Chapter 231: Friend or Enemy?
A few days later, the sounds of fighting in Siyuan City had subsided, and some monsters wearing pale green armor appeared on the city walls.
This obviously meant the end of Shira Yuzas's rebellion - with the north and west gates blocked, the rebels were probably forced to fight a brutal and desperate street battle with the Legion of Terror within the city.
The result of the fight between the two armies was obvious. No sound of living people could be heard in Siyuan City.
At this moment, countless trenches had been dug outside Siyuan City, and tens of thousands of people were surrounding the city and continuously building various fortifications.
The layers of piled-up horses and pits all over the ground revealed Emperor Marius's determination - he would not let the enemies in the city leave Siyuan City.
In fact, Emperor Marius now has a small number of regular troops available. Even with the reinforcements brought by General Agathon, there are only more than 3,000 people who can be called soldiers.
But nearly 10,000 people in Siyuan City are also here. Although these people cannot fight head-on, they can build fortifications and facilities to continue the siege to the end.
Thanks to the previous uprising of the gladiators in Siyuan City, the Senate members and some officials in the city were either killed or fled. This meant that no one in Siyuan City fell behind, and they obeyed Emperor Marius' order to abandon the city first and then besiege it very quickly.
In addition, many people saw with their own eyes the tall and strong horses that looked like underworld demons, as well as the terrifying legions that were obviously not living people.
When facing such a terrible enemy, the people of Siyuan City were truly united. Everyone knew that they must not let those terrible monsters in the city come out.
At present, all the gates of Siyuan City are blocked, and almost everyone in Emperor Marius's army outside the city is holding a crossbow - Siyuan City has abundant supplies, and most other things may not be brought out, but everyone has brought food and crossbows.
Many able-bodied civilians were even given a crossbow.
The advantage of a crossbow is that even without much training, most people can use it, and since they don't have to face the enemy at close range, they won't be too scared.
Even if they are untrained and cannot shoot accurately, at least they can string the crossbow behind the array and then hand it over to more professional shooters.
Governor Kairos led his troops to clear out the remaining enemies in the surrounding areas during the past few days, and then joined the siege team to strengthen the defense line with General Agathon.
The shadow centurions under Kairos and the iron ring centurions under Agathon became real centurions at this time - each of them led a team of civilians and constantly set up various obstacles outside the city.
The tall walls and moat of Siyuan City now restrict the Legion of Terror from leaving the city.
The Horned Viper Vanguard and Python Knights of the Dread Legion are indeed very powerful in field battles, but now there is no way out of the city, and they can't let those huge war horses jump off the city wall...
In fact, perhaps the only flaw of the Dread Legion is that they have no bows or crossbows.
The Horned Viper Vanguards use throwing axes, the Python Knights use javelins, and the Dread Legion infantry all use javelins and war spears...
They do not wield heavy crossbows like normal Snake Cult warriors.
This is probably because the Third Legion of the Ancient Bax Empire was only equipped with javelins back then - this was Bax's traditional advantage...
Most of the powerful armies of the Bacchus Empire still use traditional javelins as long-range weapons, such as the Shadow Legion.
But today, the soldiers of other regular legions of the Bacchus Empire are actually equipped with crossbows.
This is mainly because Bacchus will now also face the threat of the Noldor elves and the Principality of D'Shar in the west - facing enemies who are good at bows and arrows, it would be a great disadvantage if he is not equipped with a crossbow.
It was precisely because Emperor Marius had not seen any bows and crossbows from the Legion of Fear on the city walls before that he made such a plan.
First abandon Siyuan City, leave from the western seaport, let the Legion of Terror enter the city, and burn the remaining supplies and ports in the city.
Then they returned to Siyuan City and blocked it again.
This can not only guarantee the retreat of the army and the people and relieve the panic of the subordinates, but also keep in touch with Boshi City and other places, so as to be able to respond at any time.
Don't get hung up on a city or a place, and break away from the "defending the city" mindset to solve the problem. This is the revelation that Leon's letter brought to Emperor Marius.
