Chapter 487

Chapter 110: Clash of Iron Bones and Burning Blood, Part 9

This was already a deathbed conversation. Barry’s eyes reddened. “You will see her. She will definitely come… she…”

“Hah.”

The knight named Moore looked at Barry’s expression and suddenly chuckled lightly.

“What kind of face is this? It’s really ugly…”

He then waved his hand, trembling violently, with an indifferent look on his face. “Hurry up and leave this place, take those two women and hide.”

Upon hearing this, Barry instinctively turned back to look.

Not far behind them, in the corner of the rubble, Lilith and the technician who had previously bandaged Moore’s wounds were hiding behind a large rock, peeking out toward them now, their eyes filled with unease and fear.

After the infirmary for wounded soldiers was burned down, the heretics surged like a tide to all parts of the city north. The two women had finished treating the knights’ wounds, but by the time they wanted to leave, it was too late. Heretics were everywhere in the streets and alleys; the sounds of fire and fighting were all around. If not for the knights’ desperate rescue, they wouldn’t have been able to go far before being killed by the demons.

The knights from the infirmary of wounded soldiers were almost all dead or injured in their second battle with the enemy. The survivors were scattered by a sneak attack, and now only Moore and Barry remained here.

Barry and Lilith exchanged glances. He saw the woman’s confusion and helplessness in her eyes. He understood that at this moment, he and Moore were the only hope for the two women. The young knight struggled internally. He wanted to protect them, but he was also afraid of fighting those demon lunatics again. However, he fundamentally rejected the idea of running away.

In the past, decisions on whether to retreat or advance, whether to live or die, were always commanded by the knight commander. After the knight commander died, everyone listened to Moore, including Barry. But now, this man with a pale face and resolute eyes made him want to hide with the women… If they hid, wouldn’t they be deserters?

Where was the honor of a knight?

When the first knight battalion’s rescue arrived, what face would he have to meet his sister Hill?

Barry was at a loss. He just looked at Moore, shook his head subconsciously, and muttered, “I still need to kill the heretics…”

“You can still be a hero if you save them.”

Moore looked at him, as if seeing through the young knight’s concerns. He slightly curled his lips. “Or do you want to abandon them and rush alone to the northern city wall to die? As a church knight, you swear to protect the children of God, always standing on the side of the people. Isn’t this the content taught in the first lesson of knight training? Have you forgotten… already forgotten?”

“But…”

“Leave. Until the battle ends, ensure they stay alive, and you must also survive. Knight Barry, this is your new knight commander, giving you your first order.”

“…”

Barry was silent.

He watched the man become increasingly weak, feeling like crying.

But a knight should not cry on the battlefield. Barry tried hard to suppress his grief and shook his head forcefully at Moore. “If we’re going, let’s go together, Mr. Moore. Your injury isn’t serious. I’ll go back to the infirmary to find some herbs to detoxify…”

At this moment, the two women came out from behind the green rock, trembling and approaching the knight, wanting to check Moore’s injuries. Moore opened his mouth to say something more when suddenly, footsteps and laughter came from the left side of the alleyway.

Barry’s heart skipped a beat, and he abruptly turned his head to look. Four heretics were dragging a naked, blood-covered woman out from a street corner. They held bloody long knives, laughing and talking, and one of them paused and looked over, pointing excitedly, “Knight…”

Another person pointed and shouted excitedly, “Women!”

“Two!”

“Ha ha ha ha—”

Amidst the mad laughter, the four heretics dropped the nearly lifeless woman and quickened their pace towards them, their murderous gazes making Barry’s hair stand on end. He clenched his teeth and instinctively tightened his grip on his longsword, but the terrified screams of the two women beside him made him consider retreating.

Just then, Moore reached out and pushed him hard.

“Go—!”

Barry stumbled, and the sound of a man’s angry roar echoed in his ears, “Hurry up! Take them away!!!”

“Live on—”

Knight Moore spat blood, holding his longsword, and charged at the four heretics.

“Aaaahhhhhh—!!”

Barry roared like a beast.

He took two steps forward, then stopped, his bloodshot eyes fixated on Moore’s back, as if trying to imprint his image in his mind. Then, the young knight quickly turned around, grabbed the bewildered woman’s hand, and started walking and running in the opposite direction.

Behind him, the sounds of fighting and shouting came.

“The Gate of Truth, I curse—”

Boom!

Knight Moore’s last curses were drowned out by the explosion’s shockwave. The pale golden light instantly illuminated the entire street, and fresh flesh and blood splattered in such light, along with countless fragments of stone, soaring high into the sky. The loud thud echoed for a long time.

At the end of the street, Barry pulled Lilith’s hand, the tearful technician running behind. Warm tears streaked across the young knight’s face, landing on her forehead.

…………

Under the northern city walls, over four hundred knights crowded together, fighting desperately like trapped beasts. The northern city gate had been breached, and the endless heretics poured in from all directions. The knights were like fish in a barrel, their feet already drenched in blood and piled with corpses. The surviving heretics reached out with bloody hands, trying to drag the knights off the piles of corpses. One knight commander was struck by several blades,

“Come on! I’ve already killed eight of them, come at me again—”

In an instant, he was engulfed by the tide of blades and blood.

