The ballista on the city tower began to fire, launching giant arrows into the sky with a piercing whistle, shooting straight towards the enemy troops.

The heavy arrows pierced the enemy's war vehicles, each arrow capable of shattering the charging vehicles;

Blood flowed from under the vehicles, where soldiers were pierced, and the blood spilled out;

Often two or three soldiers were pinned together, groaning and writhing on the battlefield, a heart-wrenching sight.

On the battlefield in front of the city, the Pope's army was densely packed with sharp-edged war chariots, a vast and spectacular sight;

And from the sky, giant arrows and falling rocks whistled down, raining down on the enemy forces;

The thunderous sounds continued, shocking all who heard them.

Under the barrage of rocks and arrows raining down on them, the Pope's soldiers bravely approached the city walls;

But the next moment, they were met with a rain of arrows;

The arrows were tipped with flames, and once shot onto the war vehicles, they immediately ignited.

The soldiers on the city walls hurled Swallowtail Torch Bombs soaked in oil far out, landing among the enemy troops and quickly igniting, setting fire to numerous flammable materials used for siege.

The soldiers under the vehicles screamed as they were set on fire, desperately trying to escape, only to be "drenched" with a rain of arrows shot down from above the city.

Sharp and cold, the arrows pierced through their bodies with a "pu pu" sound;

The soldiers groaned as they fell to the ground, only to be trampled over by countless soldiers, dying a miserable death on the spot.

The sky was filled with flying fire arrows, shining brightly in the air, a spectacular sight.

The enemy's stationed war chariots outside the city were shrouded in the barrage of fire arrows, with sharp arrows "thudding" into the pointed wooden roofs;

As the arrows sank in, they ignited more than half of the targets, plunging the outskirts of the city into a sea of fire.

Countless soldiers fled in panic, with some falling to the ground from being hit by arrows, creating a chaotic scene.

The dignitaries of the Pope's country stood in front of the army, witnessing the scene on the battlefield from a distance, and couldn't help but let out a sorrowful cry:

"Countless innocent lives are perishing in the flames of war, does this kind of warfare truly have any meaning?"

She—the Bishop in green, found the tragic scene before her unbearable.

Someone nearby offered advice:

"They are just a bunch of ordinary soldiers sent by us, nothing more than a reserve force made up by followers;

The real elites have not been sent out yet."

"Human abilities may differ, but lives should not be treated differently!"

The Bishop in green could not bear the act of trampling on lives.

At that moment, she decided not to sacrifice any more innocent lives and prepared to order the frontline troops to retreat.

But at this critical moment, a voice stopped her:

"You don't have the authority to do that!"

As these words sounded, the Bishop in green turned to see the person who had been in the temporary tent and was now slowly approaching.

This person, compared to a man, exuded a more feminine aura, and his clothing was also very feminine;

If he didn't speak, almost no one would realize he was a man dressed in purple.

After stopping the Bishop in green's order to withdraw, he—the Bishop in purple, took out the "Holy Symbol" granted by the Pope to inform her:

"Technically, you are in command of this army, but His Holiness had actually transferred the true command to me before setting out."

"Are you here to obstruct me?"

"It all depends on whether you intend to obstruct my army!"

The proud Bishop in purple never paid much attention to the will of the other four bishops.

Whether the Pope had secretly granted him the authority or not, he had already decided to effectively command this large army.

For him, the interference of others was something the Bishop in green should have anticipated.

The Pope had never trusted her, and he could not have truly entrusted such a major expedition, with over two hundred thousand troops, to someone he did not fully trust.

In the high-ranking echelons of the church, the Pope only truly trusted five people.

Excluding the "Three Guardians" who never led troops, the only reliable leader in his eyes, besides the long-deceased Bishop in red, was the Bishop in purple.

The illusion of the Bishop in green leading the troops was merely a recognition of her high prestige, intending to leverage her charisma.

After all, a worshipped commander, even if only nominally leading the troops, could inspire tremendous combat power among those who trusted her.

For the Bishop in purple and the Pope, the Bishop in green was indeed a very useful tool;

But of course, if the tool wished to act on her will, it would be time for the controller to step in.

The Bishop in purple made it clear to the Bishop in green:

"If you do not wish to witness the loss of life, you'd better leave this place now and stay honestly in the rear!"

"Purple, you—Hmm?"

The Bishop in green, frowning at the person in front of her, suddenly sensed something from a certain direction in the capital city;

Her entire attention was immediately diverted.

"Could it be… No, how is that possible!?"

Unable to accept the speculation in her heart, the Bishop in green turned around after a moment and started walking forward, leaving behind a gradually fading figure for the people around her.

At this moment, the Bishop in purple still could not understand her abnormal behavior and showed no concern at the time.

