Chapter 70
Chapter 70: The Best Defense is a Good Offense (1)
Count Digald’s main force arrived in front of the Fortress of Perdium.
They set their sights on the southern castle gate and the castle walls of Perdium.
Watching them deploy a bit away from the fortress, Zvalter felt faint.
‘Can we hold out?’
What he had heard and what he was seeing felt entirely different.
The long line of barracks and troops weighed heavily on his heart.
‘No. I have to do this. I must hold them back somehow.’
He needed to defend not just for himself but for the territory residents as well.
As Zvalter steeled his resolve, the soldiers and knights stationed on the walls were also swallowing nervously, trembling slightly.
‘How are we going to stop this?’
‘It’s over for us. They’ll break through the gate easily.’
‘Even if they charge in, we’ll all die, right?’
The experience from the North, their brotherhood, and long loyalty were all useless at this moment.
That was the nature of overwhelming military strength.
Even just standing there could crush the morale of the opposing side.
Everyone was tense, unsure of how to respond as they watched the enemies.
Count Digald’s army did not charge immediately.
After setting up plenty of sentries, they began assembling their siege equipment.
In less than a day, four massive siege towers and one catapult were completed.
The soldiers of Perdium, faced with that sheer power, were engulfed in an unspeakable fear.
‘T-the siege towers.’
‘I’ve never seen anything like that before.’
‘These things are coming? To our shabby walls?’
They knew what siege towers were, but seeing one for the first time was terrifying.
Zvalter’s face darkened as he saw the panicking soldiers.
‘This is bad. We’re scared before the fight even starts.’
Just the sight of those gargantuan siege towers was enough to sap the will to fight from the forces of Perdium.
In stark contrast, Tamos was smiling broadly.
“So, it was true that Count Perdium only focused on the Northern Fortress. It looks like their condition is worse than ours.”
Viktor had told him not to worry, but it wasn’t that easy to still one’s heart.
In truth, timid Tamos hoped the war wouldn’t drag on.
Given the large gap in numbers, he preferred to just clash and overwhelm them at once.
“This fortress looks so shabby. Hahaha! Thank goodness. At this rate, we can finish this quickly. Right?”
Viktor merely glanced at him without comment, but Tamos cheerfully chattered on, ignoring him.
Once troop deployment was completed, a knight approached Viktor with a report.
“Preparation for the advance is complete.”
“Start with the catapult.”
As Viktor raised his hand, massive rocks began flying from the catapult on the left.
There wasn’t enough rock, so they could only use one catapult, but that was sufficient.
Boom! Boom!
“Ahh! Take cover!”
The soldiers of Perdium were taken by surprise, scrambling to avoid the sudden assault.
Normally, before a war began, a messenger would run in first to demand a “honorable surrender.”
But the enemy started attacking without that formality.
Their intent to sweep everything away was blatantly obvious.
Zvalter swung his sword and shouted at the top of his lungs.
“Everyone, take cover!”
The enemy troops weren’t moving, so they had no way to retaliate.
The catapult’s attack speed was slow and hard to control, making it easier to avoid, which was the only silver lining.
Boom! Boom!
Watching the castle walls gradually crumble, Zvalter bit his lip.
‘If we had a catapult, we could have retaliated.’
The enemy seemed certain that there were no catapults here, showing no signs of countering.
‘The traitors probably told them.’
Boom! Boom!
The assault using the catapult eventually stopped. They had run out of stones to use as projectiles.
However, even a brief attack had nearly destroyed the walls of Perdium.
Seeing this, Viktor smirked, curling one side of his lip.
“Not a bad start.”
The debris of the walls piled up enough to climb without a ladder.
As Viktor raised his hand, the troops finally began to move.
Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong!
With the resounding drumbeats, Count Digald’s troops moved in perfect unison.
“Everyone, prepare! The enemy is advancing!”
As Zvalter shouted, the soldiers trembled, getting ready for battle.
The sight of the trained soldiers forming ranks approaching was overwhelming.
Moreover, the enemy vastly outnumbered them.
“It’s alright! We can hold this! We fight with the fortress at our backs!”
Zvalter continuously shouted encouragement to the soldiers.
Even with trembling hands that struggled to grip their weapons, they focused on the lord’s cry.
