The day after receiving news of the fall of Harzea Fort in the south, the Lancel Kingdom army once again showed signs of launching an attack on Barrel Fort.
It seemed likely that the forces that had captured other forts had joined them, as their numbers had increased to about 700, despite losing over 100 soldiers in the last battle. To make matters worse, the enemy was now aware of the presence of crossbows, making it inevitable that this battle would be more challenging than before.
“They’ve definitely made shields out of wood from the forest,” Frederic observed, watching the Lancel Kingdom infantry advance with hastily made large shields from atop the fortress wall. “It looks like it’ll be tough to take them down with crossbows alone.”
Standing beside him was Yuri, who responded calmly. “Then let’s start by surprising them with the ballista again… Noein-sama.”
“Understood, everything’s ready,” came Noein’s reply.
This time, Noein was stationed near the ballista placed inside the gate, while Yuri stood atop the walls. The two communicated seamlessly via “distant talk.”
“Got it. I’ll be ready,” Noein reassured him.
On the wall, smaller beastfolk lined up with crossbows at the ready, while larger beastfolk prepared to load them below—a setup identical to the previous battle.
The atmosphere was tense, some of the beastfolk trembling with nervousness, while others seemed calm, having grown accustomed to the battlefield during the last fight.
The Lancel Kingdom army steadily approached, advancing cautiously under the cover of their shields rather than rushing forward. As they neared a certain distance, archers protected by their comrades’ shields began aiming at the top of the fortress walls.
“Arrows incoming! Shields up!”
At Frederic’s warning, officers shouted, “Shields up!” and soldiers took cover behind their shields. Mathilda shielded Noein and herself, while the soldiers operating the ballista clustered together under their shields in a turtle formation.
Moments later, a volley of arrows from the Lancel Kingdom rained down on Barrel Fort, nearly double the number from before.
“Bows have the advantage of firing in arcs, unlike crossbows. Their range might be limited, but it’s still effective,” Noein commented.
“Yet their power leaves much to be desired,” Mathilda replied.
The arrows, weakened by their descent from the hill below, were mostly deflected by the shields, and even those that struck failed to penetrate.
On the wall, Frederic stood shielded among the soldiers, peeking through a gap to observe the enemy. Learning from their previous failure, the enemy now advanced cautiously, firing arrows intermittently to maintain pressure.
“Commander, ready the ballista!”
“Yes, sir! Noein-sama, the enemy is within range!”
Despite the noise of scraping shields and murmuring soldiers within the fort, the report reached Noein clearly via distant talk.
“Understood. Open the gates… Archers, fire at will once the gates are open.”
“Yes, sir!”
At Noein’s command, the soldiers of the Arlquist forces moved swiftly.
As the gates opened, two ballistae unleashed explosive arrows.
One struck the front row of the enemy, igniting both shields and soldiers. The other arrow pierced through gaps in the enemy’s shields and exploded in the middle of their formation, engulfing the area in flames.
“Hot! It’s burning!”
“Help me!”
“Don’t come near me, you fool! You’ll spread the flames!”
“Roll on the ground to extinguish it!”
Flames spread through the front and center of the formation, throwing soldiers and their nearby comrades into chaos.
A commanding voice cut through the panic.
“Stay calm! There were only two shots; they won’t fire again! Advance with your shields!”
The speaker was the commander who had suffered defeat in the initial skirmish with Barrel Fort. A seasoned veteran stood as his adjutant beside him.
Encouraged by the commander’s confident tone, the Lancel Kingdom soldiers resumed their advance.
“This is it! We’ll capture the fort this time and secure my glory!”
“As long as we withstand those fire-spreading weapons, the enemy will have no options left. In melee combat, those beastfolk farmers will be no match for us.”
As the commander spurred his horse forward, the adjutant glanced toward the fort.
Then, the adjutant noticed something strange—the gate remained open, even after the explosive weapons had fired.
Previously, the enemy had closed the gates immediately after firing those weapons. Based on that, both the commander and adjutant had assumed the weapons couldn’t be fired in succession.
But now, the gates stayed open.
“What is it? What about the gate?”
“The gate hasn’t closed! The enemy might still be able to fire more of those weapons—”
The adjutant’s report was cut short. When the commander turned toward him, the adjutant’s head was no longer attached to his body.
“Direct hit with a standard shot! However, it struck a cavalry officer who seemed to be the adjutant, not the commander. The commander dismounted and hid among his troops!”
“Apologies, I missed!” the ballista operator called out.
“It’s fine. Taking down the commander’s aide is a significant achievement. Is the second ballista loaded with an explosive arrow? Fire when ready.”
“Yes, sir!”
At Noein’s command, the second operator fired an explosive arrow. Flames erupted once again in the enemy formation.
“Yuri, how’s the enemy looking?”
“They’re in disarray. Their advance has slowed.”
“That’s good to hear.”
Satisfied, Noein operated his golem to draw the ballista’s string.
