Burning meteors rained down from the sky, targeting the defending troops rushing to the walls for support, as well as the enormous ballistae and trebuchets behind the walls. Many of the defenders were frozen in place, terrified by the falling stones.
"Boom…"
Violent explosions and molten rock showers transformed the area behind the city gates into a hellscape. Many soldiers saw the meteors as divine punishment, and numerous followers of the Seven Gods knelt on the ground in fear.
For a moment, the trebuchets and ballistae in the city ceased their attacks; the soldiers seemed stunned by the terrifying spectacle.
Smoke, laced with the smell of sulfur, filled the city, and many surviving soldiers crawled out of the ruins, their bodies severely burned.
Violent coughing and cries of pain severely agitated the uninjured defenders, their nerves stretched taut.
"Kill…"
Amidst the explosions and smoke of the "Meteor Shower," soldiers of the Valyrian Empire charged onto the city walls, clashing with the knights of the sigils, who raised their shields and swords to meet them.
The soldiers of the Valyrian Empire didn't care about any of this. Boosted by Hero Skills, their combat strength and morale were at their peak, constantly pushing back the defending soldiers.
Meanwhile, the defending soldiers on the six Arrow Towers of White Harbor's walls continuously rained attacks down on the Valyrian Empire's soldiers through the shooting holes and battlements.
There were six Arrow Towers near the city gates, each acting as a small fortress. They could hold a large number of soldiers, and there was a lower level within the walls to hide soldiers for ambushes.
Although the Valyrian Empire's soldiers had managed to climb the walls, the defending soldiers in these six Arrow Towers used their architectural advantage to halt the Valyrian army's assault.
As the smoke cleared, the catapults and ballistae behind the walls resumed their work. However, due to the destruction caused by the "Meteor Shower," many of the catapults had been reduced to fragments and charred wood.
Nevertheless, in the Manderly Family's keep, ballistae were being brought out. Compared to catapults, these were easier to store.
At the same time, some secret weapons were also being moved out of the Manderly Family's keep by the Manderly Family's soldiers, hidden in the shadows.
They were like venomous snakes, ready to bare their fangs at their prey at any moment, but the Skinchangers hadn't discovered any of this.
Because of the Red Robed Monks' spells and influence, the Skinchangers' abilities were greatly diminished here, and much important intelligence couldn't be detected in time.
"Screech... Roar..."
Accompanied by a series of dragon roars and eagle screeches, the Griffins and Dragons launched their attack together. Under Marco's command, the Crystal Dragons unleashed their Dragon Breath at the three towers on the left.
Marco had been guiding the Dragons in a vertical dive attack, which was to prevent being directly hit by the enemy's crossbows. The fate of Daenerys's dragon, Rhaegal, was still fresh in his memory.
Marco didn't want his Dragons to be shot down. In this era, having air superiority was equivalent to winning half the battle, and Marco wouldn't waste it.
Those defending soldiers hit by the "Crystal Breath" would have a layer of terrifying black crystals directly attached to their bodies. These crystals made people feel very uncomfortable, and they couldn't be removed by hand.
Because these crystals would attach to the body like psoriasis, unless the skin was cut off, it would only get more uncomfortable. And if they were forcibly pulled off by hand, the palm would be scratched, and they would lose their combat effectiveness.
In a short while, the huge crystals directly blocked the shooting ports of the towers, and those defending soldiers trapped inside were frightened and fled in panic, especially after they saw the soldiers hit by the Crystal Breath, they were scared out of their wits.
Watching his comrades, who he had spent every day with, turn into those monstrous, inhuman creatures, even many of the most resolute knights couldn't help but feel fear, not to mention the hastily recruited laborers.
On the other three towers to the right, Yin Geng was commanding the Ice Dragon to attack. The bone-chilling breath snaked through the gaps and openings of the towers. Icy winds mixed with a trace of cold, ethereal blue energy, instantly freezing the soldiers inside.
A soldier raised his crossbow, preparing to fire, only to find the bowstring and winch frozen solid. The ground and walls were also rapidly icing over, turning the tower into a frozen world.
However, outside the tower, the scene was completely different. Brynden commanded a Dragon to descend from the sky. The scorching, pale green Dragonflame swept across the city walls, turning the shield wall formed by the defending soldiers into a pile of scorched earth.
The defending soldiers had adopted the Caltrops and Shield Wall defensive formation, combined with the firing ports on the Arrow Towers, making them a nightmare for the attacking soldiers.
