649 Meaningless Deaths Part 2 (1/2)
No matter how good Saleen was with his predictions, he could not understand these meaningless sacrifices. Why were these soldiers and that red-robed man doing this?
To sacrifice so many lives on the battlefield, is that what religion was all about?
To mages, every sacrifice deserved an equivalent reward. This world should exist in a balance. These disciples only knew how to carry out orders; their so-called God's order.
God said let there be light and so there was.
Suddenly, Saleen understood why so many mages in the world were against the Holy See's rule. If the Holy See controlled the world, then the mages' heritages were destined to end.
Mages were sceptical of everything, including Gods.
”Before night comes, let the mercenary soldiers take over the defense so that the second battalion can return,” Saleen gave the order somewhat wearily then said, ”Uncle Fellet, please stay here. Tonight, that fellow may launch an attack. Our men will not be able to handle it.”
”Don't worry,” the Fellets smiled and replied. Although they felt very uneasy, Saleen had already given them six grade-9 magic scrolls, there was no harm in trying it out. If they could use it to kill a gold grand swordmaster, it would be immensely useful to their training in future.
It was not difficult to advance as a sorcerer from grade-8 to grade-9 but a lot of time would need to be spent. The Fellets were still unaware of the Six Elements' Space, naturally they would not want to give up such a good opportunity.
Within the expedition's range of attack, the second battalion retreated to be replaced by the mercenary soldiers that were recruited most recently. As the walls of Metatrin City were simply too wide, the second battalion did not come back down from the top of the city wall. They only went into the buildings on the city wall to remove their armor and start resting.
Until the enemy deployed its main forces, Saleen was not going to allow his main forces to waste their energy guarding either.
Night fell and the flames beneath the city wall lit up the sky. The attack was still ongoing, but even the mercenary soldiers could see that the way they were attacking was meaningless.
The mercenary soldiers were not without their share of casualties. The enemy's iron arrow vehicles still managed to cause some damage and the mercenary soldiers' equipment was not as good as those of Saleen's second battalion. Even if the heavy-armored soldiers of the second battalion were struck by huge lobbed arrows, they would still be protected by their heavy armor most of the time. Even their helmets could shield them from alchemy crossbow arrows.
The big arrows that struck the heavy-armored soldiers would only cause them light injuries as long as they did not penetrate the armor. These injured soldiers would be sent back to be healed by magic and would recover within a week.
The mercenary soldiers' armor was only passable in shielding against normal arrows. Only the iron arrow vehicles could utilize the lobbed arrow shots five-hundred yards away, but there was minimal accuracy.
The proportion of casualties on both sides was one to ten. Enemy soldiers that sustained injuries but were in the city would not be able to receive healing from the holy priests. Saleen did not wish to capture any prisoners. Just like that, the mercenary soldiers' morale was stabilized.
One death on his side was equivalent to at least ten deaths on the enemy's side. Mercenary soldiers could still accept battles like this. Usually, mercenary soldiers were used to outnumbering their enemies, especially if the latter was strong. A one to one death ratio was already morale-boosting.
After a few hours of battle, less than five-hundred mercenary soldiers were killed, but more than three-thousand were injured. The injured soldiers were sent back down the city wall.
After so many injuries and rotating more than ten small mercenary groups, the mercenary soldiers were very excited.
The noble families in the city saw that the one-hundred-thousand strong army had been stopped by the city wall and the Lord of the city was dealing with things well. They felt more at ease. Over at the town hall, more than one-hundred noble families went to see Daniel. They wanted to send their own bodyguards to join in the battle.
As many laws and regulations had yet to be set in Saleen's city, things were rather difficult for Daniel. These noble families resorted to writing a bond on the spot, promising that they would give up everything in order to help Metatrin City overcome this obstacle.
Coincidentally, Saleen was also at the frontline of the battle and this gave the noble families even more confidence and trust.
In Qin, by doing so meant that the Lord of the city was prepared to live and die with the city and definitely not flee. The noble families also had their own pride. They must have a certain amount of courage to not bow down to the Holy See or Holy Rock City. Since Saleen was not going to flee, they were more than willing to give him a helping hand.
Saleen was waiting on top of the city wall. He knew that the enemy's main forces would start attacking late into the night.
At ten pm, the magic clock on Saleen's bedside rang. He opened his eyes and saw Sika on alert by his side.
”Why didn't you sleep?” Saleen looked at Sika and felt assured and relaxed.
”It will not be a long-drawn battle. I used alchemy binoculars to observe the enemy's camp. There were a few hundred people watching over the place where they stored grain. They have already run out of food. The battle will end in another two to three more days,” Sika spoke very rationally and was totally different from her usual self.
”Oh? You know how to fight wars?”
”Of course. I am an Earth Priestess. In the past, an Earth Priestess could lead up to one-hundred-thousand Caucasus people. An Earth Priestess was much more powerful than all the officers below you,” Sika said smugly.
”Sika, even if I can kill the gold grand swordmaster, the other two fellows beside him are also extremely powerful. You will not be able to handle them alone…”