Knight: Becoming King of the World

Boman was like a beast about to pounce on its prey. He spun around, strode toward his troops, and commanded in a booming voice, "Warriors, bring up the siege engines! Today, we’ll give these defenders a taste of our might!"

At his command, the soldiers’ morale surged. They had been resting and conserving their energy, just waiting for a real fight. Now, they were brimming with boundless strength! They eagerly pushed the Cloud Ladder siege engines forward, advancing on the city wall.

Fass had wanted to ask Henry what his plan was for himself and his army. After all, facing such a sturdy wall and a well-prepared garrison, victory would be difficult without a meticulous strategy.

On their own, they could probably fight their way onto the wall and establish a foothold, but it would be difficult to press any further.

In the end, however, he swallowed his words, turned, and led his own army to join the ranks pushing the siege engines toward the city.

Henry stood his ground, his gaze locked on the tall, sturdy city gate.

That gate was the key to breaching Odoche. He stretched his hands and feet, his joints cracking as he made his final preparations for what came next.

"Haha."

Bain, also fully armored, glanced at Henry and asked, "My lord, what are you laughing about?"

Henry shook his head. He couldn’t help but smile when he thought about the grand feat he was about to perform.

As Boman’s and Fass’s armies pushed the Cloud Ladder siege engines closer to the wall, Henry slowly swung the great axe and warhammer in his hands.

Seeing this, the soldiers let out a sky-shattering roar, their morale soaring to its peak.

"Kill!"

The horns of battle had sounded!

Boman’s and Fass’s armies pushed the heavy Cloud Ladder siege engines, surging toward the wall like a great tide.

The wheels of the siege engines carved deep ruts into the ground, their loud creaking a declaration of the coming destruction.

The archers on the wall quickly nocked their arrows, drew their bows, and took aim at the siege engines.

"Loose!" With the officer’s command, a rain of arrows poured down, heading straight for the siege engines.

In Boman’s and Fass’s armies, many soldiers were struck by arrows and knocked to the ground, but their armor absorbed the impact, leaving them unharmed.

The others did not stop, continuing to push the siege engines forward. ’Only at the base of the wall will we be safe!’

THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!

The siege engines finally slammed into the city wall with a deafening crash. A cloud of dust shook loose from the ramparts. The defenders on the wall felt the ground tremble beneath their feet from the immense impact, but they quickly regained their footing.

Boman’s and Fass’s soldiers swarmed up the engines with the agility of monkeys. One soldier, the first to reach the top, leaped onto the wall without hesitation.

The defenders on the wall immediately swarmed him. Swords clashed, sending sparks flying.

The soldier’s Long Sword was a whirlwind of motion. He parried left and thrust right, successfully fending off the defenders’ attacks.

However, the defenders were too numerous, and he was soon surrounded.

"For victory!"

More of Boman’s and Fass’s soldiers leaped onto the wall, joining the fray.

They engaged the defenders in brutal close-quarters combat. Every stray blade was potentially fatal.

The soldiers’ faces were slick with blood—some of it their own, some from their comrades, some from their enemies.

The unprotected parts of their bodies were torn open, and wounds were ripped anew in the fighting, but no one retreated.

’Whether we live or die, there’s money to be made once the fighting starts. But if we desert? Sorry, unless the nobles run too, heh.’

A soldier from the Odoche garrison repeatedly thrust his extended spear at an enemy soldier climbing up.

The climbing soldier, quick-witted and agile, blocked the somewhat feeble spear thrust with his shield. Then, another of his comrades who had already made it onto the wall seized the opportunity and ran his sword through the defender’s stomach.

The defender let out a horrific scream and clutched his stomach as blood gushed out like a spring. The churning of the blade spilled his intestines and organs onto the ground.

He staggered a few times before finally collapsing against the wall, his breath gone, never to rise again.

The soldiers on both sides traded blows, their swords clashing, neither willing to show any weakness.

One defending soldier was suddenly stabbed in the thigh by one of Boman’s infantrymen and fell to the ground in agony, but he didn’t give up the fight.

He thrust back viciously with his short sword. A scream rang out, and with their balance lost, the two devolved into a thuggish brawl of kicks and punches.

The battle grew more intense. The soldiers on both sides, their eyes bloodshot, descended into a state of utter frenzy. They no longer cared for their own safety, thinking only of how to kill the enemy before them.

This was the nature of a siege. You either didn’t fight one, or once you started, it was an immediate, white-hot, decisive battle.

On and below the wall, flesh and blood flew. Screams of pain and roars of fury rose and fell in waves.

Below, Boman and Fass anxiously directed their armies, organizing them into groups for phased assaults.

Seeing their soldiers fighting and dying on the wall filled them with both pride and immense sorrow.

Their investment in training their soldiers far exceeded Henry’s, and their bond with their men was much deeper.

"Quick, get another siege engine over there!"

Boman shouted, waving his sword and ordering his men to bring another siege engine from the rear camp to inspire the soldiers to keep charging.

Hearing the command, the soldiers immediately started pushing another siege engine toward the wall. Caught up in the heat of battle, they had already cast aside all thoughts of life and death. ’The atmosphere is just too intense, there’s no helping it.’

The battle on the wall raged on, with soldiers on both sides giving it their all.

A life-and-death struggle was incredibly draining. Emotions like fear, dread, or even excitement could also cause a person to misjudge their own physical state.

The weapons in their hands felt impossibly heavy, yet they kept swinging. Their stamina was draining away, but their will to fight had not diminished in the slightest.

’Are you kidding me? A single second of carelessness could mean instant death!’

Just as the enemy’s attention was completely drawn to Boman’s and Fass’s assault, Henry let out a sudden roar. Like a tiger bursting from its cage, he charged out alone, making a beeline for the city gate.

His black armor made him look like a demon from Subspace. The great axe and warhammer in his hands reflected a blinding light in the sun, like two black bolts of lightning.

Henry reached the gate with incredible speed. His bulging arms swung wildly, each blow carrying immense force.

The warhammer slammed heavily against the gate, letting out a dull boom as if it would shatter the entire structure. The great axe, like a sharp razor, left deep gashes in the wood.

The gate was made of thick oak and reinforced with solid iron plating. It was thought to be strong enough to withstand any fierce enemy assault.

According to John’s calculations, not even a siege engine could break it down in a short amount of time.

However, before Henry’s great axe and warhammer, it was as fragile as paper.

The iron plates peeled off under the strikes of the great axe, and the oak cracked under the heavy blows of the warhammer.

"CRACK!"

With a crisp sound, a piece of iron plating on the gate was hacked off by Henry’s great axe, falling to the ground with a shrill clang.

Immediately after, Henry’s warhammer smashed down again, caving in a raised section of the gate.

From under the helmet that concealed his face, Henry let out a laugh.

’That’s it, smash!’

Henry’s target was the city gate. Once it was breached, the enemy’s defensive line would completely collapse.

Taking prisoners to wear down the enemy and so on was not Henry’s core objective. Those were just incidental, optional benefits.

Henry continued to swing his great axe and warhammer wildly, his eyes fixed only on the gate. Under his ferocious assault, the iron plates fell away one by one, and a large hole was gradually hacked into the oak.

"BOOM!"

Finally, with one heavy blow from Henry, a hole was completely smashed through the gate!

Sunlight streamed through the opening, illuminating Henry’s face, which glinted with killing intent. He raised his great axe and warhammer again, preparing to launch his final attack on the gate.

BANG!

A hole the size of an ox’s head was smashed through, and Henry’s eyes met those of John, who had just galloped up on his horse.