Chapter 77, they’re quite the bunch, aren’t they? (4)
Boom! Boom! Boom!
As the day broke, the enemies started to gather again.
Unlike before, they started moving all at once.
It seemed they were seriously considering breaching the castle walls since they even brought a mobile siege ladder.
Perdium’s soldiers froze in place, completely on edge, witnessing the scene.
Thanks to holding out for two days of the siege, morale was high, but seeing the vast army move together was incredibly overwhelming.
“Hang in there! We can hold them off today too!”
Hearing Zvalter’s encouragement, the soldiers got into position and vigorously shot arrows at the enemies.
Thud! Thud!
The arrows barely did any damage to the advancing enemies, spearheaded by shield soldiers.
Still, here and there, infantry and archers in the rear fell, hit by arrows.
A group finally made it right up to the castle wall through the suppressive fire.
The breached castle wall had already been blocked with wood, dirt, and rocks.
The enemies didn’t bother about that and set ladders against various spots of the wall.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Enemies started climbing the ladders that were propped against the walls.
“Stop them! Drive the enemies back!”
Following Zvalter’s orders, the soldiers hurled numerous weapons down onto the ladders.
They rolled down spiked cylinders and continuously poured hot water and molten metal.
“Argh!”
The enemies, attempting to climb while supporting their shields, couldn’t withstand the fierce response and began to fall one by one.
Perdium’s soldiers also had to fight hard, shielding themselves from enemy suppressing fire coming from below the wall.
Fortunately, the enemy’s assault wasn’t too fierce, so the damage was manageable.
‘What the heck? Why isn’t the siege tower moving?’
Zvalter’s mind swirled with confusion.
Climbing the wall with ladders usually incurs greater casualties than using a siege tower.
Yet, the enemies only used ladders and didn’t budge the siege tower at all.
It was also suspicious that they weren’t pushing forward aggressively.
It felt like they were okay whether they occupied it or not.
Still, with their vast numbers, this side couldn’t just sit back like the enemy.
Zvalter kept pondering the enemy’s intentions.
‘Are they planning to undermine the wall’s foundation? Or are they thinking of tunneling in?’
He thought of other methods often used in siege warfare, but nothing seemed to click.
There were no signs of any work being done beneath the wall, and there wasn’t enough time for them to tunnel.
Ultimately, the enemies couldn’t breach the wall, and by the time the sun began to set, they retreated.
“Woohoo! We held them off again today!”
The soldiers cheered, but it was a grim victory like the day before.
Zvalter’s worries didn’t last long. When night fell, he quickly understood the enemy’s intent.
“Woahhh! Attack!”
The enemies attacked relentlessly even at night, but only with about half of their forces.
They attacked relentlessly even at night. And that was with only about half of their troops.
Even if it was only half, it was still more than Perdium’s entire force.
“These guys! They’re trying to drain our strength completely!”
Zvalter snarled.
‘If we withdraw our troops, the gaps will be everywhere!’
It was hard to adopt the same strategy as the enemy due to the difference in troop numbers.
The enemy’s cautious attacks didn’t cause significant casualties, but fatigue piled up.
By the next day, the other half that had rested at night would come charging back in.
Zvalter tried withdrawing about half of his troops just like the enemy.
However, as soon as the enemy pulled back their forces, they instinctively noticed it and pounced on the weakness.
‘Even though they’re the enemy, their commander’s skills are phenomenal!’
If Ghislaine and the mercenaries hadn’t acted, one side of the castle wall would have already been taken.
“Brother! The soldiers are too exhausted.”
Randolf cautiously delivered the message. But there was no real solution.
They were managing to let the soldiers rest little by little, but the ratio was too skewed compared to the opponent.
The same thing happened the next day. The enemy, having had enough rest, looked relatively fresh, while the allies visibly showed signs of exhaustion.
“Ah, no… I’m so tired I could die.”
“Are we really going to keep fighting like this?”
“When the heck does this end? Didn’t they say they’re out of supplies?”
The morale of Perdium’s soldiers rapidly plummeted.
They hadn’t gotten proper sleep for three days already.
War itself brings incredible tension and fatigue.
And not being able to rest at night while having to fight caused the soldiers’ stamina to decline sharply.
