OBS Chapter 676 Ending
Chapter 676 Ending
"brush!"
Guts used his two-handed sword to kill the last Yoda soldier who tried to fight back, then collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.
After fighting alongside Laban's White Horse Knights, they finally dealt with the remaining Yoda soldiers.
The ground was littered with the corpses of various groups, weapons were scattered everywhere, and the air was filled with the smell of gunpowder and blood. The mercenaries and knights were panting heavily, and their bodies were more or less covered in wounds, but no one stopped moving. They were all quickly scanning their surroundings to make sure that no one had escaped.
After regaining his senses, Guts immediately stood up, his hand still gripping the hilt of his sword. His sharp eyes swept across the battlefield, making sure the area was completely cleared before he finally breathed a sigh of relief. He knew the battle wasn't over and there were still tough fights to come, but for now, he could finally catch his breath and adjust his state.
General Laban leaned against the wall, blood still seeping from the wound on his chest, dripping down the seams of his armor.
His face looked pale, and his breathing was rapid. In the battle just now, in order to save the knights around him, he had taken a blow from Yoda's soldier. The wound was not shallow, and he was sweating profusely from the pain. He just gritted his teeth and endured it, not wanting his men to see that he was in bad shape.
Just then, a Midland cavalryman rode up at full speed, his horse's hooves pounding the ground. The rider dismounted and strode quickly to Laban and Gus, his tone urgent yet barely concealing his excitement:
"General, all the other city gates have been captured by our army, and all troops are advancing towards the inner fortress. We're just waiting to converge here so we can charge in together."
No sooner had the cavalryman finished speaking than the vice-captain of the White Horse Knights strode over to Laban. He looked at the wound on Laban's chest, frowned, and spoke with a sincere yet insistent tone:
"General, your wound needs to be treated. If you stay here any longer, you'll lose too much blood. Why don't you go back to the outer tent to recover? I'll take care of things here, and Captain Gus and the others will be fine."
Laban looked up at the deputy commander, then gazed towards the inner fortress. His eyes darkened, and he knew that in his current state he couldn't be of much help, and staying might only be a burden.
He didn't really want to leave. The inner fortress was the last line of defense. Taking the inner fortress would mean winning most of the battle. He wanted to witness the victory with his own eyes. But the pain in his body reminded him that it was useless to force himself to endure it. It would only delay things.
After thinking for a few seconds, he nodded, said nothing more, and simply gave the deputy commander some instructions:
“There are quite a few Yoda soldiers in the inner fortress, and the defenses are tight. Be careful, don’t charge in headfirst, and coordinate your attacks.”
The vice-commander nodded in agreement, turned and waved to the knights beside him, his tone crisp and decisive:
"You take a team and escort the general back to his outer tent. Be careful on the way and avoid any accidents. Once you arrive at the tent, quickly find the military doctor to treat the general's wounds."
Several knights immediately stepped forward, bowed to Laban, and then carefully helped him walk slowly towards the outside of the city.
As Laban left, he glanced back at the inner fortress, his heart pounding with determination, waiting for news of its capture.
The deputy commander watched Laban walk away before turning around, walking to Gus's side, and speaking directly:
"Captain Gus, let's lead our troops to attack the inner fort now, join up with other units, and take the inner fort as soon as possible to avoid any unforeseen complications."
Gus nodded and gestured to the mercenaries beside him. The mercenaries immediately put away their weariness and followed Gus forward.
The deputy commander mounted his horse and shouted to the White Horse Knights. The knights followed, and the two groups advanced rapidly toward the inner fortress with synchronized steps and an unstoppable momentum.
Inside the fortress, General Yoda stood atop the city wall, his face grim, his eyes filled with frustration and resentment.
He looked down at the chaotic scene below, his anger growing with each passing thought. His plan, though not particularly brilliant, had still been carefully considered. He had intended to catch the Midland army off guard, slow their advance, and wait for Commander Adon to arrive with Yoda's main force to provide support. He believed that by attacking from both inside and outside, he could defeat the Midland army.
