Chapter 241: Burying the Army
At noon the next day, a large group of snake worshippers came into the valley in a noisy manner.
This was probably the vanguard of the Snake Worship Cult, with several followers of the Snake Worship Cult leading the way, followed by at least three thousand people.
There were not many Cobra Warriors in this vanguard force, and there was no priestess. The total number of people on horseback in the entire team did not exceed twenty.
There were several hundred Snake Cult warriors wearing green robes.
It seems that in the eyes of the Snake Cult troops, being a pioneer is a hard and tiring job, and it is the job of grassroots warriors and low-level followers.
Or, in other words, this is the custom of the Snake Cult army. Those who walk in the front are cannon fodder with firm beliefs but low status - the priestesses are of course very careful about their lives.
Li Ang lay on the wall of the manor and watched from afar. He now understood why the Snake Cult's marching speed was so slow.
In fact, their speed was not slowed down by those farmer-like followers, but by those snake cult warriors - those snake cult warriors were wearing full sets of equipment when they marched...
The Snake Cult warriors are all infantry soldiers, or rather, they are not really soldiers because their training is quite poor, but their equipment is quite good.
Perhaps those who are more devout in their faith and stronger in their bodies will be armed as such warriors.
These warriors who had not received much training had no horses for transportation, and there were no carriages in their team. They could only march wearing their equipment, so their speed was naturally not fast.
"Why don't they let their followers carry their equipment? Aren't they afraid of dying of exhaustion while marching in this outfit..."
Amy complained as she laid down beside the Lord.
"Maybe they value their warrior status very much... Just like when those female warriors who just joined the Griffin Claws were issued equipment, everyone wore a full set of equipment to show off all day long..."
Sarah whispered from behind.
He was always wearing a full set of equipment, which was in line with the Snake Cult's usual style of being able to charge at any time when encountering the enemy.
And in this case, ordinary ambushes and raids probably won't have much effect on them.
In fact, the main idea of an ambush is to take advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness and launch an attack at a time and place that the enemy does not expect, catching the enemy off guard, such as by suddenly attacking the enemy while they are marching without any equipment.
But if the enemy is in combat mode at all times and in all places, it will not be easy to achieve the desired effect.
Moreover, although the Snake Cult's army looked like a mob, and although they behaved like a group of mindless locusts when faced with a battle, they actually walked very cautiously in the valley terrain with cliffs on both sides.
The kind of rushing forward without considering the environment did not happen. All the Snake Worshipers basically watched the movements on the cliff vigilantly and moved forward slowly.
It seems that the Snake Cult followers leading the way in front are familiar with the terrain here, and the Cobra Warriors who serve as officers of the vanguard troops are obviously strictly trained. They know that this kind of terrain is prone to ambushes.
Fortunately, the lord did not plan to use the terrain to launch a surprise attack at this time - the Snake Cult's vanguard troops were very cautious. If they launched a direct attack, it would not be called an ambush, but a frontal blocking.
But after the Snake Cult's vanguard troops carefully and slowly walked into the valley, they were surprised to find that there was actually another 'Snake Cult' troop that arrived earlier ...
It looked like a group of about 200 Snake Cult warriors, with nearly 2,000 farmer-like 'followers', were blocking the entrance to the village.
Those warriors basically carried heavy crossbows, carried moon-blade axes or short-handled sickles, wore black hoods, and wore green overalls and chain mail - the standard attire of Snake Cult warriors.
Most importantly, a Snake Cult priestess was directing them.
This group of 'Snake Worshipers' seemed to be trying to climb up to the manor on the mountainside, but there seemed to be someone in the manor resisting them.
The army of the Snake Cult is actually a team pulled together by various priestesses from various places. Given their large size, it is normal that they do not know each other.
Right now, the Snake Cult's vanguard troops don't recognize the team at the village entrance at all...
However, it is indeed a bit surprising that this team can get ahead of the pioneers.
