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The fortress, Stonehaven.

The largest and most solid fortress guarding the southern part of Fenris Territory.

Gillian was in charge of the trainees in the southern region based here.

"Are we all here?"

"Yes, everyone has gathered just as the instructor said."

The one who answered while talking next to me was Lucas, the self-proclaimed 'genius of spearmanship'.

In recognition of his rapidly growing skills, he was temporarily assigned as Gillian's adjutant.

Gillian sent all the training troops and important resources such as iron ore to Jisel. He also gathered all the troops and food scattered in the southern region here.

"hmm."

Gillian nodded at the soldiers and knights stationed on the walls.

Now all that remains here are the one thousand soldiers and one hundred knights who had previously completed their training.

The soldiers were all wearing calm silver armor. They all looked like knights.

They were the elite of the elite who had participated since the Cavaldi War and had undergone rigorous training until now, so it was not an exaggeration to say that they were like knights.

And the 100 knights were all wearing the new black armor. They were given the status of a decathlon, meaning each knight would lead 10 soldiers.

Gillian knows that with just these, any small or medium-sized territory can be wiped out in an instant.

but....

Gillian's gaze turned outside the fortress.

'Desmond… … .'

It is no match for the 30,000 strong army that has formed a camp in front of me.

Desmond wasn't called the strongest in the North for nothing. There were many elite and high-level knights stationed in that territory.

Even though she knew she couldn't defeat them, Gillian could never back down.

Gillian spoke to everyone in a deep voice.

"Our goal is not to defeat them. Our goal is to buy as much time as possible so that the Lord can complete his remaining preparations."

The knights nodded instead of answering. Gillian continued speaking calmly.

"If this place is breached, the enemies can quickly reach the center of the territory. We must somehow risk our lives and catch them by the ankles."

There is a road connecting the entire city and fortress in the territory. If this fortress is breached, a large army of 30,000 people will quickly advance to the castle.

Lucas, who was licking his lips next to me, said.

"Wouldn't it be better to just retreat? Given his personality, the lord probably wouldn't want us to die. He may have a bad temper, but he secretly takes good care of his people. Can't we come back here later?"

Gillian shook her head firmly.

"No, this place has developed too much since we were here. It would be too much for Count Desmond to sit here."

"Won't the pro-Prince faction help us later?"

"Then they'll take this place under the pretense of helping us. We might never get it back. Before that, the Duke might provide military support to Desmond."

Lucas kept his mouth shut, at a loss for words.

The Cavaldi territory, which was originally rich in iron ore, developed beyond comparison. The people's standard of living improved, and the population increased significantly as immigrants were accepted.

There is no lord who would eat this place and then spit it out. Rather, as the state of the territory becomes more clearly known, there will only continue to be meaningless fights with those who seek to take over this place.

Gillian continued, looking around at the knights with sharp eyes.

"The lord's dream is here."

"...."

"We have come here with you, my lord. Think of how much preparation we have made to take this place. If we lose this place, all our efforts up to this point will be meaningless."

A knight raised his hand and asked.

"If someone wants to run away, can they go?"

Then Gillian laughed wickedly.

"No, you will die here with me for the Lord. Risk your lives and hold back the enemies."

Then the knights began to giggle and say something one by one.

"Oh my, I told you, you're really an old fart."

"What is loyalty? It's so rustic."

"You must have kept your contracts very well when you were a mercenary. You are truly trustworthy. Trustworthy."

"I want to run away and live well somewhere else."

Gillian laughed again as she watched the knights snickering. They were all snickering, but none of them would run away.

They are no longer mere subordinates. They are 'comrades' who have grown up with the grace of Giselle and have done many things together.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The sound of the drums rings. The enemies begin to move.

Ddd …

The first ones to move were the catapults. There were a whopping 12 of them.

The knights and soldiers looked a little tired as they looked at the catapults surrounding the fortress.

Gillian raised her hand and said.

"Prepare for battle. Keep your distance and prepare for catapult attacks."

As soon as he finished speaking, huge rocks began to fly.

Boom! Boom! Kwaang!

The stones began to pound the walls without mercy. Some fell into the fortress, destroying the supplies and buildings that had been stored there.

There was nothing the Fenris army could do against the merciless attacks. Everyone was busy looking in the direction of the stones and frantically trying to dodge them.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The upper part of the relatively weak wall began to crumble little by little as stone fragments flew out. However, it did not collapse easily because it had been reinforced thoroughly.

Harold, who was watching this, stopped attacking the catapult and said.

