novelraw Chapter 183 : Battle of White Mountain City
Chapter 183 : Battle of White Mountain City
Chapter 183: Battle of White Mountain City
Adema raised his hand and pulled a short axe out from a soldier’s face.
A spray of red and white liquid instantly splattered out.
But Adema did not care much. He casually wiped the short axe twice against the soldier’s body before hooking it back onto his waist.
Turning his head, he saw the Wolf Soldiers, like frenzied beasts, continuously slaughtering the soldiers guarding the city wall. They quickly seized the gate tower and then rushed down the stairway along the wall into the garrison camp. A low, deep wolf howl burst from his mouth.
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All the Wolf Soldiers immediately responded with howls of their own.
Except for the obviously older and weaker ones left to guard the wall, the rest all rushed out with excitement written on their faces.
Like mercury flooding the ground, they flowed out as silvery droplets.
Soon, screams and roars echoed from the nearby residences by the wall, before quickly turning into cries of agony.
Watching the flames gradually rising in the night, Adema curled his lips and sighed with slight regret: 「Had I known White Mountain City’s defenses could be breached this easily, I should have waited for the rear legion to join me first.」
This time, Spring Breeze Territory had not only sent Adema as commander but also arranged for two legions to move out together.
The first was naturally this Wolf Soldier Legion, made of one hundred and fifty wolffolk. The second was an infantry corps made up of a large number of serfs, death row convicts, and two hundred soldiers—because from the start, they considered that invading White Mountain Territory could likely turn into a siege to tear down cities and fortresses.
Thus the need for a large number of cannon-fodder slaves: they would be responsible for chopping trees, quarrying stones, building siege weapons, and other heavy labor.
However, the main offensive against Westerburg was not assigned to Spring Breeze Territory. That role was given to Eastern Mountain Territory and Western Wind Territory.
Adema’s primary mission was to sever Westerburg’s line of contact with White Mountain City, while simultaneously harassing White Mountain City.
Tonight, he had only intended to test a surprise raid on White Mountain City to see if he could seize some small advantage—after all, they were the attackers, and at the beginning of war the initiative was in their hands. Adema also knew such ambush tactics could only be used once. After that, White Mountain City would surely guard against it. He had never thought their defenses would be so vacant, so he had not waited for the infantry corps to arrive but instead led the Wolf Soldiers to climb and launch a sneak attack.
But unexpectedly, White Mountain City’s defenses truly were this empty, which left Adema full of regret and frustration.
He even thought, if he had waited until those six hundred infantry arrived before launching this night raid, perhaps taking the entire White Mountain City would have been exaggerated, but at the very least, they could have burned down half of it.
「Dang, dang, dang一一」
The alarm bell of enemy invasion finally rang out.
But in fact, at this moment, flames already blazed like wildfire at the northern gate of White Mountain City. Even without the bell, the city would have realized something was wrong soon enough. The bell merely ensured no need to verify further reports: everyone now knew exactly why fire had broken out at the northern gate.
Adema’s eyes gleamed viciously, and with a sharp whistle, those older and weaker Wolf Soldiers left guarding the gate quickly charged toward the bell tower.
Another wave of chaotic killing sounds broke out.
Adema himself unstrapped the long-handled battleaxe from his back and began directing the Wolf Soldiers to quickly regroup and charge toward the Lord’s Mansion.
「Grandfather!」
Aches suddenly pushed open the door of the small study, only to see Ion already holding the Demonic Sword.
「It’s an enemy raid!」
「I heard it.」 Ion carried the Demonic Sword one-handed and stepped out first. 「There has been no word from Westerburg.
Either their outpost was swiftly destroyed, or they too were ambushed and unable to send a message in time. Most likely the enemy has already blocked the road between Westerburg and White Mountain City, intercepting the courier.」
Westerburg was only about a day and a half’s journey from White Mountain City.
The distance was short enough that messages should have traveled quickly, not to the point that Westerburg could already have fallen while White Mountain City remained unaware. But the flaw was equally obvious: the message route was predictable, which greatly increased the chance of interception.
