"Plug the breach! Spearmen, advance!"
The defending officer's eyes were bloodshot!
On the narrow city walls, the most brutal close-quarters combat erupted instantly! Spears thrust out like a forest, piercing through the enemies at the forefront, but more enemies surged forward, stepping over the corpses of their comrades! Battle axes swung, cleaving the defenders in two, shields and all! Maces slammed into helmets, producing dull cracking sounds! Blood splattered like ink on the city walls, flags, and on every face and body!
“Nix! Shadow Leap, assassinate the officer!” Lind’s voice rang out amidst the chaos.
A petite, dark figure appeared like a ghost behind the Sass heavy infantry group, its sharp claws gleaming coldly as it precisely slashed the throat of a centurion who was directing the charge! It then vanished into the shadows, reappearing behind another officer!
"Aster!"
Lind called out names again.
Silver battle aura exploded like blooming lotus flowers on the crowded city wall! Astaire charged into the enemy ranks like a god of war. Wherever his sword light touched, the sturdy armor of the Sass soldiers was like paper. He fought his way through the enemy ranks and stabilized the crumbling defense line!
The battle lasted a full day! From dawn till dusk!
The sunlight turned from intense heat to blood red, eventually sinking below the western horizon.
The walls of Grinburg looked as if they had been repainted with blood and soot, turning a dark red and menacing.
On the city walls and beneath the battlements, there were broken weapons, shattered shields, charred flags, and piles of corpses everywhere. Some were Sassers, and others were Grinburg garrison soldiers.
The groans of the wounded and the dying cries of the dying soldiers drifted through the blood-stained air, a sound that was utterly unbearable to hear.
The Sassins paid an extremely heavy price. Several catapults were destroyed, two siege towers were reduced to ashes, and a battering ram was burned beneath the city gate.
The area beneath the city walls and in the moats were piled high with the corpses of attacking soldiers, almost filling part of the moats. But they were not without their achievements; the city gates showed obvious dents and cracks after repeated impacts, and several sections of the city walls showed signs of loosening and collapsing after repeated bombardment by catapults. The casualties among the defenders were equally staggering.
As the last rays of the setting sun were swallowed by the twilight, the clanging of metal, a sound of resentment and retreat, finally echoed from the Sassin camp.
Like the receding tide, the exhausted and wounded Sass soldiers, abandoning the siege equipment they could not carry and the corpses of their comrades, slowly withdrew out of the range of the arrows under the cover of archers, retreating back to their camp, which was also filled with an atmosphere of sorrow and anger.
On the walls of Greenburg, the surviving defenders leaned on their weapons, watching the enemy recede like a tide, but no one cheered.
Only the heavy breathing of someone who has survived a catastrophe, and the uncontrollable grief and numbness when looking at their fallen comrades.
Lillen, dragging his injured leg, limped over to Lind, his voice hoarse and dry:
"Linde, preliminary statistics... we have lost more than 300 men, and nearly 100 are seriously injured and incapacitated... three ballistae are damaged, many sections of the city wall need urgent reinforcement, and the city gate... I'm afraid it won't withstand another ramming."
Linde stood at the lookout post of the main castle, his face covered in gunpowder and blood, and the light of his golden battle aura had dimmed.
He gazed at the hellish scene of corpses strewn across the city, then at the exhausted and wounded soldiers inside, before finally fixing his gaze on the light ley box that Nix was carefully holding, which sealed the Shadow Abyss Essence.
A day of bloody fighting temporarily repelled the enemy, but it also exposed the limits of Greenburg. The madness and power of the Sassians, or rather, the Shadow Abyss controllers behind them, far exceeded expectations.
"knew."
Linde's voice was deep and hoarse, yet carried an undeniable firmness.
"Have all soldiers who can still move rest immediately, eat quickly, and treat their wounds. The craftsmen should immediately go up to the city walls and repair them overnight! The priests should do everything they can to treat the wounded! Double the number of scouts and keep a close watch on the two enemy camps. Report any movement immediately!"
He took a deep breath of the air, thick with the smell of blood and burnt flesh, his gaze piercing the deepening night like a cold star.
"They won't give us much time to breathe. The next attack... will only be more ferocious."
…………
The heavy stone gates of Grinburg slammed shut behind us, shutting out the thick stench of blood and the lingering smoke of battle from outside the city.
The air inside the castle carried the chill and dampness characteristic of the cellar, but it was still somewhat more peaceful than the slaughterhouse-like scene outside.
Linde's face was still covered in blood, his golden battle aura was dim, and fatigue washed over him like a tide. Fortunately, with the help of the activation aura, he recovered his condition very quickly.
After casting a cleansing spell on himself and Nix, he didn't rest for a moment and took Nix directly to the most secure secret chamber deep in the castle's cellar.
This place was originally a storage room for important supplies and for dealing with sieges, but it has now been temporarily set up as a simple but safe research site.
The thick stone walls isolated most of the energy fluctuations, and simple isolation arrays were engraved on the ground.
Nix carefully, as if holding a burning ember, placed the light-pulse box, its surface shimmering with runes and radiating a faint warmth, on the stone platform in the center of the secret chamber.
Even through the light pulse box, a trace of fear remained in her amber cat-like eyes.
"Meow...Master...this bad thing..."
She flicked her tail nervously.
“I know, Nix. You did a great job. Go and rest. I'll take care of things here.”
Linde's voice carried a hint of reassurance, but his gaze remained fixed on the light pulse box.
"Meow! Nix wants to stay with her master, meow!"
The catgirl stubbornly shook her head, choosing to stay by her side despite her fear.
Linde said no more, took a deep breath, and forcibly suppressed his mental exhaustion.
He stretched out his right hand and gently pressed it on the cold metal surface of the light pulse box.
"Click".
With a soft click, the lid of the box slowly popped open.
moment!
A cold, viscous, and seemingly soul-freezing aura of malice suddenly burst forth from the open crack like a venomous snake released from its sluice gate!
The temperature inside the sealed room plummeted, and even tiny frosts condensed on the stone walls!
That nauseating, cloyingly sweet and corrupting odor permeated the air once more, even more purely and deadly than what Nix had felt inside the tent!
It was as if countless ghosts were wailing in my ears, filled with extreme hatred for life and light!
"Waaah!"
Nix instantly bristled, letting out a suppressed scream. She instinctively took a half step back, her body slightly arched, and she entered a state of high alert.
Linde's face also turned pale, and his brows furrowed.
This pure aura of the Shadow Abyss is more primal and more filthy than that of the previous servant!
It is not alive, but it possesses a twisted, all-consuming "activity"!
"Deconstruct the halo, activate!"
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