Chapter 403
Chapter 403 War is a Mess like Shit (3)
As soon as the water gate opened, Claude shouted.
“Alfoy! Start now!”
Alfoy, who had been keeping the knights occupied with spells, nodded.
“Fog Cloud!”
Thick fog began to settle in front of the fortress. The mist gradually spread, enlarging its coverage.
It was so vast that it became a bit thin, but it was enough to obstruct the view of Roderick’s army ahead.
“It’s magic! The fog is everywhere!”
Soldiers shouted from all directions.
In war, having your sight blocked is a significant risk. While the defenders can shoot arrows blindly without seeing, the attackers find it difficult to evade or counterattack.
“Damn it! What are our mages doing!”
The soldiers complained. They couldn’t understand why their mages were just sitting there idle.
To their eyes, those so-called impressive mages looked like they were merely playing with a few fireballs in the sky.
Rumbling…
As Roderick’s army floundered, water began to seep from the small water gate beneath their feet.
But no one cared about that. Even though their view was obstructed, they would soon be able to attach their siege towers and ladders to the castle.
And there was another reason for their distraction.
“Hey! You ugly bastard, Marquis Roderick! More hideous than your mirror!”
Continuous curses echoed from the castle wall. One mage must have been using an amplification spell, as the sound was thunderous.
The curses pierced the noisy battlefield like a thunderclap.
Hearing those insults, Roderick’s command staff urged their soldiers.
“Push faster!”
“Kill that bastard first!”
“There’s no enemy attack! Don’t be scared! The mages will clear the fog soon!”
With Roderick throwing a tantrum, the other commanders were in a tough spot too. They only hollered at the unfortunate soldiers without properly assessing their surroundings.
Squeak… Squeak…
How long had it been? The soldiers began to realize it was becoming increasingly difficult to move. The siege towers and battering rams wouldn’t budge, and walking was a struggle.
Squish, squish.
“What’s this? The ground is wet?”
“When did it get like this?”
“Ugh… It’s hard to walk.”
The ground was muddy, but Roderick’s forces had no clue why. Water flowed out from the bottom of the fortress walls, further obscured by the fog, making it hard to notice.
The advance speed of the 60,000-strong army was gradually slowing down. Roderick’s commanders shouted impatiently. They felt something was off despite being so close to movement.
“Get rid of the fog! Archers, cover fire, go!”
With the front view blocked, the rear troops couldn’t advance properly either.
Uncertain of when an attack might come from the wall above, Roderick’s archers rushed forward.
Whoosh!
They shot arrows at the fortress wall, aiming to at least hold the position.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The Penris soldiers were already waiting behind their shields. They weren’t moving to attack, so they wouldn’t suffer from the arrows.
Archers in the rear of Roderick’s army approached the wall, mixing with the frontline soldiers.
A few mages stepped forward and dispelled the fog magic. Most of the magic coming from the Penris side was low-level, so they couldn’t dispel it anyway without suffering significant damage.
Swoosh…
As the fog began to disperse, visibility gradually increased once more.
At the same time, Claude shouted.
“Open the second water gate!”
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The slightly larger gates opened. Water began to pour out from numerous holes beneath the Silverlight walls.
Splash!
As the fog vanished, Roderick’s army witnessed a massive amount of water crashing down upon them.
“What’s going on?”
“Why are they throwing water?”
“It’s nothing! Just move forward!”
The amount of water was substantial but didn’t pose a real threat to the soldiers. It just drenched them as it flowed down the slope.
However, the water made the ground utterly muddy. It became extremely challenging to move on the now silted terrain.
Grind…
“Damn it! The siege tower won’t budge!”
“My feet are stuck!”
“Put in more effort!”
With their pants and shoes sinking into the mud, walking became a daunting task. The siege equipment couldn’t be pushed properly either.
“They’re trying to keep us from attaching the siege equipment!”
Only then did the enemies realize the intent of the Penris army. In this situation, securing the siege tower would be impossible.
It was difficult to walk, let alone push the heavy siege tower through the muck!
“They must have deliberately modified the water gate to do this!”
Every fortress and castle has small water gates and drainage systems for disaster preparedness.
Clearly, Silverlight had modified those gates to be broader.
As soldiers flailed about, commanders shouted again from all directions.
“Archers! Keep the cover fire going! Knights, attach to the siege tower and push…”
“Hey! Roderick, you are like a guy with a desperate need to poop but can’t!”
