Chapter 43: Departure!!!!

Chapter 43: Departure!!!!

Soon, twenty-two sets of gleaming steel armor stood neatly beneath the enemy city gate’s watchtower. They were arranged in perfect rows on the battlements like twenty-two idols of the God of War. Bathed in sunlight, the metal flashed intimidatingly, nearly blinding to behold.

These were the heavy knight armors Old King of Shampoo City had spent his entire lifetime collecting. There were twenty-three sets in total, forged from the strongest tempered iron blended with a significant amount of ‘Steel Essence’. Their designs were imposing, their value immense, and their defensive capabilities astonishing. Ordinary weapons couldn’t hope to pierce their defense; they were absolute machines of war.

During his life, the Old King had treasured these sets more than national heirlooms, hiding them away within the Royal Palace’s Great Hall, reluctant to bring them out. He would often polish them alone, treasuring them as dearly as his own life, never once using them.

Who would have guessed that today, Sun Fei would order these ‘national treasures’ brought up onto the city walls without the slightest hesitation?

Witnessing this, most people on the wall had no idea what the young King Alexander was planning. Low murmurs of speculation spread as they watched with a mix of curiosity and nervousness.

“Well, my warriors, can you wear such heavy armor?” Sun Fei pointed at the twenty-two sets of silver-glinting full plate and asked the burly men.

“Absolutely no problem, Your Majesty!” Seeing the shiny armor, the men’s eyes gleamed like rabbits spotting carrots. Such was the zeal true warriors felt for weaponry, a fact as old as time.

“Good. Then hurry up, each choose a set that fits, and gear up as fast as you can. We don’t have much time left.”

The big men were straightforward to the point of being almost embarrassing. At Sun Fei’s order, without any hesitation, they eagerly, almost raucously, began picking through the armor sets.

“Pierce, pick a set too. You’re going down with me to fight the enemy.”

“Wonderful!” The white-haired powerhouse beamed at this news and joined the scramble for armor.

While these armors offered incredible defense, they were forged of tempered iron mixed with the much heavier and pricier ‘Steel Essence’. A single set weighed at least 60 to 70 catties. That’s precisely why Sun Fei had Brook select behemoths from the soldiers. An average person wearing one couldn’t hope to fight; walking on their own would be a challenge.

These twenty-odd powerhouses were the entire force Sun Fei decided to commit in this aggressive strike.

None of these men possessed Battle Qi. However, each was a mountain of strength. Clad in these knight plate armors, impervious to blades and spears, they would be like twenty-plus tigers freed from a cage. On the narrow stone bridge, if used wisely, they could exert a greater impact on a battlefield clash than even Battle Qi experts.

Sun Fei had never intended to charge the Black-Armored Soldiers’ lines with a large force.

His gaze swept over Brook. Sun Fei hesitated briefly.

Originally, the One-Star Warrior captain of the Royal Guard would have been an excellent choice for this charge. But Sun Fei suddenly realized that if the city wall lost this commander capable of strategic planning, any unforeseen emergency could plunge things into chaos. They truly couldn’t do without him.

After a moment’s thought, Sun Fei decided it was best to leave this strategic talent on the wall to stabilize the situation. His eyes moved past Brook and spotted Prison Warden Oleg standing nervously near a gap in the distant wall. Sun Fei had an idea and waved, summoning the toady over – the man notorious for valuing his own skin above all else.

“Go on. Pick a set and put it on.” Sun Fei’s tone towards the sycophant was decidedly chilly.

Oleg blinked in confusion. He’d been too far away to hear the earlier part. He didn’t know why people were picking armor. Assuming His Majesty the King was kindly granting him something lifesaving, the toady broke into a wide grin and hurried over, gleefully putting on the one set Pierce and the giants had left behind.

Shortly after, soldiers brought in a few extra-large weapons.

These hefty arms, too, were brought from the King’s Hall. They were beloved treasures of the deceased Old King, items cherished as dearly as life itself. Today, dragged out by Sun Fei, they finally found their purpose.

Clang! Clang!

Twenty-one immense weapons thudded onto the ground – terrifyingly fierce-looking great axes and hammers. Black and solid, they radiated a brutal pressure, cold and imposing. Merely setting them down created deep pits in the ground, cracking the stone flags beneath – a testament to their immense weight.

“Each of you pick a weapon that feels good in your hands.”

At the King’s command, the giants wasted no time, each grabbing a weapon that suited them. White-haired powerhouse Pierce chose a pair of exaggeratedly large wrought iron war hammers. Drogba went for a long-handled great axe, its edge so freakishly large it looked like a door plank. Just a glance at the chillingly cold blade was enough to make a man’s legs feel like jelly.

Prison Warden Oleg finally began to sense something amiss in the atmosphere. Yet, seeing the severe expression on King Alexander’s face, he didn’t dare ask any questions. Channeling his Battle Qi internally, he shouldered a long-handled broadsword taller than himself and stood to the side.

Brook, seeing himself excluded, grew anxious. “Your Majesty, I…”

“Stay on the wall. Guard Chambord City for me. Until we return.” Sun Fei placed a hand on the black-haired giant’s shoulder, his expression solemn. “Here, you are the only one I can trust.”

