Lord of Winter: Beginning with Daily Intelligence Chapter 727 - 406: Monster (Part 2)
Previously on Lord of Winter: Beginning with Daily Intelligence...
An aged knight stood sentinel atop the battlements. Though his eyesight had dimmed with the passing years, his battlefield instincts remained sharper than any hawk's keen gaze.
He seized the arm of the knight next to him, his voice quivering with urgency, "Look... over there!"
The dense fog was torn asunder by the powerful air currents generated by a cavalry's thunderous charge.
Below the imposing city walls, a banner, scorched and tattered by flames yet undeniably majestic, unfurled against the wind.
It bore a dark golden dragon emblem, its wings outstretched, its formidable claws gripping the Imperial Longsword.
Only the direct descendants of the royal family were granted the honor of displaying such a sigil.
An immediate, profound silence fell upon the city wall.
A tall knight personally raised the banner high.
He then removed his helmet, revealing a visage that every seasoned knight within the Imperial Capital would instantly recognize.
Though deep lines etched his face, testament to the trials of time, his eyes retained a sharpness akin to a drawn blade.
He bellowed, his voice cutting through the ceaseless rain, "I am — Kaelin August!"
The name struck the silent city wall like a bolt of thunder.
"When I stood at the border, defending against the beast tide years ago! Many of you fought bravely at my side!"
He gestured emphatically towards the dragon banner he held, his voice slicing through the air with conviction, "And now, for a handful of blood-stained gold coins bestowed by those very beasts! You intend to loose arrows upon this banner?"
On the wall, a knight's fully drawn bowstring suddenly went slack, his arrow skittering harmlessly past the battlement.
The deputy commander of the Fifth Legion, positioned conspicuously high on the city wall, his armor intricately decorated, his avarice shining brighter than any polished metal, stepped forward.
Having accepted the bribe from Rhine and carrying out a death warrant, he yelled, "Do not heed his treacherous words! He is a traitor! I command you to fire! Whosoever strikes him down shall be immortalized with a reward of ten thousand gold!"
Yet, the anticipated rain of arrows remained disappointingly sparse.
A palpable hesitation gripped the defenders; some merely faltered, while others lowered their gazes, unable to meet the defiant gaze of the dragon banner. Still others quietly removed arrows from their quivers.
During this fleeting moment of indecision.
A ground-shaking rumble emanated from beyond the city gates.
More than ten thousand border knights surged forward, engulfing the Imperial Capital like an unstoppable tide!
The Dragon Blood youths ascended swiftly and silently, while the main force, a true storm of steel, charged relentlessly from the front.
"Charge!"
Kaelin brandished the dragon banner, his voice filled with an exhilarating fervor, as if challenging the very heavens.
His warhorse reared, its neigh echoing ominously in the dark.
Over ten thousand knights let out a unified roar and charged alongside him, their fighting energy igniting like fervent flames in the oppressive darkness, casting a defiant glow upon every wavering face watching from the city wall.
Absolute chaos erupted across the battlements.
......
The initial wave of Dragon Blood youths had already crested the wall's edge.
Their movements were unnervingly fluid, as if guided by unseen strings, propelled solely by an icy, bone-chilling bloodlust.
The moment their feet touched the ground, the blood-red fighting energy surrounding them violently erupted.
Like a deluge of fresh blood spilled outwards, the mist-like blood aura swept through the air, constricting the throats of nearby knights, leaving them gasping as if ensnared by an invisible vise.
These youths... were clearly no older than fifteen or sixteen years of age.
Yet, the density of their blood-colored fighting energy rivaled that of elite knights who had survived countless brutal battles.
They appeared as if summoned from a damned abyss, their faces adorned with gray-black scales along the sides.
Their eyes were vacant, featuring vertical pupils, and razor-sharp teeth were visible at the corners of their mouths, while dark, rune-like patterns pulsed faintly beneath their skin.
All these horrifying details conveyed a stark message to the Imperial Capital knights: these were no longer human.
One knight, reacting with remarkable speed, unleashed a horizontal slash, intending to bisect a charging youth.
However, the instant the blade bit into the youth's body, the young assailant astonishingly managed to grab the sword.
Scales peeled away as the sword drew blood, yet he showed no sign of pain, nor did he falter or retreat.
Instead, using the embedded sword as an anchor, he surged forward with immense force: "Urgh—!"
He lunged directly at the knight's chest, his wickedly sharp teeth sinking into the artery in the knight's neck!
A geyser of blood erupted, painting a terrifying arc across the air.
The knight's fighting energy flared desperately, but he could not dislodge the frenzied assailant clinging to him.
Three knights nearby rushed to their comrade's aid but intervened a crucial moment too late.
The youth, with the ferocity of a ravenous wolf, tore out the knight's throat.
