“Last night’s raid seems to have really angered the enemy… They look more aggressive than usual.”
“Well, that’s only for now. They must have lost a lot of sleep last night, so their energy and morale are likely severely depleted.”
As they watched the Lancel Kingdom army begin their march in formation, Frederick and Noein exchanged these words.
“That’s true… Still, the enemy remains a formidable force of 1,000. Let’s stay alert and calmly execute our strategy.”
“Yes, I’ll do my best.”
While responding to Frederick, Noein stretched his fingers as if preparing for something. In golem manipulation, hand movements are crucial as they help convey the operator’s consciousness to the golem.
On the walls, beastmen armed with crossbows stood ready, as usual, while at the gate, Yuri’s ballista team prepared to fire.
A soldier, looking out from the open gate, nervously remarked, “They seem to have taken precautions against our fire arrows after the last battle.”
Indeed, the Lancel Kingdom army had prepared well. They had constructed large mobile barricades using logs placed on carts made from timber cut from the forest. The enemy soldiers advanced, hiding behind these barricades.
“True… We used a lot of fire arrows in last night’s raid. Let’s conserve them. Switch to regular arrows.”
Following Yuri’s decision, the ballistas were loaded with standard arrows, and the first volley was fired as the enemy approached.
One arrow lodged itself into a log barricade, while another slipped through a gap, striking the enemy formation. It seemed to have taken out a few soldiers, but the enemy’s advance showed no signs of slowing.
“Tch… Lord Noein, it seems the ballistas aren’t very effective anymore. We can only pick off a few at a time.”
“I see… Well, that’s to be expected. Let’s close the gates and prepare for defense.”
“Agreed.”
Yuri ordered the soldiers to close the gates.
Meanwhile, the Lancel Kingdom army continued to advance steadily. Once both sides were within range, an exchange of arrows and crossbow bolts began.
“Don’t waste your shots! Aim for the gaps between the barricades!”
“Don’t falter! The enemy is shooting from below the hill, so their shots lack power and won’t hit easily!”
Frederick shouted encouragement, while on the opposite side of the wall, Pence rallied the beastmen, who braced themselves under the rain of arrows and fired their crossbows.
Most of the arrows fired by the Lancel Kingdom’s archers flew over the walls into the fortress, while those that did hit the walls were either blocked by the beastmen’s shields or deflected by their armor.
The bolts fired by the beastmen’s crossbows struck the enemy’s mobile barricades, but many found their way through the gaps or over the top, reaching the enemy soldiers. Thanks to the height advantage, the Lancel Kingdom army suffered far greater losses than the Roadberg Kingdom’s forces.
Despite this, the Lancel Kingdom army pressed on, relying on their numbers, and eventually reached the walls of Barrel Fortress.
Soldiers carrying ladders emerged from behind the barricades and began to set them against the walls—when suddenly, the ground in the middle of the Lancel Kingdom’s formation exploded in two places, sending dirt flying.
Simultaneously, soldiers were flung into the air. In the face of this chaos, the previously disciplined vanguard of the Lancel Kingdom army turned into a disorganized mob.
“Ahhh!”
“What is this?!”
“Golems?! No way!”
The golems, buried underground the previous night, had emerged and began wreaking havoc in the heart of the enemy formation. The sight of the supposedly slow and clumsy golems moving with unexpected agility threw the Lancel Kingdom army into a panic.
The soldiers’ anger from the previous night’s raid seemed to have completely dissipated.
Seeing this, Frederick turned and shouted, “A great success, Lord Noein! The enemy’s formation has completely collapsed!”
“Yes! We can push them back now!”
Noein shouted back, his hands directed toward the golems as he manipulated them to continue their rampage. Mathilda shielded him with her shield, protecting him from enemy arrows.
Some soldiers, in a desperate attempt to stop the golems, charged at them with spears and swords, but humans stood no chance against golems. Even the larger beastmen soldiers—lion-men, bull-men, and tiger-men—were overpowered and sent flying.
With each swing of a golem’s arm, soldiers’ heads were sent rolling, and with each step, those who fell were crushed underfoot. Soldiers flung into the air by the golems’ blows impaled themselves on their comrades’ spears.
As Noein continued to unleash the golems’ chaos, a pile of bloodied corpses began to accumulate.
Amidst this, the beastmen recruits on the walls continued to fire their crossbows without pause. The Lancel Kingdom soldiers, distracted by the golems, fell under the rain of arrows, while those who turned their attention to the walls were struck down by the golems.
Crossbow bolts also struck the golems, but the special hardwood used to construct them allowed them to shrug off the attacks as if nothing had happened.
“Lord Noein, the enemy has noticed you!”
Mathilda called out, shielding Noein as she spoke. The enemy had realized that Noein was the one controlling the golems and had begun to focus their arrows on him.
“Tortoise formation!”
Noein shouted, and the surrounding soldiers, as prearranged, raised their shields and formed a tight formation around Mathilda. The overlapping shields, resembling a turtle’s shell, enveloped Noein, blocking the enemy’s arrows.
Through the small gaps between the shields, Noein kept his eyes on the enemy and continued to manipulate the golems.
Meanwhile, Frederick, while directing the beastmen, observed the enemy’s movements and said, “Some brave souls are climbing the ladders! Prepare for close combat!”