Ghislaine made another desperate move, jumping off the castle wall, but the enemy’s strategy hadn’t changed.
As mercenaries in black armor appeared, the soldiers dodged, and knights rushed in to restrain Ghislaine.
In the end, Ghislaine returned without inflicting much damage.
But a strange smile appeared on his lips.
“Yeah, you’re doing well, Viktor. Just hang in there a bit longer.”
After that, Ghislaine and the mercenaries focused solely on defending the castle walls.
“Your Highness, at this rate, we are doomed. We need to find a solution.”
Gillian whispered in worry, but Ghislaine nodded and gave a chilling smile.
“Right, they’re really gnashing their teeth. But it’s still not time. Just wait a little longer.”
Such strategies aren’t often effective when the defending side has ample troops and supplies. They just waste time.
If things go wrong, the attacking side might end up suffering heavy losses.
However, it was a rather effective tactic against the current Perdium.
Zvalter was once again questioning the purpose and background of this war.
‘Just when did they start preparing for this?’
It’s no secret that Perdium has a shortage of supplies, but…
‘That ladder. They definitely prepared it before the war.’
The walls of Perdium are relatively low compared to others.
Even the bridge of the siege tower becomes a downhill slope when placed against the walls.
But the ladders brought by the enemy were all made to perfectly match the height of Perdium’s walls.
This meant they had been targeting Perdium and preparing for at least a few months.
‘It wasn’t planned from the moment the traitors crossed over. Did they start preparing the moment the Runestone was discovered?’
There had seemingly been spies lurking within the territory for a long time.
‘Count Loges probably won’t make it here.’
It felt like it was time to abandon the hope of any reinforcements.
The reason for losing contact with Count Loges was obvious.
‘The messengers must have all been captured by those guys.’
Now, the last hope was that the enemies would retreat due to supply issues.
The day the stationary siege tower finally moved would be the day of the final battle.
The moving day will likely be the last battle.
‘Can I hold out until then?’
Zvalter looked tiredly at the distant siege tower.
*
Meanwhile, Viktor was also gauging the final battle.
He was leading the battlefield favorably, but the depletion of troops was inevitable.
The increasing damage was not welcome. He needed to reduce losses even a little to have his command abilities recognized.
But he couldn’t just sit back, so he had to move cautiously.
“Supplies are running low, are we alright?”
Tamos asked worriedly from the side.
They needed to resolve this and obtain the runestone. If they failed, Digald wouldn’t recover from the damage suffered in this war.
If Perdium were to attack while they were occupied, Digald would face total annihilation.
“Don’t worry, it will be over soon.”
Viktor replied firmly.
The truth that Digald would also meet its end when Perdium did remained buried in his heart.
‘Can I hold on for about two more days? It’s about time problems started to arise for them too.’
It would be nice to push for another three to four days, but due to supply issues, they didn’t have the luxury.
“Push a bit harder.”
Viktor decided to stretch the battle time a little more, even at the cost of some damage.
The Perdium army, who had been surviving on little sleep, found it increasingly difficult to hold out.
In the meantime, Ghislaine divided the mercenaries in half, ensuring they took regular rest.
The problem was that the more the mercenaries rested, the more Ghislaine had to move.
“Young Master! Are you crazy? You’ll end up dead!”
“Your Highness! You need to rest a little too!”
Belinda and Gillian tried to stop him, but Ghislaine was someone who pushed through with anything he had set his mind to.
“It’s fine. It’s better than dying and resting forever, right? I need to keep moving now.”
Belinda could only clutch her chest at such stubborn yet indifferent responses.
And so, two days passed.
The Perdium army faced an even more serious problem.
“The arrows… are gone.”
“We have no defensive supplies left either.”
As reports from the knights continued, Zvalter eventually lowered his head.
In the face of incessant enemy assaults, they had exhausted all their supplies.
Baron Homern had been diligently bringing supplies from the territory, but that had its limits.
‘They must have planned this.’
The enemy commander had taken full advantage of their weaknesses.
Even Randolf, who was always full of energy, now had dull eyes, and the soldiers were all weary.
‘It’s over.’
It was remarkable that they had held out against such careful enemies for this long.
Without Ghislaine, they would not have lasted this long.
