Drawing Cards in the Middle Ages to Rise in Ranks

Losa furrowed his eyebrows: "Pepin, I wanted you to take him away and deal with him, not turn this place into a slaughterhouse right in front of me."

The Winged Cavalry Pepin awkwardly sheathed his weapon: "Sorry, my lord, I misunderstood."

He explained, "I really can't stand people like him speaking such blasphemous words in front of you."

"Drag the corpse away."

Losa waved his hand, saying no more.

…

The sounds of battle cries were gradually fading, indicating that the battle line was swiftly advancing.

From the very beginning, the battle unfolded in a crushing manner.

The dismounted Winged Cavalry and Varangian Guard, bearing heavy armor, charged at the forefront of the formation.

With Hans wielding the "Armored Lance" and Jeanne's "Knight's Flower" enhancing their all attributes, they were not something the troubled City Guard Army could match.

One after another, Heretic soldiers fell into pools of blood, their weapons unable to penetrate the defenses of the Winged Cavalry and Varangian Guard.

In the eyes of the awakened defense forces, this seemed like an invincible army akin to Devils or nightmares, impossible for human power to resist.

Soon, the Hebron troops that had rushed into the city surrounded the main castle within Alandler City.

On the walls of Alandler Inner Castle.

Zain Aladdin's brother-in-law, watching the streets with wary eyes, saw the fully armed enemy advancing towards the castle in well-organized ranks.

Gripping his weapon tightly, with a face like iron, he said, "How did these heretics suddenly appear in the city?"

"What kind of witchcraft did they use?"

"Are those castle guards a bunch of useless fools?"

A Saracen officer reminded him, "Lord Tariq, we must close the gates immediately or they'll surge in with the fleeing troops!"

Tariq was silent for a moment, nodded, and said, "Have the soldiers use bows and javelins to suppress the enemy's advancement as much as possible, allowing more of our fleeing soldiers inside. We need more people to defend this castle."

"Yes."

On the walls, arrows flew like locusts.

But the veterans below swiftly raised their square shields, forming a tight Turtle Shell Array, continuing their advance.

This forced the defending army to release the heavy capstans, allowing the suspended iron gate to crash down, cutting off the last escape route for the retreating troops back into the inner castle.

Without siege weapons, it seemed the Hebron army was also forced to halt here.

However, at this moment.

A female knight clad in bright silver armor, holding a golden holy spear, galloped towards the city walls amidst the admiring gazes of the veterans.

"Anger Flame!"

Jeanne raised her holy spear.

Golden light gathered, forming the outline of a knight.

A high-pitched neigh was heard.

The sound of hooves rang out, the golden knight turned into a fiery streamer, crashing into the inner castle's iron gate, burning a large hole through the black iron bars and wood.

The Hebron soldiers immediately cheered.

"Miracle!"

"Knight of Radiance, Knight of Radiance!"

They gathered around the breach, ready to rush in once the flames dissipated.

Tariq watched this scene, opened his mouth, and thought, this freaking... isn't this just cheating?

Looking around at his subordinates, whose faces were equally pale and whose morale had been utterly shaken.

Tariq said despondently, "We can't hold this, it's simply a horde of demons."

"I had long advised Zane, that fool, that provoking the Franks was the stupidest act; he couldn't even handle Reynard, so why did he think he could deal with an opponent who had already defeated both Adil and Saladin?"

Tariq showed a hint of bitterness: "Release the Scorpion-tailed Lion, hopefully, this creature can make these Franks pay a price."

The Saracen general hesitated but said, "It's been three days since it was last fed, if it defeats those Franks, how will we capture it back?"

Tariq couldn't help but sneer: "Just a beast, how could it possibly defeat the Franks who use witchcraft?"

"As long as it can delay some time, that's enough, give the order to prepare for retreat!"

...

The knight formed of golden Holy Flame knelt on one knee to Jeanne, bowed, and then dispersed by a gust of wind, vanishing into thin air.

It was one of Jeanne's twelve Guardian Knights, known as "Rahel" the Anger Flame Knight—an earthly projection from the epic river.

At this moment.

A faint stench began to spread.

In the castle depths, the iron gate of the dungeon, which resembled a water well, was opened.

At the bottom of the dungeon, layers of cattle and sheep bones were piled—the Saracens had long tried to tame the Scorpion-tailed Lion for combat.

Yet, this untamable beast remained unheard of willing to obey human commands.

Alandler's defenders immediately retreated to the inner castle's rear exit upon opening the dungeon gate; this Scorpion-tailed Lion was not a war beast that distinguished between friend and foe.

Roar——

A giant lion with bat wings and a scorpion-like tail, as large as a giant elephant, flew out from the depths of the dungeon.

Its speed was tremendous, capturing two fleeing Saracen soldiers in an instant, carrying them to the top of the castle tower.

Its gaping maw easily crunched the heads of two fully armed soldiers, helmets included, as if cracking nuts.

"What a beast!"

An expression of anger appeared on Jeanne's face.

Though the Scorpion-tailed Lion wasn't considered a dark creature, it had no connection with demons.

Yet, for Jeanne, the former Grand Master of the Holy Church Knight Order, a man-eater was a demon!

She took a knee and stepped into an archer's stance, holding the Holy Spear in a reverse grip with her right hand.

Her golden hair lifted high from the suddenly triggered power.

The bloodstained maw of the Scorpion-tailed Lion showed a trace of fear in its murky, defiant eyes.

With not a moment of hesitation, it abandoned the two corpses it hadn't finished devouring and took flight, attempting to escape.

"Thinking of fleeing now? Too late."

Jeanne slightly squinted her eyes, her expression at this moment, incredibly devout.

"Holy!"

A golden light pierced the sky.

A sharp, anguished cry resounded.

Tariq instinctively looked back and saw the once promising giant Scorpion-tailed Lion pierced by a golden beam, its massive body crashing to the ground.

"Dead... Dead?"

Alandler's defenders were in disbelief.

In past years, countless lives were lost trying to tame this Scorpion-tailed Lion.

But the Scorpion-tailed Lion they considered invincible was shot down in one blow?

Tariq, who had intended to mount his horse to escape, abruptly stopped.

He dismounted, adjusted his collar, with a slight bitter smile on his face.

Then he said to the Saracen general beside him, "Seems we don't need to run anymore. Prepare to surrender; the enemy is simply beyond what we can handle."

The Saracen general's face was also filled with disbelief, he whispered, "This... this is surely the power of the Devil. Under the holy fire, can we truly oppose such horrific demons?"

Tariq said worriedly, "That's not our concern now; what we must do is surrender to the enemy leader, hoping they'll allow us to ransom our lives."