But he didn't expect that the Midland army would react so quickly. After realizing something was wrong, they immediately adjusted their deployment, not only successfully withstanding his surprise attack, but also repelling his ambush troops, disrupting all his plans. This made him anxious and angry, but there was nothing he could do.
Below the city gate, Yoda's soldiers were hurriedly retreating into the inner fortress. The battle had already broken their morale considerably. Seeing the Midland army pressing closer and closer, they were all terrified, and their steps became increasingly chaotic. Some soldiers even dropped their weapons and rushed forward, fearing that they would be caught up by the Midland soldiers behind them.
General Yoda frowned even more as he looked at the panicked soldiers, but he had not given up completely. He knew that they were not in dire straits yet. The inner fortress was better defended than the outer city gates, and the walls were higher. As long as they could hold the inner fortress and hold out for a few hours until Commander Atun arrived with Yoda's main force, they could turn the tide and perhaps even win.
He took a deep breath, suppressing his agitation, and gave a stern order to his subordinates:
"Get the archers in position. When the Midland army comes, shoot them. Don't let them get close to the city walls easily. Hold the inner fort and we'll be able to wait for reinforcements."
His subordinates immediately responded and hurried down to relay the order. General Yoda remained standing on the city wall, his eyes fixed on the distance, waiting for the Midland army to appear. He was calculating how to hold out until reinforcements arrived. He dared not think about the consequences of failure and could only force himself to remain calm and persevere.
Guts led his mercenaries forward, not fast, but steady. He gripped his greatsword tightly, the blade still stained with blood from the previous battle. He didn't bother to wipe it off, but instead looked around warily, fearing an ambush by Yoda soldiers.
The battle had lasted quite a while, and he was a little tired. His arms were a little sore from swinging his sword too much, but he didn't stop. He was only thinking about getting to the inner fortress as soon as possible, meeting up with Griffith, and taking the inner fortress together.
Soon, the inner fortress came into view. Guts slowed his pace and carefully observed the situation inside. Torches were planted all over the inner fortress and the city walls, illuminating the surroundings brightly. It was clear that the city walls were full of Yoda soldiers, each holding a bow and arrow, watching the outside vigilantly. Every now and then, arrows were shot into the distance, obviously in preparation for an attack by the Midland army.
Outside the inner fortress, many Midland soldiers were still locked in combat with the remaining Yoda soldiers. The sounds of clashing weapons and shouts from the soldiers mingled together, creating a chaotic scene.
Guts didn't rush forward immediately. Instead, he moved away from the front lines and searched through the crowd. He knew that Griffith must have arrived nearby, and the Band of the Hawk should be almost all gathered by now.
He glanced at the soldiers around him, identifying them one by one, his heart filled with a mixture of anticipation and worry, fearing that the Hawk Band might have suffered casualties in the previous battles.
After searching for a while, he finally spotted Griffith not far away. Griffith was standing next to several mercenaries, talking to them calmly. Even though the surroundings were chaotic, it didn't affect him.
Meanwhile, Bibin and Gorkas were also with Gerry, both of them bearing injuries.
Gorcas leaned against the wall, wiped the sweat from his brow, and looked at Griffith, his tone full of helplessness and lingering fear:
“I’m never doing this kind of night raid again. It’s pitch black, and the Yoda soldiers are well hidden. I was almost ambushed from behind just now. This time it really almost killed me.”
He was genuinely apprehensive. Night raids were extremely demanding on reflexes, and visibility was poor; a moment's inattention could lead to an attack. He had just been entangled with a Yoda soldier and hadn't noticed someone behind him. Fortunately, the mercenary beside him alerted him in time, or he might already be lying on the ground.
The thought of what had just happened sent chills down his spine, and he never wanted to take on a night raid again.
