The feather spear swung down as the monks pulled the trigger.

The reverse thorn claw loosened, the mountain copper spring emitted a whistling sound, winding the gears to push the firing lever forward in a frenzy.

Lead bullets rubbed and bounced up and down within the barrel, a trail of sparks chasing the firing pin, sliding within the barrel.

"Bang——"

A choir of thunderous roars from a hundred spring guns sung out, a hundred Holy Gunmen are jolted backward by the recoil.

Lead bullets roared out like an angry swarm of bees, slicing through air, flying towards the charging cavalry array.

Lead bullets emitted a sharp sound as they cut through air, forming a trajectory parallel to the ground, like a longsword sweeping horizontally through the charging cavalry.

The thumbnail-sized lead bullets pierced through 2-millimeter armor, penetrated battle dress, and bored into the layers of soft and pale skin.

The soft lead tore into the knights' flesh like venomous insects, leaving cavities and bloody holes.

"Neigh——"

"Ah——"

"Miseluya!"

The seven to eight cavaliers in the front row jerked as their bodies were swept backward, limply collapsing from their horses.

Two knights were hit in the heart or skull, seemingly having resolved something, they turned and died.

Most of the struck knights rolled to the ground, clutching their gushing wounds, emitting shrill wails and cries.

A war horse hit by a stray bullet neighed painfully, reared up, and threw its rider from its back.

The knight landed rolling, his iron armor scratching harshly against the ground.

Curled like a cooked shrimp, he clutched his belly in pain, struggling to stand but finding one leg immobile.

Within seconds, the horses' neighs and human screams intertwined, echoing into the skies.

Ravenous crows circled the sky, waiting for the feast.

In the reflection of their pupils, the knights were split into several groups like waves against a boulder, their neat charge formation turning into shambles.

"Ignore it, ignore it! Keep charging! Tread strike!" The leading Alex furiously swung his spear, charging at the forefront.

The familiar gunfire resounded again, as if the ancestors of the Monkulus family were protecting him, Alex at the front remained unscathed, while several more knights behind him fell.

Closer, even closer!

He switched from tread strike to sprint, performing the customary deceleration charge.

The earth wall entwined with net-like vine and branches was clearly in sight, amusingly so in thought.

With an old smirk on his face, Alex even began to secretly scold himself for almost being scared by this earth wall.

With his spear levelled, Alex let out a broken scream, "Charge!"

The special herbs previously consumed by the war horses finally took effect, dispelling their innate wisdom and timidity, transforming them into fury and fearlessness.

They opened their mouths, emitting shrieking neighs, raising their heads, charging towards the source of the booming sound.

Despite the knights leading them to crash into the wall, they charged directly at the "earth wall".

Three yards, two yards, one yard!

Alex silently counted, aiming his spear at a bearded, black-clad soldier atop the wall, in hopes that, if well-controlled, the spear would remove his head upon breaking through the earth wall.

"Die, you heretics!"

"Boom——"

As soon as Alex made contact with the earth wall, he sensed something amiss.

He seemed to crash headlong into a mountain, an immense force emanating from below.

A fleeting blur passed by his eyes, revealing the lead-clouded sky and the black-and-red flags hanging above the castle.

Following was the ancestral castle, wall after wall of the second tier, earthen mound, and clearer—the face of a black-clad soldier!

Perhaps due to their speed, neither Alex nor the war cultivator had time to evade.

They could only watch helplessly as a hideous, dirty face grew closer.

In a tooth-aching metallic crunch, their foreheads collided.

Luckily, both wore helmets, avoiding a gory impact, but face-to-face contact occurred.

After a peculiar "pop" sound, both tilted their heads, snapping back awkwardly.

Alex almost flew backward and landed on the ground.

After a moment of dizziness from landing, Alex held his head, staggered to his feet, and everything before him seemed double.

He felt something strange in his mouth and spat it out to find a half-yellowed tooth, thankfully not too heavily injured.

