Episode 70: Offense is the best defense. (1)
Digald’s main force arrived in front of Ferdium’s castle.
They took up positions targeting the southern gate and walls of Perdium.
Zwalter felt dizzy as he watched them set up camp a little distance from the castle.
‘Can you hold out?’
What I heard and what I actually saw were so different.
My heart grew heavier as I looked at the long stretch of barracks and troops.
‘No. I have to do it. I have to stop it somehow.’
We must stop it, not only for ourselves, but also for the sake of the people of Yeongji.
While Zwalter was regaining his composure, the soldiers and knights stationed on the walls were also swallowing their saliva and trembling slightly.
‘How do I stop this?’
‘We’re done. The gates will be breached in no time.’
‘If they just push in, we’ll all die, right?’
The northern experience, the strong camaraderie, the long-standing loyalty – all were useless at this moment.
That’s what overwhelming power is.
Just standing there can break the opponent’s will to fight.
Everyone watched the enemies tensely, not knowing what to do.
The Digald army did not invade right away.
After establishing sufficient guards, they began assembling siege weapons.
In less than a day, four massive siege towers and a catapult were completed.
The soldiers of Perdium were gripped by unspeakable fear when they encountered that majesty.
‘Oh, it’s a siege tower.’
‘I’ve never seen anything like it.’
‘Something like that is coming? To this flimsy castle wall?’
I know what a siege tower is, but this is my first time seeing one in person.
Zwalter’s face darkened as he saw the soldiers shaking.
‘This is a big deal. You’re so scared before you even fight.’
Just seeing that huge siege tower made the Ferdium army lose their will to fight.
In contrast to them, Thamos was smiling with great satisfaction.
“It’s true that Count Ferdium only cares about the northern fortress. It seems to be in worse condition than our castle.”
Victor told me not to worry, but people’s hearts don’t always go as planned.
Thamos, who was timid by nature, hoped that the war would not be prolonged.
Since the difference in force was so great, I was hoping to just fight them off in one go.
“The castle is so shabby. Hahaha! That’s fortunate. That’s fortunate. At this rate, we can really finish it quickly. Isn’t that right?”
Victor didn’t show any reaction other than glancing at him, but Thamos paid him no attention and continued laughing and chatting to himself.
As soon as the troop deployment was complete, the knight approached and reported to Victor.
“Ready to advance, complete.”
“Start with the catapult.”
As Victor raised his hand, huge rocks began to fly from the catapult on the left.
Because of the lack of rocks, only one catapult was used, but that was enough.
Boom! Boom!
“Eww! Damage!”
The Ferdium soldiers were startled by the sudden attack and were busy dodging.
Usually, before a battle begins, a messenger comes running first and demands ‘honorable surrender’.
But the enemy started attacking out of the blue without any warning.
The intention to sweep everything away was obvious.
Zwalter swung his sword and screamed at the top of his lungs.
“Everyone, get out!”
The enemy’s forces did not move, so there was no way to attack.
Fortunately, catapults were easy to dodge because they were slow to attack and difficult to control in direction.
Kwaaang! Kwaaang!
Zwalter bit his lip as he watched the wall crumble little by little.
‘If we had catapults, we could have responded.’
The enemies seemed to be certain that there were no catapults here, and showed no sign of preparation.
‘Probably the traitors said that.’
Boom! Boom!
The catapult attack stopped at some point, as they ran out of rocks to use as bullets.
But with just a brief attack, the walls of Perdium were almost completely destroyed.
At the sight, Victor raised one side of his lips and smiled.
“Good start.”
The remains of the wall were piled up so high that it seemed possible to climb up without a ladder.
Only when Victor raised his hand did the troops begin to move.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Digald’s troops moved in unison to the sound of a grand drum.
“All ready! The enemy is advancing!”
As Zwalter shouted, the soldiers trembled and prepared for battle.
Just looking at the sight of the trained soldiers forming formation and approaching gave me a sense of immense pressure.
Moreover, the opposing side has significantly more soldiers.
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“It’s okay! We can stop it! We’ll fight with our castles in our hands!”
Zwalter continued to shout and encourage his soldiers.
The soldiers’ hands were shaking so much that they could not even properly hold their weapons, but they somehow managed to calm their minds at the lord’s shout.
Ddddddddd!
The enemy’s central army did not advance further than a certain distance.
