Twenty-four, victory and defeat in one line

  Updated twice, strongly seeking votes now.

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  The North Gate of Glory City is like a volcanic eruption!

  In the darkness and firelight, fierce battles with white blades and hand-to-hand combat were being performed everywhere inside and outside the city wall gaps. The sound of metal clashing and colliding, as well as the sound of sharp blades cutting through human bodies, rose and fell in succession, accompanied by the mournful cries of human and elven soldiers. Countless severed limbs and mutilated corpses could be seen everywhere, making it difficult to find a place to set foot, and the blood had already dyed the entire city gate red, with some areas even turning black.

  The giant bear corps, which had rushed to the scene in a hurry, organized three consecutive charges, all of which were repelled by the counterattack of the elf army. The gap blown open at the north gate was piled up with corpses like mountains, and blood flowed like rivers. Due to the scarcity of troops and ammunition, Idriel simply abandoned defense and directly adopted a white blade charge to engage in a counterattack with the enemy.

  This move indeed hit the weak point of the Giant Bear Army. The white blade battle has always been the most testing way to fight for the army's will, requiring great discipline to restrain. The hastily formed Giant Bear Army was obviously unable to pass such a severe test. Charlotte's untrained soldiers would have had the courage to counterattack if they were hiding behind fortifications, enduring the enemy's shelling and machine guns. However, when the Elf Army launched a decisive white blade charge, these half-baked soldiers immediately collapsed. With the narrow battlefield, the numerical advantage of the attacking side was difficult to manifest, and the Giant Bear Army became more and more miserable. After the last failed assault, thousands of human soldiers were actually chased out by dozens of elves for over half a mile. If Charlotte hadn't left a reserve team behind to stop the elves' pursuit with machine guns, the entire army would have probably dispersed.

  "Cavalry! We need cavalry!" The blood-stained officer shouted, Charlotte looked at Torini Major with a helpless expression, who had just arrived on the battlefield, running back and forth for over ten miles, both men and horses were exhausted.

  Major Torini stood up from the ground, silently pouring a bottle of stimulant into his mount. He was not a man of many words, but his actions spoke volumes. The more than 400 New Samar cavalrymen who had arrived with him - and others were still on their way - also made the same move, and the horses that had been about to foam at the mouth gradually regained their spirits under the effect of the stimulant - although in two hours, these horses would probably not be able to get up for several weeks after exhausting themselves.

  Charlotte concentrated all the magical weapons and explosives in her hands, and handed them over to Torini and his men. The black-clad riders one after another mounted their horses, checked their equipment for the last time, and began to advance slowly towards Glorious City.

  Although it was already the darkest time in the second half of the night, the glorious city's raging fire made the sky appear with a faint crimson color. Under the light of the fire, one could vaguely see the elf army piling up various debris to block the gaps in the city wall, barely forming a defensive line.

  The elves guarding the gap in the city wall were not many, but they firmly held back the advancing footsteps of the giant bear legion.

  As the cavalry approached, several light artillery pieces that had been unloaded from the riverbank battery began to pour fire into the city. Although the accuracy was poor, they managed to blast down more than half of the hastily constructed fortifications made of spiritual grass, and most of the infantry also reformed their ranks behind the cavalry, preparing to follow up and expand the breakthrough.

  Major Torini didn't have the habit of making pre-battle speeches, he waved his saber forward and four hundred cavalrymen split into several waves rushing towards the wide gap. As they approached, all the cavalrymen lowered their bodies, stretched out their pistols in front of them, slowed down their speed to prepare for jumping over obstacles.

  They made it! The cavalrymen rode their horses over the obstacles that had been almost destroyed by artillery fire, leaping into the city. The eerie silence of not a single shot being fired left them bewildered, and the empty streets in front of them made them somewhat at a loss. Where was the enemy?

  Major Torini reined in his horse, trying to find the figure of the fairy, but the enemy who had just been fighting with Charlotte's subordinates had disappeared completely without a trace, as if they had never existed. He looked around, feeling as if he had returned to that deserted camp ten miles away.

  The black-clad riders also stopped, vigilantly looking around in all directions. Suddenly, one of them let out a terrified shout, but before the others could react, rifles emerged from the suddenly opened doors and windows on both sides!

  "Fire!"

  As the first shot rang out, pistols, rifles and small-caliber cannons brought from the city walls fired canister shots into the center of the street, a storm of lead pellets making the narrow streets a death zone. Hundreds of horses and more people fell in the blood-soaked streets, struggling and writhing, most of whom soon died from lead poisoning and excessive bleeding.

