I was a knight in the Middle Ages

Chapter 472 Raid on Philos

The candlelight flickered in the tent in the dark night, and Mashu's hurried footsteps broke the silence.

He half-sat on the rough animal skin carpet, the sweat seeping from the gaps in his silver armor slid down his neck, his chest heaving violently: "Sir, the investigation is complete!"

Alpha spread out the sheepskin map in his hand. This was a military map that Alpha got from General Kuslers's mansion. The bronze armor glowed coldly in the dim light.

He raised his hand to signal Mashu not to worry about etiquette, and his eyes swept across the other's red ears and messy hair. It was not difficult to imagine how difficult this exploration was.

"The Pirate Alliance has deployed 5,000 troops in the harbor city," Mashu said as she calmed down her breath. "There are only less than a thousand people stationed at the harbor, and most of them are boatmen. Those three-masted transport ships are loaded with grain and crystals, and the masts are hung with skull and crossbones flags."

Mashu's fingertips slid across the port on the map, and in her mind, the outlines of the eight merchant ships that had taken the risk flickered in the air.

"The military camp is located at the foot of the cliff in the northwest, and the outposts have been marked." Mash used a log to mark the enemy's camp, "As long as the surprise attack is successful, those merchant ships will be in our pocket."

Alpha stroked the hilt of the sword at his waist and glanced at the generals in the tent: "The dock needs someone who is proficient in shipping. Who can take on this important task?"

Before he finished his words, Da Gama had already taken half a step forward, and his gray cloak swept across the ground, raising a fine dust.

"I recommend Centurion Mars. He was once the chief executive of the port, but was transferred to the army after being impeached for corruption." Da Gama's eyes were bright, "He knows every cable and every plank in the harbor."

"Okay!" Alpha drew out his sword, the cold light illuminating everyone's faces, "Order Semars to lead 500 elite soldiers to cooperate with Mash to seize the dock. After occupying the merchant ship, immediately gather the boatmen, centralize management, and sink the anchor chain to the bottom of the sea! In case of a violent attack..."

Alpha thought for a moment, "Just drill through the keel! Never let a ship leave the harbor!"

The clouds in the night were rolling like ink, and Alpha's eyes were fixed on the ships shuttling back and forth on the sea in the distance.

Those dark shadows breaking through the waves are not only the material lifeline of the Pirate Alliance, but also the key to the survival of the mining city - as long as this supply line is cut off, the battle to defend the city will be half successful.

But this time Alpha was wrong, the ships of the Pirate Alliance had already docked at the port at night, and those black shadows were warships of the Imperial Black Sea Fleet, and they were going to take away the general and the knight.

"There are one thousand knights and five hundred cyborgs stationed in the Constanta Palace." Mashu stood beside the conference table, the tactical sand table glowing coldly in the moonlight, "They are surrounding General Filos, the commander-in-chief of the Pirate Alliance, like fangs."

Mashu's fingertips traced the terrain markings outside the city. "Two thousand mutants are lurking ten miles outside the city. These monsters have a keener sense of smell than hounds. They will pounce on the port and the city at the slightest sign of trouble."

"What are the movements of the rest of the enemy forces?" Alpha stroked the sword at his waist, the metal guard glowing a faint blue in the darkness.

"There are still a thousand knights around. They were originally responsible for investigating our situation, but now most of their forces have been attracted by the transfer of the Imperial Knights." Mash unfolded the intelligence scroll sent back by the spy, "Currently, only one-third of the enemies are monitoring us."

"Quinte, you lead..." Before Alpha finished speaking, the druid priest Balman suddenly stood out from the crowd.

The robe of the middle-aged druid priest rustled in the night wind, and the vine-like totem wrapped around his neck flickered with his breathing: "Lord Alpha! The mutant warriors under Captain Quintai resonate with our fusion technique. We have cooperated in research before."

Green runes appeared on Balman's palm. "We just need to set up a suppression array, and those monsters won't be a problem."

Balman knew that the druids were now almost isolated from the team. Although they could do nothing, they would have no chance to integrate into the group, which was not the best way to protect the druids.

In order to fit in, Balmain had to take the initiative to make suggestions and take action.

Alpha groaned for a moment, and glanced at everyone: "Druids will do their best to suppress the mutants, Quintiles will send out 100 elite soldiers, and Baruch will send 50 people to support. Remember, saving your life is the priority."

Alpha turned to Da Gama, "If the suppression fails, the mutants just need to move towards the port, immediately sink the ship, and everyone retreat into the city. Philos is the king of this game."

"Baras, dispatch fifty people to assist Mash." Alpha drew his sword, the cold light reflecting his tense jaw, "Make sure the intelligence is uninterrupted. Everyone, immediately enter combat readiness!"

