I was a knight in the Middle Ages

Chapter 464: The Hague Knights' Attack, the Druid Tribe's Mutation

The dusk permeated the sky like thick ink, and the smoke of gunpowder, carrying the smell of scorched earth, rolled through the valleys.

The vanguard general Andilo kicked the messenger beside him, his gilded helmet glowing coldly in the moonlight, "Waste! This bald mountain with an altitude of less than 34 meters, you spent all day and night, and only advanced half a mile? When did my vanguard army become so cowardly!"

The obsidian sword at his waist made clanging sounds with his furious movements, which was particularly harsh in the silent battlefield.

Vanguard officer Mars knelt on one knee, and blood seeping from the gaps in his armor dripped onto the bluestone, leaving dark red marks.

"General, please understand. This pass only allows 34 cavalrymen to march side by side. Our 34 cavalrymen cannot charge at all." Mars raised his head with bloodshot eyes. "In the last round of attack, our army lost more than 34 people, but we were unable to even reach the enemy's arrow tower."

Andilo's scarlet pupils suddenly contracted, and he grabbed the bronze tiger talisman on the table and smashed it against the stone wall: "Do you want me to lead my guards into battle? Organize a death squad immediately. Even if it costs lives, we must take down the hill before midnight! How is the progress of the secret attacks in other directions?"

Mars wiped the blood off his face and said in a deep voice: "Three hundred soldiers have been sent to climb the mountain road on the west side, and Raymond will lead the elite troops to take a detour on the east side. I will immediately organize a new round of feint attack. As long as the two wings succeed..."

Before he finished speaking, the sound of war drums like thunder was heard in the distance, startling a group of night owls on the cliff.

……

At the same time, in the command tent in the belly of the mountain, Alpha's fingertips stroked the astronomical disk inlaid with mithril, and the candlelight cast a swaying shadow on his angular profile.

Mashu knelt on one knee, her black cloak stained with night dew and dead leaves: "Sir, the enemy troops are climbing up the main peak in five groups, three of which are carrying grappling hooks, and they seem to be planning a surprise attack on the rear camp."

"Pass the order down." Alpha's voice was like a blade tempered with ice. "Mingyue, order Quintey to lead a hundred White Wolf Guards to garrison the North Peak, Baruk's dwarf warriors to set up spider web traps on the south slope, and Evelyn to dispatch Silver Moon archers to set up ambushes on the east and west sides."

Alpha suddenly raised his hand and pressed the frost-patterned dagger on his waist, "Tell Mashu and the elves that the elf troops don't need to show up. Wait until the enemy climbs halfway up the mountain, and then use poisoned arrows to block their retreat."

The sound of fighting in the valley became more and more intense. The messenger stumbled into the tent and said, "Sir! The enemy's rest frequency has increased. The dwarf workshop only had time to transform a lawnmower chariot!"

The dwarf Baras was so angry that his beard trembled: "At this rate, we won't be able to get three together before dawn!"

Alpha stared at the dancing glazed soldiers on the sand table, the candlelight stretching his shadow very long: "It's okay. Judging from the enemy's appearance, he is impatient to use troops. The losses of a night attack will be too great. He will definitely call off the troops in two minutes."

Alpha suddenly turned his head to look outside the tent. The mountain wind blew up the copper bells on the eaves, making a clear sound. "It's the movement on the top of the mountain..."

The elf Evelyn clenched the moonwood longbow in her hand and said: "Do you need more manpower? Those climbers are definitely not ordinary soldiers."

"No need." Alpha's eyes penetrated the tent and looked at the steep mountain wall hidden in the night. "The cliffs on both sides are thousands of feet high. Only a hundred elite soldiers can pass through. The poisoned arrows of the dark elves and the flails of the crazy knights are enough to deal with them."

Alpha paused, and unconsciously stroked the frost pattern on the dagger with his fingertips. "The only thing you have to be wary of is the enemy's high-level wizard - Mashu. Go to the top of the mountain yourself. If you meet a magician, don't show mercy."

Outside the tent, the sounds of war drums and wailing intertwined into an eerie nocturne, while Alpha was already deducing tomorrow's battle situation on the sand table.

The moonlight shines through the night sky, giving Alpha's figure a silver edge, making him look like a god who controls fate.

When a ray of moonlight pierced through the clouds, the battle on the top of the mountain suddenly broke out like a poisoned arrow.

Amid the harsh sound of the iron grappling hook scraping against the rock wall, the first knight in black iron armor finally climbed to the edge of the cliff.

However, before the knight could tighten his grip on the sword at his waist, hundreds of poisoned spears emerged from a cave like silver snakes. In the instant when the knight was dumbfounded, they lifted him and his heavy chain mail into the abyss thousands of feet high.

