"Enemy attack, enemy attack, southeast!"

"The Black Hat Second Corps gather at the blue flag area!"

Chaotic footsteps erupted as the previously lazing war cultivators resting under the canopy quickly assembled.

Engineers and villagers looked bewildered at the black-clad soldiers rushing towards the position from all directions, standing there dazed.

"What are you doing standing there? Hide!" A limping old soldier hobbled towards the position, not forgetting to shout at these villagers.

At this moment, they snapped out of their daze and ran in terror towards their houses or the woods.

The war cultivators of the Black Hat Army formed a neat formation, jogging into the position.

Flags of various colors were planted in each area of the position to help the war cultivators accurately reach their defensive zones.

They picked up their holy guns and ammunition belts, climbed onto elevated sandbags, and began checking their holy guns.

As the protrusions of the gun platform were solid, the Holy Gunmen ran through passages in walls two meters high to get into the gun platforms about three meters high.

With the whistle and horn sounding increasingly urgent, rows of holy guns protruded from the firing ports of the first layer of stone walls, followed by the second layer and third layer.

The Holy Gunmen watched tensely ahead, not daring to wipe the sweat dripping into their eyes from their foreheads.

At the stone wall's gaps, engineers quickly blocked them with sandbags, caltrops, and sharp stakes, led by the service soldiers towards the second-level platform.

The Long Spearmen and Shield Bearers nervously arranged themselves into tight formations behind the caltrops, angling their spears forward.

At the castle's upper tower, Juer Dan, Kolman, and Mormul, the three Legion Commanders, were present with mud streaked over their faces.

Juer Dan leaned on the railing, squinting towards the southeast's dust cloud.

Mormul closed one eye, holding a two-finger wide telescope, his expression serious.

A cavalry team was advancing towards Monkulus Manor, the dust raised by their hooves blotted out the sky.

In the telescope, there appeared to be around four hundred knights, the numbers of Extraordinary Knights and Personal Knights were unclear.

But from Juer Dan's past experience, it seemed to be a half-and-half ratio, about 150-200 Extraordinary Knights.

Standing behind Mormul, holding a sword sheath, Kolman kept poking his butt: "Give me a turn, give me a turn!"

Handing the telescope to Kolman, Mormul smiled at Juer Dan: "Didn't come the day before yesterday, didn't come yesterday, today when the fortress is almost done, they show up?"

"Can't figure it out, who cares about them." Juer Dan waved his hand, "They fight their battles, I fight mine, as long as we hold the fortress, we'll be fine."

......

Standing on a small mound, Harvin stared blankly at the three-layered fortress in front: "Alex Monkulus! Is this the ruin you spoke of?"

Alex seemed not to hear, still muttering to himself: "Impossible, five days ago it was ruins, impossible! Such a big ruin, where is it?"

"Damn dog!" Harvin lashed Alex on the back with a whip, causing him to stagger, "Your ruin is three layers high?"

"I... I don't know, where is my ruin? It was still here before!"

Harvin rubbed his temples, feeling the wound on his abdomen starting to ache again.

During that battle with Jeanne, he was relatively inconspicuous, losing too quickly to be recognized as the main commander, eventually rescued by some personal knights.

Despite being bestowed with rewards by Nidesar, Harvin stubbornly wanted to reclaim his pride from the Black Hat Army, hence applied to be on the frontline.

Just three days ago he arrived at the first frontline, Alex reported there was a Black Hat Army gathering here.

In such a big plain, they dared to camp here? Isn't this courting death?

Back then, the Black Hat Army only had 5-600 men, Harvin prepared for a quick assault, to take a bite of a squad (an Empire squad has 500 men).

But the scouting cavalry reported seeing a large number of soldiers heading this way.

Harvin hesitated, should he first deal with these 500 men? Or wait until they arrive, pull up the rear infantry, and swallow all 2000?

It was Alex who strongly advised Harvin, saying the vicinity of Monkulus Manor had no defensive advantages, the only castle being aged and dilapidated, turned into ruins.

Hence, Harvin decided to wait, pull up the rear infantry, and then act.

He completely didn't expect Alex to give him a hard one, only to have it turn into a huge disaster.

The small fortress before him is simple yet stands in stark contrast to ruins!

It seemed as though he realized something, Harvin's expression turned unkind: "I remember your ancestors had Kush blood? You're not a short-haired spy, are you?!"

"No, no, no, no, no!" Alex was so frightened his hands waved phantom images, "Believe me, I'm telling the truth..."

Alex almost cried, his eyes moving back and forth comparing the three-layered fortress before him with the remembered castle, even thinking he might have taken the wrong path or hallucinated.

But after carefully inspecting the walls, he seemed to grasp a lifeline: "Sir, look, those aren't stone walls!

No, they aren't stone walls, stone walls are gray-blue, at worst black, this yellow-brown clearly is dirt wall, they're fooling us!"

After listening to Alex's statement, Harvin was stunned: "That's true..."

Building a fortress in three days using rammed earth, though beset, wasn't hard.

Considering this possibility, Harvin's suspicion slightly eased.

"A few dirt walls are going to stop me?" Harvin sneered, "Test charge them, see what they're made of."

......

"They're coming!" Juer Dan's expression turned serious.

Lauren gazed forward from the gun platform, over a hundred knights suddenly began accelerating, charging towards the fortress.

Their bodies rose and fell with the galloping horse, speed shifting from a trot to a brisk pace.

Though not close to the fortress, Lauren could still hear the thunderous hoofbeats.

In the sweltering wind, the warhorses neighed, their manes and tails flowing with the wind, matted together by sweat.

The knights leaned closely against their saddles, legs clamping tight against the horse's belly, reducing the risk of being hit by arrows and bullets.

They weren't within the holy guns' firing range yet, but they truly fear the holy guns.

For this reason, they've even picked up shields they once despised, considered weapons for the weak.

As the distance to the fortress narrowed, the cavalry began adjusting their breathing and heart rhythm, a tension never felt before when charging rebelling peasants.

Nearer, nearer, the blurry silhouettes atop the peculiar fortress became visible.

"Holy Gunmen, prepare!" Gripping his wing spear tightly, Brigade Commander Lauren shouted.

Suddenly, all over the fortress, the sound of winding spring mechanisms echoed, many timid knights' faces changed drastically, immediately slowing their horses.

Only those bravest knights dared gritting their teeth, continuing to lie on their horses, shifting from a brisk pace to a sprint, charging towards the loose dirt walls.

"Aim!"

The gear sound ceased, a deadly silence enveloped the fortress, only the increasingly clear sound of cavalry hoofbeats.

Swung down the wing spear heavily towards the knights, Lauren roared:

"Fire!"

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