But since they had their own large army fighting in the front, they certainly didn't need to be so cautious. The vanguard troops quickly passed through the valley and arrived at the village entrance.
They did not encounter any ambushes or obstacles in the valley. After arriving at the village entrance, they also understood why the group of unknown "friendly forces" in front of them did not enter the village, but instead wanted to attack the manor on the mountainside.
The entrance to the village was densely packed with black wooden stakes, and all kinds of messy wooden boards and other things were also nailed to the stakes, blocking the road like several rows of large fences - this was a major project, and the nearly 100-meter-wide village entrance was blocked tightly .
Those wooden piles were only about three meters high and looked like ordinary wood used to build houses in the village. However, without any siege equipment, it would be quite difficult to dismantle them with bare hands, and they could only be chopped with an axe.
However, there seemed to be a lot of messy debris placed between the rows of wooden stakes, so it might not be easy to clear a passage.
Moreover, if they wanted to cut a passage, they would have to withstand the attack from the manor on the mountainside.
In this situation, the natural thing to do is to capture the manor first, otherwise you will just be beaten for nothing.
"Hiss... You guys are here just now! Hiss... Where is your messenger of God?"
The priestess seemed to be in a bad mood when she saw the Snake Cult's vanguard troops coming.
Several Cobra Warriors looked at each other and headed towards the priestess.
"Honorable envoy, we are the vanguard of this expedition... The high priests are leading the main force behind us... How did you get ahead of us?"
There is only one priestess here, but she brings two hundred warriors and two thousand followers with her, which obviously means that the priestess is very powerful, so several Cobra warriors behave very humbly.
"Hiss... I was just about to ask you why you're so slow! Hiss, I told you to hurry to Boshi City! Are you dawdling like you're on vacation?"
The priestess had a very bad attitude, and it seemed that she was dissatisfied with the fact that the vanguard was moving too slowly.
Several Cobra Warriors lowered their heads and did not dare to ask the priestess any more questions. The hierarchy within the Snake Cult was strict, especially in the Cobra faction on the continent of Pendor, where the priestess was at the top of the pyramid.
They didn't dare to talk back to a priestess who led more than 2,000 people.
"Hiss...Hurry up and capture that manor! My people will tear down these pieces of wood that are in the way! Hiss..."
The priestess obviously had the domineering style of someone in a high position and she started giving orders directly without any courtesy.
The behavior was indeed that of a true Snake Cult priestess. Several Cobra Warriors bowed and nodded hurriedly, and then began to pass the message to the troops, dispatching people to attack the manor.
But the cliff is quite steep and there is no way to go. The manor is located on the mountainside several dozen meters high, and you have to climb up to get there.
Although the number of crossbow arrows fired from the manor was not particularly large, it was still quite difficult given the skills of these Snake Cult warriors and followers...
Those Cobra Warriors did not take the lead, but instead ordered their warriors and followers to climb up the mountain in a swarm.
The priestess's men did begin to dismantle the tattered wooden boards nailed to the wooden stakes. With this vanguard force conducting the siege, all the crossbow arrows shot from the manor on the mountainside were aimed at the snake worshippers who were climbing the mountain wall. This was indeed a good opportunity to open up the road.
Several Cobra Warriors looked at each other and seemed to sigh in unison, but said nothing. They just arranged a few more warriors around them to hold shields to protect themselves.
Perhaps in their eyes, the priestess intended to use their vanguard troops to attract firepower so that fewer of the priestess' own followers would die.
This is also the normal thinking of the priestesses... or in other words, all the friendly forces in high positions in any force will do this, but this priestess did it more obviously.
But the vanguard troops were responsible for clearing the way for the main army. If the priestess's team was not here, then the Snake Cult's vanguard troops would have to conquer the manor on their own.
At the moment, there is a friendly force responsible for clearing the way, which actually helps these Cobra Warriors.
