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Volume 5 Chapter 1 Part 14

「Understood. 」

Petr nodded and bowed to Theo before leaving.

No one has ever heard the young Lord say no to any request that others had for him. Perhaps it’s because of his innate personality, but he seems to have no selfish desires of his own and likes to be useful to others and to be sought after by others.

「I’m going too! 」

Aishela turned the tip of her pole weapon into a spear and hugged onto Petr’s arm. Only when Aishela was involved did Petr looked like he was legitimately troubled, and Aishela enjoyed his reactions immensely.

Only this time Petr looks troubled. Aishela enjoys it.

「Lord Radovan, please command the crossbow wielders. 」

Siluca called out to the Lord who governed the port city of Falvis. Since he is a ruler of a city that was always heavily fortified, he and his soldiers must be well-trained in the art of siege warfare.

「Leave it to me. We will attack so as not to reduce the numbers of the enemies too much. 」

Radvan laughed and walked away.

「What do you want me to do? 」

Theo asked Siluca.

「As for you, Lord Theo, I want you to go around the castle and talk to the soldiers and explain the situation to them. It would’ve been a disaster if they were too relaxed when the Heavy Knights of Waldrind are finally going to attack. 」

「Okay. You’re coming with me, right? 」

「No, I’m not going! 」

Siluca replied to Theo angrily. She wouldn’t be able to stand being ridiculed by the soldiers of the castle any more than she already was.

「I will try to rush other reinforcements as soon as possible. According to the rumors that are being spread around, the reason as to why the King of Clovis has not send any reinforcements here himself yet is because he is secretly negotiating with the Factory Alliance to be accepted back into their midst, so we need to have these news reach Alfred’s ears. If he’s going to keep delaying sending reinforcements himself and Lord Theo is going to end up getting killed because of it, then Lord Lassic will definitely doubt King of Clovis’s loyalty to the Artuk Treaty and will demand his subordination to him as proof. 」

「It’s always like that with people like him. They won’t do anything until they’ll smell that their asses are already on fire. 」

Theo left the hall while laughing, and Emma and Luna followed him along while they were laughing playfully.

「That’s about all we can do right now. 」

Siluca sighed heavily.

「Here you go. 」

Now that he was done with brewing a fresh pot of hot tea, Irvin brought it to Siluca so she could drink it. As always, his timing couldn’t have been any more perfect.

「Thank you. 」

While she was sipping on her cup of tea, Siluca looked out the window and towards the enemy camp.

The Heavy Knights of Waldrind didn’t invade them with their entire army this time as well. This fortress might not be as strong as the one in which they have barricaded themselves during the Battle of Selvis, but it’s well armed and supplied, and the morale of the soldiers is higher than it was back then. That being said, Siluca couldn’t say exactly how long that would last.

(Normally I don’t believe in miracles, but we could really use a miracle right now…)

Siluca felt like praying to all the gods in existence.

「Miss Siluca… 」

Then suddenly, a voice called out to her. When she turned around to see who did it belong to, she saw that Priscilla was standing behind her, smiling.

「It looks like you could really use some of the Only God’s protection right now, huh? 」

「D-Don’t be stupid, it’s way too late for that now! 」

Siluca shook her head violently while screaming loudly inside of her mind.

「Now, don’t say that and come pray with me. If we do this together, then The Ony God will surely answer our prayers. 」

Siluca decided to accept the offer, but pray to all the other gods except for The Only God.

She didn’t know how many of them were listening to her, but one of them must’ve really listened to her and grant her wish, because a miracle did happen.

The forces of Veltava and Ozer started attacking the fortress for three days in a row while trying to invade the castle, but they could not take control of even one step of the land they were heading through. It would seem that Petr and his men had once again completed the difficult task that they’ve been set out to do.

However, on the fourth day, the Heavy Knights of Waldrind moved. That was something that Siluca didn’t anticipate in the strategies that she prepared.

The army of Waldrind pushed forward with the members of the infantry with tower shields at the front, slowly approaching the castle while firing the bolts from their heavy crossbows without interruption.

The bolts of light created by the power of Marine Kraische’s Crest could pierce through even the smallest of gaps with pinpoint accuracy, so the defenders of the castle who were trying to launch counterattacks through the gaps in the walls were slowly defeated one after another.

Another property of these bolts of light is that they can explode upon impact, so with each fired one the walls of the fortress were slowly being eroded, and one of the watchtowers even collapsed with a thunderous roar.

Mages were also mixed among the ranks of the infantry soldiers, and they mixed their own magic attacks together with the ones launched by the ordinary soldiers. Having Mages fight on the front lines is a tactic that has been devised by the Iron-Blooded Earl Jürgen Kraische, who made it a habit to send the Mages who were deemed unworthy of serving in Waldrind’s Magic Division to the frontlines. Although they were her seniors back at the Magic University, Siluca decided that eliminating them should be given priority.

In response to their assault, the soldiers defending the castle also mobilized all the defensive weapons and gear that had been preserved until now and resisted the attackers with everything they had.

A large number of fist-sized stones was being thrown at them from a small stone-throwing machine installed on the roof of the fortress, and logs soaked in oil were set fire to and rolled down the road leading into the fortress’s gate. The aim of the defenders in doing so was only to confuse the enemy forces and prolong the battle.

Siluca was also shooting her Fireball magic at approaching enemies. Since she, a Mage, was forced to fight in such a way, it was a proof of how desperate they were, but right now they cannot allow themselves to be picky about the methods they employ.

Thanks to the brave efforts of the castle soldiers fighting despite the odds stacked against them, they managed to endure until sunset.

However, in just one day of battle, nearly 200 ended up dying. As for the attacking side, the Heavy Knights of Waldrind, they also suffered casualties, but much less than that.

If this keep sup tomorrow, then they might not make it. That is what everyone in the fortress began to think.

The only piece of good news was that the King of Clovis has finally decided to move his ass and sent out his army to rendezvous with Natalia’s. However, their combined forces were expected to arrive in three days.

Assuming there would be no surprise night attack, that meant that they needed to endurefor two more days.

Siluca desperately wondered if there was anything she could do to improve their odds of survival. However, if she tried to use any sorts of tricks or deceit, her attempts would be seen through by her father Aubest and she would only suffer a fatal defeat.

Her adoptive father’s plans were always solid and without any exploitable loopholes in them unless some exceptional circumstances occurred, and since he could always put his personal feelings aside, he was the kind of opponent whom Siluca would rather not fight at all.

However, when the night of that day came, the army of the Heavy Knights of Waldrind suddenly disbanded and retreated.

Siluca and Theo were more stunned than pleased to see the enemy lines gone the next morning. They even warned everyone to be wary because that might’ve been some kind of trap set by their enemies.

Irvin and others were sent out for reconnaissance, but the enemy had completely disappeared.

「We were saved? But why? And by who?」

Theo shook his head.

「I don’t understand… 」

They might have been wary of reinforcements coming, but it would have been enough if the castle had been taken down by then.