Instead, the two siege towers standing on the left and right sides began to move first.
Zwalter shouted as he looked at the approaching siege tower.
“Shoot!”
Hood thud!
Countless flaming arrows flew and struck the siege tower.
However, siege towers made of wood covered with leather and filled with water did not catch fire easily.
To burn something that size, the entire tower would have to be drenched in oil, and there was no way Perdium had that much oil.
Moreover, the opponent did not just watch Ferdium’s attack.
Choaaaah!
The archers, protected by their shield bearers, stepped forward, and soon a huge number of arrows were flying toward the walls.
“Eww!”
“Bend over!”
“Stand against the wall and shoot!”
Several soldiers fell down after being hit by arrows. The rest managed to lower their bodies and return fire.
However, the difference in military power was so great that they could only keep the enemy at bay by firing arrows.
Meanwhile, siege towers were built on each side of the walls.
Kwah! Kwah!
A siege bridge was lowered from the tower and spanned the wall, and enemy troops poured down from inside the tower like madmen.
“Stop it! Randolph, go the other way!”
Zwalter and Randolph split up and began to fight, each commanding the soldiers on the walls.
“Wow!”
Chaang! Chaang! Chaang!
A melee broke out on the narrow walls where it was difficult to even swing a sword properly.
“Hang in there!”
Zwalter and Randolph somehow managed to sneak through the gap and cut down the enemies.
Despite being inferior, he organically commands his soldiers.
His personal strength is also outstanding, and even when soldiers from Digald continue to push in, he somehow manages to hold out against the walls without giving up.
Victor, who was watching the scene from afar, had eyes that sparkled with interest.
“As expected, he’s a real talent. He’s too good to be wasted here.”
Tamos, who was watching from the side, became impatient and urged him on.
“Why don’t we just lead the knights and break down the gate? That would be faster, wouldn’t it?”
Victor looked down at him without even hiding his pitiful expression.
If we are to break down the gate, we must also concentrate our forces in one place.
There was already a force on the wall, so there was no need to attack another place.
Besides, I’m just writing an article about opening the gates.
The knights were a very valuable force. It was better to save one knight than hundreds of soldiers.
“If the gate is breached now, the enemies will abandon the wall and gather at the gate.”
“Then why don’t we just push it away?”
“The Ferdium castle is narrow. Even if we force our way in, there is a limit to how many people can enter at once, so we will have no choice but to deploy gradually.”
Sequential deployment is a tactic of splitting up units and continuously deploying them.
Fighting like that might tire out the enemy, but there are some pretty good commanders on the other side, so if you’re unlucky, you might have to fight for several days around the castle gates.
Victor pointed to the wall again with his finger and said.
“The same goes for the walls, but once you make a lot of passages and scatter the enemies, you can defeat them individually. We have a lot more troops. We have to take advantage of our troops and minimize damage.”
Victor tried to explain with some irritation, but Thamos still couldn’t understand and asked again.
“Really? Then it ends today?”
‘Should I just kill him now?’
Murderous intent slowly rose in Victor’s heart.
He’s going to die anyway and the war will end soon, so it’s okay to kill him right now.
Victor thought for a moment and then let out a long sigh.
There were still knights and soldiers left beside Count Digald.
It wasn’t difficult to kill any number of them, but there was no need to raise the enemy’s morale by causing a fuss in the rear.
“If troops clash in a narrow space, it will take a long time to win or lose.”
Thamos didn’t understand even half of what was being said, but he nodded when he saw that Victor had a bad expression on his face.
As Victor said, Ferdium was in a dilemma.
If you fail to defend the walls, it is as good as defeat.
Because you will be surrounded by enemies who have climbed over the walls and will have to fight and retreat.
However, the enemy’s forces were too numerous to defend the long walls.
Zwalter and Randolph were somehow holding on thanks to their efforts, but the Ferdium army was growing increasingly exhausted by the endless waves of enemies that kept coming no matter how many times they killed them.
‘Still, we must persevere!’
Zwalter gritted his teeth. He had to kill at least one more enemy before his soldiers got tired.
Victor smiled as he watched the castle walls come to a standstill.
“Deploy your troops to the collapsed wall. Disperse your troops to the wall and gate. Once you’ve captured it, just hold on.”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Again the sound of drums and trumpets was heard, and the troops in the center who had been waiting began to approach.
