“The casualties of the Orc Army have exceeded three thousand, with five Mammoth War Elephants lost, and countless scaling ladders and siege towers destroyed.

Our catapults and ballistas have consumed one-third of their ammunition. As for the defenders' casualties—”

He paused, his voice dropping a few notches.

“Five hundred and thirty Delhi Sultanate Elite Infantry were killed in action, and over eight hundred were wounded.

Nine hundred and twenty ordinary Delhi Sultanate infantry were killed, and eleven hundred were wounded.

Two thousand eight hundred County Soldiers were killed, and twenty-one hundred were wounded.

Twelve hundred level-ten Awakened were killed, and fifteen hundred were wounded.”

The Council Hall fell silent for a moment; in a single day, over six thousand people had perished.

“How many more days can our supplies last?” Hassan asked.

“Arrows for ten days, Ice Burst Potions for three days, and Golden Sore Ointment for ten days,” Ali Khan replied flatly.

“The reinforcements from Russia will arrive the day after tomorrow, so the supplies are sufficient for now.”

Lin Feng asked, “Doesn't the West Gate need craftsmen to repair it? The city gate was broken today.”

Ali Khan shook his head and explained, “Purple-quality city gates have an automatic repair function; they restore themselves every day at midnight.

If the Orc Army wants to invade the city, they must break through both the West Gate and the barbican gate within a single day.

Furthermore, the defender's advantage in the barbican is even greater; with walls on four sides attacking simultaneously, any Orcs that rush in are sitting ducks.

If the opponent's Level 39 powerhouses don't intervene, relying only on battering rams and Mammoth War Elephants, they wouldn't get in even in ten days.”

He paused and added, “When a territory upgrades to city-level, it unlocks construction blueprints for outer city walls. Each direction can have at most two gates. The West Gate and the barbican gate are our final line of defense.”

Lin Feng nodded and didn't ask further.

Ali Khan continued, “The decisive battle is the day after tomorrow. Once the reinforcements from Russia arrive, we will have enough high-end combat power to surround and annihilate them. For these three days, our task is to hold the walls and deplete their troops.”

The discussion then shifted to supply distribution and reserve deployment.

Although the tens of thousands in the reserves were low-level, when the walls needed them, anyone who could hold a blade had to step up.

Hamza proposed setting up several more supply distribution points in the North District to avoid the supply lines becoming too long.

Faizan suggested concentrating healing classes at the most dangerous sections of the wall to prevent their strength from being spread too thin.

The meeting ended an hour later.

Ali Khan stood up and said, “We have to wake up early tomorrow,” and everyone rose to take their leave.

Lin Feng was the last to walk out of the Council Hall.

The night had turned completely dark. Magic lamps in the inner city glowed on both sides of the stone steps, like two orange-red rivers flowing from the mountainside to the base.

The wind blew over, carrying the chill of the snowy mountains.

Lin Feng slowly walked down the slope, passed through the inner city gate, and followed the main street back to his small courtyard.

The courtyard gate was slightly ajar. He pushed it open, and the few small trees cast mottled shadows under the moonlight.

Several maids were still standing at the door of the main house waiting. Seeing him return, they quickly bowed: “My Lord, the hot spring has been prepared.”

Lin Feng nodded and walked into the room. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Steam rose from the hot spring pool. On a rack by the pool lay clean bath towels and a bottle of essential oil.

He removed his leather armor and boots, leaned his Wildfire Spear against the bedside, and walked barefoot into the pool to sit down.

The spring water reached his chest, warm and comfortable.

He leaned against the pool wall and closed his eyes, today's battle replaying in his mind.

The Sword Saint's sword qi, the War Lord's battle-axe, the dense scaling ladders on the walls, falling soldiers, and collapsing siege engines.

He opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling; the light from the chandelier was soft and warm, turning hazy in the steam of the hot spring.

The day after tomorrow, the reinforcements from Russia would arrive. At that time, more than a dozen Level 39 powerhouses would gang up on the Orc high command. Once the war was over, he could return to Fenghuo County.

...

The next morning at ten o'clock, the sun rose from behind the snowy mountains, bathing the western wall of Kara Holy City in a deathly pale light.

The shadows of the defenders on the wall were stretched very long, cast upon the bricks like rows of silent tombstones.

The Orc horns sounded once again.

A green tide surged from the western horizon, swifter and more violent than yesterday.

The footsteps of the Mammoth War Elephants made the gravel on the walls dance, and the sound of the battering ram's iron chains drew closer from afar, nearing with every passing second.

The number of scaling ladders and siege towers was nearly double that of yesterday, packed densely like countless ugly centipedes crawling toward the wall.

On the wall, the ranks of the Delhi Sultanate Elite Infantry were much thinner than yesterday.

The five hundred and thirty men killed yesterday had not yet been replaced, and the gap in ordinary infantry was even larger; the loss of nine hundred and twenty men had left many cracks in their defensive line.

Reserve County Soldiers and level-ten Awakened were deployed to the walls ahead of schedule to fill those gaps.

Their levels were low and their equipment poor, but no one retreated.

Ali Khan stood on the third floor of the gate tower, his white cloak billowing in the wind.

He watched the surging green tide, fell silent for a moment, and said, “Today will be harder than yesterday.”

Liu Zhenshan stood beside him, nodding without saying a word.

Lin Feng stood by the battlements, his Wildfire Spear resting on his shoulder, his gaze crossing the Orc Army's lines to land on the figures hovering two li away.

The War Lord, the Sword Saint, and the Prophet were in the same positions and at the same height as yesterday.

The Orc Overseers on the ground also stood behind the Army Formation, mounted on giant Wolfmounts, holding their double-bladed battle-axes high.

“Wooo—!!!” As the horn blast faded, the siege began.

catapults and ballistas fired simultaneously; boulders and giant bolts smashed into the Orc Army Formation, splashing black blood everywhere.

Ice Burst Potions exploded amidst the Orc crowds, and ice mist spread.

The Orc catapults retaliated; plague barrels burst on the walls, and dark green poisonous mist enveloped the defenders.

The Mammoth War Elephants approached the wall with heavy steps, and the arrows of the Troll Archers pinned defenders to the bricks like spears, leaving them mangled and bloody.

It was the same as yesterday, yet different.

The rhythm was faster, the offensive more fierce. Orc casualties were increasing, but the defenders' casualties were rising even faster.

At ten-thirty in the morning, the high-level combatants on both sides took to the sky.

Liu Zhenshan and Ali Khan double-teamed the War Lord, their greatsword and scimitar clashing a hundred meters in the air.

The Sword Saints tangled with Hamza, Hassan, Zayn, and Lin Feng, sword qi and spear light exploding into bursts of radiance in the sky.

The Prophet in the rear cast heals and Soul Links continuously, while Faizan’s Snow Mountain Blessing and Toughness Aura never ceased for a moment.

They were evenly matched; neither side could get the upper hand.

After twenty minutes, both sides returned to their camps ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) to rest and recover their strength.

Half an hour later, they took to the sky again for another fierce battle, following the same rhythm as yesterday.

But the battle on the walls was completely different.

The Delhi Sultanate Elite Infantry continued to lose numbers, their chainmail covered in black blood and their own blood.

As the proportion of County Soldiers and low-level Awakened on the wall grew higher, the defensive line gradually became strained.

Orc Centurions took the opportunity to break through several embrasures, but second promotion Awakened quickly stepped up to seal the gaps once more.