Chapter 616: The Approaching Storm
...
Deafening roars were everywhere.
Jieluo could only hear faint screams and moans in the intervals.
In front were the God's Punishment Warriors forming a shield wall, followed by the slowly advancing Judgment Army—this formation was originally practiced to deal with the impact of demonic beast swarms, but the giant shields were equally effective against Gongnu and muskets. An inch-thick iron shield was enough to block the barrage of strong crossbows, and the muskets copied by Tifiko could not penetrate it at all. The only drawback was that it was too heavy, and only the God's Punishment Army could carry it for marching and combat.
But now it was failing.
From time to time, God's Punishment Warriors were hit into two pieces by roaring iron balls, and the people behind them were also affected, a cloud of blood mist would soon float from the breached opening, and warriors who were not killed on the spot would hold their internal organs or limbs and wail in pain, constantly eroding the fighting spirit of their comrades.
"This won't work, let the God's Punishment Army launch a charge!" the deputy shouted.
"Yes, Lord Soli," another commander clenched his fists, "Iron balls can only move in a straight line, and the firing speed is not fast. Dispersing is the right thing to do, we can't be targets anymore!"
"I know, pass on my order, break up the formation, everyone charge!"
Jieluo heard Soli Dahl give the order to attack.
But at this moment, a new weapon joined the battlefield.
Its sound was like non-stop raindrops, or like the humming of clashing metal—the front line was immediately covered by the dust raised, and the charging warriors fell to the ground like harvested wheat, and she couldn't even see where the attack came from.
The faces of the commanders turned pale instantly.
Everyone knew that the outcome of this battle was already decided.
Suddenly, Jieluo heard a hissing sound cutting through the air, sharp and concealed, like a snake spitting its venom.
Danger!
She turned her gaze to the direction from which the sound came, subconsciously wanting to dodge, but remembered that this body did not belong to her.
Unfortunately, Soli Dahl was far less alert than her.
An iron ball fell from the sky, hitting the ground in front of him accurately, then jumped high, and brushed past him.
Jieluo only felt a spinning view, and then fell to the ground.
Blood gushed out from Soli's shoulder, and the place where his arm should have been was empty, he gritted his teeth to keep himself from screaming in pain.
The people around him hurriedly surrounded him.
"Your Excellency Bishop!"
"Oh my god, God bless you, your hand..."
"Retreat, let them all retreat!"
"Take Lord Soli away first, I'll cover the retreat!"
The memory stopped here.
Jieluo opened her eyes, and the Godstone prism and the Secret Sacred Hall deep underground returned to her eyes.
So that's what happened, she lowered her head, unable to restrain herself from grinning.
In this way, everything makes sense.
Why Roland Wimbledon was able to become the new King of Greycastle in a year and a half, from an unknown frontier lord; why he was able to defeat the Duke's knights and the Second Prince's berserk army in several battles, and even take the royal capital in one day; this is the reason.
The continuous roaring, the smell of gunpowder smoke floating on the scene... all proved that they were a new type of firearm—the snow powder tube copied by Tifiko, couldn't even touch the other party's fur.
If she hadn't "witnessed it with her own eyes", Jieluo couldn't have imagined that snow powder weapons could exert such great power.
Of course, she wouldn't believe that this was a secret passed down by the Wimbledon family, otherwise Tifiko and Garcia wouldn't know nothing about it.
There is no doubt that Roland encountered something in Border Town that made him achieve what he is today.
Perhaps it was a secluded family who mastered ancient secret techniques—since the Union disintegrated, some builders who aided the locals have permanently lost contact, and there are many skilled craftsmen among them, it is not impossible to figure out these exquisite devices.
Or it may be a relic hidden somewhere in the Impassable Mountain Range—the history in the library mentions that there are some strange relics of unknown origin on the edge of the barren land, and the reason for the final split of the Union was also the discovery of an underground labyrinth.
But she was more inclined to believe that it was a witch's ability that gave the ordinary snow powder extremely deadly power.
It was for this reason that the Fourth Prince changed his previous attitude, recruited witches on a large scale, and helped them clear their grievances.
But her guess is not important... No matter what the reason is, Roland Wimbledon himself must know everything about it.
As long as she can devour Roland, the ins and outs of these weapons will definitely be mastered by her.
"Jieluo... Your Excellency?" The guard captain guarding the cage exit was worried when he saw that she hadn't moved for a long time.
Jieluo suppressed the excitement in her heart, and didn't slowly walk out of the cage until the corners of her raised mouth were completely smoothed out, "I'm fine, notify the intelligence agency, and tell them to recall all the Pure Ones who are still in the Kingdom of Dawn."
"All of them?" The captain was stunned, "But the plan you made before..."
"The final battle is about to begin," Jieluo said word by word, "I want to see everyone."
There is no doubt that compared with the things in Roland's head, the situation in Dawn is insignificant.
Great power, amazing range, and usable by mortals, just thinking about it can understand its significance.
If this weapon can be mass-equipped before the Red Moon descends, the Holy City's chances of winning against the devils will be greatly improved.
And she can also get closer to the will of God.
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Greycastle Northern Region, Silent Valley Town.
After dinner, Iffy returned to her castle bedroom and couldn't help but yawn. In the past half month, in addition to performing extraction operations, she hadn't been idle after arriving in the town. First, she helped the First Army guard the camp, and then followed Edith and others to Coldwind Ridge to transfer the local residents. Although she was very busy, she lived a fulfilling life.
When her mood calmed down, she found that those non-combat witches did have their own unique shining points, and apart from their abilities, they were no different from most ordinary people.
In daily interactions, she was also gradually accepted by the Witch Union, and even Maggie greeted her unexpectedly when she was performing a vigilance mission—although Lightning next to her looked unhappy.
Iffy didn't expect the other party to forgive herself, but planned to make up for the mistakes she had made in the past with actions. She didn't even care whether she could eventually become the sisters they called, all she did was to atone for her sins.
Atonement to her only friend, Annie.
Just as Iffy was about to go to bed, there was a knock on the door.
She opened the door and was surprised to find that the person standing outside was actually the leader of Sleeping Island, Tili Wimbledon.
"I want to talk to you about the Bloodfang Association," Tili sighed softly, "And Hedy Morgan and... Annie."