Barbara stood on the stage, radiant and captivating.
Her every gesture and smile vividly and realistically portrayed how a woman transformed from an innocent village girl into a heroine fighting against foreign enemies.
Holding a magnificent longsword horizontally, pointing it at the 'enemy army' opposite her, Barbara, dressed in women's armor, seemed to be shrouded in a holy light.
With a solemn expression, she stood before the cross in the background and proclaimed: "The Lord has called us, and will grant eternal life to mortals. You have been sown, and you will bloom again! All this is God's will! Listen, the bells of Heaven have rung! Prepare to welcome new life!"
Just then, a rapid yet long bell rang out in Lonely Rock City.
Immersed in the story, the audience showed no alarm upon hearing the alarm bell; instead, they cheered loudly.
As for Barbara, she frowned, glanced at the people behind the scenes, and found that they also had a puzzled expression on their faces.
The alarm bells rang louder and louder, and the audience finally realized that something was wrong, and they began to whisper among themselves.
At this moment, a fully armed light cavalryman galloped along the road, banging a gong in his hand and shouting loudly, "Enemy attack! Enemy attack! The Southerners are coming!"
Barbara put down her sword and watched the audience in front of her scream and scatter in all directions, her eyes filled with uncontrollable panic and unease.
A strong arm reached out from behind Barbara, wrapped around her waist, and pulled her off the stage.
Randall dodged the surging crowd and led the woman in his arms to a relatively safe corner. Looking at her pale face, he whispered, "Don't panic. Do as we agreed beforehand. Go and tell the commander to pack his things immediately, discard everything unnecessary, and leave Lone Rock City!"
Barbara bit her lip and nodded gently.
Randall took out a palm-sized Umbrella badge from his pocket and handed it to Barbara: "Take this to Knight Commander Horn and have him escort you back to Twilight City immediately!"
The astute Barbara understood the hidden meaning in Randall's words, grabbed his arm, and asked urgently, "What do you want to do?"
"I want to stay."
"Stay? Are you crazy?!"
Randall held Barbara tightly in his arms and whispered, "I'm not so sure how long this city can hold out against the attack from the south. Rather than fleeing with the troupe, it's better to stay and buy you some time..."
Barbara looked up and gazed into Randall's eyes: "If you don't leave, I'm staying!"
Randall shook his head: "If you stay, I'll be constantly worried about your safety."
Before Barbara could say anything more, a deafening explosion and a violent tremor sent shivers down her spine.
The two looked in the direction of the explosion and saw fire and smoke rising from the city gate of Lone Rock City.
At the outer gate of Lone Rock City, an armored vehicle loaded with explosives was detonated with kerosene by the well-prepared Lone Rock City defenders, causing a massive explosion twenty meters outside the city gate and affecting both sides' armies on the battlefield.
The Ayyubid Empire's army suffered nearly fifty casualties because they were close to the blast site and had no barriers to protect them from the explosion; while the defenders of Lone Rock City, who were well-prepared and had solid walls, only had four or five soldiers injured by the shock.
“Garcia was right, the Southerners have attacked…” Looking at the densely packed Imperial soldiers below the city and the huge crater in front of the city gate that was more than a person deep and more than 20 meters wide, Regent Jennings of Lone Rock felt a chill run down his spine: “If it weren’t for that guy’s tip-off, the Southerners might have actually blown the city gate open.”
"Sir, the enemy is coming again!"
Jennings composed himself and shifted his gaze to the city below, where a large number of Imperial light cavalry dismounted, lined up, and raised their muskets.
With the sound of gunfire rising and falling, a cloud of dust and gravel was immediately kicked up from the city wall.
Jennings, hiding behind the watchtower, shouted to the messengers, "They are all cavalry, without cannons, only with simple weapons. Have the archers go into the watchtowers to fire, and keep an eye out for enemy explosive carts in the watchtowers!"
As orders were relayed, the defenders of Lone Rock took their positions and began to engage the enemy.
The Ayyubid Empire's army numbered only a little over a thousand, all cavalry. For the sake of mobility and surprise attacks, they carried only basic light weapons and armor. However, this southern army, chanting the praises of Allah, far exceeded Jennings's expectations in terms of fighting spirit and desire for victory.
An Ayyubid soldier climbing up a makeshift wooden ladder was shot in the shoulder by an arrow, but he remained unfazed and continued climbing up the city wall. In contrast, the soldiers of Lone Rock City were suppressed by musket fire and could not raise their heads. Some of the cowardly soldiers even huddled behind the wall and refused to show their faces.
The battle lasted for nearly thirty minutes. Although Lone Rock City had the advantage of more soldiers and better terrain, it gradually lost the initiative on the battlefield due to the difference in morale and quality. Several soldiers of the Ayyubid Empire had even climbed the city walls.
Seeing this scene, Jennings was filled with anxiety and couldn't help but sigh: Lonely Rock, which has not experienced war for decades, has become accustomed to peace and tranquility, and has long lost its former vigor in the face of a sudden enemy...
Thinking of this, Jennings turned to his adjutant behind him and asked in a low voice, "Have the messengers who requested help set off yet?"
The latter nodded in agreement, "They've all set off. The one closest to the capital is Marquis Dorantar, who should have already arrived with his troops by now."
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