"I heard you made a lot of money. You must have put a lot of effort into reinforcing the fortress. You even gave your soldiers armor like that. You must have a lot of money."

All the visible enemy troops were wearing armor like knights, but Harold did not believe that they were real knights.

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However, looking at those with different colored armor, I suddenly remembered something I had forgotten.

"Are those guys the Black Unit that was active in the Battle of Ferdium? Their numbers have increased since then."

I was told there were about 50 people, but at first glance, it looks like there are about 100 now.

I heard that even though he can't use mana, he's quite skilled, and it seems he's made money to increase the size of his black unit.

They are probably the ones who act as knights in this territory. I don't mean true knights who use mana, but rather elites with better skills than infantry.

"Let's take a break from the catapult attack and then resume it. Wizards and archers, get ready."

The old man with the white beard who had been standing behind Harold stepped forward. He was Desmond's personal wizard called Willow, and he was a sixth circle wizard.

"What should we do?"

"Since we're going to build siege towers anyway, try to inflict damage over as wide a range as possible before then. Also check for traps on the ground as you advance."

"All right."

As Willow waved his hand, about twenty wizards followed him.

The distance was so great that the wizards had to get closer to use their magic effectively.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The drums sounded again, and Desmond's heavy infantry began to advance slowly, escorting the wizards and archers.

The wizards scanned the ground with their magical powers to check for runestone traps. They were extremely cautious, having already experienced one before.

"There doesn't seem to be any traps. Increase your speed."

Desmond's army moved faster at Willow's words.

Gillian looked at the enemies approaching at a faster rate than before, gauged the distance, and shouted.

"Shoot!"

Choaaaaaaah!

In an instant, thousands of arrows were shot, covering the sky.

The Fenris Army is trained to use all weapons. Naturally, all the soldiers left here knew how to shoot a bow to some extent.

Tata tata tang!

The heavy infantry hastily raised their huge shields to block them. Suddenly, many arrows flew at them, and they were so surprised that their feet stopped for a moment.

Harold was surprised too.

"Huh? What? You mean they were all archers?"

According to his common sense, even the most elite soldiers cannot handle all weapons.

Not only does it take time to train, but the training costs increase exponentially as well. There was a reason why other lords divided their troops into different types and developed specializations.

"Good. They're all weak in close combat, so we can quickly build siege towers. Move right away. Then, before they get close, start hurling stones again. Keep pressing them like crazy."

A whopping eight siege towers began to move slowly. At the same time, magicians protected by heavy infantry attacked the fortress.

Paaaaah!

Huge fireballs shot out from between the heavy infantry.

The fireballs were aimed precisely at the places where the soldiers were gathered. They were far more precise than the catapult attacks.

"Back off!"

The knights of Fenris stepped forward, carrying massive shields made of galvanium.

The soldiers assigned to the knights hid behind their decapitators or avoided them altogether.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

"Crunch!"

Every time I blocked a fireball, my insides would tremble and my body would be pushed back on its own. However, the knights gritted their teeth and held on, wrapping their shields in mana.

Desmond's attack was not limited to that. The archers moving with the heavy infantry fired a tremendous amount of arrows.

At the same time, the catapult attacks resumed.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

"Damage! Damage!"

"Scatter! Raise your shields above your heads so you don't get hit by arrows!"

"f*ck! Are you sure you can handle this?"

The knights were going crazy. They were busy dodging and blocking attacks without even engaging them properly.

They could be said to have a strong force in their own right, but they were powerless against Desmond.

Although they were said to have numbers, their defeat was not simply due to their numerical superiority. Desmond's army precisely pushed them back, leaving the fort's soldiers no room to breathe.

There was absolutely no time to do anything. The only consolation was that the soldiers could block arrow attacks thanks to their Galvanium shields.

Gooooooo!

The relentless attacks were driving me crazy, but I felt an enormous amount of magical power pouring in from the sky. It was a precursor to the high circle magic.

The knights who had been frantically blocking or dodging Desmond's attacks raised their heads and muttered.

"f*ck… … This is no joke… … ."

"Did our lord ask us to fight these guys?"

"He's on a whole different level from everyone I've met so far."

The knights' mutterings did not last long. Magical powers gathered in various places in the sky.

Willow, who had finished casting, waved her hands leisurely and muttered.

"Fire Rain."

Hwaaaaak!

Hundreds of huge fireballs rose from the air above the fortress, and in an instant they began to pour down.

The knights shouted in horror at the indiscriminately falling fireballs.

"Everyone gather together!"

