280 – Everyone Lives Together, Everyone Dies Together. (3)
“Wowwwww!”
Now, even the siege tower was unnecessary. Desmond’s Army pushed quickly into the fortress without any hindrance.
As the first squad entered and opened the castle gate, it became easier to advance.
They flooded into the spacious fortress and began to form ranks.
Harold glared ferociously at the distant Penris Army.
“We’ve been held back by those pathetic fools until now. Capture them immediately and tear them to pieces!”
The Penris Army had also formed ranks near the opposite gate, ready to retreat at any moment.
They set up camp between the nearby buildings and waited. In front of them were barricades piled closely for close combat.
Using the barricades, a small number could hold off a large army.
“Wowwwww!”
Desmond’s Army let out another roar and surged forward like a tidal wave. Knowing that arrows were ineffective, they charged in with sheer numbers.
Boom!
Gillian, wrapped in bandages from head to toe, stood at the front wielding a massive halberd.
Not in good shape, he planned to gain any distance advantage he could.
Gillian briefly looked up at the sky.
Dark clouds were slowly covering the sky. The wind howled fiercely into the fortress, signaling the start of battle once again.
“Tonight will be long.”
Taking a moment to catch his breath, Gillian looked straight ahead. His gaze was filled with resolute determination.
“Prepare yourselves!”
Swish!
At Gillian’s command, the knights and soldiers of Penris raised their spears.
Crash!
The spears of Desmond’s Army clashed with those of the Penris Army. But as in the first skirmish, the defense of the Penris Army was overwhelming.
“Aaaah!”
The front line of Desmond’s troops fell helplessly. It was expected.
Harold, who had already faced the Penris Army, knew how it would turn out.
Slash!
As soldiers fell in front, Desmond’s knights leapt out from behind and swung their swords.
“Ugh!”
The suddenly ambushed Penris soldiers’ armor ripped apart like paper.
While Galbarium was light, it was not stronger than iron. They couldn’t stand against the magic-infused swords of the knights.
Crash!
But every time Gillian swung his halberd, the approaching knights of Desmond had their heads smashed.
“In a narrow passage, we’re at an advantage! Hold out as long as you can!”
Zing—
Light burst forth from the gaps in the Penris knights’ armor. Those who had spent days recovering their bodies and mana suddenly went wild again.
Crash! Crash! Craaaash!
Gillian and the knights indiscriminately slaughtered Desmond’s army that stepped into range. The knights also made slick, sudden attacks in between.
No one could breach the ranks of the Penris Army.
Magic coming from the rear of Desmond’s Army had no significant effect.
Zing—
Every time the armor of Penris knights shone bright, the fireballs that approached fizzled away uselessly.
With Willow down, the lower circle of magic no longer had any effect on them.
The soldiers of Penris in the rear readied their bows, targeting Desmond’s Army. Since Gillian and the knights were blocking the narrow passage, they focused on ranged attacks rather than close combat.
They were focused on ranged attacks rather than close combat because they were holding their ground.
“Fire!”
Pawaaaak!
With Gillian’s shout, countless arrows flew toward Desmond’s Army’s rear.
“Uaaaaaah!”
Screams echoed everywhere, but the damage to Desmond’s Army was not severe.
Thanks to Harold’s orders, the Shield Soldiers positioned in various spots raised their enormous shields to protect their allies.
In the end, the outcome had to be decided where both sides were clashing.
“Don’t be scared! We can hold on long enough!”
Fearless of death, Gillian put all his strength into it. His halberd swung at the speed of wind, continuously cleaving, stabbing, and piercing through enemies.
Kwan! Kwan! Kwan!
However, his condition was far from normal. With each movement, unbearable pain surged through him.
At one point, Gillian’s body became soaked in blood again. Half of it was blood splattered from enemies, and the other half was his own blood exploding from his wounds.
“Ugh…!”
Still, he gritted his teeth and refused to stop attacking. Gillian’s gaze was still burning with fierce intent to kill, and his momentum was filled with tenacity and bravery.