In fact, it is normal for a large army to encounter road blockages during its march. The current situation also seems normal to several Cobra warriors.
The only problem was that the "followers" under the priestess seemed a little timid and uneasy, probably because they had just joined the cult not long ago - such followers were indeed not suitable to be sent to attack the manor on the mountainside, so the priestess's arrangement was actually understandable.
Although crossbows were being fired continuously from the manor on the mountainside, it looked like there were not too many people there, so a storm attack would probably be enough to take it down. After all, the manor didn't seem to have any defensive facilities.
It's just that the burning logs dropped from the manor from time to time seemed more terrifying. After accelerating for dozens of meters along the steep cliff, they were simply unstoppable. Anyone who got in touch with them would die. Obviously, if the threat of this manor could not be resolved, it would be very difficult to clear the road.
So several Cobra Warriors urged the troops to intensify the attack. Groups of Snake Cult warriors climbed up the mountain wall, looking like green aphids crawling on some dark low walls at the turn of spring and summer.
This all-out attack seemed to be effective. Although snake worshippers were shot off the cliff from time to time, they seemed to be advancing overall.
As long as they can achieve their goal, the Snake Cult team doesn't care much about casualties...
More than an hour later, the manor on the mountainside still could not be conquered. There were obviously people guarding the walls of the manor. Anyone who climbed over the wall and entered the manor would be hacked to death and their bodies would be thrown out as weapons.
But it seemed that the manor had no other means of defence, and the resistance was only more intense.
At this time, the priestess's men gradually used axes to open up a two or three meter wide passage among the rows of wooden stakes.
"Hiss... I will attack the manor from the mountain road inside the village, and you continue to attack from the outside...hiss, when will the main force arrive?"
The priestess let her own troops enter the village, and then arranged several Cobra Warriors to attack from both sides.
That manor must be conquered. Most of the people brought by the Cobra Warriors are currently climbing the mountain. Even if they retreat, they will be shot by crossbows, so they can only continue to climb.
"As you wish, honorable envoy of God... the main force will arrive before dusk. We should be able to turn the village into a safe camp before the main force arrives."
Several Cobra Warriors nodded and obeyed the priestess's arrangement.
As a result, the valley that was originally hundreds of meters wide has now become a three-meter-wide passage - when the wooden stakes have been cut to create a passage, naturally no one will try to destroy all the wooden stakes.
Soon after, the sound of a large number of weapons clashing was heard in the manor on the mountainside, and no more stones or logs were thrown down the mountain.
It seems that the people resisting in the manor have faced a close combat situation. Although the manor has not been completely conquered, the valley passage is obviously safe.
A Cobra Warrior rode off in the direction he had come from, and before long a thick column of yellow smoke rose from the mouth of the valley.
Two hours later, the sun set and the Snake Cult's army finally appeared in the valley.
Perhaps because they learned that there was a priestess here, or perhaps because they knew that the manor on the mountainside was still resisting, the Snake Cult army seemed to be moving faster in the valley, as if they were charging to reinforce.
Just as the first team of Snake Cult warriors rushed into the village from the narrow passage at the entrance, the last troops of the army had already entered the valley.
At this moment, a loud noise was heard in the besieged manor on the mountainside.
In the valley, a female priest of the Snake Cult who was surrounded by a large army fell off her horse, with a huge bloody hole on her chest. She didn't even have time to say her last words.
The snake worshippers around looked up and saw a puff of white smoke appearing on the wall of the manor on the mountainside.
A few seconds later, continuous roars sounded from the mountain walls on both sides.
"boom……"
"Boom... boom... buzz..."
“Ka…ka…kaka…”
The continuous explosions sounded earth-shattering in the valley.
The continuous explosions lasted for a long time, accompanied by the terrible sounds of cracking rock walls and falling boulders, and continued to echo in the valley.
At the same time, countless rocks and soil flew away and scattered all over the valley.
