The Lancel Kingdom army, having lost their core unit commander and witnessed the unusually swift threat of the golems, took a full three days to reorganize their formation.
However, during that time, new reinforcements joined, swelling their numbers to nearly 1,500. In contrast, the defending forces of Barrel Fortress, excluding the dead and severely wounded, numbered only about 200.
“This is really bad… No matter how many we take down, it feels endless.”
“Even in the last battle, the enemy’s casualties easily exceeded 100, but instead of being replenished, their numbers have only grown.”
Frederick and Yuri spoke with half-dazed voices as they watched the enemy forces advancing in formation from atop the fortress walls.
“…Why is the Lancel Kingdom army so desperate to attack?”
Noein muttered softly, and the two turned to look at him.
“This fortress zone isn’t the main battlefield, right? The enemy doesn’t absolutely need to take this fort. Sure, it’d be great for their own glory if they could capture it, but why go through the trouble of coordinating with other officers, even competing for command, just to launch a joint attack?”
“Now that you mention it… it does seem a bit unnatural.”
Frederick agreed with Noein’s doubts.
“At this point, it’s painful that our communication lines with the rear have been cut off, and we’re not getting any updates from the main force.”
“Absolutely. It wouldn’t be strange if the main force had already settled things by now…”
It was the 10th day since the first battle and the 11th since the main force had engaged in combat. Considering the original expectation that the war would end “within two weeks at most,” the battle was already dragging on longer than the high command had anticipated.
“Anyway, for now, we have no choice but to focus on the battle ahead.”
“Right.”
As they spoke, the enemy steadily drew closer.
Noein shifted his focus and directed his hands toward the golems. Since the enemy already knew about the golems’ existence, this time, both golems were positioned in front of the fortress from the start.
The intention was to intimidate the infantry, but the Lancel Kingdom army reacted differently than before.
“Is that… fire arrows?”
“You two, give the golems shields!”
Noein quickly pointed to nearby soldiers and shouted. They threw their shields down from the wall.
Noein had the golems pick them up and hold them defensively. Moments later, fire arrows rained down on the golems, launched by the enemy archers.
“It seems even the Lancel Kingdom knows the weakness of wood golems…”
Wooden golems are weak to fire. While the extremely hard wood used in their construction makes them nearly impervious to direct arrow strikes, if a fire arrow lodges in the joints, the golem could catch fire.
The fire arrows embedded themselves one after another into the shields held by the golems.
But the enemy’s strategy didn’t stop there.
“!? This is bad!”
From the rear of the enemy formation, a fire spell—Fireball—flew toward the golems. Noein quickly had the golems leap to the sides.
The fireball landed where the golems had just been standing, scattering flames.
Meanwhile, fire arrows continued to rain down, and Noein had the golems raise their shields again. At any moment, another fireball could come flying.
“The enemy has even brought out fire mages… We have no choice. Let’s pull the golems back into the fortress for now.”
“…You’re right. We have no other option.”
Feeling frustrated, Noein nodded to Frederick’s suggestion.
While pulling the golems back would significantly weaken their close-combat defense, losing the golems to fire arrows or fireballs would be an even greater loss. The golems were a potential trump card for more desperate situations, so it was best to preserve them for now.
The fortress gates opened, and the golems retreated inside. Noein descended from the walls to prepare for the defense at the gates.
The gates remained open for now, and ballistae launched arrows at the enemy. The enemy, still using mobile barriers to counter explosive arrows, continued to advance, so the ballistae fired regular arrows.
While the ballista attacks weren’t entirely ineffective, they couldn’t stop the enemy’s momentum.
“Take out their mage! They’re in the center-rear of the formation!”
Frederick sharply ordered, and the beastmen fired their crossbows. Arrows concentrated on the suspected location of the Lancel Kingdom’s fire mage, but the area was heavily guarded by a shield wall, and the arrows couldn’t penetrate.
“The enemy thinks the same way…”
In the previous battle, Frederick had also surrounded Noein with a shield wall to protect him. Both sides seemed equally determined to protect their valuable mages.
Meanwhile, the Lancel Kingdom archers switched their focus to the defenders on the walls, raining arrows down on them. Both sides exchanged arrows as the distance between them closed, plunging into a chaotic melee.
With the increasing number of casualties, the defenders were running short on manpower. Beastmen who would normally have been reloading crossbows were now fighting on the walls from the start.
The Lancel Kingdom army suffered significant losses from the crossbow and ballista fire from above, while the defenders also began to take casualties from the arrows below.
