Raid

Three days had passed since Archbishop Adolf and Florian led their army north from Speyer along the Rhine River.

The army of over five thousand men marched majestically, raising dust that diffused in the sunlight like a golden mist.

The soldiers' steps were uniform, their armor gleaming with a cold luster in the sunlight, their pikes standing like a moving forest, and their military banners fluttering in the wind.

Adolf rode on a tall warhorse, his magnificent surcoat embroidered with the wheel emblem of Mainz and the red cross symbolizing God, beneath which was light chainmail.

His expression was stern and resolute, and he continuously patrolled the ranks, encouraging the soldiers with words, hoping to boost their morale slightly.

As dusk fell, a scout reported that after marching a bit further, the army would reach the city of Worms.

Adolf immediately ordered the army to set up camp and rest well to prepare for the upcoming plan.

Inside the tent, Adolf and Florian looked at the map of Rhineland on the table, the candlelight illuminating their serious faces, and they remained silent for a long time.

"I will attack the Mainz territory around Worms, and even assist in attacking the city—at most, firing a few cannons. Capturing this city will undoubtedly incur huge casualties."

Adolf listened to Florian's words, nodded reassuringly, and said, "You only need to create a stir, letting the enemy know that our main force is always near Worms.

Attacking Worms is just a feint; our true objective is Mainz, and now is the time to split our forces."

Florian glanced at Adolf, whose gaze was fixed on Mainz, and finally asked, "Archbishop, this move is indeed unexpected, but Dieter's influence is deeply rooted in Mainz. Is five hundred men truly enough?"

Adolf's eyes were bright, and he answered with full confidence, "Don't worry, we have inside help, and they will open the city gates for me.

It's still the same: the key to the entire operation is just one word—speed. We must seize the opportunity to enter the city while they are unprepared and catch them off guard."

"The Elector Palatine is currently confronting the Archbishop of Trier to our northwest, so we only have this one chance," Florian made the sign of the cross on his chest, "May God bless us both."

That night, Archbishop Adolf led the five hundred elite soldiers he and Florian had carefully selected, bypassing Worms from a small path west of the city at an extremely fast pace.

Night fell like thick ink, and the stars and moon were obscured by heavy clouds.

In the dead of night, a black torrent silently surged.

The soldiers carefully wrapped cloth strips around the gaps in their armor, and even the hooves of their warhorses were muffled with felt, leaving only fragmented and suppressed footsteps, like withered autumn leaves falling in the cold wind.

Squad leaders held flickering torches, and in the orange-red glow, the soldiers kept their lips tightly sealed, their eyes flickering with tension and anticipation.

The team wound its way through fields where wild grass reached their knees, dew soaking their trousers, and coldness creeping up their skin,

but no one complained.

The faint lights of distant villages flickered, like the eerie green eyes of a beast.

Adolf intentionally led his army off the main road, hurrying along concealed paths towards Mainz.

Between Mainz and Worms lay a vast, unobstructed plain, and the scattered forests within did not slow the army's pace; instead, they provided good hiding places for their tracks.

Meanwhile, Florian led the main force of over four thousand men to assist in attacking Worms.

He ordered his engineers to begin constructing trebuchets and siege ladders, and also commanded the artillery to fire a few rounds at the city walls from a slightly further distance.

Indeed, one unfortunate soul was hit and killed by a cannonball, causing the Elector Palatine's defenders stationed in Worms to rush to the city walls, ready to meet the attacking enemy.

At the same time, they dispatched messengers to their allies in Mainz, Mannheim, and other places, as well as to the Elector Palatine, requesting reinforcements and informing them that the enemy's main force was entirely concentrated at Worms, with a fierce offensive.

However, in reality, over the next few days, Florian did not launch any attacks on the city walls, apart from organizing his cavalry to plunder a few surrounding villages.

Time quickly advanced to the third day after the forces split. The soldiers accompanying Adolf had only one day's rations left, but the good news was that they were very close to Mainz.

In the afternoon, at the raid unit's hiding spot, Adolf finally waited anxiously for his attendant to return.

"How is it?"

Adolf eagerly questioned the attendant who had just returned from Mainz. Not long ago, this attendant had disguised himself and infiltrated Mainz to contact Adolf's inside man.

The attendant replied somewhat excitedly, "Archbishop, everything is ready. The people in Mainz are convinced by the news of our army in Worms, and their defenses are quite lax.

Deacon Albert has promised to open the High Gate for us at midnight."

"Good!"

Adolf nodded with satisfaction, his gaze coldly fixed on Mainz. Tonight's battle would decide the fate of Mainz and his own.

The night grew deeper, like an endless ocean of darkness.

