Beneath the city walls were soldiers clad in white armor, surrounding the city like a swarm of white ants, fiercely gnawing at it.

Meanwhile, the soldiers within the city fought desperately, shooting countless arrows raining down on the enemy.

The screams shattered the sky as the soldiers below were continuously struck by arrows from above;

Many of them, bathed in blood, fell to the ground and were trampled by their comrades, groaning in their dying moments.

Siege ladders were propped against the city walls, and the Pope's soldiers climbed them desperately, striving to reach the top;

Before they could reach the summit, thrusting spears pierced their helmets, piercing through, forcing them to fall from the ladders;

Sharp spear tips stabbed into the gate, causing them to plummet without a choice.

Countless Pope's soldiers ascended the ladders, only to fall back down.

The soldiers atop the walls, with grim faces, thrust their long spears to slay their opponents;

Several others braced the ladders with polearms, suspending them in mid-air, allowing their comrades to shoot down the enemies with ease.

The entire battlefield resembled a hellish scene, with blood flowing everywhere and bodies piling up beneath the city walls.

The soldiers who managed to crawl onto the city walls, before they could even steady themselves, were struck by a barrage of blades and spears, tumbling down from the walls in the next moment;

The look of despair in their eyes as they faced death, along with their prolonged moans, unsettled their companions.

Upon the long city walls, numerous soldiers, caught in the frenzy of battle and bloodlust, fought like madmen.

Swiftly raising their long spears, they stabbed at the advancing enemies;

They forcefully pushed the polearms, sending the enemies on the ladders crashing down onto their comrades' heads heavily;

They fiercely drew their bowstrings, shooting arrows wildly at the enemies below, indifferent to where the arrows struck.

Then, massive logs and stones were rolled down, smashing the targets below into piles, turning flesh into paste, blood splattering the city walls.

The great knight led the charge at the forefront, her weapon sweeping swiftly;

Whenever she saw enemy soldiers attacking a particular section of the wall, she dashed over and swiftly struck them down with her spear.

She cleaved the enemy's ladders in two, sending the topmost soldiers flying, plummeting down from the walls.

With a silver spear in her hand like a soul-reaping weapon, each strike brought down several enemies wailing in pain;

The gleaming spear blade severed each ladder rung, preventing the enemies from scaling the walls again.

Seeing the fierce courage of the enemies, the Pope's soldiers felt fearful, but were coerced by the rear command squad's menacing blades into shouldering the ladders and charging up;

Soon, those who hesitated were ruthlessly hacked down by the great knight, falling from the walls one after another like descending shadows.

She often reached into the leather pouch at her side with her left hand and pulled out steel needles;

As the needles flew out, several enemies below would fall in a loud outcry;

Those struck in the face or head by the needles would roll on the ground in agony, unable to fight back.

She didn't usually rely much on these needles as a weapon.

In single combat, she would refrain from using the steel needles;

To her, these hidden weapons were primarily used for dispatching lesser foes.

Though the needles were not poisoned, with her immense strength behind each strike, every needle hitting an enemy would inflict severe damage;

On this fierce battlefield, those unable to fight back due to injuries faced a bleak fate, akin to a dead end.

Gradually, the enemy forces dared not approach the great knight at the forefront.

With both hands gripping the steel needles, she unleashed them in a flurry, making it difficult for the enemy soldiers to fend off her swift attacks;

Below the city walls, numerous targets were hit, fleeing in fear only to be instantly struck down by arrows from above.

After exhausting her concealed weapons, she turned around to instruct a subordinate on her left:

"Lead the pike soldiers into battle, station one at each location where the enemy is assaulting the siege ladders, wait until their reinforcements arrive before taking action."

Then, she turned her head to another subordinate on her right and said:

"Lead your troops, stand by each pike soldier, if any pike soldier falters, swiftly end the enemy's life with your blade;

Be vigilant, do not allow a single enemy to reach the top to prevent disruption of our formation."

Lastly, she raised her chin and addressed the soldiers behind her:

"Stand by on the side for now, refrain from joining the battle, a more challenging task awaits you shortly."

With a command from the great knight, all the troops followed suit.

Subsequently, Dibiles' commanders each led a unit of pike soldiers to position themselves, each standing opposite an enemy siege ladder;

Upon any enemy attempting to ascend the walls, these soldiers would strike without hesitation, each strike accurate and lethal, preventing the need for a second strike;

Furthermore, this arrangement had a clever advantage:

The pike soldiers were not exposed at the edge of the city walls, making it impossible for the Pope's soldiers below to see them, let alone counterattack with archery.

Nevertheless, no matter how sound the tactic was, it still required individuals to execute it;

Soldiers, being human, grew weary over time;

Especially when facing swarms of enemy soldiers, the limited number of pike soldiers found it increasingly challenging to defend effortlessly as the battle prolonged.