Eventually, as usual, the Lancel Kingdom forces reached the walls, and the battle entered the close-combat phase.
“Don’t let a single enemy through! Hold the line, even if it costs your lives!”
Frederick shouted, cutting down enemy soldiers climbing the ladders and kicking the ladders away. Nearby, Yuri leaned over the wall, engaging enemies climbing up with his sword.
On the opposite side of the gate, Frederick’s lieutenant encouraged the beastmen as he swung his sword. Elsewhere, Pens deflected an enemy arrow aimed at him and thrust his sword into the throat of an enemy who had just stepped onto the wall.
While the fierce battle raged on the walls, Noein waited at the gate with the golems, ready to defend if the enemy tried to break through. The soldiers who had been operating the ballistae stood with him.
“…Hey, Yuri.”
‘What!’
“Do you think it’d be too much to throw the latrine buckets over the gate to demoralize the enemy?”
As usual, Noein made his suggestion through the “Distant Talk” spell, which kept him connected to Yuri.
At the edge of the fortress, a simple latrine—a toilet—had been set up with cloth partitions. The defenders had been using it daily, and the waste was collected in large barrels to be burned periodically.
However, the waste from the past two days was still in the barrels. The excrement and urine of over 200 people could serve as a makeshift tactical weapon.
‘You’re as twisted as ever… but it might actually work. Go for it.’
Yuri’s slightly exasperated voice echoed directly in Noein’s mind through the spell. Hearing this, Noein sent the golems running to the latrine.
When the barrels were brought to the front lines, the beastmen grimaced at the sudden stench and looked at the golems. Some of them, realizing what Noein intended to do, shuddered in horror.
“Alright, here goes!”
Noein grinned defiantly as he controlled the golems, hurling the barrels filled with excrement over the gate.
Moments later, screams—no, shrieks—erupted from the enemy ranks.
‘Your disgusting plan worked! The enemies near the gate are half-crying and in complete chaos!’
“Total success! Ahahaha!”
Delighting in the enemy’s misfortune, Noein positioned the golems back in front of the gate, ready for any enemy charge. The golems, having just carried the barrels, now carried a lingering stench, and the soldiers standing nearby looked slightly pained.
The chaotic battle continued, but there was no sign of the enemy charging the gate.
“Looks like the gate won’t be attacked today?”
“Well, the area beyond the gate is… let’s just say it’s not a place anyone would want to charge into. The ground is… uh, a bit too slippery for a charge.”
One of the soldiers answered Noein’s question, avoiding specifics about what made the ground so slippery.
“I see. Guess we can’t just leave the golems playing around at the gate, then.”
With that, Noein ran up to the walls. Matilda followed to protect him.
“Noein! What are you doing up here? It’s dangerous!”
“Yuri, do you see anyone of high status on the enemy front lines? If we can capture one and bring them inside, maybe we can get some answers about this strange situation.”
An enemy officer would likely know the full extent of the Lancel Kingdom’s strategy. They might be able to explain why the battle was dragging on and why the enemy was so fixated on attacking this fortress zone.
“Wait a second… That guy over there, the one who seems to be the frontline commander—judging by his armor, he’s probably a noble.”
Yuri pointed to a man near the center of the enemy’s front line, slightly behind the area drenched in excrement. He was clad in expensive plate armor and appeared to be giving orders to those around him.
“I see… Frederick! What if we capture that noble and interrogate him? We might be able to get some information! My golems can do it!”
“Fine! Capture him! In this chaotic state, the enemy won’t be able to use fire attacks!”
With Frederick’s approval as the overall commander, Noein sent the golems up the wall and had them leap into the enemy ranks. The overwhelming strength of the golems caused immediate chaos among the enemy.
Perhaps fearing collateral damage, the enemy showed no signs of launching fire arrows or fire spells at the golems.
The golems plowed through the enemy infantry, easily knocking aside the guards and grabbing the nobleman. They then rushed back to the fortress, tossing the man onto the wall.
“Damn it! What the hell is going on!”
The nobleman cursed as he landed, but Yuri knocked him out with a punch to the face, saying, “Take a nap!” The man, his brain rattled from the blow, fell unconscious.
Meanwhile, the enemy’s offensive momentum began to wane. Unable to attack the gate, witnessing the golems descending from the walls, and seeing their frontline commander captured, the enemy’s morale visibly crumbled.
“The enemy is retreating! We’ve held the fortress again today!”
At Frederick’s declaration of victory, the beastmen recruits, the Aarkvist soldiers, and the kingdom troops all cheered in triumph.
