City of Sin Book 2, Chapter 138

An Attack In The Night(2)
Fontaine already had his ancestral magic armour on, his favourite sword polished and ready. He moved to the castle’s main gates and instructed sternly, “Lights!”
The guards immediately spread the orders, and braziers all over the castle were lit up simultaneously to illuminate their surroundings. A flock of ravens swept out from several towers, either resting on the roofs or circling the night sky. They had bloodshot eyes and small bodies, gifted with the ability to see invisible objects. These mid-rank magical beasts were called scarlet-eyed ravens, and with them around it was practically impossible to launch a surprise attack on Twilight Castle.
Baron Fontaine was sat peacefully atop the highest tower, not anxious in the slightest. His castle was already prepared for battle. Generally speaking, these soldiers would be alert for a day at most, while their peak strength would only last a few hours. As Richard saw it, however, this was exactly why Baron Fontaine was so clever. If Sinclair saw the tight security and decided to delay her attack, the elite party dispatched by the duke would make it here. The leader of the party was a saint powerhouse who would greatly strengthen the castle’s defences.
As long as the castle didn’t fall to enemy hands, Fontaine’s troops wouldn’t suffer much damage. He could subdue the enemy troops without going to war, and it would be best if Sinclair retreated voluntarily. As for what would happen afterwards, well… The duke, the various churches, and the powerhouses of the kingdom would grab this woman who was so bold as to invade the Sequoia Kingdom by the neck.
On the other hand, Richard wasn’t as confident. The Baron didn’t understand either Norland or Sinclair, and his own judgement told him that this battle was inevitable. However, a large group of wind wolves and the broodmother were already en route. The two packs, headed by the two elites, had already overtaken the broodmother and were only five kilometres away. He grew safer with every passing minute.
They were now in the dead of the night. Thick mist from the lake’s surface had enveloped all of Twilight Castle, gradually spreading out. Even inside the castle one could only see the blurry silhouettes of the structures nearby in the light.
Fontaine maintained his upright posture, still at peace. Although he was gradually growing uneasy, his expression showed no signs of panic. After all, he was a powerful level 14 individual and within Twilight Castle where his ancestors’ souls resided his senses were exceptionally sharp.
The moment he felt extremely disturbed, he knew that Sinclair had finally arrived. “She’s here.”
Richard was about to stand up, but upon realising that the Baron still wasn’t moving he sat back down. Fontaine rested his sword on his lap, speaking calmly, “Richard, do you think she’ll dare to attack my castle?”
Richard flashed a helpless smile. Giving it much thought, he eventually decided to speak the truth, “Judging by how arrogant she was when she defeated the alliance, I think she won’t even bother to rest before starting the siege.”
Fontaine didn’t speak a word in response, but his grip on the hilt of his sword quietly tightened.
Hundreds of metres away from the castle, there were some sudden movements in the dense mist. The manticore silently emerged from within, SInclair rested lazily on its back.
Behind the manticore, the magical horses stepped out one by one. The earth trembled lightly with their every step, and yet they didn’t make a single sound. These mounts had the ability to conceal every sound they made, allowing them to travel in absolute silence.
Even though they were separated by hundreds of metres and shrouded in dense fog, Sinclair had no problem looking across the distance. She squinted her eyes, fixing her gaze silently atop Twilight Castle.
One of the great mages furrowed his brows, “How are they this alert? It would have taken more than an hour to mobilise the guards and have them take position. Could they have other enemies?”
“No, they’re waiting for me. I already see Richard.” Sinclair glanced at the two great mages by her side and continued, “It seems like those two weird wolves or the light cavalry had some way of transmitting information through magic.”
“No matter, won’t we understand it all once we catch Richard?” one of them responded. In his eyes, these local armies were absolutely pathetic, not matching up to them at all. He definitely wouldn’t have a problem dealing with a few mages of the same rank as him. As for Richard, even if he came from Norland he was still young, and wouldn’t be beyond level 10.
“Well said!” Sinclair straightened herself and gently caressed her alluring lips with her fingers. “Then, charge!”
The exceptionally burly captain of the bearguard knights slowly urged his steed forward, gradually speeding up until they reached peak charge towards the main gates. The soldiers atop the walls had already discovered the knights the moment they emerged, pulling their longbows back to send a dozen arrows whizzing through the sky. The arrows that rained down were shockingly accurate, nearly none off course. It was clear the Baron had spent quite the effort on training them.
Seeing the shower of arrows targeted at him and his mount, the captain didn’t even bother to hide as he instead laughed sarcastically. Most of the arrows bounced off the strong armour, and those that did make it through caused nearly no damage. Both the captain and his mount felt absolutely nothing.
He quickly made it close to the city wall, bellowing loudly at thirty metres away as he tossed the axe in his hand. The battleaxe spun rapidly in the air, producing a sharp whistle that would send chills down one’s spine as it headed right towards the top of the castle.
Baron Fontaine immediately turned pale at this attack. Even he wouldn’t dare to resist the power of this axe!
The moment the battle-axe had left the bearguard chief’s hand, Richard had already leapt out of his seat. His subordinates had also dodged it sooner than expected. Richard knew how powerful magic equipment was, and was also clear of the bearguard captain’s actual strength. He wasn’t willing to suffer the full impact of this powerful level 16 individual.
Fontaine had immediately made the best judgement as well. He roared for everyone to get down, being the first to lay low.
Seeing his actions, most of the other guards who originally wanted to stop the axe got down as well. A few of them hesitated, worrying about hurting their dignity or their lord’s, instead attempting to resist it using their weapon. However, the blade of this single-edged axe was already as wide as a table, much bigger than the largest two-handed axes of the guards. In the face of such horrifying power, none of their weapons were effective at slowing it down.
Countless snaps rang out before the axe whirled back to the captain’s hands at the foot of the castle. The soldiers who were still standing swayed a little. Their weapons split in two, followed by their bodies. In fact their torsos exploded, sending their top halves hurtling into the distance.