Chapter 142 Military Fortress
Regarding the intelligence of this military fortress, over this period, Karen had people investigate thoroughly through espionage or bribery.
This is a rare human settlement where there's still a distinction between sinners and virtuous, and neither side has gained the upper hand.
Before the disaster, this military base originally housed a large army of three thousand, with one thousand virtuous people and two thousand sinner slaves.
Those who understand, understand. The sinner slaves here were completely used as laborers and cannon fodder.
After the disaster, the virtuous people lost their power of merit, and these inferior sinners began to rebel.
They snatched the weapons of the virtuous and ruthlessly attacked them.
But the virtuous were mostly elites, after all, no border defense force in any place would use good-for-nothings to muddle through.
The sinners occupied the west side of the military fortress, while the virtuous retreated to the east side, and a long-term melee ensued.
The sinners hated the virtuous to the core and acted mercilessly, even if it meant mutual destruction, they would drag a virtuous person down with them.
And the virtuous people, for their self-preservation, also acted extremely decisively; it was either the enemy died or they did.
The sinners were numerous and fearless, while the virtuous were strong and skilled in combat.
In these days of melee, both sides suffered heavy losses, and neither was able to completely overcome the other.
In the end, the sinners were reduced to just over eight hundred, and the virtuous to just over five hundred.
Both sides were exhausted and suffered heavy losses.
Finally, the virtuous general came forward and proposed negotiations with the leader of the sinners, and the two sides made peace.
Of course, the result of the peace talks was just that they would no longer fight; it didn't mean that the two sides were friendly.
Generational enslavement had turned the sinners' hatred for the virtuous into a blood feud. If it weren't for necessity, they would have liked to kill all these virtuous people.
And the virtuous people also had pride ingrained in their bones. They looked down on these sinners from humble backgrounds from the bottom of their hearts, and to let them "mingle" with the sinners was worse than killing them.
The two sides had been restraining themselves, but living in the same city, small frictions were inevitable.
And Karen was going to seize on this point, using the sinners to attack the virtuous, thereby opening this high-walled fortress.
As for why he chose to unite with the sinners to attack the virtuous, it was because most of the people here were sinners, with only a small number who were previously virtuous.
Before the army set off, Karen had first sent a clever sinner, namely Yin Li, to sneak into the west side of the castle and secretly meet with the leader of the sinners inside.
Karen's banner was that all sinners were one family, sinners would not kill sinners, and they would kill all the hateful virtuous people.
And they had a thousand fully armed fresh troops, which undoubtedly gave the sinners in the military fortress great confidence.
Coupled with Karen's highly煽动性 (shāndòngxìng - inflammatory) slogans, this made the sinners immediately agree to cooperate from within and without to attack the virtuous.
Of course, whether Karen would still shout the slogan of eliminating the virtuous after the castle was taken was unknown.
After all, Karen's slogan in the shelter was that there was no distinction between sinners and virtuous; everyone was the same.
Moreover, he used to be a virtuous person.
It was night.
The army was ambushed at the foot of the hill.
It could indeed be called an army, after all, there were over a thousand of them.
Under the pitch-black night, a thousand people were quietly waiting, without anyone speaking loudly.
They were all waiting for the moment when the city gate would open, to rush in and kill.
According to the agreement, the sinners in the city would open the gate wide.
On the city wall, a row of torches burned, making crackling sounds, illuminating the wall and the inside of the city. Five virtuous soldiers were dozing off.
Suddenly, a virtuous soldier stood up. He heard footsteps coming from inside the city.
Looking up, he saw a group of sinners walking over casually with torches.
"Halt, what are you doing?"
The virtuous soldier shouted loudly, and the other four virtuous soldiers were also awakened and immediately stood up.
"We want to leave the city, do you have any objections?"
Sinners and virtuous people were naturally at odds, so their words were naturally impolite.
"Humph, what are you doing leaving the city in the middle of the night?"
"Under the orders of the great leader Gou Mo, we are going out to investigate the situation in Weisa City to prepare for the troop dispatch and looting tomorrow."
"Are you going to send troops to loot the city? Are your granaries out of food? Why haven't you gone out for so long, and why are you going out tonight of all nights?"
The military fortress had ample food reserves. In the past six months, the virtuous people had been wary of the sinners, and the sinners had been wary of the virtuous. Neither dared to send a large army to loot the city at the foot of the mountain, for fear of being stabbed in the chrysanthemum (old nest) by the enemy while their own forces were empty.
"No matter how much food there is, there will be a day when it runs out. Those people are guarding a city with endless supplies. If we don't rob them, are we supposed to rob you?
Enough nonsense, open the gate quickly, or don't blame me for getting rough."
"Humph, saying you're investigating intelligence is a lie; letting the enemy into the city is the truth, right?"
The speaker didn't come from the city wall, but from the shadows of a staircase below the wall.
Several torches were raised, and the sinners saw the speaker's appearance clearly, and they retreated in horror.
The person had blond hair and blue eyes, standing with his hands behind his back.
Behind him, hundreds of virtuous soldiers, holding torches, glared at these sinners.
"Humph, you really think you can collude with the enemy, and I wouldn't know? I've long known that you ungrateful sinners have bad intentions.
Men, shoot and kill these sinners!"
"Virtue!"
The virtuous people shouted in unison, and the arrows in their hands were released together, shooting all the sinners to death.
At this time, the sound of a large army's footsteps finally came from inside the city.
The sinners were coming.
"Gou Mo, it seems you want to fight us virtuous people to the death. Very well, I've put up with you for so long. Let's see what you've got."
"Brothers, the day of revenge has arrived! Our partners outside are here to support us. Kill these virtuous people and welcome our sinner brothers into the city!
Kill!!!"
The sinners and the virtuous army immediately engaged in a fierce battle, and at this moment, torches were immediately lit on both sides, revealing the virtuous army's ambush.
This time, the sinners and the virtuous came out in full force and launched a great melee inside the south gate.
The sinners wanted to seize the city gate, and the virtuous people also knew that the city gate was of utmost importance. Once it was taken by the other side, the enemies outside would immediately swarm in. So, one by one, they desperately defended the city gate.
By the way, this world also has armor, but it is rarely equipped. Generally, it is worn by the children of virtuous noble families during martial arts competitions for protection. Karen has seen armor before.
However, ordinary soldiers do not wear armor, because the power in this world is the extraordinary power of merit and sin, similar to magic attacks. Even the thickest armor is like paper in the face of extraordinary power. Wearing it would only affect movement.