They were headed towards the wall that had collapsed due to the catapult.
As more enemies poured in, Zwalter became anxious.
There were not enough troops to deploy to the collapsed walls to hold off the enemies pouring in from the siege towers.
‘Randolph alone can’t stop all that! The number of troops on the wall is too small!’
The enemy’s central force and the cavalry in the rear ranks, targeting the castle gate, were still not moving.
The enemy’s intention to disperse our forces was obvious, but we had no choice but to stop them.
If the breached wall was captured, it would be like creating a stronghold.
Zwalter shouted urgently.
“Giselle! Block the collapsed wall!”
Jiselle was waiting with the mercenaries inside the castle gate.
They were all heavily armed with black helmets and armor.
It seemed as if something had been carefully added onto the helmet and armor.
Near the gate opener, a group of forest guards, led by Skoban and Masu, gathered.
“Your Majesty! The Lord’s command has been given! You must go to support him. The Knight Commander is in danger!”
Skoban shouted urgently. Giselle shook her head.
“We do not block the walls.”
“yes?”
Skoban and the soldiers looked puzzled.
Jiselle decided to support the dangerous side and took command of the mercenaries.
But what if we don’t guard the walls now?
Skoban and his soldiers began to wander around, not knowing what to do.
It seemed like they were contemplating whether they should go and apply themselves.
The mercenaries also looked at Jisel with puzzled eyes. If he doesn’t block the walls, what will he do with them?
At that moment, Zwalter’s scream was heard again.
“Gisselle! Move! What are you doing!”
Randolph also roared.
“Archduke! Archduke, you little punk! What are you doing! The enemies are coming!”
The enemies had already come close to the collapsed wall.
Jiselle took her time and gave orders to Skoban.
“Open it.”
“Huh? What?”
“castle gate.”
Skoban waved his hands in horror.
“Ah, no! Your Highness! What are you saying? Why are you opening the gates?”
“Now is a very good opportunity.”
“What chance is this! Stop talking nonsense!”
When it seemed as if Skoban would not listen to her orders, Giselle nodded to the mercenaries beside her.
The mercenaries paused for a moment, but then moved as ordered.
They rushed in at their employer’s orders, raised the bars on the lower gate, and began to open the gate.
“Oh, no! You must not open the gate!”
Skoban tried to stop him in a panic, but the mercenaries grabbed him and dragged him out.
Ddddddddd!
Through the slowly opening gates, the enemy’s central army can be seen in the distance.
He was still so relaxed that he wasn’t moving at all.
“It seems like it’s a good situation to move from this side.”
Crunch!
Jiselle smiled and lowered the visor of her helmet.
His helmet also had something black meticulously added to it.
Clank! Clank! Clank!
The mercenaries also all covered their faces with helmets.
Although they had prepared to follow Jiselle, the mercenaries were beginning to feel uneasy.
Belinda’s face turned pale and she began to sweat, while Gillian’s expression hardened.
Only Kaor’s eyes were shining like a child holding a gift.
Then Zwalter shouted again.
“Giselle! What are you doing! Why aren’t you moving yet!”
He shook off the enemies and quickly checked under the walls, then stammered in horror.
“You, you now! What, what are you doing! W-why did you open the gate!”
The gates are open and the son and the mercenaries are ready to go out.
How many times have I told you to follow orders!
“Everyone, close it! Close the gates and go to the walls!”
No matter how much Zwalter shouted, Giselle and the mercenaries showed no response.
“You bastard! It’s the lord’s order! Quickly help Randolph and defend the walls!”
Randolph also checked the situation under the walls and shouted in horror.
“Your Highness! Why are you opening the gate, you crazy bastard!”
Jiselle slowly lowered her body, pretending not to hear what the two people were talking about.
He spoke, holding a huge two-handed axe and gathering a lot of mana towards his legs.
“Defense of the walls… … . Skoban, do you know that?”
Skoban responded to Giselle’s words with a look of bereavement.
“What? Are you saying we’re all ruined?”
“no.”
“Then what is it?”
“Attack is the best defense.”
“yes?”
“When an opportunity comes, don’t hesitate and just take action.”
A red light flashed from inside the helmet.
and.
Kwaaaaaaaang!
Jiselle’s body was shot out at incredible speed.
