Chapter 77

Chapter 77: As Expected, They’re Quite Capable (4)

Dooong! Dooong! Dooong!

As soon as dawn broke, the enemies began to swarm again.

Unlike before, the enemy forces now moved all at once.

They seemed determined to breach the castle this time, as they even brought along mobile siege ladders.

The soldiers of Ferdium, upon seeing this, froze in tension.

Although their morale had been high after enduring two days of siege, the sight of the massive army advancing all at once brought an overwhelming sense of pressure.

“Stay strong! We can hold them off today as well!”

Encouraged by Zwalter’s words, the soldiers took their positions and shot arrows fiercely at the oncoming enemies.

Thud! Thud!

However, arrows were not very effective against the enemy, who advanced with shield-bearers at the forefront.

Still, occasionally, the infantry and archers in the rear ranks were struck and fell.

Despite the suppressive fire, a group finally reached the bottom of the castle walls.

The damaged parts of the wall had already been filled with wood, dirt, and rocks.

The enemy, not bothering with that section, attached ladders to various parts of the wall.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The enemies began to climb up the ladders leaning against the castle walls.

“Stop them! Push the enemies back!”

At Zwalter’s command, the soldiers hurled various weapons down the ladders.

Spiked cylinders were rolled down, and hot water and molten metal were poured continuously.

“Uaargh!”

The enemies, who were climbing with shields raised, could not withstand the fierce defense and fell one by one.

Ferdium’s soldiers also had to fight while keeping their heads down due to the suppressive fire from the enemies at the foot of the wall, making the battle even more challenging.

Fortunately, since the enemy’s assault wasn’t too intense, the casualties were minimal.

‘What’s going on? Why aren’t they moving the siege tower?’

Zwalter’s mind was in turmoil.

When using ladders to climb the walls, the attacking side inevitably suffers greater casualties compared to using siege towers.

Yet the enemies only used ladders, and the siege towers remained completely immobile.

The fact that the enemy wasn’t pressing forward aggressively also seemed suspicious.

It felt as if they were attacking without much care—whether they took the castle or not seemed inconsequential to them.

However, since their numbers were overwhelming, it wasn’t like Zwalter and his men could defend so half-heartedly in return.

Zwalter continued to ponder the enemy’s intentions.

‘Are they trying to undermine the wall’s foundation and bring it down? Or are they planning to dig tunnels to infiltrate?’

He considered other common siege tactics, but none seemed to fit.

There was no sign of any suspicious activity near the base of the walls, and digging tunnels would require more time than the enemy likely had.

By the time the sun began to set, the enemies still hadn’t managed to breach the walls and eventually retreated.

“Woohoo! We held them off again today!”

The soldiers cheered, but it was another victory that felt unsettling, just like the previous day.

Zwalter’s uncertainty didn’t last long. By nightfall, he quickly understood the enemy’s intentions.

“Waaaaah! Attack!”

The enemies launched another assault, this time in the middle of the night. But only about half of their forces were involved.

Even so, half of their forces were still more than Ferdium’s entire army.

“These bastards! They’re trying to wear us out completely!”

Zwalter clenched his teeth and shouted in frustration.

“If we pull back our forces, the defenses will be exposed everywhere!”

Due to the difference in the size of their forces, it was difficult to adopt the same strategy as the enemy.

The enemy had been attacking cautiously, so the casualties weren’t severe, but the fatigue was building up.

The next day, the other half of the enemy, who had rested during the night, would attack again.

Zwalter tried to mirror the enemy’s tactic by pulling back about half of his own forces.

However, the moment he did so, the enemy immediately noticed, as if they had eyes everywhere, and rushed to exploit the weakened sections of the defenses.

‘They’re the enemy, but their commander is incredibly skilled!’

If it weren’t for Ghislain and the mercenaries’ outstanding efforts, they would have already lost control of one side of the wall.

“Brother! The soldiers are completely exhausted,” Randolph cautiously reported. But there was no clear solution.

Though Zwalter tried to rotate the soldiers out for rest, the gap in numbers was too large.

The following day was no different. The enemy, having rested, was noticeably fresher while his own forces were visibly drained.

“Ah, no... I’m exhausted to death.”

“Do we have to keep fighting like this?”

“When will this end? Didn’t they say the enemy has no supplies either?”

