At this moment, Duke Carl, the prince of the Blazing Moon Kingdom and an inheritor of an unknown rank, wore a disdainful expression as he spoke to Sailerpes, "Your Majesty, I think you should make this the third match. Since all four of us are here, open the city gates and let us down to see who can kill Horton. Wouldn't that be more interesting than us slaughtering each other?"
Xiao Xun, unsure of what others were thinking, truly wished he could step forward and slap them both.
Xiao Xun pointed directly at him, "Just shut up! You look like a defensive tower on the flank. They are trying their best to get in, and you, you want to open the gates? Are you welcoming them?"
Duke Carl's veins bulged, "They are just some soldiers! With me here, they absolutely won't get in."
Xiao Xun almost laughed in anger, "What do you think you are, capable of blocking this dense 'torrent'?"
Duke Carl had received a noble education since childhood and was always met with flowers and praise wherever he went. He had never been insulted like this before.
Pointing at Xiao Xun, "You, you, you..." he trembled with anger, unable to utter a single word. It wasn't that he didn't want to curse, but rather, having received a noble education, he simply couldn't utter words that would disgrace his scholarly demeanor.
More importantly, the other party was the renowned peerless wise general of Saint Roman. Although he was a prince, his fame paled in comparison.
If he said something that offended the other party, the consequences would definitely be beyond his ability to bear.
Instead, Xiao Xun sneered at him, "What 'you, you'? If you can't hear clearly, I'll carve it on a monument for you. Speak if you can, otherwise sit with the dogs."
Duke Carl's anger surged to the crown of his head. He immediately drew his sword, intending to strike Xiao Xun.
Xiao Xun stood his ground, "You resort to force when you can't win with words? That's your specialty."
Sailerpes was busy directing the defense and had no time to watch the two bicker. Others were even less likely to get involved.
Just as Duke Carl's magic sword was about to hit Xiao Xun's shoulder, Duke Carl was actually provoked by Xiao Xun's words. If Xiao Xun had taken a step back, Duke Carl would definitely not have swung a second time.
But he hadn't expected Xiao Xun to not even dodge, not even blink.
Surprised, Duke Carl wanted to withdraw his hand, as he couldn't afford the consequences of actually striking.
However, someone didn't give him the chance. A radiant hexagram flared between the two, and twelve figures rushed out of the barrier at extreme speed. The hot-tempered Taurus even stepped forward and gave Duke Carl a resounding slap.
Duke Carl spun around on the spot, clutching his face with stars in his eyes, "Who are you people? How dare you hit me."
After emerging from the barrier, these twelve individuals stood behind Xiao Xun without a word.
Xiao Xun looked at Duke Carl, "Is this all you've got? Was that magical beast killed by you?"
Duke Carl didn't understand why Xiao Xun would ask such an irrelevant question at such a critical juncture, "It wasn't me who killed it, do you think it was you?"
Xiao Xun didn't dwell on this question. Instead, he pointed below the city wall, "If you truly have such great ability, then bring Horton to me. If you don't dare, then stop saying such brainless things because you lack the capital to be arrogant."
Upon hearing this, Duke Carl declared, "Fine, it's just a mere Horton! I will prove it to you."
Then he said to Aries behind him, "Send him to see Horton."
Aries walked up to Duke Carl, his hands glowing.
Duke Carl warily raised his short sword, "What are you doing?"
Aries suddenly looked up, spun his hands, and struck Duke Carl directly in the chest, throwing him into the hexagram formation.
The formation opened before Horton, and Duke Carl fell directly into Horton's arms.
Both were caught off guard but reacted quickly.
Horton immediately unleashed his phoenix fire, while Duke Carl's magic sword stabbed towards Horton's throat.
The two immediately engaged in battle. Duke Carl primarily cultivated fire-elemental magic, specifically the family's Moonlit Night Fire.
As the two flames clashed, Horton's phoenix fire was clearly superior, but it couldn't harm Duke Carl.
However, Horton's personal guards charged forward and pinned Duke Carl to the ground, capturing him in a cage.
Horton picked up the microphone, laughed thrice, and then addressed Sailerpes on the city wall, "My esteemed Majesty, why did you send such a useless person? Do you find me bored and sent someone to amuse me?"
Hundreds of priests were now on the city wall, simultaneously casting a massive magical barrier. To counterattack, the barrier would have to be removed.
If the barrier were removed, the enemy would undoubtedly deploy magic cannons to bombard the city gates. With the current defending Royal Guards, they could contend with Horton's phoenix army.
However, there were countless civilians and nobles within the city, who would inevitably suffer.
Xiao Xun suddenly realized that if the rebel army couldn't be repelled before nightfall, he wouldn't be able to return to that world. At that time, Lu Yunmei, finding no one, might go to the second floor. If she alerted the authorities, what would happen if the police entered?
He shared his thoughts with Sailerpes. Sailerpes told Xiao Xun, "You can go back yourself then. To make the phoenix army retreat in a day is as far-fetched as a fantasy."
Xiao Xun looked at the phoenix soldiers on the city wall, who were slowly tearing apart the magic barrier, and the Royal Guards on the wall, who were ready for battle.
"Your Majesty, at this pace, how much longer can the magic barrier hold?"
Sailerpes shook her head, "It's hard to say. If Horton has no other means of attack, and it's just these grunts, this magic barrier should hold for six to seven hours. After all, these priests have limited energy. When the barrier disappears, that's when the enemy will launch their attack."
Xiao Xun looked at the dense crowd on the city wall, "Instead of waiting to be slaughtered, why not take the initiative?"
Sailerpes looked at the sky in the distance, "I am waiting."
Xiao Xun looked at her curiously, "Waiting?"
Sailerpes clenched her fist with determination, "Yes, I am waiting for the sun to rise, waiting for the sunlight to shine upon Saint Roman's impregnable city walls and sweep away all the gloom."
Xiao Xun thought to himself: What if it's cloudy? In games, he hated defensive battles where he was passively attacked, so he never played tower defense games.
This was a magical battlefield. Everyone seemed to have cheats enabled, so conventional tactics wouldn't work. Adaptability was key.
"Your Majesty, don't these phoenix soldiers need to eat?"
Sailerpes didn't understand why Xiao Xun suddenly asked this, and replied, "If they are human, they definitely need to eat! What's wrong?"
Xiao Xun thought to himself: If they eat, it's manageable.
Under Sailerpes's gaze, he spoke a few words to Aries. Then Aries opened the barrier, teleporting him, Leo, and Scorpio, a group of four, to the rear camp of the phoenix army.
There was a designated area for cooking for everyone. Xiao Xun glanced around. The people nearby were busy preparing rations for the march and didn't notice the four strangers who had suddenly appeared in the enemy camp.
This was because warfare in this world emphasized magical duels or direct combat between individuals, with no room for schemes or stratagems.
It was Xiao Xun's appearance that completely disrupted the battlefield of this world.
The four of them approached several large pots. Xiao Xun covered his mouth and nose, disdainfully remarking, "The food this phoenix army eats smells so bad, can it be any good? How high can the combat power of people who eat such things be."