Chapter 236: Forward! Forward!
Siyuan City.
Emperor Marius finally attempted a less intense attack.
He had been besieging the city for more than ten days, but there was still no movement in Siyuan City.
Knowing that there were the Legion of Terror in the city, Emperor Marius did not act rashly at first, but patiently built fortifications outside.
But there was still no movement in the city, so he decided to test it out and let the Immortal Legion and the Shadow Wolf Pack launch a strong attack one openly and one secretly.
But what he didn't expect was that this time the attack was so easy to succeed - the Legion of Fear disappeared inexplicably!
However, after Emperor Marius's troops entered the city, they faced new troubles.
In Siyuan City, there is a group of broken corpses with green bodies wandering around...
All the corpses were without flesh. The stench that spread throughout the city and the occasional dripping of juice attracted flocks of scavenger birds, but most crows and vultures did not touch the pale green corpses.
Only some green maggots crawled in and out of the zombies' rotten eye sockets.
That is the one being devoured.
Moreover, the origins of these devoured people are actually very clear - they were once rebels under Shira Yuzas.
Even after being killed by Martis, Hira Yuzas was still causing trouble for Emperor Marius...
Although these devoured creatures looked terrifying, Emperor Marius was not worried. What he was worried about now was another question: how did the Legion of Terror leave Siyuan City? Where did they go?
"Your Majesty, the Dread Legion probably left by sea!"
General Sulla of the Shadow Legion suddenly spoke to Emperor Marius.
"But we destroyed all the docks when we left the port!"
Marius frowned in confusion.
"Your Majesty, we all overlooked a problem... It's my fault for not reminding you in advance..."
Sura closed his eyes and shook his head, seeming to blame himself: "The Legion of Terror is made up of undead. They... never needed a dock!"
"...Agathon! Where is the fleet of the Dread Legion landing? Gather all the cavalry, let's go destroy their warships!"
Emperor Marius was stunned for only half a second before taking remedial measures.
All the warships of the Legion of Dread are in the village of Ziza, which is a subordinate village of Fort Olega that was ordered to be burned by Emperor Marius. Similar to Serindir, it is also a coastal fishing village.
Qiza Village did not become a cursed fishing port like Serindir. This was mainly because Qiza Village did not have as many pearl resources as Serindir, and Qiza was closer to the capital Siyuan City...
But now, Qiza Village has also become a gloomy ghost town because it had just suffered a massacre not long ago.
This was done when the Legion of Dread landed.
Seven or eight warships of the Legion of Terror were still staying on the beach of Qiza Village. The small village did not have a deep enough dock, so those ships were actually stranded.
In fact, it was not a particularly advanced large ship, but an old model from nearly two hundred years ago. It was a paddle-sail mixed troop transport ship of the Old Cubax Empire, with an average displacement of only about a hundred tons.
"These are definitely not all their ships... Where are the other ships? It seems we are late..."
Emperor Marius commanded his troops to surround the stranded ships. After looking at the internal structure, he felt that there should be more than just these warships.
It would be impossible to transport more than 3,000 people with just seven or eight such ships. Even if there were twice as many ships, they might not be able to accommodate them - horses take up too much space.
"Your Majesty... these ships are all damaged. They must have been abandoned here."
When Agathon came back after checking, he found that all the old ships were broken - they were all antiques and could easily break down.
"Are these all damaged? I'm afraid they won't abandon these ships... Oops! There are enemies nearby who haven't left yet! All troops on alert! Search for the enemy!"
Emperor Marius suddenly felt a little regretful. In order to save time, he only brought some imperial knights and Agathon's iron ring centurions with him, and the troops around him were less than 500 people.
"Your Majesty is indeed very smart... I am indeed still here..."
A voice without any emotion came from the sea.
Then, hundreds of green figures emerged from the sea.
That's Maltis, and her Horned Viper Vanguard!
Emperor Marius drew out his sword in a flash, looked back, and then looked again at the horned viper vanguards whose heads were exposed in the sea.
"Charge forward! Block them and don't let them get ashore!"
Marius did not turn around and flee, but instead rushed forward with his sword in hand, and did not ride his horse again.
Agathon gritted his teeth, took off the javelin on his back, and faced the terrible enemies side by side with Emperor Marius: "Forward! Forward! Don't let their horses leave the water!"
…
In the village of Serindir, which is only separated from the village of Qiza by a bay, the horns for preparation for war have already sounded.
Amid the sound of wind and waves, the volume of the horn seemed quite weak. The army was in the most difficult time and could not be fully prepared in a short time.
Only the Noldor elves gathered around the lord with great efficiency and were the first to prepare for battle on the coast.
But the fleet remained almost completely motionless.
The village of Serindir is just a civilian fishing port with a shallow dock, so the huge warships cannot reach the dock. After being tossed and swayed in the wind and waves for a while, the fleet stopped in the bay a few hundred meters away from the coast.
Then, there was no movement.
