The Returned Sword King Decided to Become a Tyrant Chapter 203
Choices that determine fate (3)
The night passed by in an instant, and the promised day finally arrived.
Duke Luke, who had come out wearing golden armor, asked quietly while looking at the troops visible beyond the castle walls.
“There’s no sign of them moving their troops, right?”
“Yes, their king would not have been able to move either.”
“good.”
Has it been about 20 years?
It had been a really long time since he had worn armor.
At least in this battle, its implications will be clear.
“All troops, listen up!”
chuck-!
As Duke Luke shouted, the soldiers lined up in front of him raised their weapons.
“The day has dawned! I will show the majesty of the Federal Empire to those ignorant worms who dared to invade the Imperial territory without knowing their place!”
“insect!”
“Advance!”
“Advance!”
Phew oh oh oh-!
Boom-! Boom-! Boom-!
As the trumpets sounded to signal battle, the soldiers of the Federation Empire began to run toward the walls.
And the vibrations that shake the axis!
The sight of them burning with battle spirit was so fierce that it was difficult to call them a force of only 5,000.
The Duke confirmed that the advance had begun and turned his gaze to Viscount Krell.
“It’s good to relieve the fatigue of the advance, but there’s no need to give them time to prepare.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. That is correct.”
“Inform the other two castles to begin their siege immediately.”
“I will obey your orders. Okay!”
Doo doo doo doo-!
Upon receiving the order, Count Krell rode off on horseback.
Meanwhile, one of the commanders who had remained after the five thousand troops left approached.
“Your Majesty. I hear that preparations for the leaflet operation are complete.”
“okay.”
If so, then everything is ready.
It was time for him to start moving too.
* * *
Phew-!
“They’re coming!”
I could tell even if no one shouted.
Because the vibrations reached all the way to the top of the wall and were felt at their feet.
Of course, Esteban’s soldiers were not the type to panic over something like that.
“We take advantage of the distance before they get there!”
“All right!”
The soldiers began to move busily.
Then, the cylinders that had been prepared in advance on top of the wall appeared. They were machine crossbows that had been very active during sieges.
But the true value of this weapon was when it was used against Mercury.
“All right! They’re in range!”
“Load the gunpowder!”
“The charge is complete!”
“Shoot!”
Phew pew pew pew-!
Silver tails that decorate the sky.
The small arrows that were suddenly fired extended further, increasing the height of the wall.
Compared to the range alone, it was almost three times that of a conventional arrow.
“what!’
“Eww!”
“We haven’t even reached the wall yet… … bang!”
The soldiers of the Federal Empire were suddenly struck by a hail of arrows and were terrified.
Fortunately, the distance was short, so there were few dead soldiers, but the problem was the number of injured.
“Huh, is this their secret weapon?”
“What should we do?”
“What the hell, what the hell!”
A commander who had been angry looked at the soldier rolling on the ground and coldly scolded him.
“Don’t you know the key point of this strategy? The other two places have already started to advance. Keep advancing! We’ll finish it in one go.”
“……All right.”
“Tsk.”
On the battlefield, casualties were a variable that held back comrades. In fact, weren’t some formations noticeably disorganized?
But now was the time to take a risk. That was the judgment of the commanders.
So the Federal Empire gave up on them and chose to advance quickly.
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“her.”
“… …They just push their way in.”
Rather, it was Esteban’s troops who were disgusted by this. The expression on his distorted face was disgust.
“Those guys who aren’t even human… … .”
“Don’t panic! Didn’t you expect and train for moves like this?”
“Out of the expected range! Keep shooting arrows!”
By now, they must have realized the only drawback of a machine crossbow that can fire dozens of arrows per minute.
That’s right, once a cylinder is fired it takes a long time to reload.
“Start loading in the given order!”
“All right!”
“We’re starting to run out of arrows. The rest of you, move the arrows up to the wall!”
“yes!”
The knights continued to respond as calmly as possible.
Meanwhile, the Federal Empire’s forces advanced quickly like a sailboat with the wind at its back.
By doing so, they had already approached within the normal arrow range of their rapid advance.
“Now, aim for the archers who are shooting arrows! They won’t be able to hold them back as they please!”
“All right!”
Phew pew pew pew-!
The crossbows, which had been loaded, began firing arrows one after another.
But they weren’t the only ones watching this.
“shear!”
Wooooow-
Ting ting ting ting!
“… … !”
Arrows fall helplessly, blocked by a translucent, milky-white curtain that appears in the sky.
At the same time, dozens of silhouettes flew up from behind them.
“He’s a wizard!”
“Their magic flyers have appeared!”
Unlike previous sieges where there were no proper magicians, the Duke’s army possessed a force worthy of the name of a magic squadron.
And the influence that well-trained wizards have on the battlefield is not small.
“So they were hiding their magical powers.”
As evidence, the agency’s crossbows have not been able to perform their duties properly since they intervened.
“… … They may not have infinite mana, but by then they will have already scaled the walls.”
“So you’re saying that you were confident? Then we should also respond… …!”
“Okay. Just let them come.”
“… … !”
At that moment, a calm voice was heard among the knights who were sorting out the situation.
As the surprised knights turned their heads, they saw George approaching them with his hands in his overcoat pockets.
“Your Majesty… … !”
“What do you mean, let’s leave them alone?”
“What’s wrong? Our weapon isn’t a crossbow anyway.”
“That’s true, but… … .”
The most basic strategy is to reduce the number of enemies as much as possible before they approach.
