frightfiction Chapter 458 Border Ambush
Chapter 458 Border Ambush
The night dew grew heavier, and amid the crackling sound of the campfire, Alpha keenly caught the lingering groan in the dwarf's throat and the silent sigh of the dwarf as he stroked the war wolf's broken tail.
He gently placed the ceramic bowl on the wooden block, and the glazed surface reflected the tired but excited faces of the crowd: "Let's put aside the debate for now. Today we defeated the enemy with fewer troops, which is a great victory worth remembering."
The gilded armor made a slight sound as he moved. He was the first to raise the clay bowl, and the moonlight flowed like a river on the cross.
Barras's beard trembled with laughter, and the ceramic bowl hit Alpha's metal wristband with a crisp sound: "If the bowl is filled with malt liquor, this victory will be complete!"
The dwarf forge master tilted his head back and drank the cold tea, his Adam's apple rolling as he let out a hearty burp.
"When we arrive at the mining city, I'll have people open three cellars to age the wine." Alpha's eyes swept across the dwarf's war wolf curled up in the shadows, and then fell on the slender fingertips of the elf wiping the arrows, "But at this moment, the wolves in the wasteland are still howling, and I'm sure you all know better than me that drunkenness can lead to mistakes."
The dwarf leader wiped his mouth with the back of his rough hand, and the metal wrist guard jingled against the battle axe: "Your Excellency is right! I will come to you to seek justice after I get the bartender in the mining city drunk!"
His laughter shook the leaves off the trees above his head, and it seemed as if the argument about tactics had never existed.
When everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, Barras suddenly kicked away the wooden bowl at his feet, and his anvil-like voice pierced through the night: "My Lord! The forge is running out of fine iron, and those chariot modifications..."
His words were interrupted by the howling of wolves in the distance, but it did not affect the fiery glow in the dwarf's eyes at all.
Alpha looked at the oil seeping from the cracks in the dwarves' armor, and suddenly remembered how they carried hot iron plates across the battlefield during the day - these tireless warriors even held their hammers when they took a nap.
"Melt the heavy armor of the captives." Alpha's fingertips traced the runes of the Bloodthirster. "Give each person a hand shield, just enough for them."
As the moonlight climbed up the watchtower, Alpha could still hear the clanking sounds coming from the forge.
Through the cowhide tent, he saw the silhouette of Balas swinging a hammer with his bare arms, and the sparks bloomed into fleeting fireworks in the night.
The confiscated steel is melting in the crucible, just like this group of warriors with complex identities, who will eventually be reshaped into new edges in the flames.
The night wind swept across the treetops, bringing the unique scent of laurel in the elven forest into the tent.
Evelyn walked barefoot on the dewy grass, her long silver hair gleaming with pearly luster in the moonlight.
She tilted her neck back, her fingertips tracing across the starry night sky: "Master Alpha, look at that nebula next to Vega. Doesn't it look like the broken diamonds that the moon goddess scattered in the world?"
The Paladin's gilded wristband brushed against the silver vine ornaments hanging from her waist, and his warm palm pressed against the elf's slender waist: "No matter how bright the stars are, they are not even one ten-thousandth as bright as the princess's eyes."
His voice was wrapped in the residual warmth of the campfire, and it startled Evelyn so much that the tips of her ears turned red.
Suddenly, a silver-blue light tore through the night sky.
Evelyn's eyelashes fluttered as she pointed at the fleeting meteor and said, "Look! It's the messenger of the moon god!"
Before she finished speaking, Alpha's deep voice rang in her ears: "In my hometown, if you make a wish when you see a shooting star, the wish will fall into the world with the moonlight."
The elf princess glanced at him suspiciously, but still closed her eyes devoutly.
The moonlight outlined her delicate nose, and her feathery eyelashes cast butterfly-wing-like shadows under her eyes.
At this moment, the embrace with the scent of leather and cedar suddenly tightened, and warm lips fell on the corner of her trembling lips.
"Ah!" Evelyn opened her eyes suddenly, and blush quickly spread to the tips of her ears.