Taking advantage of the range of heavy crossbows to carry out siege and blockade was Emperor Marius' own specific implementation plan.
Throwing weapons such as throwing axes or javelins can be extremely lethal in the hands of monsters like the Legion of Terror in field battles or city defenses.
The eight members of the shadow centurion who led the scout team before were almost all killed by the Horned Viper Vanguard in one blow - whether using a flying axe or a sword, the Horned Viper Vanguard only needed one move to kill people.
However, throwing weapons do have their limitations, namely range and accuracy.
An ordinary person can only throw a javelin a few dozen meters. Even if the javelin is made with particularly good craftsmanship and has extremely high balance, the human throwing limit is only one hundred meters.
As for the flying axe… anyone who can throw this thing fifty meters is considered an expert among experts.
Of course, the non-humans like the Dread Legion could probably throw farther, but no matter how powerful their throwing abilities were, it was impossible for them to throw a flying axe or javelin more than a hundred meters away and still accurately hit the target...
But the crossbow can do it.
Even ordinary people could potentially kill the enemy with a heavy crossbow from a distance of one hundred meters.
The Dread Legion's javelins have limited range and accuracy. Even if they are on the high ground on the city walls, they cannot effectively attack the besieging troops. However, the heavy crossbows outside the city can hit enemies standing on the city walls.
Therefore, Emperor Marius did not launch an attack on Siyuan City. He turned the defensive battle or breakout battle that was originally impossible to win into a siege, and killed the rebels with the help of the Legion of Fear. Now there are thousands of heavy crossbows guarding outside the city, which in itself has reversed the situation into an advantageous one.
Now that the initiative is back in his hands, he naturally doesn't need to gamble anymore and can just take it slow.
The city gates were blocked, and the powerful cavalry of the Dread Legion could not leave the city. In fact, even if they left the city, the area outside Siyuan City was not suitable for cavalry combat - there were horse traps and pits everywhere.
The horrible demon-like warhorses from the underworld were no longer useful, and the Legion of Terror would have no chance of leaving the city for a while.
Maltis obviously had rich experience in battle. She did not launch a breakout rashly, but let the entire Legion of Terror leave the city wall and disappear without a trace.
Probably she won't force a breakout until she sees the right opportunity.
Siyuan City fell silent, and the Legion of Terror was no longer visible, but everyone knew that they were still inside.
Emperor Marius could not withdraw the siege, and the Legion of Terror stopped making any movement, and the two sides began to fight each other.
Perhaps this kind of confrontation is advantageous to the Dread Legion, since they obviously don't need supplies...
However, Emperor Marius has now moved outside the city, and his troops do not have to worry about supplies for the time being - the surrounding villages and towns have been recaptured one by one by Governor Kairos, food is constantly being delivered, and small lords continue to come to join his troops.
The situation in the Bacchus Empire seemed to be gradually improving, but Emperor Marius seemed a little depressed.
"Your Majesty, your decision to withdraw from Siyuan City is obviously correct. But if nothing unexpected happens, you may encounter countless oppositions in the future... The Senate, the Shadow Legion, the nobles who lost their property, and even Governor Kairos may force you to abdicate on the grounds of losing the capital..."
General Agathon's eyes were fixed on the tent of Governor Kairos in the distance.
"That will have to be after we defeat the Snake Cult... Actually, after seeing the letter from Leon, I realized that although Boshi City has been relieved, the fighting force of Boshi City will not come to Siyuan City for the time being... Leon and Justus will probably go to Dilingang first, so I must withdraw from Siyuan City."
Emperor Marius shook his head: "I don't care what will happen in the future, but I at least know that if Leon hadn't written to me, if I hadn't evacuated Siyuan City... then the Legion of Fear would still occupy our capital, and my head would still be hanging on the city wall..."
"Huh... Dilingang must indeed be rescued... But Li Ang... Is his attitude an enemy or a friend? He came to help us, but he insisted on claiming that he is our enemy..."
General Agathon let out a breath and asked with some confusion.