Blood splattered across his face, further intensifying the vibrant hue of his blood-colored fighting energy.
"A... monster!!" someone shrieked in terror.
A panicked retreat began, knights stumbling over their comrades; many dropped their weapons, their hands trembling uncontrollably.
Another Dragon Blood youth charged headlong at an incoming lance.
The spearhead pierced his abdomen, yet he did not slow his charge by even a single step.
Despite his intestines spilling forth, he continued to slide forward along the length of the lance, seizing the knight's helmet with both hands and applying immense force.
"Cra—!"
The knight's armor fractured under the strain, his skull twisting with a sickening crack.
With a swift motion, the lance was wrenched from his abdomen, then wielded like a savage bludgeon, sweeping a nearby knight from the battlements!
A crimson downpour commenced, accompanied by echoing roars.
As the relentless tide of monsters continued its assault, the psychological fortitude of the Imperial Capital's defenders was violently shattered, leaving a gaping wound.
"I did not come here... to be a sacrifice..."
"Stay back! Stay away!!"
Overwhelmed, some cast aside their weapons and fled; others collapsed to their knees in prayer, while a few stumbled backward, falling and being crushed under the feet of their own comrades.
Yet, the Dragon Blood youths showed no signs of triumph.
They merely continued to execute their programmed directives.
Advance, slay, annihilate... with ever-increasing ferocity until their very last breath was extinguished.
......
And the formidable walls of the Imperial Capital, at this precise moment, began their true descent into ruin.
Amidst the pandemonium on the ramparts, the prince's personal guard positioned a siege ladder against the wall. The Second Prince, blade in hand, was the first to ascend it.
An arrow whistled past, narrowly missing his cheek and tearing through his ear, yet he remained unfazed, not even a flicker in his eyes.
Subsequently, the commander of the Fifth Legion, gazing upon the blood-drenched, almost monstrous Second Prince, averted his eyes, recalling the fiery valor he had witnessed charging alongside the prince at the frontier.
He also understood, with grim certainty, that the promised funds from the Fourth Prince would likely never materialize.
The tempest raged above the walls, arrowheads swirled indiscriminately through the darkened rain and mist, but the true force that fractured this section of the defense was not the enemy's assault, but the terror that had erupted within the defenders' hearts.
One of the defending knights finally succumbed to the pressure.
He relinquished his Imperial Longsword, sinking heavily to his knees in the pooling blood, tears streaming down his face, mingling with the falling rain.
"Your Highness! We can surrender! Please spare us... I fought alongside you before!"
His voice was a mournful cry, akin to a wounded beast.
He had harbored the hope that the Second Prince might hesitate, might show clemency as he had done previously, for the knight saw himself as merely an ordinary soldier caught in the fray.
However, it was not the Second Prince who responded.
Three Dragon Blood youths materialized before him without warning.
Their movements were as fluid as shadows, yet possessed a sickening, potent force.
The concept of surrender was alien to them; their existence was defined by a single imperative... kill!
Before the knight could utter a sound, the three Dragon Blood youths struck in unison. Claws flashed, razor-sharp teeth bared, and the brutal sounds of tearing flesh cut through the rain with horrifying clarity.
Blood and tissue erupted from gaps in the armor, and shattered bone fragments sprayed across the stone, like discarded refuse.
His pupils widened in his final moments, rolling upward, seeking a last glimpse of the Second Prince's absolution.
Kaelin stepped over the lifeless body without a second glance,
his boots treading upon the sodden, blood-soaked ground as he continued his ascent, as if climbing his own personal ladder to power.
The supervisory squad drew their swords, attempting to form a barrier, one shouting: "Stop them! Block—"
His declaration was cut short as Kaelin was already upon them.
His Fighting Spirit Sword Light sliced through the downpour like a streak of silver.
With a single diagonal sweep, the bodies of three supervisors were bisected from chest to abdomen.
Armor splintered, blood sprayed into the rain, and dismembered corpses tumbled down the slope.
Kaelin raised the chipped tip of his sword, his voice issuing forth, chilling and unyielding, like iron freshly pulled from a forge: "Press the attack."
His voice, though not overtly loud, managed to overpower the howling wind and drumming rain.
"Leave no one alive!"
These words acted as a spark, igniting a powder keg.
In the subsequent moment, the Dragon Blood youths, the frontier iron riders, and the defecting knights surged towards the breach like an unstoppable flood.
The entire defensive line crumbled with a deafening roar, the stone beneath their feet trembling from the impact of relentless trampling.
Scaffolding was swiftly erected against the wall, metal hooks biting deeply into the battlements.
Hundreds of knights began their climb, their iron armor clashing incessantly, producing a thunderous cacophony.
Rain cascaded down their plated armor, yet it could neither cleanse their bloodlust nor extinguish their killing intent.