Heimarian Odyssey

Locke, Wyr, and their cavalry platoon gathered outside at the west gate of Audis. Besides them, there were also numerous other Faustian soldiers.

The sudden order of having the whole army to launch the attack all at once had made Wyr and the others, who hadn't received the news beforehand, very surprised.

There were a lot of unfamiliar faces among all these Faustian soldiers. The Shalorian soldiers at the walls and the Faustian soldiers who were in the dark didn't know where they came from.

At that moment, only the big shots like Cardoj knew where they came from.

Angelina had told Locke to stay away from the east and west gates three days ago, but Locke still had to do what he'd promised Glace. This was the best time to fulfil his promise.

Locke and his platoon weren't supposed to attack the west gate originally. He'd persuaded Wyr to move them to this location. Wyr owed Locke three favours, and he'd agreed to Locke's request without mulling over it for too long.

Firstly, the defensive strength at the west gate was similar to that of the north gate, which they'd attacked previously. Secondly, the cavalry platoon's current combat effectiveness was remarkable. Half a day before the order was issued, the cavalrymen had already mounted their horses. There was a difference in the level of the cavalry platoon's combat effectiveness when they fought with horses and without horses.

Why would cavalrymen be needed for a siege? Wyr guessed that something was up.

Why aren't they here yet? thought Locke. He'd asked Henry to find a way to bring Glace here yesterday. Although everything would be intense before the battle started, it was very easy for a businessman like Henry, who could mix around everywhere, to get a person elsewhere secretly.

After a while, four people in Falcon's uniform walked over with their heads down. Locke didn't realise anything until they'd come closer. He then noticed from their body shapes that three among them were women.

When they'd come over, the leader raised his head and it'd revealed the face of a young man. "Herr Locke, I've brought the person that you've asked for."

Locke recognised him as the young man from Henry's caravan.

"Okay, got it. You should leave now!" Locke waved his hand. The battle was about to begin, and it would be very troublesome if a caravan worker was seen here.

"Yes, Herr!" replied the young man. He immediately turned around and left. He really didn't want to stay at a soon-to-be battlefield.

After the man had left, Locke looked at the remaining three people curiously and asked, "Why are Laffey and Kristin here too?" Locke was speechless as he looked at Glace.

Kristin's was only as tall as Locke's waist. It was really uncomfortable for her to be in the large Faustian uniform, and others would find it abnormal.

Glace didn't say a word. She'd planned to go into the city alone originally, but she'd somehow been discovered by Laffey and Kristin. Kristin then started to throw a tantrum and wanted to come along. As for Laffey, she was Glace's maid, and she wanted to protect her mistress. So, Glace had no choice but to bring all of them along.

This had given Locke a headache. He could handle it by himself if he only had to bring one person in. Now, he had to bring three people in, and it would attract attention. He had to find Wyr.

"You guys!" Locke pointed at the three of them, had them stay put, and turned to look for Wyr.

Kristin stuck her tongue out mischievously. On the other hand, Laffey showed a calm and loyal expression, while Glace remained silent.

Wyr was issuing orders to his cavalry platoon. When the gates were breached, they had to rush in and occupy them as soon as possible and hang in there until the infantrymen arrived. The infantry platoon would be carrying out the mission with them.

"Herr Wyr," greeted Locke. Wyr stopped giving orders to the squad jarls around him and glanced at Locke curiously.

"Wait for a moment," said Wyr to the people around him. He then walked towards Locke.

After Locke had brought Wyr to a secluded place, he then said, "Herr Wyr, I want to bring three people into the city after we've destroyed the walls."

Wyr stared at Locke. He pressured Locke even more with his strong impetus.

After looking at him for a while, Wyr recalled Locke's relationship with Kenzir and Angelina. He weakened the pressure when he surmised Locke would never collude with the enemies. "What are you planning to do?" asked Wyr puzzledly.

"It's inconvenient for me to tell you that." Locke spread his hands out. He could never tell Wyr that he had slept with a woman who seemed like a noble from Shalor and she'd requested him to bring her into the city.

Wyr glanced at Locke solemnly and said, "Remember, this is your first favour."

"Yes," replied Locke. He didn't know whether it was worth it to use a favour from a high-rank Knecht in exchange for his promise to Glace, but he knew he had to do it this way. He'd always given his heart and mind to his women.

Fortunately, Wyr owed Locke a few favours. Otherwise, he really wouldn't know what to do. It was much harder to bring three people into the city.

At Faustian's joint camp in the distance, Kenzir asked, "Are the casters ready?"

"All ready!"

"What about the cavalry platoon?"