She pushed Alpha's chest armor, but he grabbed her waist and spun her around. The starry sky turned into a colorful vortex in her vision.
"Put me down quickly! Patrol guards..." Evelyn's coquettish voice was shattered in the wind by the laughter.
"Where is the person?" Alpha smiled and stopped, only to see Evelyn suddenly wink slyly.
The Elf Princess tapped Alpha's forehead with her fingertips, and her silver bell-like laughter swept through the treetops: "Didn't you humans say--"
She turned and jumped into the shadows, the fluorite earrings on the ends of her hair sparkling like stars, "Women's words are the least trustworthy?"
The Paladin looked in the direction where she disappeared, with a gentle curve at the corner of his lips.
In the distance came the clanking sounds of a dwarven forge, mixed with the dwarf's whispers to soothe the war wolf, but neither was as deafening as the coquettish voice just now that lingered in my heart.
Alpha raised his hand to catch the laurel petals that fell on his shoulder, then walked towards the camp under the starry sky. The moonlight cast a hazy silver gauze on his armor.
The night mist was like a veil, entwining the ancient fir trees.
Melissa walked barefoot on the dew-covered moss, and the silver moon turned her long hair into a flowing river of stars.
There was a slight sound behind her, and Melissa's fingertips stroked the Moon Goddess Bow at her waist, her tone lazily saying, "I thought it was someone else, it turns out to be a busy man trying to please the princess."
Alpha's gilded armor brushed against her fluorite-studded skirt, and her warm breath brushed against the elf's pointed ears: "Aren't you afraid to face the night of the wasteland alone?"
Alpha's arms were wrapped around her slender waist, and the touch of leather and armor was wrapped in the scent of cedar and gunpowder.
Melissa suddenly turned around, her emerald eyes reflecting the starlight: "Who else would be wandering around at this time except you?"
She suddenly leaned closer, her nose quivering, "You smell like Evelyn's laurel."
Before he finished speaking, anger was already evident on his face. "You know very well that the princess of the elves..."
"I want her, and I want you too." Alpha pressed her against the cold tree trunk, the chains of her armor colliding with her silver jewelry.
The moonlight passed over the stigmata between Alpha's brows, casting a fiery light in Melissa's astonished pupils.
The elven warrior's fingertips grasped his cloak tightly, but loosened when they touched the other's hot palm.
"If you dare to betray me..." Melissa's voice was crushed by the evening breeze, and Alpha's kiss had already landed on the corner of her trembling lips.
The damp moss wrapped in the fragrance of fir, mixed with rapid breathing, spread into the night.
"I swear by the Holy Light." Alpha's whispers were mixed with panting, and her fingertips caressed her red ears. "When the war is over, I want to see you holding ten little winged guys and chasing butterflies under the laurel tree."
The moment Melissa closed her eyes, the starlight of the Milky Way fell silently into their intertwined figures.
……
The morning mist had not yet dissipated, but the clanging sounds from the forge had already penetrated the camp.
The dwarf Baras walked over to the anvil carrying a gear half his height, iron filings still stuck to his beard, and his bronze armor gleamed shiny in the morning sun.
"My Lord! We worked hard last night to replace the chariot's capstan with a composite gear, and also installed a cast iron guard on the carriage!" Barras smashed the gear to the ground, causing gravel to fly everywhere.
Alpha stroked the newly cast diamond-shaped armor of the chariot, and felt the unique coolness of the metal on his fingertips: "It is indeed a dwarven forging technique, even the Holy Light is inferior to it."
This made Barras's beard rise up proudly, "Once we get into the mining city, I'll open a special workshop for you and build you a hundred fire-breathing war fortresses!"
"It's a deal!" The dwarf swung his battle axe in the air, causing a metallic buzzing sound. "As long as there is enough ore, I can even make an iron bird fly in the sky!"
When Alpha turned around, the morning light was illuminating the prisoners lined up in the distance.
Alpha raised the iron shield in his hand and said: "Use these for now. Remember, the chariots are your walls--"
Before he finished speaking, Da Gama suddenly stepped out, his rough hands tightly grasping the wooden spear: "Sir! We thought... that we would go to the battlefield unarmed."