Thud, thud, thud!
The enemy’s central army did not advance beyond a certain distance.
Instead, the two siege towers positioned on the left and right began moving first.
As they neared, Zvalter yelled out.
“Fire!”
Fwoosh!
Countless flaming arrows flew, striking the siege towers.
However, the siege towers, covered in leather and soaked with water, were not easily ignited.
To set fire to a structure that size, the entire tower would need to be soaked in oil, which Perdium certainly did not have.
Moreover, the enemy was not merely standing still in response to Perdium’s attack.
Swish!
Archers, protected by shield soldiers, moved forward, soon unleashing a tremendous amount of arrows toward the walls.
“Argh!”
“Duck!”
“Shoot from close to the wall!”
Several soldiers fell from arrow strikes, while the remaining ones desperately lowered themselves to fire back.
However, the difference in troop numbers was so vast that they could only barely manage to suppress the enemy’s advances.
In the meantime, one siege tower had attached itself to each side of the wall.
Boom! Boom!
The drawbridges of the siege towers fell onto the walls, and hordes of enemy soldiers poured down from within.
“Hold them back! Randolf, go to the other side!”
Zvalter and Randolf split up to direct the soldiers on the walls and began to fight.
“Waaah!”
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A fierce battle erupted atop the narrow walls, where it was hard to swing a sword properly.
“Hold on!”
Zvalter and Randolf desperately fought their way through, cutting down enemies wherever they could.
Despite being outnumbered, they commanded the soldiers cohesively.
Their individual strength was also extraordinary, preventing Count Digald’s forces from breaching the walls despite their relentless pressure.
Watching from afar, Viktor’s eyes sparkled with interest.
“Quite impressive. A talent wasted sitting here.”
Tamos, watching beside him, urged anxiously.
“Shouldn’t we just break through the gate with the knights? That seems faster.”
Viktor hid his disdain, looking down at him.
To break through the gate, their forces would need to concentrate in one place.
With soldiers already on the wall, there was no need to launch an attack elsewhere.
Besides, using knights just to open the gate made little sense.
Knights were precious assets. It was better to lose hundreds of soldiers than let one knight fall.
“If the gate breaks now, the enemy will abandon the walls and all gather at the gate.”
“Then we just push through, right?”
“The interior of Perdium is relatively cramped. Even if they break in, there’s a limit to how many can enter at once, so we can only go in waves.”
Wave attacks involve splitting units and continuously sending them in.
Such a tactic could wear down the enemy, but given there was a capable commander on their side, they might find themselves stuck at the gate for days.
Viktor pointed once more at the walls.
“It’s the same with the walls, but if we create multiple pathways to scatter them, we can take them down individually. We have far more troops. We must maximize our advantage and minimize our losses.”
Viktor explained with barely concealed irritation, yet Tamos still didn’t understand and asked again.
“Really? So will it end today?”
‘Should I just kill him now?’
Viktor felt a surge of murderous intent rising within him.
After all, he was going to die anyway, and the war would be over soon, so it wouldn’t matter if he killed him right away.
After a moment’s thought, Viktor sighed deeply.
The escort knights and soldiers were still near Count Digald.
It wouldn’t be hard to kill a few, but it was unnecessary to raise a ruckus that might boost the enemy’s morale.
“In a narrow space, it inevitably takes longer to determine victory or defeat when forces collide.”
Tamos barely grasped half of this but nodded at Viktor’s grim expression.
Just as Viktor said, Perdium was in a predicament.
Not holding on to the walls would mean basically losing.
They would be surrounded and would either fight till they retreated or be overtaken.
Yet, considering the length of the walls, there were way too many enemy soldiers.
Despite Zvalter and Randolf’s excellent performance, the forces of Perdium were wearing down under the endless wave of enemies.
‘Still, we must hold on!’
Zvalter gritted his teeth. He needed to kill at least one more enemy before his soldiers grew exhausted.
Viktor smiled watching the currently stalemated walls.
“Send reinforcements to the crumbling wall. We’ll split the forces between the walls and the gate. If we succeed in capturing it, we just need to hold.”
Dong! Dong! Dong!
Once more drumbeats and trumpet calls resounded as the central troops that had been waiting began to advance.