The morale of Ferdium’s soldiers plummeted rapidly.

They hadn’t had proper sleep for three days straight.

War itself brings immense stress and exhaustion, but fighting continuously without rest, even at night, quickly depleted the soldiers’ stamina.

Even though Ghislain once again took extreme measures by leaping off the wall, the enemy’s strategy remained unchanged.

When the mercenaries clad in black armor appeared, the enemy soldiers would avoid them, while the knights would gather to contain Ghislain.

As a result, Ghislain couldn’t inflict significant damage and had to retreat.

“What are you saying?”

Ghislain looked puzzled, his face showing confusion at his father’s uncharacteristic behavior.

His father had always emphasized the duties and honor of nobility, but now he was telling him to run away.

“Seek refuge with Count Rogues. His wife is your aunt, so she won’t turn you away. He will protect you.”

“Didn’t you say that wasn’t the duty of a noble?”

“...I’m only human, after all. This is not a lord’s will but a father’s heart. Take Elena with you.”

“Do you really think we’ve already lost?”

“Your forces no longer hold sway over the outcome. If we win, we will do so without you. And if we lose, your presence won’t change anything.”

“...”

“Don’t fight with Kane; stay on good terms. There’s no need to cause trouble and then eat away at your pride.”

“...Haha.”

It was rare for Zwalter to joke. Ghislain couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.

Randolph also approached, placing a friendly hand on Ghislain’s shoulder.

“Young Lord, or rather, nephew, I’ll speak to you plainly now.”

“Since when have you ever not spoken plainly?”

Ghislain’s brusque reply made Randolph grin, showing his teeth.

“It’s been awful working with you. Let’s never meet again. You’ve always been unreliable, but at least in the end, you acted like the true heir of our family and estate. Go and ensure the continuation of our bloodline.”

“I’m not running away.”

“Just go. You need to live if you want to avenge us later.”

Avenge them.

Ghislain smiled slyly as he replied.

“That revenge has already begun.”

“What?”

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Before Randolph could ask what he meant, the sound of the enemy’s war drums echoed.

Rumble!

The three remaining siege towers were also moving.

Everyone could feel it—the final battle was at hand.

Ghislain stared at the approaching enemy before turning his back.

“I’m going to act on my own now.”

As Ghislain descended toward the gates, Zwalter and Randolph stood silently, unable to speak.

A moment later, Zwalter let out a sigh.

“Well, when did that boy ever listen to anyone? At least he’s acting like a noble in the end.”

“Now that things have come to this let’s see it through to the end. Judging by the siege towers moving, today is the last day. If we run out of weapons, we’ll just fight with our fists, right?”

Watching Randolph reignite his determination, Zwalter nodded.

Then, he shouted to the soldiers.

“Everyone, stay strong! Today is our final battle!”

“Whoooaaa!”

At the lord’s declaration, the soldiers raised their weapons and let out a great cheer.

In truth, no one believed that Ferdium could win.

The screams they let out were closer to cries born from their fear of death.

Hearing the cheers from Ferdium’s side, Viktor smirked.

“It’s over now. What tiresome bastards.”

Since yesterday, almost no arrows had flown from the castle.

This was proof that the enemy’s supplies were nearly depleted.

Now was the time to crush them with overwhelming force and claim victory.

“The central army will advance and wait near the gates!”

He stationed the shieldbearers in thick lines at the center of his formation.

“When they’re at their limit, the enemy will open the gates and charge out. At that moment, hit them with magic and wipe out their vanguard.”

The mages standing beside Viktor nodded.

Viktor was certain that when the siege began, the men in black armor would rush out.

In their final moment, they would rely on their specialty—an all-out charge.

‘They probably think it’s their last chance to win.’

But a sudden magical strike would shatter their momentum.

‘I’ve kept my mages hidden for this exact moment.’

Ferdium might have had some clever tricks up their sleeve, but this was the end for them.

“All troops! Advance!”

At Viktor’s command, the entire army began to move at once.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Ferdium’s soldiers trembled in despair.

They had held out well up to this point, but today, it seemed impossible to survive.

Only the mercenaries kept their sharp eyes on the approaching enemy, their fighting spirit undiminished.

As Ghislain scanned the mercenaries, his gaze landed on the person standing next to him.

“Vanessa, get ready.”