Amidst the surging cries, Nick Williams was squeezed among the crowd by his personal guards and knights. His eyes were filled with blood-red rage as he scanned around like an enraged lion, his half-face scar from old wounds even more sinister.

In the few hours since the siege began, countless heretics had fallen to his sword. But at this moment, after the city walls fell, the governor’s head was severed amidst the chaos. The civilians either died or fled, and defeat was inevitable. Those who could still fight gathered here, determined to take down as many heretics as they could, but Nick knew they wouldn’t last long.

The Sacred Church’s Third Knightly Order would ultimately fall here…

“Captain Nick!”

From afar, someone shouted towards him under the glow of firelight: “Surrender!”

“Have your knights lay down their arms and stop resisting; everyone can live.”

“Bullshit!”

One of Nick’s personal guards spat out blood and cursed back: “Wyatt, you damned traitor, abandoning the honor of being the protector of Alertheon City, willingly aligning with heretics, coward! Don’t think we’ll drink that disgusting demon blood!”

“Charge! Cut these dogs down—”

The fierce battle continued. Nick Williams shouted loudly while fiercely swinging his sword: “Everyone, break through to the left!” But in this chaotic battlefield, few knights could hear his cries.

“Surrender—” Amidst the chaos, voices urging surrender kept ringing out, “They’re massacring the civilians; if you don’t surrender soon, everyone in the city will die!”

“Pretentious knights, kneel before the God of Truth!”

“Ahaahaha—”

Fiery projectiles rained down upon the crowd, and the maniacal laughter of the heretics echoed across the battlefield. On the nearby wall, severely wounded knights and blood-covered civilians were pushed up by the heretics. One man, spitting blood, roared: “I am Kentnis of the Third Knightly Order, Ninth Squad!”

He was then pushed off the wall, but his voice still echoed in the wind.

“I killed three beasts—”

“I… I am a mason… learned swordsmanship for three years, killed one—”

“My grandfather’s name is Wolfgang! Killed thirteen beasts! Hahaha! Even if dead, I won’t surrender! I’ll be your nightmare—”

Under the dim night sky, loud cries rose and fell. People were pushed off the wall one after another. The knights fighting below let out a thunderous roar. A young knight with a blinded left eye held his abdomen wound, preventing his intestines from falling out. Hearing the cries from above, he opened his mouth in a mournful wail, tears and blood mixing together, blurring his vision.

Ahead, more heretics surged forward.

…………

Hundreds of meters away, Barry pushed Lilith forward and turned to face the heretics chasing relentlessly behind him. He swung his blood-stained longsword at the opponent’s head. The man screamed, dragging his broken body, and took a sword to the skull. Blood gushed out, igniting hellfire. Barry didn’t flinch; he pounced on the man, punching his burning, distorted face.

“Ughaaaaaaa—”

Intense pain shot through his fists, and Barry could smell the burnt odor. Yet, he ignored it, his mind blank, enduring the pain and smashing the man’s face until it was a bloody mess. When the struggle weakened, he pulled his sword out and slashed the man’s throat.

“Miss Lilith!”

Suddenly, a cry came from behind. Barry’s breath caught, and he quickly turned around. Another heretic had grabbed the woman’s hand, smiling wickedly. Lilith cried out in fear, and the prostitute next to her desperately tried to stop the heretic, pulling out a silver hairpin and stabbing it into the heretic’s arm.

“Foul whore!”

The pin pierced the heretic’s upper arm, and his face twisted with anger. He lifted his long knife and struck the prostitute’s chest. Jewelry scattered everywhere, and blood sprayed out instantly. The prostitute widened her terrified eyes and collapsed.

“Damn bastard—”

Barry suddenly stood up, throwing his sword at the heretic, who dodged and released Lilith’s hand. Barry lunged forward, tackling the heretic to the ground. The heretic’s long knife struck Barry’s abdomen several times, causing him to vomit. However, the heretic wouldn’t let go. The young knight’s eyes glinted with ferocity, and he grabbed the heretic’s neck.

“Ahahahah!!!”

He let out a non-human scream, blood spurting from his mouth. The heretic fought back, flipping Barry over and pressing his palms, now glowing crimson, against the young knight’s face. Suddenly, the heretic’s body convulsed, his eyes rolled back, and he fell to the side.

Barry seized the opportunity, grabbing a nearby longsword and viciously slashing the heretic’s body until his head was unrecognizable. He then trembled as he stood up.

Turning his head, he saw Lilith holding a stone, her tear-streaked face illuminated by the firelight.

…………

At the end of the battle, flames raged through the city.

The shouts of the northern knights gradually faded into the night. Under the smoky sky, amidst the ruins of the city, occasional sobs could be heard.

In the dark alleys, desperate resistance continued.

After this night, countless warriors, people who had labored all their lives, fathers and daughters, would never meet again.