Chapter 189: It’s Time to Show Our Strength (3)
Before the attack began, Ghislaine asked Vanessa, “What’s the enemy troop deployment status?”
Vanessa, who had been sitting quietly with her eyes closed, opened them. Beside her lay a mage who had fainted, bubbles forming at his mouth.
“As expected, Lord, all the enemy forces are gathered at the target point of the tunnel. The soldiers remaining around the castle gate and walls are less than half.”
Thanks to reaching the 6th Circle, Vanessa could scout a much broader area than other mages.
She compensated for her lack of mana by absorbing it from other mages. There were quite a few mages who had fainted from having their mana drained.
Even as mages continued to collapse, Ghislaine insisted that Vanessa keep casting her scouting spells.
Whether they could briefly sweep the entire battlefield or not was a crucial factor that determined the outcome of the war. Last time, they had caught spies thanks to cycling through mages.
Confirming that the enemy was moving as he expected, Ghislaine nodded and continued, “Alright, it’s time to begin.”
“Are you really… going to be okay? One wrong move and we could fall into great danger.”
At Vanessa’s worried words, Ghislaine chuckled.
“Instead, if we succeed, we can capture the castle without heavy damage.”
“How about I use the mages’ mana to attack the soldiers on the walls instead?”
“No way. It’s not time to expose our mages yet. And besides, even if we can inflict damage that way, we can’t easily capture it. The enemy will try to hold out until reinforcements arrive. You know we don’t have time, right?”
“Still…”
“We go in, kill the enemies, and open the castle gate. How simple and great is that? They’ve been starving for so long; they won’t be tough to deal with.”
Vanessa lowered her head at Ghislaine’s firm answer.
It was dangerous, but if they succeeded, the reward would be significant. The chance to capture a castle in a day was worth the risk.
She could only hope for a success with minimal damage.
“Understood. Please take care…”
“Yeah. Now let’s get ready.”
Putting Vanessa’s worries aside, Ghislaine summoned the knights.
“When night falls, we will ride hot air balloons into the enemy castle. After that, we will capture the walls and open the gate.”
“……”
The knights, who had been boastful just a moment ago, now showed expressions that said the inevitable was finally here.
The recent supplies included dozens of hot air balloons. It was far too many for reconnaissance.
Seeing that, the knights recalled the falling technique they had just learned, hoping against hope. But they couldn’t believe their anxiety would become a reality.
Now that the lord had spoken, the plan wouldn’t be canceled. Based on their experiences, they knew how stubborn the lord was, and the knights felt a heavy weight in their hearts.
At that moment, one knight asked with a puzzled tone, “Then why did we dig the tunnel? Are we not planning to attack from there?”
“That was a decoy. Right now, the enemy’s main force is gathered at the tunnel exit to launch a counterattack against us.”
“They’re gathered around the tunnel exit to get ready.”
“That means…”
“Right, if we board the hot air balloon now and enter the castle, we can quickly strike at the castle gate.”
The knights swallowed hard, unable to say a word.
The lord was manipulating the entire situation in his hands. It was spine-chilling.
The real deal was the hot air balloon. Preparing siege equipment or digging tunnels was merely to lure the enemy into complacency and divert their attention.
‘So that’s why we trained in falling techniques.’
‘They prepared for this from the very beginning.’
‘Well… our lord wouldn’t act without a plan.’
Thinking back, the lord had always been like that. There was never a single action without meaning.
From the Forest of Monsters to the Perdium Workshop War, he would go to any lengths for victory.
A style that carefully prepared while deceiving not just the enemy but also his allies.
Because his methods were beyond common sense, people couldn’t believe him completely, but looking at the results, the lord always had a plan.
Seeing the extremely tense knights, Ghislaine continued speaking.
“I understand what you’re worried about. Even with all the preparation, jumping into the heart of the enemy territory is no easy task. It’s a very dangerous operation with uncertain survival.”
“……”
That was true. No matter how much they had become knights, they were only half knights with a time limit on their fighting.
If they failed to quickly subdue the enemy and open the castle gate, they would surely be surrounded by the enemy troops and wouldn’t escape annihilation.
That was something Ghislaine understood better than the knights present, who planned the operation.
Amid the rising tension, Ghislaine slowly opened his mouth.
“We are still weaker than the enemy. The enemies we will face in the future are far more powerful than Count Cabaldy.”
Count Desmond is one of the strongest in the North. The Duke faction is so powerful that there is no one to compare to as a single force.