"He is both an enemy and a friend... He will not join the Bacchus Empire, so give up your idea. His attitude actually wants me to understand that he must be my enemy, and I must be his enemy..."
Marius shook his head and gave a very forced smile. "With him as my great enemy, no one dares to make me abdicate... and with me as his enemy, the nobles and king of the Sarleon Kingdom dare not touch him... He and I both overlook the entire continent, but we are also constrained by some idiots... So, he and I are both friends who help each other, and also our biggest enemies."
“What a pity…”
There was also a hint of sadness in Agathon's eyes.
…
At the same time, in the southeastern part of the Bacchus Empire, the lord led his troops to a place he was familiar with - Buyulin Village, north of Dilingang.
Governor Justus also came with his army with the lord, and he left the entire city of Bozhi to General Cleon.
Not only that, he also borrowed Anson from Leon, and asked Anson to cooperate with General Cleon to preside over the prevention and control of the Red Death in the city of Boshi.
In fact, it might not be considered borrowed, because Anson actually took the initiative to stay in Boshi City.
Anson has lived in Boshi City for several years and he has feelings for this place.
Also, the young doctor attempts to find a cure or suppress the Red Death in the City of Knowledge.
Perhaps the City of Knowledge is indeed the most suitable place to do this at the moment - it is the headquarters of the Glorious Cross Knights who have been fighting against the Red Death for a long time, and it also has the only "medical school" in the entire continent.
In fact, it is the Boshi City Seminary where Anson once studied...
This is the academy established by the Knights of the Radiant Cross in cooperation with Emperor Marius. The doctors of the Knights of the Radiant Cross occasionally teach in the seminary.
However, there are not many experienced doctors in the seminary. The doctors of the Knights of the Glorious Cross dispersed to various places after the outbreak of the Red Death, and most of those who remained in the City of Knowledge were young apprentices.
These young apprentices are very different from Anson today. They are much more familiar with the various gods than with medicine... But no matter what, at least they have common sense, so there is no problem for them to lend a hand.
Anson now looks like a teacher to apprentices of the same age.
Since there are currently patients who can undergo clinical trials, Anson is currently leading his apprentices to continuously prepare various drugs for trial, even including the use of some highly toxic drugs.
Anyway, if he doesn't get treatment, he will die sooner or later, and using humans for experiments is a last resort. This inhumane living experiment can actually calm people's hearts at this time, and at least make people feel a glimmer of hope.
At least Anson has some real skills. At least he won't use butcher-style solutions such as bloodletting or prayer therapy on patients...
However, it is not easy to develop drugs that can inhibit or treat the Red Death, and there is no visible effect at present.
The lord could not help in curing the disease and saving lives. He was not thinking about how to treat it, but how to solve the problem from the root - the Snake Cult was deliberately spreading the Red Death. The best way to cure the Red Death was to completely eliminate the Snake Cult. Otherwise, no matter how good the medicine was, it could not beat the deliberate poisoning.
Now, the main force of the Snake Cult in Bacchus has surrounded the Imperial Port. They are obviously paving the way for the Snake Cult headquarters army in the Amala continent.
The Lord would certainly not allow the Snake Cult to invade on a large scale. Even if Justus did not let him rescue Dilingang, Leon would have done it.
Because he had originally planned to come to Dilingang first - otherwise he would not have needed to write to Emperor Marius.
There are not many people in Buyulin Village now. It is only a few dozen miles away from Dilingang Port, and the villagers have probably fled.
Although it has been confirmed now, the Snake Cult created the Red Death in this village in order to lure away the Knights of the Glorious Cross so that they could carry out their conspiracy in more places.
But no matter what, this at least makes this village the only village in the entire western part of the Bacchus Empire that can be guaranteed to be free of the Red Death, and it is also a suitable place for the army to settle down.
The joint army of nearly 4,000 people naturally could not hide from the public. The area around Di Lingang was full of Snake Worshipers. They had killed several Snake Worshiper squads on the way here. The Snake Worshiper army currently besieging Di Lingang must have discovered Li Ang's troops.
But the Lord came here to provide reinforcements, not to ambush.
