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Vol 04 Chapter 117-1: The Siege III

「General Tonino! Part of the eastern wall has been destroyed!!」

「Move a hundred soldiers from the north side! We need to hold back the enemy soldiers until the repairs are finished. Send the engineers and repair the wall urgently!!」

「There’s a request for reinforcements from the south wall!」

「Send three hundred reinforcements from the west gate!!」

Two weeks had passed since the arrival of the first wave of enemy reinforcements. The enemy forces had increased with the arrival of the second wave of reinforcements, swelling their numbers to thirty thousand.

According to the magician who continued espionage activities outside, the third wave of the enemy would arrive in about three days, increasing their numbers to forty thousand, and a few days later, the fourth wave of reinforcements would bring them up to fifty thousand.

The Rozel Kingdom had divided its forty thousand reinforcements into four units and sent them to the battlefield with a delay of a week between them. This normally strange behavior was because the Rozel Kingdom could not prepare an army so significant all at once. If they waited to send the reinforcements until they were able to gather forty thousand soldiers, the reinforcements would reach the battlefield one month later. Waiting so long could be potentially damming for the forces of General Kuryuu in case King Rosais was able to send reinforcements to the sieged allied army, so the Rozel Kingdom compromised by gathering a significant number of soldiers that wouldn’t be easily defeated on their own and then sent them one group after another.

The Rozel Kingdom had a vast territory and a long defense line. It also governed a million Adernians living in the northern Adernian Peninsula with an iron fist. Therefore, it was not easy for them to mobilize a large army quickly. The Rozel Kingdom had one of the typical weaknesses of a big country, its own size demanded a much higher maintenance than a small country.

「Maybe it would have been better if we had attacked the enemy before their forces had gathered.」

Bartolo gave orders while sighing mixed with muttering. Yet at the same time, he quickly dismissed that thought.

There was no guarantee of victory even if they had attacked before the reinforcements arrived. The morale of their army was too low for that. Bartolo had thought of a strategy to combat the elephants, but it took courage to execute it. The current allied forces lacked this courage.

Even if they engaged in battle, there was a high likelihood of defeat, and that defeat would be even worse than the first one.

The only way to win this war was to catch the Rozel army in a pincer attack with the reinforcements sent by King Rosais. The key to their victory was in the hands of the son of the war god and the blast javelins he would be bringing with him. The morale of the allied army troops would recover once Almus’ reinforcements arrived at the battlefield.

That was what Bartolo had estimated at least.

「Let’s not dwell on the past, but rather focus on breaking through the current situation. We will head to the west wall!!」

Bartolo was commanding the Equus Tribe’s Alvan cavalry, they were taking advantage of the cavalry’s mobility to move throughout the castle, shooting arrows, and supporting any allies who fell into a disadvantageous position.

The Alvan cavalry had continued to do this throughout the siege. Even in a siege, the mobility of the cavalry proved to be valuable.

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「The battering ram is here!!」

「Fire the flaming arrows!!」

The shouts of the centurions shook the battlefield.

In a siege, the most threatening weapon was the battering ram. The walls were usually incredibly strong, so minor attacks couldn’t easily break them. Exceptions could occur when an onager launched stones that repeatedly hit the same spot, or if the impacted area was already weakened due to aging, but those were pretty exceptional situations.

However, the castle gates were different. The gates were much more fragile than the walls. If struck by a battering ram, they could be easily breached.

Therefore, it was essential to destroy the battering rams before they could attack the gates. Since the battering ram was a weapon that had to be carried to the gates by people, its destruction was not particularly difficult.

The Rozel army’s battering ram was made of wood, with a metal tip attached to the front. The heavy log was suspended from what could only be described as a roof with wheels.

The power of the ram was increased by adding circular motion to human strength. This design was not created because they understood the laws of physics, but rather it was based on practical experience.

◇

Flaming arrows rained down on the battering ram like a storm. However, once the arrows stuck into the ram, the fire quickly extinguished.

It was standard practice to keep the roof of the battering ram as damp as possible and to protect it with fire-resistant spells and reinforced barriers.

「Pour the oil! Pour the oil on it!」

The soldiers dropped jars of oil towards the battering ram. While some shattered uselessly on the ground, three jars of oil impacted the roof of the ram.

「Fire the flaming arrows!!」

Once again, flaming arrows struck the battering ram. This time, the fire, fueled by oil, did not extinguish easily. No magic or trick could stop the flames now.

In an instant, the wooden battering ram was engulfed in flames. The soldiers of the Rozel army who were carrying the ram scrambled to escape from beneath the roof.

Arrows from the allied forces pierced the fleeing soldiers.

With this, the total number of battering rams destroyed at the walls covering the east, west, south, and north of the capital reached five.

As the attack with the battering ram had failed and night was beginning to fall, the Rozel army quickly retreated.

◇

「Alright, we’ve safely made it through another day. This is all thanks to everyone’s hard work. Cheers!!」

「Cheers!!」

When Carlo raised his goblet filled with wine, the soldiers also lifted their goblets and drank in one gulp. Only one glass of wine was allowed since a night attack was anticipated. However, for the soldiers, this was the only respite in the tension-filled battlefield.

The soldiers forced a smile, but exhaustion was evident on their faces. The centurions were particularly affected.

No one could fault them. There had been frequent assassination attempts targeted specifically at the centurions. Tonino and Bartolo were desperately trying to identify the culprit, but with no luck so far. Information about the assassinations was being controlled because it affected morale, but rumors were inevitably spreading.

「However, it feels bad to be holed up and constantly on the receiving end.」

Tonino muttered under his breath. The morale of both commanders and soldiers tended to sink during a siege.

This was because they were always on the defensive. Although the defenders had the advantage of the terrain, they were also constantly having the initiative taken from them.

Being too defensive was problematic as well.

「Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. So, why don’t we harass them a little, I have an idea…」

Bartolo, with a mischievous grin, slung an arm around Tonino’s shoulder. Tonino frowned at Bartolo’s alcohol-scented breath as he listened to the details of the harassment plan.

「It’s a bit risky, but it seems worth doing.」

「Right? Lend me your cavalry as well.」