Chapter 397
Chapter 397: Show the Difference in Techniques (1)
“Please save us!”
“We are innocent!”
“I swear loyalty to Penris!”
The retainers of the House of Marquis Roderick fell to their knees in panic as the army surged in.
They never conceived that their castle would be seized. They were certain victory was guaranteed in this war based on their overwhelming forces.
But in an instant, the castle was taken, and the invading army poured in. There was no time to even flee.
Ghislaine looked around and said casually, “Clear them out.”
Every retainer handling the affairs of the Marquis was swept away by that single command.
“Uwaaaa! The Marquis won’t forgive you!”
Although the retainers cursed, Ghislaine was unfazed.
After all, the Marquis was moving to kill him anyway.
With Linderstein captured, the administration across the Marquis’s territory was paralyzed. This meant that the supply lines to Roderick’s army currently deployed were cut off.
Ghislaine muttered as he examined the map. “Hungry fools can’t fight properly.”
Surrounding territories had been thoroughly pillaged by Ghislaine and his bandits. Even those remaining had most of their food requisitioned.
Now, the only provisions left for Roderick’s army were what they had brought at the start.
While they must have set out with a considerable quantity, the cessation of supplies meant it would become increasingly difficult to hold out as time passed.
After dispatching the heirs and retainers of the Marquis, a knight approached him.
“The enemy has arrived.”
“Yes, now it’s time to instill fear and terror among them.”
Ghislaine grinned and climbed the castle wall. Indeed, a great army of 40,000 had encamped before the castle.
“Wow, they really brought a lot.”
It was even more than Desmond’s army he had fought before.
Of course, Penris had become much stronger since then, but still, facing that number directly was risky. There was no need to do so.
“Everyone, prepare.”
At Ghislaine’s command, the knights and soldiers gathered efficiently around 100 medium catapults.
As they looked at Linderstein, now occupied by the Penris army, Roderick’s troops wore bewildered expressions.
“Our castle has been taken? This quickly?”
“I was sure they were an army without siege equipment!”
They had heard that the entire Penris force was cavalry. Naturally, they had expected them to be fast.
But it was unimaginable that cavalry could move with siege equipment at such speed.
The 2nd Corps commander of Roderick’s army, Count Glasgow, shouted with a mix of rage, irritation, and confusion.
“What the hell were you doing that you lost the castle already, you fools!”
With an army of 40,000, their speed couldn’t help but be slow, but he was not worried. After all, it was impossible to capture the castle with cavalry alone.
But before they even arrived, the castle had already fallen to Penris. This was utterly nonsensical.
He raged and cursed, but his staff could only sit in silence, knowing they all shared similar thoughts.
Finally calming his mind, Count Glasgow looked at the castle.
“Those things on the walls… are they catapults?”
There was an impressively large object—100 of them set up.
Linderstein had very high and broad walls. Though there was room for catapults, who would go through the trouble of setting up so many?
Furthermore, they looked odd, resembling a mere framework. While they seemed like catapults, it was impossible to tell exactly what they were.
“From the looks of it, they definitely used siege equipment…”
The walls had cracks all over, with several places partially collapsed, piled with debris.
If the master, Count Penris, had led the knights inside the castle to create chaos, the defenders would have struggled to hold out.
He was puzzled about how they had breached those walls.
“I’ve never heard of such siege equipment before. Is this some sort of trick to confuse us?”
No matter how he looked at it, it seemed suspect, yet he couldn’t believe that cavalry could move so swiftly with siege equipment.
Surely, they must have pulled some scheme. The strange things on the walls were not real catapults but a grand show to prevent them from moving recklessly.
A staff officer approached Count Glasgow and asked, “We don’t have siege equipment. What should we do?”
The siege equipment had been taken by the 1st Corps headed to capture Penris.
Originally, the 2nd Corps’s destination was near the capital. They had thought they would receive necessary supplies and troops when battling the Duke faction there.
Count Glasgow stroked his beard and said, “Whatever the situation is, we can find out after we reclaim the castle. I don’t think we’ll need siege equipment.”
With an army of 40,000, they could sweep away any territory in no time.
While it would typically be impossible to capture Linderstein without siege equipment, now there were holes everywhere.