A portion of the Lancel Kingdom soldiers, realizing that they couldn’t survive both the crossbow fire and the golems, decided to make a desperate charge toward the walls and began climbing the ladders. On the defending side, even the beastmen responsible for reloading rushed up to the walls, and a fierce battle broke out.
A brave Lancel Kingdom soldier who managed to reach the top of the wall was immediately struck down by a large beastman, and the ladder he had just climbed was kicked away.
A beastman desperately fighting with a spear to keep the enemy from entering the fortress was struck by an enemy arrow and fell.
As the intense battle raged on both sides of the fortress walls, the Lancel Kingdom’s commander watched from the rear of the formation.
“Take down that golem manipulator! At this rate, we’ll never break through! Send our mages forward!”
“But sir, if we send the mages into that chaos, they’ll be killed before they can focus their magic! Mages are too valuable!”
“Then have all the archers focus fire on that tortoise formation! At least one arrow should find its way through the gaps!”
The commander was growing desperate. After being humiliated in the night raid, failing to take the fortress despite having several times the enemy’s numbers would cast doubt on his abilities as a leader.
With a grim expression, the commander continued to bark orders, his eyes fixed on the fortress ahead. His guards, too, were captivated by the sight of the golems wreaking havoc on the front lines.
Everyone was focused on the front. As a result, they neglected to watch their rear.
Suddenly, the commander felt a strange sensation and turned to look behind him. There, he saw something unexpected.
“What the—? Impossible!”
A group of unfamiliar cavalry had appeared.
There were about ten riders, each with two small beastmen—rat-men and the like—mounted on a single horse. The beastman in front held the reins, while the one in the back carried an unfamiliar weapon resembling a small crossbow mounted on a stand.
All the weapons were aimed at the commander.
“Guards—”
Before he could finish speaking, arrows pierced his body.
………
“Lord Noein! Ginozze’s squad did it! They took out the enemy commander!”
Shielded and with limited visibility, Noein heard Frederick’s shout and knew his plan had succeeded.
He had sent beastmen with night vision and fire arrow magic tools to infiltrate the enemy camp and cause chaos. Then, he had buried golems in front of the fortress and sent mounted beastmen, led by Ginozze, to hide in the forest to the right. They had circled around through the forest to attack the enemy from behind.
In the midst of the battle, the golems had emerged from underground to launch a surprise attack, and while the enemy was distracted, Ginozze’s cavalry had approached from the rear and taken out the enemy commander with their crossbows.
It was a three-stage surprise attack designed to thoroughly confuse the enemy and cripple their ability to function as an army.
“That’s great! What about them?”
“They’re circling around the battlefield and the fortress, heading for the east gate! The enemy has noticed them! We’ll cover their retreat!”
“Yes!”
The most dangerous moment for Ginozze and his squad was after they had taken out the enemy commander. As they retreated, the enemy soldiers, now aware of the rear attack, tried to pursue them. Noein’s golems and the crossbow units on the walls worked to hold them back.
Even as the golems charged and crossbow bolts rained down, the numerically superior enemy pressed forward. While infantry couldn’t catch up to cavalry, the enemy archers’ arrows were relentless.
Dodging the rain of enemy arrows, the ten cavalrymen circled around to the rear of the fortress and rushed in through the east gate.
One by one, they returned, and finally, Ginozze, riding with his son Kenoze, entered the fortress.
By then, the Lancel Kingdom army, having lost their commander and fallen into disarray, had begun to retreat like a receding tide.
“Good! Today is another victory for us! Well done, everyone! Check for casualties and wounded!”
After giving these orders to the soldiers, Frederick descended from the walls and headed toward Ginozze’s cavalry squad, who had played a heroic role. Noein, accompanied by Mathilda, followed behind.
“Ginozze, and all of you, thank you for your hard work.”
Noein offered words of gratitude to the beastmen, who were gasping for breath after their desperate escape from the enemy’s pursuit. The beastmen nodded in response.
However, Ginozze showed no reaction. He sat motionless behind his son Kenoze, his eyes wide and lifeless.
“Ginozze?”
As Noein approached him, he saw an arrow protruding from Ginozze’s back.
“…Ah.”
At that moment, Noein felt the strength drain from his body. He struggled to keep himself from collapsing.
Kenoze turned around, confirmed that his father had died, and then looked at Noein, shaking his head quietly.
“…I’m sorry.”
The words slipped out of Noein’s mouth before he could think. Ginozze had died because of the plan he had devised. He had caused his death. The realization hit Noein like a wave.
“Your father was a hero. Today’s victory is thanks to him. I’m proud to have fought alongside him.”
“…Thank you. My father would be happy to hear that.”
Frederick stepped forward and spoke to Kenoze, who responded in kind. His voice, heard for the first time, bore a slight resemblance to Ginozze’s.
Noein couldn’t find the words to say to Kenoze. After a brief glance at Noein, Kenoze lifted his father’s lifeless body from the horse and carried it away.
“…Lord Noein.”
Mathilda called out to Noein with a worried voice.
“I’m fine, Mathilda, I’m fine… I’m just really tired. Let’s go back to the room and rest for a while.”
