Monster Girl Development Master

Page 86

—The Ston Knights are the city guards of Deherim.

So she knows the structure of the city walls, the alleys and secret passages inside. If they are still the same as they were a dozen years ago, she even knows which team is guarding each section of the wall, their strengths and weaknesses... But that's unlikely. The Falau family is greedy and shameless, but they are not old-fashioned and conservative.

Besides, there are still members of the Icewind Legion. Although they haven't moved in yet, Leon Territory doesn't have a navy and can't block the waterways of Deherim, so they will enter the city sooner or later. Then we'll have to deal with those barbarians from the North. Lydia doesn't like enemies who are completely unknown.

"Marshal, the garrison commander of Deherem has sent a letter requesting a meeting with you."

Lydia paused, then looked at the messenger outside: "Time and place?"

"Gwen's Spring, 3 PM."

Now she also hates enemies who are too familiar with her.

Lydia coldly replied, "Reply to them that we will meet at noon under the Star Tree, and each of us may only bring one guard."

The Stone family's bloodline is that of the Ice Knights. Although their level is low, only level one, their combat power increases when there is water or the temperature is low. Even with this increase, they are still no match for Durahn. However, Lydia did not want them to think that she would treat them any better.

"I hope they can be even dumber, so I can paralyze part of the command ahead of time."

Lydia thought for a moment, then got up and picked up her longsword.

……

Dagan Dara picked up his axe, a double-bladed giant axe forged from Frostblood Steel, taller than a man, yet seemingly light in his hands. His thick white hair flowed like a bear's mane, both elegant and majestic. His armor, though seemingly simple, was actually high-grade magic iron equipment, and before it was damaged, any enemy who struck his exposed skin would be doing the same thing as striking his armor.

Before him stood three thousand warriors dressed just like him, warriors from the Kingdom of Winter, who fought snow bears in the frost and snow, hunted ice wolves, dived into the icy sea to plunder the treasures of giant serpents, and climbed snow peaks to dance with giant eagles—northern warriors!

Of course, their equipment was not high-grade magic iron equipment.

However, each person also has a level one magic iron armor and a level one magic iron battle axe!

Excellent equipment! Unwavering courage! Superb martial arts! These are the warriors of the Icewind Legion! With these three qualities, the Icewind Legion is the highest-ranking mercenary group in the White City Federation, directly employed by the leader of the White City Federation, essentially the most elite regular army of the White City Federation!

He was just a private soldier of Earl Fallen Star. He could deal with the slave soldiers under some merchants, but he was no match for these warriors from the North. Besides, he had brought the White City Federation's latest secret weapon with him this time.

This "expedition" has absolutely no chance of failure!

Dagan Dara lowered his battle axe, took a deep breath, and then shouted, "Move out! Target! Deherim!"

The author says:

Author's note: In Warband, you absolutely must raid Druid City!

Chapter 217: Family Reunion

At exactly twelve o'clock, under the Star Tree.

Fully armed Lydia stood on one side of the shade of the tree, watching Pod Ston and Star Ston approach, and calmly said: "You didn't choose to be late, so it seems you're not stupid enough to lose your brains."

The voice of the undead was as cold as hellish ice, sending chills down one's spine even without deliberate malice, and naturally did not elicit any goodwill. This made Star Ston's already resentful heart even more indignant, and his poor facial expression management completely exposed his thoughts, to the point that his father, Pod Ston, had to adjust his position and shield him behind him.

“Ledya, you’ve changed so much,” Podstone exclaimed, trying to soften his eldest daughter’s heart with emotional appeal, but Lydia’s response was unexpected.

“Viscount, knight, you should call me Viscount.” Lydia extended her left hand, which was covered by an iron glove. “Has the etiquette of the Ston family fallen to this level, or do you think I am not worthy?”

As the lowest-ranking nobles, knights do not have the right to address viscounts by their first names when they meet. Moreover, Lydia is now a "level three bloodline user," whose strength and title far surpass those of a knight family with only a level one bloodline. The fact that they were not made to kneel and answer is already a testament to the relatively enlightened nature of the Falling Star Kingdom.

Of course, Lydia wasn't originally this harsh. She did this simply to cut ties with the Ston family without giving them any hope, so as to prevent them from having any unrealistic ideas and adding unnecessary trouble and stains to her and Johnson.

