EFB Chapter 102: The Cannon Opens the City Gate!
Chapter 102: The Cannon Opens the City Gate!
Chapter 101: The Cannon Opens the City Gate!
"The Countess?"
Victor was the first to burst out laughing.
"She still has the nerve to contact the young master? That vicious woman, she's definitely up to no good!"
Olivia's expression also darkened. She walked to Lorraine's side and whispered a warning, "My lord, this is likely a trap. Frostwolf City is her territory. The snow season has been over for so long, and we know nothing about the current situation inside the city. Making contact rashly is too risky."
Lorraine raised her hand, signaling them to calm down.
His gaze fell calmly on Anna, his tone revealing no emotional fluctuation.
"Connected."
"Yes, young master."
Without the slightest hesitation, Anna tapped the magic circle again.
With a slight fluctuation of magical energy, a clear magical projection appeared before everyone.
She was a graceful and elegant woman, dressed in an elaborate court dress and with exquisite makeup on her face.
She looked to be in her early thirties, very well-maintained, with a perfectly measured hint of worry and concern in her eyes.
She was the actual ruler of Frostwolf City, Lorraine's nominal stepmother, the Countess.
"Lorraine, my child!"
As soon as the projection stabilized, the Countess let out a tearful cry, gently pressing her handkerchief to the corner of her eye as if to wipe away non-existent tears.
"It really is you! You're alive! Thank God!"
Her acting was flawless; every expression and every movement was filled with the excitement and joy of a long-awaited reunion, as if she were truly a loving mother who prayed day and night for her stepson.
If Lorraine hadn't known the truth about her exile, she probably would have been fooled.
Victor watched from the side, his lips twitching in disapproval. If Lorraine hadn't given him instructions beforehand, he would have already started cursing.
Lorraine's expression remained unchanged. He merely nodded slightly and replied in a distant yet polite tone, "Madam, it's been a long time."
The word "Madam," instead of "Mother," caused the Countess's smile to freeze for a moment, but she quickly recovered and said in a more fervent tone, "My child, you've suffered! For these past fifty-odd days, not a single day has gone by without worrying about you! It's my fault for not being able to take good care of you after your father left!"
She began tearfully accusing the servants who had "made things difficult" for Lorraine, shirking all responsibility and portraying herself as a pitiful woman who had been deceived.
Lorraine listened quietly, neither interrupting nor agreeing, like an outsider watching a full-blown drama.
He only spoke in a nonchalant tone after the Countess had finished her tearful account.
"Thank you for your trouble."
Those five simple words felt like a punch to cotton, leaving the Countess with a whole host of prepared remarks stuck in her throat.
She took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing her displeasure, and forced a smile back onto her face.
"It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back! Lorraine, to make up for all the grievances you've suffered these past few days, I've prepared a generous gift for you!"
She clapped her hands, and immediately, in the projected background, maids carried in several heavy boxes.
The box was opened, revealing neatly stacked gold coins, their gleaming light almost overflowing the screen.
"Here are 20,000 gold coins, and some of the most beautiful girls in the city, all as compensation from your family."
The Countess's voice was full of allure, "I know you must have suffered a lot in the snowfields. I hope this will make you feel the warmth of your family."
She believed that a young man struggling to survive in dire straits would be absolutely unable to resist the temptations of money and beauty.
If Lorraine accepts this "gift," it means he accepts reconciliation, and then the rest of the plan will be much easier.
However, Lorraine merely glanced at the chest full of gold, her eyes looking at it as if it were a pile of useless stones.
"You're too kind, Madam," he said calmly. "However, I lack nothing right now."
The countess's pupils contracted almost imperceptibly.
The situation seemed to be somewhat different from what he had expected.
This kid is more difficult to deal with than she imagined.
But she was, after all, a woman who had ruled Frostwolf City for many years, and she immediately changed her strategy.
"That's true. Now that you're the master of a mobile city, you naturally don't care about these worldly things."
Her tone shifted abruptly, becoming incredibly sincere. "Lorraine, now that you're back, what belongs to you should be returned to its rightful owner. I've already prepared the succession ceremony for you in the inner fortress. Once the ceremony is complete, you will be the rightful new lord of Frostwolf City!"
coming.
That was her real purpose.
They lured him into Frostwolf City, into the inescapable trap—the Demon-Suppressing and Spirit-Binding Array—that had been prepared for him and his witches.
The moment they step into the inner castle, the witch's magic is instantly drained, turning them into lambs to the slaughter.
At that point, whether she kills or tortures him will be entirely up to her.
"I will host a banquet in the inner fortress to welcome you back and wash away the dust of your journey."
