Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: Siege of Dalisi (3)
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An arrow soared into the sky, signaling the start of the battle.
"It's Castel! The Castel bastards are attacking!"
"What? What about the Black Moss Forest? Weren't they supposed to be unable to pass through there?"
"I don't know! If you've got time to worry about that, loose another arrow!"
The convict soldiers of the 14th Legion charged toward the walls of Bringen Fortress, each carrying a massive shield the size of a door.
To General Tullio, they were nothing more than expendable tools, but he wouldn't waste them meaninglessly.
As the convict soldiers reached the base of the wall, they formed a long line and linked their shields into a roof-like barrier.
Clang—clang-clang—
Soon, the sharp sounds of metal striking the walls echoed up.
Something was happening beneath that shield roof!
"They're digging at the base of the wall to collapse it! Stop them!"
Soldiers atop the wall leaned out, aiming at the convicts below to shoot their arrows.
And in that instant.
Whoosh—thunk!
The second line of shield-bearers had already caught up to the vanguard convicts.
From between them, a bolt shot straight out, piercing the head of a soldier on the wall.
"Crossbows! Don't expose yourselves over the wall!"
There was no way to drive back the crossbow unit hiding behind those massive shields.
All the fortress soldiers could do was keep themselves out of their sights.
Splash—thud—
Even so, they didn't cease their resistance, dropping bricks, pouring sand and filth.
"Light the beacon fire! We have to hurry and inform headquarters of this!"
But the fortress's most vital role wasn't to hold off the enemy—it was to signal an attack and buy time for the main base to prepare.
The soldiers hurriedly lit the beacon.
But something was wrong.
The oil-soaked firewood blazed fiercely, yet not a wisp of smoke rose from the chimney.
Captain! This is bad! No smoke at all!"
"Impossible! That's no sorcery..."
Oh no!
It wasn't sorcery.
It was magic!
"Damn it! A mage! The enemy has a mage!"
They should have realized it the moment the enemy breached the Black Moss Forest!
But now that they knew the enemy had a mage, they had no way to counter it.
The beacon was now utterly useless.
They had to find another way.
"You there!"
"Me? M-me, sir?"
"Yes, you!"
The fortress captain called over a nearby young soldier with a boyish face.
"Sneak out of the fortress without the enemy noticing and deliver this letter to Dalisi Castle. Stake your life on completing your mission. Understood?"
"M-me, sir? I'm just a simple shepherd. How could I..."
Slap!
A rough hand struck the young soldier's cheek.
"I was just a simple carpenter myself! But as long as we're armed with spears and axes holding this position, never forget that you and I are men of Bordia!"
"Y-yes, sir!"
"Good! Then go complete your mission right now!"
"Yes, Captain!"
The young shepherd, barely out of his teens.
In that moment, he took a step toward becoming a true man.
The young soldier tasked as messenger headed to a hidden sally port in the corner of the fortress.
This door led to a stream below the walls, camouflaged with bushes so it was hard to spot from outside.
"Survive, kid. Survive and spread word of our bravery far and wide."
The fortress captain murmured softly, watching the young soldier's retreating figure with distant eyes.
He already sensed it.
Today, the fortress's soldiers would meet their end alongside the walls.
But the future stretching into tomorrow belonged to the young.
May that young soldier's survival safeguard Dalisi territory... and the homeland's future!
Slash—
But then.
The young soldier, dashing out the sally port, collapsed in a spray of blood.
And the bushes began rustling all at once.
Enemy troops disguised as foliage had been waiting outside the sally port.
How long had they been there...?
"Disaster! The sally port's breached!"
"Damn it! How did they find this place?"
"Don't just stand there! Hurry and block it with dirt!"
A dozen Castel soldiers threw off their bush-covered cloaks and stormed the sally port.
The fortress soldiers rushed to block them, but it was too late.
Their movements were so nimble, like they were from an acrobatic troupe.
Impossible to stop them.
"What the hell are these guys...? Argh!"
"N-no! Spare me!"
He'd heard rumors.
Castel was a nation of stuck-up knights.
But among them was one notorious eccentric.
A pragmatist who accepted any unorthodox tactic for victory!
"Tullio... Tullio's Patrol! Disaster! Block them from reaching the gate!"
Most of the fortress's forces were concentrated on stopping the convicts undermining the wall base.
No spare manpower to repel Tullio's patrol infiltrating via the sally port.
They had fallen perfectly for the enemy's feint operation.
"C-Captain! The gate...! Aaaagh!"
In the end.
The fortress gate swung open.
Everything had gone off without a hitch.
The battle for Bringen Fortress had begun an hour and a half ago.
Now, the Castel army's flag flew atop the fortress.
"Sir Lian, your contributions were immense. This victory is thanks to your magic revealing the enemy's fortress layout perfectly."
"You're too kind."
The key to victory lay in thorough preparation.
Lian's magic had scouted the enemy's troop dispositions and the fortress's weak points perfectly, allowing preemptive work from dawn.
If Paula's concerns about the lord hadn't been resolved, he might have wasted magic on that instead.
Putting that issue on the back burner had indeed been the right call.
"At this rate, we'll seize Dalisi Castle in no time. Ha ha ha!"
"Assuming Rendal Fortress and the Pumpkin Castle mine are resolved safely, of course."
