At this moment, the large siege equipment outside the city has been burnt to ashes; the Pope's soldiers ran past the burning wreckage, not even bothering to help their struggling and screaming companions on the ground, and strode purposefully towards the city gates.

They set up the remaining siege ladders on the city walls and prepared to climb up. The soldiers on the city walls were already in position, waiting for the enemy to enter their range. Once the enemy came within reach, a volley of arrows rained down on them mercilessly, like a sudden downpour; those hit by the "raindrops" faced certain death.

The assault had been going on for four hours now. Due to the inability of the frontline forces to breach the city walls, the Bishop couldn't help but return to the rear, urgently telling the man in purple robes, "My lord, these enemies are simply too tenacious; our tens of thousands of troops have not even breached the city gates yet. If this continues, our forces may suffer unnecessary losses."

The demeanor of the man in purple remained calm. He casually raised his finger and said to the Bishop, "To destroy Dibiles, today is the best opportunity! If our expedition fails, not only will the prestige of His Holiness the Pope be tarnished, but it will also harm the interests of the Empire."

Upon hearing this, the Bishop knew that the man in purple disagreed with withdrawing the troops. But if they didn't retreat, what would be the next move? Later, the man in purple issued a command, "Crusaders, advance and attack the city in coordination with the front-line troops!"

The Crusaders were the true elite of the Empire, only those of high status could command them. Even the Bishop who initially came to Dibiles led only the reserve members of the Crusaders, not the officially designated elite forces. This formidable army was powerful enough to single-handedly capture a kingdom with just twenty thousand men.

With such strength, they had only deployed thirty thousand soldiers in past large-scale wars. However, today, the man in purple demanded the mobilization of fifty thousand Crusaders without any reservation of power.

Normally in a siege, ordinary soldiers would charge ahead, acting as cannon fodder; not long ago, the Bishop had commanded using this siege strategy. It was clear that the Bishop intended to use the common soldiers as cannon fodder, but from the beginning, the man in purple viewed all soldiers as sacrificial pawns.

To him, the extent of casualties didn't matter as long as in the end, the result was capturing the capital. The Crusaders, upon receiving the command, did not hesitate. They immediately changed formation and charged towards the city gatehouse with the support of the reserve troops.

Due to the common soldiers obstructing the defending forces, these elite soldiers easily climbed the gatehouse and began to engage in battle with the soldiers of Dibiles. Before the small formations laid out by the great knights, the soldiers of the Empire had no chance of breaking through the defense. However, once the Crusaders joined the battle, the situation on the battlefield immediately changed.

True Crusaders had no emotions and did not fear death. As they surged forward in large numbers, the defending soldiers felt unprecedented pressure. The enemy they faced this time was vastly superior in combat power compared to the previous foes. A single clash made the defense of the soldiers slacken.

Fortunately, spurred on by the great knights, the soldiers fought with all their might. They were told that only by risking their lives in battle could they have a chance of survival; otherwise, they faced certain death.

Even for the sake of their own lives, the soldiers had to fight with all their strength. Of course, it wasn't just about fighting blindly, as tactics had to adapt to the changing battle conditions.

The great knights turned around and informed their waiting aides, "It's up to you now." The aides, in full knightly etiquette, replied firmly, "Rest assured, we will not disappoint you!"

At that moment, one of the aides swiftly slipped through a gap in the formation, dashed towards the staircase at the gatehouse, and headed for the hidden alleys on both sides of the street. In the blink of an eye, the faint sound of hoofbeats could be heard.

The defenders on the gatehouse were too occupied with fighting to pay attention; the Crusaders, too, were focused on the battle and paid no heed to the hoofbeats, mistaking them for their own cavalry from outside the city.

Soon after, from the alleys where the two aides had disappeared, two squads of cavalry suddenly charged out. The cavalry from both sides ran out from the alleys at the same time, heading straight for the staircase at the gatehouse.

Did these riders intend to mount the gatehouse on their warhorses? Just as some of the Pope's soldiers felt puzzled, a loud voice shouted, "All flanks of the formation, fall back and defend, clear the staircase!"

With that command, the defending soldiers swiftly reorganized as a unit and moved back, opening up the staircase that had been previously blocked. The Pope's soldiers, seeing the defending soldiers retreat, rushed in to pursue. However, before they could catch up, the sound of galloping hooves echoed.

Before the Pope's soldiers could react, a tall warhorse rushed forward and with a single bound, knocked the front-line Pope's soldiers flying. The momentum and force of the charge sent the soldiers behind them tumbling as well, temporarily stopping or slowing down the advancing Pope's forces.