Chapter 72: Attack is the Best Defense (3)
The face of the remaining knight hardened.
To split a knight who could wield mana in a single strike was no ordinary skill.
‘Is there such a person in Perdium? Could that be Randolf?’
The knight stepped back and assessed the situation.
Thud thud thud.
Ghislaine approached quickly, dragging his bloody axe along the ground.
“If you’re going to jump in, come all at once. We don’t have time.”
Provoked by Ghislaine’s arrogant words and gestures, the knight’s face twisted as he shouted.
“Form up! We’ll strike all at once!”
Swoosh!
The soldiers raised their shields and extended their long spears forward.
“Attack!”
“Waaah!”
Over a hundred soldiers charged at one person.
Ghislaine narrowed his eyes and swung his axe arm wide.
“Hmph!”
The axe struck the ground in a massive arc.
BOOM!
“Uwaaaaaah!”
Dozens of soldiers at the front burst apart in an explosion.
The attack was so strong that their shields offered no protection.
Whooooosh!
Crack crack crack!
As Ghislaine spun around with the axe in both hands, the front line of the enemy was torn apart.
“Uh? Uh?”
“What, what is this guy!”
“He’s not someone we can handle!”
As the front line was shattered in an instant, even the bold enemies hesitated and stepped back.
Usually, such powerful foes are dealt with by knights, not left to the soldiers.
Soldiers only dared to face tough opponents when they could overwhelm them with sheer numbers.
Screech!
Seeing the red smoke escaping from the gaps in the black armor, the soldiers took another step back.
They felt an instinctive aversion to approaching. He was pretty much a demon.
The knight commanding this area was even more flustered than the soldiers.
“What are you doing! Everyone attack! I said attack!”
Even though they had only clashed once, the morale of the allies rapidly plummeted.
Normally, he would take charge himself, but honestly, the thought of winning didn’t seem plausible.
If he were to clash with that massive axe, his sword would shatter in an instant.
The knight gulped nervously.
‘Maybe I should have brought a big weapon as well.’
Before that terrifying axe, his sword looked pitifully inadequate.
In the moment everyone was taken aback, the black demon exhaled more red smoke and moved.
“Not coming? Then I’ll go.”
Whooom!
Ghislaine soared and landed right in the middle of the enemies.
BOOM!
Each time he swung the axe without restraint, the enemies exploded like meat chunks.
Ghislaine unlocked up to the second core and unleashed his power to the fullest.
When the soldiers tried to retreat, the knight screamed in rage.
“Attack! You fools! If you run away, you’ll all die anyway! Just stab him somehow!”
Several brave soldiers thrust their spears as trained.
Thud! Crash!
However, their desperate attacks failed to penetrate the armor and were stopped short.
Ghislaine enveloped himself in mana, rendering standard attacks nearly ineffective.
Slowly wearing him down might work, but right now, facing Ghislaine with just the soldiers was hopeless.
Ghislaine was outmatched.
Boom!
Ghislaine carelessly took attacks head-on, sending soldiers flying.
Bang!
It was the moment his axe struck down the soldiers once more.
“Die!”
The Knight, who was just waiting for an opportunity, seized the small gap and lunged with his sword.
Knowing he couldn’t take Ghislaine on alone, he used the soldiers as bait to find an opening.
Ghislaine sensed the sharp killing intent aimed at his neck and swiftly turned his head to the side.
Crack!
Gotcha!
The shoulder of the armored knight cracked, and blood burst forth.
Thud!
Despite the blood flowing, Ghislaine ignored it and reached out, grabbing the Knight’s face.
“You guys are pretty decent after all.”
It was pure admiration and compliment.
The skill to injure through mana and the cold tactics to sacrifice soldiers just for a chance.
He would have to continue fighting these tough opponents.
“So I can’t let you live.”
Boom!
Ghislaine slammed the Knight’s head into the ground.
With his head buried, the Knight’s neck shattered, and he died right then and there.
Crunch!
Even crushing the head of the corpse underfoot, Ghislaine picked up his axe again.
Boom! Bang!
With a few swings of his axe, more than half of the soldiers were sent flying.
With all the commanding knights dead, the remaining soldiers had no strength or will to endure.
“R-Run! Run away!”
As the few enemies scattered in all directions, Ghislaine took a moment to catch his breath and looked up at the massive Siege Tower.
A monster on the battlefield that demoralized allies just by existing. To change the flow of battle completely, he had to take this tower down.
“I need to get rid of it quickly.”
He boldly entered and launched an attack from behind the troops ascending.
Crunch! Crack!
“Uwaaaah!”