Ion had considered this before, but there was nowhere along the road suitable for security measures. Thus, he had used the oldest method: sheer numbers. When Yam and the others left White Mountain Territory, over two-thirds of White Mountain City’s soldiers were transferred to Westerburg.
Now only four hundred regular troops remained in White Mountain City, spread across the four walls as garrison soldiers.
The Lord’s Mansion held three hundred soldiers, including one hundred Kasein Family guards brought as Angelina’s dowry, and two hundred elite warriors selected layer by layer from Fisher Village.
Inside White Mountain City, five hundred patrol guards maintained order, handled disputes, and the like. But their combat strength was certainly inferior to the garrison, more like a reserve militia.
In total, White Mountain City had twelve hundred troops. If they included serfs, wealthy merchants’ retainers, and caravan guards, they could scrape together perhaps two thousand five hundred to three thousand men. But their quality and combat skill could not be relied upon—if they did not break in panic, it would already show remarkable willpower.
Yet though the numbers seemed decent, in reality, apart from the three hundred guards at the mansion, the rest were scattered throughout the city. To gather them all together would be extremely difficult.
Ion even thought that with the northern gate already broken and panic spreading rapidly, he could no longer count on the scattered troops or the defenders at the other gates.
On the way, Ion calmly ordered the servants in the mansion to hide themselves, then dispatched a First-Tier Bloodline Knight to slip out the southern gate toward Fisher Village to light the beacon and summon reinforcements from Gem Territory. Angelina had already sent word to Shunes to issue a general mobilization for aid.
Because Gem Territory had to guard trade routes and defend against Magical Beasts from Withered Wood Forest, its troops were scattered. Even with mobilization, gathering the whole force would take more than half a month. But White Mountain’s crisis could not wait, so the beacon meant for the already-assembled forces to march immediately, with a second wave to follow.
By the time Ion stepped out of the mansion, all arrangements had been made. Unlike Yam and Akar, who lacked all military talent, Ion had once served in the border army and received formal military training of the Tyrella Kingdom. He had the basic knowledge and command ability to handle a small-scale invasion.
When Ion descended from the mansion on the hill, Roda immediately came to report: 「Lord Ion, the three hundred guards are fully assembled.
「Send two men to the eastern and western gates, have fifty troops from each rush to support the north gate. The rest must stay put, guard the towers, and light the fire beacon with a Signal Arrow if enemy movements are spotted.」 Ion ordered gravely. 「Then you personally lead one hundred Fisher Village guards along the west road toward the north gate. Be cautious. If you encounter an enemy Bloodline User above Third-Tier, fire a Signal Arrow immediately.」
「Yes.」 Roda nodded, turning away to carry out the command.
「Grandfather, what about me?」 Aches asked eagerly.
「You come with me.」 Ion understood his thoughts but had no intention of letting him lead troops alone, at least not yet.
After all, Aches was only First-Tier. Unlike Roda, who was already Second-Tier, if Aches faced an enemy Bloodline User of that level, he could easily die. Ion would never allow him to act alone.
But Ion also would not crush his confidence and courage.
「The Demonic Sword must never be lost. If something happens to me, you must take the sword and immediately leave White Mountain City to find your uncles at Red River City.」
「Do you understand?」
Ion gripped Aches by the neck, pulling him close until their foreheads pressed together, speaking solemnly: 「You carry the most important mission of our Soderbell Family. Do you understand?」
「I understand!」 Aches’s disappointment instantly vanished, replaced by solemn resolve.
A powerful sense of duty surged within him, filling him with trembling excitement. Even his breath came fast and heavy.
Soon, Ion led Aches and two hundred guards along the central road of White Mountain City, advancing toward the north gate.
「Boss.」
Two middle-aged men dragged a corpse into a house.