"It is a cowardly act to let a warrior face the enemy without armor." Alpha slammed his shield against Da Gama's chest, and the leather and chain mail collided with a dull sound.
"But trust needs to be tempered. From today on, you have three chances to fight. If you can always follow us..." Alpha suddenly pulled out the Bloodthirsty Spear, and the tip of the spear raised a ray of morning glow, "I will personally wear the badge of the Imperial Knights for you!"
These words fell like sparks into the dry grassland.
Three hundred pairs of eyes instantly lit up with blazing light, some trembled and gripped their wooden shields, while others choked and repeated the word "Imperial Knight".
Da Gama suddenly knelt on one knee, and the soldiers behind him, like a wheat field blown by the wind, all performed the chivalric salute in unison.
"Fight for glory!" The deafening roar startled the birds in the forest.
Alpha looked at these soldiers who once held the white flag, and the stigma on his forehead felt slightly hot.
Alpha raised his spear and pointed it to the east: "Once the mission is completed, I will return with the fleet! None of your wives and children will be missing!"
Amid the cheers, Barras quietly wiped his eyes and turned back to hammering the rivets of the chariot.
In the distance, the sound of silver bells as Melissa distributed arrows to the elves, mixed with the low coaxing of the dwarves to appease the war wolves, weaving into a new war song in the morning mist.
The morning mist covered the camp like a veil. Alpha stood on the makeshift altar, his long silver hair fluttering in the breeze.
Alpha slowly opened his arms, and the holy mark on his forehead suddenly burst into dazzling golden light, like a rising sun.
In an instant, the warm and sacred light spread out in all directions like a tide, and the people bathed in the holy light exclaimed in amazement.
The wild wolves stopped roaring and lay docilely on the ground, letting the light caress their scarred fur;
The fear in the prisoners' eyes gradually faded, replaced by awe and shock.
Only the dark elves and wild boar warriors stayed away. Their skin began to smoke the moment the holy light touched it, and the air was filled with a pungent smell of burning.
As the holy light became brighter, Alpha's figure began to sway slightly.
This hymn of light that covered five or six hundred people and hundreds of war wolves almost exhausted all his magic power.
When the last ray of light faded, Alpha staggered and held onto the pillar beside him, his face as pale as paper.
The magical effect was evident among the crowd.
The soldiers' wounds healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, broken bones reconnected with a slight crisp sound, and even the deepest fatigue was swept away.
Except for a few serious injuries, everyone has regained their former energy and spirit.
Alpha struggled to climb onto the chariot, leaned on the soft cushion and let out a long sigh.
He looked at the beautiful scenery passing by outside the window, with a faint smile on the corner of his mouth.
At this moment, Alpha's weakness is both a price and a rare excuse to rest.
Not far away, Melissa crossed her arms and stared at the roof with her emerald eyes: "That guy did it on purpose, he just wanted to sit on the chariot and drink tea comfortably."
Melissa's tone was full of jealousy and dissatisfaction.
Evelyn shook her head slightly, and her voice was like a silver bell with a hint of resentment: "Melissa, you can't think of Lord Alpha like this. He has exhausted his magic power for us, and now he is just taking a short break, and he is still alert to the movements around him."
Melissa curled her lips and was about to retort, but she saw Alpha suddenly hand the teacup to the maid Fanxing, winking at her and making a playful face.
The elf warrior's cheeks suddenly turned red. He stomped his feet and turned away, leaving behind a string of coquettish cries like silver bells.
And from the chariot, Alpha's triumphant chuckle was heard, mixed with the scent of tea and drifting in the morning breeze.
The midday sun scorched the endless grassland, and Alpha's team crushed the hot sand like a black torrent.
The gilded flags on the chariots fluttered, and the crescent emblem and the stigmata of the cross shone brightly in the scorching sun.
The iron hooves of six hundred war horses crushed the steaming summer air, and the raised dust outlined a long winding dragon in the air.