But all of this was reduced to nothing by the Dragons' breath. The left side of the city walls and towers were completely sealed off by crystals, while the right side of the walls and towers became a world of ice and fire.
The Dragons' rampage caused the defenders on the city walls to collapse instantly. They cried out as they fled down the walls, many only wanting to escape this hellish place, with no thought of fighting.
"Crack..."
Under the effects of the Crystal Breath and Dragon Breath, the three towers on the right side began to crack inch by inch because they couldn't withstand the alternating cold and heat. Finally, the tower on the right collapsed halfway.
With the help of the Dragons' Dragon Breath, the city walls were completely taken. The soldiers defending the city all poured into the city streets and the city gate, seemingly preparing to rebuild their defenses.
The continuous attacks and Dragon Breath caused the Dragons' speed to slow down. The regrouped defending soldiers seized the opportunity and used crossbows to attack Yin Geng's Ice Dragon.
Although Yin Geng tried his best to control it, the Ice Dragon was still hit by the crossbow bolts. Two hit its abdomen, and one hit its tail.
Seeing the crossbow bolts coming one after another, Marco decisively ordered a retreat. He planned to let the Dragons rest before continuing the attack. With Marco's order, the Dragons and Griffins withdrew from the battlefield.
Below the city tower, the main city gate.
"Boom..."
A series of violent impacts stimulated the fragile nerves of all the soldiers behind the White Harbor city gate. Many of them were trembling, their eyes fixed on the gate that was about to be breached.
Behind the gates of White Harbor, there were wooden props, looking like a dense collection of matchsticks. However, they seemed to do little good, as the gates still boomed under the assault of the siege rams.
The retreat of the Griffins and Dragons hadn't eased the pressure on the defenders within White Harbor. With the city walls falling, the catapults outside could directly hurl stones into the city.
This rendered the defenders' crossbows and catapults, which had barely recovered, useless, lessening the pressure on the walls.
This also caused many of the city's military officers, who were gathering their soldiers, to complain endlessly. Especially with the occasional attacks from the Stone Golems, which caused many of the conscripted farmers to flee deep into the city.
In the initial siege, the Stone Golems had bought the Valyrian Empire's siege forces a lot of time, but they too suffered heavy losses. Furthermore, Stannis's soldiers seemed to have found the Stone Golems' weaknesses.
They used grappling hooks, ropes, and spears to ensnare the Stone Golems, then used hammers and flails to attack their cores, causing the golems to suffer heavily in the face of the enemy's assault.
However, it was precisely due to their delaying tactics that the siege equipment was able to get close to the city walls, laying the foundation for the subsequent victory of the troops.
"Roar... Kill..."
At that moment, a furious roar suddenly reached the ears of the soldiers defending the city. Then, they saw the iron-clad, massive city gate slowly turning red.
It was as if someone was setting the gate on fire. What they didn't know was that this was the "Evil Eye," similar to a Dragon Breath attack.
The "Evil Eye," like a laser beam, inflicted irreversible damage on the huge gate's bolts, while the massive battering ram continued its assault. The two worked together seamlessly.
Boom...
With a huge explosion, a hole was blasted through the gate. Immediately afterwards, a terrifying, blood-red giant appeared before the eyes of the defending soldiers.
"Die! Roar..."
The blood-red Blood-Eyed Cyclops directly smashed through the supporting timbers in front of him. Broken wood splattered everywhere, injuring many soldiers.
Following that, the Blood-Eyed Cyclops unfastened a goblin from his waist. After biting off the goblin's head, he flung the goblin's corpse behind him, seemingly gathering power.
Boom...
After charging up, the Blood-Eyed Cyclops slammed the goblin corpse in his hand against the shield wall in front of him. The goblin's corpse exploded violently upon contact with the shield wall, and the crimson energy directly sent more than a dozen soldiers flying.
Then, the Blood-Eyed Cyclops roared and charged towards the gap, using brute force to clear an area. His huge palm swept through the soldiers like a rolling pin, completely disrupting the defending soldiers' lines.
"Kill..."
Then, shouts came from behind the city gates from the Valyrian Empire soldiers. The riot soldiers charged in directly, quickly clearing the obstacles around them and widening the path for the follow-up troops.
Following that, more troops poured in. They brandished their weapons and broke through the enemy lines from the gap, engaging in close combat with the defending soldiers.
Then came a few more roars, and the Abyssal Hydras also charged in with the main force. The battle between the two sides was not even on the same level.