Almost the entire valley was shaking. Huge rocks kept rolling down, plowing bloody grooves in the valley, and then collided with each other. The flying rubble once again brought large numbers of deaths.
Accompanied by a series of explosions, a large area of the steep mountain wall collapsed. A large amount of soil and rocks collapsed to the bottom of the valley, almost completely blocking the entrance to the valley.
This is why some places are artificially widened - landslides and mud-rock flows are common natural disasters in mountainous areas these days, and there is no way to ensure the safety of the roads without widening the valley roads to hundreds of meters in width.
But now, even the valley that is hundreds of meters wide has become a Jedi.
Li Ang concentrated all the grenades in the valley and detonated them continuously with fuse.
The earth-shaking scene lasted for at least ten minutes before it slowly became quiet, but by then, the entire valley had become a hellish scene.
The brown mud has completely covered the entire valley bottom. The original road is completely invisible, but countless wounded people can be seen struggling and surging in the mud.
Countless broken corpses and a huge amount of rubble were dumped together, and bright red blood slowly seeped out from the huge .
Rocks continued to fall from the rock walls on both sides, with huge cracking and falling sounds heard from time to time.
Amid the loud noise caused by the falling rocks, the howling in the valley seemed extremely faint.
There are not many Snake Cult troops who can still fight.
In fact, apart from the vanguard troops that are besieging the manor, there are probably not many snake worshippers left who can successfully crawl out of this hellish quagmire.
The domineering priestess before was of course Alyssa, and the "Snake Cult Warriors" she brought with her were actually the two hundred soldiers under Fabius.
The two thousand 'followers' were the young and strong men among the five thousand people captured by Fabius and his son.
Fabius was of course very sensible of the situation. He led two hundred soldiers and surrounded by two thousand young men who had a grudge against him, so he naturally looked very honest...
After being rescued, the villagers behaved very cooperatively - this is their home, and now these villagers are not snake worshippers, and none of them wants to be harmed by the cult.
The reason why Alyssa, a genuine priestess, staged that scene at the entrance of the village was mainly to ensure that the Snake Cult's army would enter the valley defenselessly.
Alyssa knew that the priestesses of the Snake Cult usually valued their lives, so after forming a large army, they would most likely send out a vanguard to both explore and lead the way.
Therefore, the vanguard of the Snake Cult must be convinced that the road to the valley is safe. They were deliberately sent to attack the manor to confirm this point. Since the road to the village entrance was blocked and defenses were arranged at the manor, there would obviously be no other ambushes...
On the other hand, first blocking the road with wooden stakes and then cutting a narrow passage was actually a psychological trap designed to leave the Snake Cult army with nowhere to escape.
In the eyes of most people, since a three-meter-wide passage has been opened, the troops can pass through without any problem.
But for an army of tens of thousands of people, in an emergency, the only escape route is only three meters wide - it's better not to have a road at all!
The landslides and rockfall caused by the explosion on the ridge were indeed terrible, but if they had reacted in time, many Snake Worshipers could have escaped.
But the passage was only three meters wide, so they did not turn around and run back, but instead swarmed at the only intersection leading to the village...
At present, the area near the wooden stakes has been buried by mud and rubble. Countless snake worshippers have died here, but only a few have been able to successfully enter the village.
In fact, if he entered the village, he would be beaten to death by the villagers.
Although the villagers were not brave or good at fighting, it was relatively easy for two thousand people to block a three-meter-wide hole - after all, there were not many Snake Worshipers who could rush into the village, and apart from not being afraid of death, they did not have any commendable fighting power.
Just after the explosion and rockfall, more troops appeared in the manor on the mountainside. Female soldiers and the Noldor rushed out together, and the remaining Noldor arrows were used.
Li Ang led his troops and began to reap lives.
The Snake Worshipers who were besieging the manor were already at a loss as the earth shook and the mountains trembled. After just over half an hour, there were no more Snake Worshipers standing in the valley.
