After holding out in Tucheng for half a month, the human alliance, with the support of strong reinforcements from various tribes, finally turned the situation around and crushed the angel-demon coalition.
Archangel Andre was captured alive, and the four great demon kings were severely injured, with only the Pit Demon King managing to escape.
The three centaur commanders were killed in action, and two of the monster kings were pursued and beheaded by human warriors after fleeing ten kilometers. Numerous captives were taken from the human rebel army, including the demon-slaying sword Lotte, Prince Vincent, Holy Lance Knight Holly, and Holy Pupil Salirwen, with only Cardinal Saint Durie managing to escape.
The Pope's secret subordinate, Saint Law Adleman, who was left to guard Saint Song Fortress, rebelled during the battle, destroying the teleportation gate of the fortress.
After the battle, the angel-demon coalition, having suffered heavy losses, was filled with wails of despair...
In terms of numbers, the winged tribe, demon tribe, centaurs, and human rebels were not entirely at a disadvantage. When they retreated to Saint Song, they still numbered over four hundred thousand. Rody did not immediately command the army to siege the city but pursued and annihilated the scattered monsters and centaur regiments. All forces attempting to flee the battlefield were chased down and slain, with none surviving. Within half a day, the human and orc alliance had exterminated all resisting survivors and stationed their army at the base of Saint Song City, ready to attack.
The human and orc camps even lacked any defensive measures, clearly determined to conquer Saint Song.
The demoralized angel coalition, seeing the human and orc armies approaching like a tide from below the city, despite being protected by the 'Iron Fortress' of Saint Song, couldn't help but feel terrified and dared not launch a sneak attack.
Rody took over as the Grand Marshal of the allied forces and announced that the army would rest and attack the city the next day.
Archangel Fedanab immediately sought reinforcements from heaven. Finally, after sacrificing thousands of slaves, a golden-winged Seraph and two silver-winged Seraphs descended, but their arrival did little to reverse the deteriorating situation. In terms of command capabilities, Andre was the best choice, but he was now Rody's prisoner. The Seraphs, though powerful and saintly-tier fighters, were not omnipotent with their great strength.
The golden-winged Seraph Binnes flew around the front of the human allied forces but, under the watchful eyes of Rody and other powerful figures like King Lionheart, reluctantly retreated.
Despite being a powerful being above the saintly tier, known for their sacred and invincible might, if he dared to descend, he would inevitably be encircled and captured by Rody and King Lionheart. Decapitation strategies only work in situations of extreme disparity in strength. Today's Rody was no longer the young sergeant who could be easily pierced through the heart by a human assassin.
Saint Song Fortress had never been breached since the day it was built.
Neither orcs nor demons had ever managed to plant their flags on the highest point of this city. Today, humanity's proudest and most formidable natural barrier had become a shelter for the enemy, and the one leading the attack was the human miracle boy, Rody, making it somewhat ironic.
"Support Rody, long live Rody..." Seeing the victory in front, people from various countries cheered and celebrated.
"We don't lack a sturdy fortress. What truly protects us is not the cold city walls but the hope in our hearts, and the hope fortress built by the blood and lives of warriors!" The Dennis Free Alliance not only supported Rody's aggressive attack on Saint Song but also suggested a two-pronged attack from Kast Fortress, to cut off the angel-demon coalition's retreat.
"Let Saint Song become the graveyard of the enemy; there couldn't be a more fitting place!" The people of Camalon were the most jubilant, celebrating all night with singing and dancing.
"Although I'm a layman in warfare, according to some experts, a strong attack on Saint Song would require at least three months or even longer. This is going to be a long siege and attrition war. It seems Rody will need our continuous support," the magical newspaper of the Norn Empire expressed some concerns about the consumption of a prolonged war.
"Don't talk about three months, even three years, we must fight," declared the Mille Council through the magical newspaper, expressing their unwavering support.
Everyone speculated that this siege would be a long and arduous battle.