Subsequently, their hands wielding the spears began to feel as heavy as lead, the precision of their strikes noticeably diminishing;

This allowed some nimble Pope's soldiers to narrowly evade their attacks as they emerged.

Fortunately, the great knight had prepared a strategy for dealing with such adversaries;

The soldiers designated to provide support swiftly intervened whenever they noticed a missed strike by the pike soldiers, finishing off the enemies before they could react.

However, as the enemy's siege progressed rapidly, some cunning foes would hurl their weapons the moment they revealed themselves, causing multiple pike soldiers to fall prey;

This tactic effectively thwarted the pike soldiers' offensive.

After discarding their weapons, these cunning Pope's soldiers did not retreat but rather let out a howl and leaped onto the city walls directly.

Without waiting for the sword-wielding soldiers to engage, they threw themselves at the defenders, engaging in fierce combat.

This created several openings in the defensive line;

Upon spotting these gaps, Dibiles' soldiers promptly allocated manpower to fill them;

However, with an increasing number of enemy soldiers hurling weapons, the gaps in the defense line gradually widened, becoming impossible to close.

Despite the impeccable formation of the great knight, it was time to alter tactics.

With a sudden shout, she commanded:

"'Unified Tactical Formation'! Everyone back to the ranks, infantry soldiers to guard the area near the two staircases on either side;

Sword and shield soldiers in the front, pike soldiers in the middle, archers at the rear, form a compact formation to block the enemy."

As her words fell, Dibiles' soldiers began to retreat;

Instead of withdrawing to defend the city gate, they repositioned at another defensive location within the gatehouse.

At each gatehouse, there were typically one or two staircases running parallel;

These soldiers stationed themselves at the staircases' sides, with the archers positioned at the rear, right at the staircase entrance;

When unable to withstand the enemy's assault, the archers, being the weakest in close combat, were the first to retreat.

Following them were the pike soldiers tasked with dealing blows, while the sword and shield soldiers fought at the forefront to fend off enemy attacks, ready to defend against enemy strikes and initiate counterattacks;

Even if a counterattack failed, each sword and shield soldier had a pike soldier behind them for supplementary attacks.

The great knight arranged a combined arms formation, positioning her troops in the center of the gatehouse;

This layout effectively resisted the enemy's assault; although the Pope's forces outnumbered them, they could not gain the upper hand.

Despite climbing up the walls, the Pope's soldiers remained scattered forces;

Even if they fought valiantly, attempting to charge forward alone proved futile against the unified formation.

Moreover, the width of the city walls allowed for multiple soldiers to stand side by side, without interfering with each other;

This strategic deployment maximized their strength within limited space, delivering maximum impact with minimal casualties to vanquish the enemy.

In the middle of each formation at the left and right flanks, numerous commanders stood ready, accompanied by additional sword and shield soldiers, pike soldiers, and archers;

These reserves were positioned to fill gaps in the battle lines promptly.

Should there be casualties or decreased combat readiness due to fatigue among the frontline soldiers, these reserves would swiftly engage to replace their comrades.

The enemy forces marvelled at the seamless connection of maneuvers.

"Who could be commanding them all? That person is incredibly skilled!"

The substitute leader commanding atop the city walls astonished the chief bishop, seeming to possess a rare natural talent for command.

However, the purple-robed figure standing behind had a different perspective.

Using magic to enhance his vision, he observed the formation from a distance, considering the strategic arrangement not merely the result of an ad hoc commander's ingenuity.

"I've heard of this situation before. Some countries that previously launched attacks against Dibiles seemed to encounter this formation and combat tactics..."

Muttering to himself, the purple-robed figure recollected:

Back then, the queen who defended against the attacks should have been the one leading.

He understood!

The true genius was not the temporary commander on the walls but the Emperor, who remained in a comatose state due to a sleeping disorder, unable to awaken to this day.

The ad interim commander was merely leveraging the Emperor's borrowed wisdom to sustain their resistance to this point.

"Despite being the ruler of a weaker state, her prowess does not fall short of a monarch from a larger empire..."

The purple-robed figure evaluated Isabella in such a manner, pondering earnestly:

The queen must not be allowed to survive!

She posed a significant threat, single-handedly maintaining the Empire's status despite having fewer than two hundred thousand soldiers domestically;

If such a formidable foe were to gain an opportunity to expand her influence, the Papal Kingdom might face imminent danger.

"I may not take pleasure in destroying blossoms, but if the time comes, I will have to be the one to personally sever the queen's head."

As he spoke, the corners of his eyes extended outwards into a grim expression.

Simultaneously as his murderous intent erupted from within, the green-robed bishop, who had already distanced himself, unexpectedly encountered an individual he did not wish to meet at that moment.