Archbishop Adolf, leading his five hundred elites, carried a few torches and stealthily advanced towards Mainz like ghosts under the cover of night.

The soldiers' footsteps were light, almost silent, and even the usual clanking of metal was nearly eliminated by their careful handling.

When the army was still some distance from the High Gate of Mainz, Adolf cautiously sent an attendant to scout the situation at the city wall.

Soon, a man followed the attendant to Adolf.

Adolf recognized him: Deacon Albert, who had been ostracized due to disagreements with Dieter, harbored resentment and secretly contacted Adolf, willing to act as an inside man.

"What's the situation?" Adolf asked eagerly.

Albert replied, "Everything is ready. The city gate guards have been dealt with, and we are just waiting for you to arrive.

But time is short; you must act before the patrol team's next round."

Upon hearing this, Adolf immediately drew the longsword from his waist and pointed it towards Mainz.

The soldiers immediately surged towards the city gate at top speed, with Adolf and Albert leading the way to the gate.

After exchanging the secret signal, the city gate's iron chains let out a grating "creak," and the inner iron portcullis was slowly raised, breaking the dead silence of the night.

The inside men who had sided with Archbishop Adolf trembled with sweaty hands as they pushed open the heavy outer wooden doors, the sound of the turning hinges like the low chuckle of a demon.

The raiding party, who had silently approached the city wall, immediately poured through the gate, the moonlight reflecting a cold, eerie blue light off their weapons.

Many warriors in this army had participated in the siege of Milan during the Italian War, so they were well-versed in urban raids and street fighting.

Compared to the vast and populous city of Milan, Mainz seemed somewhat small, which significantly reduced the difficulty of their operation.

Wielding greatswords, pikes, sharp blades, and shields, they streamed in, quickly dispersing to occupy various key points. Some rushed onto the city walls to attack the patrolling soldiers, while others charged into the city streets to find the patrol teams.

These elite warriors had cold eyes and swift movements, saying nothing. In the silent night, only the occasional clang of metal and suppressed gasps could be heard.

And all of this, the citizens of Mainz, immersed in sleep, remained completely unaware of.

Inside the city, most residents were asleep, with only a few patrolling soldiers on the streets.

Adolf's troops quickly dealt with these patrols, then split into several groups, heading towards the locations of Dieter and his supporters according to the pre-arranged plan.

Adolf himself led a detachment of soldiers directly to the Mainz Electorate Mansion.

Just then, someone on the city wall rang the alarm bell.

Louis von Isenburg, the commander of the Mainz City Guard, who had just finished his night patrol and returned to camp to rest, was jolted awake from his sleep.

He immediately rushed out of his room; his guards were still standing at the door, looking bewildered, unaware of what was happening.

Louis roared in anger, "This is an enemy attack signal! Go quickly to the watchtower and ring the alarm bell, and tell the guards to assemble!"

"Ah, yes, sir!"

The guard, who had just reacted, immediately climbed the watchtower in the camp. There should have been guards on duty here, but the rotating guards were nowhere to be seen.

He couldn't worry about that now. This guard rang the alarm bell according to his commander's order.

The loud ringing echoed through the night sky of Mainz, waking the residents from their sleep.

People were at a loss, not knowing what had happened.

Some looked through their windows and saw dark figures moving outside. With a flash of a blade, a body fell to the ground with a muffled thud, and screams pierced the night sky.

After dealing with the defenders on the city walls, Adolf's army began to advance deeper into the city.

They forced open doors and broke through windows, house by house, storming into homes to seize all valuables they saw.

Anyone who dared to resist would be mercilessly cut down.

The entire city was enveloped in fear and despair on this dark night.

The elite of the Mainz City Guard had been dispatched to the Elector Palatine's army to assist him in fighting the enemy, which left Mainz's defenses relatively weak.

Many temporarily conscripted city guards returned to their own homes to live at night.

This made it difficult for them to regroup and organize resistance against the invaders when suddenly attacked.

A small number of guards put on leather or chain armor, took up their weapons, and after reassuring their families, left their homes with torches to go out into the streets, searching for their comrades or the enemy.

Most of them encountered the Imperial Army, who moved like ghosts through the streets, ambushing and killing them.

Facing these battle-hardened elite mercenaries, the Mainz City Guard, lacking combat skills and experience, had little power to resist.

After painstakingly gathering nearly a hundred guards, Louis immediately led them to the Mainz Electorate Mansion.

His brother, Archbishop Dieter, lived there, and the invading enemy would surely focus their attack on that place.

Regardless of what happened to Mainz, he had to take Dieter and escape from this city; he absolutely could not let Dieter fall into enemy hands.