The Countess extended a final invitation, her voice so gentle it could melt hearts, "All the nobles of the city will be there to witness your return. My child, come home."
The atmosphere on the observation tower suddenly became extremely tense.
Victor and Olivia held their breath, watching Lorraine nervously, afraid that he might impulsively accept the invitation to death.
Lorraine remained silent for a moment.
Just when the countess thought he was moved and was about to agree, he suddenly smiled.
It was a cold, slightly mocking smile.
"There's no need for a banquet."
He spoke slowly, his voice not loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.
"I don't like to trouble others. Since you're so kind, madam, how about this?"
Lorraine raised her eyes, her gaze piercing through the magical projection, as if she could see directly into the seemingly calm face in the castle's secret chamber.
"Please come up to my Tower of Babel, madam. I have prepared a place for you here."
Upon hearing this, the Countess's expression froze instantly.
Her proud schemes and her supposedly flawless performance were nothing but a joke in front of this kid!
He wasn't fooled at all!
He even tried to trick himself into going to his territory!
An overwhelming surge of anger and humiliation rushed to her head, making it almost impossible for her to maintain her facade.
"Lorraine, what do you mean by this?" Her voice turned cold. "I am your elder, the Countess of Frostwolf City. You want me to go to your—moving city? What kind of behavior is this!"
"Is that so?" Lorraine's smile deepened. "It seems that Madam is unwilling to come."
He shrugged indifferently.
"In that case, forget it."
After saying that, he prepared to signal Anna to disconnect the communication.
"Wait!" the Countess exclaimed hastily, wanting to say something more to salvage the situation.
But Lorraine had lost all patience.
He glanced at her one last time, his gaze eerily calm, yet carrying an indifference as if looking down upon an ant.
"Since Madam is unwilling to come," his voice echoed slowly from the observation deck, carrying an undeniable resolve, "then I will personally pay her a visit shortly."
As soon as she finished speaking, Anna decisively cut off the communication.
The holographic projection vanished instantly, leaving only the Countess's face, contorted with shock and rage, lingering in the air for a final moment.
But what kind of etiquette and manner should be used when making a visit?
Lorraine hammered heavily.
He treated the countess, who was so "kind and amiable," who "treated him like her own daughter," and who wanted to give him the "best" things.
Naturally, the city gates should be opened with the most solemn cannon salute.
Having successfully entered the city, this guest naturally had his own way of taking over.
The family, being loyal and righteous, naturally treated their owner's relatives and friends with the freshest fruits and vegetables—ideally, they were served them before they were even picked from the tree.
As for what happens after the meal, well, naturally we'll help our old friends get through their lives as quickly as possible.
The story of life is too painful for eunuchs, but what if there was a way to help them fast-forward through their lives and quickly live out their entire lifespan?
It might not be a bad thing for humanity.
"ohm."
Lorraine's voice rang out from the watchtower, as calmly as if she were giving an order for something trivial.
"Magic Heavy Cannon, aim at the outer city wall."
"Understood, Lord Lorraine."
The data stream in Ohm's eyes flickered slightly, and the barrels of the twelve Tier 3 magic-powered heavy artillery turrets turned simultaneously. The sound of metal gears meshing came from the south of the Tower of Babel, muffled and dense, like some kind of giant beast grinding its teeth.
Anna stood beside Lorraine, her gaze fixed through the observation window on the distant, greyish-white outer wall of Frostwolf City.
She knew that wall all too well.
Back then, she and Young Master Luo Lin were thrown out of that door like stray dogs.
"Young Master, the outer city wall is only Tier 2," Anna said softly, but a slight smile played on her lips. "Using Tier 3 heavy cannons to attack it, isn't that a bit too much of a rip-off?"
"Yeah." Lorraine nodded. "It's pretty bullying."
He paused.
"Go ahead and fight."
boom-
The first cannonball struck the northern section of the outer city wall of Frostwolf, shattering the gray-white stone bricks in the shockwave, and the flying debris tore several flags on the city wall to shreds.
Before the smoke and dust had even cleared, a second and a third shot followed.
The twelve heavy turrets unleashed their firepower at a rate of one shot per half second. Ohm's mental energy permeated the nerve connections of each turret, making the trajectories as precise as if they had been measured with a ruler.
The cracks in the city wall spread outwards from the point of impact, like a spider web, until the entire wall began to collapse.
Stones, broken bricks, and waterproof coatings applied in an unknown era, mixed with dust, rained down, and the resulting smoke obscured half the sky.
"The northern section of the outer city wall has been destroyed." Ohm's voice was flat, as if he were simply reporting the operating data of a production line. "Turn to the eastern section."
Another salvo.
