Note: The Novel Will Be Corrected Until Chapter 105, After That Chapter It Will Be All MTL
C91 - 92 - 93
Chapter 91
“They’ve finally gone mad.”
Roger Bifrost couldn’t help but let out a sarcastic laugh when he first heard the news from Ferreta.
The humiliation at the territory party, followed by the disgrace in the capital.
The man had deceived even the proposal extended in anger by the faction leader.
Since then, Roger had been planning for days on end how he would trample them.
Had it not been for the Sword Saint’s warning, McLaine would have been devastated even before this winter began.
He had been biding his time, looking for a credible excuse to strike, and those fools had handed him the perfect reason on a platter.
“Your Excellency, what will you do?”
Even as his subordinates asked his intentions with concern, a smile never left his face.
He couldn’t help but laugh.
No matter how he analyzed it, Bifrost’s forces were more than twice the size of McLaine’s.
That new weapon they call a crossbow was a bit worrisome, but he had more than twice the number of knights.
What use would it be if mere common soldiers held superior weapons?
“Aslan. Plants. Are the preparations complete?”
“Of course, Your Excellency.”
His left hand and right hand, so to speak, were the two top-class knights.
In addition to them, he himself, now a fully mature 5th circle wind mage.
Even if something unexpected happened, his overwhelming confidence filled his chest, assuring him that he could block it.
“Let’s set out slowly. When Ferreta has been crushed and those fools are drunken with their petty victory, we’ll send them plummeting from heaven to hell.”
His command to advance slowly for his psychological satisfaction.
However, even before they set out, Roger Bifrost received an unexpected piece of news.
* * *
“Why… why aren’t they coming?”
Inside the main hall of Ferreta’s castle.
Max Ferreta was biting his nails, expressing his anxiety before the assembled retainers.
And then, the knights who had been sent to scout half a day ago burst into the hall.
“My Lord! McLaine’s army has…”
“Where… where are they?!”
Tension filled the eyes that focused on the knight.
“McLaine’s army has vanished.”
“…What?”
There was no reply to that question, and a heavy silence overtook the hall of Ferreta.
One day earlier.
“Your Highness! At this rate, we will arrive at Ferreta Castle within a half-day!”
“What about the point?”
“We are about to reach it.”
“Good.”
Eileen, who was closely following Logan at the head of the cavalry, tilted her head.
‘The point?’
She thought she had misheard, but merely ten minutes later…
“Change direction! To the northwest, at full speed!”
“Yes!”
Only the oldest in the McLaine Knights responded without hesitation.
The majority of knights wore puzzled expressions, indicating that Eileen wasn’t the only one who found the situation strange.
Yet, with the order given, they had no choice but to follow the lead says that abruptly changed direction.
Thus, most of McLaine’s forces, bewildered, turned northwest and continued advancing for three straight days with minimal rest and sleep, picking remote areas to traverse.
On the third day of their relentless advance, as dawn broke and the day brightened, they reached a vast plain with a looming castle in the middle.
In the center of the castle’s spires, a flag featuring a rose that bloomed within flames was planted.
* * *
“Your Excellency! Tomodo Castle! McLaine’s dogs have appeared at our Tomodo Castle!”
Roger Bifrost’s expression instantly changed.
“These bastards dare!!”
Count Bifrost’s second castle, responsible for managing the harvest on the Bifrost Plains.
As the emergency spread through the Bifrost forces due to the sudden attack on Tomodo, McLaine’s army was already lining up before the unexpected stronghold.
“Over there.”
“Yes.”
Flapping sounds.
Logan’s horse, having been ridden hard, was blowing intrepid breaths.
A rush for three tiring days.
The reserve horses were all used, forcing even the infantry, still unaccustomed to riding, to gallop.
The primary goal, Tomodo Castle, had just come into view.
‘Estimated garrison strength: about 50 knights and 500 soldiers.’
During the winter, when farming was over, the forces guarding Bifrost’s secondary castle were reduced to a minimum.
That number should be easy prey for McLaine’s current forces.
The problem, however, was that Bifrost himself would not just stand by.
“Looks like the flags are moving frantically. Bifrost must have received our message by now.”
“Likely so.”
Even considering the slow pace of the infantry, this was their heartland. Counting generously, the elite forces might arrive in two days.