The knights fought with equal determination.
“Graaaah!”
“Push forward!”
“We’re almost there!”
The battlefield was filled with loud noises, screams, and the sounds of clashing weapons.
Faced with intense resistance, Desmond’s Army tried to leverage their numbers.
“Surround them! I said surround them!”
Following the commanders’ cries, Desmond’s soldiers climbed onto the buildings on the sides and began shooting arrows and casting magic.
Even if they couldn’t inflict wounds on their opponents, they could accumulate shock and disrupt their formation.
Some were trying to retreat and hit the rear of the Penris Army.
Of course, the Penris Army was not just watching Desmond’s attempts.
“Keep them in check!”
If they fired arrows equally, the Penris Army had the upper hand. Desmond’s soldiers, positioned atop the buildings, could hardly pressure the Penris Soldiers and began to fall.
Thanks to the efforts of the rear, the Penris Army could focus entirely on the enemies directly in front of them.
Kwan! Kwan! Kwan!
The armor of the front-line Penris knights was stained red as the brutal combat continued.
But it was becoming increasingly difficult to hold back the advancing army. Their mana and stamina were slowly depleting.
The movements of the Penris knights began to noticeably slow down. Both sides could tell they were tiring.
“Yes! Push harder!”
As the Penris Army started to show signs of weakness, Desmond’s Army pressed forward even more vigorously.
The formation of the Penris Army could no longer hold and began to be pushed back.
Seeing their movements, Gillian shouted again.
“First line! Fall back! Second line, move forward!”
The knights in the front line pulled back. Those waiting in the back came forward and immediately moved their spears with tremendous speed.
Pababababak!
“Graaaah!”
The leading edge of Desmond’s Army crumbled in an instant. The Penris Army quickly reformed their ranks, and now it was Desmond’s turn to start faltering.
They fought remarkably effectively.
Using their equipment and the terrain, they showed no signs of being overwhelmed, even against a large army.
He showed no signs of being outmatched by the opponent.
“Switch out!”
Gillian swapped out personnel whenever the knights looked exhausted. It was possible because he was at the front leading the charge.
At one point, the front lines of the Penris Army were so littered with the corpses of Desmond’s Army that there was no room to step.
In order for Desmond’s Army to advance, they had to clear away their own dead, causing the battle to momentarily stagnate.
As they watched the intimidating Penris Army in front of them, Desmond’s soldiers began to feel fear.
“Those are demons… That’s an army of demons…”
“How have they held us off with such numbers until now…”
“Is Penris just filled with scum like them?”
No matter how much they pushed forward, they couldn’t break through. They should have been worn out by now after fighting so long, yet their fighting spirit seemed undiminished.
Harold, too, felt a mix of awe and rage as he gazed upon the Penris Army.
“These bastards…”
Their skill was simply absurd. He knew they were strong, but he didn’t expect them to hold out like this.
His proud elite soldiers had died by the dozens at the hands of these lowly scum. If this continued, the damage would only increase until all of them were subdued.
The enemy had good equipment and had secured a prime position, leaving them unable to utilize the advantages of their large force.
“Have the soldiers fall back for now. We’ll reorganize the formation. Call Baron Hutton and Willow, and position the strongest knights at the front.”
Baron Hutton and Willow were injured, but there was no helping it. If the enemy’s formation was that strong, they had to match it.
Of course, Harold didn’t intend to let it stay that way. He admitted to himself that he had been blinded by rage and was acting too hastily.
“Adjust the catapults’ range to hit those bastards. Let’s devastate the surrounding area so not even a rat can find a place to hide.”
Thud thud thud thud!
The catapults outside the fortress drew near.
He didn’t expect to eliminate the Penris Army with the catapult attack. After all, once the enemy moved out of range, they could just relocate somewhere else.
But if they could completely wreck the surrounding area, encircling them would become much easier than it was now.