The eastern section of the city wall was thinner than the northern section, and it didn't even withstand three rounds of artillery fire before it collapsed inward, crashing onto buildings inside the city and blowing off the roofs of several houses.
Looking out from the observation window of the Tower of Babel, the outer walls of Frostwolf City are disappearing at a visible speed.
Those high walls that once inspired Lorraine's admiration and Anna's despair were as fragile as paper in the face of the Tier 3 magic-powered heavy cannons.
Victor stood on the watchtower, his hands gripping the railing, watching the scenes of the city walls collapsing, and suddenly laughed out loud.
"ha."
He shook his head, and his laughter grew louder and louder.
"Ha ha ha ha!"
Olivia frowned at him. "What are you laughing at?"
"It's nothing," Victor said, rubbing the tears of laughter from the corners of his eyes. "I just remembered that when I was a knight in the city, the Countess's butler told me, 'Someone of your birth will be lucky to even be able to guard this wall in his lifetime.'"
He pointed to the eastern section of the city wall that was collapsing with a loud crash.
"And now? Where's the wall?"
Olivia didn't reply, but the corners of her lips curved slightly.
"Reporting to Lord Lorraine," Ohm's voice rang out again, "The outer city walls on all four sides have been completely destroyed, taking four minutes and seventeen seconds. A large amount of magical energy fluctuation has been detected from the direction of the inner city; cavalry are gathering."
"You're really good at stealing credit," Anna pouted. "I asked you to break through a city wall, and you actually blasted through all four walls."
"I wasn't trying to steal credit!" Ohm pleaded. "There were some offensive structures on those walls, and I breached them to prevent them from surrounding us!"
Lorraine smiled and walked to the observation window.
Amidst the ruins of the outer city, the dust and smoke had not yet settled, but a cavalry unit could already be seen charging out from the direction of the inner city.
Their armor reflected the morning light, and their horses' hooves clattered on the gravel. There were about fifty riders, each enveloped in the faint glow of second-tier battle qi.
"Fifty second-tier knights," Ohm quickly reported the data. "The formation is a wedge charge, and the target is the left foreleg of Babel."
Lorraine didn't move.
He didn't even turn around; he simply uttered a name.
"Olivia".
Olivia's eyes lit up.
She walked to the edge of the city wall, placed her hands on the battlements, and emerald green magic seeped from between her fingers, spreading along the surface of the wall and then seeping into the ground.
A deep, rumbling sound came from deep underground.
When the cavalry had charged halfway, the ground suddenly split open.
It's not an earthquake, but something far more terrifying.
Thick alloy vines, as thick as buckets, burst forth from the cracks, carrying mud and gravel, like giant hands reaching out from hell.
The knight at the front didn't even have time to rein in his horse before a vine entangled its hind legs, dragging the entire horse to the ground. The knight and his armor rolled twice on the ground.
Then more vines surged up.
绞。
Entangled.
screw.
The light of the second-tier battle aura shattered layer by layer under the crushing force of the vines, and the screams of the knights, mixed with the ear-piercing sound of twisting metal, echoed among the ruins.
A knight tried to cut the vines, but as soon as he made a cut, three thicker ones immediately followed, pulling him and his sword into the ground.
Furthermore, numerous vines wreathed in pale fire pierced the knights' armor with lightning speed, their force as powerful as if they were piercing through thin paper.
In the blink of an eye, they pierced the hearts of the charging tin cans.
From beginning to end, it takes no more than twenty seconds.
None of the fifty second-tier knights charged within a hundred meters of the Tower of Babel.
Olivia withdrew her hand, patted the dust off her palm, and remained expressionless.
Victor's laughter stopped abruptly. He swallowed hard, silently thanking himself that he was on the side of the enemy.
"Sister Olivia is amazing." Lyra's voice came from behind, her black and gold heterochromatic eyes filled with genuine admiration.
"It's alright," Olivia replied casually, but the tips of her ears turned slightly red.
Lorraine didn't look back at the battlefield—that level of probing wasn't worth his attention.
His gaze pierced through the smoke and dust, landing on the inner city walls of Frostwolf City.
That city wall was twice as thick as the outer city wall, and its gray-black surface was engraved with dense defensive magic arrays, radiating a third-order magical aura.
Behind the city wall, more than two hundred towers of varying heights rose from the ground, with crystal balls on their spires shimmering with various colors of light.
The Witch's Tower.
"ohm."
"exist."
"Cease shelling and continue the advance."
"clear."
The four giant legs of the Tower of Babel began to move again, each step causing the earth to tremble.
The shadow of the steel behemoth slowly enveloped the inner city walls, as if dusk had fallen prematurely.