"Don't worry. They're reliable subordinates. They'll handle it."
"Yes. Since they're under your command, General, I trust they will."
Lian gazed toward the distant mountains where Rendal Fortress lay.
A battle was likely raging there now too.
Fortunately, no beacon smoke rose.
The core of this operation was blocking the beacons.
For Bringen Fortress, Firka's magic had concealed the smoke itself.
For Rendal Fortress, he'd heard the patrol was running interference.
"Your use of the patrol was impressive. Quite an advanced strategy for the times."
"Thank you for the praise. Other generals dislike it, calling it dishonorable."
"I can imagine."
Other generals probably wouldn't have appreciated Lian's feats either.
In that light, assigning General Tullio to Lian had been a wise decision.
The king truly had an eye for people.
Still, while Tullio was great to work with professionally, Lian had no desire to get personally close.
'In a way, the opposite of Sir Albero.'
The face of that decent but somewhat unreliable man came to mind.
That place was now Delico Farmstead turned Faro Ranch.
He should visit to see if the kids there were doing well.
But the last impression lingered poorly, keeping his feet away.
Some of those children might even hail from around here.
Among the lives snuffed out today.
And those yet to fall ahead, there might be their kin.
"General! You need to see this!"
"What is it?"
"We found enemy secret documents! Seems related to spies in the kingdom!"
"Understood. On my way."
It had been the same at the Black Moss Forest fortress.
The fortress fell so swiftly they had no time to destroy confidential papers.
This too would go on record as Lian's achievement.
"Then I'll take my leave. Join me for a celebratory drink tonight. I've got good liquor."
"Looking forward to it."
Lian bowed lightly in farewell.
Then turned to head back to his tent in the camp.
That's when he noticed one of his group was missing.
"Pablo. Where's Firka?"
"Said she needed air, went to that watchtower. Seeing blood must've upset her stomach."
"Can't be helped. She's in a warzone now—she'll have to get used to it."
The operation's crux was denying the enemy time to alert their main base.
Thus, it became a battle of annihilation, allowing no retreats.
Naturally, much blood was spilled.
"Are you alright, Sir Lian?"
"With what? The blood? No need to worry now."
"More than that... This is your homeland, isn't it?"
Somewhere in this land, someone might curse Lian as a traitor.
But at least among those Lian knew, none would.
"The one who smashed my hometown is this land's lord. And he still wants me dead."
"...My apologies. It was a foolish question."
Lian no longer considered Bordia his home.
From that tiny walled village, the ground he'd trod was minuscule anyway.
"Madela is my home now. That's how I see it."
His family, his house—everything was there.
Bordia, with nothing left, was just another country.
And this nation was largely to blame for that.
"Yes, indeed. You're indispensable to Madela now, more than anyone."
That Lian was Madela's man.
Was now an undeniable, crystal-clear fact.
The night of the victory feast was in full swing.
"Whoaaa! Drink up! Down the hatch!"
Firka chugged a beer mug bigger than her head in one go.
The soldiers surrounding her erupted in cheers.
"Wooo! That's her fifth already! For real!?"
"Unbelievable! How does that tiny body hold it all!?"
"Amazing! Magic! It's magic! A true mage!"
"More! Fetch another!"
Firka was surprisingly a heavy drinker.
Even after guzzling till her belly swelled, her face showed no flush.
"Seeing her like that, she's definitely half dwarf..."
"Whoa... She's gonna pour a whole barrel at this rate."
Half-elves like Firka, with dwarf mothers, might not inherit the hardy build but took after their boundless vitality, or so they said.
Right now, half-dwarf seemed more fitting.
"Sir Lian. Enjoying the feast?"
"Ah, General."
"Had much to drink?"
"No, just half a beer so far."
"Good."
As they watched Firka's beer-disappearing magic show.
General Tullio approached with a wine bottle and sat beside Lian.
"Poor compared to your usual, but have a glass. Wine from my homeland."
"Oh, this is Jerez wine. Surprisingly from near Madela."
Jerez was a coastal fiefdom in Castel's southwest.
Famous for its wines.
"Truth be told, I have ties to Madela. My ancestor served as commander in the Madela campaign."
A general's descendant who aided in subduing Madela, now offering his homeland's wine to a viceroy candidate ruling in the royal name.
Objectively, a strangely ironic scene.
"Shouldn't something like this be saved for the final victory?"
"No matter. I drink it often to soothe homesickness. It's been over a decade since I last set foot there."
The general gazing at his homeland's wine seemed somehow wistful.
"A decade? You've been at war that long?"
"No. Truth is, I'm a son-in-law. My house is in the capital."
"Ah... Similar to me, then."
A half-joking remark.
Lian smiled awkwardly as he accepted the proffered glass from General Tullio.
"Well, then. A toast to today's victory."
"Yes, cheers..."
Just as the victory's heroes were about to clink glasses.
"General! Emergency!"
A soldier came rushing up, seeking the general.
The general openly scowled, his pleasant time interrupted before it began.
"What warrants such panic?"
"There! Look over there!"
But the soldier, pale as a ghost, pointed to the eastern sky.
The general's face went white too.
In the distant mountain peak, a light flickered.
Rendal Fortress's beacon had been lit.