Even though the Angel-Demon Coalition, protected by the Sanctuary Fortress, was at a disadvantage, they effectively halted the advance of the Human Alliance. Once they received substantial reinforcements, even Rody's strong command could only result in a stalemate. Of course, everyone had a firm belief in victory; Rody had managed to turn the tide in difficult times before, and it was believed that no matter how strong the Sanctuary Fortress was, it couldn't stop him.
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The question was, how long could Sanctuary delay Rody, and how long would it take for the Human Alliance to conquer the Angel-Demon Coalition and achieve final victory?
No one could say for sure, as siege warfare is entirely different from open field battles.
With strong fortifications, ten thousand soldiers could fend off an army ten times their size. Unless every life inside was exhausted, the fortress would not fall, especially with a powerful figure overseeing the defense.
Conventional siege methods like digging tunnels, poisoning well water, scaling walls, and using siege weapons were impossible against Sanctuary.
Strategies like assassinating the commander, disrupting morale, inciting rebellion, bribing insiders, and coordinating from within to open the gates were also not feasible at Sanctuary. Firstly, since Sanctuary was entirely occupied by enemy forces, tactics like incitement and bribery were out of the question. The commander was a Gold Wing Seraph, making assassination impossible. As for opening the gates from inside, that was even more unlikely.
Sanctuary had six heavy steel doors, each separated by dozens of meters, requiring a hundred people to operate the winch.
The moat outside was wide and deep, and the bridge leading to the drawbridge was steeply raised, forcing anyone trying to enter to first come under the aim of archers and heavy crossbowmen atop the walls. Once the drawbridge was raised, attacking Sanctuary across the moat would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.
The easily defended, hard-to-attack Sanctuary was originally the human's most confident 'Iron Fortress.'
People believed that Rody could lead an army to conquer it, but no one could say for certain how long it would take. If it were someone else, they wouldn't have any confidence, but this miraculous boy was sure to surprise everyone, as too many miracles had happened around him. The small Tucheng was built overnight and held for half a month, so naturally, the Sanctuary Fortress couldn't stop Rody.
For the Human Alliance, conquering Sanctuary was just a matter of time.
"Lionheart King, how long do you think it will take for you to take down this huge city?" asked the Lionheart King, accompanying Rody on a scouting mission.
"Lionheart King, what about you?" Rody replied with a smile, and Chris asked on his behalf.
"Hard to say, maybe a month, maybe ten days, it depends on what kind of defense the Seraphs inside use…" Lionheart King paused slightly, then said, "Rody, you seem very confident. Don't tell me you can take down this iron fortress within three days?"
"By this time tomorrow, you will be able to stand there and express your amazement!" Rody said with a light laugh, pointing to the highest main tower of the Sanctuary Fortress.
"You... I don't want to talk about war with you anymore, it hurts my pride too much," Lionheart King said, staring at Rody in disbelief for a long time before finally realizing he hadn't heard wrong, and sighed, "I dare say, you were born for war. My goodness, even if this Sanctuary was a paper castle, conquering it in one day would be too incredible!"
"One day? No, half a day is enough," Rody turned to Empress Mille, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, I would like to borrow your magician corps."
"Earlier, you always refused my offer to send the magician corps to support you. I knew you must be saving them for a more important moment. It turns out you had thought of today's siege half a month ago," Empress Mille was not surprised at whatever Rody said or did; in her heart, this boy was capable of anything.
Humans successfully allied with the orcs, forging a thousand-year peace pact.
On the same day, the miraculous boy Rody, surrounded by hundreds of thousands of powerful enemies, reversed the situation in battle. After the arrival of reinforcements, he defeated the enemy, capturing the enemy commander, the Archangel Andre, taking prisoner three Great Demon Lords, severely wounding one, killing three Centaur Commanders on the spot, pursuing and beheading two Monster Kings, and killing or capturing countless enemies. This marked the most glorious victory in human history against foreign races.