They can somehow stop what's flying in front of them. But they can't stop what's falling from the sky.

Even if they were carrying Galvanium shields, the soldiers would not be able to withstand the magic of the High Circle properly.

The knights put a lot of mana into the armor they were wearing.

Jeeeeing!

Light burst out from between the cracks in the black armor. The magic circle engraved on the armor activated and a translucent force field began to appear.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The fireballs slammed down in all directions, destroying everything. The attack was so powerful that it could even destroy solid stone floors in one breath.

As expected from the magic of the Gocircle, the destructive power was truly terrifying.

However, the knights who had unleashed the force field and the soldiers around them were safe without a single soot spot.

Swish.

The fireballs that were falling around the knights scattered before they even hit the force field.

The walls and watchtowers were destroyed and in shambles, but the knights and soldiers survived intact.

And Willow, who had been watching the scene closely, muttered.

"Dispel? Are you saying there is a 6th circle wizard?"

He felt the waves of magical power spreading out from all over the place, dispersing his magic. Since he was a 6th circle, it meant that he needed at least a wizard of the same level to dispel the magical power.

But something was a bit odd. If there was a 6th circle wizard, he would have dispelled the spell before it was cast.

And the magical power felt everywhere was somewhat insignificant compared to his own magic.

"Did you use runestones to set up the magic circle? You must have a lot of money. But where did you invite the 6th circle magician to make it?"

Willow clicked her tongue and prepared her magic again. If it was blocked by a magical tool, she could just attack it until the tool was completely destroyed.

Paaaaak!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

I tried the magic one more time, but the same thing happened.

"Hmm… … I don't know what it is, but it's really well made?"

He became displeased and prepared his magic once again. Since it was a 6-circle magic, a lot of magic power was drained, but since he was safe anyway, he could try until his magic power ran out.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

But before he could cast his spell again, the siege tower moved. Willow clicked her tongue and stepped back, feeling quite ashamed at the thought of not having landed much damage.

Harold watched them indifferently.

In fact, I could have just continued to attack from a distance and worn out Fenris's forces for several days. I wanted to do that, but I couldn't.

'The royal army must be moving.'

The 2nd Corps has already been annihilated. The Marquis of Branford must have sent troops.

And… …Giselle wasn't here.

'Because you never know what he'll do while he's wasting time.'

The pressure from the royalist faction, and Jiselle's hidden intentions. Considering these two things, I couldn't spend too much time here.

He had to push forward as quickly as possible with overwhelming force and capture Fenris. Only then could he create the game he wanted.

That is, Harold, like Giselle, was pressed for time.

Ddddddddddd.

So we poured all our forces in at once to take over this place today.

The knights gasped as they watched the approaching siege towers.

I lost almost half of my mana activating the armor's ability and blocking magical attacks.

"Hehehe… … Why are you already tired when we didn't even fight?"

The knights laughed self-deprecatingly. They had already used so much mana, so it was obvious that the fight would become more difficult.

However, if it weren't for the armor made by the dwarves and wizards, I would have suffered great damage.

Ddddddddd!

The siege towers approached. Desmond's archers fired arrows continuously to keep them at bay. The archers on top of the siege towers also fired arrows at the walls.

Lucas, who had been blocking with his shield, shouted loudly.

"Instructor! What are we going to do? There are so many siege towers! They're going to come in droves!"

"Wait a minute. It would be better for us if the siege towers were attached."

There was no answer to long-range attacks. If things continued like this, we would all just sit still and die of exhaustion.

But Gillian knew that his enemies were also in dire straits. Fenris's men waited, catching their breath, for them to approach.

Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof!

Eight siege towers were built into the walls one by one. Desmond's men began to swarm like ants from below the siege towers.

Gillian looked at them with murderous eyes and said.

"Get ready."

Clank! Clank! Clank!

The knights and soldiers all took off their helmets and covered themselves completely. Up until now, they had opened their visors to secure their vision, but now there was no need to do so.

Desmond's men moved a little more boldly when no arrows even flew from Fenris.

More and more troops continued to pour into the siege tower.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The siege tower's slings were stretched across the walls. The Fenris army looked at the siege tower. They could see a large crowd of Desmond's men gathered inside the tower, looking like they were going to kill someone.

Jiiing―!

Bright light once again burst out from between the gaps in the armor of the Fenris Knights.

Even in their eyes, life began to look difficult, like Desmond's.

Gillian dropped his shield and took out two massive axes.

He opened his mouth with a heavy murderous tone in his voice.

"Welcome. Now let's fight properly."