Chapter 395: Let’s Just Destroy It. (2)
Linderstein was one of the largest and most impregnable castles in the kingdom, renowned to the point where the western nobles often boasted that it was no less formidable than the capital, Cardenia.
Moreover, Marquis Roderick had stationed 20,000 troops in Linderstein to guard against vassal revolts and at the same time to suppress the bandits, even while summoning the full strength of the western army for the war effort.
With a confident expression, Tennant continued his argument.
“Linderstein is a massive fortress. No matter how skilled Count Fenris may be as a Master, it is far too large for him to conquer alone. With 20,000 defenders inside, they can hold out until reinforcements arrive. Furthermore, Count Fenris lacks a proper supply line.”
Marquis Roderick and his other retainers all nodded in agreement. The outcome would depend on how long their respective main forces could hold out.
After all, both sides faced extended supply lines. With an army of 10,000, even Count Fenris would struggle to sustain his forces through pillaging.
The lands of the vassals had already been plundered recently, leaving them with little in the way of remaining resources. The few lords who had escaped such raids had sent most of their provisions along with their troops to support the marquis.
Marquis Roderick narrowed his eyes and asked sharply,
“Even when I dispatched 20,000 soldiers before, we failed to capture Count Fenris. Now, he’s leading an army of 10,000. What guarantees do we have that this time will be different?”
Tennant nodded confidently, exuding an aura of certainty.
“Rest assured, my lord. Our forces include 40,000 troops from the Second Legion, combined with the 20,000 defenders of your marquisate, for a total of 60,000 soldiers. With such numbers, we cannot lose, even if we tried. All we need to do is strike Count Fenris’s rear while he’s besieging the castle.”
The sheer size of the army would only amplify its strength. With six times the numbers, not even a Master could hold out against them.
Tennant smiled faintly.
“However, Count Fenris will likely avoid battle to minimize his losses. His current goal is to disrupt and delay us.”
“Hmm…”
“If Count Fenris retreats, we can assign the Second Legion to guard our supply lines. With only 10,000 soldiers, he won’t be able to disrupt us and will have no choice but to withdraw. Meanwhile, we’ll capture Fenris Castle, leaving him with nowhere to return.”
Marquis Roderick nodded in approval, visibly pleased.
“Very well. Send the Second Legion back to the estate. This time, make sure to capture and kill Count Fenris.”
Allowing themselves to be drawn into a wild chase led by Count Fenris was a poor strategy. By holding their ground and capturing Fenris Castle, they would gain the upper hand.
Once Count Fenris, the Master, was subdued, the war would essentially be over. Military support for the Royal Faction could wait until later.
Thus, Roderick’s Second Legion began its withdrawal, while the First Legion quickened its pace to advance further.
* * *
Dududududu!
Count Fenris’s 10,000-strong mobile corps moved at an astonishing speed. In the war-torn west, where bandits roamed freely, there was no force capable of stopping them.
“Move faster! They’ll have received news by now!”
At Ghislain’s command, his knights and soldiers gritted their teeth and pushed their mounts harder. The Fenris troops had become so adept at mounted combat that they could almost be considered a cavalry nation.
This expertise had been honed through early guidance from the elves, followed by continuous training and missions such as arrow deliveries.
In just a short time, they had broken through several castles and fortresses. Yet, they pressed on relentlessly.
“That’s the target for today!”
A small fortress came into view in the distance. It stood on the path leading to the marquisate.
Kaor, who had been struggling to keep up with Ghislain, panted heavily as he asked,
“Can’t we take a break after taking that one?”
Even a skilled warrior like Kaor was exhausted from the relentless march.
However, Ghislain firmly shook his head.
“No, we need to capture the marquis’ castle quickly to cut off their supply lines.”
“Then can’t we bypass it and head straight there?”
“Leaving fortresses behind will only be troublesome later. We must thoroughly conduct the plans needed to win this war.”
“Ugh… I’m going to collapse at this rate.”
Grumbling wouldn’t change anything. When the lord gave an order, it had to be carried out.
“Attack immediately!”
Dududududu!
The Fenris troops charged straight toward the fortress. Naturally, chaos erupted within the stronghold.
“Enemy attack! The enemy is attacking!”
The soldiers scrambled into battle positions. However, the fortress commander turned pale as he looked upon the approaching Fenris army.
Reports from previously captured territories had been pouring in. Every one of them had fallen swiftly, barely able to put up any resistance.
The commander clenched his trembling hands into fists and raised his voice.
“Prepare for battle… everyone, prepare for battle!”
Before the soldier could finish speaking, someone suddenly climbed onto the fortress wall.
