Chapter 1328 - 1246: Return After Departure
At the end of October 1460, the weather had cooled down, and soldiers both inside and outside Branded City had switched to the woolen military uniforms.
These uniforms were transported through the Ibe River to Huaqiu City, then shipped by the beggar fleet of the Black Legion across several nearshore islands.
In fact, Jill’s courage to resolutely defend this isolated city came from this.
Branded City is a bay city situated at the corner of a semi-circular bay.
Due to the extremely long coastline and interconnected waterways, supplies can be conveniently shipped in from the sea.
Through the small transportation fleet of the sea beggars and the windmill people’s accumulated maritime charts and nearshore navigation experience, Branded City is not lacking in channels for external transport.
These volunteers from the windmill lands transport shiploads of wounded soldiers out, while bringing shiploads of hot-blooded youth from the windmill lands in.
The entire Branded City is like a large furnace, continually forging new weapons for the Black Legion.
In fact, after the Ge City massacre and the assassination of the governor in Lemmington, Branded City and the Black Legion have become the spiritual beacon for the people of the windmill lands.
All who want to resist choose to flock to Branded City.
Meanwhile, the Brotherhood from all over the windmill lands also centers around Branded City, constantly expanding their influence.
Whenever vampires oppress humans, large numbers of people choose to join the Brotherhood of the Holy Sect.
Especially after autumn, a large number of soldiers and officers from the Royal Court obtained territories in the windmill lands and started forcing humans to consume happiness potions.
This caused a massive number of people from the windmill lands to either flee to the nearshore islands or escape to Falan.
Only those who had no way out had to stay in place, either joining the Brotherhood or accepting the fate of happiness.
Because of the help from these people from the windmill lands who refuse to accept fate, Jill and others can hold on to today and even keep going.
The underground tactics outside the city have persisted for almost two weeks, but due to ordinary excavation techniques, they have not yet yielded any good results.
Jill even feels like they are actually rehearsing the excavation tactics, rather than genuinely attempting to siege the city.
This even makes Jill feel a bit exasperated, as he thought it would be a tit-for-tat confrontation, unexpectedly it turned out like this?
Especially recently, he also received news of vampire soldiers leaving by boat and Prince Vladislav appearing in Dam City.
After hearing that Konyaz is coming, he was already prepared for a bloodbath.
Thinking they were going to come in full force, yet it turned out to be just a show.
The senior officers of the Black Legion inside the city were puzzled and only after several meetings concluded:
It’s likely that this thorny Branded City delayed the time for fully launching the troops.
So they decisively stationed a portion of the forces here to hold down the Black Legion of Branded City, while the main force moved east.
That means the most intense siege battle has finally passed, and now it’s the rewarding stage.
Reviewing this battle, although a few outlying strongholds were removed, the current enemy forces are unable to pose any threat.
They can also provide support and command to the uprisings across the windmill lands through the sea beggars.
They held on, finally, after battling vampires night after night for a summer, they can finally get a normal good night’s sleep.
Starlight stirred the door, causing the bed curtains to ripple like waves, yet Jill stared at those floral bed curtains with eyes wide open, unable to fall asleep.
Perhaps it was because he was used to it, or maybe his biological clock hadn’t adjusted; he was just wide awake.
Tossing and turning for a long time, Jill simply got up, put on soft-soled cloth shoes, and wandered the corridor.
As he walked, he still didn’t feel sleepy, and coincidentally, he passed Todd’s room and paused.
"Knock, knock, knock." Jill knocked on Todd’s door.
No one answered, so Jill had to knock again, and a moment later, the door opened.
Wearing pajamas, Todd was sleepy-eyed: "What’s going on? Vampire night raid?"
"No, I just can’t sleep." Jill grabbed Todd’s arm to keep him from leaving. "Luckily you haven’t slept, keep me company for a walk."
"...Are you claiming your mother died?"
Jill was stunned: "My mother passed away before I can remember, so yeah, I know."