They had only haphazardly blocked it off with debris, low enough for the soldiers to easily climb over.
“We’ll focus on attacking the already broken areas. The enemy’s troops are 10,000. A castle with holes is not a proper castle.”
If this great force managed to enter the castle, they could reclaim it in no time.
Of course, it wouldn’t be easy. Even if parts of the walls had fallen, they hadn’t completely disappeared.
“The Penris army will surely try to block those openings. That will be the fiercest battlefield, so we’ll feed troops in waves and push through.”
With troops concentrated in a few narrow gaps, it would initially be impossible to leverage the advantages of a large army. But by striking in turns, the fewer opponents would eventually tire out.
“Do your best to kill the enemy. We’ll also have all the cavalry deployed. We don’t have much time. Damage is acceptable; securing supplies is a priority.”
Being a large army, Roderick’s forces were consuming supplies at an alarming rate. They only had provisions for a few days themselves.
But as long as the castle was occupied, they couldn’t expect supplies either. They had to reclaim Linderstein as quickly as possible.
A staff officer cautiously asked, “Could those things on the walls be new weaponry?”
“I’ve never even heard of such weapons. They must be trying to delay us by making us ponder over the identity of those things.”
“I see. That’s certainly a possibility.”
In the history of warfare, there are many instances where strange devices were created to confuse the enemy.
Especially in situations like the current Penris army, where they needed to prolong the conflict even more.
Count Glasgow clicked his tongue as he looked at the castle walls.
“Tch, Count Penris is playing tricks. I can’t believe he has already captured the castle. Is he really a master? This is tiring.”
He was curious about how the walls had been attacked, but there was no time to waste trying to find out. Now was the time to indiscriminately push the soldiers forward.
Though it would lead to significant losses due to straying from the original plan, there was no alternative.
“All troops, advance! The enemy is all cavalry! There are no archers, and the walls are breached! We can definitely get in! We need to reclaim the castle as soon as possible!”
“Waaaaaaah!”
As Count Glasgow shouted, the 40,000-strong army surged toward the castle.
With a roar that matched their numbers, the morale of Roderick’s army soared, knowing their numbers overwhelmed their opponent.
As the tsunami-like Roderick army poured in, Ghislaine casually waved his hand.
“Fire.”
As those words left his lips, 100 medium catapults unleashed a barrage of stones.
Paaaaaaaang!
The eyes of the charging soldiers widened. These weren’t just catapult-shaped props; they were truly catapults.
Caught off guard by this unexpected situation, 100 stones came crashing down on their heads.
Kwahhh! Kwahkwah! Kwahhh!
“Uwaaaah!”
“It’s catapults! Real catapults!”
“There are 100 of them!”
Hundreds of soldiers at the front were instantly smashed by the stones.
Compared to 40,000, it was a minuscule number, but the issue was that these soldiers were entirely unprepared for the stone assault.
Roderick’s troops had never experienced such a barrage from so many catapults before. They all panicked, their advance slowing.
And the Penris army didn’t miss that opportunity. Their catapults were reloading at an incredible speed.
Paaaaaaaang!
Before Roderick’s troops could regain their wits, another 100 stones flew toward them.
Kwahhh! Kwahkwah! Kwahhh!
“Uwaaaah!”
“Don’t stop! Run!”
“We have to get closer to dodge the attacks!”
Those who at least regained their senses urged the soldiers forward through gritted teeth, while the command structure of Roderick’s army was lost in daze, unable to issue proper orders.
Kwahkwah! Kwahkwah! Kwahkwah!
Countless stones rained down. The advancing Roderick troops were soon caught up in the assault of the 100 catapults, resulting in thousands of deaths in an instant.
However, with 40,000 of them moving simultaneously, even with so many catapults, they couldn’t completely stop Roderick’s army.
“It’s working! Keep running! We can overwhelm them through the gaps!”
With shouts from commanders positioned at intervals, hope bloomed within the soldiers as they continued to dash forward.
At last, the leading forces entered a range where the catapult attacks could no longer reach. Since all the enemies were cavalry, to block them, they would have to come down to the breached areas of the walls.
