square, if they didn't use bodies to literally carve out a path, preventing the pike square from moving and creating a distance that would allow the Wood Elves to get close to the humans and unleash the Wood Elf Sword Dancer's strongest close-quarters combat techniques, then this pike square would be their most desperate, an unbreachable wall of metal.
“Kill!”
And at this moment, the Security Department members behind Zhou Wu'an also raised their longswords high, and with their Wood Elf followers, as if having made up their minds, they charged after Zhou Wu'an towards the pike square.
Zhou Wu'an's act of leading by example inspired everyone's morale.
Or rather,
Just as Zhou Wu'an said, Green Leaf Group treated them very well, and now it was time for them to repay Green Leaf Group.
To repay with their lives. (End of Chapter)