As Alpha swung his sword forward and his boots crushed the moonlight on the ground, the entire army rushed towards the city like a black tide.

Completely disregarding the deadline agreed upon with the Imperial General Kuslers - in Alpha's eyes, the opportunity to fight is fleeting, and victory always favors those who dare to break the rules.

The battle report rustled under the bronze candlesticks. Adjutant Hals almost slammed the parchment roll on the table: "General! Alpha's group entered the city ahead of time! Not only did they take down the west gate, they also infiltrated into the heart of the south city!"

General Kusleras turned the gilded wine glass, and the amber wine formed a winding stream on the wall of the glass.

"Divide the troops and deploy them?" General Kuslers suddenly chuckled, tapping his knuckles on the edge of the gem-encrusted table. "Is this risky move a smokescreen to confuse the opponent, or is it just sheer arrogance and self-confidence?"

"Pass the order to speed up the evacuation of the imperial knights in the city." The general stood up suddenly, and his cloak swept the battle map on the table off.

"We won't get involved in this mess." The heavy leather boots stepped on the messy ground, leaving behind a series of meaningful echoes.

At the same time, in General Philos's conference room, the bronze candlesticks stretched the shadows of his personal guards to extremely long lengths.

"Report! The Imperial Knights who have been replaced have divided their less than 2,000 men into a dozen teams, and are seizing the city gates, offices, and warehouses. Each team has no more than 200 men."

General Philos, the commander-in-chief, stroked the lion-head scepter engraved with military exploits, and the scar at the corner of his eye twitched slightly: "As long as they don't gather into a legion of more than a thousand people, don't worry about them."

Philos's eyes were fixed on the strategic map on the wall. The location of the mining city was marked in scarlet cinnabar. "What's the situation in Kuslers?"

"Two thousand cavalry have boarded the ship. The remaining troops are gathering on the coast, waiting for the warship to dock. The evacuation will be completed within an hour at the latest."

Philos clenched his scepter tightly, leaving a pale blue mark on his palm. "A sudden change of defense? Did the news leak out?"

He turned to the window abruptly. The dark sea reflected the bloody setting sun. "When will the last batch of supplies be unloaded?"

"It was originally scheduled to end tomorrow night, but..."

"Let them work all night!" Philos tore open the gold ribbon on his collar, revealing the hideous old wound on his neck.

"After unloading, go out to sea immediately and take the Black Sea route. Make sure to delay the Ottoman fleet!" Philos punched the map, and the cinnabar powder fell on the mining city mark. "Tell the watchtower to report the movement of the imperial fleet every half an hour."

The night wind lifted the curtain, casting the shadow of Philos's furrowed brows on the sand table.

The thick night, wrapped in the salty sea breeze, dyed the mining city into a poisonous bait dripping with honey.

Philos's fingertips repeatedly stroked the mark of the Kusleras troops on the map. The gold embroidery thread glowed coldly under the candlelight, just like the Ottoman Empire's covetous Black Sea Fleet.

The agreed agreement on sharing of interests was ultimately no match for the ambition for maritime hegemony. They would not share any scientific and technological achievements with the Ottoman Empire, as that would have stifled their own growth.

The sheepskin gloves suddenly exerted force, and the metal sand table made a harsh scraping sound, waking up the messenger who was napping in the corner.

The old wound on the back of Philos' neck was throbbing. It was the mark left by the naval battle ten years ago, but at this moment it hurt more than ever.

The general took off his outer robe, leaving the collar of his linen shirt wide open, and stared at the flickering candlelight, as if he could glimpse the enemy's movements from the dancing flames.

In the distance came the sound of a night watchman striking a clapper, it was already three quarters past midnight.

Just as Philos was about to pick up the cold black tea, a dark shadow suddenly passed by the window.

He stood up suddenly, and the moment he drew his sword, a muffled groan came from outside the courtyard wall - the body of the sentry fell on the gravel road, with a poisoned dwarf crossbow arrow stuck in his neck.

"Alarm!" The shrill cry tore through the night.

Philos rushed to the window and saw the steel torrent swaying in the moonlight.

Quintiles' violent knights surged in like a black tide, four hundred horses marched in a neat rhythm that shook the earth, and the collision of metal wristbands and chains made a teeth-grinding sound.

In another direction, five hundred human knights, led by Da Gama, advanced slowly with shields raised.

There were crowds of people all around, and there were countless enemies waiting in the corners, lurking eagerly.

What's worse, flames rose into the sky in the direction of the general's cyborg troops, and it was obvious that they were being entangled.

"Defend the government office!" Philos tore off his cloak and wrapped it around the battle map. Just as he was about to give the order, Da Gama's siege equipment had already smashed the east wall.