“You look somewhat alright.”
Upon Zvalter’s comment, Ghislaine shrugged in response.
“The battle hasn’t ended yet.”
While Ghislaine’s face did look tired, it was not as deathly pale as the others.
After a moment of thought, Zvalter spoke with a trembling voice.
“When the battle starts… you must lead the mercenaries and leave this place.”
“What do you mean?”
Ghislaine looked puzzled at his father, who was acting differently from usual.
He had always emphasized noble duty and honor, yet now he was telling him to flee.
“Entrust yourself to Count Roges. Privately, the Countess, your aunt, will not neglect you. He will protect you.”
“But you said that’s not a noble’s duty.”
“… I’m just a person too. I can’t help it. It’s a father’s heart, not a lord’s. Take Elena with you too.”
“Do you really think we will lose?”
“The time your troops can effect change has passed. If we win, we will win even without you, and if we lose, we will lose even with you.”
“It’s over. If we win, we’ll win without you, and if we lose, we’ll lose even with you.”
“……”
“Cain, don’t hit him; just befriend him. Don’t mess things up and end up eating your own words.”
“…… Haha.”
Seeing Zvalter joke was quite a rare sight. Ghislaine let out a chuckle without realizing it.
Randolf approached and gently placed his hand on Ghislaine’s shoulder.
“Grand Duke, or rather, since you feel like my nephew now, I’ll speak comfortably.”
“Have you ever spoken comfortably before?”
Ghislaine replied curtly, and Randolf grinned, showing his teeth.
“It was messy being with you, and let’s not meet again. You’ve always been unreliable, but at least you ended like a true Grand Duke of the family and heir to the territory. Go and continue the family legacy.”
“I won’t run away.”
“Just go. You need to survive to seek our revenge later.”
Revenge.
Ghislaine grinned as he responded.
“Revenge has already begun.”
“What?”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Before Randolf could ask what that meant, the sound of the enemy’s drums began to echo.
Thud thud thud thud!
The three remaining siege towers were also on the move.
Everyone felt it in their bones; the time for the final battle had come.
Ghislaine turned away, watching the approaching enemy.
“Now I’ll move as I see fit.”
As Ghislaine headed toward the castle gate, Zvalter and Randolf couldn’t utter a word.
Moments later, Zvalter let out a sigh.
“Yeah, when has he ever listened before? But at least he’s acting noble in the end.”
“Since it’s come to this, let’s see it through to the end. Seeing the siege towers move makes it feel like today is the last day. If there are no weapons, we can just fight with our fists, right?”
Seeing Randolf’s renewed spirit, Zvalter nodded.
Then he shouted to the soldiers.
“Everyone, hold on! Today is our last battle!”
“Waaaah!”
At the lord’s assertion, the soldiers raised their weapons and cheered loudly.
Honestly, no one believed Perdium could win.
It was more like a scream released out of a desire not to die.
As cheers erupted from Perdium, Viktor sneered.
“It’s over. What a tiresome bunch.”
Since yesterday, almost no arrows had been flying.
It was evidence that the enemy’s supplies were nearly exhausted.
Now was the time to charge with overwhelming strength and claim victory.
“The central army will advance and wait near the castle gate!”
He particularly set up shield soldiers thickly in the central army’s formation.
“If they’re pushed to their limit, the enemy will open the castle gate and rush out. At that moment, mages, take them down with your magic.”
The mages standing next to Viktor nodded in agreement.
Viktor was sure that as the siege began, the guys in black armor would come rushing out.
In the final moment, they would try to leverage their strengths and charge.
‘They probably think that’s their last chance for victory.’
But if the mages strike unexpectedly, those guys will surely fall apart.
‘I’ve been hiding the mages for this moment.’
It seemed there was someone clever in Perdium, but that’s as far as it went.
“Everyone! Advance!”
With Viktor’s shout, all the troops began to move simultaneously.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Perdium’s soldiers shook with despair.
They had held on until now. But today, it seemed impossible to survive.
Only the mercenaries stared at the enemy with sharp eyes, fueled with fighting spirit.
As Ghislaine glanced around at the mercenaries, his gaze stopped on someone beside him.
“Vanessa, get ready.”
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