Chapter 95: One Man Against an Army
Tyrosh, Purple Palace, Right Passage of the Gate Control Room
"Swish, swish, swish..."
Under Jon's rapid-fire longbow attacks, the distant soldiers were struck as though hit by massive scorpion bolts.
Some were pinned directly to the walls by the arrows, while others were pierced clean through—two men skewered by a single shaft. It could be said that almost none of the fleeing soldiers managed to escape Jon's precise sniping.
As Jon lowered the massive longbow, Dark Sister once again appeared in his hand. The iron bow that had previously been attached to Dark Sister had already been completely drained of its durability.
Since the power of magic had been significantly weakened, the system had compensated Jon by granting him the ability to attach ranged weapons.
After attaching equipment such as an iron bow to Dark Sister, the system could temporarily transform the blade into a longbow form for ranged combat.
"Hiss, hiss, hiss..."
After Jon switched his weapon back, the hissing of the Giant Poison Spiders echoed from the chamber behind him, following their brutal assault on this defensive checkpoint of the Purple Palace.
Jon had deliberately stationed those Giant Poison Spiders there to block any incoming reinforcements. Judging by the sounds, the enemy's support forces had already arrived.
Taking advantage of the dim twilight, Jon had thoroughly disoriented the Tyroshi soldiers guarding the Outer Fort. As rumors spread, fear gripped their ranks, leaving them too terrified to confront him directly.
Seizing this opportunity, Jon advanced straight toward the gate control room.
Although he had already created several breaches in the watchtowers of the Outer Fort, those openings alone were insufficient for the external forces to storm the Purple Palace.
Jon had only managed to penetrate the defenses by relying on his overwhelming strength as a Dragonlord, along with the terrifying durability and lethality of his Giant Poison Spiders.
At present, Jon and his spiders were effectively acting as a small raiding force conducting a night assault.
Once the enemy fully reacted—or if a capable commander identified the situation—
He would be swallowed by an endless sea of soldiers.
At that point, no matter how powerful he was, once his stamina was exhausted—
Death would be inevitable.
Although Jon possessed the ability to transform into a dragon, such a form was useless in confined spaces.
During the , many dragons of had died tragically at the hands of the people of , precisely because they were unable to maneuver within the cramped structure of the Dragonpit.
After ordering the Giant Poison Spiders to hold their position at all costs, Jon quickly rushed toward the gate control room.
As he advanced, a strange skull-topped staff appeared in his hand.
"Crack... crack..."
As Jon chanted a string of obscure and incomprehensible incantations, the Tyroshi soldiers he had just killed began to stir.
Corpses lying at his feet rose once more.
Even those pinned to the walls twisted violently as they forced themselves free.
The sight was horrifying.
Flesh and bone warped grotesquely under the influence of the magic stone's power.
Though their height had slightly decreased, their muscles had bulged unnaturally, while bones protruded outward, forming jagged claws.
Looking at the nine undead gathered before him, Jon nodded in satisfaction.
These zombies moved entirely according to his will.
Moreover, their immense strength made them ideal for operating heavy mechanisms—such as the massive capstan controlling the gate.
After all—
The steel gates of the Purple Palace could not be opened by a single man.
Under Jon's command, the zombies shuffled into the control room.
Inside, Jon saw an intricate assembly of mechanical gears and rotating components.
Though the Maesters and Alchemists of this world were somewhat primitive in their theoretical understanding, their achievements in mechanical engineering had reached the pinnacle of this era.
Various hidden mechanisms and war devices had been developed by these scholars.
Though the device before him appeared complex—
The Valyrian glyphs carved upon it made its function clear.
Turning the capstan clockwise—
Would open the steel gates of the Purple Palace.
"Roar..."
Under Jon's mental command, the zombies emitted low growls and shuffled toward the massive capstan.
They began pushing.
Slowly.
Relentlessly.
Even with nine undead straining with all their might, the capstan only moved inch by inch.
The sheer resistance of the mechanism was staggering.
No wonder the gates were only opened once a year during the "Three-Faced God Festival."
If operated daily—
It would drive any man to madness.
However, this also meant increasing pressure on Jon.
Because at that very moment—
He had already sensed casualties among the Giant Poison Spiders.
The enemy had begun to understand his plan.
They were preparing a counterattack.
Without hesitation, Jon ordered the zombies to continue their work while he himself took up Dark Sister and rushed back toward the checkpoint.
The checkpoint was a gatehouse-style structure located at the end of the defensive tunnel, with a portcullis positioned below it.
The only access point was a narrow staircase on the right.
This staircase was just wide enough for a carriage and had been constructed in a V-shaped design.
It existed for one purpose—
To allow defenders to hold the position even if the outer defenses were breached.
The checkpoint consisted of three levels:
The first floor served as an observation and guard station
The second floor was used as a resting area for soldiers
The third floor stored supplies such as weapons and wildfire
Taking advantage of the chaos, Jon had led the Giant Poison Spiders directly to the third-floor storage.
After mixing sulfur with wildfire and igniting it, he threw it into the second-floor lounge.
The spiders blocked the exits—
While Jon descended alone.
His sudden appearance threw the defenders into chaos.
The soldiers on the second floor either suffocated from the toxic fumes or leapt to their deaths.
Those who survived—
Were slaughtered by the Giant Poison Spiders guarding the exits.
By the time Jon returned, the Tyroshi army had already begun advancing through the right passage.
Of the original six spiders—
Only four remained.
Without Jon's direct control, they could only rely on instinct.
Lured by the enemy, they had abandoned their fortified position and moved into the passage to engage the approaching forces.
The Tyroshi soldiers had grown desperate.
They launched relentless assaults on the checkpoint.
Looking out through the observation slit, Jon saw nothing but a dense mass of soldiers.
Under the illumination of torches and whale-oil lamps, the entire area was as bright as day.
At the center stood Saeraes Moss, loudly commanding his troops.
"You can all see now! Those aren't man-eating monsters—just tricks of a sorcerer!"
"Charge forward! Kill them! Kill that sorcerer—and victory will be ours!"
"My lord, watch out!"
At that moment—
A fletched arrow shot toward him at incredible speed.
A red-haired knight stepped forward instantly.
With a powerful swing of his spear—
He deflected the arrow.
"Lord Saeraes!"
With the intervention of this knight, Jon's assassination attempt failed.
Immediately—
Soldiers surged forward from all directions.
"Huff... huff... Seth, thank you."
"You truly live up to your title—the 'Red Lion' among sellsword knights!"
Having narrowly escaped death, Saeraes Moss steadied himself with the help of his men and praised the red-haired warrior.
This powerful fighter had been recruited by Magister Tansen Domirang.
Due to his strength, he had been assigned as Saeraes Moss's personal guard.
"Eh? This man's strength is quite impressive... interesting."
"System-class detected..."
"Due to unknown factors, this unit will be classified as a red-name hostile entity."
At that moment, the long-silent system voice echoed once more in Jon's mind.
Within the system's classification:
Blue represented friendly units
Green represented neutral or allied forces
Red represented enemies
Most class users in this world originated from Jon's system, so they were typically marked as blue.
This—
Was the first time Jon had encountered a red-name unit.
The system itself seemed confused, issuing an "unknown" classification.
Sometimes, Jon found the system frustrating.
It lacked intelligence.
It could not communicate.
And it frequently produced errors.
In his view, this was simply another system glitch—
Throwing an enemy class-holder into his path.
The only question was—
Whether this power had any connection to the gods of this world.
The last entity he encountered—
The —
Had not been particularly powerful.
Its influence extended only over a single city.
"Sigh…"
"I wonder… if killing this one will drop any equipment?"
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