‘Possibly even before midday tomorrow…’
The moment to engage in a race against time had arrived.
But there was yet another hindrance.
‘They won’t come down from the city walls.’
Crossbows were useless for attacking from below to above, compared to regular longbows.
McLaine’s main infantry weapon was essentially null and void.
Nonetheless, the disparity in strength was clear.
Even if the knights led the frontal assault in the simplest manner, there would be sacrifices, but eventually, Tomodo Castle would fall.
But then…
“The loss would be substantial.”
“It would be.”
Acknowledging Heincke’s certainty, Logan nodded.
After the great migration a thousand years ago, most non-human races that oppressed humans vanished beyond the southern mountains, ushering in humanity’s golden age.
And about three hundred years ago, being a Force user became a basic condition for knights, further strengthening human power.
As a result, city walls were no longer the great tactical shields they used to be.
Walls over 10 meters high were no obstacle to knights who could simply leap over them if they found a foothold.
Fortifications lost much of their previous effectiveness in defensive warfare.
However, if the goal was not a certain victory but rather to hold out…
If the aim was to buy time until reinforcements arrived…
City walls were still a viable option, though less effective than before.
Reducing the battle area when outnumbered, but also, if their skills were on par, it was advantageous to defend from a higher position against an attacking enemy from below.
“But that’s why we prepared.”
“…Will it work?”
“What else can we do but try our best?”
Logan’s resolute reply made Heincke nod in silence.
However, he soon raised another concern.
“What about Lady Eileen?”
“…Wasn’t that matter already concluded?”
“Are you really going to join her to the knight’s charge?”
Heincke asked seriously, but Logan wasn’t swayed.
“She wants it.”
“But still, she is your fiancée. If something goes wrong, there could be issues with the house… No, rather than that, are you really okay with it?”
Logan sighed and nodded.
“…That’s a promise I made to her, to help her achieve her dream. Don’t even think of giving her special treatment.”
“Understood.”
Heincke still appeared unconvinced but stopped pressing further.
Logan maintained a stern expression watching him step back.
He had no intention of leaving Eileen alone in danger.
And it wasn’t only because she was his fiancée.
‘Loniand, Victor, Eileen. They are talents with the potential to become Superhumans in the future; they must be saved no matter what.’
Saving them was his second-most important task after winning the battle, and so he had secretly asked his father for help.
His father would take care of Loniand, his kin, he himself would look after Eileen, and as for Victor, whoever of them was available would take care of him.
Naturally, this was something the people involved did not know, nor could it be formally disclosed as it might demoralize the other knights.
‘Of course, that’s assuming we win this battle.’
Logan bit his lip.
In a battle where they held absolute superiority, it was McLaine who felt unease.
That’s how the assault on Tomodo Castle looked from McLaine’s perspective.
However.
No matter the circumstances, the defending forces at Tomodo Castle, who had suddenly faced a far larger army, were nowhere near as anxious.
“Blast it all! Where have they suddenly popped up from!”
Jerome, the commandant of Tomodo Castle and one of Bifrost’s high-ranking knights, was thrown into panic when he saw the unexpected enemy forces outside the western city walls.
Unable to stay still, he started to react irritably to everything.
In contrast, his subordinate and brother, Jereck, remained fairly calm.
“Calm yourself, brother. The main castle has been contacted. We just need to hold out for a day!”
Despite being brothers, they had distinctly different dispositions and were both high-ranking knights, which is why they often carried out missions together.
Jereck’s calm balanced out Jerome’s impetuousness, and Jerome, aware of his own temperament, took his brother’s advice to heart.
But the current situation was different.
“Nearly three thousand, and about two hundred knights by rough estimation. How could we possibly hold out?”
Jerome knew full well he wasn’t the brightest.
Yet, even the smartest among them could not bridge this gap in forces.
By the looks of their formation, this was a well-trained army.
Compared to the Bifrost main force, the troops there at Tomodo Castle seemed to pale; even the quality of the soldiers looked significantly better.
“Just hold the city walls, bide our time. If we combine our strengths, we can endure a day, right? Huh? Gael, Teres, Typhon. They’re also high-ranking knights, so they’ll do their part.”
“Yeah, that must be it, right?”
Though not entirely convinced, Jerome also knew there was no alternative.
And just as he replied…
– Charge, all forces!