  The lucky ones who escaped the disaster didn't have time to counterattack, and they charged forward on horseback, trying to break out of the firepower circle. However, a team of long spear holders suddenly emerged from a well-camouflaged trench, and the shiny spearheads firmly blocked the cavalry's path!

  The sound of clashing steel echoed through the streets, accompanied by the whistling of arrows piercing the air. The thin line of long spear wielders could not withstand the cavalry charge alone, but with enough elven archers added to the mix, it was more than enough to slaughter the horsemen. The vibration of the bowstrings was like countless solo harps singing in joy, as the pouring arrow rain shot down the horsemen before the line of long spear wielders, forcing the soldiers behind them to charge forward by trampling over the bodies of their warhorses and comrades. A few managed to jump over the single row of long spear wielders only to fall into another trench behind, where they were knocked unconscious and had their throats slit by the archers' daggers.

  After the muskets and small cannons finished loading, another hail of bullets swept towards the infantry who had already followed into the city. Then, like a forest of bayonets, they poured out from the houses, engaging in close combat with each other, and another fierce melee unfolded around the breach in the city wall. In the eyes of the seasoned soldiers who had been tempered by decades of war, these infantrymen, who were still shepherds or farmers just a few months ago, were laughably clumsy at hand-to-hand fighting. With hardly any cost, the infantry, who had barely managed to charge into the city, were once again forced back step by step by the far fewer but more skilled soldiers, and it seemed they would be pushed out of the city wall again.

  "Boom!" The cannon suddenly sounded behind the elves, and a chain bullet whizzed towards the crowded elves. The excellent armor of the elven soldiers might be able to withstand buckshot and low-level magic, but it was absolutely no match for the terrifying physical damage of the chain bullet. Those who were hit in the head didn't even have time to groan before they died on the spot, while those who were hit elsewhere had their flesh torn apart. The crowded street erupted into a brilliant flower of blood.

  "Bang! Bang!" The sparse lead bullets shot out of the rifle, although most of them did not penetrate the armor, but still successfully disrupted the elves' actions. The soldiers of the Giant Bear Legion felt a great relief in pressure and immediately stood firm. And when a large patch of yellow-green stinky cloud floated towards the elven army with the strong wind created by magic, both elves and humans fled in all directions. By the time it dissipated, at least over a thousand soldiers had crossed the gap into the city, climbing up the walls. Under the sniping of the anti-magic bullets, the elven army could no longer hold on, and finally began to gradually disperse due to excessive casualties and an unsustainable front line.

  "Those guys again!" Idriel stood on the balcony of a building, gritting his teeth as he stared at the motley crew behind them. Especially that bear pushing a small cannon and the pink figure casting magic. Dozens of armed civilians were firing wildly from behind them. The elven soldiers tried to charge several times, but were knocked flying by the bear wielding the cannon barrel like a club.

  The current Idriel has no wizards who can use magic, no magical items that are useful, all flying ships have been destroyed, and the troops are scattered throughout the city and cannot be gathered. He had no more trump cards in his hand, and there was no chance of turning over. Although he did not want to admit it, this plan to sneak attack Glorious City had indeed gone bankrupt.

  It can't be helped, after all, they've caused such heavy casualties to the Nazerielle people, it's not a failure. He thought to himself with self-deprecation, pulling out a signal gun and firing off a green flare indicating retreat in the direction of the east gate.

  "Is it over?" Looking at the green fireworks rising in the eastern sky, and the spirits quickly disappearing from his eyes, Ludwig, the chairman of the parliament, sat down on the ground with a thud, his whole body covered in wounds, his clothes reduced to tattered rags. The citizens he had just gathered also felt relieved. This night was really too terrifying for them, almost everyone had relatives who died in the war and fire, fortunately this terrible experience finally came to an end.

  "Ferli! Vini! And Ludwig!" Charlotte shouted, running over with a face full of irrepressible joy. "I never thought I'd see you alive again." He laughed loudly and gave each person a big hug. "We won, we finally won!" At this point, he couldn't help but choke back his emotions and burst into tears. Most people in the scene also thought of their deceased loved ones and suddenly burst into tears.

  "Don't cry anymore, it's all over."

  In his heart, Felipe was equally excited. Although he comforted the crowd with his words, he still felt a subtle unease. He always felt that there were unexpected things about to happen, but couldn't think of what they were.

  "I hope I'm just being paranoid." He let out a long sigh.