The flaming arrows fired from the crossbow streaked across the night sky, igniting the fountain in the courtyard into a huge brazier.

etc.

Philos gripped the two guns at his waist, looking at the approaching enemy troops, and suddenly remembered the weird smile of Alpha when he divided his troops.

It turns out that all the confusion and recklessness were for the fatal attack at this moment.

"Kick those bastards out!" Philos' roar was mixed with the sound of explosions. The hot shells burst out from the muzzle, splashing dazzling sparks on the bluestone slabs.

Gun smoke mixed with the smell of burning metal filled his lungs, and Filos' personal guard captain, Kakalos, staggered and pushed open the explosion-proof door of the command room.

The steel armor on his breastplate was cracked into a spider web, and dark red bloodstains were flowing down the gaps between the joints. It was impossible to tell whether they were the enemy's body parts or his own flesh burned by the enemy's bullets and swords.

"General! The Ottoman armored knights have torn open the southwest corner defense formation!" Kakalos tore off the damaged bronze mask, and his roar mixed with coughs exploded in the Philos conference room. "The cyborg troops are entangled by the enemy, and the Knights' rescue route is also blocked by the sudden attack of the knights. The compound defenders have only 200 people and can only hold out for 15 minutes at most!"

Philos suddenly crushed the city map in his hand. This man who had once commanded a fleet of hundreds of thousands of people at sea, now had his Adam's apple rolling violently as he spat out words as cold as ice:

"That guy Kuslers didn't leave here at all. He left here just to confuse us. They must have turned the ship around somewhere and landed again, then blocked our mutant warriors and occupied the dock." Philos knew everything in his mind. He had realized the seriousness of the problem. "They knew long ago that we were not going to fulfill the contract. This raid was to wipe us out and then occupy everything themselves!"

"Start the original machine." The general suddenly turned around, and the cold light of his shoulder armor swept across Kakalos's suddenly pale face.

"But sir!" The captain clenched his armored gloves tightly, "The report from the seventh laboratory shows that the loss of control rate of the original machine in actual combat is as high as 83%! The last test..." His voice was interrupted by the sudden sound of fighting.

"The most urgent task is to create chaos." Filos tore off the badge of the Maritime Alliance General on his uniform and let it fall to the ground with a crisp shattering sound. "Once those mutants go berserk, Osman's troops will be stuck in a quagmire - we will take the opportunity to break out from the underground passage."

There was a crazy light dancing in Philos's scarlet eyes - he didn't care about the piled limbs and burning wreckage on the beach, his only obsession at the moment was to tear open this blockade alive.

As long as he returned to the mining city war zone and reorganized his forces, he could immediately capture the mining city and use the long-planned robbery as a springboard to completely escape.

Kakaros trembled and ordered the general to condone indiscriminate slaughter, so let the original machines numbered 01 to 05 become the sharpest meat grinders.

Amid the roar of metal joints turning, the cannon on the mechanical arm began to reload, and lavender arcs of electricity formed a web of death in the fist of the original machine.

……

"General, the evacuation ship has arrived at the port." Adjutant Hals' voice trembled with the wind and sand. As he watched the warship land in the sea breeze, his Adam's apple rolled unconsciously.

General Kuslers did not move at all. His boots made a crisp sound as they rolled over the sand. His icy blue eyes were filled with the brilliance of a hunter. "Why are you panicking? We'll just watch the show here."

"General, do you want to... help that kid?" Hals looked up suddenly. In his memory, this iron-blooded general had never shown sympathy to anyone.

"Oriental people have an interesting saying." Kuslers suddenly laughed, "The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Let Alpha and the pirates fight each other - we only want the last bone."

The cloak fluttered in the night wind, and the double-headed eagle emblem on the imperial flag behind Kuslerus glowed dark red under the reflection of the artillery fire.

This was the case with the Ottoman Alliance, and it was also the case with today's agreement with Alpha - the Empire never engaged in physical combat itself, but every chess piece on the chessboard would eventually bleed for the throne.

"Pass on my order: The First and Second Knights will enter Iasi." The general pressed his index finger heavily on the pass on the map. "If we encounter the defeated army of Philos... we will use them as live targets for the new recruits to practice their skills."

The metal gauntlet brushed against the long sword at his waist, and murderous aura mixed with the white mist exhaled spread out. "Some people always think that they can take it all by clenching their fists, but they forget that the palms of the empire are always used to crush."

There was a flash of ecstasy in Hals' eyes - he had finally waited for the moment when the Imperial Knight would unsheathe his sword.

Military merit is the most popular medal for a tough soldier.

In the distance, the sound of the original machine gun exploded suddenly, and the boot prints on the sand had already paved a bloody road to the throne in the night.