For Roderick’s army, that was actually preferable. If they clashed with spears, the side with the larger number would have the advantage.
Yet the Penris army remained motionless atop the walls. Ghislaine raised his hand again and succinctly commanded.
“Next attack.”
Soldiers clad in Galbarium full armor pulled something from their waist.
Clack! Clack! Clack!
What had been folded into three was now a bow. The folding bows used by elves and archer cavalry.
All the Penris forces pulled arrows from the nearby containers.
Immediately after, Ghislaine issued the command.
“Fire.”
A rain of arrows shot toward the approaching Roderick army.
Puppuppuppuppup!
“Uwaaaah!”
“There are archers! Everyone shoot!”
“What’s this! You said there were no archers!”
The charging soldiers screamed as they fell helplessly. Just when they thought they had dodged the catapults, arrows rained down upon them.
They had trusted the claim that it was all cavalry, but it was all a lie.
Certainly, if they were cavalry, they could shoot bows, but to have 10,000 fully armored archer cavalry? They had never seen or heard of such a thing.
“Damn! This is all misinformation! Their arrow attacks are too smooth!”
The knights charging ahead were just as flustered as the soldiers.
These weren’t just casual, haphazardly fired arrows.
That many troops were accurately aiming to concentrate their arrows on a single target.
Within the hearts of Roderick’s soldiers, distrust toward their own commanders began to swell.
“They said there were none, yet they have catapults and are shooting arrows!”
And distrust toward the Penris army grew.
“Where do such soldiers even exist!”
It wasn’t surprising that they were astonished.
The Penris Mobile Army could utilize all weapons through rigorous training.
They were cavalry, archers, and could become infantry, shield soldiers, or spear soldiers as the situation demanded.
All donned in Galbarium full armor, they could wield combat power similar to knights against regular soldiers.
With the additional presence of siege equipment, they had become an elite fighting force capable of engaging in any circumstance or environment.
“B-Count! For now, give the retreat order!”
A staff officer of the dazed Roderick army managed to regain composure quickly and shouted.
They were advancing with no preparation, and those who got close were dropping like flies.
If they continued like this, they would face total annihilation in this battle.
Count Glasgow screamed in desperation.
“R-Retreat! Get back now!”
Pwooooow!
As the retreat horn blared, the soldiers panicked and began to fall back, but retreating was not easy.
Arrows were flying incessantly from the walls.
“Retreat! Quickly, fall back!”
Shouts rang out from all directions as soldiers scrambled to retreat. Even among them, many soldiers fell to the arrows raining down.
The soldiers in the back found it easier to double back, but most of those at the forefront perished.
The few that made it out of the effective range of the catapults collapsed, panting heavily, barely aware of how they had run.
In the face of this dire reality, Count Glasgow trembled as he asked.
“What is the… damage?”
Staff officers moved swiftly to assess the situation. A moment later, one of them returned, speaking with difficulty.
“Around… 10,000 casualties.”
“……”
With just 10,000 troops, one could become a lord no one would dare challenge. That was how formidable a force it was.
Yet that incredible military might had just vanished due to a brief charge.
The master, Count Penris, hadn’t even lifted a finger. This was the extent of the damage inflicted by strange siege equipment and simple arrow attacks.
“Ughhh…”
Count Glasgow buried his head in his hands. Where on earth was there a fool who would send soldiers into the enemy’s siege equipment and archers unprepared!
Even if he sent 100,000, they’d still be wiped out.
Yet lo and behold, that fool stood right before him. That fool was himself.
But Count Glasgow had a defense.
He had definitely heard that the Penris army was entirely cavalry. That was the only way they could arrive here from the North so quickly.
Who would have thought cavalry could shoot bows as well and drag along siege equipment?
“Uwaaaaa! What the hell are those guys!”
It was a situation entirely incomprehensible by his standard.
Moreover, the Penris army wasn’t even blocking the breaches in the walls. It was tantamount to openly disregarding Roderick’s army.
“Uwaaaaa! Penris! Count Penris!”
After ranting for a while, Count Glasgow, with his disheveled hair and bloodshot eyes, turned to his staff.
“W-what should we do now?”
His voice trembled considerably.
He couldn’t think of any way to get inside.
