Chapter 104

"Seems like this may be tougher than we thought" commented Kane.

The group was hidden behind a group of trees and looking at the Kokarian war camp. Kane was distressed to see that the contingent of knights was actually a large invasion force. Along with the fully armored knights, there were archers and Kane even thought that some of the robed figures he saw were mages. What was worse is that Kane sensed unknown battle energy somewhere. One of the twelve was present. Well, now after these past battles one of the nine.

"This wall is massive. I don't think anything in the Emerald Dessert compares. Not even any of the ancient ruins. Please tell me there is another way in. It would be too risky to go through the gate. I am sure they have scouts watching it."

"I fear that I will have to disappoint. We don't currently have an escape route." Kane was ashamed to admit it as he was usually prepared for multiple scenarios. He was also annoyed because the creators of the wall should have made two gates. One on each side would be far better.

"What about ladders," Asice spoke up and pointed toward a corner of the camp.

Kane and Akak saw a group of men building several wooden ladders. Kane was amazed at how large the ladders were. He assumed it would be hard to scale the wall but this group seems to be very efficient in cutting down the surrounding trees and building siege ladders. Kane also noticed they seemed to be making other things. One thing looked like a ram and it seemed that they had brought a ferocious metal monstrosity that made it a capped ram.

Kane was originally confident about the defense that the wall gave but it seems these kokarian knights are used to such battles.

"Let's have a look. Akak you see what information you can gather in the camp. I am going to have a look at their offensive capabilities."

"On it."

Kane ran silently behind a pile of freshly cut logs and positioned himself so that he could listen in on the troops.

"There is no way she thinks we can scale this wall. It's huge. I don't think I've ever heard of any other walls that reached this high. It must have been built by giants."

One guard was complaining to another. Both seemed tired and anxious.

"This kingdom was never a problem. Why attack it now? I agree with you that this wall gives this small kingdom protection against people like us. Why can't we just head to the frontlines and deal with one kingdom at a time?"

"You two need to shape up."

Another voice appeared behind the two guards. This soldier seemed to be one of a higher station as he wore full plate armor that was in far better condition than the guards.

"The mistress has come prepared for this wall. It may be a part of many legends but our kingdom is forged from legends as well. You two need to work on this or I fear she will be rather mad. We all know what happens to you if she decides that her mood isn't bright."

The guards nervously nodded.

"Sorry sir."

"It's alright. In fact, we are more than prepared. These are mainly a distraction. They probably feel so safe and cozy being this wall of theirs. Our mistress was smarter than any of them though and brought a troop of arbalists equipped with grapplers. Our assassins will scale the walls and cause chaos inside the city. They will also open the gate for us to slaughter."

"Really? That's great!"

"But sir aren't grapplers unable to reach a height so big? The sting that the crossbows shoot is not the longest."

"I assure you that everything is planned. Our assassins are expert climbers and the wall is old. The assassins will climb the rope halfway up. Then the top half will be easier to scale with their tools. Just look at it. It has many crevices."

"Haha, that's perfect. This may be easier than I could have hoped."

"Don't get a big head soldier. This will still be tough. Your lucky that the mistress brought her personal troop of mages and several retinues of our kingdom's crack archers."

"Wow, why is the king spending so much on this kingdom? Arnt we focusing on the war with the sparrows?"

"You are stupid you know that right? This kingdom is between both ours and theirs. It has a great strategic advantage. This wall will be used better by us than them. They barely have any guards on it. Plus from what I hear their leader did something that made our kingdom enemies with him. Also apparently this is our lost territory and we are pushing out these freeloaders."

Kane watched as the soldiers contained their conversation. This information he was gathering was very valuable and he was curious able these "grapplers" and assassins. He thought the wall almost impenetrable but it seems that in this world there is always a way. Just his luck that his first big enemies had ways to surpass his greatest asset and defense. He decided to head back and see what Akak discovered. He needed to get inside the wall and soon. He still had a chance to destroy the kokarian force.