Griffith listened to Golcas's words without refuting them, only nodding slightly. He knew that the night raid was indeed dangerous, and the fact that they were able to survive this time was due to everyone's good teamwork and quick reactions. If it were someone else, they might have really perished here.
He was about to say something when he caught sight of Guts out of the corner of his eye. His eyes immediately brightened. He had been worried about Guts' situation, but seeing him arrive safely put his mind at ease. He immediately got up and walked towards Guts, his steps not fast, but filled with obvious joy.
When Gus saw Griffith walking towards him, he quickly went to meet him. The two met and, without exchanging many words, simply looked at each other and saw reassurance in each other's eyes.
Soon, the rest of the Band of the Hawk gathered around. Seeing that everyone was safe and sound, they all breathed a sigh of relief. The Band of the Hawk regrouped, and everyone's eyes shone with fighting spirit. Even though they were injured and exhausted, no one backed down. They all waited for the order to attack the inner fortress.
Griffith looked at the people around him, his tone calm yet firm:
"Everyone, take a few minutes to rest and adjust your state. When we attack the inner fortress, don't be careless. There are many arrows on the city wall, so be careful to avoid them. Stay with the main force and don't act alone."
Meanwhile, the cannons of Midland were slowly pushed by the soldiers to the front of the city wall. When the Yoda soldiers saw the cannons, they immediately started shooting arrows in their direction, and a dense barrage of arrows came flying towards them.
The artillerymen, however, did not stop pushing the cannons. They gritted their teeth and persevered. They knew that the cannons were the key to breaking through the inner gate. Once the gate was blasted open, the Midland army could rush in smoothly and take the inner fortress much easier.
The artillerymen quickly divided up their tasks. After adjusting the angle and loading the shells, the soldiers responsible for aiming nodded to the people next to them, indicating that they had aimed at the inner gate of the fortress.
Everyone immediately took a few steps back to prepare for defense. The soldier operating the cannon pulled the fuse hard, and the cannon fired with a loud bang. The shell flew towards the inner gate of the fortress and slammed into it. The gate shook and a crack appeared on it, but it was not blown open.
Seeing this, the Yoda soldiers on the city wall fired even more arrows, their eyes filled with panic. They knew the power of the cannons; if they were bombarded continuously, the gate would surely collapse. They could only desperately fire arrows, trying to stop the Midland soldiers from continuing to fire.
"Quickly protect the artillerymen!"
The Midland soldiers immediately picked up their shields and stood beside the cannons to protect the operators. Some soldiers picked up bows and arrows and retaliated against the Yoda soldiers on the city walls. The two sides fired at each other, arrows crisscrossing in the air, and soldiers fell to the ground from time to time, hit by arrows.
The soldiers operating the cannons quickly reloaded the shells and aimed at the inner gate again. With another loud bang, the second shell hit the gate, widening the previous cracks. The gate looked somewhat loose, but it still couldn't be blasted open.
The artillery continued loading shells, firing round after round at the inner gate of the fortress. Each bombardment was accompanied by a loud bang, shaking the ground slightly. The Yoda soldiers on the city wall were also intimidated by the power of the cannons, and their arrow firing rate increased.
After several rounds of shelling, the inner gate could no longer hold out and was blasted open with a loud bang, scattering fragments of the gate and revealing the passage inside.
The Yoda soldiers on the city wall turned pale as they looked at the gate that had been blasted open, their eyes filled with despair. They knew that with the gate breached, the defenses of the inner fortress were mostly broken, and the Midland army would soon rush in. They wouldn't be able to hold out for long.
When the Mitland soldiers saw the gate being blasted open, they became excited. Their previous fatigue and pain seemed to disappear. They gripped their weapons tightly and rushed towards the inner fortress gate. The crowd was dense and surged towards the inner fortress with overwhelming momentum.
The members of the Band of the Hawk immediately stood up and rushed towards the inner gate with the main force.