Their destination was the section of the wall that had been crumbled by the catapult.
As more enemies poured in, Zvalter began to panic.
There weren’t enough soldiers to hold back the enemy pouring from the siege towers versus the broken section of the walls.
‘Randolf alone can’t hold them all! The number of defenders on the wall is too low!’
The enemy’s main force targeting the gate didn’t seem to be moving yet.
The enemy’s intent to draw attention away from their attack was obvious, but they still had to hold their position.
If the section of the wall fell, it would be the same as creating a point for the enemy to push in.
Zvalter urgently shouted.
“Ghislaine! Block the broken wall!”
Ghislaine was waiting inside the gate with the mercenaries.
They were all heavily armored in black helmets and armor.
It looked like something had been meticulously added over the helmets and armor.
Near the gate’s opening mechanism, Skoban and the Forest of Monsters guards had gathered.
“Your Highness! A message from the Lord! You must go assist! The Knight Commander is in danger!”
Skoban shouted urgently. Ghislaine shook her head.
“We will not defend the walls.”
“What?”
Skoban and the soldiers showed looks of confusion.
Ghislaine chose to support the more dangerous side, maintaining command over the mercenaries.
But what were they going to do if they didn’t defend the walls now?
Skoban and the soldiers began to flounder, unsure of what to do.
It seemed they were debating whether they should go provide support themselves.
The mercenaries looked at Ghislaine with puzzled expressions. What were they supposed to do if they didn’t defend the walls?
At that moment, Zvalter’s voice rang out again.
“Ghislaine! What are you doing? Why aren’t you moving?”
Randolf also roared.
“Grand Duke! You bastard! What are you doing! The enemy is coming!”
The enemy had already approached close to the broken walls.
Ghislaine gauged the timing and commanded Skoban.
“Open it.”
“W-what?”
“The gate.”
Skoban’s eyes widened in shock.
“N-no! Your Highness! What do you mean? Why are we opening the gate?”
“This is a perfect opportunity.”
“What opportunity? Don’t say something so nonsensical!”
Seeing that Skoban wasn’t going to follow her orders, Ghislaine gestured to the mercenaries beside her.
The mercenaries hesitated for a moment but began to move as instructed.
Under the employer’s command, they rushed to raise the descending metal gate and began to open the main gate.
“No! We can’t open it!”
Skoban hurriedly tried to stop them, but the mercenaries surged forward and forced it open.
Thud, thud, thud!
Through the slowly opening gates, the enemy’s central army was visible in the distance.
They seemed to be completely relaxed, standing still.
“Looks like it’s a good situation for us to move.”
Clank!
Ghislaine smiled as she lowered the faceplate of her helmet.
Her helmet, too, was carefully clad in something black.
Clank! Clank! Clank!
The mercenaries covered their faces with helmets as well.
Although they had prepared with Ghislaine, the mercenaries began feeling anxious.
Belinda’s face turned pale as she broke out in a cold sweat, while Gillian’s expression hardened.
Only Kaor shined with excitement like a child before a gift.
Just then, Zvalter shouted again.
“Ghislaine! What are you doing! Why aren’t you moving yet!”
He checked underneath the wall and froze in shock, stuttering.
“Y-you! What are you! Why did you open the gate!”
The gate was open, and Ghislaine and the mercenaries were preparing to head out.
He had repeatedly instructed them to follow commands!
“C-close it! I said to close the gate and go to the wall!”
No matter how loudly Zvalter yelled, Ghislaine and the mercenaries showed no sign of responding.
“You rascal! This is the Lord’s command! Go assist Randolf and defend the walls!”
Randolf checked the situation below the wall and shouted in shock.
“Grand Duke! Why did you open the gate, you crazy fool!”
Ghislaine pretended not to hear the two shouting at her and slowly lowered her stance.
Grasping a giant two-handed axe, she gathered mana into her legs and spoke.
“Defend the walls… Skoban, do you know?”
Skoban, wearing a look of hopelessness, replied.
“What are you saying? That we’re all done for?”
“No.”
“Then what do you mean?”
“That offense is the best defense.”
“What?”
“When an opportunity arises, you must act without hesitation.”
A red light flickered within her helmet.
And then.
BOOM!