The enemy began their assault without even a battle cry.
“Hold them! Defend!”
Jerome’s shout spurred the wall priests into action, pulling out their longbows.
Tense faces pulled on their bows, aiming at the approaching enemy.
“Fire!”
Along with a shout from the enemy side, small, pointy arrows that might count as half the number they possessed were shot toward the city walls.
‘Fast, too fast!’
Arrows that were much quicker and stronger than those from normal longbows.
As those with some experience expressed alarm.
Thud thud thud!
The bolt rain struck the walls and deflected.
An anticlimactic departure compared to its startling debut.
Stunned soldiers of Tomodo looked on as Jerome yelled from behind.
“Counterattack! Fire back!”
The soldiers reflexively pulled their longbows.
And they let loose a volley of arrows diagonally into the sky.
Although not as quick and powerful as the small arrows, the falling arrow rain from above made up for that lacking strength.
Of course.
Puff puff puff.
Their arrow rain also failed to reach the enemy, just like before.
The charging enemy was not even approaching beyond the 400-meter mark.
“Longbows as expected.”
“Unless supported by magic, that’s the best they have.”
“The problem is we also lack methods.”
Logan grinned, lifting his repeating crossbow.
Swish.
Thud!
The bolt he shot sparked forcefully against the wall and bounced back.
Even with Force-enhanced tension, that was the limit.
Without the ability to curve, the crossbow was useless at this angle; unless someone poked their head out around the wall, it was a waste of arrows.
However.
Despite this, Logan raised his hand, signaling the archers to fire.
Puff puff puff.
Thud thud.
“Aargh!”
This time, some were unlucky enough to be struck.
Seeing the wall defenders shrink back, he thought, ‘Good.’
The crossbowmen and soldiers alternately fired at the walls.
They had enough magazines, and simply shooting intermittently could make the enemy cower.
Meanwhile.
Their secret weapons began moving.
“I entrust it to you, Mr. Clayten.”
In the rear of McLaine’s camp, Logan viewed the ‘jealously magicians’ with less-than-pleasant expressions.
“Humph… I thought you were someone who cared for your people. Starting a real war, no less.”
“This will ultimately be for the good of the people.”
“…I hope those words aren’t just empty reassurances to someone you’ve hired.”
“Of course not.”
“Ahem. Boys, let’s go.”
Magicians from the Golem Tower, who would be talked about time and again in the kingdom’s war history.
Their debut on the battlefield was at Bifrost’s Tomodo Castle.
When contemplating the assault on Tomodo, Logan had always considered the involvement of the Golem Tower, specifically Clayten’s involvement.
His initial plan was for Clayten’s colossal golems to march towards the city walls, deflecting the rain of arrows and the offensive, followed by the knights charging and using the golems to scale the walls.
Clayten’s response to this vision was a blunt reply.
“Are you planning to kill me?”
“Pardon?”
“If magicians or knights attack the golems, there’s no way to block it. They’re just clumps of mud, you see, mud!”
“Even if you’re just blocking the front and luring the knights or magicians, it would still be worth it…”
Logan wasn’t ready to give up and tried to convince him again, but there was another drawback to golem magic he hadn’t realized.
“And even with the use of magic stones, a portion of the impact received by the golem transfers to me. I won’t be able to endure it.”
“….”
“Ahem. Of course, I’m continuously looking for improvements, so maybe someday…”
The moment Logan’s fantasy of war-dominating battle golems was shattered.
Hence, he inadvertently had an inappropriate thought upon seeing Clayten, who had contributed greatly to the construction of McLaine Town and the dam.
‘Ah, useless.’
“… I’m feeling unpleasant for some reason.”
“Ahem. Sorry, I shouldn’t have wasted the time of someone so busy.”
As naturally as shifting his thoughts to find another strategy…
“Perhaps a different approach would be better if you insist on using our magic in war.”
“Pardon?”
Clayten himself made a counterproposal.
------------------
Chapter 92: “What Will Happen?”
Logan gazed at the magicians preparing to cast spells with eyes full of anticipation. The personnel involved were all members of the current golem tower, excluding the young Victoria. Clayton, along with his ten apprentices, including his so-called disciples Grik, Enan, and Truus, pulled out mana crystals of different sizes from their pockets. These were magic crystals, rare minerals created by the condensation of natural mana.
