Chapter 87 - Blood and Fire in Platinum City (Part 3)

Chapter 87 - Blood and Fire in Platinum City (Part 3)

"I caught it in the southwest part of the manor!"

Rayne Nazares announced.

Only then did Charlotte notice the battered creature tied behind Rayne Nazares's horse.

The thing was dark all over, with a body resembling a human's, a flat, round head, fleshy wings with membranes, and a pair of sharp claws.

A Birdman. Charlotte recognized it instantly. It was a common non-human intelligent species on the Eagle Continent.

According to Rayne Nazares, when he found this Birdman, its wings were already injured. It was recuperating in a tree with its companions when Rayne shot it down with an arrow. Its companions, apparently having just survived a major battle themselves, decisively abandoned the wounded Birdman upon facing the sudden arrow attack and fled without a second glance.

As for the other injuries on the Birdman, they were inflicted while Rayne dragged it behind his horse.

After capturing the Birdman, Rayne had already conducted a preliminary interrogation. Inheriting the tribe members' utterly unprincipled "virtue," the Birdman confessed everything it knew after Rayne stabbed its thigh twice with a dagger. There was absolutely no thought of dying rather than submitting or remaining loyal until death.

This Birdman was a scout under King Baxia. The mission its tribe received was to intercept any Oran Empire messengers attempting to warn Platinum City. The Birdman and its companions had pursued the giant eagle from earlier all the way to the vicinity of Platinum City.

Regarding the size of King Baxia's main force, the tribesmen's mathematical education clearly needed improvement. This Birdman was muddled, only knowing phrases like "very, very many" and "countless," unable to even estimate the number of digits.

However, the Birdman did name over a dozen large tribes. Rayne, having experience fighting tribesmen, could confirm at least seven or eight of these tribes were likely real. Just those seven or eight tribes alone could mobilize nearly ten thousand tribesmen warriors.

Upon learning this intelligence, Charlotte immediately had Rayne take the Birdman to Count Philip.

Count Philip's expression turned grave upon hearing the news. He immediately called for a map and, based on the Birdman's testimony, marked King Baxia's main force's route of advance.

Looking at the indicated route, Charlotte quickly realized the problem—the tribesmen's main force had chosen an exceedingly cunning path.

The route began from the Silver Wing Camp in the Bonan Duchy. The Silver Wing Camp was located at the northernmost point of the shared western border between the Empire and the Bonan Duchy. Behind it lay not only the lands of the Bonan Duchy but also the boundary line between the Bonan Duchy and the Emperor's directly governed territories.

Except for the nail that was Silver Wing Camp, this boundary line was undefended year-round. Not only were there no troops, but most areas along it were sparsely populated. It was like an almost empty corridor leading straight to Platinum City behind the Bonan Duchy.

"Simply unbelievable. There must be a general or sage extremely familiar with the Oran Empire among the invading tribesmen this time..." Count Philip sighed deeply.

This corridor was very narrow; likely neither the Duke of Bonan nor Emperor Leopold had ever been aware of its existence. Anyone capable of finding it needed not only a deep understanding of the Oran Empire's geography but also knowledge of the basic defensive layouts of the Empire and the Bonan Duchy.

"These tribesmen are indeed different this time. They actually have scouts."

Charlotte also remarked. In the past, the tribesmen raiding the Bonan and Green Plains Duchies mostly resembled gangs cobbled together from various villages. Although fierce in combat, they lacked any semblance of organization. But this time, the tribesmen not only had meticulous marching plans but also simple organizational divisions, already showing the rough outline of an army.

At this moment, Charlotte felt a flicker of curiosity about the legendary King Baxia. It wouldn't be bad to have a chance to meet him.

However, Charlotte quickly shook her head again. "But that's not our concern right now. What we need to do is leave here immediately."

"Yes," Count Philip nodded and said to Andre, "Go inform the Duchess. We leave at once. Don't bother packing any luggage that isn't already finished."

Andre nodded and immediately went to inform Rosie.

Meanwhile, inside Platinum City.

After receiving the warning from the giant eagle, Empress Mary—oh, now the Empress Dowager—immediately issued orders to the Royal Griffin Knight Order, demanding that Knight Commander Dawid Boyan recall ten griffins from the border to reinforce Platinum City.