“Wh-Who are you?”
“The Count of Fenris.”
“Eek!”
Before they could react, the infamous Count Fenris had appeared atop the wall. A mere 500 men were no match for a Master.
“S-Sur–”
Slick!
The commander’s head flew off before he could even utter the word “surrender.” Following him, 200 Fenris knights scaled the wall in an instant.
The sudden appearance of these attackers struck terror into the hearts of the soldiers.
“Ahhh! Run!”
“Spare us!”
“We surrender!”
Some soldiers screamed and fled, while others discarded their weapons and collapsed to the ground.
Ghislain’s infamous reputation had already spread far and wide, particularly in the west, where he was regarded as little less than a demon.
“Hmm.”
Watching the fleeing and prostrating soldiers, Ghislain called out.
“If you leave this fortress and flee, I will spare your lives. Go, and become splendid bandits!”
To the soldiers, his words were like a ray of hope in the midst of despair. Those who had thrown themselves to the ground leapt to their feet.
“Thank you!”
“Bless you!”
“Please, conquer the west!”
Marquis Roderick was a notoriously cruel lord, inspiring no loyalty among his troops.
The soldiers, overjoyed to escape death, wasted no time grabbing their weapons and fleeing the fortress.
Ghislain neither killed them nor left them in the fortress.
Eventually, many of them would end up becoming his soldiers, so killing them would be a waste. Keeping them in the fortress risked them being reclaimed by Roderick’s pursuing forces. Forcing them out was the best option.
Smirking, Ghislain turned to his knights and said,
“Simple, isn’t it? Take a short break, then move to the next target.”
It hadn’t taken long to capture the fortress. The disparity in numbers was so overwhelming that the enemy didn’t even dare to resist.
Of course, those who fought to the bitter end were slaughtered without mercy. This only served to heighten Ghislain’s infamy, making others even more reluctant to face him.
The Fenris forces were more exhausted from their relentless movement than from combat.
After taking the fortress, they rested briefly, consuming all the provisions stored within.
Naturally, the supplies in this fortress weren’t enough to feed 10,000 soldiers. They devoured everything they had brought along the way and still had to rely on powdered rations meant for combat.
During their brief respite, Dark, who had been scouting, approached Ghislain.
In his raven form, Dark perched on Ghislain’s shoulder and spoke excitedly.
“Master, Master. The pursuing army is on the move.”
“Where are they?”
“They haven’t even reached the western territories yet. But there are a lot of them.”
“How many?”
“Uh… tens of thousands, I think. Anyway, a lot. Like, way more than us.”
Dark was still poor at estimating troop numbers. He could gauge small groups by sight, but when the numbers were large, he tended to count them one by one.
No matter how often Ghislain tried to teach him, Dark never seemed to grasp the skill.
Clicking his tongue, Ghislain scolded him.
“Why haven’t you figured that out yet?”
“I’m bad with numbers.”
“Ugh… What about their marching speed? When will they reach our position?”
“They’re slower than us.”
“…Alright.”
While incredibly useful for reconnaissance and communication, Dark’s observations lacked precision.
Still, having him was better than not, so Ghislain let it slide. He infused a bit of mana into Dark’s duplicate and instructed him.
“Keep monitoring their location. Let me know when they reach any place we’ve already struck. From there, I can estimate their pace.”
“Got it!”
Dark flew off again, resuming his surveillance of the pursuers.
Ghislain surveyed his troops and shouted, “Alright, let’s move again!”
Dududududu!
The Fenris forces, whose speed had earned them a reputation as the kingdom’s swiftest, swept through castles and fortresses in a similar manner, leaving destruction in their wake.
Just recently, Ghislain had stormed through the area, and with Marquis Roderick having drafted most of the troops, there was no one left to stop them.
Occasionally, bandits scouting the area would catch sight of the Fenris banner and recoil in terror.
“The Demon of the North has come again!”
“This time, he’s brought an army!”
“Run, everyone!”
Most of the bandits were those who had been thoroughly routed by Ghislain in earlier battles. At the sight of his banner, they either hid or fled outright.
With no one to block their path, the Fenris forces reached their target in just a few days: Linderstein, Marquis Roderick’s base and the greatest fortress in the west.
Ghislain looked at the massive fortress and smiled.
“If we take that fortress, we’ll cut off their supplies and starve them to death.”
“Wow…”
The knights and soldiers gaped at the sight of Linderstein.
It was truly as enormous as the capital, Cardenia. This wasn’t a fortress that could be taken by sheer force, as they had done with others before.