As they all started chanting in unison while holding the magic crystals, the mana circles pulsating from their hearts caused the surrounding energies to surge noticeably. Soon, ten high-grade magic crystals, each worth 100,000 gold, seeped into the ground from Clayton’s hands.
Rumbling.
At the same moment, ten massive golems, each standing 5 meters tall, burst from the ground, shattering the earth as they rose.
“Wow!”
Though Clayton’s golems were already famous in Maclaine, many knights and soldiers who were seeing them for the first time could not help but exclaim their astonishment. Those who had seen Clayton’s enormous golems during the previous dam construction were puzzled by the smaller size of the current ones.
‘Aren’t we using those massive golems from last time?’
Moreover, these golems had unusually large arms compared to their bodies, and their hands were flat, blunt forms resembling large shovels instead of regular hands. However, a smile crept across Logan’s face as he witnessed the scene.
‘Just by creating golems, a pit with a 10-meter radius has been formed.’
He had a premonition that the ambitious task promised by Clayton would easily come to fruition. Following that, as Grik’s golems started to appear, another eleven 2 to 3-meter golems emerged one after the other, widening the pit even further, giving Logan confidence in their success.
With a nod of satisfaction from Logan, the golems began to move.
Rumbling.
“What the—?!”
“What are they doing?”
“Digging…?”
Contrary to the majority’s expectation that the golems would charge towards the enemy lines, they began to dig into the ground frantically with their shovel-shaped hands.
“What are they up to?”
As the bewildered Maclaine soldiers watched on, the magicians of the golem tower continued to summon mana. They had to assist the golems’ ‘work’ with their magic while maintaining the costly golems with the magic crystals.
“Taah!”
Sweat beads forming on Clayton’s forehead, the mana of the magicians burst out with every exclamation.
Whirring. Rumbling.
As the magicians’ magic touched the ground, it crumbled like soft tofu. The golems and magicians had begun to dig a tunnel at a distance of 500 meters from the enemy’s castle—a range beyond the reach of any arrow.
‘Now, let’s see how you react?’
Logan’s face, as he watched the enemies huddled on the city walls, was fraught with barely concealed tension.
“A magician?!”
Jerome, the defense captain, was the first to spot the change, noticing it quicker than the other soldiers. It was impossible for a few scattered arrows to cloud the vision of a high-ranking knight.
“Did they have magicians too?”
The futile attack of the enemy had temporarily eased his worry, but it was now pounding again. A group of magicians could certainly bring an unpredictable factor into the battlefield.
However, the subsequent actions of the magicians left the tense Jerome completely bewildered.
“Tunnels?”
Jerik, who had also noticed the magicians around the same time, exchanged a look of perplexity with Jerome. They quickly shared their thoughts.
“Digging underground from that distance? What are they doing?”
“Exactly. Even with magic, it would be impossible in a day or two.”
“So, what is the point of all this?”
“It seems a bit concerning, those dirt puppets…”
The brothers shared an uneasy glance but soon shook their heads in unison.
“Nonetheless, it’s not the time for us to open the gates and go out.”
“Right. We just need to stand our ground.”
The brothers reassured their anxious hearts and tried their best to ignore the variables.
However, as hours passed and the sun moved high, then began to set, and no significant movement from the enemy forces was observed, the anxiety only grew stronger. The magicians and golems that had first appeared were long gone, disappeared into the tunnels they had dug.
Moreover,
“Now they’re not even shooting arrows?”
“What’s on their minds?”
“Let them be. If they want to drag out time, that’s fine by us.”
With an attempt to conceal his unease, Jerome shook his head.
And at that moment,
Rumbling.
“Argh!”
“What’s this?!”
“The walls are shaking…”
A moment of intense trembling erupted with the soldiers’ screams, and the vague anxiety turned into a palpable reality.
“The walls?!”
“What’s happening?!”
Amid the growing commotion among the soldiers, Jerome shouted to his brother.
“How likely is it for the walls to collapse?!”
“No way, that’s ridiculous.”
“Didn’t you feel it shaking just now?”
“…Still, we can’t move. We have to hold out until the main forces arrive.”
“What if the walls collapse? What do you think they’re doing, not attacking us until now? They must be planning something!”
An unexpected tremor tore apart the brothers’ consensus.
