Chapter 691: The Persuaders

The twentieth day of the siege. The earliest serf battalion on the wall has already been rotated down.

They held out for three days, and every force paying attention to the matter is shocked.

Especially after they learn that those soldiers are serfs who have trained for barely half a month.

They find it even harder to believe. They all assume these are regular soldiers Peace Haven planted here long ago and kept hidden.

After the Vorry Third Legion and the Steel Lion Legion reinforce the battlefield, Jonathan immediately begins an all-out siege.

Under his command, the Third Legion, the Twentieth Legion, the First Guard Legion, and the Steel Lion Legion attack the four walls separately.

He doesn't let go of the northernmost wall either. Instead, he offers enormous benefits in exchange for Duke Quinns joining the war after his arrival.

Duke Quinns has the Mountain Lion Legion and the Vorry Ninth Legion under him, and he is responsible for attacking the northern wall.

Of course, attacks still have priorities.

The front-right and front-left walls, which have been under constant attack, remain the main attack directions.

The rear-right and rear-left walls are feints. They look for suitable openings and pin down troop movements inside the city.

As for the northernmost wall, it is naturally attacked by Duke Quinns and his troops.

But after this old fox discovers that the troops defending that side are Arius's direct forces, he also starts going through the motions. He puts on a show more than anything, acting mainly to pin the defenders down and blocking Arius from breaking out.

After the all-out siege begins, casualties on both sides rise sharply.

Although the attacking side suffers more losses, Jonathan continues to transfer troops in without pause.

Two garrison legions that join later allow him to maintain a massive numerical advantage over Cellarwine City.

Now, the two serf-soldier warbands responsible for defending Cellarwine City's front-right and front-left walls have already rotated every thousand-man battalion under them.

Jonathan, on the attacking side, has logistical support from many parties, allowing him to attack without restraint.

Whether soldiers or siege equipment, everything is being fed into the battle without pause.

After the corner tower at the front of the pentagonal city wall and the corner tower on the front-left side are destroyed, Jonathan's trebuchets and ballista batteries begin pressuring the top of the wall.

During the twentieth day of the siege, the royal army once occupies most of an entire wall.

Only after Archie personally leads his personal guard battalion up the wall and joins with the reserve battalion that comes to support them do they drive the enemy back down.

But after the battle ends, all the defensive equipment on the front-left wall, including the archery platforms, has been destroyed.

Together with the loss of the two corner towers, that entire wall has lost its long-range strike capability.

It is easy to see that tomorrow's battle there will be exceptionally fierce.

On the twenty-first day, Henwell's blood-red battle banner bearing Henwell's personal crest approaches the war zone.

Responsible for defending this area are Duke Obiken's Silent Battle Axe Legion and the Vorry Sixth Legion.

Facing Henwell's posture of preparing a charge and breakthrough, Obiken hesitates again and again before ultimately opening the road.

Obiken isn't stupid. If some other force blocks Henwell here, Henwell might still hold back.

But if it is Obiken himself, Henwell is already looking for an excuse to kill him.

Too much is involved in this matter. Even after the fact, Fabio won't completely turn against Henwell over it.

Obiken knows too many of Henwell's secrets. Even if he has made a guarantee, in Henwell's eyes, his promise means nothing.

To avoid Henwell taking the opportunity to get rid of him, Obiken immediately opens the road.

Seeing that even the Grand Duke of the Western Regions has yielded, the others are naturally not fools, nor are they reckless enough to challenge Henwell head-on.

Of course, there are also some people who don't understand reality and want to try to stop him.

They bring only two or three thousand men and try to stop Henwell. That is clearly arrogant.

After the Lord's Knight Order charges, they fail to stir up even a single wave. They are broken apart almost instantly.

When the others see this, they avoid Henwell even more carefully.

Jonathan is furious at Henwell's almost unopposed advance.

But Duke Obiken set the precedent, and Jonathan has no way to punish him.

He can only continue mobilizing troops to surround Cellarwine City while ordering the Steel Lion Legion and the First Guard Legion to withdraw.

The garrison legions move up to maintain a certain degree of siege pressure.

After that, Jonathan leads the Steel Lion Legion and the First Guard Legion, along with the nearby Fearless Sword Legion and Seventeenth Legion, toward Henwell.

Although the Fearless Sword Legion and Seventeenth Legion aren't going to deal with Arius, that doesn't mean they can ignore Jonathan's orders and refuse to deal with Henwell.

These new-style legions were originally formed to target Peace Haven.

Now Jonathan uses the Steel Lion Legion and the First Guard Legion as the center, with the Fearless Sword Legion and the Seventeenth Legion on both flanks.

It is a posture that suggests he wants to surround Henwell's army, and the other side does indeed have that strength.

Seeing that Jonathan truly wants to take this chance to eliminate Henwell, every party immediately sends out a legion to close in, wanting to see how far the situation will develop.

That evening, Henwell is stopped several dozen miles from Cellarwine City.

Jonathan sends a messenger to pass a message to Henwell.

Henwell had originally refused to meet anyone, but Dalton still brings the visitors before him.

After all, the one who has come is Henwell's father-in-law, Duke Marcus, and traveling with him is Duke Obiken of the Western Regions.

When Duke Marcus sees Henwell, his face darkens. "Have you made enough trouble? Hurry back already."

"Cellarwine City will be breached in a few more days at most."

"When the time is right, Obiken and I will assist you and attack Jonathan's troops together."

"I originally didn't intend to notify you, but since you are here now, it can also be considered a good thing."

"Jonathan has now offered a very tempting condition."

"Beginning at the Lika Mountains, this entire stretch of territory, including Cloud Tree City, will be transferred to Peace Haven."

"With that land and population, after one or two years of consolidation, you will have the final say in Vorry."

"At that time, Fabio and Spencer will join hands with you and drag Jonathan down from the throne."

"As for what comes after that, it can be handled slowly."

Henwell says in a deep voice, "You may not know this, but the royal families of every country on the continent all carry the royal bloodline of the Groias Empire. Outsiders have no qualification to become king."

"Once I enter Silver Peak City as ruler, the Western Federation will immediately send professionals to launch a surprise attack on me through a teleportation formation."

Obiken says calmly, "Of course we know that."

"The royal bloodline has continued for so many years. If each of our families traces upward, we all have some royal blood. The only difference is how much."

"As for the idea that only pure blood can make one king, that depends on the situation."

"When Jonathan's branch of the royal bloodline dies out, whoever holds the greatest power becomes legitimate."

"You can't become king, but Melissa has royal bloodline, and your son also has a certain degree of royal bloodline."

Henwell says calmly, "You want me to become the king behind the throne? Not a bad plan, but I refuse."

"Henwell! Do you know how rare this opportunity is? Do you know when the last time it appeared was?"

Henwell waves his hand. "See the guests out."

"Henwell! Won't you think of your son?"

Henwell gives a light laugh. "I am doing this precisely because I am thinking of him."