At this moment, the gate of the Mainz Electorate Mansion was tightly shut, and some guards discovered the attackers. They put up a stubborn resistance.

But under the surprise attack led by Adolf's elite soldiers, these guards proved vulnerable.

The soldiers used their shields to block the sparse arrows shot from the courtyard walls and vigorously rammed open the gate.

"Charge in!" Adolf roared, waving the longsword in his hand.

The soldiers roared and charged into the mansion like fierce tigers. Instantly, shouts of killing filled the mansion, and the clash of swords echoed in the night sky.

Dieter and his followers had only recently been woken from their sleep and fought in haste, but they were unprepared and quickly fell into chaos.

An elite Imperial Army soldier named Karl, agile and wielding a heavy greatsword, was the first to rush into the mansion's front hall.

Dieter's bodyguard lunged forward. Karl dodged to the side, avoiding the attack, and at the same time, skillfully swung his two-handed greatsword rapidly.

A cold light flashed, and the guard's arm was severed in two, immediately gushing blood, and he screamed as he fell to the ground.

Karl did not stop for a moment, continuing to charge forward and engage in combat with more enemies.

On the other side of the hall, Hans, a brave Imperial Army warrior wielding a battle-axe, was locked in a bitter struggle with several enemies.

The enemies surrounded him, but Hans showed no fear.

He spotted an opening and swung his axe fiercely at one of them. The man quickly blocked with his shield, but the force of Hans's fierce blow numbed his arm, and the shield flew out of his hand.

Hans took the opportunity to kick him down, ending his life, then turned to face the other enemies.

The Mainz Electorate Mansion, illuminated by firelight, was in utter chaos, with glinting blades, flashing swords, and blood splattering everywhere.

However, Adolf still quickly spotted Dieter in the melee.

Dieter, dressed in his nightclothes and holding a longsword, was hastily trying to organize a breakout.

A cruel glint flashed in Adolf's eyes, and he immediately ordered his personal guards forward, directly pressing towards Dieter.

"Dieter, you despicable fellow, your end has come!" Adolf roared.

Dieter's gaze shifted to Adolf, and he immediately turned pale with fright. He tried hard to remain calm, but it was useless.

"Adolf, how are you here?"

His panicked expression was fully observed by Adolf, and Adolf's mind recalled Dieter's smug look on the day of the election, which filled him with a sense of satisfaction.

Two guards beside Dieter desperately blocked the charging enemies, trying to buy Dieter some time, but it was all in vain.

The defenders within the mansion were not many to begin with. Apart from Dieter and some servants hiding inside, everyone else had been slaughtered.

With nowhere to escape, Dieter was captured by Adolf's men. Two burly soldiers, carrying the bound Dieter, brought him before Adolf.

Adolf was about to mock him when fighting erupted again at the entrance of the Mainz Electorate Mansion—Louis had arrived with his troops to rescue his brother.

With his retreat cut off, Adolf had no choice but to brace himself and order his men to engage.

The two sides quickly began a new round of brutal chaotic fighting.

However, the City Guard, despite having a slight numerical advantage, gradually fell into a disadvantage in the desperate struggle; their combat power simply could not contend with the battle-hardened elites of the Imperial Army.

Louis eagerly led his personal guards, trying to find Dieter's whereabouts.

However, he did not notice that several Imperial Army warriors had already set their sights on him, this big fish.

In the chaotic darkness, Louis, who was grappling with a fierce greatswordsman, did not notice a long spear rapidly thrusting towards his back.

With the death of their commander, the Mainz guards were completely routed.

Adolf ordered his soldiers to search the city for Dieter's remaining supporters, regardless of gender or age; anyone deemed a supporter of Dieter was to be killed without mercy.

Blood flowed in the streets, and bodies lay scattered haphazardly.

Houses were set ablaze, and the raging fires illuminated the entire city of Mainz. Screams and cries intertwined, as if it were a living hell.

Some residents tried to resist, but in front of well-trained professional soldiers, their resistance was completely ineffective.

Adolf rode on horseback through the streets of Mainz, looking at all of this coldly, without a trace of pity on his face.

This terrible massacre lasted for a full 12 hours, from midnight until noon the next day.

Over a third of Mainz's urban area was destroyed in the fighting, more than 400 people were killed, and over 800 who refused to submit to Adolf were expelled.

Adolf distributed a portion of the seized wealth to his soldiers and followers; the rest he intended to use to repay his debts.

He did not order Dieter's death but instead planned to hand him over to the Emperor's court for trial, as agreed upon beforehand with the Emperor.

His warhorse stopped, and Adolf turned to look at the Mainz City Hall, a place that had once been a source of sorrow for him.

And now, he had finally returned as a victor.