Capítulo 1894: Chapter 616: Codename Foxfire
A sleek bald-headed falcon cried sharply in the sky, slanting past the highest spire and clock tower above Yif Castle.
This is Yif Castle, the throat at the border between the human world and the Primitive Ancient Origin, the most remote frontier pass of the Dorott Duchy.
The towering Mount Tamerlarya and the Bering Mountains form a completely enclosed inverted triangle here, giving Yif Castle its reputation as a “natural fortress.”
If you set out from the front of the castle, turning left would take you to the Florendo Saline-alkali Forest, and turning right leads to the Donau Wasteland. As long as this natural fortress is guarded, Beamon will never hope to counterattack inland and will never see Mount Hyjal again.
After circling two or three times in the sky, the bald-headed falcon spread its wings wide and dove towards the majestic city wall with fluttering banners.
Built with the hardest green stones and lead, the city wall of Yif Castle was bustling with countless human soldiers, under the command of a vigorous elderly general, sweating profusely as they moved large bundles of arrows, logs, and stone bullets; below the city gate, teams of engineers were energetically setting up deer fences and cheval de frise, planting iron caltrops, while a large number of carts continuously dumped barrels of man-eating fish into the moat.
“Set all shooting parameters precisely. I don’t want scattering, just coverage!” The old general in silver armor said with a steely demeanor, urging the dwarf soldiers installing large crossbows and stone throwers on the rampart behind the city wall: “Move faster, you call yourselves soldiers of the ‘Silver Crescent Legion’? Any random woman moves quicker than you do!”
The bald-headed falcon, at the moment it glided over the city wall, loosened its talons and dropped a lacquered wooden tube tied with a red silk thread.
The old general skillfully swung his scarlet gold-threaded cape, reaching out to catch the falling wooden tube from the sky.
Lifting the wax-sealed lid of the tube, a roll of parchment immediately sprang out.
The old general flicked open the parchment, stained with mottled blood, and within moments, his silver-white brows knitted tightly.
“Marshal Sidov…” Master Stefano, holding a long and elegant ruby staff, gracefully rose from the seat not far away: “…is it news of the Underworld Clan?”
“No!” Marshal Sidov said flatly: “It’s the Demon Clan, not the Underworld Clan!”
“Yes!” With a determined visage, Marshal Sidov packed away the parchment, withdrawing emotionlessly a dagger to cut a slice of bloody meat from a piece the guard handed him and fed it into the beak of the falcon perched on his shoulder: “The McDonald’s outpost is already the closest one to Yif Castle, and I presume the demon army is now no more than two hundred miles away from us!” ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ ɴovelfire.net
“I didn’t expect even the Demon Clan to come.” Master Stefano chuckled wryly: “But this matches the timing of the Demon Clan’s deployment as you predicted.”
“None of the scouts I sent out returned alive, and the remaining outposts ahead sent no Flying Eagle Messaging back—I suppose they have all nobly perished.” Marshal Sidov calmly wiped the bloodstains from his fingers with a silk handkerchief: “It seems, indeed, the Demon Clan lives up to its name—seasoned and ruthless.”
“Old friend, the Demon Clan has numerous aerial units; in terms of mobility and strike capability, we naturally cannot compare.” Master Stefano sighed bitterly: “I believe you ought to again petition His Majesty to allocate a batch of Bone Lian Bao Boxes to Yif Castle and not only reserve them for the troops stationed in the Kalimdo Plain. I think the likelihood of the demon army entering the Kalimdo Plain is not high; their strategic focus remains on the Donau Wasteland.”
“No matter!” The graying old marshal displayed a hint of prideful smile: “In my over fifty years of military service, Sidov has always relied on spoils of war won by my own forces, and this time will be no exception!”
“I wonder about the Berserkers of Tel Aviv, but they’re likely to have clashed with either the Underworld Clan or the Demon Clan. In fact, we originally should have kept them,” Master Stefano couldn’t help but express some regret: “More than twenty thousand berserkers form quite a powerful force.”
“On the battlefield, the most excellent soldiers are those who obey orders and follow commands unconditionally, rather than being judged by bravery, stature, or strength.” Marshal Sidov couldn’t help but smile kindly at this layman’s remark: “Stefano, my old friend, that group of Viking barbarians, unorganized and undisciplined, are not remarkable warriors. We have mages enlisted from various nations, my ‘Silver Crescent Legion’, Dorott’s standing mercenaries, and the natural fortress of Yif Castle. Whether it’s the Underworld or the Demon Clan, they best not come; if they do, I will surely let them suffer here!”
“In that, I have never worried.” Master Stefano also smiled: “Old friend, just because of your title as the ‘Undefeated War God’ of the Saint Francisco Empire, if I lacked even this bit of confidence, I wouldn’t be at ease heading to the Southern Cross Star Forest.”
“Regarding magic, I am not qualified to speak, but the principle of ‘lips gone, teeth cold’ I do understand.” Marshal Sidov nodded: “Master, behind Yif Castle, the giant-scythe warriors from the Pompeii Empire, the Teutonic soldiers from the St. Alma Kingdom, the greatsword warriors from the St. Cyan Kingdom, the dragon spear infantry from the St. Trank Kingdom, the jumping-crossbowmen from the St. Jose Empire, and the longbowmen from the St. Gama Kingdom, are on their way here. If you and the mages go to the Southern Cross Star Forest, there will be no reinforcements, so I urge you, as agreed, to avoid exposure as much as possible, fight only when confident, and should the situation become untenable, withdraw without hesitation!”