And,
“Let’s deploy a small elite force to attack the magicians. Move out without their knowledge!”
The more anxious Jerome, who was also the defense captain of Tomodo Castle, made the decision.
“Let’s send the knights. We’ll skirt around the southern forest as quietly as possible and retreat immediately if anything feels off. Understand?”
“…Alright. Let’s give it a try.”
Eventually, the brothers decided to stop waiting and take some action.
Tomodo Castle.
While the western wall was tense with the suspicious activity of Maclaine’s magicians, the other sides of the wall, relatively calm, were guarded by a minimal number of soldiers just in case of an emergency.
Not too far from there, the southern wall, which had a forest nearby, had relatively more troops stationed. In the midst of all eyes drawn to the west, the southern gate opened, and a group of mounted soldiers emerged.
“Is the perimeter secure?”
“No issues.”
“There are no signs of the enemy.”
Nodding his head to the reports, Jerik led 20 knights out toward the south. The sound of their horses’ hooves, a mere 20 riders, would be inaudible beyond the western wall.
Jerik and the 20 knights of the surprise attack unit quickly entered the southern forest.
‘We can move through the forest to near the enemy’s rear.’
Although there was a significant distance between the enemy camp and the edge of the forest, it was much closer than from the castle.
‘Strike fast and retreat.’
If they could ambush the enemy magicians and retreat quickly as planned, it was a viable possibility. It was common sense that magicians could not stand against knights in close combat.
According to the prior reconnaissance, there seemed to be hardly any guards at the back of the enemy positions. Even if the enemy was prepared, they could retreat to the castle before the enemy knights could react. That was the calculation.
After dashing through the forest and seeing the wide entrance to the dug tunnel, Jerik became even more confident.
‘Five knights are enough.’
There weren’t many soldiers guarding the entrance of the tunnel, and they weren’t even watching the forest side. At that moment, a senior knight named Gale grabbed Jerik’s shoulder.
“Jerik, wait. Might this be a trap? The guarding forces are too light.”
Gale had a point, but that didn’t change their course of action.
“We retreat if it’s a trap, right?”
“But still…”
“If anything seems off, we flee immediately. But before that, go in with full force.”
There was no need to explain the situation in detail—the bet that most of the enemy knights were with the main force and it would take time for them to arrive required more desperate resolve than complacency.
“Let’s go.”
Quelling the slight opposition from his colleague, Jerik ordered the charge.
Rustling.
The dense underbrush shook in succession as the surprise attack unit emerged from the forest. Without any foolish shouts or calls, the charge of twenty knights quickly drew the attention of the enemies.
Unexpectedly,
“The enemy!”
“From behind! It’s a surprise attack!”
Upon spotting them, the enemies immediately fled into the tunnel without any attempt to counterattack. Considering the difference in numbers—twenty against five—this was an all too natural response, but the lack of any hesitation bothered Jerik.
‘A trap…?’
No, it can’t be. We’ve already confirmed the position of the enemy knights.
Even if there were differences, only a few knights could reach the rear in time. Besides, it was already too late to retreat.
Jerik clenched his teeth and put more strength into his legs.
“Faster!”
With his shout, the speed of the Bipros knights increased even more. Leading the charge toward the tunnel, Jerik felt something shot out from the faint darkness inside.
“Tch!”
At full speed, the threat could have been dangerous, but he did not slow down. Instead, he deflected the incoming objects with his senses alone and continued his charge.
‘Arrows?’
More precisely, they were the strange quarrels used for crossbows that had pounded the city walls at the start of the battle.
They were coming in with a terrifying force from the front, one after another. But Jerik was one of the elite knights of Bipros.
Drawing up as much Force as he could, his armor deflected the quarrels trying to pierce through, and his advancing blade swept away any projectile that came his way.
However, no matter how much Force he summoned, he could not protect his horse as well.
Whinnying. Thump.
“Damn it!”
With his horse down, the charge was halted, and nothing could stop Jerik from stepping forward. However, not all his comrades had the same ability.
Piercing. Whinnying.
“Argh!”
Screams erupted not only from the horses but also from his comrades following him. While he could not turn back to look due to the barrage of quarrels rattling against his armor, judging by the vibrations, it seemed that any standard knight unable to reinforce their armor with Force wouldn’t withstand this shower of quarrels.
