All the guests stood up, the sound of the cannon was so close that the eardrums of the dignitaries in the banquet hall buzzed. The butler holding the clarinet shook his hand, and the sound of the clarinet was instantly out of tune, sharp and shrill, which became some kind of ominous signal.
Immediately following the roar of the second artillery, the official residence, which is used as the Queen's temporary residence, combines the architectural styles of the sea of heaven and the commercial cities along the Red Sea. It is not built on high ground like traditional megalithic castles, nor does it have traditional Thick walls. It only takes one or two cannons to blast open the main entrance of the mansion. The roar of the bronze cannon was particularly ear-piercing under the silent night sky. The stained glass on the façade of the hall was shattered by the cannon fire and fell from the lead strips of the window lattice. Pieces of colored glass fell like a special carnival rainstorm.
"Protect Your Majesty."
In the chaos, someone yelled, and the crowd became commotion in an instant.
The nobles drew their swords and gathered towards the queen in panic.
The queen immediately looked in the direction of the voice, but the crowd moved too fast, and the speaker disappeared into the crowd immediately after shouting.
"His Majesty."
Archbishop Rodri jumped up almost as soon as the gunfire sounded, and came to the Queen, and Prince Arthur protected the Queen from left to right. He also heard the cry, and called to the queen in a low and urgent voice.
The queen shook her head slightly, raised her arm, and made a short gesture.
The attendants at the banquet—almost no one had paid attention to these ordinary attendants before—immediately tore off the white cotton cloth covering the long table, and pulled out well-hidden long swords from under the tray. After holding their weapons, they quickly swarmed over to protect the queen and some important figures.
Seeing this scene, the panicked guests calmed down a little. Clearly, the queen was not ignorant of the upheaval.
She also prepared ahead of time.
After calming down, the people attending the banquet soon had their own plans. They followed the guidance of the attendants and began to withdraw from the narrow hall, while guessing who planned the raid.
The cannonballs that shot across the sky like meteors hit the west facade of the official residence they had just evacuated. Compared with classical buildings, the walls that paid more attention to the vertical and ethereal aesthetics, together with the large rose windows, finally shattered. A few unlucky ghosts were hit by stones and their brains were splashed. The road directly in front of the mansion was within the threat range of enemy artillery fire, and they could not leave through the passage of the hall. The crowd could only follow the queen through the corridor and retreat into the spacious courtyard.
Accompanied by a few slight whizzing sounds, more than a dozen ignited arrows shot out from the opposite darkness and fell into the deserted courtyard in winter. The dry bushes burned quickly, forcing everyone to retreat to the narrow corridor.
In the flames, the intruders who broke through the gate of the mansion were printed.
The leader is wearing steel armor that glows in the firelight. The gilt breastplate is engraved with the coat of arms of a two-headed snake, and emeralds are inlaid in the position of the snake's eyes.
Sir Avaro, an important figure of the Heinrich family.
As soon as there was a pause, people made noises and turned to look at Heinrich in the crowd.
The flickering firelight illuminated Heinrich's face, which was as cold as a piece of hard iron.
Like most of the nobles, he drew his sword to defend the Queen, but Archbishop Rodri and Prince Arthur faintly separated him from the Queen. Now, the others backed away from Heinrich. Soon, a small clearing appeared around Heinrich.
Heinrich didn't care about the others, his eyes turned to the queen.
The queen was surrounded by Archbishop Rodriguez, Prince Arthur and others. Her face was illuminated by fire just like the night of the mutiny, and her silver hair was disheveled by the sea breeze. She stared indifferently at the enemy in front of her, and Avaro must have been disappointed, because she was not only free from fear but also panic.
"Ladies and gentlemen-"
Sir Avaro raised the crossbow with sharp arrows in his hand, and the arrow reflecting the cold light pointed at the queen in the crowd.
"I'm here to correct July's mistakes!"
After his words fell, among the guests—Master Nuo, Master Loman, Master Pahes... a group of vassal family leaders of the Double-headed Snake family suddenly turned their blades and slashed at the other people who hadn't reacted yet. go.
When Heinrich decided to support the Queen in passing the "Port Regulations" and "Navigation Regulations", the split within the Two-Headed Serpent family was completely exposed today.
The crowd, which had barely maintained order, suddenly became chaotic in this sudden turn-on-and-shoot fight. Bold people want to seize this opportunity to seek the possibility of promotion, and draw their swords to meet the rebels who are trying to get closer to the queen.
"Are you going to accompany a woman to the funeral, or do you want to regain the honor and power of the family!" Sir Avaro's voice was high and sharp, "In half an hour, the fleet in Rose Strait will be replaced with a brand new flag!"
While speaking, he pointed in the direction of the port, and saw under the night, a light of fire rushed into the sky in the distance. Many people in the crowd who are more familiar with Ornan Port changed their faces accordingly.
The direction where the flames ignited was the observation tower of the port and the wharf where the navy was moored. Vaguely, there were continuous dull cannon shots coming from there.
Some of the knights standing beside Sir Avaro wore the coat of arms of the Confranc family, the oldest in the port. Their existence silently proved Sir Avaro's words that the navy of Rose Strait had betrayed.
"Since Charlemagne I, the port has been entrusted to the jurisdiction of the major families. This is your last chance to choose—" Sir Avaro observed the changes in people's expressions, and shouted sharply.