The enemies, suddenly attacked from behind, fell without being able to mount a decent response.
To prevent attacks from various directions, the bottom entrance of the Siege Tower was blocked on all sides.
Those inside the tower couldn’t quickly grasp the situation happening outside.
“Enemies! The enemy has entered the Siege Tower!”
The soldiers in the lower levels sensed the commotion and turned around.
But there was no one who could stop Ghislaine, swinging his axe while spewing red smoke.
The soldiers gathered below were completely annihilated in an instant.
“U-Get up!”
“Why is the enemy here?!”
“It’s a monster! A monster has come in!”
Soldiers hastily pushed forward, desperate to get past those in front of them.
The sight of Ghislaine approaching, creating countless corpses, was pure terror.
The walls were being held by the Perdium army. They were in a state of panic, unable to act.
Everyone trembled in fear of being caught from behind, but Ghislaine didn’t follow them up the tower.
Instead, he stood among the fallen bodies for a moment before starting to break the stairs leading up.
Boom! Bang!
The first floor of the Siege Tower, consisting of three platforms and stairs, was quickly smashed to bits.
Now the enemies couldn’t come down.
The enemy soldiers were left fidgeting, unable to break through the Perdium army in front of them or get down from the tower.
“Huff…”
Ghislaine let out a deep breath while standing on the debris of the broken stairs and corpses.
Grrr!
The three cores whirred violently, releasing even greater power.
Vivid red mana enveloped the axe. Ghislaine swung the axe without hesitation.
Boom!
The left side of the Siege Tower exploded, creating a large hole.
Squeak.
The remaining structure creaked and groaned.
But the massive tower showed no signs of collapsing.
Ghislaine gritted his teeth, drawing more mana, and swung the axe again towards the opposite wall.
Boom!
Tower debris exploded outwards in a cascade.
Crack!
Finally, the Siege Tower began to shake. The remaining two walls were far too insufficient to support its colossal frame.
Squeak, crash!
The flimsy remaining iron plates and wood twisted and screamed.
“I throw up.”
“Ugh, uuuugh!”
“If this goes on, it’ll collapse!”
“Hurry! Get to the castle wall!”
The soldiers down below, sensing the chaos, started pushing each other forward.
The terrified soldiers poured out towards the castle wall like a stampede.
The strength of humans facing death is beyond imagination. In an instant, Perdium’s forces were pushed back.
“Hold the line! Endure!”
Randolf shouted, cutting down enemies from the front.
They needed to block the entrance to prevent the enemies from taking over the castle wall.
Just then, Ghislaine swung his axe again as both sides clashed fiercely on the wall.
KABOOM!
Finally, a hole broke through the wall barely holding the siege tower upright.
The giant with a broken leg could no longer stand.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
As the tree on one side finally shattered, other areas began to break in a chain reaction.
“It’s… collapsing!”
Despairing screams erupted from within the shaking siege tower.
WHAM! BOOM!
The inner structures began to misalign first.
KABOOM!
“AAAHHHH!”
The bridge sprawled across the castle wall broke off and fell below, taking enemy soldiers with it.
CRUMBLE!
The now powerless siege tower tilted with a loud crash.
Wooden pillars poured out from the gaping wall.
“AHHHH!”
The soldiers left inside the tower plummeted along with the crumbling floor.
KABOOM!
Ultimately, the massive giant that was a cornerstone of the battlefield fell with a deafening noise.
PHSSSSSSS…
Dust clouds billowed around the ruins, as if the fallen siege tower took its last breath.
In an instant, silence enveloped the battlefield.
“Could it be that the Grand Duke is… all alone?”
Randolf and the Perdium forces fighting on the wall stared blankly down below.
“Our siege tower… has fallen…”
“W-what did the commander do? Alone?!”
Enemy soldiers and mercenaries blocking the path gazed in astonishment at the siege tower.
Everyone on the battlefield was left in shock at this absurd situation.
Yet, amidst the suffocating silence, someone moved.
“Young Master!”
“Prince!”
Belinda and Gillian turned away from their opponents, abandoning their fights.
The debris piled up like a giant’s tomb.
Amidst it, there were bodies pierced and torn apart.
Some were still writhing, whether still clinging to life or not.
Just as the two were grimacing and trying to clear the wreckage…
KABOOM!
From the center of the debris, Ghislaine sprang out.
HSSSSSS!
Covered from head to toe in enemy blood, he emitted constant streams of red vapor.
RATATATAT!
Ghislaine charged straight at the bewildered enemies.
WHOOSH!
KABOOM!
