Free Web NovelChapter 345: Broken Wing,Death!
"Fire the ballistae into the corpse horde!"
No one knew who shouted the order.
The magic towers outside the fortress erupted with devastating beams of energy, blasting into the masses below and annihilating every corpse in their path.
The next moment, nearly every defensive weapon opened fire freely.
Streams of fireballs, energy beams, and massive bolts rained down. Wherever they landed, the battlefield exploded into a sea of blood. Severed limbs and shattered bodies flew through the air, and even the gray mist was stained crimson. freewёbnoνel.com
"Huh?"
Broken Wing had only just entered through the fortress gate when countless streaks of light crashed down around her, scattering chunks of corpses in every direction.
"Humans... breaking the alliance... despicable."
She looked completely bewildered.
With an enraged roar, Broken Wing smashed several incoming energy projectiles and ballista bolts out of the air before surging toward the soldiers on the walls.
"Buzz..."
A sacred beam of light descended from the battlements and engulfed her figure.
...
The Border Fortress had been designed primarily to defend against corpses attacking from outside, not from within its own territory.
The side facing Bull Territory possessed relatively few defensive measures.
Although it was equipped with magic towers, ballistae, and catapults, their density was nothing compared to the fortress’s outer defenses.
Moreover, Phield’s army wore standard border army uniforms and marched beneath legitimate banners, causing very little defensive fire to be directed at them.
Now under attack from both inside and outside, the mighty fortress found its firepower stretched dangerously thin.
Even worse, the already limited garrison inside had descended into infighting.
On the surface, it appeared to be a war between humans and corpses.
In reality, four factions were clashing simultaneously: cultists, border troops, corpses, and Phield’s army.
The entire fortress had become utter chaos.
Rosalia rapidly maneuvered deep into the fortress, locating the chamber that controlled the gates.
The moment human soldiers poured out to stop her, she unleashed Endless Severance, shredding them into pieces of flesh.
She understood the situation perfectly.
The entire army had to be brought inside.
No matter how strong she was, she could not seize the fortress alone.
One heavily armored, ranked corpse after another cleared a path forward, slaughtering every force that resisted.
Leading the elite troops, Phield became one of the first to enter the fortress while the main force still struggled behind.
After rushing inside, he glanced around at the chaotic battlefield and sneered.
"No matter how strong a fortress is, people still have to defend it. Move faster. Keep up with Rosalia. We need to concentrate our strength and secure the gate first."
The portcullis had already begun descending.
Once it closed, everyone trapped inside would be doomed.
Understanding this better than anyone, Rosalia charged into the gate control chamber.
Divine power surged through her body as she swung relentlessly, reducing waves of defenders to mangled corpses.
She jammed the Greatsword of Gluttony into the mechanism’s central slot.
The descending gate shuddered and halted.
"Kill that monster! We have to close the gate!"
The fortress defenders immediately panicked.
Soldiers poured out from every corridor.
Weapons were thrust and hurled at her from all directions.
Mages unleashed chaotic spells without restraint.
Various mechanical constructs activated and bombarded Rosalia with attacks comparable to combat techniques.
What made matters worse was that the fortress had been specifically built to fight corpses.
Most of its weapons were imbued with holy light, making them exceptionally effective against corrupted creatures.
Wave after wave of sacred energy crashed into her.
Deprived of her weapon, Rosalia could only rely on her corrupted dragon claw to hold the line.
Divine Chosen were never invincible.
The endless barrage left her barely able to defend herself, let alone retaliate.
If her divine power were completely exhausted, death would be inevitable.
Five minutes later, after suffering significant casualties, Phield finally broke through the defenders with his elite corpses and arrived to reinforce her.
Only then was Rosalia freed from her desperate stand.
One of her corrupted dragon arms had been completely destroyed.
Her slender body trembled as blood-red threads continuously repaired her wounds. freēwebnovel.com
Panting heavily, she struggled back to her feet.
Her pale face had lost all color.
When she saw Phield arrive, she quickly turned her head away and used her sleeve to hide the still-healing injuries.
"I’m fine... cough... don’t look at me."
Seeing Rosalia covered in wounds, Phield pulled her into his arms.
Without her drawing nearly all the enemy fire and stubbornly defending the chamber, he would never have managed to break through.
If not for her absurd regenerative abilities and defensive strength, any other Divine Chosen would likely have died long ago.
Most of Nightfall Domain’s two legions successfully entered the fortress.
Those who failed were swallowed by the wild corpse tide outside.
With the army finally inside, their combined strength drove back the fortress defenders and defensive constructs, allowing them to establish a secure foothold.
"Rumble..."
Rosalia pulled the Greatsword of Gluttony free.
The fortress gate crashed shut.
The wild corpses were left outside, forced to endure the full bombardment of the fortress defenses alone.
"Alright, stop being lovey-dovey on the battlefield."
Wiping sweat from her brow with a handkerchief, Rosalia regained her usual composure.
She elegantly tossed back her hair and planted her hands on her hips.
"Hmph. When we get back, you’d better reward me properly."
"Princess deserves the best treatment."
Phield immediately issued new orders.
"We don’t have time to waste. Ophelia, lead your corpses through the fortress passages and eliminate everything in your path. Anyone belonging to the garrison dies."
"Rosalia, we’re taking the command center."
Contrary to expectations, the deeper they advanced toward the command center, the weaker the resistance became.
Only after kicking open the command room doors did Phield discover why.
Two men were hacking at each other inside.
More than ten bodies already lay scattered across the floor.
"We have to activate the Life Lock and wipe out all the corpses!"
"It’s useless! The Life Lock is already connected to the resurrection formation. Activating it won’t accomplish anything!"
Officer Andrew drove his command blade into the adjutant’s chest.
After coughing up several mouthfuls of blood, he collapsed to the floor and died.
"What exactly happened here..."
"Infighting."
At the center of the command room stood a massive diamond-shaped magical crystal, radiating light.
Stepping forward, Phield disabled part of the defensive construct network.
According to his minimap, several other control rooms like this still existed throughout the fortress.
"Haa... looks like the farce is finally ending."
No wonder a mere three thousand border troops had managed to hold back the Corruption Disaster for ten years from a single Border Fortress.
There were even more great fortresses behind this one.
Agnes had been right.
Throwing corpses at these defenses mindlessly would have been nothing more than suicide.
Even attacking from within, he had nearly failed.
And that was after unleashing a corpse tide and luring away part of the garrison beforehand.
"Let’s go. We’ll support Ophelia. Once we’ve secured the fortress completely, then we can rest."
Leading the corpse army, Phield continued eliminating every pocket of resistance.
It took an entire day before the fortress was fully under his control.
The newly equipped corpse legion had been almost completely wiped out.
Some died to the defensive constructs.
Others perished fighting the rebel corpses to the bitter end.
"My lord, I found Broken Wing!"
Ophelia ran over excitedly.
"She’s in the northern barbican. Already dead. The rebels probably mistook her for an attacker and killed her."
"Let’s take a look."
Phield headed toward the northern barbican.
The entire area was buried beneath a layer of corpses over a meter thick.
Broken Wing had been reduced to charred remains.
She knelt motionless at the center of the barbican.
Her artifact was slowly materializing above her body, proof that she had truly died.
She had not even managed to dissolve it and escape.