If you give up on this right now, you’ll have to bear the full burden of that number.
But George was still walking along peacefully.
“Rather than wasting manpower on useless attacks, it is better to prepare for close combat with the enemy in advance. At least for now.”
“… … I understand.”
“Then put away your crossbows immediately and prepare to block the ladder.”
And at that moment, in the heat of the battlefield, George’s coat fluttered.
“From now on, I will take command of the battlefield.”
Those eyes that had maintained indolence even in the most difficult situations became cold and sank.
* * *
“That’s strange.”
Even when the full-scale battle began, the Duke’s eyes, which had been searching only for the King, were now constantly watching the upper part of the castle walls.
It was at that moment that I felt an inexplicable sense of discomfort.
“… … The enemy’s morale is not broken. Why is that?”
“What do you mean?”
When the knight next to him asked, the duke narrowed his eyes and explained.
“The battle has been going on for two hours. At this rate, it would be normal for many to be dead or injured, but they’re still fine.”
“Isn’t that because new troops are filling the places of the dead?”
“That’s not it. Look over there.”
The peacock’s fingers touched one side of the wall.
There was Esteban’s soldier pouring boiling oil down the ladder.
And someone’s arrow is aimed at him… … !
The knight raised his aura and strengthened his eyesight.
“… … It hit my shoulder.”
“hmm.”
But it wasn’t a serious injury. Strictly speaking, it was just a graze that would allow for the fight to continue immediately.
But then, the soldier suddenly stepped back and started to disappear somewhere.
That was the true nature of the sense of discomfort the Duke felt.
“They will be replaced by the rear as soon as they are injured. During that time, the front line will collapse for a while. Why take that risk?”
“that…….”
“If we had the means to do so, it would be understandable. The number of troops in that castle is very small. It’s strange to keep changing them just because of minor injuries.”
From the Duke’s perspective, that was nothing short of inefficient.
So the duke snapped his fingers and summoned the wizard who was nearby.
“Fly up to the sky and look inside. Look carefully at every nook and cranny.”
“……yes?”
“Didn’t you hear my orders?”
“Oh, no!”
Even for the most skilled wizards, using multiple spells at the same time was difficult.
And the Duke’s order was clearly to use detection magic.
However, if you fly into the sky and use detection magic, you will not be able to summon a shield to protect yourself.
In other words, the Duke’s instructions were no different from a suicide order to be carried out even at the risk of death.
‘Perhaps if I die, I will go find my next target… …!’
Of course, as a mere wizard, I could not disobey such an order.
“Okay, I’ll be back.”
Swish-!
The wizard reluctantly flew into the sky and used detection magic.
And then Esteban’s arrow shot as if he had been waiting for it.
They were even preparing for this situation.
“Ugh!”
Ting!
“… … Ugh!”
Fortunately, however, a fellow wizard noticed this and put up a defensive barrier.
The wizard sighed in relief and came down to the duke’s side.
“Whew, confirmed.”
“Then tell me what their wounded soldiers are doing.”
“… … Are you talking about the wounded soldiers?”
The wizard continued speaking, recalling the situation he had seen.
“Most of the soldiers were huddled on the upper side of the wall, and the wounded were seen heading to the barracks below the wall.”
“… …Barracks? Are you sure?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“… … .”
The peacock stroked his chin and narrowed his eyebrows.
‘Is there any reason to go down instead of performing emergency treatment on the wall?’
That too, the wounded soldiers who were replaced… … .
Wait a minute… …injured soldier?
At that moment, the duke’s expression began to distort.
“Yes, he was a priest.”
“yes?”
“They were using the priest to repeat the treatment.”
“iced coffee……!”
Soldiers who still look fine even after a long time since the battle.
And the frequent shift changes and the incomprehensible movement of the wounded soldiers!
That explains the whole situation.
They had brought the priest they had borrowed from their ally, the Holy Empire, all the way here!
You cheeky bastards!
The peacock’s eyes flashed.
‘If we continue like this, we’ll lose to them in terms of endurance. I guess we’ll have to change our strategy.’
Up until now, I’ve just been watching the situation unfold in preparation for dealing with their king.
If the bastard didn’t show up, we could just drag him out from here.
If he joins and causes chaos inside, he certainly won’t be able to stay still.
“Follow me. I will deal with them myself.”
“All right.”
“Here!”
As the duke rode in front, the knights followed behind him.
“Get out of the way!”
“Huh!”
A dozen horses crossing the battlefield.
As the soldiers heard the shouts, they hastily stepped aside, leaving enough room for the horses to run.
At that moment, Duke Luke shouted.
“Swallow!”
“insect!”
And of course the knights, and even Duke Luke.
He swallowed something he took out of his pocket.
Tsuzuzuzuzu-!
Then black smoke began to rise between their armor.
A pill created by the dark magicians of the Federation Empire!
It was created through repeated improvements and has long since become a kind of stimulant that pushes human potential to its limit.
Of course there were some side effects, but it didn’t matter.
‘… … As expected, this power is amazing.’
The Duke raised the corners of his mouth as he felt the aura stirring within him.
A power that surpasses that of the Sword Master, albeit momentarily.
With this power, it was clear that I would be able to deal with them before any side effects appeared.
“Get over the wall! Kill their priests first!”
“insect!”
Kwajik!
Wedge!
“What, what is it!”
“That’s… … !”
The moment Esteban’s soldiers sensed something strange.
A dozen knights had already leapt over the wall and entered the interior.
It flew tens of meters from the ground.