Upon hearing Lydia's cold and indifferent reply, Pod Ston froze on the spot, while Star Ston stared at Lydia in disbelief, but all he could see was a fine barrel helmet—Lydia hadn't even taken it off!

Lydia withdrew her hand, her tone turning sarcastic: "Well, it seems that after I left, no one in the Ston family needs to learn proper etiquette every day. That's not surprising, after all, this is your level... So, what do you want to see me about? I hope you're planning to surrender, since repairing the city walls is a huge expense, and I'm planning to build a vacation castle for my husband, so I don't want to incur unnecessary expenses."

Lydia's long and mocking speech caused the Ston father and son's faces to gradually turn from white to green, and even to black, but they still held back from retaliating, even though Ston's eyes were almost spitting fire, and even attracted the attention of the vengeful female warrior who was with Lydia.

Podstone blocked his eldest son's path again, his back slightly hunched: "Your Excellency Viscount Storm, I request this meeting in the hope of resolving this unnecessary and risky conflict between us. On behalf of the Deherim City Council and the local nobles, I am willing to offer 450,000 gold coins for travel expenses, along with a gift of one hundred sets of magic iron armor and two hundred magic iron longswords, in exchange for Your Excellency's... change of itinerary."

Lydia chuckled, her tone contemptuous: "Reconcile? Now? You truly disappoint me, Father. You are a city garrison commander, you have excellent children who have inherited your bloodline, you have so many wives, you have the protection of the Farau family, you are doing very well, you don't need an ordinary girl born to an ordinary woman, even if she trains hard and becomes a competent guardian knight; but now, you come to me saying you need my help, hoping that I can accept that insignificant benefit for your sake and let go of this golden city that is so close at hand... What have I done to make you disrespect me like this? You won't even call me Lady Lydia."

The undead's cold voice, its mocking and contemptuous tone, and its seemingly gentle yet sharp words, were like repeated slaps to the faces of Podstone and Starstone, turning their faces black and purple. Seeing this scene, Lydia felt much better, and her childhood memories suddenly became much more pleasant.

Lydia remembers that she has almost never experienced any so-called fatherly love. Podston only gives orders, requiring her to learn all the complicated etiquette within a month and master all the skills a knight should have within a year. And of course, there is no brotherly love either. Podston only treats her like a servant, ordering her around because she is just an ordinary person and has not inherited the noble bloodline of the Ice Knight. It was not until she became Lady Lydia's guardian knight that she was able to escape from this suffocating family.

Therefore, Lydia did not feel any reluctance or excessiveness; she only felt happy, second only to the pleasure she had with Johnson—after all, she was an evil undead, wasn't that normal?

Lydia's undisguised malice caused Podston to bow even lower, his tone becoming increasingly humble and cautious: "Mrs. Lyon, what we just said was merely a small token of our appreciation. If you are not satisfied, we can prepare more for you..."

Deherme's unique geographical advantages destined it to be a city that rakes in money every day. Let alone 450,000 gold coins, even 800,000 or 1 million, as long as it can avoid the impact of war, Deherme will be able to earn it back one day - after all, it's not like it's up to a single merchant, landowner or nobleman.

So Podstone said this with great confidence, believing that no one could refuse such benefits. Rather than spending manpower and resources and a lot of time to conquer a city that would be taken away sooner or later and was difficult to defend and easy to attack, it would be better to use a large sum of money to attack other smaller and more strategically important castles!

But Lydia simply shook her head, losing interest in them: "Fools, kill you all, and it's all mine. How dare you try to bribe me with my gold coins?"

Pod Stund abruptly raised his head. He hadn't expected such shameless and arrogant words to exist in the world. But Lydia was truly fed up with these two great figures who had once seemed unapproachable to her. She directly interrupted Pod Stund, who was about to speak: "Let's end the conversation here. Unless you intend to surrender, don't waste your energy. You might as well save it to pray to the gods that the Deherim Guard hasn't been turned into utter trash by the harsh treatment of you idiots."

After saying her last words, Lydia turned and left, her heavy black cloak billowing like a desperate night, swallowing Podstone's hope and extinguishing Starstone's resentment and anger—Lydia didn't even bother to deal with her foolish brother; let war cleanse him.

The siege began the following day.