One soldier’s head exploded as he was cleaved in half, dying with a look of utter disbelief frozen on his face.
WHOOSH!
KABOOM!
Ghislaine swung his massive axe once more, scattering the surrounding soldiers.
The startled enemies finally started to retreat in a panic.
In the meantime, Ghislaine shouted loudly, “Focus! We’re retreating to the castle wall!”
The escape route to the castle wall was being held desperately by Kaor and the mercenaries.
One side of the castle wall had been perfectly secured by the Perdium forces.
Ghislaine and the mercenaries quickly began to pull back.
“What’s this, we’re retreating now?”
“The siege tower fell! It’s completely wrecked! Did the commander really do it all by himself?”
“Shut up and just follow the commander quickly!”
Even the mercenaries were confused, so it was only natural that the enemies were equally lost.
The soldiers hesitated, unable to react to the sudden turn of events.
“What are you doing! Chase after them quickly!”
“They’re escaping!”
“Don’t let them get away!”
Just as the commanders finally snapped back to reality and shouted, the mercenaries had already disappeared far away.
Some gave chase to the mercenaries, while others still stood dumbfounded, and a few cowered back in terror.
Some were still standing there dazed, completely unaware of the situation, while others were backing away in fear.
In the chaos, they even tangled up and fell over themselves. The formation was a complete mess.
Randolf seized the opportunity and shouted urgently, “Shoot! Cover the Grand Duke!”
The arrows aimed at the enemy archers veered off course and flew toward the soldiers.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The confused enemies were hit by a rain of arrows.
The enemy archers responded with fire towards the castle walls, but many soldiers were already dead by then.
Ghislaine, leading the mercenaries, took advantage of the gap and changed direction.
“Enter through the fallen castle wall!”
The castle gate had already been closed by Skoban and his soldiers.
The mercenaries quickly darted inside the breached walls.
“Now we block the wall! Move forward!”
Clang! Clang!
At Ghislaine’s command, the mercenaries efficiently stacked shields to seal the gap.
Zvalter, guarding the wall, felt as if his chest might explode.
‘What on earth…! Such unbelievable tactics!’
Even witnessing it firsthand, he could hardly believe it.
The process of breaching the side, destroying the siege tower, and returning to the walls was dazzlingly quick.
They were so fast that the enemies couldn’t even respond properly.
Even he, with ample battlefield experience, wouldn’t dare to attempt something so reckless.
‘No way, how could someone with no battle experience pull this off…?’
Zvalter felt as if he were possessed by a ghost. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t understand it.
It was more astonishing that Ghislaine led the mercenaries into battle and turned the tide than the fact he single-handedly destroyed the siege tower.
It was not a strategy devised from deep thought.
He captured the enemy’s intentions and battlefield conditions in an instant and instinctively acted.
‘Did that guy really have such abilities? Such a natural sense and talent!’
It was something only possible for someone who lived for war.
No, even someone with extensive experience could not do it like Ghislaine.
It took a person with innate sharp judgment and decisiveness, who honed those skills to be able to deploy them whenever necessary.
Zvalter shook his head to collect his thoughts.
‘Let’s think about it later. Thanks to Ghislaine, one side has caught its breath for now.’
The siege tower had become useless, and the ladder cart hadn’t even departed yet.
The enemies couldn’t advance.
Meanwhile, Randolf openly expressed his frustration.
He was just as shocked, but his anger surged even higher.
“You crazy bastard! You got lucky this time, but if it had gone wrong, we all would have died! We all would have been breached!”
It was perfectly natural anger for a commander, but Ghislaine shrugged it off as if he hadn’t heard.
Randolf, fired up again, cursed loudly, but his voice got drowned out by the soldiers’ boisterous cheers.
“Wow!”
The morale of the soldiers soared after witnessing Ghislaine’s unbelievable performance.
With the siege tower destroyed, they had room to shoot arrows freely.
One knight from the enemy forces, pushed back helplessly from the walls, shouted non-stop.
“Damn it! Get a grip! What are the captains doing? I said control the soldiers! Gather by the breached wall! Shield soldiers, block the arrows first! Archers, fall back and maintain pressure! You idiot fools!”
With the ranks completely scattered and in chaos, control was difficult.
Things had turned chaotic, and no commands were issued.
‘Damn it! Is the main force also confused by the situation? Why is there no signal? Decide quickly whether to send in the ladder cart and reinforcements or to retreat and reorganize!’
At times like this, one had to act on instinct.
The knight shouted hoarsely to gather the scattered soldiers.
“Everyone gather! Come over here! Charge towards the breached wall!”
Their only option left was to rush toward the fallen castle wall.
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