Unlike crossbows, ballistae relied on levers to draw their strings. What usually required two strong men was easily handled by a single golem.
Quickly, another arrow was loaded. To conserve the limited supply of explosive arrows, the next shot would use a standard projectile.
“Firing standard shot!”
“Firing as well!”
The ballistae loosed their massive arrows, the sound of snapping strings cutting through the air. Blood sprayed from the enemy formation as the projectiles struck, cleaving through shields and bodies alike.
“The standard arrows are effective. They’re piercing the shields and taking out multiple soldiers at once. The lead guy was split in two.”
“Those shields are useless. The enemy must be panicking,” Yuri remarked.
“Exactly… Oh, they’re speeding up their advance. After the next shot, close the gate. Leave the rest to us,” Yuri instructed.
“Got it.”
Despite the relaxed tone of Noein’s response, he kept the golem working steadily to draw the ballista’s string.
……..
“…Even after his aide’s head was blown away right in front of him, the enemy commander is valiantly rallying his troops.”
“Indeed, one must admire his courage, even as the enemy. Listen up! Once they get close to the walls, they won’t be able to keep holding their shields. Aim for the soldiers who drop their shields to climb the walls! Rain arrows straight down on them!”
“Yes, sir!”
Frederic’s rallying cry was met with enthusiastic shouts from the beastfolk soldiers. Their morale remained high, bolstered by the advantage they had maintained so far.
Meanwhile, despite suffering significant losses from the ballistae, the Lancel Kingdom army finally neared the walls of Barrel Fort.
The leading soldiers discarded their shields, while the ones behind them propped long ladders against the fortress walls.
From above, the beastfolk rained down crossbow bolts. Unlucky enemy soldiers struck by the bolts collapsed one after another.
“Push the ladders away! Don’t let a single soldier inside!”
With those words, Yuri kicked one of the ladders over, sending it crashing to the ground.
One of the beastfolk soldiers tried to imitate him, moving closer to another ladder—only to be struck in the head by an enemy arrow.
The soldier fell backward, into the inner side of the fortress, the arrow still embedded in his head. He didn’t move. He was dead instantly.
“Aghhh!”
“He’s dead! Our comrade is dead!”
“Don’t panic! If you falter, the next one to die will be you!”
As panic began to spread among the beastfolk, Yuri’s commanding roar brought them back under control. His voice resonated with enough force to shake the air.
“Don’t stop! Save the tears for later! Fight!”
Frederic joined in, shouting as he cut down an enemy soldier climbing a ladder with his sword.
“Reloaders, grab weapons and get up here! Join the fight!”
At Yuri’s order, the large beastfolk who had been reloading the crossbows picked up their weapons and joined the melee. Their presence doubled the defending forces’ numbers, and the addition of the physically stronger beastfolk gave the defenders a noticeable edge.
Near the gate, enemy forces were attempting to break through with a full charge. Noein’s golem and the soldiers operating the ballistae held the gate with all their strength. From atop the gate, defenders hurled stones directly downward to disrupt the enemy’s momentum.
On the other side of the gate, under the leadership of Frederic’s aide and Pence, the defenders waged another fierce battle to keep the enemy at bay.
What seemed like an endless battle finally came to an end by dusk. From the rear of the enemy forces, the sound of a trumpet echoed—a signal for retreat. The Lancel Kingdom army withdrew.
As the enemy pulled back, the defenders of Barrel Fort slumped to the ground, letting out sighs of relief. Some were so exhausted that they collapsed where they stood.
“Alright, move the seriously injured to the infirmary. Those with lighter wounds, walk on your own. And… check for the dead.”
Following Frederic’s instructions, the soldiers, having caught their breath, began moving once more.
“Are Lord Noein and the officers unharmed?”
Frederic scanned the interior of the fort and spoke with a relieved expression. His aide, Yuri, Pence, and Noein were all alive.
While the lives of officers and regular soldiers were not weighed differently, the loss of someone like Noein, who could operate the golems, or experienced officers would have been a devastating blow.
By the gate, Noein sat on the ground, breathing heavily. Though he hadn’t engaged in direct combat, he was thoroughly exhausted from maintaining the golem’s activity for such a long time.
“Ah… That was rough…”
“Thank you for your efforts, Noein-sama,” Mathilda said. Though her expression remained stoic, sweat poured down her face from holding her shield throughout the battle to protect Noein.
“…We lost some of our allies, didn’t we? And so many were injured.”
Noein glanced around. Numerous beastfolk lay motionless on the ground, blood pooling beneath them.
“It seems so. However, there don’t appear to be any fatalities among the Arlquist forces.”
“That’s… good news. Or rather, I shouldn’t say it like that…”
Noein quickly corrected himself, his voice so soft that only Mathilda heard him.
“Even if they aren’t my direct subjects, it’s still painful to lose comrades who fought beside us, Mathilda.”
“Indeed, you are absolutely right, Noein-sama.”
As dust filled the air and blood stained the ground and walls, Noein and Mathilda exchanged these words in the aftermath of the battle.