There were no lights, no people, and no landing craft were seen being lowered.
In the dim morning light, it looked like a ghost ship.
"My lord, they seem to be stranded... The wind and waves are so strong, but the ships are completely motionless."
Wendy was the first to notice the problem: "How about I go over and take a look?"
"If the ship is stranded, their people should come out, but they don't seem to be moving... Wendy, don't go over there yet, just wait and see."
The lord felt that something was fishy and stopped Wendelf from taking action.
"Hiss... Those are... Hiss... Those are the Dread Legion ships! They, hiss... Better get away from the coast! They're in the water!"
Behind her, Alyssa suddenly screamed in panic.
The lord also saw a person's head vaguely emerging from the water.
But that doesn't seem to be a human...
They looked like corpses of a pale green color, wearing helmets of the same color. They appeared and disappeared on the sea surface along with the waves, and seemed to be gradually rising.
"They are coming up from the bottom of the sea! Back off... Wait! Don't back off! Go forward! Let's meet them and don't let them leave the water!"
The lord immediately realized that something was wrong and waved his hand to let the Noldor disperse.
But when he was about to retreat, he suddenly felt something was wrong, so he quickly led his men forward, even standing in the sea water that was constantly hitting the beach.
"Those are the Undead... Charge forward and stop them in the water! If we let them get ashore, we'll be in big trouble!"
Leon drew his sword and shouted. He saw long black shadows under the water - those terrible enemies seemed to be riding horses and walking up along the seabed.
Across the bay, Marius and Leon had the same reaction at this time - the Legion of Terror must not be allowed to land!
A horse that can sneak in water...
This is indeed a bit scary.
Sigismund probably saw it too, so he ran towards the Free Corps camp, shouting as he ran, "Brothers! Put off your armor! Line up!"
If you encounter cavalry, you have to use long weapons or broadswords to fight against them. At present, only the Free Legion has a special anti-cavalry unit. The gladiators under Sigismund basically use halberds or broadswords.
However, the newly formed legion was not efficient enough and was not yet ready for battle. Sigismund's shouts faded away with the whistling wind, and Jocelyn could occasionally be heard swearing loudly from the barracks.
The enemy was only a hundred meters away from Leon's current position. Occasionally, he could see the chests of the enemies in the front row and the black horses they were riding under the receding waves.
Those horses were all covered in black armor, so their specific appearance could not be seen, but each horse looked extremely tall, and their appearance was very similar to the war beast that Jocelyn was riding now.
But each horse's eyes looked extremely creepy... or rather, they were not eyes at all, but a little red light emitting from the empty eye sockets.
The Noldor began to shoot feather arrows into the sea, but the wind was very strong on the beach, and the strong wind and the waves stirred up water mist that fell on the coast like raindrops.
In this environment, even if the Noldor arrows are less affected by the wind, it is difficult to achieve complete accuracy.
Fortunately, the Noldor used metal composite bows, which were not affected by such a humid environment. If they were wooden crossbows, they would be basically useless in such strong winds and waves.
This is probably the main reason why most of Bacchus's troops are not equipped with bows and arrows - they were originally fleet troops, and the landing troops in the fleet are indeed not suitable for bows and crossbows, but more suitable for throwing weapons.
The same is true in the Firdsvain. Many of the Firdsvain lords, including King Vidis himself, were once pirates of Vanskerry, and they are also accustomed to using throwing axes.
In this situation, the Lord does feel that throwing weapons might be more useful...
This is not because the Noldor cannot shoot accurately in the strong wind and waves, but because even if the arrows are shot accurately, it seems to be of no use!
The Noldor were indeed skilled, and these 'young' Elf rangers were indeed brave and fearless.
Many arrows did pierce the withered heads that were still floating in the sea.
The lord could clearly see that many arrows even shattered those green faces, leaving gaps in the heads of the enemies.
But those terrible enemies continued to move forward, seemingly unaffected.
Can’t be killed?
Now Leon understood why this army was called the Legion of Terror!
This is an emotionless undead army that has no fear of life or death, does not feel tired, does not feel pain, does not need supplies, and does not even need to breathe.
Moreover, the damage to some parts of their bodies does not affect their movements.
Li Ang was now feeling a little hairy all over. He turned his head and looked around a few times, and was already thinking about where to run away...
The Noldor also took a few steps back in fear. Even though each of them was a brave warrior, they were still a little afraid in this situation.
Yet they had never met a foe whom the arrows of the Noldor could not kill.
It was not until Wendelf shot an arrow beside the lord, which pierced through the forehead of an enemy, that the lord saw the enemy disappear into the sea.
"It seems that the Legion of Terror can still be killed... However, judging from the situation, I'm afraid I'll have to smash its brain..."
The lord's original plan to escape finally calmed down a little.
But in such strong winds and waves, it would be very difficult to shoot an arrow between the eyebrows and penetrate the head.