Brook stiffened, stunned by the words.

Sun Fei didn’t say more. He took forty-six prepared waterskins filled with clear water from a nearby soldier. Ordering them to be brought along, he then avoided all eyes and slipped back into the stone hut.

With a focused thought, he retrieved the bottle of 【Health Potion】 and the bottle of 【Stamina Potion】 from within the Barbarian’s Sash. He dripped a portion from each bottle into the waterskins, diluted and shook them thoroughly, then stored the two bottles away. He then called the twenty-two steel-armored men – now resembling walking tanks – into the stone hut and gave each man two waterskins.

“The Lord God of War bestows glory and blessings upon us. The water from the blue waterskin: one sip banishes exhaustion. The water from the red waterskin: one sip relieves wounds and mends injuries… Once we’re within the enemy lines, protect yourselves. The moment you get hurt or start feeling tired, take a sip immediately.”

After Sun Fei’s explanation, Pierce and the burly men were overjoyed.

Though they were blessed with heaven-sent strength, hauling around 60-70 catties of gear would inevitably lead to weariness in prolonged combat. But with these two bags of mystically potent water bestowed by His Majesty Alexander, their worries vanished. Now they could plunge into the fray unhindered.

Prison Warden Oleg finally understood the purpose of the armor. His face lost all color. Cold sweat poured down his body. His mind blanked. He started shivering uncontrollably, words stumbling out: “Your M-majesty, I… I…”

Sun Fei glanced at him, eyes turning ice-cold.

Oleg’s heart hammered against his ribs. Cold sweat cascaded down his face. He swallowed the rest of his protestations, too terrified to utter another word.

“Each of you, take one sip from the blue waterskin right now. Get ready to descend.”

Sun Fei spoke as he donned the knight’s plate armor he’d earlier removed and left in the stone hut.

Gulp! Gulp!

Pierce and the twenty-plus others threw their heads back and took a hearty swig from the blue waterskins.

The moment the water touched their tongues, exclamations of shock erupted within the stone hut.

Everyone looked utterly amazed.

They could clearly feel an incredible, magical power flowing through the water to every single part of their bodies. In an instant, every fiber brimmed with boundless energy.

The oppressive weight of their armor vanished. It felt as if they were merely wearing thin cotton clothing. Running was effortless; they could even leap. Weapons that weighed 40-50 catties felt as light as blades of grass, weightless in their grasp.

It all happened so suddenly, it felt like a beautiful illusion.

But seeing the identical stunned looks in their comrades’ eyes, they realized their sensation wasn’t a dream. It was tangible, magical – as if every one of them had been enchanted with a weightlessness spell by a Mage.

It was unbelievably miraculous.

“Once we descend the wall, everyone must obey my commands without the slightest disobedience. Violators will be executed on the spot…” Sun Fei swept a gaze filled with palpable killing intent over his selected warriors. He nudged a foot out, grabbed the enormous dark war axe he had used earlier in his right hand, tucked his helmet under his left arm, and was the first to stride out of the stone hut—

“Depart!”

The party marched out with fierce determination and high spirits.

Soldiers, having followed Sun Fei’s earlier instructions, had prepared twenty thick ropes lowered from the battlements. Pierce strode forward first. He jammed his helmet onto his head, waved his giant war hammer at the soldiers watching from afar – a wordless farewell. This venture, fraught with peril where life or death was uncertain, didn’t seem to concern him in the slightest. He just laughed heartily, grabbed a rope, and leaped straight down off the wall…

The Stamina Potion diluted in the water had boosted Pierce’s endurance to an absurd level. Despite the heavy suit of armor encasing him, his body remained agile. He worked the rope with powerful, expert movements like a giant ape, rappelling down to the ground below with remarkable ease.

Thud!

His landing foot slammed onto the ground, leaving a deep footprint and kicking up dust.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Almost simultaneously, the twenty-some other giants slid down the ropes to the ground below. It was like twenty-plus armored steel juggernauts plummeting from the sky to the city base. The ground trembled beneath them. They rapidly assembled into formation, clustering around Pierce to form a sharp V-shaped wedge.

High above on the city wall, Sun Fei looked back at Brook and Lampard. He was about to lower his helmet onto his head and slide down the rope himself, when a call rang out from the distance.

“Alexander! You must not leave the city…”

The beautiful girl clutched her skirt as she ran up the stone steps from afar, her voice choked with sobs. She desperately wanted to stop Alexander from undertaking this perilous venture outside the walls. Even from far off, the sheer distress on her exquisitely lovely face was unmistakable…

“Angela…”

Sun Fei looked deep into her direction, searing Angela’s face into his mind. He didn’t utter a word. He fastened his helmet in place. Only his eyes were visible through the slits in the visor. He cast a lingering glance towards where Angela was running from. He paused, just for a heartbeat. Then he turned, seized a rope, and slid down.

Once an operation begins, it must proceed with lightning speed. Any hesitation allows the enemy to react.

Sun Fei didn’t even have time to speak a single word to Angela.