It was best the one going against their orders had left, making military command much easier.

Subsequently, the Bishop in purple ordered the transport team to move, sending more siege equipment to the front line while he remained at a safe distance.

Seeing the enemy rolling out dozens of huge siege engines with arrow towers towering high above, the defenders on the city walls couldn't help but turn pale.

These massive siege vehicles could accommodate several archers on top;

The arrows shot by the archers from a higher position made it challenging for the soldiers defending the city.

Behind the siege engines, there were also dozens of catapults; the terrifying siege formation below the city caused fear among the defending soldiers.

As the arrow tower slowly approached the city, within range of the ballista, a great knight coldly raised his hand and ordered loudly:

"Release!"

The tightened bowstrings made a sound, and the large arrows soared into the air. After flying over, they hit the arrow tower on the opposite side.

A deafening crash came from the arrow tower, and the wooden boards on the top shattered, sending wood splinters flying in all directions.

Several archers somersaulted off the platform and fell from the tower, wailing in mid-air;

As they hit the ground with a thud, they lay motionless.

The soldiers watched as they were turned into human pancakes, breaking out in a cold sweat.

In the distance, the Bishop in purple, seeing many low-ranking archers killed, still calmly commanded:

"Elite archers, move forward and replace them; catapults, prepare to attack."

Following his orders, both sides' dozens of catapults on high ground and below immediately launched an attack.

Boulders whizzed through the air, then howled down.

Countless soldiers on both sides were hit by the rocks, their blood splattering, their flesh and bones torn apart.

Seeing the sky filled with flying rocks passing above them, and soldiers behind them being crushed by the falling stones, the great knight remained calm and ordered firmly:

"Aim at the enemy catapults and fire."

The disciplined Dibiles soldiers immediately changed their target.

They controlled thirty siege engines, aiming at the nearest ten enemy catapults below the city walls and hurled giant rocks from a distance.

Thirty massive boulders crashed down simultaneously, with at least half hitting their targets.

With a thunderous roar, the enemy's siege engines below the city collapsed one after another, no longer posing an effective threat to the defenders on the walls.

At this point, some of the Pope's soldiers were near the city walls;

The defenders' siege engines on the wall were focused on the enemy's catapults, allowing them to take advantage of the situation.

Although the great knight had seen those soldiers, he paid little attention to them, only notifying his subordinates when they approached the city:

"Drop the rolling logs and stones."

Following the order, the soldiers on the wall immediately pushed the projectiles off the battlements, targeting those approaching enemy soldiers.

After the projectiles broke the protection above the soldiers' heads, the archers on the wall immediately fired, killing the exposed targets on the spot.

With more bodies piling up below the city, despite the Pope's soldiers swinging axes and mallets at the city gate, it remained closed;

Their efforts were mostly in vain, often managing only one or two attacks before being struck and killed by falling rocks.

At that moment, the great knight shouted:

"Ignite the Swallowtail Torches and throw them all down!"

The soldiers on the wall saw the Swallowtail Torches just delivered to them, and without hesitation, they lit them and hurled them down below the city.

The enemy siege engines, covered in fire-resistant cowhides, were unable to resist the incendiary effects when the Swallowtail Torches were thrown underneath, igniting the wheels.

As a pile of burning torches was thrown down, the area below the city quickly turned into a sea of fire, engulfing numerous siege engines;

Countless soldiers screamed in agony from the flames, trying to extinguish the fires as they escaped from under the burning war chariots, but to little avail;

Surrounded by burning torches everywhere, with arrows constantly shooting down from above, where else could they flee?

Long arrows and rocks continued to crossfire, with a continuous rumble, destroying one enemy siege engine after another outside the city, making it nearly impossible for the soldiers to climb onto the siege towers.

The face of the general bishop grew increasingly grim.

Now, the Bishop in purple, who was standing in the rear, looked at him with contempt.

He immediately instructed him, "Use the ladders."

Seeing the sympathetic gaze of the dignitary, the bishop blushed with embarrassment and quickly shouted:

"All of you, grab the ladders and charge up with me!"

The soldiers of the Pope were fearful and reluctant to follow the chaotic order, thinking to themselves:

The enemy's archers had not been suppressed yet, and if they rushed downstairs and got shot by the enemy's arrows, wouldn't that be a complete disaster?

Reluctant to obey, they found the supervisory squad led by the bishop watching closely, making them feel stuck between a rock and a hard place, with death both ways.

After weighing their options, they steeled themselves, hoisted their weapons and ladders, and charged forward;

Their minds were set on conquering the enemy city to plunder and compensate for the suffering endured that day.

Sometimes, what seemed like bravery was merely a pursuit of personal gain.