The shrill screams echoed through the valley, startling a group of dormant night owls.

At the same time, a thrilling roar came from the belly of the mountain.

The assassin lurking in the shadow of the cliff suddenly exerted force, and dozens of boulders the size of millstones were blown off the cliff.

The knights climbing below only had time to look up before they were swallowed up by the death torrent carrying rubble.

Amid the rumbling sound of boulders rolling down, there were the crisp sounds of armor shattering and the muffled sounds of bones breaking. Blood flowed down the steep cliff, emitting an eerie glow in the moonlight.

The cooperation between Shadow Elves and Berserker Knights is seamless.

The former hides in the shadows, and his poisoned arrows reap lives accurately like the whisper of death; the latter wields a heavy flail, and every swing brings up a bloody mist.

Under attack from both sides, this group of elite knights who had undergone rigorous training could only hold out for half an hour before they were defeated like a tide.

The last survivor was entangled by the ankles of the violent knight's flail, dragged to the edge of the cliff, and thrown into the abyss like a rag.

In the tent at the foot of the mountain, the messenger knelt on one knee, covered in blood, and said, "Captain of the Thousands! The surprise attack on the back mountain failed! The 34 elite soldiers we sent out only found 34 bodies, and the whereabouts of the rest are unknown..."

Before he finished speaking, there was a loud noise of chariot collision outside the tent, but there was no shouting and fighting as before - this seemingly fierce head-on confrontation was just a feint to confuse the defenders.

……

In the main camp at the rear, the leader of the Hague Knights, Stanford, was furious and kicked the prostrate vanguard general Andilo to the ground: "Two thousand cavalrymen can't capture a hill? You are a disgrace to the Knights! If you can't take Eagle's Beak Cliff before midnight, you will all go to the front line and be cannon fodder!"

Stanford's ruby-studded combat boots rolled over the back of Andilo's hand, and the gems glowed blood-red in the moonlight.

The military advisor stepped forward and tapped the sand table with his folding fan: "Wait a minute, Captain. The Eagle's Beak Cliff is in a dangerous position, and a strong attack will not be worth the effort. In my opinion, we only need to divide a thousand soldiers to guard the entrance of the valley and trap the defenders on the mountain. Our real goal - the Fusion Stone of the Druid Tribe - is the most urgent task."

Stanford frowned, a trace of doubt flashed in his eyes: "Are you sure the Fusion Stone is in the Druid Tribe? Yesterday, the vanguard army broke into their lair, but found nothing..."

He stroked the rune sword at his waist, the magic patterns on the sword faintly visible in the darkness, "This holy object that can give the holder divine power must not fall into the hands of others."

As dusk fell and the night was as dark as ink, candles flickered in the tents of the Knights of the Hague.

The military advisor's skinny fingers stroked the philosopher's stone in his hand, which was shrouded in gray mist. Mysterious runes appeared faintly on the surface of the gem, looming in the dim light.

He raised his head, his eyes as sharp as a hawk, and looked at the first leader sitting upright: "Leader, I am sure this time. Although our raid on the druid tribe was a great success yesterday, the Fusion Stone was taken away by the druids. In order to lure out those druids, I deliberately left some alive, just to let them fall into the trap. At the same time, I also gave them some seasonings, so they will not escape this time."

The military advisor paused and continued, "We have already laid a tight net this time. The elite Knights of the Hague have sent out all their best troops to surround the Druid Tribe. As long as we use the Philosopher's Stone to lock the position of the Fusion Stone, no matter how they struggle, they will not be able to escape from our grasp."

There was a determination in his voice, as if victory was already within reach.

Outside the tent, the night wind whistled past with a strong smell of blood, making a shrill whimper.

The shouting and screaming coming from the direction of Eagle's Beak Cliff in the distance gradually weakened, and an unsettling silence filled the air.

This silence is not a sign of peace, but rather a harbinger of an even more severe storm to come.

Under the moonlight, the tents of the Knights were connected together, like a steel cage, trapping the Druid Tribe in the center.

At the same time, in the elders' meeting hall of the Druid tribe, the atmosphere was so solemn that it was almost suffocating.

The old patriarch's vein-filled hand slammed down on the stone table, shaking the bronze candlesticks on the table: "Waste! All of them are waste! So many people, and they can't even hold out for one night!"

His bloodshot eyes were burning with anger, completely different from his usual kind and wise image.

Priest Balman looked at the out-of-control patriarch in front of him, his heart filled with confusion and worry.

The words and deeds of this once highly respected leader now completely deviate from the peaceful ideals passed down from generation to generation by the Druids.

