Chapter 450: Two Mantises Hunting the Cicada

The central estate of Screaming Island.

Mylon, the acting patriarch of the Fleming family, condensed the power of frost and tore the parchment in his hand to shreds.

A conspiratorial smile hung upon his face: "I had thought Jesus would be the one to strike first, yet I never expected Mountain Castle to make a move beforehand instead."

"My Lord, what then should we do?" Sir Jos inquired.

Mylon stepped to the window, gazing out at the distant sea, "The Mountain Territory has been mobilizing its forces for the past two months; most have gone to Shore City, a portion to the Purple Thunder Territory and Cape City, leaving very few in the Northern Mountain Territory now, let alone Torrent Island."

In his eyes, the entire northern reach of the Mountain Territory lay virtually defenseless.

"Arrange a ship, take the magic-energy cannons to Ronin's Northern Mountain Port, and blast that newly built harbor to pieces for me."

"My Lord, shall we land and occupy that region?"

"No need, the Northern Mountain Territory is a wretched, impoverished place; we would plunder nothing of worth even if we landed, and it is impossible for us to hold that land for long."

The Black Gold Brotherhood had a vast expanse of mainland behind them to serve as a buffer, whereas the north of the Northern Mountain Territory was entirely ocean.

Even if he dispatched men to occupy that land, he could not send many.

The moment Ronin returned to his fiefdom, he would surely send men to attack, and by then his forces would have no choice but to retreat.

"Let Viscount Partridge lead the remaining five ships, well-disguised, and sail them all toward Torrent Island!"

Jos struck his breastplate heavily, "Understood, My Lord!"

Mylon's eyes narrowed slightly; Torrent Island was an island he had desired to possess all along, only for it to be unexpectedly bestowed upon Ronin by Bruno as a barony fief.

Now, after winding through so many twists and turns, it was finally returning to his hands.

"Though Rahn on the island has likely been dealt with by Ronin, he already revealed the island's military strength to me before; Ronin has only stationed a single squad of knights led by Karada to guard it."

Five warships, all outfitted with magic-energy cannons—even Karada would scarcely be able to endure it.

On the other side, at a slightly later hour, Andrea also received a letter dispatched from Jesus.

"Ference's forces have already arrived at Moonlight City, and Screaming Island is expected to make a move as well. Rulance, even if you ultimately emerge victorious in the battle of Moonlight Valley, both you and your precious grandson will pay a devastating price!"

He summoned Zack, the herald: "Tell the Black Gold Brotherhood that it is time for them to act!"

"Understood, My Lord!"

Recently, he had delivered a round of reinforcements to the Black Gold Brotherhood, who had retreated to Black Pine Mountain, dispatching a fair number of wild knights and soldiers to their aid.

Just above Black Pine Mountain lay Ronin's Purple Thunder Territory; Andrea remained exceedingly interested in this land so perfectly suited for growing grain and raising horses.

"Heheh, Rulance, as an old acquaintance of many years, it is only natural that I present you with a grand gift of my own!"

Whether it was Screaming Island or the Principality of Vera, neither possessed the resolve and audacity of Mountain Castle.

Be they pirates or the Brotherhood, both were underhanded organizations that could not be brought into the light; though their scale and numbers had been expanded by their patrons, when all was said and done, they were roughly equal to a regular army only in quantity and quality.

If they truly wished to carve up the Mountain Territory, they ought to have displayed the same courage as Ronin and Rulance—braving the infamy of invading a noble's territory to lead the vast majority of their domain's might in an assault; only then would Ronin's arrangements fail to defend against them.

It was just that they preferred the tactic of adding fuel to the fire piecemeal.

Time slipped away in a flash, and in the blink of an eye, the hour appointed by Ronin and Ridal to attack Moonlight Valley arrived.

At ten o'clock in the morning, the two paths of forces converged upon the plains outside Moonlight City.

Five knight orders, to say nothing of the common cavalry and infantry; the knights who had awakened their battle-qi seeds numbered over six hundred, and when supplemented by seven powerful, high-tier extraordinary individuals including Ronin and Ridal, the allied army was fierce in combat capability despite its small numbers.

Everyone was well aware of the details regarding the clash with the Witch-Soul race, so the discussion among the crowd centered on how to launch the assault.

On this point, Ronin had long devised a plan.

"In both towns, Mephistopheles has left seventy to eighty thousand Witch-Soul soldiers stationed, to say nothing of their stronghold, Moonlight City."

Ronin looked at the sturdy city walls ahead; if they employed conventional means to attack this prosperous city, the difficulty would be immense.

Furthermore, the number of enemies within the city was at least over a hundred thousand—a truly staggering host.

