490,
With a strong push, Cyclone's forces surged forward at full throttle, and within seconds, they broke through the city gate.
Caught off guard, the drowsy knights immediately awakened.
As the alarm sounded within the city, a bloody battle erupted in an instant.
Like facing a defenseless sleeping beauty, the soldiers of Cyclone pushed forward relentlessly, quickly reaching the deepest part of the city gate.
With high morale and under the command of General Cyclone, the soldiers showed no mercy as they slashed through the sleeping knights.
Blood painted the streets as a large amount of fresh blood flowed from within the city gate.
This was no longer a war, but a one-sided slaughter.
When General Cyclone and his elite troops arrived at the city, the Lord of Wind City finally came to his senses.
"Swift..."
But it was too late, the sword of the king came down, and the Fire Arrows of the old turtle strategist followed suit.
The city flowed with blood, engulfed in flames. Looking back, this was the scene of war they felt first tasted.
Noble knights who had conquered countless foes, even rumored to have defeated high elf sorceresses, all serving under Wind City.
A city so formidable, it never imagined the day it would be invaded.
"Mmm... Mmm..."
In the sea of flames, the Lord of the city couldn’t even scream in agony. The war was reaching its conclusion.
Knight after knight fell, the walls crumbled under the forced advancement of the army. All signs of the city’s impending defeat.
Even amidst the fire, the Lord of Wind City could feel it.
The city streets were filled with Cyclone's fierce generals, their numbers so great that they had to expand the city gates to accommodate them all.
Wind City was no longer recognizable, transformed forcibly by the enemy. It had become the ideal structure for the enemy, forevermore.
"Excellent!!! Keep attacking!!!"
"Ge-General!!!"
Just when everyone thought Wind City was about to fall, the strategist shouted.
"It's... it’s a trap!!!"
"What?!"
This sudden outburst caught everyone off guard.
Despite the overwhelming odds, even if there were a resistance now, with the current difference in forces, there should be no turning back.
But why then? Why did the strategist's expression show such panic?
"The enemy, the enemy has appeared from the rear!!!"
With these words, the battlefield situation was secretly altered.
It turned out that the soldiers who had returned earlier were all enemy imposters.
No one could have imagined that the noble and alluring female knights were capable of such a deceitful deception to entice the enemy.
Not only that, the knights left in the city were decoys to lure Cyclone's forces deeper.
"To actually... to actually set an ambush outside..."
Troops from all directions gradually closed in from behind.
Like hands and feet, they tightly ensnared Cyclone's forces.
With no escape route, General Cyclone and his fierce warriors were forced to stay in the city street and fight to the death.
Faced with this situation, General Cyclone was momentarily bewildered.
Because this course of action did not benefit them at all.
Wind City had already been captured by Cyclone's army; returning to defend it was simply too late.
The advantage always lay with the defenders.
It was precisely for this reason that General Cyclone had to resort to subterfuge to break through the city's defenses.
Another point to consider is the ambush itself.
General Cyclone observed the enemy troops charging forward, only to discover that they were weak and exhausted soldiers.
On the surface, it seemed like their own army was surrounded, but the encirclement was somewhat lacking in strength.
"Lord General!!"
"T-Turtle?"
"It's a feigned retreat!"
"A feigned retreat?!"
"They have abandoned defending the city because their true objective was never about defending the city!"
Despite the strategist's words, General Cyclone still couldn't grasp the situation.
"They know they can't withstand our powerful army's invasion, that's why they want to go down with us!!"
"N-No, that's impossible!! Turtle, look! Their ambush consists of weak soldiers, indicating their main forces have indeed fallen victim to our army's sedative. As long as we continue the fight..."
"It's not like that!! Lord General, they are trying to... they want to force us to unleash the Rising Dragon Cannon here!"
In an instant, General Cyclone finally understood the terrifying aspect of this trap.
The deception was too deep for anyone to fathom.
Next, they still had to conquer the world's number one fortress, and that canon blast must be saved for that critical moment.
Knowing that Wind City was doomed, they willingly endured the most powerful strike from the Rising Dragon Cannon for the sake of other cities.
What was initially seen as an easy battle had suddenly transformed into a battle of endurance.
***