‘But we must advance!’
Thinking in reverse, such an attack meant that there were no knights here capable of confronting them.
‘Now that we’ve come this far, we must capture them.’
As his eyes adjusted to the darkness in the tunnel, he could make out the silhouettes, the over 300 soldiers continuously firing crossbows, and the magicians in robes hidden behind them.
Jerik bore a grim smile as he charged toward them. By closing the gap and putting enemy soldiers between himself and the magicians, they would be unable to respond.
Additionally, the fact they were inside a tunnel that could collapse if hit with reckless magic would prevent any hasty moves from the enemy magicians. He thought that if he could handle them before the reinforcements arrived, victory would be his.
But at that moment,
“Earth wall!”
“Swamp!”
Accompanied by the shouts of the lined-up magicians, a wall of earth erected where the fallen soldiers lay, and the ground beneath their feet turned swampy, swallowing their feet like quicksand.
“What’s with this magic!”
Confounded by the unexpected magic assault from magicians he had assumed could not react, Jerik was caught off guard.
“Everything has been dealt with, horses included. Now, let’s have some fun with you.”
A relaxed voice sounded, and a middle-aged knight with streaks of white in his brown hair emerged with the five missing knights, blocking their escape.
‘A high-ranking knight!’
Jerik could instantly tell this middle-aged man was a strong opponent, on the same level as him.
While lacking in knight numbers, if they held them back while those strange crossbows threatened from behind,
‘We could be isolated here!’
Realizing this, Jerik quickly made a decision as he assessed the situation. The surprise attack had failed.
Preserving as much of their forces as possible to retreat to the castle was imperative. However, as he thought this,
– Charge, all troops!
A voice that contorted his expression came from afar, outside the tunnel.
--------------------------
Chapter 93 – The Enemy!
It wasn’t long after a distant shout had echoed.
“A sneak attack in the rear tunnel by the enemy forces! About 20 enemy knights…!”
The soldier’s urgent report followed.
Upon hearing the report, Logan broke into a smile.
“Twenty, you say… Good.”
“What?”
The soldier who had reported the attack looked at Logan with a confused expression. Logan then turned his eyes to the battlefield and bellowed loudly.
“All troops!!”
As the eyes of the Maclaine soldiers focused on him, he commanded:
“Charge!”
Drawing his sword, Logan pointed toward the enemy’s fortress.
“What?”
The soldier who had reported the rear attack looked alternately at Logan and the rear, with a bewildered expression.
“Uwaaaaah!”
After more than half a day of tedious standoff, the Maclaine knights charged forward at that instant.
Following closely were the crossbow cavalry and infantry, and even Logan, who had given the command, joined in the charge.
Thud, thud, thud, thud.
The base camp left behind hurled itself entirely towards the front.
“What the… Ah, never mind.”
The soldier who had reported the ambush beheld the front and rear interchangeably before he, too, began sprinting toward the front.
Naturally, chaos ensued among the enemy forces as the significantly larger Maclaine forces began their charge.
“Block them! Block them!”
The sight of the enemy commander shouting from atop the ramparts looked pitiful compared to the panic of the enemy soldiers.
Despite the enemy’s frenzy of longbows unleashing arrows, they could not stop the charging Maclaine knights.
Ratatatatang.
A ‘mere’ force of around 500 could not unseat even a single Maclaine knight with their haphazard volleys of arrows against ‘over’ a hundred knights.
Watching the scene, Logan breathed a sigh of relief.
‘Half of their knights have pulled to the rear. This should be enough. Heinkel will handle them well.’
Undoubtedly, he could at the very least tie down their forces here if not eliminate them entirely.
That was all that was needed for Logan’s stratagem.
– We will dig tunnels to collapse the walls. To simply break the support beams from below with earth magic is not that demanding of a spell.
Although Clayton had proposed using earth magic and golem combinations to dig tunnels, which was a charming strategy, it seemed a bit rushed for the punctual end needed before Biprost reinforcements could arrive.
Even calculating optimistically, it seemed they might only collapse the walls right before the enemy reinforcements.
Therefore, Logan decided to use the tactic of revealing his hand in order to lure the enemy forces.
While making a mere show of shooting crossbows to divert attention.
“What would you have done if the ploy failed to attract them?”