“Kill that bastard first!”
The loudmouth’s voice was so booming that it drowned out the commanders’ shouts. Exasperated, everyone was brimming with irritation due to the endless insults.
Squish! Squish! Squish!
The thick layers of dirt and sand quickly absorbed the flowing water. The sticky mud began to drag their feet.
The knights had to use their mana to barely budge the siege tower. Everyone was exhausting themselves before even fighting.
And turning the battlefield into complete muck was Claude’s intention.
“Pull!”
At his command, the waiting knights below the fortress pulled on hundreds of iron chains.
Clank! Clank! Clank!
Hundreds of chains erupted from the ground.
The chains themselves were nothing special. They were simply chains hidden underground that were pulled up.
But they were enough to trip up the struggling Roderick’s soldiers.
“Cough!”
“What is this!”
“It’s a trap! There’s a trap!”
Roderick’s army had no idea what was happening.
Soldiers caught near the pulled chains fell over, disrupting their formation. Those next to them stumbled too, rolling into the mud.
The chains didn’t cause significant damage. They merely caused some soldiers to fall and made it hard for others to move.
“It’s merely obstructing our path!”
“Get moving! Quickly! Those who’ve fallen, get up!”
“Don’t panic! Knights, cut the chains!”
Just as Roderick’s army was about to start moving again, Claude beat them to it.
“Alfoy! From the front!”
“Got it!”
An extraordinary cooperation unfolded between the two individuals within the territory who were at each other’s throats.
“Fire Burst!”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Alfoy poured all of his remaining mana into attacking the heavy infantry ahead.
“Argh!”
“The enemy is attacking!”
“Stop them!”
As flames erupted everywhere, the ranks collapsed. Most of the knights who could counter magic were stuck on the siege towers.
Due to their significant numbers, the damage was relatively minimal. It merely disrupted the lines of the heavy infantry.
But that was enough.
“Fire!”
With Claude’s shout, the attack from the Penris army finally began.
Whoosh!
Countless arrows flew toward Roderick’s forces. The hail of arrows struck not the front lines but rather the middle and rear lines.
“Argh!”
“Fall back! Get back!”
“Shields! Protect our allies!”
Following the heavy infantry were the light infantry. The archers at the rear had moved closer to the walls for cover fire.
As the arrows flew, everyone tried to regroup, but mired in the mud, their movements were too slow.
The fallen comrades became tremendous obstacles in the mud up to their ankles.
The light infantry were holding shields but still, with arrows falling like rain, some soldiers inevitably fell.
“Block them! I said block! Fire together! Cover fire!”
Roderick’s army put forth their efforts to shoot back, but it was futile. They simply couldn’t match the Penris army clad in Galbarium full armor.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
“Argh!”
Roderick’s forces fell into complete chaos. Every time someone fell, the next person rolled into the mud.
Knights rushed in and hurriedly cut the chains, but many soldiers were already tangled up.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Also, Alfoy’s spells were exploding everywhere, adding to the chaos.
In an instant, the battlefield turned into a mess. Only then did Roderick’s soldiers realize.
In this mud up to their ankles, they had to endure the enemy’s attacks!
Observing the situation from the back, the staff officers cautiously spoke to Marquis Roderick.
“We must retreat for now.”
“Our soldiers can’t move properly. It seems impossible for the siege tower to approach.”
“We need to pull the mages back and dry out the moisture from this mud.”
If they stayed like this, the soldiers would just keep suffering. They had to fall back, regroup, and reassess their strategy.
“Ugh…”
Marquis Roderick trembled, his face flushed.
60,000 troops unable to even approach the walls, rolling around in the mud. Although he had seen records of victories in the field by luring troops into the mud, deliberately turning a siege into a quagmire like this was unprecedented.
“Is the Count of Penris in the west? Which lunatic thought of this and prepared it!”
Although Marquis Roderick raged, his advisors didn’t know either.
“Fall back! We’ll regroup and devise a plan!”
With Roderick’s words, the retreat trumpet finally sounded.
The soldiers moved back with a flicker of hope. But the problem was that even retreating wasn’t easy.
Squish! Squish! Squish!
Moving their legs was harder than anticipated. Corpses rolled nearby.
Soldiers stumbled as they tried to retreat, fearing an arrow rain if they turned their backs. It was no wonder everyone felt sluggish.
And now, what Claude had truly prepared was about to begin.
