Mayne stood on an arched hillside, looking at the city in front of him.
The last time he came, Wolfsheart City was far from what it looked like now. Its walls were built with snow stones from the Kingdom of Eternal Winter, clean and white, just like the teeth of a newborn wolf. In just three months, it had completely changed its appearance. The damaged parts were filled with local black boulders, and the parts that couldn't be repaired in time were built with wooden frames and baffles. The flowing blood soaked into the cracks of the stone, staining it with a touch of reddish-brown.
From a distance, the current walls were rough and covered with dirt, like the teeth of a weather-beaten old wolf. Compared to before, it was more like the fangs of a predator, only after biting its prey would it become more frightening.
The Church's army set up camp about five miles away from Wolfsheart City. In order to prevent the Queen of Clearwater from attacking the old Holy City, the scale of the army this time was not as large as the last time. The Army of Judges and the supply team each had five thousand people, while the God's Punishment Army had about eight hundred people.But with top-secret siege weapons and the Pure Witches, Mayne had full confidence in capturing the Wolf King's lair.
"Your Eminence, the siege beasts have been placed in place, ready to attack at any time." A priest ran to the top of the hill and reported to him.
"What about the Pure Witches who control them?"
"They're also ready."
Mayne raised the telescope and observed the position of the siege beasts, only to see two huge steel beasts lying in the field two miles away from King's City, surrounded by baffles on both sides and a straw shed on top. If one didn't look closely, it would be difficult to notice the strange shape of this weapon.
Moving his line of sight forward, he saw the God's Punishment Army. They were all transformed from the most devout believers of the Church, standing straight and motionless in the autumn wind. Only enemies who had fought with them would know the terrifying power possessed by these extraordinary warriors. Unfortunately, they couldn't act on their own and had to fight under the orders of their commanders. These commanders never appeared in public in front of the Church, and when they fought, they disguised themselves as members of the God's Punishment Army, mixing with the troops. Except for the three Archbishops and the Pope, no one knew their true identity.
"Very good," Mayne nodded with satisfaction. "Return to your position and wait for the horn to sound."
"Yes, Your Eminence."
Next was the Supreme Pontiff's Pure Witch.
When he thought of those two witches, he couldn't help but frown. They were completely different from the other witches who had been raised by the Church. Even when they were marching and fighting, they still acted in their own way. If it had been one of Mayne's Pure Witches, they would definitely have been whipped as punishment. However, in terms of position in the Church, they were on equal footing with the Bishop, so Mayne had no way to order them around. His Holiness the Pope had only sent two Pure Witches to assist him in battle, but not to order them to fight under his orders.
However, he also understood that it was necessary to borrow their strength if he wanted to completely eradicate the hidden danger.
The bishop walked down the hill and came to a tent on the outskirts of the camp. He lifted the curtain, and as expected, the tent was empty.
"Where are Zero and Isabella?" he asked the Judgement Army guarding the door.
"Your Excellencies are interrogating the prisoner," replied the latter, "and they must be on the east side of the camp, where there is a level open space, which you can see on the way. Would you like me to call them over? "
If you could summon them, I wouldn't have come here myself. Moreover, it was a captive game … Weren't they tired of it yet? Mayne said with a sullen face, "No need, I'll go and have a look."
...
He soon found the place the guard had mentioned.
He saw two women standing in the middle of the open space. One of them was leaning forward and whispering something into the ears of the other three captives, whose hands were tied behind their backs. Her expression was gentle and focused, and her long white hair and robe danced in the wind, like a flawless elf. The other woman had an impressive figure and golden curly hair, and from time to time, she let out a clear and melodious laugh.
"Tell the surrounding Judgement Army to leave this place immediately," Mayne ordered the presiding judge, who was acting as a guard beside him. "The same goes for the people in charge of the captives. Tell them not to interfere in this matter."
"Yes."
The blonde witch had also noticed the commotion here. She greeted her companions and then quickly walked over.
"Your Excellency," the person who came bowed slightly and said, "Why did you drive away the spectators? The trial is about to begin. "
"Lady Isabella," he nodded in return. "The full-scale attack on Wolfsheart City is about to begin, and it is meaningless to interrogate the captives at this time. Moreover, these people are only spies we caught along the way, and they know very little information. If possible, I hope that you and Zero can immediately rush to the front. "
"Rest assured, since we are here, we can't let an important enemy go," Isabella said, spreading out her hands. "As for the trial... I can't stop her. Why don't you act as a spectator, it won't take long anyway. "
"Same as before?"
"Yes, the rules are basically the same," she smiled. "Zero likes this kind of game the most."
"Then quickly start." Damn it, Mayne's face was expressionless, but his heart was extremely annoyed. Rather than calling it a trial game, it would be more appropriate to call it a cat and mouse game. The captives had to escape from the other side's designated range or defeat the witches in order to get a chance to live, but this chance was extremely slim, it was just a bait to lure the mice to fight. It seemed easy to achieve, but in fact, it was far beyond reach.
This was also his intention to drive away the Judgement Army who were responsible for protecting and monitoring the Pure Witches. This process was completely unfair, and the behavior of the other side was also far from being pure. If they saw too much of it, perhaps their faith in the Church would be shaken.
When I become the Pope, I must teach them the importance of obeying orders.
At this time, Zero had already untied the ropes on the captives, and at the same time spread out her hands, indicating that she did not carry any weapons. And in front of the captives were placed a long sword, a scimitar, and a light crossbow.
"Come on, fight or escape, follow your heart," she said with a smile, and her tone was still gentle, "only God can make a judgment."
One of them gritted his teeth, suddenly picked up the crossbow from the ground, and directly shot at the Pure Witch. Then, regardless of whether the shot hit or not, his other hand had already grabbed a long sword, and took advantage of the momentum to slash forward. The whole movement was so smooth that it was obviously not a skill that a militia would have.
However, the sword did not cut anything, and the Pure Witch took two steps back, easily avoiding this surprise attack. When he raised his head, he could not help but be stunned, only to see that the crossbow bolt was bitten by the other side, as if it was a harmless branch.
Zero spat out the crossbow bolt, smiled and said, "Please continue."
The captive's eyes widened, and his hands slightly trembled. Mayne could see that the courage that he had gathered with great difficulty was almost gone. Even if he continued to fight, it was estimated that he would only be able to make one last blow.
Sure enough, after a moment of hesitation, he let out a roar as if to vent his anger, raised his sword and rushed straight at the unarmed woman.
But this blow was too stiff, even with his eyes closed, Mayne could guess the result. Judging from the short contact with Zero for the past two weeks, the ability of this Pure Witch was simply bottomless. She was not an Extraordinary, but she had a fighting talent that was no less than that of an Extraordinary witch. This kind of talent did not lie in strength or resistance to blows, but in the superb skills.
Even if she did not use her magic, she was also a terrible enough fighter.
Zero slightly leaned her body, easily avoiding the opponent's slash, and then with a pair of seemingly weak hands, she clamped the captive's head, and with the help of his forward momentum, gently pulled. Only a light sound was heard, and the captive suddenly became limp as if all the bones in his body had been pulled out.
She turned her head and looked at the remaining two people, "Next, it's your turn."