Chapter 66
Chapter 66
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: Snail Hunt (3)
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Over the course of a week, we encircled the castle and prepared for a full-scale siege.
The siege preparations basically came down to scouting for any large enemy forces nearby that might target us and crafting the siege rams and ladders we'd need.
But whether we had these preparations or not could mean life or death for the entire mercenary company. We had no choice but to be thorough.
'Preparations are all finished. Now it's up to us to make it happen.'
Lost in thought, I heard Baker snarking from beside me.
"I figured a fortress like this wouldn't be such a big deal, but how tall is that wall exactly? Three meters?"
"We're looking up from below, so it looks taller. The scout leader said it's about 2.5 meters."
"Is that right? Still, the thought of climbing over that thing and taking the place makes me want to lose my mind."
I nodded in agreement.
No matter that the wall was only about 2.5 meters high, scaling it meant propping up ladders and climbing single file.
Meanwhile, the enemy would rain down stones on us and loose arrows until we looked like pin cushions.
By the time we neared the top, the soldiers up there would be waiting with a cheerful "Come on up!" before smashing our skulls.
'Just imagining it turns my stomach.'
The mere thought made me want to retch.
The others seemed to be thinking the same, grumbling from behind, but I pretended not to hear.
No need to play the high-and-mighty officer cracking down on every little complaint—especially when the enemy wasn't outright fleeing. Do that, and I'd end up the one causing some incident.
This time, Karin tapped my shoulder and asked,
"They're saying there are only 250 soldiers inside that fortress. Worried?"
She phrased it like a question, but her chest was puffed out and the corner of her mouth was already twitching upward.
I matched her with a relaxed smile of my own.
"Three out of every ten soldiers up there are holding farm tools. Another three in ten are wearing padded clothes worse than chainmail, barely armed at all. What's there to worry about when it comes to fighting scraps like that?"
Castle walls were always terrifying, but the danger depended on who was defending them.
Seeing six in ten civilians with no proper gear, it was obvious what kind of sorry lot the mercenaries inside must be.
'There definitely won't be anyone too tough up there.'
No—in fact, with six in ten serfs, we could exploit that for some unexpected weakness.
It just so happened that watching their sorry state sparked a certain tactic in my mind.
Then the trumpets and drums signaling the attack blared out.
"Martin's platoon, advance! Time to send those fools itching to plow fields back to Deus's side!"
As I stepped forward, a rain of arrows and spells poured down from the wall like a storm.
"Die, you bastards! I'll smoke your guts into sausages!"
"You filthy serfs, hurl those stones! Head or torso hits are plenty!"
"Don't let them anywhere near the wall!"
Every volley of dozens of arrows brought screams as our soldiers fell here and there.
"To think I'd go out like this..."
Soldiers struck by spells pouring from all directions died without even a final cry.
Those hit directly by Fireballs turned to ash amid flames hot enough to make anyone feel like they were in a steam bath, even outside the blast radius.
Those zapped by lightning stiffened up, pissed themselves, and dropped dead.
I'd fought in plenty of wars by now, but this shit never got any easier to stomach.
A few rookies started dry-heaving as they looked around, while others tried to turn tail.
"Urk, damn it... Is this how I'll go too?"
Even in open-field battles, incoming arrows and spells made your heart clench. Add an unscalable wall, and it was no wonder the newbies panicked.
But the ones mouthing off couldn't dodge the veterans' "gentle" fists and kicks.
"You coward with the rotten hardtack for brains! Get up and grab that cheap needle sword, or I'll kill you right here."
"Wanna keep getting beat until you drop, or go kill those bastards and claim the bonus?"
"Counting to three—snap out of it! One, two, three!"
Thanks to some proper mercenary-style discipline and training, the rookies who had been trembling moments ago pulled themselves together in a flash.
Baker, in particular, was acting like a full-fledged veteran, patting the newbies on the back.
"Fight hard here and make it back alive, and big bro'll buy you beer and meat. So no funny ideas—just follow the platoon leader's orders. Got it?"
Beating and coaxing them like that—he was already veteran-level.
If a promotion slot opened up later, maybe I should bump him up?
Our mercenaries started firing back arrows and spells at the enemy.
We ladder-bearers cheered as enemy projectiles and magic whizzed over our heads toward the wall.
"Damn it, kill 'em all!"
"Burn those dog-shit bastards!"
"Nice shooting, archers!"
Whether it was our prayers or not, the impacts were devastating.
Fireballs exploded with a boom, scattering flames and embers that incinerated clusters of soldiers.
Soldiers riddled with arrows turned into pin cushions or slumped over dead.
"Cowardly mercenaries..."
"J-Jack! We promised to survive this!"
"Peter's turned to ash!!"
Even as we advanced with the ladders, I kept scanning the wall, the soldiers, and the knights atop it.
The reason was simple.
No fortress was uniformly defended—vulnerabilities varied along the wall.
'Hit the weak spots, and we could land a huge blow on day one.'
"Platoon Leader Martin! We'll cover you from down here!"
Turning, I saw Karin and Lucia there.
Karin stood with her chest thrust out, smirking with one corner of her mouth. Lucia had her teeth gritted and tail straight up.
"I'll leave it to you two."
They nodded and aimed their weapons at the enemy.
"First in a situation like this, take out the commander..."
"By fire, eliminate the wicked who block my path..." ⟨ Fireball ⟩
Unlike Lucia chanting her spell, an arrow wrapped in wind shot past me from right beside like a bullet.
The arrow flew straight toward the knight using his sword like a baton to direct the soldiers around him.
"Don't fear those mercenary scum! Calmly, one by one. Sh..."
His throat was pierced clean through by Karin's arrow.
"To think I'd go down like th..."
With the enemy knight dead, the wall's defenders—who had maintained decent order until then—fell into chaos.
"The knight's dead!"
"Stay calm and follow the platoon leader's orders! Don't panic!"
"If you wanna live, obey me!"
Of course, the others tried to restore order, but with nearly six in ten being ordinary peasants, perhaps?
It looked like it would take quite a while for the panicked ones to snap back to their senses.
Right then, our mercenary soldiers reached a spot suitable for setting the ladders.
"Get ready to place the ladders!"
At my command, my platoonmates quickly moved to find the best positions.
"Baker, put yours a bit further to the side!"
"Hook it into that indentation in the wall! If you set it wrong, you won't make it up even after climbing the whole thing!"
"This is where it starts!"
The wall defenders finally realized their feet were burning and snapped to attention.
"Damn it, arrows! Stones! Hurl everything! If those bastards climb up, we're all dead!"
A few women and children rushed about, hauling boiling water.
"Water's here!"
Those armed with close-quarters weapons like axes hurried to spots where our ladders might land.
"If it looks like they're setting foot on the wall, smash their heads first!"
We were just about to prop up our ladders when Lucia's voice rang out from behind.
"Fireball!"
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Fireball Blue flames engulf multiple targets
A blue fireball streaked over our heads.
We weren't even touched by the flames, yet the air around us went from sweltering to scorching.
'That's not the power of your average novice mage...'
Impressed inwardly, I watched as the blue fireball struck several soldiers on the wall.
Those hit directly turned to ash without a scream, while those caught in the blast radius caught fire.
"My body! My body! Someone douse me!"
"Help!"
"Mama, Mama! Agh!"
One powerful spell cleared the wall for a moment.
Seizing the chance, I slammed my ladder against the wall and climbed swiftly.
'This is the perfect moment to reach the top.'
As expected, no one attacked me on the way up.
Well, more like they couldn't—
"Peekaboo. Time to die, all of you."