As the catapults got ready and prepared to resume their assault, a soldier approached Harold.
“The enemy… has disappeared.”
“What?”
“It seems they are slowly retreating, then opened the opposite gate of the fortress and fled.”
Creak.
Harold grit his teeth. They weren’t trying to hold the fortress, after all. They were clearly just stalling for time.
Taking a long, deep breath to calm himself, Harold asked, “What’s the damage?”
“About… 3,000 casualties so far.”
“…”
Harold looked up at the sky slightly.
The once dark sky was slowly brightening as dawn approached.
With the initial skirmish and this battle that had lasted through the night, they had lost 3,000 elite troops. The enemy truly were monsters.
He could understand it. If it was 100 knights, it wasn’t impossible.
Especially when they were blocking the way and fighting like this.
He surveyed the surroundings again. The fortress was in ruins; it was almost embarrassing to still call it a fortress.
It was an important strategic point, but capturing this single fortress had cost him over 3,000 troops and precious time.
‘I should have just killed him earlier.’
All of this was the result of keeping Ghislaine alive.
From the moment he first interrupted his work, he should have killed him by any means necessary. The price to pay for underestimating him was far too great and painful.
“Hah….”
Harold closed his eyes and composed himself.
His insides were boiling with rage, but the enemy had already fled. Making a scene here would only disturb the soldiers.
It was not too late. Regardless, with the fortress secured, there was a road leading to Penris Castle.
They needed to move quickly and capture the lord’s castle. If he could slice through Ghislaine and his followers, this rage would be released.
Harold suppressed his emotions and spoke in a low voice.
“We will depart immediately. Pack only the bare minimum of supplies and move out. The main force will advance first and surround Penris Castle, so the engineering and supply units should follow as quickly as possible.”
The soldiers would be tired, but there was no other choice. They could rest after surrounding Penris Castle.
Desmond’s Army finished their preparations quickly and moved toward Penris Castle.
Moving along the road, they maintained a speed that, for a large army, was surprisingly swift.
After two days of unimpeded movement, they set up a camp to rest briefly.
Suddenly, they were ambushed.
“It’s a raid!”
Gillian and the knights who had slipped out of the fortress attacked Desmond’s camp.
There was no way the elite Desmond’s Army would be careless. They responded magnificently, trained to handle intruders.
However, the Penris Army swiftly killed off only a few weak soldiers and then fled immediately. With such a large force, the heavy Desmond’s Army couldn’t easily chase down a small number of enemies.
While they managed to fend off the ambush well, that wasn’t the end of it. After the fight, more rest and repairs were needed.
“Clear the bodies!”
“Reorganize the reconnaissance and pursuit teams!”
“Report the remaining personnel!”
The commanders shouted with all their might as they struggled to restore order to the camp.
In the end, Desmond’s Army wasted time once again because of the ambush from the Penris Army.
Harold gritted his teeth as he surveyed the chaos in the camp.
“That scoundrel again…”
He thought that Ghislaine would be the only headache in the Penris Territory, given his impressive track record.
But he didn’t expect that his followers would be such a nuisance as well.
Because of those guys, their advancement speed was continuously delayed. It had already taken more than half a month for the 30,000-strong army to capture one fortress and move.
There was still quite a distance to Penris Castle. In between, there were plenty of forests and mountains where the Penris Army could hide.
“They’re really good at playing tricks. Is this their backyard or what?”
At Harold’s words, his deputy replied.
“At this rate, we’ll waste more than half a month just getting there.”
“We can’t keep being led around by them. Increase the speed of our advance.”
“However… that would make us vulnerable to ambushes and significantly lower the stamina and morale of the soldiers.”
Harold glared at his deputy with fearsome eyes.
“Do it anyway. When the rats have no place to hide, they’ll eventually have to come out. We don’t have time.”
“…Understood.”
Harold did not hide the boiling killing intent within him.
“Didn’t you say the enemy commander’s name is Gillian? I will definitely chew him up alongside Ghislaine.”
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