The southern border pass had fallen.
Benson Laydon and Pierre Calder stood atop the city gates, their faces etched with worry. Pierre Calder in particular looked even more distressed than before. He had already been rattled by Kisia Primus, and now his anxiety deepened.
Previously, they had held the advantage. But now, they were defeated. General Myers was dead too.
“I would never have imagined that the so-called large army at this southern border pass was actually Maclean Lyons of St. Sunday. He was far too bold, taking his men out of the city and leaving St. Sunday completely undefended. With just a thousand men, St. Sunday could be stormed easily. He really dared to gamble that our orders were to defend the city rather than march out to engage the enemy directly. If we had marched out to face them, we would have won handily,” Pierre Calder sighed.
But the orders from above were for them to defend the southern border pass to the death.
“We lost this battle badly. This Kisia Primus also dared to gamble, pulling troops from the eastern and northern borders here. Isn’t he afraid those borders will be attacked with their forces depleted?” Benson Laydon said coldly.
“As long as we can hold this southern border pass, Lord Whiteford will surely contact those other countries to attack the eastern and northern borders. That will force their withdrawal, and we can at least preserve South Land. As for any attempts to attack us here, humph, the Kisia army also suffered heavy casualties in this fight, probably over a hundred thousand men. They wouldn’t dare attack a city with just ten thousand, would they? Naive.”
In his view, their only option now was to defend this southern border pass. If they held it, anything was possible.
But just then, Pierre Calder suddenly tugged at Benson Laydon’s sleeve and pointed ahead. “I’m afraid they just might dare.”
“Hm?” Benson Laydon looked forward and saw rows of dark silhouettes approaching. At first he thought it was the Kisia army, but as they drew nearer he realized it was the army of South Land.
The banners marked them as the Punishment Legion. Their numbers were massive, nearly a hundred thousand strong.
At the front was Aguda, riding on horseback waving a spiked mace. He looked up at Pierre Calder on the city walls and roared, “Pierre Calder! Today I will have your life!”
“Aguda, you are of South Land. Why help the Kisia against your own people? Return to South Land, and let us put the past behind us,” Benson Laydon called down from the walls.
“Why help them? Hah! It’s not that I don’t want to return, it’s that you won’t let me! Fine, we are willing to return to South Land. Open the gates and let us in,” Aguda sneered loudly.
Benson Laydon frowned at this. Opening the gates would be letting a pack of wolves inside. He was not so foolish. “Aguda, have your forces camp five hundred meters from the city gates. Hold off the Kisia army, and we will put the past behind us. You can return to South Land as heroes. What say you?”
“What say I? Hah!” Aguda laughed loudly, turning to look at the Punishment Legion soldiers. “Brothers, you heard them. Our former commanders want us to stand alone against the Kisia army on open ground without defenses or terrain advantage, using us as cannon fodder. They still don’t trust us and want us to die.”
“I wanted to return to South Land too, but what did they do? Killed my brother, killed so many of my brothers. My brother, who swore to serve his country, died by his own people’s hands. Unjust! It was because of them.”
“Now we have no way back. Have you forgotten the rules of the Punishment Legion? Every man who joins has killed at least one countryman from South Land. That rule has already spread back to South Land. They will not accept us back. What should we do then? We will become beasts who live only for ourselves, killing madly.”
“Slaughtering our way through the southern border pass means women, power, wealth – everything will be ours!”
“From today onward, we are no longer of South Land, but the Punishment Legion! Punishment Legion, follow me in slaughter!”
With Aguda at the head, the Punishment Legion behind him also stirred, their eyes filling with lust and bloodthirst. Yes, they had no way back now.
The rules of the Punishment Legion had already spread. They could only move forward, slaughtering.
“Damn, we underestimated this Aguda,” Benson Laydon’s expression changed.
He had never imagined a former lowly soldier could inspire and lead nearly a hundred thousand men of the Punishment Legion with just a few words, giving off an earthshaking aura. Just yesterday, these were still loyal South Land soldiers.
One had to admit, the Punishment Legion was effective at brainwashing. People tended to follow the crowd. Even loyal men would eventually break when facing the betrayal of so many comrades. Those few who resisted were made examples of with the Legion’s rituals, killed by their own.
“Defend the city!” Benson Laydon hurriedly ordered.
He had arrayed his defending forces expecting the depleted Kisia army, believing he could hold them off. Holding the city meant a chance. But now he faced South Land soldiers, even some he had recently commanded. Familiar faces.
“Aguda, I will give you my head if you go back now and hold off the Kisia army. What say you?” Pierre Calder shouted.
Everyone was shocked.
“Too late,” Aguda’s eyes flashed viciously as he swung his spiked mace. “Follow me in slaughter! Kill these rotten hypocrites of South Land! From today we live only for ourselves. We are not of South Land, we are beasts!”
“Yes!” The Punishment Legion erupted with tremendous battle lust.
The South Land soldiers atop the walls gritted their teeth, reluctant to attack their own. Some looked down at familiar brothers they had shed blood with not long ago.
“They are no longer our own, they are traitors! Kill them!” Benson Laydon shouted anxiously upon seeing this.
But the Punishment Legion had already stormed the walls, a hundred thousand mad beasts against a hundred thousand hesitant men. Even Benson Laydon’s yelling could not sway them now.
It was too late. After three hours of frenzied assault, the southern border pass fell. The Punishment Legion slaughtered with crazed eyes, knowing each South Land soldier’s head meant a fortune in reward.
Under the slaughter, more and more South Land soldiers surrendered. The southern border pass had fallen.
The first step into South Land had begun.