The defending officers couldn't organize an effective formation at all. Whenever the soldiers gathered together, the Blood-Eyed Cyclops and the others would swarm forward and tear the troops apart.
Very quickly, the soldiers of the Valyrian Empire under the city gates gathered with the soldiers on the city walls, and under the organization of their respective officers, they began to advance towards various parts of the city.
Although White Harbor was the smallest trading port on the continent of Westeros, its facilities and buildings were still very complete, especially with dedicated mints and granaries within the city.
The soldiers of the Valyrian Empire had been assigned their tasks in advance, and they advanced towards their targets in an orderly manner under the leadership of their officers.
At the same time, in some dark corners of the city, some of the city's riffraff, seeing an opportunity, bared their fangs and pounced on the unarmed civilians.
For a time, the bustling White Harbor was filled with smoke and the sound of killing, while the soldiers of the Valyrian Empire strictly followed Marco's orders, only attacking the rioters and fleeing soldiers who were armed.
After capturing a warehouse, the rioting soldiers drove the unarmed refugees inside to take shelter, and at the same time, protect them.
Fortunately, many residents of the city had fled, and only some buildings were set on fire. Although there were many rioters, they were simply not worth mentioning in front of Marco's system soldiers.
Soon, the soldiers of both sides confronted each other in Fish King Square. Stannis' soldiers pushed out flame throwers from several passages in the square.
Heavy oil fires and crossbow bolts caused massive casualties among Marco's Valyrian Empire soldiers, the terrifying attacks making it impossible for them to advance.
Just as the Abyssal Hydra was preparing to attack using its powerful physical attributes, a series of eagle cries echoed from the sky. Griffins rained down the remaining Wildfire Balls.
Soon, violent explosions erupted in several passages around Fish King Square. The terrifying blasts overturned several surrounding buildings, clearing the passages.
The Valyrian Empire soldiers charged towards the utterly terrified defending soldiers. Stannis's soldiers fell back in defeat, quickly retreating to the vicinity of the Manderly Family's ancestral castle.
By this time, most of the buildings in the city had been occupied by the Valyrian Empire's forces. The sacred sun flags replaced Stannis's flaming crown stag and the Manderly Family's blue-green mermaid flags.
Just as the Valyrian Empire soldiers prepared to attack the main castle, a series of golden lights shone near it. Many of Stannis's soldiers looked up and shouted, as if calling for divine blessings.
Manderly Family Main Castle, Main Castle Passage.
The Manderly Family's main castle was located on a small hill by the coast, surrounded by buildings. There was only one road leading up the hill, making it somewhat "easy to defend."
Many castles of this era were built in this style. They would build them by the sea or water, and then choose the highest hill or cliff to construct their home fortress.
Seeing that they couldn't take down the Manderly Family's home fortress gate for a long time, Marco was also considering deploying the Dragons. Although the castle would be his in the future, if the income and expenses weren't proportional, Marco could only grit his teeth and destroy it.
"Hmm...what is this?"
Just as Marco ordered the Dragons to prepare for deployment, he felt a mysterious energy fluctuation coming from not far away, and then a golden light beam descended from the sky.
Marco squinted his eyes and looked at the beam of light in the sky. This power's aura gradually became familiar, even beginning to carry a hint of sulfur.
Marco looked at Mu beside him, and Mu nodded at him, saying:
"This power is indeed the power of a demon, and it's a projection of a very powerful demon. It seems to come from the same place as me."
Demons exist in many worlds and universes. They are the embodiment of death and destruction. The Ed people also have descriptions of demons. Marco only discovered information about this race in some memory fragments of the "Lord of Light".
The demons of this world were not very powerful. They had been conquered long ago by the Aed, but their race was quite unique.
Some of the Aed gods were also bewitched by their power and became demon gods. Through a long period of evolution and exploration, that part of the Aed recovered, integrating the power of the demons into their own power system.
Although the memory suggested this, in the memory of the "Lord of Light," there was no trace of demon gods among their gods. This was what worried Marco the most.
Dealing with the Aed gods was already troublesome enough. If he had to face the demons as well, Marco felt a lot of pressure.
Manderly Family's main castle, Merfolk Palace
"Great Lord of Light! I, for you..."
In the center of the Merfolk Palace, flashes of golden light were constantly shining. In the very center, a huge, spiral-shaped ring of fire was slowly burning.
Stannis, wearing a crown, stood in the center, holding a dagger. Drops of fresh blood were dripping from it.