The author says:

作者的话：明天开打~月票27/50，催更票43/50，打赏2100/5000

Chapter 218: The Dazzling Debut of the Icewind Gang

A hail of arrows swept up the towering city walls. Before the cries of the wounded could even rise, heavy boulders crashed down, silencing their anguish. Anxious soldiers followed closely behind the towering siege engines, using shields and the fifteen-meter-high siege engines to dodge the arrows, praying that the boulders on the walls wouldn't strike them directly. Only when they finally heard the clatter of the siege engines did they roar and launch their desperate charge.

Beyond the range of crossbows and catapults, the fully equipped cavalrymen kept their eyes fixed on the battering ram, which was slowly and steadily advancing toward the gate. Once the sharp point forged from magic iron was in motion, it would be enough to smash any city gate, provided that it could reach the gate.

Deherim is no ordinary castle. While the number of bloodline users inside is not large, it is not small either. If even one bloodline user with abilities like [Fireball] comes out, they can easily destroy the wooden wagons transporting battering rams, not to mention the ordinary soldiers pushing the wagons. A single arrow can end their lives.

Therefore, Lydia herself joined the group.

In any case, there is no room for sophisticated command in this kind of direct siege. It is enough to just give each lord a task and let them lead their men to complete it. On the contrary, if the city gate can be captured in one go, then Deherim can be declared defeated.

Lydia struggled to push the incredibly heavy wagon, as arrows rained down, most embedding themselves in the roof with a rather dramatic rustling sound. The few that did hit Lydia bounced off in vain. Although the rune plate armor that Nia had meticulously crafted for Lydia was damaged, Lydia could still wear the standard mass-produced rune plate armor, which naturally offered no problem in defending against stray arrows.

The battering ram successfully crossed the center of the battlefield, and the firepower on the city walls intensified. Clearly, the enemy was starting to panic, and it seemed that bloodline warriors would soon be arriving...

Lydia suddenly released the covered wagon, stepped out of it—which, while providing excellent protection, also severely obstructed the view—and roared at the city wall, "Get down here!"

The [Fearful War Cry] echoed around, causing the Deherim guards, who had been drawing their bows and arrows, to tremble. Many of them dropped their weapons, but they didn't even bother to pick them up. Instead, they ran backward in terror, blocking the orderly flow of passageways in the city wall and also blocking the bloodline warriors who were about to come and destroy the battering rams from a distance. Moreover, some of these bloodline warriors were even affected by the [Fearful War Cry] and spontaneously combusted on the spot.

[Fireball!]

【big Bang!】

The intense flames ripped off a section of the protective wall, exposing all the bloodline warriors who had gathered to deal with the battering ram. Although Lydia had hoped this close-range attack would take them down, things didn't go as she wished. When the smoke cleared, three people were still standing there, though their clothes were somewhat tattered.

Lydia recognized them; they were the contemporary youths of the three most famous bloodline families in Deherim City: the [Firehound] Doug family, the [Earthshaker] Mishan family, and the [Drumming Gorilla] Stanley family—although these were only second-level bloodlines.

Level 3 bloodlines are truly rare these days; even in a city like Deherme, you can hardly find one—well, with Lilith Farau captured, this area should have been under her jurisdiction.

However, while they are no match for Lydia, they should have no problem resisting Lydia's [Fearful Cry], which is actually only in its second awakening, defending against the self-destruction attacks of their companions, and destroying the battering ram should also be no problem... right?

【Spit fire! 】

The earth trembles!

[Throwing huge rocks!]

Three high-ranking and resolute individuals, disregarding their injuries, unleashed their ultimate attack on the clearly visible battering ram below, all in an effort to protect their homeland. The dazzling crimson flames drew attention with their tangible danger, obscuring the unusual tremors of the earth—a tremor already caused by the intense fighting. Simultaneously, the brilliance of the flames obscured the presence of the massive boulders behind them. Even if the traitor among the Farau people could withstand the first layer of flames, she would be no match for the remaining two. May this dangerous battering ram be destroyed right here!

The combined attack technique of the three heroes of Deherim was indeed quite sophisticated, and Lydia couldn't figure it out immediately. However, she had no intention of taking the inevitable powerful attack head-on. Instead, she returned to the wagon, grabbed the handle used to push the wheels, and together with the "drivers" who had already drunk the Instant Strength Potion, Endurance Potion, and Speed ​​Burst Potion when she went out to release the Fearful War Cry, they accelerated the battering ram, which was originally moving slowly, to a speed that could be described as swift.