Everyone already knew that they would have to fight such foes in the future.
“Therefore, this war must end at a pace that the enemy couldn’t even imagine. If we can’t easily subdue even this much of an enemy, there will be no hope for us. I ask you, were our preparations insufficient?”
At those words, the knights snorted and puffed up their chests.
They had trained hard, even risking their lives to master mana. They had prepared with the determination to break their bodies.
They had worked harder than anyone else and grown at a pace no one could have imagined.
That was an undeniable fact. Because of that, their pride and confidence had grown tremendously compared to before.
The knights shouted in a thunderous voice.
“It is not lacking!”
Their preparations were not lacking. It was just that the enemy in front of them wasn’t an opponent they could underestimate, making them cautious.
“Although it may seem so, the level of armament of Cabaldy’s troops is among the best in the North. We’re about to drop right into their midst. Are you afraid of that?”
At Ghislaine’s subtle provocation, the knights laughed, snorting dismissively.
“We’ve already beaten Desmond’s army once.”
“And we caught the astonishing monsters in the Forest of Monsters.”
“So what’s there to fear from those guys?”
The knights’ eyes began to blaze with heat. Ghislaine smiled slyly and said.
“Right, fear belongs to those unprepared. We have given our all until now.”
The enemies were completely unprepared. Now it was time to unleash everything they had built up against them.
Ghislaine lightly punched his chest twice and laughed.
“I want a flawless victory.”
This was a victory ritual taken by the mercenaries who serve the goddess of war.
Most of the knights were ex-mercenaries, so they laughed and punched their chests just like Ghislaine.
Even those who weren’t ex-mercenaries understood the meaning, so they followed the ritual.
Before long, the knights’ faces were completely devoid of fear and tension.
It had disappeared.
Ghislaine continued with a confident tone.
“I will lead the charge once again.”
In the Forest of Monsters and in the last war, Ghislaine had always done just that.
Arriving first at the most dangerous spots, making the impossible possible.
This was the source of his power that led everyone and the trust they placed in him.
“Follow me with all your might, just like before.”
That’s all it took. Then they could seize victory once more.
The knights mirrored Ghislaine’s expression, placing their fists against their hearts in salute.
Just moments ago, they prayed for victory as mercenaries, but now they swore to risk their lives as knights, following their lord.
After looking around at the knights, Ghislaine turned with a cruel smile.
“Let’s go. It’s time to show our strength.”
*
The personnel working in the tunnel also joined the main force under the cover of night.
It would be great if all of them could board the hot air balloon and enter the castle, but no matter how tightly they packed it, 400 people couldn’t fit in.
Each mage had to ride on one hot air balloon to quickly adjust altitude and direction, so they couldn’t increase the number of balloons beyond the number of mages.
The knights insisted on going, each trying to assert their pride. In the end, they had to force a selection.
“Ugh, I wanted to go.”
“Why should I be left out when I’m stronger?”
“Ha, I can’t stand those who have already been and are showing off.”
A little over 100 knights were selected, while the remaining knights licked their lips and marched alongside the soldiers.
The level of danger may be lower, but their role was not light. They had to rush in and rescue their allies as soon as the castle gate was opened.
They would draw the enemies’ attention, and once the gate was opened, they would charge in.
Soon, dozens of hot air balloons soared high in the sky. The mages used wind magic to direct them toward Cabaldy Castle.
Throughout the approach to the castle, those riding in the hot air balloons remained tense. Although regular arrows couldn’t reach them, a skilled knight or mage could intercept them at that height.
However, the knights and soldiers of Cabaldy Castle failed to spot the hot air balloons in time.
It was a dark night, and they were too focused on the advancing Penris Army to look up at the sky.
“Hey? What’s that?”
A soldier from the Cabaldy forces stationed in the outer tower noticed the hot air balloon only after it had crossed the castle wall.
At his signal, the soldiers and commander waiting on the walls also spotted the balloon.
“W-What’s that? There’s something in the sky!”
“It doesn’t look like a monster?”
“Why is it coming into our castle?”
The people stared blankly at the hot air balloon, forgetting about the Penris Army right in front of them.
When a person is too startled, they lose their ability to make accurate judgments. They were frozen in shock at the bizarre sight they had never seen before in their lives.
Because the notion that ordinary people can’t fly is so ingrained, they couldn’t even imagine someone being able to fit into a large basket.