In truth, apart from the Green Plains Duchy and the Bonan Duchy, which had always bordered the Kampen Mountains, most Oran nobles didn't pay much attention to the tribesmen. In their minds, the tribesmen were merely a group of savage insects who drank blood raw. If they wanted to step on them, a simple lift of the foot would flatten them. No one believed a swarm of insects could possibly conquer the impregnable Platinum City.

The only ones genuinely troubled by this matter were likely the nobles associated with the Duke of Bonan. The tribesmen completely bypassing the Bonan Duchy's defense lines caused great loss of face for the Duke of Bonan and his subordinate nobles.

For the other Oran nobles, Emperor Henry publicly announcing his intention to strip the Green Plains Duke of his title was far more newsworthy and made for better after-dinner gossip than the tribesmen invasion.

"Foolish!"

Uros Lindar, his hair and beard completely white, glared at Emperor Henry seated opposite him and reprimanded him sharply.

"Yes, but Jose Mellerfield pushed me first..."

Henry argued stubbornly, craning his neck.

His order to strip the Green Plains Duke of his title had been directly rejected by the Lord Keeper of the Seal, Uros. This old man refused to affix the seal to Henry's decree, instead giving Henry a furious dressing-down and demanding that Henry write a personal letter of apology to Jose Mellerfield.

"The Green Plains Duke pushing you was indeed discourteous of him, but do you know why the founding monarch of the Oran Empire, Linhardt Holovin, enfeoffed vassals like the Green Plains Duke?" Uros retorted.

"Because His Majesty Linhardt needed the nobles to help him govern this vast nation?" Henry hesitated, offering the standard answer.

"No," Uros flatly denied it. "Because His Majesty Linhardt couldn't defeat these great nobles!"

"Can you defeat them?" Uros asked again.

"I..." Henry didn't know how to answer.

"You can't defeat them either. So, you'd best hurry up and write this personal letter," Uros stated.

"No, impossible! I will absolutely never apologize to Jose Mellerfield! Dream on!"

Henry slammed the table and stood up, pacing back and forth agitatedly.

Uros watched Henry, his expression completely unmoved, and slowly began to speak. "There is a principle I taught Emperor Joseph, and I taught Emperor Leopold. Now, it seems, I need to teach it to you as well."

Henry paused his pacing, puzzled.

"If you wish to become a qualified emperor, you must learn to beg forgiveness from your opponents, your enemies—even if it means being shameless, even if it means groveling," Uros said in a low, serious voice.

The anger on Henry's face intensified.

Uros met Henry's gaze without fear, his aged eyes as sharp as a falcon's.

Time trickled by. Henry clenched his teeth, the muscles in his face trembling slightly. The fury in his expression gradually subsided under the direct stare.

Finally, Henry sat back down opposite Uros, lowered his head, and picked up the paper and pen Uros had prepared.

Southwest of Platinum City.

A pair of large feet broke through the wind and snow.

After three days and nights of relentless marching, Baxia finally saw a faint black line in the distance through the swirling snow. He knew it was the Oran Empire's most magnificent city—Platinum City.

"Finally arrived." A wide grin spread across Baxia's face, which was almost entirely coated in ice shards. "If the Oran Empire truly is Yige's domain, then I really must thank Him. Without the cover of this heavy snow, we absolutely could not have crossed the Bonan Duchy so smoothly."

"King, everyone is exhausted from the march. Should we rest first?" a tribal leader asked Baxia.

"Rest? Of course, you can rest," Baxia replied without hesitation. "Divide all the tribes into three echelons. One echelon attacks the city, the other two rest."

"King, but this..." Another tribal leader started to say something.

Baxia cut him off with a glare. "I can let you rest, but will the Oran people let you rest? If you don't want to be crushed by swarms of griffin knights descending from the sky, then prepare to assault the city immediately!"

Finished speaking, Baxia ignored the tribal leaders' complaints and turned to shout, "Half-Face!"

"King," responded a mixed-blood giant, nearly a full head taller than Baxia, his voice muffled and deep. He only had the right half of his face; the left half looked as if the skin had been torn off, exposing stark white bone and gums, making him appear ferocious and terrifying.

"You lead your tribe and these two tribes," Baxia pointed at the two leaders who had just spoken, "as the first echelon to attack the city! The others rest, replenish food and water."

"Yes!"

The mixed-blood giant known as Half-Face answered without the slightest hesitation.