Of course, with so many war horses, there are only more than 300 knights, and the rest can only be considered wolf knights.
Da Gama suddenly pulled the reins, and the horse's front hooves rose into the air and neighed.
The former border army sergeant's eyes swept across the rolling grass in the distance, his Adam's apple rolling restlessly: "Sir, even the wind is weird."
Da Gama's fingers stroked the unsheathed sword at his waist, "If I were in charge, I would definitely set up a triple ambush at the Red Willow Beach in Romania - the terrain there is concave, which is perfect for catching turtles in a jar."
Alpha took off his helmet and let the sweat flow down his silver hair.
He stared at the distant horizon, the stigma on his forehead slightly burning: "Pass the order, everyone raise the flag!"
Before he finished his words, three black flags embroidered with the imperial emblem rose into the sky. The chain mail reflected a dazzling cold light in the sunlight, startling a group of circling vultures.
The dwarves arranged their war wolves into a sharp wedge formation, and the dwarf-forged catapults slowly turned on both sides of the team, making a teeth-grinding sound of metal friction.
Evelyn raised her hand to call for the breeze, and the laurel-scented wind swept across the warriors' tense nerves. Her long silver hair fluttered in the wind, like a waterfall formed by moonlight.
"The fox is taking advantage of the tiger's might?" Alpha stroked the runes on the Bloodthirsty Spear, a sneer on his lips.
Alpha remembered the sneer that Lister gave him when he threw his armor at him before he left. At this moment, the exquisite chain mail was making tiny noises as the warhorses shook, like the echo of fate.
After all, when Alpha fired the first shot in the name of the Imperial Knight, the oath had already been melted into the hot yellow sand.
The heat wave, carrying sand and gravel, rushed towards the hiding place. The Knight Commander squinted his eyes and stared through the telescope at the dust and fog rolling at the end of the horizon.
The black flags embroidered with the crescent emblem fluttered in the scorching sun. The sound of metal clashing mixed with the low howls of war wolves came with the wind, which made him sneer.
"General! The other side is holding the imperial flag!" The adjutant's hands holding the reins were sweating, and the grass debris that came out of the gaps in the armor fell with the trembling. "Should we... ask the border governor first?"
The Knight Commander suddenly smashed the telescope onto the sand. The crisp sound of the lens breaking startled several sand lizards.
He pulled open his collar to reveal a hideous scar, the skin there still had a purple tinge: "Idiot! The Imperial Fleet and the Maritime Alliance are fighting a bloody battle outside the mining city right now!"
The Knight Commander whipped the pile of scrap iron with his whip, shaking off the rust and dust. "When these pagans colluded with the pirates to burn, kill and plunder, they didn't think about the friendship of the empire!"
The adjutant shrank his neck, but saw that the knight commander had already drawn his gold-inlaid sword.
The sunlight reflected from the blade was so bright that it was hard to open one's eyes. His hoarse roar echoed in the valley: "Remember the Third Squadron that was crushed last month?"
Those were the actions of the bandits from the Maritime Alliance. If we don't obey, we will suffer the same fate as them.
The blade of his knife passed through the giant rolling log beside him. Amid the flying wood chips, he bared his sharp white teeth and said, "Tell the slingers, when they are within range, bury those iron bastards in the quicksand!"
With a sharp whistle, the soldiers hiding behind the bushes began to move.
Twenty modified giant crossbows slowly rose up, and the bowstrings were wrapped with clay pots filled with asphalt instead of arrows;
Dozens of engineers were pushing logs coated with butter into the pre-made trenches, and the sharp barricades piled up next to them were shining coldly in the sunlight.
Under the sand dunes in the distance, hundreds of bags of quicksand mixed with gravel have been prepared, waiting for the prey to step into the trap.
The Knight Commander stroked the national medal on his waist. The silver badge, which was burned black by the war, hurt his palm.
When the Knight Commander looked at the military flags approaching the sky, it was unclear whether the flames of revenge or the enthusiasm for military orders flickered in his eyes: "This time, we must let them know that every grain of sand on the grassland is the sharp blade of the empire."