“Looks like it’s stopped?”
“Oh? It’s descending. It’s really not a monster, is it? It’s fat and has something hanging below!”
As confusion spread, the commander on the castle walls frowned.
He had to confirm what it was. If it was a monster, it could be a very dangerous situation where they had to fight enemies on both sides.
“The Penris Army has halted their advance. It seems they’ve spotted that thing and are being cautious. Send out a scout team to check it out.”
The Penris Army had stopped moving to guard against arrow attacks, but the commander of the castle wall, unaware of Ghislaine’s plan, made his own judgment.
Soon, a small scout team was formed and cautiously headed toward the direction of the hot air balloon.
Unlike the cautious Cabaldy soldiers, the knights aboard the hot air balloon were in a state of panic.
“Hey! We need to get down fast! Don’t you see the torches? The enemies are coming to check it out!”
The mages urged the knights. They needed to get down quickly to ensure their escape.
The knights urged each other on. They needed to descend quickly to escape.
The mages were in a state of considerable mana consumption as they lifted and maneuvered the hot air balloon.
These sudden skirmishes wouldn’t help; the knights had to escape as soon as they landed.
There was no way to support from the air, and if they hesitated and were intercepted, they would only lose precious mages or hot air balloons.
However, the knights felt somewhat wronged.
“Lady! Quiet down! We’re way too high right now! We need to descend!”
“What? No way! We can’t go any lower!”
They couldn’t lower the altitude of the hot air balloon too much. It would take time to lift again, making escape challenging.
The knights needed to descend at the right altitude to retreat, so the mages weren’t about to yield.
“Don’t you hurry down? I’ll cut the rope!”
“Wow, look at these bastards! Just wait until the war’s over.”
While the knights bickered with the mages, they prepared to jump.
Though they were growling at each other, surprisingly, the relationship between the knights and mages wasn’t that bad.
In the past, haughty mages would never have mingled so freely with mercenaries. They often looked down on each other like cows and chickens.
However, thanks to Ghislaine’s leading atmosphere, they all shed their pretenses and became like neighborhood friends.
After taking a few deep breaths, the knights employed their trained ‘Falling Technique with One Arm Broken and Surviving.’
Boom! Crash! Bang!
“Gah! I didn’t break anything!”
“I’m alive! Awesome! Training really paid off!”
“Oof, I nearly died before I even started fighting.”
Everyone tumbled on the ground, whining.
Still, thanks to their training and mana cultivation, they managed to land safely without anyone getting seriously hurt.
Amidst the noise, there was one silent hot air balloon.
It was the one holding Kaor and Alfoy.
Since the ‘Hot Air Balloon Crash Incident,’ the two had been awkwardly silent with each other.
It was uncomfortable to face each other, as they were embarrassed about having tried to save one another.
In the awkward atmosphere, Kaor, holding onto the rope, spoke up.
“Hey, don’t go messing around and fall again. Make sure to escape well.”
Alfoy turned his back and looked away, responding carelessly.
“Hmph… just get back safely.”
“Bastard, stop being shy.”
Kaor chuckled lightly and jumped off the hot air balloon in style.
Splat!
“Ouch! Damn, that hurts!”
After Kaor, the other hot air balloons dropped off the knights one by one before starting to ascend. Now, the only task left for the mages was to swiftly leave the battlefield.
Inside the ascending hot air balloon, a mage looked down and said,
“Hey, make sure to come back alive. Otherwise, I’ll fix your shameless habits.”
The knight, rubbing his arms, chuckled as he replied.
“You better prepare yourself. I’ll let you off easy.”
“Heh, one fireball and you’ll wet yourself.”
The mage snickered as he magically heated the air pockets.
The soldiers of Cabaldy hesitated as they approached, watching the rapidly shrinking hot air balloon.
For the knights of Penris, who had fallen right in the middle of enemy territory, there was now no way to escape.
All that remained was success or death.
The first to land, Ghislaine, looked back and asked,
“No one unable to escape, right? No one got injured this much.”
“None!”
The knights turned their aching arms and smiled.
Soon, a fierce killing intent began to rise among them.
Ghislaine drew his sword and grinned. It was the scent of the battlefield he hadn’t felt in a long time.
“Everyone ready to spill some blood?”
“Ready as ever!”
Clang!
The knights pulled out their swords, all wearing a cruel smile remarkably similar to Ghislaine’s.
Their swords were enveloped in blue mana, not a single one left behind.
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