“Let’s go.”
At his command, the siege weapons of the Penris army that had just been waiting sprang into action.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Countless stones flew toward Roderick’s stuck forces in the mud.
Penris had numerous siege weapons seized from past wars. Plus, with dwarves enhancing them, their attack power was considerable.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
“Argh!”
“The enemy has started the siege weapon attacks!”
“Fall back! Retreat quickly!”
When large stones flew in, protecting with shields was futile. They had to escape even if it meant turning their backs.
Due to the range of the siege weapons, the front lines remained relatively safe, but the soldiers in the middle and rear were unable to dodge and were struck down.
Boom!
“Run! Get away!”
No matter how much the commanders shouted, it was not easy to comply. The soldiers trapped in the mud were too heavy to escape quickly.
Especially the fallen soldiers presented a significant issue. As the Penris army unleashed siege weapons, they were constantly hit.
Those who turned their backs to dodge the stones were showered with arrows and fell.
“This is insane…”
The soldiers in the front lines were petrified, unable to escape properly.
They had no confidence in dodging the stones falling ahead of them.
But they couldn’t stay here indefinitely. By some point, the Penris knights, charging mana into their spears, were piercing through the heavy infantry at the front.
Tenant, the commander of the Marquis’s knights, gritted his teeth as he observed this.
“So it came to this.”
Initially, he hurled insults at Marquis Roderick to provoke him, and surprisingly, it worked quite well. The enemy’s forces moved without assessing their situation.
Moreover, they hadn’t done anything to attack until they got close.
Had they struck earlier, they would have had to plan differently. After all, to spare their troops, they had to respond to the enemy’s attacks.
Confident they could annihilate the enemy once they got closer, Penris had devised a strategy to draw them in.
“Fall back! Hurry! Abandon the siege equipment!”
There were no options left. Without mages exerting their power, the soldiers had to retreat by themselves. They had no luxury to drag the siege equipment along.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
“Argh!”
The battlefield was filled with the cries of Roderick’s army. Claude looked at the scene with arrogance.
“How’s that? Does it all make sense now? This is why you should piss off the enemy first.”
“……”
Those around him were left speechless.
It wasn’t difficult for Penris to prepare this strategy. They were the best in the kingdom at construction.
Dirt and sand had overflowed from all the constructions undertaken so far, and with dwarves included, they could conclude preparations in an instant.
But the fact that the enemy fell entirely for their plan was a wonder.
Luring the enemy into a trap mirrored Ghislaine’s style.
Ghislaine, with her incredible influence and superior troop management, would outsmart her enemies to claim victory. But Claude leaned more towards calmly executing the prepared strategy rather than brute force.
“Hah… War is easier than gambling. This will end soon, right? Are they hitting everything we shoot at?”
With Claude’s arrogant declaration, everyone nodded in agreement. Even skilled fighters like Gillian had nothing to do.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Roderick’s forces received curse-laden insults and couldn’t escape properly, perishing. Many soldiers, weighed down by the mud, struggled to crawl.
Claude had intentionally waited for all the enemies to approach for maximum efficiency.
Observing this scene, Ascon stopped cursing and looked at Claude.
“That bastard really is messing with war like it’s a joke.”
For Ascon, it was the highest form of praise.
After a prolonged struggle in the mud, Roderick’s army finally escaped. Once they left the muddy area, it felt like stepping into a completely different world.
“Quickly pull the troops back! Hurry!”
At Tenant’s shout, Roderick’s army moved a bit further back. Only then could the mages retrieve their powers and withdraw.
“Whoa! We won!”
As Roderick’s forces suffered immense losses and retreated, the cheers of the Penris army resounded across the battlefield.
The weary surviving soldiers of Roderick could only watch bitterly.
Once the situation settled somewhat, Marquis Roderick glared at Tenant with fury in his eyes.
“How many casualties?”
“…About half.”
Everyone closed their eyes at that. Their entire force suffered unexpected losses in one fell swoop.
It was a viable strategy. By restricting their movement and raining arrows and stones down, they had no choice but to endure.
“Ugh…”
Marquis Roderick shivered, trembling in rage, prepared to explode again, but an exhausted knight covered in dust interrupted him.
Arriving in a frenzied state, he cried out urgently.
“Linderstein has been captured by Count Penris!”
At that statement, everyone affiliated with the Marquis’s house wore expressions of disbelief.