Fortunately, the Legion of Terror is still soaking in the sea. They probably can't use their strength under the constantly surging waves, and their movements are quite slow. They are one or two hundred meters away, so they can't threaten the Lord for a while.
No one knew how these undead from the Legion of Fear maintained their neat formation. Now that they had moved higher again, one could clearly see their empty eye sockets - it seemed as if there were no eyeballs at all.
"Sir, in the storm, it takes luck to hit the center of the head. Will that thing... work?"
Wendy turned around and asked.
"I'm afraid they won't work in the water, and their horses are probably not afraid of anything... We can't let them go ashore, otherwise their terrible horses will rush forward and we won't be able to stop them anymore..."
Li Ang shook his head , feeling that this matter was quite tricky.
Each of the Noldor Guards carried several grenades, and the NCOs also had them. Good weapons should be used, and the Lord would not hide them.
But these homemade black powder grenades are not waterproof, and those horses that look like demons from the underworld can sneak in the sea without even breathing, and most likely they are not afraid of explosions...
"Lord Leon... let us do it!"
Sigismund finally returned, bringing with him a team of shirtless gladiators - these guys had just been awakened and had no time to put on their armor, so Sigismund directly asked them to fight in the outfits they had worn in the arena.
That is to say, they went into battle shirtless, all of them wearing leather shorts and bare chests. This outfit is very suitable for surfing in the sea.
Sigismund was still very adaptable and he was indeed a fearless warrior.
"Well, come on! Charge forward with me! Trap them in the sea, and before their horses can run, chop off their heads!"
The lord rushed forward, brandishing the griffin sword in his hand - he had now switched back to his most handy weapon.
Great swords and halberds are indeed more suitable in this environment. It is even more suitable that these gladiators are not wearing armor...
Armor should not be worn when fighting at sea.
Although the gladiators were not brave warriors, they could still chop off some broken and rotten heads while rolling on the sea. The python knights of the Fear Legion whose heads were chopped off did fall into the sea.
The soldiers of the Legion of Terror that appeared here were basically all Python Knights, but not many of these knights, who were originally very skilled, could fight back - most of their bodies were now in the sea, and the heavy horse armor on their war horses and the thick Python armor on their withered bodies made it impossible for them to float to the surface of the sea.
The soft sand in the sea water caused the horses' hooves to sink deeply into it, and the waves kept rising and falling, so they could not move fast and could only slowly move towards the shore, three steps forward and two steps back.
In fact, this is also the reason why they can walk up from the bottom of the sea - their bodies are now too heavy.
If they are normal humans and horses, even if they are wearing dozens or even hundreds of kilograms of heavy armor, they will still have great buoyancy in the sea water. After all, the ratio of volume to weight will not be increased too much.
But the Dread Legion were all centuries-old corpses, and there might be both humans and horses. The dried and dehydrated corpses couldn't float on the water, and coupled with the heavy armor, they were basically just a weight...
Even those python knights whose heads and necks were already above the water were unable to fight at the moment - they could only swing their weapons in the water, and no matter how strong they were, they couldn't exert much power.
But this situation was only temporary. After having hundreds of rotten heads chopped off by the gladiators, the Legion of Fear finally got out of the situation of being unable to fight back - they had gradually walked out of the shallow sea with silt and came to a beach that was big enough to stand on. The sea water no longer affected their arms.
The subsequent counterattack was extremely fierce. The gladiators' line was torn apart almost instantly, and hundreds of people fell into the waist-deep sea water while fighting and retreating.
The morning light reflected on the red coastline, returning this beach, which had been miserable for hundreds of years, to its former appearance.
A bloody appearance.
Fortunately, most of the horses were still in the sea, so they still couldn't run, but their speed was obviously faster...
"Sir, let's retreat. It looks like we can't hold on any longer!"
Wendy appeared beside Leon again, and flew over and chopped off the head of a python knight with a sword.
"We can't retreat! They are all knights! If we leave the beach, they will be even more powerful!"
Li Ang was a little panicked, but he did not hide behind to protect himself. Seeing his own troops being defeated, he once again led his brothers to the front row.
A commander who leads troops into battle cannot retreat easily.
If he retreated, his troops would probably be defeated in no time.
"Wendy, take the guards to the back to supervise the battle! Have Justus send the vanguards up... No one can retreat! We can only stop them here, and we must not let these guys run away!"
Li Ang gritted his teeth and made up his mind.
Unexpectedly, after not having a direct fight in Buyulin Village, we still had to fight a tough battle here, and we were facing a tougher force.
But this battle had to be fought. The enemy had already ridden onto the beach and they could not retreat now. The outcome of retreat would certainly be more tragic than fighting a tough battle - the Free Corps was composed entirely of infantry.
In fact, even cavalrymen may not be able to outrun those underworld horses that never get tired...
The gladiators were not wearing armor, so it was not suitable for them to push forward. It would be more appropriate to let the imperial guards who were good at using large shields go forward to hold back the enemy. In any case, the enemy's horses could not be allowed to run.