Once ensnared within, Ronin and his peers might fare well enough, but the other, weaker knights would find it agonizingly difficult, and might even be swarmed and killed by the Witch-Soul soldiers converted from ordinary folk.

Thus, Ronin needed to resolve two matters: one was to blast open the city walls, and the other was to suppress the enemy's numbers.

"For this battle, Sophia and I shall form the vanguard, while Ridal and Grandfather, you shall be responsible for leading the second wave of the charge."

Rulance's brow furrowed slightly, "What do you intend to do?"

He would rather charge ahead himself than allow Ronin to take such a risk.

"Rest assured, Grandfather, mine is merely a feint; the primary reliance remains upon Sophia."

"Oh?"

Rulance turned his gaze toward Sophia.

The latter smiled faintly and said, "The key to the assault lies within my forbidden magic."

Sophia laid out the entirety of the plan she and Ronin had agreed upon, and the crowd finally found their bearings.

The so-called forbidden magic referred to the spells utilized by legendary grand mages, which served as the crucial capability for Sophia's self-preservation.

The confidence that had allowed her to enter the Golden Feather Palace entirely alone in the past had likewise stemmed from it.

On the other side, within the city walls of Moonlight Valley, countless Witch-Soul knights and Witch-Soul soldiers already stood packed together; this was the tactic of a human wave.

Aside from this, magic-energy archers and magic-energy cannons were already in position.

Upon a distant, lofty mountain, Jesus looked down at a battle of such scale and could not help but grin broadly.

"Jonathan has already been elevated to a Silver Moon Knight by your hand; with him leading so many Witch-Soul knights and soldiers to guard the city gates, with those meager forces of Rulance and Ronin, they likely won't even manage to scale the walls."

Mephistopheles let out a sinister laugh; to him, it was best to win, but if he lost, he could simply flee, relocate his base, and regrow his forces anew.

Therefore, whether this war was won or lost was of little consequence to him, so long as a situation capable of breeding chaos and warfare was brought to pass.

Time flowed slowly onward; Ronin's group consumed their dry rations, drank their fill of water, and advanced to a position roughly six hundred meters away from the city walls.

Ridal, Rulance, and the others stood in the foremost rank to prevent the opposition from utilizing their magic-energy cannons.

Ronin looked up toward the top of the walls; he spotted the Witch-Soul knights, and under his perception, their strength did not seem weak.

"I shall leave it to you in a moment, Sophia."

"Go with an easy mind!"

Sophia said, "Leave this place to me!"

Ronin took a deep breath, battle-qi armor enveloping his entire body as the Wings of Wind flared to life upon his back.

Swish!

He soared straight into the heavens, flying toward Moonlight City.

"Loose arrows!"

Aptop the city walls, Jonathan held his longsword high and roared.

Instantly, the magic-energy archers within the city drew their bows and notched their arrows, launching them all toward Ronin.

Whew! Whew! Whew!

Hundreds of magic-energy arrows shot densely toward the area where Ronin was located, their speed so swift that they tore through the air with explosive shrieks.

The altitude Ronin flew at was less than three hundred meters; though within the firing range of the magic-energy arrows, it was already hovering at the very edge of their maximum distance.

He erected the Wall of Sighs, blocking all the arrows before him, resulting in a continuous clatter of sounds. However, none of the mana arrows could penetrate the sixth-level magic Wall of Sighs, leaving Ronin completely unharmed.

"Come on, let me show you my spell!"

Ronin began casting his spell. Sensing the change in elemental forces within the world, Honathon on the city wall ordered again, "All mana cannons, fire at him!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The mana cannons roared, echoing like rolling thunder. Ronin smiled, halting his spellcasting while immediately ascending to avoid the attacks of the mana cannons.

At this moment, Sophia, hearing the noise, used her mental energy to control a magic scroll unfolding before her, aimed at the wall hundreds of meters away.

Ronin's feint attack aimed to draw the attention of the Witch Soul Knights above, preventing them from defending against Sophia's assault.

She held a pale blue pendant in her right hand. As her mental energy seeped into it, intense energy surged from the icy blue pendant and flowed into Sophia's body, transmitting sufficient magic power to her.

Sophia raised her left hand and pressed it against the floating spell scroll.

Hum —

At this moment, all fire elements in the world surged towards the spell scroll, their density so palpable that even ordinary people could clearly see them. Sophia parted her red lips softly, whispering, "Forbidden magic, Dragon Breath!"

Bang!

A terrifying pressure descended; even seasoned and experienced Rulans trembled. The legendary-level pressure made everyone feel like a lone boat caught in a sea vortex, ready to be torn apart at any moment!

Whoosh —

Red flames broke free from the scroll, forming a raging storm of fire reminiscent of the breath exhaled by a legendary dragon. Crossing six hundred meters in an instant, they fiercely struck the city wall! (End of chapter)