When the beautiful night arrived, everyone in the world celebrated with drinks, toasting to the victory of mankind.
People from countless towns gathered, singing and dancing all night long, with everyone intoxicated until they collapsed from exhaustion and fell into a deep sleep.
The long-standing tension finally eased, and the miraculous boy Rody had finally turned the tide and achieved a great victory. People saw the human alliance encircling Sanctuary like an iron barrel. Although they did not know when it would fall, the final victory was destined to be theirs, as humans had the most proud and honorable star of hope, the miraculous boy Rody.
The next afternoon, many people woke up from their deep sleep at dusk.
They held their aching heads, drank some cold water at home, and prepared to go to the central square for a second celebration, but soon, they were stunned by earth-shattering news...
"People of all nations, let us now salute the greatest commander in history with our devout and worshipful hearts, our dearest and wisest miraculous boy Rody. He has led the human alliance to conquer the Sanctuary Fortress. Due to magical signals being disrupted by magical ripples from the battle for half a day, we couldn't know the process of the battle, but that's no longer important! We only need to cheer for victory, to shout crazily, to shout in unison to the miraculous boy Rody, showing our respect! Ah, the magical signal from the front line is back, dear friends, the miraculous boy Rody is now leading his righteous army into Sanctuary, let's cheer for him! Hooray!"
Through the trembling voice of the mage broadcasting the magical images, people listened in stunned silence to an impossible reality.
Then, the magical screen flickered with images.
The massive Sanctuary Fortress, with thick smoke billowing behind it, twisting straight into the sky. At the highest point of the main tower, the blood-red flag of the human alliance had already replaced the old one. Countless human soldiers on the broken walls were shouting ecstatically, like waves crashing against the shore, one after another.
Below Sanctuary, standing atop the head of a Scythe Demon Eye Mantis, the miraculous boy Rody waved to his soldiers.
Behind him, tens of thousands of soldiers saluted him in unison.
Even the orc warriors bowed to him in respect.
The huge Holy Silver Cross, with chains binding a severely wounded and unconscious Silver Wing Seraph... Suddenly, Rody jumped down and walked towards his mother. Kneeling like a knight, he said, "I want to dedicate this victory to you, my mother! And also to all the people who supported me, all the soldiers, those alive and those heroes who died in battle for me..."
"I am proud of you, my son, my treasure!" Rody's mother joyfully pulled her heart and soul into her arms, kissing his forehead.
"Soldiers, let's dedicate this victory to all soldiers who sacrificed themselves to protect the world of mankind, of any race, they are the heroes we will always remember. Prepare, salute!" Chris led, and all soldiers raised their arms, saluting solemnly, while magical cannons aimed at the sky, firing in unison.
"Long live... Long live Rody!" Countless people in the rear, at this moment, were already overwhelmed with tears of excitement.
No matter how people speculated or estimated, they would, in hindsight, feel ashamed to realize that they had still underestimated the miraculous boy Rody, that they hadn't placed enough trust in him.
A young man who can perpetually continue victory, he is never arrogant or complacent, never putting honor first for himself.
He is the strongest, wisest, most perfect deity in the world, but he is also the closest, most heartfelt star of hope for the people. No matter how many times people betray him, he always trusts everyone, bringing hope to the world. He never asks for any reward, nor does he have desires for money or power that normal humans would have.
In history, there has never been a commander who, after victory, first thought of the soldiers who died in battle.
There has never been a commander who, after victory, would think of the people who supported him from behind.
Only this perfect young man, like a family member to everyone, never stood high above, imposing kingly authority, distant from the world. He is like everyone's son, always standing in the midst of everyone, and only stepping forward first in times of dire need in the world, leading his companions with victory after victory, comforting everyone's hearts.
"We are proud of you too, Rody, you belong to us, forever! You are, our eternal hope..." The commentator magician choked on his tears and couldn't continue, but people had already erupted in the same shouts, over and over again.
"Our Rody!"
"Our hope..."