The Shining Star Above The Heaven-Chapter 398: Attacking While She Is Absent

Looking at the thousands of troops marching toward them, the soldiers of Weilmar City stood in position, ready for battle. However, they soon realized something was wrong. Some posts were empty, and when they searched for their missing comrades, they discovered that many had already been killed!

That could only mean one thing—there were assassins among them, and one of them had sent the signal with green smoke to alert the enemy to attack.

The highest-ranking commander in the city at the moment was the commander of the city’s guardians, a High King-stage expert. Right now, his expression had turned grim—the enemy had chosen the perfect time to attack.

Baroness Weilmar’s departure to Caritas was known only to him and a few others to avoid alerting enemies outside the walls. They had kept it a secret because if the enemy discovered that Baroness Weilmar was gone, they would undoubtedly launch an attack.

This could only mean one thing—either there was a spy among them, or someone had betrayed them.

He did not have time to think about that now. The most important thing was to call the Baroness back to defend the city. He looked at the incoming army, gritted his teeth, and turned behind him.

"Why hasn’t the city barrier activated?! What is the city formation operator doing?!" he roared.

A soldier ran up to him and reported urgently, "Commander, bad news! Our city formation operators are dead! Someone assassinated them!"

The commander widened his eyes, but he quickly forced himself to think of a solution. They had been completely caught off guard by the assassinations of key personnel, leaving them vulnerable.

"Find anyone who understands formations and have them activate it! I don’t care how you do it—ask the civilians if necessary! Now go!" he finally ordered.

"Yes, sir!" The soldier ran back to carry out his command.

The commander turned his gaze back to the approaching army. Above the massive advancing troops, several figures hovered in the air. There were eight of them—one at the Low Emperor stage and seven at the King stage. They were the higher-ups of the Second Prince’s army, tasked with leading the attack on Weilmar City.

Sweat rolled down the forehead of the city’s guardian commander as he looked at the enemy lineup. Without the Baroness, they were nothing more than lambs waiting to be slaughtered—especially with the presence of an Emperor-stage cultivator.

Baroness Weilmar was a genius who could fight across levels, even holding her own against a Low Emperor-stage cultivator, something truly remarkable.

Combined with the city barrier, which could withstand attacks from a Middle Emperor-stage cultivator, Weilmar City had managed to hold off the Second Prince’s forces until now. However, maintaining the barrier continuously drained their resources, weakening them over time.

The leader of the enemy troops was a red-haired man with a burly build and short hair. His powerful, sturdy frame alone made for an intimidating sight, and his fierce aura made others hesitate to approach him. His Low Emperor-stage presence radiated outward, like a declaration of their arrival, an attempt to strike fear into the city’s defenders.

"Su Long! You will die today! There is no hope left, stop your futile struggle and accept your fate!" he roared at the commander of the city guardians. He and his troops continued advancing, now drawing close to the city walls.

Su Long, the city guardian, looked at the man before him and soared into the sky.

"We will not surrender! Vasco! You will regret your decision to attack this city, and you will pay dearly for it!"

Vasco, the commander of the Second Prince’s forces, sneered, already knowing what they were waiting for. According to their spy inside the city, the baroness had gone to Caritas to seek help from the one who had taken control of the city from their faction.

To him, that was a foolish decision. He doubted that the man who had recklessly challenged the Second Prince could even defend himself, let alone help others.

He had already received news that the forces sent to reclaim Caritas were incredibly formidable, and he thought it was too much of an exaggeration just to take back a single city. How could it not be, when they had even sent four flying fortresses? It was nothing more than a blatant display of power.

With such a powerful force, he doubted that even that unknown figure could escape Caritas alive, let alone provide any help to this city. This was the perfect chance to strike—after the baroness’s departure and the spy’s successful assassination of key figures in Weilmar City, they would sweep through both Weilmar and Caritas effortlessly.

Then, at last, the war in this region would end. He could already imagine the great rewards he would receive from the Second Prince, who now claimed the throne as emperor.

He looked behind him and gave the order.

"Fire the cannons! Destroy those walls!"

From behind the lines of troops, 50 cylindrical cannons, engraved with runes, roared as they fired. A deafening blast echoed through the battlefield as they launched their projectiles, which were massive cannonballs imbued with explosive powder and reinforced with energy through the runes within the barrels.

