Chapter 51: War

    Starlight Calendar 1250.

    The beginning of Winter Music Month.

    Not long after the new year, Shining Light City, accusing Black Stone City’s Lord Kei Arnest of colluding with the Starfire Sect, demanded that he appear in Shining Light City alone to plead guilty and receive punishment. After Kei Arnest refused, they brazenly launched an attack on Black Stone City.

    Clack! Clack!

    The sound of metal armor plates rubbing against each other echoed.

    Kei led his men onto the city wall, taking the brass telescope from Bread and gazing into the distance.

    Under the night sky, the entire plain outside the city was dotted with bonfires.

    Silhouettes danced around the fires, and dense tents formed a continuous stretch, extending far into the plains.

    “Owen has brought out his entire force this time, not just his own army, but also the armies of those three traitors, Devin, Zolf, and Norwood. On top of that, they’ve recruited over a thousand mercenaries!”

    Bread, looking at the army in the distance, had a somewhat heavy expression.

    Owen’s faction alone had nearly four thousand soldiers, and with the addition of mercenaries, their army size had exceeded five thousand, almost four times that of Black Stone City. This war wouldn’t be easy.

    “Mercenaries are nothing to worry about. These guys are undisciplined, just a bunch of rabble. They might be useful in a frontal battle on the flatlands, but they’ll be a drag in a siege.”

    Kei put down the brass telescope, speaking calmly, but his brows were slightly furrowed, clearly not as composed as he claimed.

    Although he had known that after the assassination attempt failed, Owen would likely tear down all pretense and directly attack Black Stone City, Kei still felt a heavy pressure when it actually happened.

    Especially seeing the densely packed army outside the city walls made the burden on his shoulders even heavier.

    Black Stone City had been expanding its military equipment all this time, but even now, they only had a barely-maintained army of around thirteen hundred.

    Of those, three hundred were militia who had only received basic training and hadn’t seen blood yet. It was questionable how much combat effectiveness they would have on the battlefield.

    Of the remaining one thousand, eight hundred were city guards with decent fighting skills.

    The remaining two hundred belonged to the Blackrock Cavalry.

    This was Kei’s true trump card!

    “It’s a pity we had so little time. If I had another year or two, I could have turned the Blackrock Cavalry into a true full knight army. Even if there were only two or three hundred, conquering the entire Shining Light Territory would be a breeze!”

    Kei sighed inwardly.

    Training a Blackrock Cavalry cost about fifty gold coins.

    Even with the Blackstone Mine, a cash cow, the Blackrock Cavalry’s expansion had always been slow.

    In terms of knights alone, Black Stone City already had over one hundred and sixty.

    Many baron territories didn’t even have that many knights!

    Not to mention that Black Stone City also had two hundred Blackrock Beasts with knight-level combat power!

    In total, Black Stone City had over three hundred knight-level combat power.

    To be honest, if Black Stone City hadn’t been limited to one city, and its basic military strength was so weak, with nothing else to show for besides the Blackrock Cavalry, a mere Owen wouldn’t be a match for them.

    And it all had to thank Lord Su Nan.

    “I wonder where Lord Su Nan is now?”

    Jorton patted the long sword at his waist, grinning: “If Lord Su Nan were here, we wouldn’t even need to defend. We’d just charge out and crush those bastards!”

    The surrounding knights all nodded in agreement.

    Even the usually steady Bread was no exception.

    If it were anyone else, even a peak Great Knight, they wouldn’t believe that a single person could sway the outcome of a war involving five or six thousand troops.

    But Su Nan was different.

    They had witnessed the incredible and unpredictable power of wizards, and thus had immense confidence.

    If it were him, he might truly create a jaw-dropping miracle!

    Without lingering too long, Kei observed for a while from the city wall and then turned to leave.

    Preparations for war were incredibly tedious, and he had many things to arrange.

    The next day.

    Not long after dawn, a low, mournful horn echoed from outside the city.

    Kei, accompanied by his officers, ascended the city wall. As they looked out, they saw the enemy’s densely packed army beginning to form formations and ranks.

    Soon, thousands of soldiers, pushing siege weaponry, began to advance slowly towards the city wall.

    “They’re so eager.”

    A cold glint flashed in Kei’s eyes. He raised his hand and commanded in a deep voice, “Prepare to meet the enemy!”

    “Yes, Lord!”

    The officers responded in unison, then turned and loudly instructed their soldiers to prepare for battle.

    The defending army sprang into action.