The leader pointed at the body and said in a low voice: 「It’s a Wolf Soldier from Spring Breeze Territory.」
「Wolf Soldiers from Spring Breeze? Then their commander can only be Adema. Other than that Wolf, no one else in Spring Breeze can control these beasts.—·What other units entered White Mountain City with them?」
「I observed carefully. Only Wolf Soldiers, no one else,」 Yast said in a deep voice. 「They opened the gate not to admit rear troops but to ensure their retreat path remained clear.」
「And Bloodline Users?」 Aliman asked grimly from within the room. 「How many came?」
「Only one.」 Avis added. 「Kaso is tailing him.」
「Only one?!」 Aliman froze, then spoke in disbelief: 「『Wild Wolf』 Adema has lost his mind? Or does he truly believe no one in White Mountain City can oppose him?」
Avis shrugged. 「I think it’s the latter.—·On the surface, White Mountain Territory only has one Third-Tier Bloodline User, Lord Yam. We’ve always operated in the shadows, so no one knows of our existence. It’s not surprising that Fertile Territory has no intelligence on us.」
Aliman Shelf fell into silence.
But it was not solemnity—rather, disbelief. 「Are nobles truly this arrogant now? Why does it always feel like the Soderbell Family we follow is so different from these so-called great nobles?」
Avis stayed silent for a moment before speaking: 「Although I hate to admit it, when we attacked Westerburg before, Lord Yam arrived at the battlefield immediately. So I think we cannot judge other nobles by Lord Yam’s standards. Perhaps they have never even considered that small figures like us could cause them trouble.」
「Cause trouble?」 Aliman suddenly laughed. 「Then Spring Breeze Territory is bound to suffer heavy losses this time.」
The people in the room were, of course, the Shelf Mercenary Group.
Their last recorded mission in the open had been under the employment of Baroness Anna Billy of Gem Territory, when they went to eliminate the Shadow Panther there.
But even before that, they had already been taken in by Yam.
So afterward, they used that mission’s completion as a cover, disappearing from public view while secretly assigned to assist Yorles in building the intelligence networks of both White Mountain Territory and Gem Territory. Later, after Marquis Visen struck a deal with Yam, they followed Yorles to Bayor Territory to work in intelligence. It was only after the fall of the Senels Family that Aliman brought the Shelf Mercenary Group back to White Mountain Territory.
There, they lived like any ordinary mercenary group—taking commissions, running errands, while secretly collecting intelligence.
This time, with Yam going to Red River City for Marquis Visen’s funeral, and considering that all the known Third-Tier powerhouses of White Mountain and Gem Territory had left, it was only natural to leave Aliman in White Mountain City as a hidden safeguard in case another Third-Tier Bloodline User attempted to raid the city.
After all, the gap between a Third-Tier and a Second-Tier Bloodline User was significant.
And during wartime, what Third-Tier warrior would lack soldiers to fight alongside him? So relying on human-wave tactics to exhaust such a powerhouse into capture was simply unrealistic.
Therefore, Aliman—who had advanced to Third-Tier alongside Yam and Akar two years ago—was especially important.
Without hesitation, after confirming the enemy’s identity and scale, Aliman immediately set out with his men.
Even before that, he had already used White Mountain City’s intelligence system to send word directly to Ion.
Adema’s expression was no longer so relaxed.
For suddenly, he realized his Wolf Soldiers had been steadily dwindling.
Leaving ten at the northern gate, he had led one hundred and forty into White Mountain City, carrying out destruction as planned, spreading fear through slaughter, and trying to cause a stampede of panic.
But when he actually put it into practice, he discovered White Mountain City was “clean” to an unbelievable degree.
He found no thugs or underground organizations in this city at all!
Even more, the vast majority of residents dared to take up weapons and fight the Wolf Soldiers.
It was only thanks to the Wolf Soldiers’ superior strength and physique over normal soldiers that they could handle small groups of three or five residents at a time.
But such fighting still consumed stamina heavily—perhaps they could handle one or two such skirmishes, but if forced to fight outnumbered again and again, injuries were inevitable. And once injured, casualties followed.