Since it is reinforcement, it naturally needs to be discovered, and the louder the noise, the better.
After all, the reinforcements can only be effective if the soldiers who are still holding out in Dilingang are informed that a large number of reinforcements are arriving.
Therefore, after the lord hastily set up camp in Buyulin Village, he began to march towards Dilingang with great fanfare. All equipment that could make noise, such as war drums and bugles, were used, and all the flags were also raised. It looked really grand.
This is a full-equipment march, which means moving forward slowly in full combat equipment, because there may be Snake Cult troops everywhere around here, and it is an enemy-occupied area.
Marching in full gear is considered a combat state, but the army is still dozens of miles away from Dilingang. If they march in this way, they would be lucky if they can cover 20 to 30 miles a day, and they cannot even reach the city of Dilingang.
Therefore, this kind of fanfare is actually actively attracting firepower, which can also reduce the burden on Dilingang.
At the same time, it was also to wait for the scouts to come back and then finalize the specific plan.
There were two teams of scouts, one was the gladiators led by Sigismund, and the other was the Noldor Rangers led by Lisadiran. Sigismund was responsible for investigating the situation of the Imperial Port, while the Noldor were the counter-reconnaissance team, responsible for intercepting and killing the enemy's scouts.
Sigismund did not become the leader of the Free Corps - due to his previous self-willed behavior, the lord did not dare to let him manage the legion anymore, but appointed him as the scout captain.
This position in Pende's army is a typical one with high honor and low authority, that is, it has a high position in the army but has no command of the troops. It can only manage dozens of scouts under its command, and it is the most dangerous job.
After all, Sigismund is the leading figure among the gladiators. Although Leon is dissatisfied, he cannot blame him for the moment, let alone get rid of him, otherwise the free legion that has just joined may immediately run into problems.
The job of scout is just right for Sigismund. Those who do this job are generally the most skilled civilian soldiers. Civilian soldiers will regard serving as scouts as an honor. After all, it is a recognition of their skills and battlefield experience.
The commander of the Free Corps was Leon himself, and he incorporated all of his original non-commissioned officer troops into this legion.
Several senior NCOs were appointed as sergeants major in the Corps, adding to the middle-level organization of the force.
In fact, the non-commissioned officers are the ones who can truly help the lord command the free legions - these non-commissioned officers are all from the lower-class civilian population and can easily gain the recognition of the slaves.
Moreover, the current appearance of the non-commissioned officers is themselves a model of the future that Leon shows to these new soldiers.
Of course, a better example would be the group of Mettenheim tough guys, because Klose and others were once sold to the arena as slaves.
Unfortunately, they returned to their country and have not returned on time - Leon asked Klose and others to come back at the end of September, but they have been out of contact until now.
Leon could think of the reason why they failed to return as scheduled - the Snake Cult's large-scale fleet was invading the Pande Continent at that time, the Imperial Port was besieged by the fleet, and the coastal towns of the Bacchus Empire such as Malasburg, Olegaburg, and Qiza Village were all occupied by the Snake Cult.
If the people of Mettenheim dared to cross the sea and return during this period, they would probably encounter another shipwreck...
So it really couldn't be blamed on the Mettenheim people for being unpunctual. The lord was even a little worried. After all, Klose was a man who obeyed military orders very well. He would definitely find a way to return to the continent of Pendor, which might lead to them encountering dangers that they could not resist.
Since all the non-commissioned officers have been reorganized into the Free Corps, the current vanguard officer of the Free Corps is Jocelyn.
Jocelyn was still wearing his black double-layer iron shell, riding his huge Gatu war beast, walking at the forefront of all the troops like a black tower, holding the lord's flag in his hand.
The entire army is actually moving at the same speed as Jocelyn. He obviously cannot walk fast in the way he is dressed. The pace of walking and stopping is just right for the troops to march in full gear.
"Sir, something's happening!"
Perhaps because he was riding high and could see far, Jocelyn suddenly turned around and shouted, "Sigismund is back... The Snake Cultists are chasing them! Get ready for battle!"