The knights behind him suddenly dispersed, and a row of ballistas was pushed up in the flames. Just like the bronze cannons used to blast open the gate of the mansion, these ballistas were supposed to be placed on the port fort, but at this time, they were dismantled by Sir Avaro through the cooperation of the Naval Committee and transported here.
These heavy crossbows can nail a person to a tree hundreds of meters away, and can penetrate thick city gates at close range. There is no knight who can resist them with armor and shields. Before the accuracy and lethality of muskets have improved, even thermal weapons need to be temporarily stepped aside in front of them.
The originally enthusiastic people could not help but lose the courage to resist in front of the ballista that attacked the city and destroyed the enemy. The noble ladies screamed and retreated towards the hall, completely ignoring that the hall was crumbling under the bombardment just now. The crowd scattered in all directions, looking for shelter from the crossbow bolts.
Some people simply joined the team of Patriarch Uerno and others, fighting with other people who chose to support the Queen. After a moment of hesitation, some people exited the corridor, walked through the burning flames, and stood near Sir Avaro.
The face of the Avery Consul, who had never seen fear, changed at this time.
He stared in horror at the ballista Sir Alvaro had brought. According to the original plan, Sir Avaro only needs to blow up the frontal defense of the mansion, and leave the rest to the free commercial city. But now, Sir Avaro had them among his targets.
The adjutant of the negotiating team touched the Consul of Avery lightly, meaning what to do now.
The Consul of Avery had a gloomy face, glanced back and forth between Sir Avaro and the queen, then shook his head slightly at the members of the negotiating team he was leading, signaling them not to act rashly for the time being. Several inconspicuous envoys in the negotiating team who looked like ordinary commanders slowly loosened their tensed fingers.
"Yage also wants to intervene."
After some undecided people made their choices in front of the ballista, the queen said.
In the firelight, those rose-like eyes were calm and deep, like a bottomless red sea. The tumbling flames fell into the eyes, only turning into the shimmering light and shadow on the sea where it is hard to see the true meaning.
Archbishop Rodri beside the female dynasty nodded lightly.
Archbishop Rodri blew an iron whistle, and the sharp whistle pierced the sky.
When the whistle sounded, Sir Avaro felt vague anxiety. He no longer waited for new members to join the conspiracy, and immediately waved to the soldiers behind the ballista. Seeing this scene, those who fought with the rebel party could not help but break out in cold sweat. Soldiers turned the capstan, and the spring steel was pulled away. When it was about to collapse, the soldier turning the winch suddenly screamed, covered his face and fell to the ground.
clank-
There were several sounds of steel cracking that irritated the eardrums, and the bowstring of the heavy crossbow broke at the moment it was about to become tense.
The bowstring made of fine steel jumped into the air at the moment it snapped, and slammed heavily on the face of the person who turned the turntable. The sudden burst of force almost cut the face in half.
Sir Avaro looked at this batch of heavy crossbows in astonishment. Before he could understand what was going on, the sound of horseshoes came from behind.
A cavalryman rushed out through the smoke and dust, splitting the darkness.
The flames that rolled up into the sky like snakes illuminated their cold and stern faces, and also illuminated the muskets they held in their hands. The one at the front was a knight in a cloak, his black hair was a bit disheveled by the wind.
Flames shot out from the knight's muzzle, and the projectile pierced through the air and swept towards Sir Avaro and the others who were unprepared behind them.
The war horses staggered and galloped back and forth.
This cavalry is not only an excellent equestrian cavalry, but also a superb musketeer. They were divided into several groups with astonishing discipline, and in the process of running back and forth, they alternately fired at the people led by Sir Avaro and the nobles who had just made a wrong choice, and the projectiles pierced the air and intertwined into a net.
Puffs of blood flew into the air, and the strong smell of gunpowder, blood and burnt human flesh mixed together, stimulating people's sense of smell and stomach.
Sir Avaro's reaction was the fastest. When he saw the black-haired knight in the front rushing out of the dark night, he turned over without hesitation, rolled to the ground, and then quickly rolled onto the ballista. Finally, with the help of the ballista, most of the bullets that came from the fire were blocked.
In an instant, a large area of reddish-brown blood spread on the ground, and the corpses of the people brought by Sir Avaro and other nobles who exited the corridor fell to the ground in disorder.
The merciless killing made the back of those who had wavered and hesitated just now break out in cold sweat. With pale faces, they looked at each other, watching the bloody cavalry stop and rein in their horses, standing neatly in the smoke and dust from being trampled.
Da da.
Only one cavalry rode forward, walked up to a rollover ballista, and quickly turned over from the saddle.
Sir Avaro was just struggling, but his hand that was about to raise the crossbow was stepped on by his foot. The muzzle of the black-haired cavalry's flintlock rested on Sir Avaro's right shoulder, and he pulled the trigger.
In the howling of Jazz who was hardly human, the knight easily dragged him out from under the ballista and walked towards the queen standing under the corridor. The crowd suddenly fell silent, and people exchanged glances, suppressing their astonishment—Robert Dalton, who was supposed to be in charge of security during the Queen's engagement ceremony in the north at this time.
Dalton's eyes only fell on the queen.
The female dynasty nodded his head.
He smiled, threw the dying Sir Avaro to the ground, and bowed to the Queen.
"Good evening," he said, "my lord."