Chapter 90: The Stranger's Whisper
Ian was stunned. According to his earlier battle plan, they had stationed the entire "Foul Jester" team and several sailors in the courtyard outside the temple, with several more on the nearby streets keeping watch. It was a foolproof arrangement.
But where were they? Why were the temple exits controlled by the enemy, and why had no one come down to warn them?
Could it be that the "Foul Jester" had betrayed him? That was absurd! Even if he wanted to, would his men follow?
Ian had no time to think. He peered through the gaps in the fishing net. In the dim, flickering torchlight, he saw the sailors at the front, trapped in the net, falling to the ground under a barrage of crossbow bolts.
Then a swarm of gold-cloaked figures, wielding maces and spears, descended upon the prey caught in the net.
City Watch? Why the City Watch? The moment he saw the enemy clearly, Ian was stunned.
He had never imagined that the attack would come from the City Watch, an organization so far removed from player activities.
But if the enemy was the gold cloaks, it made sense that the sellswords above were caught off guard.
The scouts deployed to the surrounding streets were likely immediately eliminated by the City Watch, who had already secured the area.
Consequently, the sellswords guarding the entrance were caught completely unprepared and wiped out by the gold cloaks' sudden crossbow ambush.
Ian wasn't surprised by the sellswords' destruction; what he couldn't accept was the fact that the City Watch would attack him.
The most terrifying and baffling thing was that the City Watch was equipped with crossbows and maces.
They arrived armed with fishing nets, crossbows, and maces, clearly targeting him and his men, who wore plate armor and mail. They came prepared!
Without hesitation, Ian immediately lowered his visor.
Being in the middle of the group, he wasn't immediately attacked by the gold cloaks, so he took the opportunity to draw his dagger and attempt to cut through the net covering him.
By contrast, the others fared far worse. The massive net came so suddenly that nearly half of Ian's group was caught within it.
The sailors at the front, in particular, faced the first barrage of crossbow fire, followed by hammers and spears from the gold cloaks who'd cast the net. They quickly suffered heavy casualties.
Fortunately, Bronn was quick-witted and leaped back toward the stairs just as the net descended, avoiding entanglement. He then cut through the net with his dagger and returned to the surface, immediately rescuing Roel and engaging in a fierce scuffle with four or five gold cloaks who'd discovered them.
Meanwhile, the gold cloaks, seemingly on command, began to converge on the fully plate-armored Kes. They didn't intend to systematically dispatch the trapped enemies from front to back. If they did that, the plate-armored knight positioned further back would have ample time to escape the net.
Considering the combat capability of an armored knight, they planned to eliminate Kes while he was still trapped in the net.
Several gold-cloaked warriors advanced side by side, killing three sailors at the perimeter and carving their way to Kes. They first unleashed a volley of crossbow bolts at Kes, but the bolts bounced off his breastplate, none of them penetrating.
Watching this, Ian couldn't help but feel grateful that the gold cloaks lacked heavy crossbows, otherwise escape would have been practically impossible.
Seeing their ranged attacks were ineffective, the gold cloaks rushed directly at Kes and began hammering him with their maces and stabbing with spears. While this didn't inflict any serious damage, it also left him unable to fight back effectively.
Just then, Ian finally cut through the fishing net that bound him. Unsheathing his longsword, he leaped to his feet and lunged at the gold cloak attacking Kes a short distance ahead.
Ian completely forgot everything else, focusing solely on the core stabbing technique that Roel had taught him: keeping the blade and forearm aligned.
Gripping the sword with both hands, he pointed the tip forward, and using his running momentum, thrust with all his strength into the gold cloak's back.
His training paid off. The fine steel of the longsword instantly pierced the gold cloak's black chainmail, the tip bursting through the man's chest, killing him instantly.
The next moment, the gazes of the nearby gold cloaks fell on Ian. Ian's heart raced. He tried to wrench his sword from his victim's body, but powerful resistance held it firmly in place.
He didn't get another chance. Another gold cloak's mace swung toward him, forcing Ian to release his grip on the hilt. He retreated hastily, attempting to draw his Valyrian steel sword from his back.
Seizing the moment as the warriors surrounded Ian, Kes found his opportunity. He grabbed the fishing net and yanked it toward his chest, causing the gold cloaks around him to stumble and fall.
Seeing this, Ian temporarily abandoned his trapped sword and drew the dagger from his waist, attempting to free Kes.
Suddenly, a gold cloak came from behind and struck Ian in the head with a mace.
The mace struck Ian's helmet, and he grunted, his head suddenly ringing.
Sound came from all directions, swirling between heaven and earth.
Fortunately, Ian's helmet had a gorget attached to the plate armor. This meant Ian's head didn't bear the full weight of the helmet, and the force of the blow was effectively distributed to his shoulders. Otherwise, even if the mace hadn't crushed Ian's helmet, it would have broken his neck.
Soon, the gold cloak attacked Ian from the side, taking advantage of Ian's dazed state to deliver a second blow. Ian instinctively raised his hand to block, but his body refused to obey. He stumbled and turned, taking the blow squarely on his breastplate.
The man's strike wasn't powerful enough, and the mace head slid to the side upon impact with Ian's angled breastplate, leaving not even a dent. However, Ian still lost his balance and fell backward.
Ian, now on the ground, was in a state of confusion, his vision spinning. Through the viewing slit of his visor, he could only see the gold cloak who had attacked him raise his mace for a third time, swinging it toward his face.
The ringing in his ears grew louder, like howling wind, the croaking of frogs and chirping of crickets in midsummer fields, or the wails of legendary banshees.
But Ian knew that none of these were the true sound.
He knew that these were the whispers of the Stranger, the call of death itself.
Ian could not summon any strength in his body, and he closed his eyes in dread, unable to face death.
(End of Chapter)
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