Moreover, despite all the burning, killing, and smashing along the way, they still had not encountered any thugs or underground black market groups—making it impossible to spread panic or chaos. Normally, such war-driven chaos was always expanded by those trying to profit in the shadows.
So when Adema realized this method of spreading chaos had failed, and that White Mountain City was clean to the point of absurdity, he wanted to regroup his Wolf Soldiers and try another tactic. Only then did he discover he had lost more than twenty already!
Over thirty were wounded as well.
It dawned on him then that White Mountain City was not as simple as he had thought. He regretted not waiting to unite with the other unit before launching the invasion—such a valuable chance for a surprise attack had been wasted.
「Awooooo—wooo, awooo, wooo.」
Adema howled.
Quickly, the scattered Wolf Soldiers returned his call, rushing back toward him.
He still did not understand White Mountain City’s situation, but he knew one thing: with the forces he had, he could not plunge the entire city into chaos. Splitting his troops further was pointless. His best chance now was to attempt a decapitation strike.
Adema was certain that after all this commotion at the northern gate, White Mountain’s Bloodline Knights would come investigate. But because his attack had been so sudden, he believed they had not yet grasped the true situation. If he moved quickly, he might kill them before they realized what was happening.
But!
When the Wolf Soldiers regrouped, Adema’s face turned grim again.
Another squad had died.
This time, however, unlike the mysterious losses before, he pinpointed the location of the attack. Without hesitation, he sprinted toward it.
At a corner, a long spear suddenly burst forth!
It did not thrust from the shadows or around the bend, but pierced straight through the wall, lancing for Adema’s throat√
『Grr一』 Adema growled low in his throat, swinging his battleaxe hard at the spear shaft.
With a metallic clash, sparks flew.
The next instant, his pupils shrank. He jerked his head aside, abandoning his long-handled battleaxe entirely, and with all his strength leapt backward to create distance from the spear that had pierced the wall.
「Boom一」
An explosive gale erupted, tearing the air apart and instantly shattering the surrounding walls and houses, leaving an empty space.
Landing half-kneeling, Adema slid back over ten meters, both hands now drawing the twin short axes at his waist.
His cold eyes locked on the collapsing wall ahead. The spear had already been withdrawn. Dust filled the air from the destruction, blocking his view. Yet he was not relying on sight alone—amid the mixed scents of the air, he had memorized the faint trace from the hand that held the spear.
A subtle tang of blood spread through the air.
Blood seeped from Adema’s face and body—his right-side clothing shredded, revealing countless bleeding pinpricks; his right cheek also bore dozens of tiny cuts.
But in truth, though frightening to look at, the wounds were not serious, and they did not hinder his movement.
Still, Adema remained tense, eyes locked firmly on the figure slowly emerging from the smoke.
At this moment, he dared not even turn to flee.
For he had recognized that violent gale.
「【Hurricane Stream】? A Third-Tier Bloodline User of the 【Hurricane Demon Tiger】?」 Adema rasped. 「White Mountain Territory has no record of you—who are you!?」
「Captain of the Shelf Mercenary Group.」 Holding a spear glowing with turquoise lines, Aliman strode out of the dust. 「Aliman Shelf.」
「You are—one of White Mountain Territory’s baron’s men?」
「No.」 Aliman shook his head with a faint smile. 「It’s just that your Wolf Soldiers killed my men, so———·I’ve come for answers.」
Adema cursed his misfortune, though his tension eased slightly. He knew mercenaries well. 「There’s been some misunderstanding. I can compensate you—and I can even hire you right now!」
「Very well. One hundred thousand gold coins.」
Adema’s face darkened. 「Isn’t that commission fee a bit outrageous?」
「I think you misunderstand.」 Aliman’s smile faded. 「The hundred thousand gold coins are compensation for the lives of my men your Wolf Soldiers killed.」
「No room to negotiate?」
Aliman’s smile returned, and he enunciated clearly: 「Negotiate with your mother.」