These artifacts were essential in siege warfare, as they were effective in breaking through city walls. However, their effectiveness still depended on the quality of the city’s defensive barrier. If the protective formation was of a high level, like the one shielding this city, the cannons would only weaken its durability or drain the enemy’s resources rather than cause significant damage.

But if the city walls lacked protection from the barrier, then breaking through would be an easy task.

"All soldiers, brace for impact! All King-stage cultivators, raise your defensive techniques!" the city guardian commander shouted before using his own technique to shield his sector from the incoming projectiles.

Earth Barrier!

Suddenly, another wall of earth rose in front of the city walls. Stretching over ten kilometers, it was a spectacular sight. However, even with this massive barrier, it could not cover every sector from the incoming bombardment. While there were a few King-stage cultivators among the city guardians, they were not enough to shield the entire city wall.

Boom!!!

The projectiles finally struck their targets. The earth wall was instantly destroyed! However, the explosions failed to reach the city walls directly, which was a relief. But for those in areas left unprotected by the earth barrier, the outcome was just as expected.

Boom!

"Arrghh!"

"Medic! We need a medic here!"

The sections of the city wall that lacked protection from defensive techniques crumbled instantly, killing some of the soldiers who had been guarding them.

Su Long gritted his teeth. He was furious at his own weakness, but even more so at Vasco. That man had already taken the lives of many of his comrades. Even if facing him meant certain death, Su Long refused to let the city fall so easily.

Taking a deep breath, his expression hardened with determination. He looked at his soldiers and spoke firmly.

"All of you, I will hold off the enemy commander! You must maintain the battle formation at all times to minimize casualties. Do not act on your own, or it will be disastrous for us."

Hearing their commander’s words, many soldiers widened their eyes in shock. They knew exactly what he intended to do. Holding off an enemy commander at the Low Emperor stage was no different from suicide—he had decided to sacrifice himself!

"Commander, please reconsider your decision!"

"Commander, don’t act recklessly!"

"Commander—!"

Voices of protest echoed through the ranks, but Su Long silenced them with a firm shout.

"Silence! You are the proud soldiers of Baroness Weilmar! You are disciplined and loyal warriors who follow orders! Or do you wish to face a martial court when this is over?!"

The soldiers trembled, their hands clenched into fists. They knew their commander was only saying this to prevent them from interfering with his sacrifice. His voice and expression were filled with unwavering determination.

Despite the pain of watching their leader walk toward certain death, they understood—this was not the time to defy his command. There was still a war to fight!

However, the soldiers were also growing irritated. Where the hell was the baroness? The alarm bell had rung, the walls had been breached, yet she was still nowhere to be seen.

What the hell happened to her?!

They refused to believe she had fled—Baroness Weilmar was not the type to abandon her people. But if she had not escaped, then what was going on?

Vasco watched the scene unfold with an amused expression. He enjoyed moments like this—the sight of the weak clinging to survival, struggling against the inevitable. He had witnessed it countless times, yet it never failed to bring him satisfaction.

"Charge!"

"Uoooghhhh!"

At Vasco’s command, the troops of the second prince’s faction surged forward, rushing toward the shattered city walls with incredible speed. Meanwhile, Vasco and the other King-stage cultivators accelerated, closing in on Su Long and the defending King-stage warriors of Weilmar City.

Fire Avalanche!

Su Long unleashed his most powerful attack, channeling his energy into a wide-area technique that sent flames surging across the battlefield. However, before the fire could reach its target, Vasco casually swept his hand, extinguishing the flames in an instant.

Su Long had expected this, he knew there was no way he could match an Emperor-stage cultivator. He could only sigh inwardly at the overwhelming gap in power.

But then, he sensed another attack coming from behind him.

He turned just in time to see an energy slash past beside him, cutting through the air at incredible speed, heading straight for Vasco.

Vasco, also stunned by the sudden attack and the unexpected appearance of a figure, swiftly countered with his own sword slash. The two energy slashes clashed, canceling each other out.

After blocking the attack, he turned toward the attacker, and couldn’t believe his eyes.

"You?! How could you be here?!"

Behind Su Long, Baroness Weilmar hovered in the air, clad in armor. Her fierce gaze locked onto him as she raised her sword and pointed it at him.

"You will die today."