Filed To Story: Queen of the Battlefield Her Return to Glory Novel Online Free
The four of them moved closer, embracing Sophie and sharing her grief.
“Sophie, don’t cry. We’re here for you!” Cynthia cried..
Violet pushed them aside and held Sophie tightly, patting her back. Her voice trembled with tears, but was filled with determination. “Have all the Westhaven spies been dealt with? If not, we’ll find them and get revenge after we win the battle!”
“Some are dead, and some have escaped. It’s difficult to track them down once they’ve fled,” Sophie said.
She had kept silent about Freya’s role in the massacre. If they knew Freya’s actions had driven the Westhaven sples to slaughter her family, they wouldn’t care about the bigger picture. They would likely kill Freya on sight.
This situation was more complicated than it seemed.
“It may be hard, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible,” Violet growled. “We’ll find them after the battle.”
Even though Violet came from the martial world, she knew Westhaven and Stafhaven had an agreement to avoid harming civilians over border issues. To resort to such ruthless acts against a whole family was nothing short of despicable.
“Yes, we’ll find them after the battle,” Cynthia agreed.
Bun and Travis nodded vigorously. “Don’t worry, Sophie. Those people won’t escape!”
Sophie embraced them, her tears flowing uncontrollably. Thinking about her family, she couldn’t stop crying. Once she started, it was hard to hold back.
That night, none of the five could sleep well. The next morning, their eyes were terribly swollen. Fortunately, Violet had some powder to help cover up the puffiness. With everyone already looking dirty to begin with, it wasn’t too noticeable.
The first fake assault on the city caught Sandorla forces off guard. They quickly gathered their troops on the city walls, positioning archers in rows to shoot arrows.
The attackers were armed with shields, and surged forward in waves. They even brought ladders and catapults with them, but after an hour of assault, they retreated without even setting up the ladders.
On the city walls, Liam looked down with a cold expression. “They’re panicking. Do they think a few soldiers are enough to take the city? Do they think we can’t fight back, just because they’ve injured so many of our troops? The Hell Monarch is not so impressive after all.”
Standing beside him, Victor said, “If the Hell Monarch lacked strength, how could he have captured over twenty cities? Don’t underestimate him-underestimating the enemy is a grave mistake.”
Liam shot him a cold look. “They captured over twenty cities because you were ineffective.”
Victor frowned. How could Westhaven be so arrogant? Did they really think their three hundred thousand soldiers were invincible?
The second assault was more intense than the first. They sent thirty thousand soldiers and used many stones with their catapults, causing some cracks in the city walls.
However, the Starhaven soldiers quickly faltered under the relentless arrows, and the attackers were forced to retreat in disgrace.
Liam laughed loudly. “The Hell Monarch is nothing special! Give it a few more days. When they run out of food, we’ll launch a full-scale attack and take Tower City!”In the command tent outside Tower City, Rafael leaned forward over the desk, his tall figure tense with excitement. His eyes shone brightly, like stars in the night sky.
“Send the order: we will launch a major attack at dawn. Once we capture llyrian, we’ll have plenty of food, meat, warm clothes, blankets, and all the supplies we need. The Westhaven forces are rich, and have brought tons of supplies to the Southern Frontier.”
At the mention of meat, everyone’s eyes lit up. Rafael’s forces had been enduring hunger for too long: they were eager to devour anything they could get their hands on!
Unfurling a map, Rafael pointed to a small circle on Ilyrian, and called Sophie forward. He indicated the circle with a slender, dark finger.
Ommander Devin. After we breach the city, you will take three thousand troops straight to Serene District. The supplies will be stockpiled there. Sandoria and Westhaven have many wounded, so they will prioritize moving them first once the city falls. Supplies come second to them because they still have plenty in Simonton. However, we are in dire need.”
Everyone now understood why Rafael had focused on creating as many casualties as possible in the previous battle, rather than just defeating the enemy. On the battlefield, he never showed any mercy.
At sixteen, he was granted the title of the Hell Monarch. Every strike he made was intended to take lives- how could he be merciful? Sophie felt a surge of excitement. Food, meat, armor, warm clothes, blankets-these were all supplies their forces desperately needed!
“I’ll make sure the mission is completed!” Sophie said confidently.
“If three thousand soldiers aren’t enough, I can give you five thousand or even seven thousand. Just tell me how many men you need,” Rafael said.
Sophie examined the terrain on the map. Serene District was located to the west of the city, and there were no complicated alleys. They could make a swift push to protect the supply depot. “No need, three thousand will be enough,” she said with certainty.
Rafael approved her decision, then said to the rest, “Aside from Commander Sophie, the rest will with me to eliminate the enemy and drive them out of llyrian.”
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Realizing that capturing the city might be challenging, Sophie asked, “Do you have a plan for the siege, Marshal?”
Rafael answered straightforwardly, “No plan-it will be just a brute force assault!”
That night, they assessed everyone capable of the Lightfoot Skill. It wasn’t enough just to know the skill- they needed to be well-versed enough to leap up to the city towers of Ilyrian City. Twelve crossbow machines were on top of the city towers, positioned high to target the attacking soldiers. Each crossbow could shoot eighteen arrows at once, and there were also sacred firearms.
Though they could only fire once at a time, they posed a significant threat to the attacking forces. The Starhaven forces needed experts to fly up to the city towers, quickly destroy the crossbows, and seize the sacred firearms. The rest of the attackers could then proceed with brute force.
Waiting for reinforcements to attack the city would be much safer, but they couldn’t afford to wait without food. To capture the city and survive, they needed to secure the supplies.
Many in the army could use the Lightfoot Skill, but few could reach the high city towers and quickly destroy the enemy’s crossbow machines.
Sophie and her group could do it, as could Timothy, Owen, and Dylan, Rafael could certainly handle it too.
“Whoever completes their mission first must immediately open the city gates. The others will cover you. I will provide you with the best armor,” Rafael said.
He looked directly at Sophie, clearly placing great expectations on her.
As the marshal leading the charge, he would become the primary target. The soldiers on the city towers would focus their attacks on him. After all, taking his head would be worth a fortune to them.
If the marshal fell, it would be like the deaths of Hector and the junior generals of old. Sandoria would seize the opportunity to overrun all the Southern Frontier’s territory.
In short, if Rafael were to fall, the many cities they had captured would be swiftly overrun by Sandoria and Westhaven’s forces.
However, Rafael’s participation in the battle also gave Sophie and her team a significant opportunity.
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Rafael acted decisively, immediately ordering the troops to prepare. By midnight, the war drums began to beat, and the attack horns sounded.
Today was only the first day of the siege, and the Westhaven-Sandoria coalition inside llyrian would never expect a second assault in the early morning hours. The crossbow machines were activated, and archers took their positions. Though bonfires lighted the city walls, Starhaven’s attacking forces remained hidden.
It was like they were out in the open under the light, while the Hell Monarch’s army pushed forward from the shadows.
Sophie and her team moved swiftly toward the city gate on horseback. As they neared the city, they used their momentum to leap into the air, charging up to the city towers. Sophie’s Rose Spear pierced through the soldiers controlling the crossbow machines, and then she shattered the machines with a single blow. The archers aimed at her, but Rafael quickly soared up, his golden armor gleaming in the firelight.
Someone shouted, “It’s the Hell Monarch! Kill him! Kill him!”
All the archers turned their bows toward Rafael, unleashing a storm of arrows. Rafael spun his golden blade, deflecting wave after wave of arrows.