...No, wait, all his teeth were decayed; how could there be an intact tooth?

"Ugh—"

Raising his head, Alex clearly saw the black-clad soldier opposite spit out a tooth riddled with worms.

Their faces changed simultaneously, frantically wiping their mouths.

"You peasant!" Embarrassed and angry, Alex drew his Knight's Sword, raised it overhead, and slashed fiercely at the War Cultivator named Lefi.

Lefi drew the armed sword from his waist, used a hoe-style upward push with an outward roll to block Alex's slash, and seized the chance to jump aside.

Staring blankly with his sword, Alex asked, "You, you have the three-stage breathing technique?"

"Who doesn't? A measly three-stage breathing technique, no one couldn't master that, right?" Lefi spat on the ground and shouted to his back, "There's a knight here, get two Long Spearmen!"

"Unforthcoming!" Deep within enemy lines, Alex saw him calling for reinforcements and anxiously stepped forward with another powerful chop.

Lefi, clad in leather armor, was much more agile than Alex, easily sidestepping his longsword and counter-stabbing, leaving a half-inch deep scratch on his armor.

"Thick shell!" Lefi crouched to avoid a horizontal sweep, cursing angrily.

The orderly sound of footsteps came from both sides, with several Long Spearmen marching in two columns, charging toward Alex.

Sweat beaded on Alex's forehead; using a longsword against spears in a mixed fight, with others using the breathing technique, even the Square Banner Knight could only flee.

Disregarding further entanglement with him, Alex turned and dashed towards the stone wall.

"Still trying to run?" Seeing Alex trying to flee, Lefi viciously gave chase.

By this time, Alex had kicked over two Holy Gunmen, grabbed onto the wall's edge, and was halfway over.

Just when he was about to escape, fortunately, the quick-thinking Legion Secretary Bernardo leapt forward to pick up the fallen holy gun and fired at the near-reaching Alex.

Blood gushed explosively from the small hole in the leg armor.

With piercing pain, Alex, who was about to jump over the wall, screamed and toppled back to the ground.

He clutched the wound on his thigh, painfully rolling on the ground.

"Missing even at this range, Bernardo, you really need to practice your shooting." Grumbling, Lefi stepped forward and kicked the longsword from Alex's hand.

"I'm just a secretary; what need do I have for shooting practice?" Sighing lightly as he glanced at the face once seen at a feast, Bernardo turned and called for the Service Soldier to take away the unlucky knight.

Meanwhile, after seven or eight attempts to charge into a wall proved futile, the remaining knights realized.

This isn't an earth wall; this is clearly a stone wall!

Was Alex truly a short hair? Truly a traitor?

"Fire!" Some brigade commander's voice rang out again, and all knights simultaneously bowed, lowering their noble heads.

Lead pellets flew over their heads, making them resemble farmers hounded for debts by landowners, living in constant anxiety.

This firing command was like a devil's voice; no matter their position, they would be hit as if the pellets could turn corners.

After several failed attacks, their morale finally shattered.

"I saw Alex kissing a short-haired one; he's the traitor!"

"Alex is a traitor; everyone retreat quickly!"

"Retreat, retreat quickly!"

Now with a reason, the knights shouted loudly, trying to make as many flee together to share the guilt.

They came like an incoming tide, retreating like an outgoing tide, leaving behind a chaotic battlefield in front of the fortress.

Broken blades stuck in the ground, kite shields left in halves.

The injured warhorses neighed painfully, the fallen cavalrymen struggled in despair.

Crows impatiently descended, flitting amongst the severely injured, pecking at them.

"They retreated!" Lauren excitedly shouted to Juer Dan on the second floor, "We won."

Juer Dan nodded, not showing much delight on his face.

To call this a win, this was merely an appetizer before a meal.

"Clear the battlefield, repair defenses." Juer Dan calmly commanded, "This war has only just begun."

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