Looking to the side, Logan saw a middle-aged magician exuding the aura of a valiant warrior, wearing armor suited for a soldier instead of his usual robe. He made a better magician in this attire—Clayton.
“There was no way it wouldn’t. They were too anxious facing vastly inferior numbers and trembling walls. Only a fool would remain idle in such a circumstance.”
The vibrations of the wall were nothing but a bluff, a result of Clayton’s magic.
It was bait to lure the enemy, and the bait had succeeded splendidly.
‘Now we just have to seize the stronghold.’
Logan’s fiery red eyes watched the Maclaine knights who had just reached the fortress walls.
Thump.
The first knights to arrive dealt a blow to the gates.
However, a forbidding grid of metal bars emerged from behind the slightly shattered gate debris.
The knights immediately turned back, seeing the barrier of iron bars designed to block the gate.
Rather than breach that, it would be easier to collapse the walls.
It was only a test thrust from the knights to begin with.
They quickly retreated and looked to Logan for direction.
‘There. There. There.’
Sensing points beyond the ramparts, Logan pointed out three spots to the knights who had just arrived at the wall, showing three fingers.
It indicated the locations of the higher-ranking knights.
Just as promised, his men avoided those places and began vaulting up onto the wall.
“Thirty or more knights are returning to the north wall!”
“Fifty to the south wall!”
Madness erupted among the enemy on the walls.
Surveying the movements of enemy forces now struggling to intercept Maclaine knights, Logan’s gaze quickly shifted.
“Now, we just need to capture it as swiftly as possible. Please assist.”
“That’s what I’m here for.”
Logan watched as a twinge of power surged within Clayton, who bore a wry smile, before shifting his gaze briefly to his father who had handed him full command and was waiting for a signal.
Nodding at his father, Logan refocused his sensations on the wall.
A top-tier knight and the strongest advanced knight.
Two of Maclaine’s most formidable powers began to exploit gaps in the enemy’s defenses on the ramparts.
In Logan’s field of vision danced two knights who were fervently making their mark.
‘Good grief…’
Both were dear to him, and both were now dangerously drawing the enemy’s attention.
Yet, he could not dampen their achievements on the battlefield.
It was neither fair nor proper, considering their growth and the fact that they were handling the situation very well indeed.
Logan’s face broke into a smile while alternately watching the ginger-haired male and female knights frolicking atop the wall as if they owned it.
‘I can do this!’
Eileen steeled her determination as she gazed at the wall in front of her.
The grueling training from the past few months had been for this damned siege.
Though there were safety measures in place, like a lord or a knight commander, or occasionally young master Logan, the cliff itself was even taller than these walls.
In contrast to that cliff, where finding footing was tricky, the dirt jutting out from various places on the wall served almost like stepping stones.
Eileen could tell, with her particularly acute senses, that this small miracle was the handiwork of a single person near Logan, dressed in soldier’s armor.
‘The magician. Likely that one…’
At this distance where arrows could barely reach, the only one capable of lending such aid would be that grim middle-aged man, the head of the wizard’s tower.
Perhaps Logan and the lords weren’t leading from the front to protect that magician.
But there was no time for such petty concerns.
‘I will distinguish myself!’
If anyone in the current Maclaine knights yearned for valor, it was surely her.
This was a chance to rid herself of the tail of her gender and be recognized as a knight.
Her teeth clenched, Eileen leaped onto the wall with more force than anyone else.
Her legs took a few steps, jumping upward with ease, swiftly reaching the top of the wall, but she was greeted by the scalding rain of enemy oil.
‘Hiss!’
She had anticipated some kind of attack, narrowly twisting to dodge the oil. Then, in front of her, a knight swung his sword.
In mid-jump, with no foothold, and a sword falling upon her from above.
Luckily, she had practiced for such situations during her training.
“Hyap!”
With a shout, Eileen’s body seemed to find an unseen stepping stone in mid-air, allowing her to pivot and vault even higher.
“What?!”
Surprised, the enemy knight’s voice leaked through his helmet as Eileen acrobatically dropped behind him.
Due to her forced aerial maneuvers, the landing was rough.
Crash.
“Uh!”
Amidst her poor landing, the enemy’s sword aimed at Eileen sent her helmet flying, revealing her long hair to the winds.
That moment created a golden opportunity.
“A woman?!”