"...Oh, all right, let’s go." Todd pulled out a jacket to drape it over his shoulders, then pulled out a military knife and accompanied Jill up the city wall.
Standing on the top, they checked each post one by one, ensuring nothing was amiss, finally easing Jill a bit.
Branded City, formerly known for slavery, is now the largest gathering place of free people.
Jill, now not even thirty, is already the leading figure in the Black Legion, although most of the military affairs are handled by Todd, with Jill assisting Todd.
Just a few months of siege, and he’s already inexplicably agitated.
In terms of current warfare, this has just begun.
My god, from the first battle of the windmill lands, the chaos has continued for fifty years; when will it ever end?
Lemmington is dead, brother Mathis’s fate is unknown, family scattered across various lands, vampires slaughtering recklessly.
Why do these things always have to haunt the people of the windmill lands?
Standing by the wall, Jill said nothing, merely stared quietly at the sea, as if he could vent the pent-up melancholy from his heart.
Todd was silent, only raising his head skyward to observe the stars and those clouds slowly drifting by.
The sea under the starlight sparkled against the shore repeatedly, unchanged through time immemorial.
Gradually, the bewilderment and unease in Jill’s heart dissipated with the repeated washing of the seawater.
The quiet night, the serene sound of the tide, was like a symphony calming anxiety.
When Jill’s lungs were filled with the moist sea breeze, his restless heart finally calmed down.
"Let’s go back." The waves soothed Jill, now he finally felt a bit drowsy.
But Todd next to him remained motionless, still staring up.
"Hey, you wouldn’t be falling asleep standing there, would you?" Jill jabbed Todd.
Todd still did not move, merely raised his head: "Are there people raising eagles here? A whole flock of them?"
"No way, can eagles be raised in a flock?" Following Todd’s gaze, Jill’s eyes, full of blue water, were replaced by the night sky.
Yet at this upward glance, he saw shadowy figures resembling eagles faintly swirling among the clouds.
Eagles, no, how could there be such large eagles, and they seemed to be clutching something, like birds the size of himself.
No, no!
Jill immediately took off his lookout glasses from his neck, using the moonlight to gaze at the group of "eagles."
Damn, those aren’t eagles!
They are sand sculptures!
Appearing from the battle of Black Mountain, bizarre creatures from the southern deserts of the Western Continent — giant eagle sand sculptures.
As for what they were clutching in their talons, it wasn’t other prey but a group of vampires gliding with outstretched wings.
"Ring the bell, ring the bell, enemy attack, it’s not the south gate but the north gate!" Todd shouted first.
Jill only felt the blood coursing through his body rushing to his brain, ears filled with the pounding sound of his heartbeat.
As the giant eagles flew over the sea surface, he immediately reacted.
With the enemy’s underground tactics, he had redeployed much of his forces to the land outside the city, while trusting the sea surface to a few coastal defense cannons.
He thought it was foolproof, after all, the sea surface was unobstructed, and any approaching would be noticed immediately.
Even if vampires could fly, flying from such a distance would leave them exhausted.
But neither Jill nor Todd thought that vampires would use the method of hitching rides on giant eagles.
Even less did they expect the underground tactics were just a cover, vampire soldiers supposedly leaving on ships had not actually left.
The guards raised their clockwork guns, unsure where to aim in confusion.
The clockwork guns have an effective range of only about 200 meters, while vampires and giant eagles were at least 1000 meters above.
"Shoot, shoot!"
The lead bullets whistling through the night sky vanished into the deep stars as if nothing happened.
But in the blink of an eye, the clouds suddenly broke open into holes.
Like rain, shadows kept falling towards the direction of several artillery emplacements.
They aim to seize control of the artillery and the water gate!
Meaning that...
The trembling heart, the trembling hand, Jill directed his binoculars towards the sea.
Under the blue horizon, red sails obscured the view.
In the moonlight, dozens of large ships bypassed the reef islands, full sails, heading straight for Branded City.