Chapter 68
Chapter 68
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: Snail Hunt (5)
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Once we sent the signal that we'd taken the watchtower, a massive cheer erupted from below the walls.
"Martin Platoon Leader's secured the watchtower! Fuck, hang the ladders there!"
"Push in just like this! Let's breach this castle today!"
"Keep order and climb slowly! The castle ain't gonna run away if we don't rush!"
Our Mercenary Corps soldiers swiftly hooked ladders to the watchtower I'd secured and started climbing up fast.
Enemy arrows and magic barely reached the ladders hooked to my watchtower.
This seemed solid enough that I didn't need to stick around guarding while the rest of our guys climbed up.
"Martin Platoon! Anyone with stamina left, follow me now. The exhausted ones, stay here and provide cover."
"Yes, Platoon Leader!"
I caught my breath a bit too.
A deep breath steadied my ragged breathing back to rhythm, and strength began flooding my body again.
"Alright, fuck... Let's see how far we can go today."
With my resolve reaffirmed, the disorganized rabble up front was replaced by guys moving in orderly formation.
Those bastards must be the castle's hidden ace up the sleeve.
Proving my hunch right, they were all clad in decent breastplates and helmets.
But what really drove me insane was what they were holding...
Baker beside me pointed ahead and said,
"What the fuck are those crazy bastards doing with pikes, shields, and flails? Who the hell uses that shit on the walls?"
Neither in defending a castle nor attacking one do you typically see long weapons like that.
Except when defense is crumbling, pulling them out at the perfect moment turns that combo into a killer move...
I ground my teeth and stomped the innocent ground hard.
"Fuck, on these already cramped walls, if they keep distance, brace spears, and block us, it'll be a bitch to break through. And if we get stalled, they'll bash us with those flails!"
The path was narrow enough as it was, with no gaps in sight, and cracking that ironclad defense just thinking about it felt like climbing a mountain after another.
But what could we do?
To take this castle, boost my fame, and grab wealth and women...
We couldn't hesitate at a mere hurdle like this.
"Just follow me! And steel yourselves!"
With that, I stepped forward cautiously, scanning for enemy gaps.
At the same time, a large flag rose among the enemy lines—a white chicken clutching an olive branch.
"Baron Seik fights alongside you. Fight without fear!"
The bastards banged their spears on shields and shouted,
"White Beard or White Thread, come at us if you dare!"
"I'll smash you to pieces."
"You're all dead."
Their cocky attitude made me itch to break their noses and snap them clean off.
"I'll sew that mouth shut!"
I swung my sword wide, channeling aura.
The soldier in front thrust his shield out to block and stabbed at me with his spear, but it never reached.
Instead, my Expert-level blade sliced through his metal shield like it was a wooden board.
"Crazy, fuck?"
And those were his last words.
"Where do you get off, you rootless punk."
I cleaved the enemy soldier breastplate and all, and right away, a flail whipped toward my head.
Hearing the whoosh of the iron ball cutting air, I stepped deeper into the enemy's reach.
I clicked my tongue at the same time.
"Cowardly bastard."
In war, "cowardly" is a compliment, but damn, what flawless teamwork.
They must've hastily filled the ranks with scrubs but planned to hold with elite regulars somehow.
Otherwise, no commander who could wield regulars this sharply would stick the rest with such trash troops.
"Die."
With that, I gradually weathered their combos, picking them off one by one, thinning their numbers.
These were just regular soldiers in front of me, but if even I was rattled...
Meanwhile, urgent shouts came from our White Beard Mercenary Corps guys behind.
"Fuck, what are these assholes?"
"Snail bastards."
"Clump up! Clump together!"
Without looking back, just hearing them told me things weren't going great for us.
Thanks to all the drill and training I'd ground into them, they weren't breaking, just holding...
But probably jammed up like a highway blockage.
As the situation dragged, I unconsciously started chewing my lip.
"Fuck."
Meanwhile, the enemy commander, the baron, waved his baton like this was his chance.
"Push them like this!"
At his order, the enemy regulars drove us back slowly with their tight coordination.
I kept swinging my sword, killing them and rallying our side.
"We outnumber them! Keep pushing!"
Then, voices of mages echoed from inside the walls.
"Burn my foes to ash, Fireball!"
At the same time, archers' yells pierced my ears.
"Loose at will, kill those dog bastards right here!"
"Shoot till your fingers bleed off!"
"The baron's risking his life to protect you!"
Deep in enemy lines, I was safe from arrows and spells, but...
Fuck, my guys behind me...
Strictly speaking, getting ranged fire from below the walls in a siege was standard, so not my fault...
But fireballs scorching around and arrows whistling made goosebumps erupt all over.
Soon, our soldiers' death cries stabbed my ears.
"Argh, fuck!"
"Help, it's hot! Water!"
"Dying like this..."
Thinking of those dying without even a scream, the actual death toll was way higher than I imagined.
Knowing losses were inevitable didn't stop my rage from blazing hotter.
"You fucking dogs!"
I vented my fury on them, swinging my sword even fiercer.
Every bastard in its path died equally.
Among them, one who thought I was tiring...
"Knight of Baron Seik, Joseph Apo, will take your head!"
Their knights charged out too, but...
"Same level punk, who the fuck do you think you are!"
I blocked his sword with my left gauntlet, then rammed mine into his throat, killing him.
"Gahk."
The worthless knight collapsed without a final cry.
As I kept fighting, the area around us grew red with blood.
At the same time, a retreat horn blew from outside the walls.
"Already retreating?"
Not a bad timing, I thought.
If the fight dragged on, even if I held, our casualties would've mounted higher.
That realization made my shoulders feel leaden.
"Fuck, if I'd fought just a bit better."
I muttered, shaking my head to banish the thought.
Besides, fortress or not, scaling the walls and smashing a watchtower on day one? Pretty damn good performance.
Shaking off the gloom, I supported the soldiers' withdrawal.
Thankfully, the baron prioritized regrouping too...
"Don't pursue recklessly. Gather the serf soldiers."
We descended the walls and retreated without much counterattack.
But the newbies to sieges slumped their shoulders and grumbled.
"Fuck, didn't we get wrecked too bad? Even for a siege..."
"No idea how many died..."
"Gotta do this again tomorrow?"
Decent progress for a siege, but honestly, those 'regulars' and their wall-bottom attack tactics were brutally strong.
The veterans neither despaired nor celebrated, just grumbled on.
"Resistance is tough, but we can take the fortress like this."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ However, this fortress didn't fall as easily as we'd hoped.
Despite a week of relentless assaults, the baron's command, the regulars' coordination, and the serfs' growing desperation held firm unexpectedly.
Our Mercenary Corps soldiers' morale plummeted to rock bottom.
"Even after taking this, we've got more full-scale battles ahead."
"Fuck, we'll all die at this rate."
"Can't we just say it's impossible after this?"
Everyone wanted to quit, but...
Coldly analyzing the battlefield, a smile crept onto my lips.
Not a despairing smirk at our dying comrades, nor joy at death—of course not.
Finally, in this desperate spot, it was time to unleash the plan I'd cooked up since arriving here.
This is guaranteed to work.
And with that, I headed straight toward the sounds of Captain Dalton fighting deeper inside.