If the battering ram was originally traveling at ten yards per second, it instantly reached eighty yards per second! Therefore, it naturally avoided the falling flames and boulders, and successfully escaped its range before the trembling earth collapsed. Of course, this burst of speed came at a price; all the soldiers pushing the rams were weakened after the instantaneous burst, which rekindled the hope of the three heroes of Deherime on the city wall, as they saw a new batch of soldiers also pulling out potions that looked extremely expensive.

Clearly, Lydia had already prepared for and countered their presence, and the abilities they possessed were not swift, powerful, or able to deceive Lydia. This was the consequence of insufficient ability pools, though it was not entirely their fault.

The battering ram continued its advance, successfully covering three-quarters of the distance. It was about to reach the gates of Deherim. Although there was a wide moat for protection, the retracted drawbridge was meaningless. The chains could not stop the [Annihilation] rune sword. Even magic iron, unless it was rare and expensive high-grade magic iron, would be cut through. Lydia didn't even need to risk going to the gate; she could simply throw the longsword from a distance.

But at that moment, the suspension bridge suddenly fell down on its own.

The soldiers were surprised, but Lydia remained calm. She raised her hand and threw a cloud of black mist into the sky, which was very conspicuous in the daytime. Upon seeing this signal, the Ravenwing Guards and Shadow Raven Knights immediately spurred their horses and galloped towards the city gate.

Then, the city gates opened.

With bloodshot eyes, Dagan Dara gripped his prized battle axe, followed by a swarm of Icewind Mercenaries dressed and in the same state as him. Together, they roared and launched a swift assault towards the door: "Winter is coming—!!!"

Chapter 219: Crushing Defeat

It's not unusual for the defending side to go out of the city to fight in the field; it's a very normal tactic. Lydia had made corresponding preparations, and the cavalry distributed on both flanks of the battlefield could move over to provide support at any time, or even take the opportunity to rush into the city gates. However, Lydia did not expect that it would be the Icewind Legion that went out of the city to fight in the field.

Missions like venturing out of the city to intercept attacking forces are usually fought with fewer troops than their own, and there's a high chance of losing and having nowhere to escape. No guard with a sound mind would risk being chased through the city gates by the enemy just to let a group of defeated soldiers into the city. It's truly astonishing that a group of mercenaries were so brave as to take on such a dangerous task.

It seems these mercenaries are quite capable.

Lydia drew her longsword, took a deep breath, and roared at the charging Icewind mercenaries: "Get lost!"

The chilling roar was like a biting wind, and the guards on the city wall were thrown into chaos again. The dense rain of arrows temporarily stopped, but Lydia did not feel relieved, because the Icewind Legion's charging formation only paused for a moment, without collapsing or disintegrating. It seemed as if they had completely ignored her [Fearful War Cry]!

A potion? Or an ability?

Lydia considered several possibilities, but she didn't have much time. The Icewind Legion was charging fast and had closed to within ten meters of her. They were about to make contact and break into the battering ram's defensive line.

They've definitely come with ill intentions.

Lydia suddenly lowered the longsword she had raised and drew a dagger from her belt. The intricate runes on the gleaming steel glowed with a crimson light. The same dagger appeared in the hands of the soldiers guarding the battering ram, glowing with the same crimson light.

For Nia now, simple daggers and low-level runes are already easy tasks that can be accomplished effortlessly.

……

Dagan Dara charged ahead, his magic iron battle axe emitting a chilling mist that transformed into an invisible halo that enveloped the tightly packed Icewind mercenaries. The winter wind, reminiscent of their homeland, the Kingdom of Winter, froze the will of every Icewind mercenary, stripping them of fear, pity, and other superfluous emotions, turning them into cold, ruthless war machines.

He came prepared, so how could he not have prepared a way to deal with the enemy's powerful abilities? However, this was not a special preparation. The Icewind Legion originally relied on this [Ice Mind Aura] to maintain its ruthlessness and high morale, which just happened to be a counter to [Fearful War Cry].

But doesn't this just prove that their Icewind team is the natural nemesis of the opposing team?

Anyway, that's what Dagan Dara is willing to think, and without the influence of bloodline abilities to reverse the situation, in a real head-on battle, the Icewind Crew is even less likely to lose!