Fortresses of this magnitude were often inscribed with elaborate defensive magic. Every generation of owners would invest heavily in strengthening these magical defenses.
For a fortress owned by Marquis Roderick, the wealthiest man in the west, this was a given.
“With defenses like that, destroying it with magic won’t be easy.”
Up to 6th-circle magic could likely be blocked by the fortress’s defenses, and even spells from Vanessa, a 7th-circle mage, would have their power significantly reduced.
For that reason, Ghislain had left Vanessa behind in the territory, bringing only a few mages to serve in auxiliary roles. While having her here would have made things easier, he had no intention of revealing that there was another transcendent figure in his domain just yet.
In any case, Vanessa’s presence wasn’t necessary this fortress could be brought down without her.
The commander of Linderstein, Raynon, observed the Fenris forces setting up camp in the distance.
“Mages, stand by your posts! The Fenris forces have a 6th-circle mage. The defensive spells can handle it, but prepare to dispel magic just in case!”
Raynon was competent enough to be entrusted with defending this critical fortress. Having received news of the approaching Fenris army, he had fortified the defenses.
“The enemy leader may be a Master, but there’s no need to fear! They don’t have siege weapons. As long as we stop them from climbing the walls, we’ll be fine!”
The walls had been equipped with additional sloped structures to make it difficult for the enemy to hook grappling lines or set up ladders.
Soldiers weren’t stationed in the gaps to repel climbers; instead, knights were deployed, ready to target the rapidly advancing Fenris knights.
Large ballistae had been placed in strategic positions to strike at the enemy as they approached.
“Hold on for a little while longer, and reinforcements will flank them! All we need to do is endure until then and attack when the time is right. Bring the remaining trebuchets!”
While most trebuchets had been sent with the main force, two had been left for the fortress’s defense.
Raynon was confident. No matter how powerful Count Fenris was, this fortress was impregnable, especially without siege weapons. Their strategy was simply to defend and wait.
In fact, they likely wouldn’t even have to fight. Without siege weapons, the enemy wouldn’t dare approach.
“Stay vigilant! They might try to scale the walls under the cover of night!”
Raynon took every precaution, keeping his soldiers motivated and alert. He was a rarity among western commanders, genuinely skilled and cautious.
From a distance, the Fenris army seemed to have no plans to move closer, remaining at their positions.
Ghislain gazed at the fortress and commented with a chuckle, “Well, they’re well-prepared. I can feel their determination to keep us off those walls.”
If they charged now, they would likely fall victim to trebuchets and ballistas. Magic attacks would mostly be neutralized by the fortress’ mages and defensive spells.
Smirking, Ghislain issued a new order.
“Go gather some stones. Let’s just destroy it.”
At his command, 200 knights and 2,000 soldiers spread out, moving quickly.
Watching this, Raynon sneered.
“Are they foraging for supplies? They must be so poorly prepared that they didn’t bring enough provisions.”
It was obvious that all of the Fenris troops were combatants. There was no sign of a supply unit following at their speed.
“They’ll eventually withdraw after wasting time deliberating.”
Even with a Master, this fortress wouldn’t fall to an army of only 10,000, especially without siege weapons. As long as they guarded against an attempt to scale the walls, the enemy would have no choice but to retreat.
The next day, after a full day of back-and-forth movement by the Fenris forces, the soldiers in the fortress began to relax slightly.
“Even Count Fenris can’t do anything here.”
“Of course not. Approaching this fortress is suicide.”
“Charging at these walls without siege weapons would be madness.”
Despite their confidence, they kept a watchful eye on the Fenris army, knowing better than to let their guard down.
As they observed, a soldier muttered, “What the… what are they doing?”
The rest of the soldiers tilted their heads in confusion. The Fenris army was piling up enormous stones in their camp.
“What are they planning to do with all those stones without siege weapons?”
“Are they planning to build a stone fortress here?”
“For what purpose?”
Their curiosity grew as they watched. Then, suddenly, the Fenris troops began forming teams, working busily.
The soldiers stared blankly at the sight until their eyes widened in realization.
“What… what are they making?”
From their vantage point, strange structures began to take shape. The Fenris troops seemed to be connecting long poles and constructing something increasingly large and tall.
Raynon, watching from the highest point of the fortress, also wore a confused expression.
Moments later, the structures were fully visible, and the expressions of Roderick’s soldiers turned to horror.
“That… that’s…”
“Trebuchets? Are those really trebuchets?”
“How… how did they suddenly build trebuchets?”
Within the Fenris camp, a staggering ten massive trebuchets had been constructed in no time.
Though crude, the structures unmistakably resembled siege weapons.