"All ready!"

"The three divisions?"

"All ready!"

...

"Then, launch the attack!" Kenzir waved and the order was sent all over. All the troops at the frontlines started charging.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

At this moment, there were only the sounds of the killing from the Faustian soldiers on the battlefield.

The result was obvious. The Faustian soldiers had drained the energy of the Shalor's garrison for more than a week continuously. Facing the attacks from all three corps at once, the east gate had declared a defeat after persisting for only half a night.

"No..." Sanchez, the commander of the Capital Guard, stared furiously, and the bowl-sized cavity on his chest was extremely eye-catching.

His long spear fell onto the gravel pile. Surprisingly, the thick spear broke into two.

On the other side, a Faustian commander, whose right hand was stained in blood, looked at the severely injured Sanchez coldly. "I'll leave your body intact on behalf of my father, Delis Woode!"

When Sanchez heard the name, his body trembled, and he collapsed.

Delis was the former Margrave Woode's given name.

The four big margrave families of Faustian were different from Shalor's as their titles could be inherited. Other than the deep-rooted strength that they'd gotten from their family, the head of the family had to become a peak-level Knecht in order for the royal family to grant him the title.

The current head was who'd just been appointed by the current Faustian king was the eldest son of the former margrave.

Woode was a young man of talent second only to Kenzir among the younger Faustian generation and he was only a powerful high-rank Knecht originally. But after the death of his father, he was entrusted with a mission, and at the critical juncture, he broke through to a peak-level Knecht with the aid of his family's secret medicine and the king's reward.

There was a side effect of this rapid increase in strength. This new margrave would never become a Ritter, and his lifespan would be greatly affected.

The east gate had been destroyed and Audis' west gate was the other focus of the Faustian army's attack. Without the defence provided by their high-rank elites, the Shalorians started to retreat.

"Hoy!" Wyr waved his spear and visible ripples of impetus scattered above the walls. The arms and legs of countless Shalorians were cut off and they all fell to the ground while screaming.

"Go!" yelled another platoon jarl from the cavalry platoon, he was also a high-rank Knecht. He patted on his horse and led countless Faustian cavalrymen towards the west gate.

"Break!" The division jarl surged his impetus and the weakened west gate shattered under his great strike.

Following the destruction of the west gate, the troops of cavalrymen roared and rushed into the city. They then began killing any living beings on sight who were not Faustian soldiers.

"Let's go!" Locke didn't join the other cavalrymen in the slaughter. Instead, he brought the three weirdly-dressed cavalrymen with him and turned away from the right entrance of the gates.

The killings were still happening around them. Laffey, who was behind Locke, seemed angry. As a Shalorian, it was unbearable to watch the Faustian soldiers who killed at sight. If it weren't for her rationality and Locke, who pulled her aside, Laffey would've burst out in anger.

Kristin trembled as she watched the atrocities committed by the Faustian soldiers. She'd talked with these soldiers before, and she couldn't believe that they would become so terrifying and ferocious on the battlefield. She gripped onto Locke with her small hand tightly, obviously frightened.

Glace didn't have the time to care about other things and led the way. Audis was the capital of Shalor, and its streets were naturally complicated. After taking a few turns after entering the city, the screams and killing at the gates gradually muffled. Locke looked at the houses around him and he couldn't determine where he was.

"Where are we?" asked Locke curiously. He wasn't worried that Glace would bring him to a secluded place and harm him. Firstly, he trusted Glace's character. Secondly, he believed in his own strength.

Glace didn't answer him and continued riding forward. Locke had just realised that Glace, Laffey, and even the little girl, Kristin, had better horse-riding skills than him.

As he thought about their possible identities, he shut his mouth. Even Solon, who hadn't been on the battlefield that much, had way better riding skills than him. So, it wasn't difficult to guess the reason.

They were farther and farther away from the gates. Locke couldn't believe that he was in the city that they'd captured if it weren't for the smoke he'd seen in the distance and the spells that flared from time to time.

The only thing he'd seen that fitted the current situation was that there wasn't anyone in the city right now.

They rode their horses down the complicated alleys. The houses around them were shut tightly. Locke, a low-rank Knect, could sense countless signs of life around him, and they were hiding and trembling in these houses.

"They're all commoners..." Locke muttered.

After some time, the sky turned completely dark. It was a pity that the stars couldn't be seen tonight, as the light given off by the spells and flames obscured them.

"We're here." Glace, who'd been quiet for the whole day, finally uttered a word.

Locke looked up and saw a mansion that had two mighty stone lions at each side of the gate in front of him. The words 'Margrave Mansion' could be seen.