Encouraged by successfully overcoming the enemy's formidable abilities, Dagan Dara stared confidently at Lydia, who was also standing at the front of the group, and raised his axe.

He wanted to see if the female knight on the other side could survive being cut in half!

Wait, what's that red light over there?

……

"flame!"

The rune dagger, Flame, sliced ​​through the air. Its short blade was unlikely to hit an enemy still eight meters away. Even if it did, it probably wouldn't be able to break through the Icewind Mercenary's magic iron armor. But these daggers weren't meant for close combat; they were just "magic scrolls."

Accompanied by the unified chanting of "incantations," the runes engraved on the daggers lit up with a crimson light, unleashing a crescent-shaped flaming blade that shot out along the direction the soldiers were swinging, colliding with the rapidly charging Icewind mercenaries.

Although it was only a low-grade runic dagger, the released fire blades couldn't cut a person in two, but the scorching flames still ignited the burly, hairy bodies of the Icewind Legion mercenaries! Their magic iron armor could withstand sword and axe blows, but it didn't have any additional fire resistance, so it was as if it didn't exist in front of the flame blades. It was even scorched red by the raging fire, forming a stark contrast with the fair skin of these mercenaries from the Winter Kingdom.

Hundreds of fiery blades turned the first wave of Icewind mercenaries into fire, their fierce battle cries turning into mournful howls. The only survivor was Dagan Dara, who possessed high-grade magic iron armor with fire resistance and was a 3rd awakened bloodline user.

He couldn't even reach Lydia as he had hoped. The sudden shock and turn of events was hard for him to accept. It was absurd. How could a group of ordinary soldiers have magic iron equipment that could unleash abilities, and they even looked exactly the same!

But just as their charge didn't give Lydia much time to think, the positions of the first wave of fallen Icewind mercenaries were quickly taken over by the mercenaries behind them. Driven by inertia, and guided by their still-strong morale and cold-blooded hearts, they resolutely launched their charge.

Lydia's soldiers then raised their rune daggers once more and shouted in unison, "Flame!"

The Flaming Blade reappeared, once again thwarting the Icewind Squad's avalanche-like charge. The increasingly loud wails echoed in the small area, finally shaking the effect of the [Icebound Mind Aura] and halting the remaining Icewind Squad mercenaries who were not running as fast, had not had as much momentum, and were not as hot-blooded.

But they were still too close together.

Lydia swung her dagger for the third time: "Flame!"

"Blazing Flames!!"

Dagan Dara looked up blankly at the hundreds of fiery blades that filled his vision, striking his kinsmen whom he had brought from his homeland, his comrades-in-arms who fought alongside him, turning them into wailing fireballs and charred corpses, their weapons still clean and without a drop of blood.

Overwhelmed by panic and rage, Dagan Dara let out a mournful roar like that of a wounded beast: "Leon—Leon—!!!"

Lydia coldly raised the dagger, unleashing its energy for the fourth time: "Blazing Flames!"

Flaming blades danced, but this time the results were not as dazzling as the previous three. One reason was that the Icewind Mercenaries were no longer as concentrated or as far forward, and the other was that Dagan Dara finally reacted and made a move, creating a huge ice wall in front of them.

However, this meant that the Icewind Legion's charge had to be halted. This is why Dagan Dara was unwilling to take action earlier, as he was still planning to charge until he could no longer withstand the enormous losses.

As he made his move, in order to avoid the Flame Blade's attack, the Icewind Mercenaries changed from a loose formation to a dense formation concentrated around the ice wall and Dagandara. Then they heard a rapid sound of hooves and felt the ground tremble.

On the outermost edge, the Icewind mercenaries who could peek out screamed: "Cavalry!!!"

Question: What would happen to a group of heavy infantry wielding two-handed battle axes when they encounter heavily armored cavalry charging from the flank in a tight formation?

Dagan Dara clearly knew the answer to the question. His eyes snapped open, blood even trickling from the corners of his eyes. The smooth, icy wall rose rapidly from the ground with his roar, blocking the exposed flanks and forcing the Ravenwing Guards to rein in their horses and turn around in a hurry to avoid the pointless death of perishing with the ice wall.

Despite managing to survive, it was clear to everyone that the Icewind Gang had been utterly defeated in just over ten minutes.

Except for Dagandal.

The author says:

作者的话：加速加速~月票33/50，催更票43/50，打赏2200/5000