The dumbfounded brute’s sword hesitated, and that instant was decisive.
Her sword cut through the enemy’s neck.
Whoosh.
“Gah… You mangy cur…”
The eruption of blood.
The dying curse and the man’s glinting eyes were starkly imprinted on Eileen’s sight.
Ridiculously, it was in this moment that Eileen truly realized that she was on an actual battlefield.
Crunch.
A wavering heart and fear burst forth from within, almost overcoming her.
To suppress these emotions, Eileen swung her sword without thought.
A blind flurry of sword strikes.
Luckily, only enemy soldiers surrounded her.
Whoosh!
Around the spot where she stood, a clearing quickly formed, and Maclaine knights began to fill in.
“Well done!”
Passing beside her with a brief exclamation was the intermediate knight, Lecton.
He had always looked down on her in the knight order.
– ‘You have grit, but real combat is different. A woman, huh… Since you’re the young master’s fiancée, we should protect you, right?’
After today, she likely wouldn’t hear such words again.
That single thought helped Eileen recover from her brink-of-panic state.
“Huphh…”
Releasing a deep breath, she quickly regained the fierce light in her eyes.
‘I can do this.’
The moment her emerald eyes glowed with resolve, her sword moves became fiercer and wilder than in training, sweeping through all the enemies around her.
Oomph.
Witnessing the faint orange energy streaming from his own sword, Ronian smirked.
A power barely attained just before the battle.
– ‘Since you are the master’s sibling, I gave it a try. Though not quite like the master’s craft, my skill, coupled with the pure mithril material, should offer you better function than what most low-grade artifacts can provide.’
It was time for his cherished sword, Mane (Morning), named to mimic his brother’s sword Lux (Dawn), to showcase its value.
‘I’m one step ahead now.’
He had originally thought of Victor as nothing more than a good friend to spar with, but the pressure from him had now become easier to shed.
This feeling of his past efforts shining gave Ronian a heart full of confidence.
That’s why he was able to charge unhesitatingly toward the ramparts.
“Wait, young master…”
Leaping ahead of other knights, despite his somewhat smaller frame, Ronian’s belligerence as he dodged two descending swords and landed on the ramparts was palpable.
And then.
‘Wave Cutter.’
Whoosh.
Four layers of orange waves born from his sword blew away the two knights that had barred his path as if they were nothing.
“Come at me!”
Though still slightly smaller than an average adult, Ronian’s presence in this moment was more than enough to draw the attention of all around.
“That kid…!”
He had overdone it.
It might be commendable that he’d improved so much within such a short time, but putting on such a display was excessive.
Yet, due to him, the opportunity they had been waiting for arrived sooner than expected.
Two advanced knights moved toward Ronian, and another rushed towards Eileen and her joined allies.
The positions were at both ends of the ramparts.
Thanks to this, no advanced knights guarded the center at the moment.
The moment Logan confirmed this, he sprang into action, and his father too began rushing towards the wall.
‘Faster. Even faster!’
He maximized the power of the Boots of the Wind God and Shadow Ghost’s might as he closed the distance in a single stride, ascending to the ramparts with only two leaps.
Knights below the intermediate level couldn’t defend against such movement.
Whoosh.
Settling on the wall like the wind, Logan blew away the necks of two enemy knights in an instant.
Logan was tense.
The plan had been successful, but that decoy was his younger brother.
As his presence flared in an attempt to attract the enemy’s gaze.
“I am Padraig Maclaine!”
Closer than Logan expected, his father’s voice burst forth, gathering the focus of all on top of the ramparts.
Padraig’s cry was more than enough to draw all eyes, changing course of the advanced knights who were targeting Eileen and Ronian, converging towards the center instead.
Two of them were taken aback by the two-meter-long Forceblade soaring over Padraig’s sword, quickly retreating with pale faces in the face of the one-sided onslaught that followed.
Another advanced knight rushing from the opposite side didn’t fare much better.
Ooomph.
‘Earth Splitter!’
A grand golden blade sprung from Logan’s sword, slicing through the incoming foe and nearby troops entirely.
Sssshhh.
A vertical swing would likely have even split the ramparts. A single strike devastating enough to fill the nearby 20 meters with nothing but collapsing corpses.
And at that moment, the morale of Tomodo Fortress plummeted completely.