"Chief," Balman said carefully, "those human knights have no contract with us and are not obliged to work for us. Moreover, druids are always kind to others and never force others to sacrifice for us..."

"Shut up!" the old patriarch suddenly shouted, a strange red light flashing in his eyes, "Humans are inferior creatures! They are born to serve us and to die for us on the battlefield!"

There was an almost crazy paranoia in his voice that made everyone present shudder.

Balmain took a step back in shock, his eyes sweeping over the tribesmen standing behind the chief.

Their faces were cold and their eyes were empty, completely lacking the gentleness and compassion that are unique to druids.

Adjutant Kanaz also noticed something was wrong and whispered, "Master Priest, they... seem to be controlled by something."

At this moment, a signalman rushed in in a panic: "Chief! The human knights have begun to attack! They have broken through the outer defense line!"

Unexpectedly, the old patriarch not only did not panic, but instead showed a bloodthirsty smile: "Good! You came just in time! Let these humans see the true power of the druids!"

He waved his arm and walked out of the meeting room first.

Those tribesmen with strange expressions immediately followed behind in unison, like a group of controlled puppets.

Balmain looked at their receding backs, feeling an ominous premonition in his heart.

What happened to the Druids? Where will the secret of the Fusion Stone lead this ancient tribe?

In the darkness of night, the drums of war sounded, and a bloody battle that would determine fate was about to begin.

The stone door of the meeting hall slammed shut behind him, and Balmain's knuckles turned white as he gripped the crystal staff.

The night wind blew sand and gravel onto his wrinkled face. The sound of metal colliding in the distance became clearer, but not as frightening as the faint footsteps that suddenly sounded behind him.

"Master Priest!" The clear call with a crying tone pierced the night.

Balman turned around suddenly. Under the moonlight, Gulina, a druid elf girl the size of a palm, was floating in the air, her butterfly wings as thin as a cicada's wing glowing with a faint blue fluorescence.

The vine wreath in her hair was tattered, her amber eyes were filled with tears, and her tiny fingertips were still stained with dirt - she had obviously escaped in a hurry from the tree hole where she was hiding.

"Gulina? How come you..." Balman's throat tightened.

The guardian of the holy spring, who was held in high esteem by the entire clan, was now in a heartbreaking state of disgrace.

"It's the holy spring!" The girl flapped her wings quickly and flew to the priest's ear, "Yesterday, the human knights took advantage of the chaos and threw black powder into the spring. When we tested it, it was clearly non-toxic, but after my father and the tribesmen drank it...their eyes changed!"

The elf choked up and pointed in the direction of the meeting hall, "The chieftain began to worship power crazily. Even Captain Chloe completely lost her mind when she used the Fusion Stone to transform!"

Balmain's crystal staff slammed heavily on the ground, and the emerald inlaid on the top of the staff suddenly burst into a dazzling light.

Balmain recalled Chloe's distorted face when she led the warriors to charge. That was clearly not the state of a normal transformation.

"I tried to use the Moon Goddess Prayer to remove the magic," Gulina trembled and clutched the hem of her skirt, strange black veins appeared under her translucent skin.

"But I can't go back either." Gulina spread her wings, and spider-web-like patterns appeared on her originally white scales. "The black matter is eroding our original power."

A sharp roar of an animal was heard in the distance, shaking the treetops.

Balman no longer hesitated, and placed his palm on Gulina's back to inject spiritual power: "Take me to the holy spring. Now!"

He could feel some kind of cold power flowing through the girl's body, which was far more dangerous than he had imagined.

If the Knights truly tamper with the druids' most sacred source of power, the balance of the entire continent will be disrupted.

Gulina's butterfly wings vibrated violently, drawing broken blue light trails in the night sky.

Her thin body carried Balmain through the charred bushes, and a strange purple fluorescence was faintly visible under the humus soil.

That was a unique warning barrier within a hundred meters of the holy spring, but at this moment it was twisted and festering like a poisonous wound.

When the moonlight finally illuminated the sacred spring pool, Balmain gasped.

The spring water that used to be crystal clear was now surging with asphalt-like black mist. Half of the twelve guardian crystals embedded in the bottom of the pool had been shattered, and the surface of the remaining crystals was covered with spider-web-like cracks.

Gulina staggered and held onto the basalt by the pool, her butterfly wings emitting tiny fluorescent lights as she vibrated violently.

At noon she was still collecting morning dew here. At that time, the spring water was as clear as a mirror, reflecting the sky. The ripples that appeared when the tribesmen drank from it flashed with a holy light.

At this moment, an inky vortex was surging in the center of the spring, and the dead leaves floating on the water were strangely twisted into the shape of a skull.

&34;How could...how could it turn out like this...&34;