Chapter 361 - 255: Are You Kidding Me
Their eyes met through the hole torn in the city gate. One man’s smile was cruel, the other’s expression frantic.
John’s face went pale, his eyes bulging so wide they looked ready to fall from their sockets. He recognized the giant, black-armored figure instantly. It was Henry. The distinctive black armor, the towering frame, and those eyes that seemed to devour all light—it all brought the nightmare at Ximira Castle rushing back in an instant.
Back then, right before his very eyes, Henry had slaughtered his powerful and brave Knights and Attendants one by one, as if they were mere chickens.
No, a massacre!
He would never forget it. The blood-soaked scene, the horrific screams... it was a nightmare that had haunted him ever since.
Now, seeing Henry smash through the city gate with his own two hands, a thousand thoughts raced through John’s mind.
’Is he even human?’ he thought, utterly aghast.
The gate was made of heavy oak, reinforced with thick iron plating. They had thought it could withstand any fierce assault—that not even a battering ram could breach it quickly.
And yet, Henry, with nothing but his own strength, had smashed a huge hole in it with his great axe and war hammer. Such power was simply beyond human limits.
And Henry hadn’t just broken the gate—he had punched a hole clean through it! *Through it!*
John drew a sharp, hissing breath, his expression twisting into pure panic. His lips trembled, but no sound came out.
His knuckles were white where he gripped his sword hilt. Sweat beaded on his forehead and trickled down, but he paid it no mind.
As he stared at Henry’s murderous face, a profound terror washed over him.
Henry raised his great axe and war hammer again, preparing for the final assault on the gate. The sharp edge of the axe caught the sun, flashing with a blinding light.
For a moment, John was in a daze. That flash of light seemed to announce the arrival of death itself.
His mind was in turmoil. He thought of his past glory, of the soldiers who had followed him through life and death in his youth.
They had later become nobles. They had died a few days ago.
He thought of his family and his lands. But now, it all seemed destined to vanish like a popped bubble.
He knew he had made a terrible mistake. He should never have given Henry the chance to reach the gate. He should never have underestimated his strength.
He had thought the sturdy walls and his valiant soldiers would be enough to hold off Henry’s assault. He never imagined Henry would shatter his defenses with such astounding power.
’This... this... this is impossible! It defies all logic!’
The reserve soldiers at the foot of the wall had also noticed something was wrong with the gate. Cries of alarm rose from their ranks, their faces etched with terror.
Some even began to back away, having no idea what was about to happen.
They couldn’t see Henry. All they could hear was a "BOOM... BOOM... BOOM..." coming from the gate. ’Has the enemy’s battering ram already started hitting the gate?!’
They could only hope that the jumbled, calf-high pile of stones behind the gate would be enough to slow the enemy’s advance.
The battle on the walls raged on, with Boman’s and Fass’s soldiers locked in fierce hand-to-hand combat with the garrison.
The sounds of fighting finally snapped John out of his stupor. He bellowed, "Quickly! Go stop him!"
But the soldiers only exchanged uncertain glances. No one dared to move forward.
They knew the battle on the walls was already underway. If the enemy had enough troops to assault the gate simultaneously, then defeat was a foregone conclusion.
’If we’re going to lose anyway, no one wants to throw their life away for nothing.’
Seeing his soldiers hesitate, John grew even more frantic. If the gate was completely breached, the consequences would be unthinkable.
Just then, Henry’s war hammer came crashing down again. The breach in the gate widened. He seemed oblivious to John’s panic and the soldiers’ cries, focused only on swinging his weapons, continuing his demolition.
The gate was no longer a solid line of defense, but merely an obstacle he was about to crush underfoot.
At that very moment, a squad of Senior Infantry rushed forward. They had been lying in wait in the shadows, their eyes fixed on the breach in the gate.
They were long accustomed to Henry’s power and weren’t the least bit shocked. Seriously, have you ever seen one man kill for four hours straight, felling over ten thousand enemies?
’A mere city gate was nothing...’
The moment Henry smashed the gate open wide enough for a man to pass, they would pour through without hesitation to secure a foothold.
Logic dictated there would be a pile of rubble behind the gate, and in such a confined space, only the men at the very front could engage the enemy.
Therefore, the task for the men behind them was to clear the rubble, open the gate fully, and let the Cavalry in. They formed up in a tight phalanx, gripping their longspears and shields.
If Henry’s Cavalry could ride into Odoche, the city would fall in an instant.
And don’t forget, Boman and Fass had also brought vast numbers of Cavalry, who were now chomping at the bit, eager to display their prowess.
A thousand, perhaps even two thousand or more, Cavalry flooding into a city, galloping freely through the streets... faced with such a scene, no one would be able to resist such an oppressive, overwhelming assault!
As the breach in the gate widened, the hearts of the Senior Infantry began to pound faster. They didn’t know when it had started, but whenever they took the field with Henry, their blood would begin to boil with excitement.
It made their stamina last longer, their energy burn brighter!
As Henry’s war hammer fell one last time with a deafening CRASH, the captain of the Senior Infantry threw his hand forward and roared, "Charge!"