Under the pressure from the mixed-blood giant, the two tribal leaders who had voiced complaints moments before could only obey the command.

Charlotte's group had traveled for less than half a day after departing from Count Philip's manor when they ran headlong into a flock of Birdmen.

"Char-Charlotte, don't be afraid! Big brother will protect you! These Birdmen are no match for me!"

Andre raised his sword, shielding Charlotte and Renee, who had gotten out of the carriage to check the situation. He swallowed nervously while comforting his sister.

Charlotte glanced at her brother's trembling sword, rolled her eyes, too lazy to comment on this guy who had never been on a battlefield, and frowned as she observed the fight.

However, putting aside combat experience and ferocity, Andre's words weren't entirely boasting. These Birdmen weren't particularly strong fighters; even unawakened attendant knights could exchange a few blows with them. The tricky part was that these Birdmen could fly.

With their wings intact, the Birdmen could dive from mid-air, suddenly clawing one or two unprotected individuals in the convoy, then soar away before the Mellerfield knights could counterattack.

The knights and attendants could only fight back with bows and arrows, but their success was limited, and their supply of arrows was finite and would soon run out.

"Milady, it was my recklessness that provoked these Birdmen's retaliation." Rayne Nazares knelt on one knee, apologizing to Charlotte in shame.

"No, Knight Rayne, this isn't your fault. If I'm not mistaken, these Birdmen likely just lost their way and stumbled upon us," Count Philip judged based on his combat experience. But then he added, "However, for stragglers to wander this far indicates that the tribesmen invasion this time is truly massive. Letting them continuously slow us down like this isn't a solution. There might be even more tribesmen ahead, and it's getting dark. We'll be in greater danger after nightfall."

Charlotte waved her hand for Rayne Nazares to stand up. After pondering for a moment, she said, "Since we can't head directly south anymore, let's turn back, Uncle Philip."

"Turn back?" Count Philip was slightly confused.

"Yes," Charlotte nodded, pointing northeast. "We'll go to Oriole Fortress, board a ship there, and take the Rouen Sea route south. It's a longer detour, but it's safer."

Oriole Fortress was a small city east of Platinum City, situated on the coast of the Rouen Sea. It served as an important inland sea harbor and naval port for the Oran Empire.

The Rouen Sea was the large inland sea enclosed by the Oran Empire and the Edisa Empire.

After a moment's thought, Count Philip agreed it made sense and nodded. "A good idea. Let's do that."

Thus, Count Philip ordered the attendant knights to raise their shields and protect the carriages as the convoy slowly retreated towards the northeast.

The Birdmen continued their attacks unwillingly, but they lacked the power to completely halt the convoy.

Charlotte re-boarded the carriage. As the convoy retreated to a nearby hillside with an open view near Platinum City, Laina, sharing the same carriage, suddenly gripped Charlotte's wrist tightly, pointed out the window, and exclaimed excitedly, "Charlotte, look over there!"

Charlotte followed Laina's gaze. A black line was surging towards Platinum City.

Due to poor visibility, Charlotte could only see the black line, but she didn't need to see clearly to guess what it was—the tribesmen had begun their assault on the city.

As the black line moved rapidly, several towering figures within it gradually became visible. They had human-like forms but were immense, far exceeding normal human height. As they ran, their figures continued to grow, like mountain peaks rising from the earth.

They were King Baxia's most ferocious force—the mixed-blood giants.

By the time they reached the city walls, the mixed-blood giants had already grown to eight or nine meters tall. With each step, the earth trembled; with each roar, the falling snow scattered.

One of the tallest giants roared and leaped first, soaring another seven or eight meters high in that single bound.

Watching this imposing, fierce scene, Charlotte felt as if she were momentarily seeing the epic battlefields depicted in the ancient legends recorded on the dilapidated murals of the Luyang City ruins.

The average height of Platinum City's walls was around eighteen meters. With this leap, the giant was about to crest the battlements.

However, just as the giant reached out its massive hand to grab the parapet, the twang of a bowstring reverberated, momentarily freezing the swirling snowflakes.

A dim cyan streak pierced the snow curtain at a speed barely perceptible to the naked eye.

The giant's figure seemed to pause mid-air, as if time had stopped.

Only when blood sprayed did the massive body get carried backward by inertia, tumbling back in the direction it came from.

"Dragon Crossbows are truly terrifying," Charlotte murmured softly.